Leave The Girls Alone!

The headlines are full of woman being battered today. A woman protesting in Egypt stripped and stomped on the street. Another was set on fire in a New York elevator and burned to death. But not to worry, the same web page that carries the gruesome story of an unimaginable horrible death has several links to stories in their right hand column scroll about Kate Upton's sexy curves, about Sofia Vergara's sheer tights, about FHM's nude front cover model. So simultaneously we are supposed to be shocked at the dehumanization of women and then to see them as objects of sexual desire. Leave them alone!

A 42 year old Helena, Montana man was arrested today for videotaping young girls. A 35 year-old Phoenix, AZ man was arrested yesterday for hundreds of images of child porn. Same story for Athens, GA. A 54 year-old man who gets off on the the sexual exploitation of tiny kids! It is perfectly legal to have in your possession child porn in the entire nation of Japan! While all the while the ad execs of major companies are titillating the buying public with child sexuality to separate you from your dollars and your heart from your conscience. Then a French Fashion magazine proffers this type of anti-innocence, hyper-sexualization of an EIGHT YEAR OLD!!!! Leave the girls alone!!

Thylane Blondeau, at 8, her childhood being stolen, the flames of lust being fanned in the minds of perverts everywhere.

Last week a nine year old girl, was raped by a  man in the district of Samundari Tehsil, Faisalabad, Pakistan. The child is still in a state of shock and suffering both physical and psychological trauma.


"On December 10 the third grader returned from school to bake chapatti bread with her sister-in-law. She went with her 7-year-old cousin to collect firewood in a nearby sugarcane field. After a short time, the cousin came home and reported that Gulfam had been dragged away by a man. When relatives arrived at the scene, they caught the rapist red-handed, who then immediately fled.


Gulfam's mother took the half-naked girl home. Then the parents went to the police to report the rape, who then arrested the suspect. But the family is still terrified. The relatives of the rapist have already tried to intimidate Gulfam's family withdraw the charges. The girl said when she refused the rapist's offer of money, he then taped her mouth and assaulted her. The assailant reportedly told his victim “not to worry because he had done the same service to other young girls.”"

Or what about precious 7 year old Jorelys Rivera (above) who was raped, stabbed and then beaten to death on December 6. LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!


Everyday in India girls are the victims of gendercide. This story from the International Business Times suggests that number is 50 thousand a month and that the total missing from this generation are 40 million girls. The article goes on to state, "Since 1980, Elizabeth Vargas reports that an estimated 40 million girls are "missing" due to sex-selective abortion, neglect or murder. Vargas spoke with Ruchira Gupta, a women's rights activist, who said, "It's an obliteration of a whole class, race, of human beings. It's half the population of India." He said, "We put very little value to girls or to women. So they are always in danger, from birth to death. If they are born, then they might be murdered just because they are girls."


The main reason for the gendercide is money. Families must pay expensive dowries to marry off daughters. When a boy is born, he will bring in the money; when a girl is born she is a steep expenditure. This is the main reason families promote abortion of daughters. Dowery expenses increase year after year. Once a girl weds, her family is required to pay this fee. If they do not, the girl is "often beaten, tortured, even burned to death. And while dowries have been illegal for decades, the law is often ignored."


Despite the fact that one might assume the gendercide tactic is practiced by the poor and destitute, it is the rich and educated who use sex-selection abortions most frequently. Vargas reports that census data shows that the problem is becoming more severe in the most elite areas. In some neighborhoods, there are only 300 girls for every 1,000 boys.


Vargas spoke with a female doctor who described her harrowing tale of struggle and torture when her family discovered she was pregnant with twin girls. The doctor's husband's family demanded she get an abortion, but she refused. Because she did not give her husband a son, she was deemed a "useless wife." His family then tried to force her to miscarry by denying her food and feeding her eggs, which she is allergic to. When her daughters were born, the grandmother pushed one of them down the stairs. 


This woman is not alone. Her story is familiar to many. Yet, for others forced to give up their daughters, there is hope and salvation. In the northern region of the country, Vargas traveled to orphanages, known as "Cradle Houses." Unwanted daughters are brought here, dropped down into a drop box and given over to those willing to shelter and care for the discarded."Mostly these girls are half-dead," said one volunteer, "because their mother take [sic] so many medicines for the killing, to try to poison them."

LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!!!!!!!

Below the original ABC news story from reporter Elizabeth Varges. Please watch these both, the story starts after a 30 second commercial and is incredible. Both are worth the few minutes of your time!!! 









Throughout this world there are millions of women trapped in the illegal sex trade. 100's of thousands of them are young girls, some as young as 4 years old. They are brutalized ten sometimes twenty times a day. For as little as a couple of dollars so disgusting men can get a few seconds of perverse pleasure, leaving these babies scarred for a lifetime. There are no excuses. There is no apology that will suffice. We must stand as a united front of loving people and end the mentality of second class citizens and gender imbalance. We must celebrate the differences between the sexes, we must champion the rights of women. We must demand the laws be enforced. We must get on top of our soapboxes, at work and play and church and we must scream from the top of our lungs:

LEAVE THE GIRLS ALONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please before another generation of women is systematically erased. Please for your daughters, your mothers, your wives and yourselves. This is the fight of our lives. If you would like to help Conspiracy of Hope and Prishan Foundation with our current project to protect 34 precious orphan girls from a life of homelessness you can do so here or more preferably directly to Prishan Foundation here.


From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope thank you for caring about justice for women, for being their voice when they are silenced by brutality, enslavement and draconian law. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

For NKA

Human Trafficking In The News 8-24-2011

Conspiracy Of Hope's blog will have a new semi-regular feature highlighting sex trafficking, forced labor, and child exploitation in the news. We will compile a brief synopsis of each story with the link (click on the bold heading of each story). This will allow us to highlight those individuals and groups responsible for stopping trafficking and those who are the most egregious perpetrators of human rights violations.

9 charged in sex trafficking investigation in Chicago. -Dozens of girls, some as young as 12, were forced into prostitution. The girls and women, some of them homeless, were recruited on CTA trains, the Internet or during random meetings on the street.

Rachel Weisz stars in new film about Sex-Trafficking.-A drama based on the experiences of Kathryn Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and outed the U.N. for covering up a sex trafficking scandal. Watch the trailer below.

Whistleblower Trailer by teasertrailer

Sex Trafficking bust in Fairfax County. -13 women and girls forced into prostitution in and around the nations capitol. According to the article, "The pimp's prostitution ring frequented certain areas, so much so that an unidentified Falls Church hotel gave Cornejo a discount because he rented rooms so often, the affidavit said. Cornejo also used a Super 8 Motel in Manassas, his mother's house and locations within the Four Mile Run area of Arlington."

Czech Police charge Nigerian Black Magic Sex Traffickers. Girls were promised jobs as hairdressers or as hospitality sector workers and then forced into prostitution. Some of the girls were forced to take part in black magic rituals that included ceremonies that took place in mortuaries with the girls being forced to drink their own blood and warned their families would die if they broke their oaths. (warning: link contains semi-graphic photo.)

The Spanish clothing giant behind the Zara brand is being investigated over the use of slave labour in Brazil. The 15 workers, one of whom was reported to be just 14 years old, were understood to be living in dangerous conditions on the factory floor.

Zara of India. The Spanish retail giant has stores in 73 countries and according to a recent statement has a "zero tolerance for infringements of this kind."

Southeastern Connecticut pediatrician arrested on federal child pornography charges. Todd Parrilla, 47, of Stonington, was arrested on August 23 by members of the Connecticut Computer Crimes Task Force and charged in a federal criminal complaint with possession, receipt and distribution of child pornography.

***********

From all of us at Conspiracy Of Hope, thank you for caring about justice and for being a voice for the voiceless.

Sex Sells.

A Diesel Jeans ad lamenting that they aren't pimping girls??

Sex sells. It's as ingrained in advertising as celebrity endorsements and those nauseating sing-song jingles that weasel their way into your subconscious. Over half of all ads featuring women present them in a sexual manner. That percentage jumps to 75 in men's magazines and hovers around the 60% mark even in female fashion magazines. (Julie M. Stankiewicz and Francine Rosselli in their article “Women as Sex Objects and Victims in Print Advertisements”)

But the women aren't always women, increasingly major publications and ad campaigns are using young girls in sexual presentations to sell their product. The sexual objectification of children is nothing new but the frequency and blatancy with which these kids are exploited is troublesome, especially in a world so charged with evil intent, so bent toward the sexual domination of children.

Recently dialogue on the subject has been re-opened due to the French Vogue photo shoot featuring Thylane Loubry Blondeau (above), the 10-year-old daughter of Patrick Blondeau, a former soccer player, and Véronika Loubry, a French TV star. Another non-Vogue affiliated shoot features her topless and without pants, both images have been called "implied nudity". These are NOT OK!

Some within the industry have spoken out against the inappropriate nature of these pictures but others defend them under the tired banner of freedom of expression. But this is NOT art, not satire as some have suggested (although Vogue maintains their spread was), nor is it the last vestiges of puritanical society raining on your pedophile parade. This is the stealing of innocence. This is the blurring of lines, the concerted effort to weaken the resolve of decency. This is NOT OK!!!

Recently we featured a story of the largest online child porn bust in history. 600 pedophiles from around the world engaged in some of the most grotesque and gruesome deviancy with children as young as 3 or 4 months old. This is currently only the perverted fringe but for how long? Sex sells and people are buying. How about lingerie for your 1st grader? Words that should never, ever be in the same sentence. The French lingerie company Joures Apres Lunes disagrees.

According to Dr. Eileen Zurbriggen, Chair of the APA Task Force, "there is ample evidence to conclude that sexualization has negative effects in a variety of domains, including cognitive functioning, physical and mental health, and healthy sexual development." Our little girls will learn to see themselves as valuable only to the degree they are sexually viable, and it affects our boys too. Boys "are also learning to value women only for their sex appeal, leading to increased incidents of sexual harassment, sexual violence, and increased demand for child pornography," Zurbriggen adds. There is the very real connection of print exploitation to the physical abuse of children. As we previously detailed, 90% of child rapists use child porn. The visual stimulus of sexualized and sexually abused children a part of their ritualistic fantasy.

Above, a Manga image, the popular graphic novels are full of sexualized child-looking characters. Below, a child models a bikini. Brands such as Abercrombie and Fitch have even marketed thongs to pre-teens.

When the fashion industry, the gaming industry, the music and graphic novel industries objectify girls and portray them as sex trophies to be won or sex goddesses to be worshiped the pedophiles win. Society is being reformed, remade into their imaginations, vile and reprobate. And as the average consumer, who shops those stores and buys those products and is inundated by sexual images of kids, there comes a point where those images cease to shock. And slowly we are immunized, slowly our will to resist fails, and each day our little girls are sold and we are the ones buying.

Please boycott companies that use the sexuality of children to sell their product. If you walk into a store and there are images of sexually objectified children, walk out. Put down the magazines with the offending ads, cancel your subscriptions. Send emails to the CEO's and editors. Let your voice be heard. And parents be careful what your children watch, play, read and listen to. Re-enforce with them what true beauty is. They are only young for such a short time. Let them be kids, please.

Farther East Of Eden: An Interview With Amy Collins Of Red Window Project.

Every year, upwards of a half a million girls and women are sold or coerced into the sex trade. Their lives are destroyed, their souls crushed, and their hope for a future buried forever. But there are organizations like International Justice Mission who rescue these girls, others like My Refuge House that restore them, and then there are others still who give them back their lives. Red Window Project is one such organization in Cebu, Philippines that exists to facilitate economic, social and spiritual reconciliation for victims of sexual exploitation. Amy Collins of Red Window was kind enough to share their vision, her wisdom and her amazing photographs in a interview with COH.

How did Red Window Project get its name?

The name Red Window is a reference to the story of Rahab, who was described as a harlot in the Bible. Joshua sent out two spies to investigate the military strength of Jericho. The spies stayed with Rahab and she hid them when the soldiers came looking for them. After escaping, the spies promised to spare Rahab and her family if she would mark her house by hanging a red cord out the window. Some have claimed that the origin of the red cord is also the origin of the red light district. This red cord in the window symbolizes hope; hope that justice would prevail and someone would come back to save Rahab.

In essence, what does Red Window do?

We provide career and personal development training to victims of vulnerability, and more specifically to those who have backgrounds of sexual exploitation and trafficking. RWP works with local aftercare homes, vocational training facilities, churches, counseling services, the business community, the social welfare department and other organizations to coordinate holistic services that are capable of reconciling each trafficking survivor with God, the economy and her social environment.

Once a student has sufficiently recovered psychologically and physically from theabuse, what then?

They are given the opportunity to participate in a “soft skills” development course called the Job Readiness Training Program to prepare them for the workplace. Red Window is also committed to the spiritual reconciliation of each student under its care. Internally, we work through spiritual formation classes to help students take their first steps on a spiritual journey.

RWP has also created the ALIVE Scholarship Program, which is designed to provide opportunities for the under-resourced to finish their education and/or vocational training. We have found that many Red Window students exhibit the potential to break the cycle of poverty that puts them at risk of further exploitation, but almost none of them can afford to do it on their own.

There are several stories on Red Window’s website of girls who have been restored through your organization. Is there one story that really touched you personally?

They have all touched me personally, but I think that Kara’s story is one that has significance in my life. Mainly it is a story of success on the part of International Justice Mission (IJM) who rescued her before she ever had to be exploited. She never had to be broken of her innocence. At the same time, we recognize how easily that happens to those who are in a vulnerable position. And the remarkable thing about Kara is that she is following her dream of becoming a social worker so that she can help more people in vulnerable positions like hers.

Why Cebu?

Initially the Gates Foundation helped IJM establish a pilot project in Cebu to see if IJM could reduce the victimization of children in sex slavery by objectively measurable amounts. And indeed, according to IJM, outside auditors found a “70% reduction from the initial survey of the victimization of children in the commercial sex trade”. Not only has the impact of this project been ground breaking, but it has given IJM-Cebu a great network of aftercare support within the community. However, there was still a need to help clients reintegrate and become economically self-sufficient. IJM developed the initial research, the soft skills curriculum and piloted the Job Readiness Training program under what was called the Economic Self-Sufficiency and Reintegration program. After one year, the program was outsourced to an independent third-party NGO, called Red Window Project. The meticulous research that went into establishing this program was successful, and we know that the success of the IJM office in Cebu played a large part.

IJM’s work in Cebu has been nothing short of phenomenal. Is there a sense that the tide is turning there, or is evil pushing back harder now?

There is definitely a sense that the tide is turning in Cebu. IJM has spurred a remarkable effort to strengthen community and civic factors that promote functioning public justice systems. It is not just a matter of seeing a perpetrator get sent to jail, but I think enough perpetrators in Cebu are being punished that “would-be” perpetrators are beginning to fear the consequences of the law. This fear creates a safer environment for those vulnerable to trafficking.

Your organization calls itself “Christ-centered”. That phrase has become a catch-all for NGO’s pandering to Churches and people of Christian faith and has certainly been abused. What distinguishes RWP, spiritually and financially?

At Red Window, we see some pretty tough situations. We see individuals who have experienced some very hard things and we see people who have lost hope. But time and time again, we have seen people change in ways that we don’t understand. We have seen resources come in at the last minute. We have seen growth in people’s lives that we never thought was possible. And we realize that we are not in control of these things. Red Window is a Christ-centered organization because we believe that God is leading us.

In the daily work, we see God moving in the lives of individuals. We see Christ in the lives of our staff and what they have given up to be here working for us. We also find encouragement in sharing a spiritual life with our colleagues and our students. Red Window Project provides a unique outlet for people motivated by their faith to confront injustice and we believe that we are lucky enough to be apart of it.

One of our values is integrity. We commit to being financially responsible with the money we are given, by using it only for the purpose in which it was raised in accordance with our mission. We also commit to balance quality and integrity by providing the highest industry standard for our students while committing to keep our administrative and fund-raising costs as low as possible.

For the reconciliation process to succeed, just how important is it for victims of sexual tyranny to have their spirit healed?

We believe that the only way for a person to be truly healed from this kind of abuse is through holistic reconciliation, which includes the spirit. Coming from the Christian worldview, it is of utmost importance. Our spirits are our primary identities. Without understanding who they are created to be, and who their creator is, they will still be wandering and broken. That same wounding will carry over into other relationships, not only with employers and teachers, but family, friends, and neighbors. We believe that to gain the whole world, but to lose touch with our spirits amounts to basically nothing.

What is the difference between the work RWP does and a group like My Refuge House?

We focus on different aspects of the healing process. MRH is there to provide the initial psychological rehabilitation to survivors of sex trafficking when they are rescued. We come in to the picture when they have already completed a significant part of the healing process. We take referrals from partners like MRH when they see that a girl is ready to reintegrate back home or independently in the community. By the time a trafficking survivor enters our Job Readiness Training program, it is imperative that she is making steps to overcome her trauma and pain so she can focus on her long-term goals and vision for her life.

What do you feel are the driving forces behind the sex trade in Cebu? What are the statistics for the number of women and children trapped in forced prostitution? What percent of these are Filipino natives? What other countries are these girls normally trafficked from?

It is estimated that between 300,000 and 400,000 Filipino women and 60,000 to 100,000 Filipino children are trafficking annually both domestically and internationally (US Department of State Human Rights Report 2006). Filipino women and girls are trafficked worldwide, but there are also a large number that are trafficked domestically between the islands. The beautiful scenery, tropical weather and extreme poverty make the Philippines an ideal location for sex tourists. There is not a high percentage of girls trafficked into Cebu from other countries, but girls are frequently trafficked from the Philippines to neighboring countries like Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam and Thailand.

What are the youngest victims that RWP serves?

We do not serve anyone under the age of 17 because the legal age of employment is 18, but most of Red Window students were trafficked at a younger age.

How did you come to the abolition/ human rights movement?

It has been my life mission to see lives wake up and discover their true potential. My varied international experiences finally came full circle when I came to the Philippines. What initially intrigued me in Nepal five years ago was witnessing the work of a small aftercare home treating victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking that had been rescued by a team from International Justice Mission. The stories that walked those halls soon became my reality and represented everything that I wanted to fight against. This experience initially sparked my desire to get involved in social justice work.

I worked for several different non-profits in Uganda, Cambodia, and New York City until I finally realized that getting a degree in social work was what I needed in order to successfully pursue my passion. I spent two years researching human trafficking and developing protocol for a non-profit that served international victims of trafficking in New York City as I earned my masters in social work from Columbia University. Only 2 weeks after graduation, I set off for Cebu, Philippines to work for IJM on the economic self-sufficiency program for victims of trafficking. It was there where I was able to witness the resiliency of women who were rescued and see how the holistic services brought new life back to those that had once lost hope. I now believe that hope is real and is something worth fighting for.

How is it that so many Christians seem to disconnect their faith with the Christian responsibility for the poor and the exploited?

I think it is hard for Christians to reconcile their faith when they live in a world driven by materialism and greed and surrounded by suffering and poverty. The black and white idea of faith and Christianity that some people grow up with doesn’t always fit the circumstances and stories that you hear in the field. International organizations may be doing phenomenal work but do not share the same spiritual motivation or Biblical responsibility. And at the same time, you see churches that are completely detached and uninformed of social justice issues happening in their communities and worldwide. It is almost as if they are working against each other. In the words of Nicholas Kristof, “Religious people and secular people alike do fantastic work on humanitarian issues — but they often don’t work together because of mutual suspicions. If we could bridge this “God gulf,” we would make far more progress on the world’s ills.”

But when you strive to do justice work without Christ at the center and passionately pursue something with what you think is all your heart, you realize that it doesn’t work. It’s imperative that they are connected. However, I think some Christians can also get confused in thinking that the only way to help people is by evangelizing or proselytizing to them. I believe that our first witness of Christ is through the initial actions we take on behalf of others, which allow us to demonstrate God’s heart for justice. This action is a message that goes farther than words. It has the ability to align mutual interest and common good without scaring someone off with Christian rhetoric.

RWP’s site mentions the organization’s desire to implement similar services around the world. What other countries are candidates for a RWP office?

We aim to reduce re-trafficking in many areas around the world. We hope to open offices specifically where there is a need to reintegrate and help victims of human trafficking become economically self-sufficient. This fall we are going to be conducting a feasibility study in Manila to determine whether or not we will open an office there. Our desire is to build offices where there is a specific need to reintegrate victims of sexual exploitation. In line with Red Window’s mission, it will be more effective to open new offices in places that have already made significant effort to rehabilitate victims of trafficking so that we can fill in the missing piece.

For the activist that wants to get involved in an NGO like RWP, what is the best avenue for them to take?

It is important to educate yourself about the issue of human trafficking. There are a number of different organizations and advocacy groups raising awareness about this issue all over the globe. Some of those organizations that are based in the US are: CAST , Polaris Project and Free the Slaves.

Another way to get involved is more direct. Trafficking is everywhere. Americans often think of it as something that only happens in places far away from the “land of the free,” but as a country and a planet we are facing modern day slavery on an unprecedented scale. That is why it is our job to mobilize and empower social service organizations, community members and survivors to fight against trafficking.

I believe that we all have gifts and talents that can be used to better humanity. If you have a background in law you can dedicate your time to advocating for the oppressed, editing and lobbying for changes in policy, counseling former victims in a similar culture to your own, creating sustainable jobs or social enterprises, offering life skills training and/or educating the public about the issue; there is a role for everyone.

A good portion of my job as a Westerner in a developing country is to equip local staff with the skills and support they need to do their job well. This means training the national staff and providing resources that are not readily available in the developing world. It is our job to empower the local staff and eventually work our way out of a job.

What about someone who wants to work with RWP?

There are opportunities to volunteer your time as an intern or fellow with Red Window. For more details and qualifications regarding those positions, you can click here.

Tell us a little about you. Favorite books? Movies?

East of Eden. No book will ever come as close to the love I have for that book.

But other good books are: Half the Sky, Compassion: A Reflection of the Christian Life, The Great Divorce, and The Little Prince.

How do you narrow movies down? Some of my favorites are: A Beautiful Mind, Rain Man, anything by Christopher Guest, Shawshank Redemption, The Life of David Gale, and American History X.

Favorite quote?

“Our purpose is to bring heaven to earth in every detail of our lives, macro and micro. It is imperative to have the peace that passes understanding at the center of yourself, but do not be at peace with the world because the world is not a happy place for most people living in it. The world is more malleable than you think and we can wrestle it from fools.” - Bono (above)

Anything you want add?

We are thankful to all of the people who support the work of Red Window Project. We know that we cannot do it without all of you, so never underestimate the power of your voice and the importance of your influence.

And if you have any other questions about getting involved, please do not hesitate to email me at: acollins@redwindow.org

****************

We'll leave with a Steinbeck quote from East Of Eden, "[that]the human soul is a lovely and unique thing in the universe. It is always attacked and..." with organizations like Red Window Project's help, "...never destroyed." Please support the work RWP does, you can donate here to their ALIVE Scholarship Program which is exclusively for RW students who graduate from the Job Readiness Training program and exhibit interest in a vocational training or educational program necessary for them to reach their goals, but cannot afford the costs associated with them.

And as always, from all of us at COH, thank you for being a voice for the voiceless.

iPhone: The "P" is for Prostitution.

Apple has now approved an app for their iPhone that provides customers who have money easy access to registered desperate participants who have financial woes and functional sex organs. Geez.




As if the struggle to stem the tide of the sexual objectification and exploitation of girls and women isn't hard enough without Apple recklessly endorsing this app. No way that pimps will use this, no chance that child traffickers will create false profiles and facilitate child rape for profit.

Sex for sale. Sugar Sugar, where "Romance meets Finance."

Here is the original story from Digital life by Rosa Golijan:

After June 1, it'll be possible to hire a prostitute using an iPhone app.

According to ZDNet, dating service Sugar Sugar has managed to get Apple to grant its app a spot in the App Store. The curious thing about this news is that Sugar Sugar is not an ordinary dating service. Instead of putting together people who are simply seeking traditional relationships, it links up sugar daddies — wealthy men who are willing to shower young women with money, gifts, and other compensation in exchange for companionship — and their so-called sugar babies.

In more blunt terms: The service helps prostitutes and their clients connect. We've certainly heard about such services in the past — WhatsYourPrice.com, Craigslist's darker corners, and an assortment of shady "dating" websites come to mind — but Sugar Sugar's app is headed to Apple's App Store, a place known for its strict guidelines and approval process: The SugarSugar Dating App will be available for download on June 1st through SugarSugar.com and iTunes, and will be compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android, and BlackBerry devices. The app will use GPS technology to instantly identify those seeking ‘mutually beneficial’ arrangements within the user’s vicinity. After ‘checking in, the application will map out the profiles of nearby members. Users will be able to trade stats, show photos or send messages to arrange an effortless rendezvous.

We don't really know how on earth the app slipped through the App Store approval process. After all, there are several Apple "guidelines" which should've prevented it from getting a seal of approval. Among them:

16.1 Apps that present excessively objectionable or crude content will be rejected

18.1 Apps containing pornographic material, defined by Webster's Dictionary as "explicit descriptions or displays of sexual organs or activities intended to stimulate erotic rather than aesthetic or emotional feelings", will be rejected

18.2 Apps that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic (ex "Chat Roulette" apps) will be rejected

22.1 Apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are made available to users. It is the developer's obligation to understand and conform to all local laws

22.3 Apps that solicit, promote, or encourage criminal or clearly reckless behavior will be rejected

Given that there are three guidelines which the Sugar Sugar app nearly violates, one which it might violate in some locales, and one which it most certainly violates by promoting prostitution — behavior which qualifies as criminal in many places — we'd assume that Apple would flat out reject it right away. But here we are — a few weeks away from the app's debut."


Please let Apple know this is unacceptable. You can do that here. Please ask them to put women and children above profit. Because until companies like Apple do, women and children will be for profit, and sold to the highest bidder.

Mother's Day.

Mother's day is Sunday, May 8th. A day when we celebrate the wonder of a woman's capacity to create life and to love it to distinction. And in that spirit of celebrating love and life and all things feminine, let us remember, that around the world, woman and girls are trapped in the horror of sex-trafficking and slave labor. So on this Mother's day why not send Mom a card telling her that you love her times infinity and that you have donated on her behalf to a cause you knew she would love, like helping International Justice Mission in stopping the sexual exploitation and forced labor of women and girls, and My Refuge House in restoring the lives of girls who have been trafficked into the illegal sex trade.

This mother was freed from slavery in a South Asian rock quarry by International Justice Mission.

And if you still wanna get her flowers please use 1-800-Flowers or FTD who now offer Fair Trade flowers. “Fair Trade” assures consumers that workers, many of them mothers themselves, receive decent wages in safe conditions.

And if Mom likes beautiful hand-made local jewelry, hairbands, hair clips and more, you can buy them at our lovely friend Rebekah's Etsy store called Beetlebutton. All proceeds go to stop human trafficking!

One of Rebekah's hairclips. All her creations are one-of-a-kind, made from vintage and recycled materials.

From all of us at COH. Thank you for being a voice for the voiceless! Happy Mother's day!

America's Secret.

Voice for the Voiceless, Miss Bethany Kent, put together this amazing presentation for her degree in social work. We couldn't be prouder to share it with you, couldn't be prouder to call her friend and fellow abolitionist!

To view just press play to load and then click on the full screen option to the right of the play button and then click the auto play tab above it.

America's Secret on Prezi by Bethany Kent

Words.

A friend of mine overheard a customer at McDonalds ordering a McGangRape. The fast food worker never missed a beat and filled the man's order. According to Urban Dictionary.com the "McGangRape" is a sandwich from McDonalds similar to the McGangBang (Double Cheeseburger split with a McChicken inside) only you add an apple pie. The subtle difference, the site explains, being that "you know the apple pie doesn't want to be there."

The site even adds context clues for the uninitiated:

"Hey Mike did you get the McGangbang for lunch today?"
"Nah, I upgraded to the McGangRape!"

(This is different than the "McGangRape" that occurs " when someone or a pair of people do some serious killing online while playing any type of online game, preferably COD [Call Of Duty]." And again in context, "Dude we just did a real McGangRape on them mother f@*%ers." )

McGangRape the sandwich on the other hand, is a double cheeseburger from McDonalds with a 4 piece McNugget in between the two patties and Sweet &Sour sauce drizzled on top of the Chicken nuggets. Again, similar to the McGangBang minus the extra bun, lettuce, and mayo.

The McGangBang

Recently COH interviewed Actress Shannon Ivey about the brutalization of an eleven year old girl in Clevland, Texas. Last November 18 men gang-raped the child, filmed and posted the footage online.

Gang-rape is a vicious, hate-filled, unconscionable crime. NOT a fast food sandwich!!!!

Every year, around the world, as part of their conditioning, trafficked children are gang-raped by their pimps to break the child's will.

Gang-rape is twisted, demonic, sexual dehumanization. NOT an especially rousing round of video gaming!!!!

When words like gang-rape are emptied of their true meaning. When they are divorced from reality, or re-appropriated for some other use, they cease to be able to affect, to shock, to facilitate change. When words like slavery are used to refer to our jobs, when our bosses become slave-masters, when our spouses our ball and chains, those words are emasculated, sanitized, and become completely useless.

As people with a conscience, as modern abolitionists, we must take these words back. We must re-connect them to the horrific reality they denote.

30 million people are enslaved today in the world. Some in very real chains, daily terrified by their very real slave-masters. To lesson the impact of those words is to dilute the tears of the victims, to marginalize their suffering and to make mockery of their pain.

A terrified child enslaved. Picture by Amnesty International.

We must ask ourselves, if our girlfriend was gang-raped, if our child was enslaved, would we be so cavalier about using those words so carelessly? Would the bitter sting of those words ever leave us? No. Every time we heard them they would sucker-punch us with shock and make us sick with sorrow.

Just like they should now.

A Valentine From The Philippines: An Interview With Crystal Sprague

Today is a day when love in its many incarnations is celebrated with gifts of flowers and chocolates and the ramblings of the Hallmark poets clumsily trying to express the way you feel about someone whom the poet has never met; alas, 'tis Valentine's Day.

C.S. Lewis defined love this way. He said: “To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket- safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable.”

Crystal Sprague has the above quote on her blog. It is the definition of love to which she subscribes, and the one she lives by. She was kind enough to do an interview with COH and her answers are profound with wisdom and yet accessible with practicality. Anyone thinking of entering the social work field will learn much from her work in Cebu, Philippines as the Clinical Director of My Refuge House, a safe house and aftercare facility for the victims of sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.




My Refuge House’s statement of purpose is a “dedication to alleviating the effects of abuse and trauma sustained by the victims of sex-trafficking”. After a girl is rescued she must be convinced she is safe, that she is outside the reach of the evil that enslaved her. You have said that it’s through “repetition” that MRH achieves this. Practically, what does that look like?

Beliefs, especially the ones that we live by but never take the time to analyze, are very hard to change. They affect the way we think, act and feel. Girls come to us believing many things: that they are worthless, that they are unsafe, that no one will ever love them or care about them again. Changing those beliefs requires dedicated people who can consistently see when a person is acting upon a false belief and address it with truth, over and over again. It takes time, dedication, patience, wisdom and repetition.

A practical example of this is if a girl yells at one of the staff because she feels threatened or unsafe, the staff will take the time to help the girl realize what she is feeling and why she reacted the way she did. The staff is trained to recognize this situation as a trauma induced reaction rather than a personal attack. After this process occurs enough times, the girl should be able to recognize the threatening or unsafe feeling before she reacts so that she can learn to react differently the next time.

Is this the most difficult part of the rehabilitation process?

That depends on the person; however, trauma induced reactions are instinctual and rarely premeditated, so recognizing and changing them is very hard work. That is the reason appropriate education and training is necessary for anyone who works with victims of abuse.

You stress “that relationship-building is crucial to the healing environment”. That implies a deep investment of yourself into hurting girls. How hard is it not to stay broken-hearted, or become callous, or not just take justice into your own hands?

I don’t think it’s possible to work with victims of abuse and not develop “tough skin.” I couldn’t survive if I was broken-hearted all of the time. Nor could I do my job effectively. Relationships are crucial, but they also have to be professional, and as a professional you have to know your limits. I must recognize when I need a break, and actively seek out activities to rejuvenate myself. I will not be helpful to anyone if I don’t know how to take care of myself.

At the same time, I have to know when to show compassion, and when to set appropriate expectations. Both are critical parts of relationship-building. The girls have to be able to trust that I will follow through with the reasonable expectations I set, just as much as they have to trust that I will be there to listen.

On your blog there is that C.S Lewis quote. How is it that you have avoided the “entanglements”, that is the tendency of humanity to inoculate ourselves against the suffering of others by wrapping our hearts in those “little luxuries”?

Lewis, in this quote from his book “The Four Loves” expresses the complete abandon that is required to love well. To love in such a way that you remain vulnerable also means opening yourself up to being hurt. And if you love this way, it is likely that you will get hurt. It’s incredibly hard to remain vulnerable in relationships, and completely counter to human nature.

Working with broken people is harder still. It creates a whole new meaning to loving well. You sometimes find yourself loving people who have never seen what real love looks like, or who are convinced that they are unworthy of love. Sometimes when people are hurting, they lash out and hurt others, whether they desire to or not. These reactions can be a means of protection or a method of testing sincerity in the other person. So there is a constant need to actively remind yourself, as a caregiver, how sincere, empowering love looks.

The reason I love this quote is because it doesn’t hide the fact that selfless, merciful love for others is dangerous, but also acknowledges that avoiding the entanglements of relationships will lead to something much worse – a false feeling of safety as redemption fades away.

To answer your question, I would say that the distractions of little luxuries are something I’ve always been keenly aware of. Like most people, I am selfish and sometimes desire to fill my life with meaningless and trivial things. But I’ve always been drawn to positions where I’ve been given the chance to love broken people, and other times I find it harder to distract myself from my work than to fall into the temptation of distraction by “little luxuries.”

I believe that Christ calls us to love in a way that is fairly radical and once we experience it, it’s addicting. That said, it’s also important to take time to recover from the stresses of working with traumatized people. When faced with emotionally draining situations, I force myself to take time to just enjoy life.

Cebu is a tropical paradise full of every sort of "entanglement" you can dream of and.....

....a nightmare of poverty and exploitation where young girls are bound in brothels.

COH has found that the stories of the individual tragedies of one victim are more affecting, more inspiring than faceless statistics. Is there one girl’s tragedy that stands out from your time in the anti-slavery movement?

Becky’s* story, a hopeful tragedy, is a mixture of coercion, naivety and deception, that ends with hope and restoration.

When Becky was 14 years old, two of her neighbors told her they had a job for her as a dancer. They took her to a restaurant where she met a foreign man. She was led to believe that she would leave right after she finished eating but was given a glass of juice with a drug in it that made her lose consciousness. When she woke up, she found herself naked with the foreign man on top of her. Petrified from the incident, she felt nothing but shame and worthlessness. She lacked the ability to reason and was soon convinced to continue working in the sex establishment.

While working there, she went to the city health office to process her health card. Becky says she was led into a room, and a doctor came in and forced her to have sex with him in exchange for her city health card. The doctor then brought her to a hotel where another man was waiting for her inside the room. The two men took turns raping Becky. This incident finally drove her to seek help and escape from the bar, but left her traumatized and scared.

When Becky came to MRH she was suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She couldn’t sleep at night because she had vivid nightmares and tried to run away on multiple occasions. She hated being looked at and would often erupt in anger if she thought someone was staring at her. Even though Becky agreed to come to MRH, she desperately wanted to go home to her father. Unfortunately, Becky’s traffickers lived next door to her father’s house, and he was scared for her safety after filing a case against them. Their home was no longer a safe place.

During Becky’s stay at MRH she made amazing improvements. She no longer got upset when she thought someone was looking at her. Her nightmares subsided and she was able to sleep easier. Although she still has extreme displays of emotion, the MRH staff learned how to support her during those times and the outbursts lessened considerably. A sponsor from a partner organization has agreed to buy Becky’s father a new home so he can move to a safer place and she can eventually join him again.

What about MRH’s greatest success story?

Each person’s success is worth celebrating, so it is hard to place one higher than another. However, here is one that is great:

Anna* is from a hard working family in a district outside of Cebu. Both of her parents are farmers and she is the oldest of five siblings. Anna was sexually abused by her uncle continually from the time she was 11 years old until she was 14. When Anna finally told her mother about it, they filed a case against her uncle. Determined to seek justice, but fearing for Anna’s safety, her mother sought a place where Anna could live while the court case was ongoing.

Anna came to MRH when she was 14 years old. Here are some words she wrote in an activity at the center:

“The hope or dream for my life is to finish my studies and someday… to become a computer science [major] or teacher. The best dream of my life is to win my case so that I can study my lessons without thinking [of any other] problems.”

Anna was very determined to finish school, but obviously was also traumatized by her past. She was naturally quiet, and sometimes unable to express what was going on in her thoughts. While at MRH, she made significant progress in her legal case, as well as her personal life. She also improved in her ability to be honest and open with the staff and herself. In fact, when asked what she learned at MRH she said “I have learned how to share about the good things and the bad things that people do and what God wants us to be.”

Anna graduated from the program at MRH after one year and was transferred to a long term shelter that was able to assist her in pursuing her educational goals.

On your very first blog post you were patiently waiting to hear about a position with International Justice Mission in Cebu. Are you surprised at where you are now?

I am sort of surprised. This dream has been in my heart since I was a teenager, and I’ve believed for a long time that the deepest dreams that we have, the ones that never falter regardless of the situations we find ourselves in, are usually put there by God. And if that is the case, God will do whatever it takes to fulfill those dreams. I’ve worked hard to get here and God has amazed me with the ways he’s orchestrated the rest. I’m learning to be less and less surprised when He does.

Outside of the good book, any heroes?

Martin Luther King Jr. said: “The moral arc of the universe bends at the elbow of justice,” and he lived to align principles of justice with the realities of life around him. MLK had one extreme goal in mind: the end of racism. In order to attain that goal, he used many unique, often controversial strategies. His dream was extreme and his methods were revolutionary, and that translated directly into radical changes for the people living in the United States.

Right now, our world is faced with another extreme goal. It will take the same dedication, creativity and fervor that MLK displayed to accomplish the eradication of slavery around the world.

There are a lot of young people wanting to enter the anti-slavery movement. What can you tell them? How did you prepare yourself to join the fight?

There are two primary ways someone can be involved in this fight: The first is educating the public and advocating for the enslaved. The second is direct involvement, which should be done hand in hand with local people who live in the country where the injustice is happening. Both are extremely necessary and cannot be accomplished effectively without each other.

In most places where these atrocities happen, there is a lack of skills, education and resources necessary to create sustainable change. My advice for someone who wants to be directly involved is to educate yourself in a skill that is needed in the place you intend to make a difference. I chose to study Social work. Other helpful skills include law, public policy, counseling, business (to create sustainable jobs for former victims) and education.

Personally I believe that national staff - who understand the culture, speak the language fluently, and are dedicated to seeing their country change in long term ways - are critical to the fight. One of the most important jobs for westerners is to support national staff by training them with the resources that are more readily available in developed nations.




Is there one book you would recommend to those seeking a career in anti-trafficking?

Gary Haugen’s book, Terrify No More, is the book that inspired a small group of people in Southern California to actively do something about the issue of trafficking. After reading it, the congregation of New Heart Community Church opened My Refuge House. For those who haven’t read it, I would highly recommend it.

Who are those most at risk in and around Cebu and what can realistically be done to get them out of harm’s way?

Educating local communities about the realities of trafficking and women’s legal rights is one way to realistically prevent trafficking. Those who have not been educated about the risks of coercion and trafficking that occur on a regular basis are much more susceptible than those who have. Educating communities about ways to intervene, about what trafficking looks like, about how to spot suspicious situations, and how to appropriately intervene are realistic tools for protecting the vulnerable in the community.



MRH is in the process of building a new facility (artist rendering above). How important is this to work they do in Cebu? How can people support MRH and the building project?

My Refuge House came to Cebu to fill a gap in the rehabilitation process for victims of trafficking. Our new facility is vital. Although MRH has been serving clients since 2008, our capacity to do so has been limited by our temporary facilities. The new facility will give us the capacity to house 30 girls for our short term program. It will also give us the ability to house 12 participants through high school who have graduated from our program but don’t have a safe home to return to. It will increase our capacity to serve girls by more than 3 times.

Our new facilities were designed with the unique needs of trafficking victims in mind. Our property and developments on our property will be created to facilitate the refuge our participants need to feel safe. The area will be equipped with a prayer garden, a function hall, and plenty of room for facilitating growth and healing. It will give us adequate space to have classes, group and individual counseling sessions, and physical activities. In addition, instead of one large home, five small homes will be built to incorporate a therapeutic family style environment instead of an institutionalized one.

If you wish to learn more about My Refuge House please visit us here for more information. If you wish to donate to the building project or operational funds please go here for more information. All gifts are tax deductible and every penny will be used to facilitate a healing environment for former victims.

How fluent are you in in Cebuano?

Cebuano is something I’m still working on, but I can converse fairly well. Most of my language acquisition was informal, from conversation or direct interaction, so I’m very hesitant to speak in any kind of formal setting. It is great for building relationships. Because the United States occupied the Philippines for a number of years before World War II, English is widely spoken. For a lot of people this deters language-learning, but I’m happy to say mine is improving daily.

What are the Cebuano words for freedom and justice?

Kagawasan is Freedom and Hustisya is Justice.

What about the words for “Conspiracy Of Hope”?

Pagkonsabo sa Paglaum: Conspiracy of Hope.

Anything you would like to add?

Thank you to all who support the work of My Refuge House and other similar work. Sustainable change can only happen when there are enough people standing up and supporting an issue, so don’t ever underestimate your influence or importance.

*(The names in Crystal's stories have been changed to protect client confidentiality)

So on this Valentine's day, let us open our hearts anew to the girls of Cebu and to all the other children around the world forced into slavery. Let's join with My Refuge House as they restore broken hearts as well as broken lives. And may our hearts be broken by the senseless tragedy of sex-trafficking and may our love remain fiercely resolved and tirelessly committed to justice. May it cost us something.

Thank you for joining our Pagkonsabo sa Paglaum. Oh, and Happy Valentines Day.