On November 15, Polaris Project hosted the first ever National State Legislators Conference Call on Human Trafficking. More than 40 legislators from 26 states joined a conference call and webinar put together by Polaris Project to collaborate, share ideas, and advocate for anti-trafficking legislation. Each state has taken its own approach to combatting human trafficking and the purpose of the call was to give legislators an opportunity to learn more from each other on what has worked and the challenges others have confronted in successfully carrying anti-trafficking legislation.

Executive Director and CEO Bradley Myles provided an introductory statement on the need for strong local action against trafficking. Then, legislators that worked closely with Polaris Project offered their insight and guidance to veteran and freshmen legislators on how to pass anti-trafficking legislation. [Read more →]

Australia is a destination country for many people. With picturesque stretches of coast and idyllic outback scenery, there are many tourists who want to come to Australia to enjoy all that it has to offer. Unfortunately, Australia is also a destination for a different type of visitor – human trafficking victims. As Polaris Project’s only current Australian fellow, human trafficking in the Oceania region is of particular interest to me.

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The U.S. State Department’s Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report was released on Monday, June 27, 2011. It is compiled each year to analyze 184 governments’ efforts to combat human trafficking within their own borders. Governments are ranked into one of three tiers based on their attempts to meet the “minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking” in Section 108 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).  It is useful as a tool for diplomatic pressure and incentives, a map of trafficking streams and trends, and an update on status quo practices and implementation of anti-trafficking efforts globally. [Read more →]

The brochure is available in English, Korean, and Mandarin Chinese

The issue of illegal brothels posing as legitimate massage parlors is tied to Polaris Project’s first moments as an organization.  Our founders, Katherine Chon and Derek Ellerman, became passionate about the issue of human trafficking after learning about one of these brothels in Rhode Island, which operated a couple blocks from their college apartments.  Over the past nine years, our organization has focused on combating all forms of human trafficking, but we’ve always maintained an expertise and understanding of this particular network. [Read more →]

As a man working in the anti-trafficking movement, I see fellow men playing three roles in the world of sex trafficking: men who are pimps, men who are johns (I am a speaker at our local “John School”), and men who are anti-trafficking activists.  It is no wonder, that at a recent conference a woman named Wiveca Holst–an incredible Swedish woman’s rights activist who I admire a great deal–said to me with kind honesty, “no offense, but I don’t trust you.”  Without a shred of malice, she went on to explain how her years of experience working with male activists in the women’s rights movements have been checkered with a mix of well-meaning men making honest mistakes, men with outright poor intentions, and the occasional man who actually respected her as an equal. [Read more →]

Organizations and community groups from across the country have traveled to Arlington, TX to participate in the anti-trafficking awareness events surrounding the Super Bowl.  Throughout the week, events have been held to educate the community and to reach out to potential victims of human trafficking.

Because of the clandestine nature of this crime, we must bring awareness to community members, supply them with the resources to recognize potential trafficking situations, and understand how to increase public awareness.  Significantly, 40% of the calls received at the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) last year were from community members, and 16 percent of these calls were tips.  Since December 2007, more than 4,000 potential victims have been referenced in calls to the NHTRC. [Read more →]

It’s that time of year again – the holidays are officially in full swing! We’re asking our supporters not only to open up their wallets and closets, but also to open up their hearts.

I want to tell you a story about a girl named Britney.* Britney met a man the same night she ran away from her abusive home life when she was only 16 years old. With nowhere to turn she accepted a ride from the man who also offered her food and a place to stay. This man turned out to be a pimp. After a couple weeks the pimp forced her to sell her body ten to fifteen times a night to strangers who found her on the internet. [Read more →]

Coming shortly after Craigslist’s decision to close its “Adult Services” section in the U.S.,  The Washington Post closed a chapter in its own history of advertising for brothels that have involved human trafficking and other violent crimes. [Read more →]

Last year hundreds of anti-trafficking activists came together for the Stop Child Trafficking Now walk.  In October thousands more are expected to attend this year’s DC Stop Modern Slavery walk on the National Mall. This year’s walk is a place for community members to come together to show their solidarity against human trafficking, raise awareness, and help organizations continue to combat modern day slavery.

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As millions of American families hit the roads for summer vacation and take breaks at truck stops to refuel and grab snacks, they may unknowingly come across human trafficking. Commercial truck stops are locations where pimps compel women and girls to engage in prostitution. We are not talking about state owned or state operated welcome centers or rest stops where there is often law enforcement presence (e.g. state patrol). Pimps are taking advantage of locations where there is a large concentration of male truck drivers who are on the road and may be willing to purchase sex. Moreover, these places allow pimps to move the women and girls with ease to other locations as a way of evading law enforcement. Pimps may advertise or have the women and girls advertise via CB radio, or in many cases have the women and girls solicit by going from truck to truck looking for customers. The pimps are also familiar with “party row” where truck drivers park their rigs in the farthest end of a lot with the intention of purchasing sex.

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