Source: DC Human Trafficking Task Force
Business Operating Under the Guise of a Massage Establishment
* Small business, primarily in busy business districts; cameras commonly outside of the business.
* There is a lack of easy access to the business establishment. Typically have to be buzzed in through a special door after customer is observed through a camera. Attempt to be inconspicuous within the building.
* Generally have very simplistic names like Happy Spa, Young's Spa, etc.
* Hours of operation are untraditional for most legitimate business establishments (ex.-10:00 AM to 2:00 AM)
* Most of the business advertisement is on adult websites.
* Business advertises "hot" women as masseuses who will ensure that you are satisfied in advertisements.
* The business will only service men.
* There is usually no legitimate business phone--most business is conducted via cell phones and unable to find it in a legitimate yellow pages search.
* The women who work at the massage parlor are usually young and scantily clad and customers are always escorted by another person.
* Have saunas, tubs and/or inoperable and very limited exercise equipment or massage beds.
Brothel Operating Out of a Private Residence
* Extremely transient movement in and out of a particular unit.
* High traffic of scores of different men going into and out of the designated unit/property.
* Apartment within a multi-family dwelling and occasionally a row home.
* Someone typically guarding the front door entrance.
* Refusal to serve certain ethnic populations.
* Large number of women being transported to and from the property.
* The "residents" do not appear to be familiar with the neighborhood or surrounding area.
* Women who are young or appear to be ypung "residing" at the home or regularly frequenting the home.
HOTLINE: If you suspect an illegal house of prostitution or human trafficking, please call 1-888-3737-888. Best measure is to keep your eyes open for something that just does not feel right.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
HOW IS IT TO BE LOVED BY SOMEONE?
How is it to be loved by someone? Genuine love can be overwhelming at times but it does lift you out of that rubble of chaos. It makes everything okay even if none of the circumstances have changed at all. It gives you hope in impossible situations.
I am quite fortunate to have experienced love from so many people and in so many ways, even in ways I could not imagine before. It is truly an amazing experience especially when trauma leads you to depression, even to suicide. You may lose all hope but God doesn't lose hope on you.
I am truly blessed to live the life I have lived in the past decade. Though the pain of betrayal and disappointment still hurt me, I know that everything was meant to be for my own good and the good of others.
Forgiveness is something I'm still trying to learn. I have learned not just from me, but also from others, how bitterness can eat away your soul. I am a child of what might be termed as a broken home though I really never will know the true pain of having divorced parents.
They are still both resentful toward each other; but they never let that get that in the way of being my parents, even now that I am an adult. They are still as supportive as ever and have always let me make my own decisions. How have I taken that for granted!
Not many enjoy the freedom I have... Many girls and young women in the world are bound by poverty and old, dangerous traditions. Some are imprisoned by abuse, neglect and ignorance. The world we live in today is still a dangerous place for a girl to be born in.
Women are being treated like animals, like slaves which men own and control. In most of the world, their education never goes beyond basic reading and writing. Sometimes, they never even go to school. They are expected to be homemakers and sometimes forced to be just that. Look at the Taliban regime in Afghanistan!
In rural China, baby girls are being killed immediately after birth. China still holds the one-child policy in strict respect though there are some exceptions. Since the Chinese culture favor boys, there is now a lack of women in China. And this has resulted in a large number of women from poorer Asian countries being trafficked into the country. South Korean women are also being abducted and sold to Chinese men as brides.
There are so many things perilously affecting women. I can only write about so many in one article. But I know that not many women have ever felt genuine love. A love that respects, protects, nurtures and cherish who they really are. Not the commodities that they are for men and their families.
That is why I have become such an advocate for women's rights. I have seen in my own life how much I have accomplished because of the opportunities given to me. I have seen what I have contributed to the betterment of the world from the support of so many wonderful people in my life. Imagine if every woman in the world had the same opportunities and support as I had!
We need to show them the love that every human being deserves. If we are to be light in this world as God has instructed us, we must not just feel compassion, we must courageously act this compassion out. I am challenging everyone, especially me, to show them how it is to be loved someone. You may have gone through abuse and neglect yourself but know this, you are also asked to love yourself as someone genuinely loves you.
I am quite fortunate to have experienced love from so many people and in so many ways, even in ways I could not imagine before. It is truly an amazing experience especially when trauma leads you to depression, even to suicide. You may lose all hope but God doesn't lose hope on you.
I am truly blessed to live the life I have lived in the past decade. Though the pain of betrayal and disappointment still hurt me, I know that everything was meant to be for my own good and the good of others.
Forgiveness is something I'm still trying to learn. I have learned not just from me, but also from others, how bitterness can eat away your soul. I am a child of what might be termed as a broken home though I really never will know the true pain of having divorced parents.
They are still both resentful toward each other; but they never let that get that in the way of being my parents, even now that I am an adult. They are still as supportive as ever and have always let me make my own decisions. How have I taken that for granted!
Not many enjoy the freedom I have... Many girls and young women in the world are bound by poverty and old, dangerous traditions. Some are imprisoned by abuse, neglect and ignorance. The world we live in today is still a dangerous place for a girl to be born in.
Women are being treated like animals, like slaves which men own and control. In most of the world, their education never goes beyond basic reading and writing. Sometimes, they never even go to school. They are expected to be homemakers and sometimes forced to be just that. Look at the Taliban regime in Afghanistan!
In rural China, baby girls are being killed immediately after birth. China still holds the one-child policy in strict respect though there are some exceptions. Since the Chinese culture favor boys, there is now a lack of women in China. And this has resulted in a large number of women from poorer Asian countries being trafficked into the country. South Korean women are also being abducted and sold to Chinese men as brides.
There are so many things perilously affecting women. I can only write about so many in one article. But I know that not many women have ever felt genuine love. A love that respects, protects, nurtures and cherish who they really are. Not the commodities that they are for men and their families.
That is why I have become such an advocate for women's rights. I have seen in my own life how much I have accomplished because of the opportunities given to me. I have seen what I have contributed to the betterment of the world from the support of so many wonderful people in my life. Imagine if every woman in the world had the same opportunities and support as I had!
We need to show them the love that every human being deserves. If we are to be light in this world as God has instructed us, we must not just feel compassion, we must courageously act this compassion out. I am challenging everyone, especially me, to show them how it is to be loved someone. You may have gone through abuse and neglect yourself but know this, you are also asked to love yourself as someone genuinely loves you.
Friday, December 3, 2010
TAKING IT TO THE COMMUNITY
The World Wide Web has let us built campaigns against many things. Domestic violence in October now child abuse on Facebook with people's favorite cartoon character. But this doesn't really get to the heart of the problem...
It doesn't take us to the causes of the problems. It doesn't punish the perpetrators. It doesn't salve the wounds of the victims. What we need is to get to the actual communities that these crimes are being committed.
Let's take the issues of female genital mutilation or female circumcision... This is being practiced throughout Africa even in a seemingly progressive country such as Egypt. It is reported that 91 percent of Egyptian women currently aged 19 to 45 have undergone this very dangerous procedure that is mostly rooted in culture than medicine. No matter what we do even with the help of the Egyptian government, we will not be able to completely end the practice once and for all. There will always be people who are adamant advocates of tradition, even if lethal like honor killing.
Domestic violence and child abuse are very much intertwined together and not any single city in the world is immune to them. I live in Washington DC and I always hear reports of really bad incidents. They are pretty awful here. A couple of years ago, a single mother killed her daughters and put the bodies in her freezer. The bodies were found months later after police raided her apartment.
I think the best thing to eradicate violence against women and crimes against humanity is education. We need to teach not just our leaders but our fellow ordinary citizens that domestic violence, child abuse, rape and gender violence is negatively impacting our society in more ways than one. We need to show the world that there are ways to stop these things from happening. The most basic and most important thing is raising our children that it is not all right to be abused and be ripped off our basic human dignity. We must retrain men and women what it is to treat each other with equal respect and how some old traditions and thinking must be done away with. And there are so many practical ways in doing this. For example, have a child abuse workshop at your local library or a showing of documentary at a local college campus. I've seen how getting the community involved, and not just online, gets the ball really rolling...
It doesn't take us to the causes of the problems. It doesn't punish the perpetrators. It doesn't salve the wounds of the victims. What we need is to get to the actual communities that these crimes are being committed.
Let's take the issues of female genital mutilation or female circumcision... This is being practiced throughout Africa even in a seemingly progressive country such as Egypt. It is reported that 91 percent of Egyptian women currently aged 19 to 45 have undergone this very dangerous procedure that is mostly rooted in culture than medicine. No matter what we do even with the help of the Egyptian government, we will not be able to completely end the practice once and for all. There will always be people who are adamant advocates of tradition, even if lethal like honor killing.
Domestic violence and child abuse are very much intertwined together and not any single city in the world is immune to them. I live in Washington DC and I always hear reports of really bad incidents. They are pretty awful here. A couple of years ago, a single mother killed her daughters and put the bodies in her freezer. The bodies were found months later after police raided her apartment.
I think the best thing to eradicate violence against women and crimes against humanity is education. We need to teach not just our leaders but our fellow ordinary citizens that domestic violence, child abuse, rape and gender violence is negatively impacting our society in more ways than one. We need to show the world that there are ways to stop these things from happening. The most basic and most important thing is raising our children that it is not all right to be abused and be ripped off our basic human dignity. We must retrain men and women what it is to treat each other with equal respect and how some old traditions and thinking must be done away with. And there are so many practical ways in doing this. For example, have a child abuse workshop at your local library or a showing of documentary at a local college campus. I've seen how getting the community involved, and not just online, gets the ball really rolling...
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Violence Against Women
Last Wednesday, September 22, 2010 marks the 16th year in existence of the United States 1994 Violence Against Women Act drafted by then-Senator Joseph Biden (Delaware). In celebration, Vice President Biden along with his wife Dr. Jill Biden hosted a reception at their official residence in Washington, DC.
In the same week, the United Nations (UN) held a press conference to announce the formation of UN Women. UN Women will be headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet who now holds the office of Under-Secretary-General of Gender Equity and Empowerment of Women. UN Women will function as the UN's arm in protecting female rights all over the world especially where women and girls are put through physical harm that are camouflaging as tradition.
Girls and women have always had been traditionally viewed as being mothers and homemakers. Boys are given more priority when it comes to health and education because males are typically the breadwinners of the family. But as we progress into the 21st Century, we are seeing that giving girls and women the same opportunity as their male counterparts is good for the economy and the general betterment of the world as a whole.
From common crimes as rape to the strangest procedure (to most people of the world) of female genital mutilation, a lot of girls and women are physically harmed and psychologically wounded. Something about the masochism of the global male population that makes them vulnerable to violent behavior especially toward females.
If it cannot be totally stopped, we as citizens of the world must do all we can to reduce the incidents that occur everyday. Education is key. Both men and women need to know the dark secret of domestic violence, rape and even honor killings. It has big societal impacts because the impaired psychological state of these women prevent them from positively contributing. Hospital and clinics are over-capacity from the injuries and complications of what has been done to their bodies.
In the same week, the United Nations (UN) held a press conference to announce the formation of UN Women. UN Women will be headed by former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet who now holds the office of Under-Secretary-General of Gender Equity and Empowerment of Women. UN Women will function as the UN's arm in protecting female rights all over the world especially where women and girls are put through physical harm that are camouflaging as tradition.
Girls and women have always had been traditionally viewed as being mothers and homemakers. Boys are given more priority when it comes to health and education because males are typically the breadwinners of the family. But as we progress into the 21st Century, we are seeing that giving girls and women the same opportunity as their male counterparts is good for the economy and the general betterment of the world as a whole.
From common crimes as rape to the strangest procedure (to most people of the world) of female genital mutilation, a lot of girls and women are physically harmed and psychologically wounded. Something about the masochism of the global male population that makes them vulnerable to violent behavior especially toward females.
If it cannot be totally stopped, we as citizens of the world must do all we can to reduce the incidents that occur everyday. Education is key. Both men and women need to know the dark secret of domestic violence, rape and even honor killings. It has big societal impacts because the impaired psychological state of these women prevent them from positively contributing. Hospital and clinics are over-capacity from the injuries and complications of what has been done to their bodies.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Abuse & Exploitation That's Actually Trafficking
Last Monday night I attended a D.C. Stop Modern Slavery meet up at Ellington Apartments on U Street, the speaker was Bradley Myles of Polaris Project. Mr. Myles spoke of the different ways how unsuspecting, vulnerable people fall victims to human trafficking. He said how people get trafficked into the United States by supposed employment agencies, people that needed nannies and housekeepers and people that looked they were offering legitimate jobs in restaurants and other retail settings. I learned how a lot of Filipinos fell into these same kind of traps when I was in high school in Angeles City.
In Japan, Filipino women who dream of becoming big as singers and dancers are lured to the Land of the Rising Sun to work in clubs but unfortunately, they become prostitutes. I did not hear much about their abuse in Japan but knowing how well sex trafficking victims can hide the signs of abuse, I definitely can say they were unwillingly exploited in their eagerness to travel abroad. Other Filipino women go the Middle East to work as nannies and domestic servants and reading books and online articles, I learned of the neglect and abuse their Middle Eastern employers treat them with. There was this big headliner of a Filipino nanny that got hanged to death by Singapore because the boy under her care unfortunately fell off the window and crashed to his death two to three stories below. This was in the 1990s when I was still in high school. The whole Philippine nation appealed to the government of Singapore to just send her home for extradition but Singaporeans are strict. If you get caught with marijuana possession, you are immediately sentenced to death.
So in other words, I knew that this was all happening... I just didn't know what it was called. Neither did the world... All I knew that it was wrong... Now we know what it is "human trafficking." Now we've identified the problem, let's solve it.... Reminds me of the scientific method somehow..
In Japan, Filipino women who dream of becoming big as singers and dancers are lured to the Land of the Rising Sun to work in clubs but unfortunately, they become prostitutes. I did not hear much about their abuse in Japan but knowing how well sex trafficking victims can hide the signs of abuse, I definitely can say they were unwillingly exploited in their eagerness to travel abroad. Other Filipino women go the Middle East to work as nannies and domestic servants and reading books and online articles, I learned of the neglect and abuse their Middle Eastern employers treat them with. There was this big headliner of a Filipino nanny that got hanged to death by Singapore because the boy under her care unfortunately fell off the window and crashed to his death two to three stories below. This was in the 1990s when I was still in high school. The whole Philippine nation appealed to the government of Singapore to just send her home for extradition but Singaporeans are strict. If you get caught with marijuana possession, you are immediately sentenced to death.
So in other words, I knew that this was all happening... I just didn't know what it was called. Neither did the world... All I knew that it was wrong... Now we know what it is "human trafficking." Now we've identified the problem, let's solve it.... Reminds me of the scientific method somehow..
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Personal Notes on Human Trafficking
"I don't know what's going on but the closer I get to the ground on this human trafficking problem, the more human I feel and my compassion becomes more real and forgiving. As I try to get to the root of the problem and help others heal, I feel like I'm becoming more whole than the actual victims."
-Excerpt from my personal journal entry on July 24, 2010
I do believe that everyone today should become an abolitionist especially the slaves themselves as they fight for their freedom. Slavery is the most pervasive form of abuse in the world today. Most Westerners believe that it has been abolished in the 18th Century. It hasn't and we must tell them. It is still occurring in London and Washington DC, the capitals of the Anglo-Saxon world. And it is still happening in Paris, Berlin, Paris and Madrid also. People are being transported from poorer countries to these rich countries for prostitution, domestic servitude and other forms of hard labor that would be extremely expensive if done by a citizen or legal resident of those nations for they are protected by law. And have you also heard about the foreign interns of the Japanese government that died recently in factories?
Working for no pay in harsh conditions is the worst hell on this earth a human can live in. I think most can agree with me on this... Slavery has been used by the Nazis. They worked the Jews to death to help them kill other Jews. In African nations, impoverished people are being enslaved by more powerful tribes or individuals. In some war-torn countries, innocent people of the weaker minority are enslaved into farm work or domestic servitude. If the slaves try to run away, they are beaten and killed.
This atrocity must end... We are now in the 21st Century. We are making such big leaps in technological advancement and scientific knowledge. Why can't our compassion grow along with it? Are we really losing our humanity?
-Excerpt from my personal journal entry on July 24, 2010
I do believe that everyone today should become an abolitionist especially the slaves themselves as they fight for their freedom. Slavery is the most pervasive form of abuse in the world today. Most Westerners believe that it has been abolished in the 18th Century. It hasn't and we must tell them. It is still occurring in London and Washington DC, the capitals of the Anglo-Saxon world. And it is still happening in Paris, Berlin, Paris and Madrid also. People are being transported from poorer countries to these rich countries for prostitution, domestic servitude and other forms of hard labor that would be extremely expensive if done by a citizen or legal resident of those nations for they are protected by law. And have you also heard about the foreign interns of the Japanese government that died recently in factories?
Working for no pay in harsh conditions is the worst hell on this earth a human can live in. I think most can agree with me on this... Slavery has been used by the Nazis. They worked the Jews to death to help them kill other Jews. In African nations, impoverished people are being enslaved by more powerful tribes or individuals. In some war-torn countries, innocent people of the weaker minority are enslaved into farm work or domestic servitude. If the slaves try to run away, they are beaten and killed.
This atrocity must end... We are now in the 21st Century. We are making such big leaps in technological advancement and scientific knowledge. Why can't our compassion grow along with it? Are we really losing our humanity?
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Human Trafficking By The Numbers
From the 2010 Trafficking In Person Report of the United States Department of State
Adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world: 12.3 million
Successful trafficking prosecutions in 2009: 4,166
Successful prosecutions related to forced labor: 335
Victims identified: 49,105
Ratio of convicted offenders to victims identified, as a percentage: 8.5
Ratio of victims identified to estimated victims, as a percentage: 0.4
Countries that have yet to convict a trafficker under laws in compliance with the Palermo Protocol: 62
Countries without laws, policies, or regulations to prevent victims’ deportation: 104
Prevalence of trafficking victims in the world: 1.8 per 1,000 inhabitants
Prevalence of trafficking victims in Asia and the Pacific: 3 per 1,000 inhabitants
Adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world: 12.3 million
Successful trafficking prosecutions in 2009: 4,166
Successful prosecutions related to forced labor: 335
Victims identified: 49,105
Ratio of convicted offenders to victims identified, as a percentage: 8.5
Ratio of victims identified to estimated victims, as a percentage: 0.4
Countries that have yet to convict a trafficker under laws in compliance with the Palermo Protocol: 62
Countries without laws, policies, or regulations to prevent victims’ deportation: 104
Prevalence of trafficking victims in the world: 1.8 per 1,000 inhabitants
Prevalence of trafficking victims in Asia and the Pacific: 3 per 1,000 inhabitants
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