Friday, September 14, 2007

Captive Daughters

I just came across a very helpful Website called Captive Daughters. It includes a blog, a large reading list, other resources, links, information about public policy and more.

One page on the site, called Cause: Demand, talks about the demand side of sex trafficking. The site notes that "the cause of sex trafficking is the demand for it" and states,
"By understanding the dynamics of demand, we can develop the legal and political policies necessary to control and end this horrific practice."

Along these lines, the organization has produced a book called "Pornography: Driving the Demand in International Sex Trafficking."

On a related note, I'm concerned about a situation in Greenville, SC. A news story Wednesday says that six people have been arrested for importing women into the US and making them work as prostitutes. One of those arrested is an alleged "madam."

But then the article says,

Greenville County sheriff's investigators and the FBI said that the six women were being used in a prostitution operation at a house on Dorsey Boulevard in West Greenville.
"Being used" makes it sound like some of these people are victims, not perpetrators. And the story goes on to say,

The six women, ages 18 to 24, have been released, but will wear electronic monitoring devices. They are being held as material witnesses and will be housed in women's shelters while the case is prosecuted. They all face deportation.
Now, if some of these women are actually the victims, as the article implies, and if they cooperate with authorities, then they should be eligible for T-Visas to stay in this country, and they should not be treated as criminals. So it seems that either this article was poorly written or the authorities are blowing it by prosecuting victims of sex trafficking.

I've contacted a person who works with an organization that deals with issues like this, asking for advice on what to do. If anyone reading this post has further info about this case or what a concerned citizen should do, please comment!




1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's part of the protact act of 01 that these woman not be treated as criminals... I don't know what you have done thus far... but the thing about that act is that most law enforcement agencies aren't even aware of this act. Print it off, send it there, and make sure they are aware.