Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan

Lisa Irwin Missing: 10-Month-Old Abducted From Crib

2011-10-07T00:38:00.000-07:00

Story written by John Rudolf

john.rudolf@huffingtonpost.com
A frantic search is underway for an infant reportedly abducted from her crib in a Kansas City, Mo., home late Monday night.

Ten-month-old Lisa Irwin was last seen by her mother, who laid her down to sleep at 10:30 p.m. The child was discovered missing by her father at 4 a.m. when he returned home from work. The parents immediately called police.
An Amber Alert has been issued for the child and authorities are canvassing the suburban Kansas City neighborhood and nearby wooded areas.
"Hopefully the child's close and safe, but right now we're utilizing all available resources," said Officer Darin Snapp, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.
The FBI is assisting in the investigation and authorities warned that the kidnapper may have already crossed state lines.
"It's very possible that this child could be in Kansas," said Snapp. "We're right on the state line."
As yet, police have no suspect description, no vehicle description and no eyewitnesses to the abduction.
"It's very frustrating," Snapp said. "We're hoping somebody comes forward and gives us the right information."
Police said the kidnapper may have gained entry to the home through a window in the child's room, which showed signs of tampering. "Somebody could have entered through the window and abducted the child that way," Snapp said. "We don't know for sure yet."
Police urged anyone with information about the girl's whereabouts to immediately call the TIPS hotline at 816-474-8477.
Lisa has blue eyes and blond hair, is 30 inches tall and weighs 26 to 30 pounds. She was last seen wearing purple shorts and a purple shirt with white kittens on it, police said. The child has two bottom teeth and a beauty mark on her right outer thigh. Her parents said she also has a cold with a cough.
An officer at the scene told KMBC-TV that the child's disappearance was especially concerning given the fact that the abduction was reported by both parents.
"I realize that some of these Amber Alerts involve parents or parental abductions, but we have both the parents here. So that puts us on a little higher state of alert," police Sgt. Stacey Graves said.

facebook.com/find.lisa

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2011-03-21T16:38:00.001-07:00

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The Human Trafficking Project: CNN: Child Trafficking & Organ Trafficking in Haiti

2011-03-15T11:39:00.000-07:00

http://teensagainsthumantrafficking.blogspot.com

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: She's '007' for abducted children, anti-sex trafficking

2011-03-01T16:22:00.000-08:00

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: She's '007' for abducted children, anti-sex trafficking

She's '007' for abducted children, anti-sex trafficking

2011-02-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

http://healdsburg.patch.com/articles/shes-007-for-abducted-children-anti-sex-trafficking

She's '007' for abducted children, anti-sex trafficking

Healdsburg, Calif. private investigator to be subject of memoir, possible reality TV show.

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While the rest of the nation was glued in front the Super Bowl game telecast Sunday, Monique Lessan was urging people on her Facebook page and blogs to watch a CNN-TV expose on underage girls being abducted and sold for sex online.
"My purpose in life is to keep children safe and bring them home to their parents," said the Persian-born Lessan, who has brought abducted children home from places such as England, France, Singapore and Mexico. "If I can make the world a little safer, then for me it is heaven on Earth."
Lessan is the founder of Healdsburg, Calif.-based "Teens against Human Trafficking," and proprietor of Healdsburg-based private investigation firm Eye Investigate International, which specializes in recovering abducted children from all over the world.
Lessan, licensed since 1993, also does criminal defense investigations, missing persons searches, background checks, asset searches and adoptee and adopter discoveries.
"Despite her size and her sex, she is formidable, brave and truly a force for good in the world," said colleague Patricia V. Davis, a Marin County, Calif. resident, author of the memoir, "Harlot's Sauce," and editor-in-chief of HS Radio.
Like Lessan, Davis is a member of Santa Rosa, Calif.-based Redwood Writers group, where Davis said she was struck not only by Lessan's non-traditional profession, but also that she came to the work through her own personal tragedy -- being kidnapped and assaulted by an older stranger at age 24.
"Monique Lessan is an inspiration to all women," Davis said. "She took something negative in her life -- her own kidnapping -- and turned it into her strength and life's work, which is to save others from the same fate."
With an ironically assigned PI license number "16-007," the exotic-looking Lessan has been featured as a female James Bond-type protagonist on various TV spots and was screened earlier this month for a possible reality TV show on the Discovery Channel.
At the beginning of this year, she signed a publishing contract to write a memoir of her most significant child abduction cases, some of which she completed in conjunction with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
"My last child abduction case, in 2008, involved a Chinese mother of a 10-year-old boy, whose father, originally from Dublin, Ireland, abducted the boy," said Lessan, who researches her cases online and works as a team with a network of surveillance and investigation contractors in each locale. "We found the boy in San Diego, and, after two days of surveillance, it took only 24 hours to reunite him with his mother."
Lessan, who speaks French, Spanish and Farsi in addition to English, has gone undercover on numerous occasions, using disguises ranging from "a student to a Persian princess -- I've done it all," she said. "I could be someone who's very rich with a lot of money, or just someone who needs to use the bathroom" just to get inside the house and investigate what secrets may be inside.
As she explains in series of videos she produced last year with a group of Healdsburg High School students, most young people aren't aware of how easily they can be lured into the clutches of people who would take advantage of them.
Lessan should know. Her own kidnapping was by a rich Iranian artist who pulled up beside her on at street corner in Santa Monica and lured her into his car with promises of money for modeling and a job in his gallery. A half-dozen mixed drinks later, he took her to a hotel and assaulted her.
"I didn't have the money to pay the rent," recalled Lessan, now 40-something. "I was unemployed, working odd jobs and as a movie extra -- I thought he would give me a job and money."
She escaped a day and a half later, after excusing herself to go to the ladies room at a restaurant and never coming back. But the experience changed her life -- and her career choice -- forever, she said.
"When I became a PI, I said I would never allow anyone to go through what I went through," she said. "It's one of the reasons I do what I do."
Lessan said she only spoke publicly about the incident for the first time last year when she was working with the Healdsburg High School students. She has since included it in the first draft of her book.
"Monique has an important story to tell," said Peter Beren, Lessan's publishing agent and consultant. "The story of the dark side of the global economy --human trafficking."

Who's your female role model? Tell us in the comments.

Interested in a follow-up to this article?

SELLING THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

2011-02-05T11:56:00.000-08:00

Message from SAGE

Please tune into CNN this Sunday, February 6, 2011 for “CNN Presents: Selling the Girl Next Door.” Airing at 8:00 pm EST and 5:00 pm PST, this documentary exposes how hundreds of thousands of girls under 18 are sold as sex slaves in the U.S. In a yearlong investigation, CNN's Amber Lyon reveals the devastating realities of the business of underage sex.

The CNN website has posted a video of CNN reporter Amber Lyon posing as a 12 year old girl for sale on the internet. Please cut and paste the following link into your browser to view this revealing video: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2011/01/19/siu.selling.the.girl.next.door2.cnn?iref=allsearch

Prostitution is often misperceived as a voluntary choice made by consenting adults. The reality is tragically different. The prostitution industry is fueled by the sexual exploitation of children. As of 2009, the FBI has estimated the average age of entry into prostitution in the U.S. as 12 years of age[1].

Every year, thousands of girls are recruited into prostitution, introduced to highly addictive drug use, and trafficked to major tourist cities across the United States. San Francisco’s historic Gold Rush roots in human trafficking continue to this day, making the City a prominent home to this exploitative, abusive and illegal practice.

A 2002 study by the San Francisco Coalition to End the Exploitation of Kids (CEEK) estimated that there are at least 3,000 prostituted children in San Francisco alone. Each and every one is a trafficking victim. And each and everyone one needs our help to escape their situations. They say it takes a village to raise a child. Well, it takes the support of the entire community to rescue a trafficked child.

Eight arrested in East Bay for operating huge prostitution ring

2011-02-03T14:59:00.000-08:00

On behalf of Sage

By Barbara Grady for Oakland Local

Friday, January 21, 2011

A massive prostitution ring spanning the Bay Area was busted Thursday when 125 law enforcement officers from six cities, three counties and the federal government descended on 10 locations, served search and arrest warrants and arrested eight people on charges of operating the ring.

More arrests are expected, investigators said, and charges may include human trafficking of immigrants. The eight arrested, whose names were not released, have been charged with conspiring to operate a prostitution ring.

Hayward Police Department led the operation and launched the investigation that led to the arrests about a year ago when some Hayward residents complained of suspected prostitution at a neighboring house. Hayward police officers found evidence supporting the claim, as well as evidence suggesting that the Hayward home was part of a larger ring of brothels all around the Bay Area.

The investigation widened to involve police from Oakland, Berkeley, Sunnyvale, Newark, Danville and San Jose as well the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internal Revenue Service and the sheriff offices of Alameda, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties - all working under a multi-agency process set up by the Alameda County DA’s Human Exploitation and Trafficking Watch program.

They uncovered an operation described by the Alameda County District Attorney’s office as “a sophisticated ring of brothels where scores of immigrant Asian women are exploited to further the ring’s lucrative enterprise.”

The investigation is ongoing, officials said, and expects to indentify more suspects and victims. Investigators esitmated that "dozens of women have been brought into the United States" from Taiwan and China and "cycled through these targeted Bay Area brothels."

About a half dozen nonprofit social service and human rights organizations helped in the operation, particularly in providing services to victims identified by the police. Ten women were recovered from the operation yesterday, investigators said. Organizations helping them include Asian Community Mental Health, Standing Against Global Exploitation, Bay Area Women Against Rape, Women Inc. and Community Violence Solutions.

“Yesterday's multi-agency operation, stemming from the Hayward Police Department investigation, is a testament to this regional commitment,” said Sharmin Bock, Assistant District Attorney in charge of Special Operations and Policy Development and head of the HEAT Watch Unit. "This is a historic operation" because of the number of agencies involved and because it was the first conducted under the new regional law enforcement cooperation process set up by the HEAT Watch program.

"Efforts of this magnitude and this degree of collaboration by local, state and federal law enforcement and service providers are unprecedented and bode well for future efforts to successfully combat the HEAT epidemic plaguing our region," Bock said.

Link: http://oaklandlocal.com/article/eight-arrested-east-bay-operating-huge-prostitution-ring

SAGE Project, Inc.

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

Human Trafficking in Windsor Sonoma County

2011-01-30T11:52:00.000-08:00

Last week I saw a Romanian woman with a drugged baby outside Walmart in Windsor asking for money.

I saw her make a sign with her eyes to a man standing behind me, when I told her I will call the cops. She denied knowing him but i knew she did. He walked away and i followed him and asked him if he knew her. He said he did not with an accent other than Hispanic.

These Romanian women are part of human trafficking gang all over the world. There are hundreds of them in Spain, Italy and other European countries. I have seen them in Barcelona and have talked to a few who admitted that to me. And now they have reached US. Just so you all know the baby is kidnapped and given to these women as props. This is all part of a larger picture: Human Trafficking led by Organized Crime all over the world.

At night these same women put on make up and get sold by the traffickers as sex slaves.Please report this problem when you see it. I did. I called 911 and reported it officially to the police.
http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: The TOP 3 Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator!

2011-01-24T09:57:00.000-08:00

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: The TOP 3 Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator!

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: The TOP 3 Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator!

2011-01-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: The TOP 3 Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator!

www.eyeinvestigate.com

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: Women make great investigators

2010-12-26T01:25:00.000-08:00

Female Private Investigator Monique Lessan: Women make great investigators

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

Women make great investigators

2010-11-22T20:58:00.000-08:00

This article is a good example of why women make such great investigators:

web site: http://www.private-investigator-info.org/female-private-investigator.html

A female private investigator is a big asset to any investigation agency. Female operatives are very useful for not only general private investigation work, but also for gender-specific assignments which take advantage of their feminine attributes and charms. There are many cases where a female investigator is the “best man for the job”.

Female Private Investigator Assignments

Of course, there are female investigators who handle cases which do not require a gender-specific role to be played. However, the true value of a woman investigator is her ability to use her gender as a tool to gain access to persons, places or information during her assignment. Female investigators are often utilized for infidelity investigations, since they can get very close to a potentially cheating husband or boyfriend. Female investigators also make excellent process servers, especially when personal service on a difficult target is absolutely necessary. Women private investigators are ideal for assignments requiring open surveillance or extended periods of loitering, since they do not raise the same warning flags as men. Women operatives make perfect store detectives and mystery shoppers, as well as terrific additions to a bounty hunter team or bodyguard detail.

Female Private Investigator Tactics

Female private eyes take advantage of the most powerful weapons any investigator has at their disposal… their mind and body. Playing a role is often crucial in gathering information and women can simply play far more diversified parts than most men could ever do. Personally, I have seen female investigators going undercover using tools and tactics which seemed so unlikely for a professional investigator to use, yet worked so incredibly well! One of my acquaintances is a woman investigator who likes to do surveillance in public while walking with a baby carriage, complete with simulated baby in the form of a doll! This same female operative extols the virtues of being able to carry a full complement of spy gear and recording devices easily and without detection… She simply puts it all in her purse or baby bag! Brilliant!!!Women investigators use trust, sex appeal, gender roles and general appearance as incredibly effectual weapons in their arsenals. Remember, some of the most important traits of a successful investigator are professional anonymity and the ability to put others at rest in their presence…

Female Private Investigator Career

Women considering a career in private investigation should be ideal examples of the detective personality type… Strong minded, confident, intelligent, well spoken and calm. They should possess excellent people skills and must handle pressure well. Acting ability comes in handy, and many investigators consider taking professional lessons to increase the believability of their characters. Finally, basic self defense is a must, since all investigators can find themselves in sticky situations from time to time. The last thing a women detective needs is to be discovered by the possibly dangerous target of her investigation, especially if time and circumstances might dictate the potential for violence against her…

Female Private Investigator Advice

Whether you are thinking about hiring a female private detective or are considering becoming one, it is crucial to understand the many benefits a woman investigator offers. There is no denying that these special operatives possess the skills needed to get any job done and can be far more flexible than most traditional male investigators. Some of the best run detective agencies are owned and operated by women, while almost every large investigative firm employs female private eyes. The bottom line comes down to this… In the world of cloak and dagger, camouflage is often the best road to success. Depending on the nature of the assignment, women may be able to blend into the natural environment better than men, access more information than men and do it right out in the open without arousing any suspicion at all. These factors all add up to make female private detectives a desirable addition to any case as

25+ Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator and 5 of these reasons are why that private investigator should be a Woman

2010-11-09T16:23:00.000-08:00

I am Monique Lessan, a Private Investigator. I have a decade of experience and have conducted extensive international investigations. My expertise includes Infidelity, Asset Search, Locate People and Businesses, Marriage and Divorce, Surveillance, Due Diligence, and Background Searches for Perspective Spouses.

My passion is in child abduction cases (domestic and international). I speak fluent Farsi, English, French and Spanish – check out my business at www.EyeInvestigate.com.

25 Plus Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator:

1. Retrieve Bank Accounts

2. Intercept telephone communications

3. Conduct surveillance

4. Perform background checks (this is particular important for businesses!)

5. Conduct undercover sting operations

6. Carry out “mystery shopper” or “mystery client” projects

7. Reconstruct an accident

8. Conduct an asset search

9. Investigate identity theft

10. Catch a cheating spouse/infidelity

11. Investigate child custody

12. Conduct a personal injury investigation

13. Carry out a divorce & family law investigation

14. Inspect restaurants and bars

15. Conduct executive protection

16. Perform fraud/embezzlement investigations

17. Investigate sexual harassment cases

18. Perform due diligence of all kinds

19. Locate missing persons

20. Carry out polygraph/lie detector tests

21. Serve subpoenas (remember this if you are suing anyone in CA!)

22. Investigate stalkers/predators – online and offline

23. Perform computer forensics & investigations

24. Perform workplace violence investigations

25. Work on death penalty cases/evidence

26. Check public records in court

Plus, 5 reasons why your Private Investigator should be a woman:

1. Not easy to detect

2. Better in undercover operations

3. More convincing with phone pretexts

4. Less intimidating

5. More intuitive

Please Take a look at my website: http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

9 WAYS TO LOCATE SOMEONE

2010-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

NUMBER ONE
SOCIAL SECURITY TRACE

The Social Security Trace is likely the most effective search used to locate a missing person. It requires that you have the social security number which is used as the input information. This search is actually the top portion of a credit bureau file containing the name and address information. The reason it is the most effective search is because address updates often end up in this database without people realizing that various activity will trigger new address information input into credit bureaus. These reasons could include:

A)extension of credit
B) as a direct result of filling out an employment application
C) As a direct result of filling out an application to rent an apartment.
D) AS a direct result of a loan company or bank attempting to collect a debt (they skip traced the subject, located the subject and provided the new address to a credit bureau network)
E) As a direct result of applying for insurance.
F) As a direct result of applying for various utilities such as water, gas or electric (Many utility companies are now running credit bureaus to determine user deposits).
G) As a direct result of an investigator or other professional using the National Identifier as a trace on the subject to either obtain the SSN number or verify identity information.

It's important to realize that there are about 200 million credit bureau files that are consistently being instantly updated by hundreds of thousands of input updates weekly.

Social Security Tracing is unregulated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act which means that it is not a restricted search and does not require permissible purposes under the federal law. However, some state laws have superceded federal law. In a few state such as California, a Social Security Trace requires that a notification footer be created every time a Social Security Trace is run. What that means is that a record is kept on the bottom portion of the credit bureau file of the company running the SSN Trace.

When using Social Security Tracing, it is important to understand that there are three credit bureaus (TRW, CBI and Trans Union) that offer such a trace. In order to make a more wider geographical sweep of credit bureau headers, it is usually best to run more than one source.

One of the added features of an SSN tace is the fact that you'll obtain other information that can be helpful.

1) Death Claims Notification
All the credit bureaus subscribe to the Social Security Administration's National Death Claims Index. This is a database of people who have filed claims on an SSN number for death benefits. The original purpose of this extra feature is to insure against credit fraud by using a dead person's SSN number.

2) Multiple Social Security Numbers
When investigators frequency run an SSN Trace on various types of people who are under investigation, they soon notice that many of these people are using more than one SSN number. Sometimes this is a clerical error on the part of people who input information to credit bureaus. More often, however, this is a result of the subject attempting to use a secondary SSN number to cover his trails. Nine times out of ten, this is instantly spotted and tagged with the subject's other file.

NUMBER TWO
VOTER REGISTRATION SEARCH

Voter Registration searches are, in my opinion, the second most effective search for helping you locate a missing person. Believe it or not, it's one of the most overlooked sources of information mainly because it's a rather new search as far as online computer searching is concerned and many investigators miss the concept and value of the information in this record. Voter Registration files contain name and address information, and in some states, they will also contain the SSN number. Frequently there are massive voter registration drives conducted by political office seekers and you would be surprised at the number of people who register to vote but who are otherwise very careful when it comes to filling out any application that would end up in a credit bureau file.

Registered voter files contain all of the following fields on each individual voter record. The fields which are marked with an (*) may or may not be available. The fields are:

FIRST NAME
MIDDLE INITIAL
LAST NAME
OCCUPATION*
COUNTY CODE,
DATE OF BIRTH
STREET ADDRESS (Home or NCOA)
REGISTRATION DATE
TELEPHONE NUMBER*
ZIP CODE
SEX/GENDER
CITY (home or NCOA)
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER*.

The voter registration search also contains forwarding address information (NCOA) so you are also getting a national charge of address with this search.

NUMBER THREE
UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODES

Uniform Commercial Codes (commonly called UCC's) are notices of lien filings done at each county courthouse and then sent to a state repository. This information is then collected by various online information providers as an online search. A UCC is actually a legal document required by a creditor giving public notice of a lien placed on certain property until the loan is paid off. A UCC becomes valuable in skip tracing or locating a missing person simply because it can be used as a pointer to someone how knows something about your subject under investigation. It's important to remember than, behind every UCC filing, is a loan and a credit application.

When you find a UCC on a debtor skip, you will frequently find that the company that filed the UCC is either also looking for the subject or better, was looking for the subject and found the subject knowing their current where about.

NUMBER FOUR
NATIONAL IDENTIFIER

A National Identifier is the forth best computer search for locating a missing person but it's only to be used when you don't have a Social Security Number to conduct a Social Security Trace. A National Identifier pulls information from the same sources of information that a Social Security Trace does but it uses a different input of information. Instead of a mere SSN number, the National Identifier searches uses a name and last known address in an attempt to locate a more current address. Naturally, this search which runs through massive credit bureau files looking for matches, doesn't work quite as well as a Social Security Trace. You will get less frequent hits with this search. It will, however, provide you with a Social Security Number even if it pulls the same address information that you already have. When you pull an SSN number on the subject and not a more current address, it's advisable to go back and run a Social Security Trace. This is an often overlooked step by some missing persons investigators because they have the misconception that they are going to pull the same information again. That might happen but you have to understand that the SSN number is a much better input source than a last known address to obtain matches in credit bureau files.

NUMBER FIVE
FORWARDING ADDRESSES

The forwarding address is a frequently used missing persons computer search that sometimes provides new addresses. Back in the older days of conducting locate investigations, the only way to obtain this information was to either go in person to the post office branch that serviced the last known address or write the postal branch a letter. In those days, it was referred to a Freedom Of Information Request and the post office charged you one dollar to check and see if they had a forwarding address on file.

Effective a year or so ago, the USPS stopped providing this service. The online forwarding address search became more valuable and the only way to legally get to this information. What has happened is the USPS authorized only a handful of computer data companies to act as what they called NCOA agents (National Change Of Address). These agents purchased the change of address information on computer tape and then resold these tapes to authorized online information providers. That is the situation today.

It's also important to note that many NCOA databases also provide forwarding address information for magazine subscription services. These magazine subscription databases and sometimes more useful to the missing persons investigator for an obvious reason. An accomplished skip might understand not to file a postal forwarding address file so they don't get collection letters forwarded to them and don't get collection agencies to readily find them but they paid for their magazine subscription, want to continue to read their magazine and don't realize that this ends up in a database.

NUMBER SIX
DRIVER LICENSE INFORMATION

I have a driver's license and you likely do to. We all have to renew those licenses every so often because they expire. If you are a skip on the run, you might opt to take a change and drive with an expired driver license but in today's USA your chances of evidently getting stopped by a police officer are fairly good. People renew their driver license and provide new address information because they state requires them too. (And I might add, collects additional tax at the same time) Most driver licenses have to be renewed every four years. It's important to know when your missing person's driver license last expired and/or when it will next expire.
Online information services usually offer driver license searches for some states.

NUMBER SEVEN
ALPHA VEHICLE REGISTRATION

Just like someone's driver license will expire, a more alarming problem for a skip is their vehicle registration. Although you can frequently get away with driving on an expired driver license for awhile, you can not get away with driving on an expired tag for very long before a law enforcement officer notices it. When a vehicle is registered with the state every year, they collect more taxes and ask for your current address. Again it's important for the skip tracer or missing persons investigator to know when the subject's tag was last renewed in state vehicle registration and when the tag has to be renewed again. Most of the online information services provide a search for this type of information. The reason why I a listing Alpha Vehicle Registration number seven instead of number six is that when you apply for renewal of a driver license, they often have your or take your photo and finger prints. This kind of tells the skip, "I better not lie." That type of information is not procured when you renew your tag.

ONLINE SEARCH: Most comprehensive online information providers offer a way to order and obtain tag traces in most states. However, (and it's important to point this out) there are usually less expensive ways of obtaining the information. A few states will let you tap into their online system to obtain the information at a much cheaper rate.

COUNTY COURTHOUSE RECORDS: If you check county courthouse records anyway, most county records departments have places in which you can check vehicle registration by name. This is something you'll need to find out about in your location.

STATE VEHICLE REGISTRATION: As stated, some states will permit private access of online databases for auto tag searches.

NUMBER EIGHT
ONLINE CRISS-CROSS DIRECTORIES

Criss-Cross directories have been around investigator's offices in hardcopy form for a very long time. More recent forms of the criss-cross directory are online searches and CD-Roms.They are basically compiled from or with the same information found in a telephone book. However, these products work a little different then a telephone book. These directories and databases give investigators a way to use three pieces of information

1) NAME

2) ADDRESS

3) TELEPHONE NUMBER

The idea behind the criss-cross directory rather you are using an online search, CD-Rom product or hardcopy directory is the fact that, if you have one of those three pieces of information, you can get the other two. The CD-Rom and Online databases are merely databases that, when you input one of the three pieces of information, you get the other two. The hardcopy criss-cross directories are indexed and printed with three different indexes.

Of course, the online databases and CD-Rom databases provide the investigator more than just a local criss-cross directory, they will let you criss-cross the nation.

There are a number of other searches that can be used with these products that include:

SURNAME SEARCH:
You input a name and obtain matched listings of everyone with the same name. In certain types of missing persons cases, this search sometimes produces an easy hit. For example, if you had an assignment in which someone asked you to find a long lost army buddy than had a somewhat unusual last name, you could use this type of search and sometimes get a national list of names, addresses and telephone numbers of a dozen to two dozen people with the same name. Of course, in the case of a John Smith or Arnold Thomas or other more common names, you are just going to get too many hits to narrow it down. Moreover, on females this type of search doesn't quite work as well because long lost females have a habit or changing their last name when they marry, divorce and/or remarry. Not only that, single or widowed females sometimes don't list their first name, only their first initial which makes the number of hits or names you get go way up. To make things even worse, data indicates that many females who marry just let the telephone listing be in their spouses name which means they will not even be in the database.

NEIGHBORHOOD INQUIRY SEARCHES:
You input a street and city and obtain a list of everyone who lives on that street which is good for telephone interviewing and, in the case of using this search on a last known address in a missing persons cases, you develop neighborhood sources you can call from your office phone.

The next two sources of information are not online searches but are usually public records searches that make very useful skip trace and locating missing persons tools that can be hand searched at county court houses.

ACCESS ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
There are many databases to tap into for criss-cross information. Many are free on the net. However, the ones that are free tend to be low grade searches. CD-Rom Criss Cross is a little better but the problem is, the information goes out of data quickly. One solution to that, is to purchase a yearly subscription to PhoneDisc. Hardcopy criss-cross directories are worth having but they are not cheap these days. Most Chamber Of Commerce offices and public libareieis will have them for their city and you'll find that the large Chamber Of Commerce offices and public libraries in large metropolitan areas have them for the complete state.
None of these sources are as current as the better online pay per inquiry sources as the information is more timely.

NUMBER TEN
MARRIAGE RECORDS ANOTHER HIDDEN GOLDMINE
Marriage records can be found at the country courthouse just like traffic tickets can be searched and are usually considered public record information. I know what you are thinking, this guy got married five years before he skipped town-what good is that going to do me? No it's not going to give you his current address but it's going to give you some keys that might unlock that information on the form of other types of information.

The information contained in marriage records differs somewhat from one state to another but here is what you frequently find actually find in the state of Texas.

NAME
MAIDEN NAME
ADDRESS OF BOTH PARTIES
DOB OF BOTH PARTIES
SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER
DRIVER LICENSE NUMBER
MAN OF THE CLOTH PERFORMING MARRIAGE
CHURCH OF MARRIAGE
OCCUPATION
EMPLOYER

www.Eye Investigate.com

Locate Missing Persons

2010-04-11T21:35:00.001-07:00

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/eyeinvestigateyou?feature=mhw5

A JOB OPPORTUNTIY IS WAITING FOR YOU OVERSEAS

2010-03-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

The TOP 3 Reasons to Hire a Private Investigator!

2010-02-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

A Private Investigator today is not like the P.I.’s on T.V. They actually do an abundance of activities that go from the mundane, background checks for corporations, to the exciting, child abduction recovery. Hiring a P.I. is simple, most people believe it costs too much or they just don’t know where to go to get their services.

Costs are reasonable and you can find P.I.’s in all of the common places – Yellow Pages, Google, referrals etc. But why would you want to hire a P.I. and what do their services entail? Here are the Top 5 reasons people hire P.I.’s and what the services should include – so you have a checklist to review as you hire any potential P.I. for your needs:

1. PERFORM BACKGROUND CHECKS

Who would need to conduct a background check to ensure their safety (monetary or physical safety):

Human Resources Departments at large or small corporations – an new employee could potentially be bringing some bad habits or issues with them that could potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars in losses, lawsuits and/or lost man-hours of work.

Parents who are looking to hire a live-in Nanny – will your children be safe with the person who is watching them? Do they have the certifications that you are requiring? A check can also determine any previous issues with past clients.

Homeowners or business owners who are looking to hire a general contractor for work – this is a big one. Are they true to their word? The contractor may have a background of overrunning job budgets or not finishing on time. They may also have outstanding liens against their company based on work that was not completed or previous project issues.

Get A Background Check Now

A family member who is looking into care facilities for elderly loved ones to ensure that they will be getting the best care possible – again if someone is taking care of a loved one, especially elder care, what are their certifications and are they current as described.

Dating someone on line – this is fast becoming one of the most researched fields for P.I.’s due to horror stories you hear about meeting people online and then having the person you thought they were turn into someone else.

Business ventures with a new partner – a new business venture is a touchy subject and a persons past can definitely affect the future of any relationship, especially if you are now venturing forth as partners. Find out what you can before the ink dries.

GET A BACKGROUND CHECK NOW – CLICK HERE

An extensive background check from a reputable source will include:
Bankruptcies, liens & Judgments Search
Business License
Cellular Phone Number Search
Civil History
Corporate & Limited Partnership Filing Search
Credential Verification
Criminal History Database
Criminal History On-Site
Drivers History
Education Verification
Employment Verification
Federal Civil History
Federal Criminal History
Fictitious Business Name Search
Fire Arms Search
License Plate or VIN Search
Media Searches
National Criminal Index Database Search
National Death Locator
OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control)
Officers/Directors Records Search
Personal Reference Verification
Phone – landline Number Search
Professional License Verification
Real Property Ownership Search
Sex Offender Search
Social Security Trace
Toll Free Number Search
UCC Filing Search
Utility Search
Vehicle and Vessel Search
Voter Registration
Watercraft Search
Workers’ Comp. Filing Search
Terrorist – Multinational Search

GET A BACKGROUND CHECK NOW – CLICK HERE

2. CONDUCT AN ASSET SEARCH

A private investigator is able to track real estate records and registered personal property belonging to any subject. Real estate records include assessor, deed, refinance and foreclosure records. Personal property records include aircraft, watercraft and stock ownership records for shareholders holding at least 10% of stock in public companies including the directors and top executive officers. the nationwide Asset Search also include tax Liens, judgments, notices of default, bankruptcies, lawsuits, business asset search, business credit check, business records, jury verdicts, news/media search and much more.

3. INVESTIGATE IDENTITY THEFT

Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another individual’s personal data in a way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Unlike fingerprints, which are unique to an individual and cannot be given to someone else for their use, personal data—especially Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card numbers, telephone calling card numbers, and other valuable identifying data—can be used by someone to personally profit at the victim’s expense.

Unauthorized persons take funds out of others’ bank or financial accounts or take over their identities altogether, running up debts and committing crimes while using the victims’ names. A victim’s losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but additional costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in the community and correcting erroneous information about his financial or personal status.

The most common form of identity theft is when someone obtains the Social Security number (SSN) and perhaps a few other pieces of information about an individual, and uses that information to impersonate them and obtain credit in their name. The imposter might apply for credit, rent an apartment, get phone service, buy a car — and then not pay the bills, giving the victim a bad credit rating. Victims must then spend months and typically years regaining their financial health.

Private investigators can help you with your complaint to the proper law enforcement authorities by providing a declaration as to the search, which you can use with both law enforcement and your creditors. This process should help expedite the process of straightening out problems with creditors.

Heartfelt True Chritmas Story- Recovery of a Child

2009-12-05T22:24:00.001-08:00

Family Reunion at Christmastime
I was in my office one crisp day in December of last year when I received an urgent call from an attorney located in Saipan. A young boy had been kidnapped by force from his mother in China by his biological father the previous year. Prior efforts to locate father and son had been unsuccessful and Song Lee was hysterical as she anticipated another Christmas without her son. The attorney informed me that even though the mother had a court order giving her custody of her 7-year old son and ordering that the child be returned to her in China, California authorities had been slow to act. In the meantime, the attorney related to me that he had been receiving daily calls from the mother requesting an update on the recovery of her son. As the attorney felt ineffective in his ability to provide the requested information, he was forced to advise her to be patient.
This attorney then told me that he had found my investigations agency website and was impressed with the results I had achieved in other child recovery cases. He recommended to the mother that she retains me to locate her son. Emotionally charged and hopeful of an imminent reunion with her son, she agreed and I was retained. Enlisting the services of another investigator, I was able to locate the father in San Diego through information obtained regarding a friend of the father. We conducted surveillance on the friend’s residence and were able to locate the father and then elementary school where the boy had been enrolled. I contacted the local District Attorney to advise him of our efforts to recover the boy and to enlist in his help, should it become necessary. He agreed to assist us and asked that I keep him informed as to our progress.
Finally, we moved into position at the boy’s elementary school just as the children were being excused for the day. We located the father in his car and the boy as he was leaving the school campus. With the help of a fellow investigator, stopped the car and refused to let the father leave with the boy from the school premises. The local law enforcement arrived to provide support and assistance, if necessary. The father was emotionally charged and fairly hostile, refusing to give the boy up. I laid out for him his options: either he returns the boy to the mother voluntarily or the boy would go with Child Protective Services for weeks while he was arrested and taken to jail to wait for a court date. Eventually, the father agreed it was best that the boy be returned to his mother and released him into our care.
When it was time for the mother to be reunited with her son at the school, there was not a dry eye among those of us who had participated in his recovery. What a present: a mother reunited with the boy after a year of disappearance and a boy reunited with his mother just in time for Christmas.
Monique Lessan

Letter to the Editor 'dirty little secret' in Santa Rosa

2009-02-23T00:27:00.001-08:00

Letter to the Editor: Panel addresses 'dirty little secret'

By Janice SextonSoroptimist International of WindsorWindsorEDITOR: Nathan Halverson’s coverage of the Human Trafficking Awareness Forum (“Working to stop sexual slavery,” Empire News, Monday) missed some very important details. The forum was the brainchild of Monique Lessan, a member of Santa Rosa Soroptimists and a licensed private investigator specializing in recovery of abducted children and runaways, who worked tirelessly to organize, publicize and moderate this important event. The event was wholly underwritten and supported by Soroptimist clubs in Sonoma, Marin and Mendocino counties; Soroptimist International is a service organization whose mission is to improve the lives of women and girls. A key panel member not mentioned in the article was Homeland Security Supervisory Special Agent Maurice Wrighten, with the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC), who was attending to bring awareness to Sonoma County parents on this crucial issue. And lastly, our attendance count was closer to 150, not the 75 mentioned in the article. While we would have liked to have had a larger audience, we are grateful for the numbers of members of the public who did spend 3 hours of a Sunday afternoon participating and listening. We invite anyone interested in fighting the “dirty little secret” in our community to contact the Sonoma County Commission on Human Rights at (707) 565-2693.Janice SextonSoroptimist International of WindsorWindsor

RESCUING OUR CHILDREN

2009-02-16T23:28:00.000-08:00

From Headline Archive page of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

Seven Massive Porn Rings Dismantled

02/09/09

What started as a tip from Australian authorities in 2006 regarding a sexually explicit video has turned into one of the largest global child pornography investigations on record—and a model for how law enforcement cooperation can cast a powerful light into the darkest reaches of the Internet to bring child predators to justice.
Operation Joint Hammer has resulted in the rescue of 14 girls—some as young as 3 years old—who were being sexually abused by pornographers. Approximately 170 people have been arrested, more than 60 of them U.S. citizens. Seven major child pornography rings, hosting the worst of the worst, have been dismantled. And the investigation is far from complete.

Working with international law enforcement organizations, members of our Innocent Images National Initiative program are playing a key role in the operation, along with the Department of Justice (DOJ), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Here is what happened: Authorities in Queensland, Australia came across a pornographic video online showing a young victim. This victim was determined to be Dutch with a Flemish accent. Authorities in Belgium were contacted, and the ensuing European investigation became known as Operation Koala.
Belgian police identified and arrested the molester, who provided information about the video’s producer, an Italian national who ran a pornographic website. When Italian police arrested the producer and shut down his website, they retrieved 50,000 e-mails to the porn site. Those e-mails formed the basis of Operation Joint Hammer. They were routed by Europol to the 28 countries from which they originated—with more than 11,000 coming from the United States.
The Innocent Images Operations Unit, along with our U.S. partners, quickly got to work. From the U.S. e-mails, about 700 became workable investigative leads. These were divided between the FBI, USPIS, and ICE. DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, responsible for prosecuting the federal cases, also played a critical role. As the investigation proceeded, many of our state and local law enforcement partners participated, conducting searches and making arrests.
The investigation is ongoing, but already dangerous sexual predators have been stopped:

A New Jersey man pled guilty to producing sexual images of his 9-year-old daughter. Evidence seized during the search of his home revealed that he had nearly 130,000 images of child pornography. He was sentenced to almost 20 years in prison.

An Arizona fifth-grade schoolteacher was a customer of the Italian pornography website. A search of his home resulted in allegations of sexual contact with female students at his school. He faces multiple charges of sexual exploitation of children.

A convicted sex offender from Philadelphia who spent 15 years in prison for molesting children was charged with advertising, distributing, and receiving child pornography. Evidence indicates that he administered two major global online child pornography bulletin boards.

So far, the FBI and our U.S. partners have conducted more than 250 searches as part of the operation. “We’re still working our way through all the cases,” said our agent in charge of the investigation.
“Cooperation is the key,” the agent added. “During our regular meetings with postal inspectors, ICE, and DOJ, we do whatever needs to be done as a team to make sure the cases keep moving forward.”
Resources

:- Innocent Images website- Related national press release

Working to stop sex slavery

2009-02-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

By NATHAN HALVERSONTHE PRESS DEMOCRATPublished: Sunday, January 11, 2009

Sonoma County is home to women and children trafficked for sexual exploit.How to stop it and how to handle the mental health of the victims was the topic of a panel discussion Sunday at Santa Rosa’s Finley Community Center.Prostitution is one of the last remnants of slavery in the United States, according to a panel of law enforcement experts and social workers specializing in human trafficking.“We see in Santa Rosa that a lot of young juveniles are victims of human trafficking,” said Leslie Armbright, a Santa Rosa police detective.“What you see on Santa Rosa Avenue is just the surface. It is so much deeper than that,” she said.Victims are coerced or forced to work the streets, massage parlors and elsewhere, Armbright told the audience.About 75 people gathered to listen to the panel discussion, hosted by the local branch of the women’s group Soroptimist International.But more than of half the seats in the auditorium remained empty, and that is reflective of the permissiveness people feel toward prostitution, many speakers said.“I look at all these chairs that aren’t filled and it saddens me,” said a Rohnert Park mother whose mentally disabled daughter was coerced into prostitution.Her daughter was approached at Santa Rosa Junior College by a woman who lured the young disabledstudent into prostitution, said the mother, who asked not to be identified. A man was convicted for taking part, she said, and he will be released in 11 days as a sexual offender.“People don’t want to hear about it,” said county Supervisor Valerie Brown, who attended Sunday. “We have a dirty little secret here in Sonoma County.”Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman asked the panel how he can monitor sex trafficking in his county.No one on the panel had a clear answer for Allen, indicating the difficulty of detecting human trafficking networks. With Web sites such as http://www.craigslist.org/ and a San Francisco-based escort site, http://www.myredbook.com/, human traffickers can solicit services to people widely dispersed across Northern California.But law officers still try to curb it.“We have four to five agents in my office making arrests weekly,” said panel member Aleksandr Kobzanets, a special agent with the FBI in San Jose. “Most women are trafficked from Asia or Mexico and South America.”Women and children from poorer countries often are tricked to coming to the United States or Europe and then are sold and held captive, according to the PBS documentary “Sex Slaves,” which was shown Sunday.“People think slavery doesn’t exist anymore,” said panel member Nola Brantley, executive director of the nonprofit Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth. “Well, it is definitely alive. Even if it is much different than old slavery from the South.”Some panel members criticized lax laws against people who pay for prostitutes. “It is supply and demand. Prostitution would not exist if there was not demand,” said panel member Donna Sinar, a spokeswoman for Standing Against Global Exploitation.Panel members urged people in the community to watch for signs that young women or others are being held captive or exploited as sex slaves.“The more people are better informed, the more we get them to bring us victims of human trafficking,” Sinar said.You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson @pressdemocrat.com.Working to stop sex slaveryBy NATHAN HALVERSONTHE PRESS DEMOCRATPublished: Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 3:00 a.m. Last Modified: Sunday, January 11, 2009 at 10:58 p.m.Sonoma County is home to women and children trafficked for sexual exploit.How to stop it and how to handle the mental health of the victims was the topic of a panel discussion Sunday at Santa Rosa’s Finley Community Center.Prostitution is one of the last remnants of slavery in the United States, according to a panel of law enforcement experts and social workers specializing in human trafficking.“We see in Santa Rosa that a lot of young juveniles are victims of human trafficking,” said Leslie Armbright, a Santa Rosa police detective.“What you see on Santa Rosa Avenue is just the surface. It is so much deeper than that,” she said.Victims are coerced or forced to work the streets, massage parlors and elsewhere, Armbright told the audience.About 75 people gathered to listen to the panel discussion, hosted by the local branch of the women’s group Soroptimist International.But more than of half the seats in the auditorium remained empty, and that is reflective of the permissiveness people feel toward prostitution, many speakers said.“I look at all these chairs that aren’t filled and it saddens me,” said a Rohnert Park mother whose mentally disabled daughter was coerced into prostitution.Her daughter was approached at Santa Rosa Junior College by a woman who lured the young disabledstudent into prostitution, said the mother, who asked not to be identified. A man was convicted for taking part, she said, and he will be released in 11 days as a sexual offender.“People don’t want to hear about it,” said county Supervisor Valerie Brown, who attended Sunday. “We have a dirty little secret here in Sonoma County.”Mendocino County Sheriff Thomas Allman asked the panel how he can monitor sex trafficking in his county.No one on the panel had a clear answer for Allen, indicating the difficulty of detecting human trafficking networks. With Web sites such as http://www.craigslist.org/ and a San Francisco-based escort site, http://www.myredbook.com/, human traffickers can solicit services to people widely dispersed across Northern California.But law officers still try to curb it.“We have four to five agents in my office making arrests weekly,” said panel member Aleksandr Kobzanets, a special agent with the FBI in San Jose. “Most women are trafficked from Asia or Mexico and South America.”Women and children from poorer countries often are tricked to coming to the United States or Europe and then are sold and held captive, according to the PBS documentary “Sex Slaves,” which was shown Sunday.“People think slavery doesn’t exist anymore,” said panel member Nola Brantley, executive director of the nonprofit Motivating, Inspiring, Supporting and Serving Sexually Exploited Youth. “Well, it is definitely alive. Even if it is much different than old slavery from the South.”Some panel members criticized lax laws against people who pay for prostitutes. “It is supply and demand. Prostitution would not exist if there was not demand,” said panel member Donna Sinar, a spokeswoman for Standing Against Global Exploitation.Panel members urged people in the community to watch for signs that young women or others are being held captive or exploited as sex slaves.“The more people are better informed, the more we get them to bring us victims of human trafficking,” Sinar said.You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson @pressdemocrat.com.

Human Trafficking in the Bay Area

2009-02-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

Human Trafficking in the Bay AreaJanuary 11th is National Human Trafficking and Modern Day SlaveryAwareness Day Human Trafficking is modern‐day slavery.The victims are among the most vulnerable members of society.It is estimated that 70% of trafficked victims are women and children who are forced into hard labor and sexual slavery. The US Government estimates that 700,000 to 2 million women and children are trafficked across borders each year to be used as illegal labor or sex workers.California is the top destination for human traffickers according to a report released by the state’s anti‐human trafficking task force. According to task force members, the problem goes far beyond the sex trade and extends to migrant farm and construction workers, household employees, and workers in motels and restaurants.The report’s findings, along with acknowledgements by Sonoma County Officials, convincingly show that Human Trafficking is present in our communities here in theNorth Bay!On Sunday January 11th, 2009, Soroptimist International clubs in Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino counties have brought awareness of this issue to citizens and agencies in the North Bay. This event was a continuation of a coordinated movement toward prevention of Human Trafficking.The PBS Documentary “Sex Slaves” was featured followed by a panel discussion with lawenforcement agencies and local organizations who are currently fighting the battle against Human Trafficking. The panel discussion was moderated by Monique Lessan, a state licensed Private Investigator, owner of Eye Investigate, specializing in recovery of abducted children and runaways.
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▼ 2009 (3)
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Letter to the Editor: Panel addresses 'dirty littl...
Working to stop sex slavery
Human Trafficking in the Bay Area Janu...

About Me

Soroptimist International of Santa Rosa
The Mission of Soroptimist International is to improve the lives of Women and Girls in local communities and throughout the world. View my complete profile

January 11th is National Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Awareness Day

2008-12-26T19:16:00.000-08:00

Soroptimist International Clubs of Sonoma,
Marin, and Mendocino Counties
c/o Soroptimist International of Santa Rosa
P.O. Box 933
Santa Rosa, CA 95402
http://www.sisantarosa.org/

Press Release

Human Trafficking in the Bay Area January 11th is National Human Trafficking and Modern Day Slavery Awareness Day

Human Trafficking is modern‐day slavery. The victims are among the most vulnerable members of society. It is estimated that 70% of trafficked victims are women and children who are forced into hard labor and sexual slavery. The US Government estimates that 700,000 to 2 million women and children are trafficked across borders each year to be used as illegal labor or sex workers.

California is the top destination for human traffickers according to a report released by the state’s anti‐human trafficking task force. According to task force members, the problem goes far beyond the sex trade and extends to migrant farm and construction workers, household employees, and workers in motels and restaurants.

The report’s findings, along with acknowledgements by Sonoma County Officials, convincingly show that Human Trafficking is present in our communities here in the North Bay!
On Sunday January 11th, 2009, Soroptimist International clubs in Sonoma, Marin, and Mendocino counties are bringing awareness of this issue to citizens and agencies in the North Bay. This event will be a continuation of a coordinated movement toward prevention of Human Trafficking.

The PBS Documentary “Sex Slaves” will be featured followed by a panel discussion with law enforcement agencies and local organizations who are currently fighting the battle against Human Trafficking. The panel discussion will be moderated by Monique Lessan, a state licensed Private Investigator, owner of Eye Investigate, specializing in recovery of abducted children and runaways.

Location:
Finley Community Center
2060 West College Ave
Santa Rosa, Ca 95401
Time: 3:00‐6:00 pm
Reservations required – Admission is free
• Email: Investigatrix@gmail.com or call: 707‐996‐7517 or 858‐568‐4972

SEX TRADE OF MINORS IN INDIA -YOU TUBE VIDEO

2008-10-16T13:36:00.000-07:00

THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING PROJECT

http://traffickingproject.blogspot.com/

In a small gathering of women in Calcutta, India Manijeh Lessanian, an Iranian journalist asks the women frankly about the core issues of Sex trade, economically and healthwise. The women get the equivalent of US$1.50 for sex, $2 on a good night, less than a dollar on a bad night. To have sex without a condom, men will often pay more or, after a few visits, tell the women they love them. But there's a tragic fact behind their laughter: more than half of the sex workers here are HIV positive.

For the pimps and brothel owners, the sex industry is a multi-million dollar business in which money, not health, is the bottom line. The highest prices go for the youngest girls, many of whom have been kidnapped from other countries and trafficked to India, or sold by their own families into the industry.

Lessanian travels to the Sanlaap Shelter in Calcutta, where she meets a group of girls who have been rescued from prostitution. The girls tell their stories -- fathers and uncles who sold them, madams who held them hostage. None of them was told about the dangers of HIV. They found out only upon arriving at the shelter, and now it's too late. Many of them are already HIV positive.

Although Soliciting for sex is illegal in India, Lessanian sees that the police are often part of the problem. Prostitutes tell Lessanian that when arrested, they're forced to either have sex or pay bribes for their release. And the youngest girls are the most vulnerable.

Even when few of the girls get rescued or run away miraculously, most of their families won't take them back after they've worked as prostitutes. But these girls are the fortunate ones. Thousands of other young girls are left behind. And what happens to them in many ways will determine the future of AIDS in India.

Human traffciking is a reality that still exists

2008-10-03T16:39:00.000-07:00

Human trafficking is not a myth Human Trafficking is a reality that still existsSlavery was outlawed in the US in 1864, and it is not legal anywhere in the world, yet there are more slaves in the world today than at any time in human history. 27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of slavery, for forced prostitution, labor, domestic work, and other forms of exploitation, with approximately 50% of victims being under the age of 18. UNICEF estimates that one million children will be forced into prostitution this year. In South Asia, traffickers will pay $150 to parents for their child's life. Brothel owners can purchase the same child from the trafficker for about $1000. For traffickers, sex slavery is a lucrative business, generating over 7 billion dollars a year. Trafficking is often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Victims of trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Slavery was outlawed in the US in 1864, and it is not legal anywhere in the world, yet there are more slaves in the world today than at any time in human history. 27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of slavery, for forced prostitution, labor, domestic work, and other forms of exploitation, with approximately 50% of victims being under the age of 18.UNICEF estimates that one million children will be forced into prostitution this year. In South Asia, traffickers will pay $150 to parents for their child's life. Brothel owners can purchase the same child from the trafficker for about $1000. For traffickers, sex slavery is a lucrative business, generating over 7 billion dollars a year. Trafficking is often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Victims of trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. How do People End up as SlavesPeople are trafficked in various ways: Some are sold by their parents or other relatives, who often think the "agent" will find their children education or employment. Some are tricked by false job offers, thinking that they will be working as a waitress or model in a richer country. Traffickers will also make false marriage offers to lure young women, who go willingly to their future "husband." Others are forcibly kidnapped or abducted. Even for those who go willingly, expecting that they will be paid for their work, most find themselves in slave-like conditions. Since they have given the traffickers their passports and other legal documents, for travel processing, they are often viewed as illegal immigrants.Poverty is a factor which makes people vulnerable to trafficking, along with war, civil unrest, and natural disasters. Within a family, the death of a parent or the trafficking of an older sibling can make a person at particularly high risk for being trafficked.Where does Human trafficking still existCurrently, the regions of the world with the most severe trafficking problems are Southeast Asia (the Mekong region including Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar/Burma), South Asia (the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), the former Soviet Republics (including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic).Human Trafficking in the U.S.Human Trafficking is a highly complex issue that affects potentially thousands of foreign and domestic men, women, and children in the United States. No one is certain how many people are trafficked in the United States every year. The US Government, state agencies, and various non-governmental organizations throughout the US are committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers.It is important to know the difference between trafficking and smuggling, and the difference between trafficking and exploitation, as not all cases of labor exploitation or prostitution are instances of trafficking. Trained authorities and service providers, after interviewing the trafficked person, can be the best judge of whether there is a trafficking situation (instances of force, fraud, or coercion constitute sex or labor trafficking).American girls as trafficking victims?Underage American girls, many of them runaways or throwaways, also get caught up in forced prostitution in the United States. These can also be considered instances of trafficking, though again, trained authorities and service providers would be the best judge.
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About the Author
http://eyeinvestigate.com

2008-10-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

What You Should Know About Human Trafficking

What is Human Trafficking?
Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transporting, providing or obtaining, by any means, any person for labor or services involving forced labor, slavery or servitude in any industry, such as forced or coerced participation in agriculture, prostitution, manufacturing, or other industries or in domestic service or marriage. International law has largely defined trafficking as the movement of women and girls across borders for the purpose of prostitution. As plenty of debates in international forums have since shown, trafficking in persons is far broader in scope. It may well involve forcing young women and girls into prostitution, but traffickers also use violence, deception, coercion, or exploitation to keep both men and women in slavery-like conditions. People can, for example, be trafficked into abysmal working conditions on farms, in factories, or in domestic households. Children are especially vulnerable to such forms of exploitation, including being forced to work in sweatshops, or as child soldiers.

Where is Human Trafficking taking place?
Trafficking is more widespread than most people realize, but the international community is increasingly taking notice. More information is now available about the range of abuses suffered by trafficked victims and an increasing number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have made combating trafficking a central element of their work.

Who is at risk of Human Trafficking?
While labour exploitation of all kinds is widespread, much of the trafficking trade involves sexual exploitation and is a criminal activity that primarily impacts young women and girls. As such, it has moved to the top of the women’s agenda. Victims, often underprivileged and promised good jobs in another country, find themselves forced into prostitution. They may be beaten, raped, or imprisoned by owners who seek to make substantial profits from the victim’s “services.” Ostracized from families and communities, these women and girls are frequently deprived of the most basic of human rights related to freedom of movement, shelter, and health care. While these are sad realities, greater awareness about the impacts of human trafficking is a first step towards its abolition.

What are some statistics of Human Trafficking?
Because of the illegal nature of the business, it is difficult to compile accurate statistics on trafficking. While the U.S. government estimates that about 600,000-800,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year, this figure is probably a conservative one. For one thing, it doesn’t take into account the vast numbers of people who are trafficked within countries. Furthermore, because victims or law enforcement officers may not always have incentives to report crimes, they go under-reported. Thus, some international organizations and NGOs put the estimate of the number of people trafficked each year closer to 2 million.
Asia is a particularly burgeoning market where sex trafficking is concerned. Women are especially victimized in poor countries like Nepal where they have low status and limited employment opportunities. UN agencies estimate that some 200,000 Nepalese women and girls are in sex brothels in India, for example. While there are heated debates over what constitutes voluntary vs. involuntary prostitution, it remains that thousands of women and girls are forced into this business. Countries like Thailand, Cambodia, and Bangladesh are also at the center of the sex trafficking trade.

Does Human Trafficking exist in the West?
There is no question that trafficking is also prolific in the West. Although some NGOs say the figures are much too low, U.S. officials estimate that about 20,000 women and children are brought into the U.S. every year under false pretences and held in servitude, including for domestic work, prostitution, or agricultural labor. While the figures are also contested in Europe, it is estimated that anywhere from 200,000-500,000 women are trafficked annually into the European Union. Many of these are from the Balkans.

Why is trafficking so pervasive in the first place?
It’s big business for one thing. Although estimates vary, it is thought that about $7-9.5 billion is made every year from human trafficking. After arms sales and drug dealing, trafficking in persons is the fastest growing criminal industry. Additionally, because there is little risk of prosecution for traffickers themselves, the business continues to thrive. Some governments are starting to impose stricter penalties on those caught for trafficking, but, from the trafficker’s perspective, the gains to be made still far outweigh the risks. For all of these reasons, more effective prosecution of traffickers is fundamental. Some organizations have also argued, however, that trafficking in unlikely to be stopped until economic hardship and poverty are addressed. When faced with ongoing deprivation, the promises offered by traffickers of a better life can be hard to resist. Trafficking is fueled by more vulnerable and displaced people flooding into the cities to look for work and a global demand for cheap labor. Providing alternative options for employment, educating potential victims to the hazards of trafficking, and improving gender equity can all make a difference.

A JOB OPPORTUNTIY IS WAITING FOR YOU OVERSEAS

2008-09-23T23:38:00.000-07:00

Natalya lives in a small village in Moldova, one of the poorest countries in Eastern Europe. A single mother of two young girls, she must also take care of her sick brother, and struggles to find work in her economically depressed town. Natalya’s neighbor Katerina tells her of an employment opportunity in Odessa, Ukraine, with a local bar owner. Katerina says she can get Natalya work as a waitress in a bar and offers, for a fee, to help arrange Natalya’s travel to the northern port city.
Within a few weeks, Natalya is on a plane to Odessa, eager to make money and support her brother and daughters. However, once she arrives, Natalya realizes that she has been horribly deceived—that there never was a bar, or waitress job, and that Katerina—her neighbor and friend, has helped to sell her into sexual slavery. The bar owner turns out to be a small-time criminal and pimp, and the bar is his brothel. Before she has time to process what’s happened, her passport is confiscated and she is driven from the airport to a cramped apartment where she—along with a dozen other young women— will stay for the duration of her servitude.
First, she is raped by the pimp who claims he must “try out the goods” and Natalya has her first taste of the violence and degradation that is to follow. Before long, she is forced to service more than a dozen clients a day—business men, locals, and tourists—interested in quick sex for cash. After several months of sexual abuse and physical violence, Natalya is mentally and emotionally destroyed and is resigned to her position. Eventually a friendly client “buys” Natalya from her pimp, and sends her home. But once back in Moldova, it is apparent that there is no work in her small village. The only answer, thinks Natalya, is to prostitute herself in the Moldovan capital of Chisinau. “I am already broken, after all….”
Defining TraffickingSex trafficking is the exploitation of women and children, within national or across international borders, for the purposes of forced sex work.1 It includes the recruitment, transportation, harboring, transfer or sale of women and children for these purposes.
Each year, an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across national borders.2 According to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, human trafficking is estimated to annually generate 9.5 billion dollars of revenue.3 Furthermore, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that human trafficking is now tied with the illegal arms industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today.4
According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Inter-agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Mekong Sub-region, sex trafficking appears to be growing in scope and magnitude, with increasing numbers of countries involved due in large part to globalization and the relative ease with which traffickers are able to transport victims between countries.5
Sex trafficking is a widespread problem, implicating nearly every country in the world:
Around 75 percent of all human trafficking victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation.6
About two million women and children are held in sexual servitude around the world, but many experts believe the actual number of trafficked peoples is upwards of 10 times as much.7 Because of its clandestine nature, it is difficult to determine the magnitude of human trafficking. According to the Dutch National Rapporteur Against Trafficking in Human Beings, only around 5 percent of trafficking cases are ever reported.8
An estimated 120,000 women and girls are trafficked into Western Europe each year.9
There have been reports of sexual trafficking in at least 20 U.S. states, with most cases occurring in New York, California and Florida.10 Once issues of domestic trafficking are included, all 50 states would be implicated.
An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are trafficked into the U.S. each year.11 And at any given time, there are 30,000 – 50,000 sex slaves in the United States.12
Sex trafficking fuels the commercial sex industry, which includes both legal and illegal prostitution.
Sex trafficking happens in both public and private locales. In some cases, trafficking victims are highly visible and engage in street-level prostitution, but in most cases, sex trafficking takes place in underground venues, such as private homes or brothels. Often, public and legal locations such as massage parlors, spas and strip clubs will be a front for illegal prostitution and trafficking.13
Human trafficking is sometimes called the “new slavery,” because it retains many of the same characteristics of a slave (trafficking victim)/master (trafficker) relationship. In the new slavery, women and girls are purchased cheaply and sold to customers at a high profit margin. Rather than serve one master or in one locale, victims are passed around among a variety of “owners.” And because of the seemingly endless supply of women and girls, slaves are ultimately disposable.14
Many countries lack tough anti-trafficking legislation and even when legislation is in place, laws are often not enforced. Relatively few trafficking cases are prosecuted, and of those, very few result in convictions. Fear and shame keep many women and girls from seeking help, and widespread police corruption, exemplified by Thailand and Russia, makes it unsafe for trafficking victims to approach local and national authorities.15
Occasionally, women and girls are rescued from traffickers and receive support, care and compassion. More often, though, trafficking victims are treated like criminals by the police. Women and girls arrested in trafficking circles are often processed as illegal immigrants rather than trafficking victims, and are immediately deported to their home countries where, because few economic alternatives exist, they begin the cycle of trafficking and exploitation all over again.
The Supply: Who is Trafficked Trafficking involves coercion and fraud, and should not be confused with the practice of moving within and across borders by choice. Once in the cycle of migration, many are coerced into trafficking and prostitution. Not surprisingly, many of the poorest and most unstable countries have the highest instances of trafficking.
Extreme poverty is a common bond among nearly all trafficking victims. While adult women constitute eighty percent of all transnational victims, fifty percent of those are minors.16 Children as young as 1 and 2 years old have been found in brothels; children are typically forcibly taken or sold into sexual trafficking by their parents, many of whom believe that their children are being sold to adoption agencies. In some cases, poverty, along with the relatively low value placed on girl children, drives parents to knowingly broker their daughters into sexual slavery.
The former Soviet Republics and other Eastern Bloc countries, which struggle with rampant poverty and political and social corruption, are fertile breeding grounds for the trafficking industry, as are many Asian countries, including Thailand and China, which play major roles in the trafficking industry.
According to the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, “the rise in competition in the labor market, unemployment and the loss of job security have undermined women’s incomes and economic position. A widening gender wage gap, an increase in women’s part-time and informal sector work, as well as atypical work arrangements have pushed women into poorly paid jobs and long-term and hidden unemployment,” leaving women vulnerable to traffickers.17
The Suppliers: Who TrafficsOrganized crime is largely responsible for the proliferation of human trafficking.18 Crime groups involved in the sexual trafficking of women and girls are often also involved in the transnational trafficking of drugs and firearms, and frequently use violence as a means of carrying out their activities.19
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the greatest numbers of transnational traffickers are from Asia, followed by Central and Southeastern Europe, and Western Europe.20 Traffickers tend to have strong national connections to the destination countries that their victims are being trafficked to, allowing them to cultivate strong client bases and develop channels of cooperation with local protective authorities.21
Unfortunately, due to the clandestine nature of the behavior, the vulnerability of victims, and widespread corruption among local and national protective authorities, traffickers are rarely apprehended or prosecuted. Additionally, most trafficking cases are dependent on victims’ complaints, and trafficking victims rarely speak out.22 If prosecuted, human traffickers typically receive light sentences when compared to drug or weapon traffickers.23
How Women and Girls are TraffickedSome women are lured into trafficking with the offers of legitimate and legal work as shop assistants or waitresses, for example. Others are lured with promises of marriage, educational opportunities and a better life. Some are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents.
Women and girls are abducted or recruited in a country of origin, transported through transit countries and then forced into exploitative labor or sex work in destination countries. Trafficking victims often pass among multiple traffickers, moving further and further from their countries of origin.24 In many cases, traffickers and victims share the same nationality. A trafficker in the Ukraine, for example, may traffic her neighbor to Turkey. Once there, she may sell her victim to a Turkish trafficker, who will take the woman to Thailand, her final destination.
While transnational human trafficking has received more attention then intra-state trafficking, the reality is “that much of the worldwide trafficking and exploitation of persons occurs within communities and countries, if even only initially.”25 There is minimally reported evidence in the area of intra-state trafficking leaving institutions like the UNODC, who recognize the graveness of the problem, without the tools to eradicate it.
Both men and women participate in the trafficking of women and girls into sexual slavery. Men generally control a trafficking ring, but women are instrumental in effectively managing the trafficking victims. Female traffickers gain the trust of their victims in order to better psychologically manipulate them.
Typically, once in the custody of traffickers, a victim’s passport and official papers are confiscated and held. Victims are told that they are in the destination country illegally, which increases victims’ dependence on their traffickers, and are often kept in captivity. Victims are also trapped into debt bondage, whereby they are obliged to pay back large recruitment and transportation fees before being released from their traffickers. Many victims report being charged additional fines or fees while under bondage, requiring them to work longer to pay off their debts.26
Trafficking victims experience various stages of degradation and physical and psychological torture. Victims are often deprived of food and sleep, are unable to move about freely and are physically tortured. In order to keep women captive, victims are told their families and their children will be harmed or murdered if they (the women) try to escape or tell anyone about their situation.27 Because victims rarely understand the culture and language of the country into which they have been trafficked, they experience another layer of psychological stress and frustration.
Often, before servicing clients, women are forcibly raped by the traffickers themselves, in order to initiate the cycle of abuse and degradation. Some women are drugged in order to prevent them from escaping. Once “broken in,” victims of sex trafficking can service up to 30 men a day, and are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy.
The Demand: Who Purchases Trafficked Women and GirlsThough sex trafficking takes place around the world—on city streets, in suburban neighborhoods and in rural villages—little emphasis has been placed on the demand-side of the trafficking equation. There is a misconception that sex trafficking only occurs in and affects developing nations. However, many of the biggest destination countries are developed nations, and men from all sectors of society support the trafficking industry. Furthermore, domestic trafficking is also a widespread problem in developed countries.
In many parts of the world, there is little to no perceived stigma to purchasing sexual favors for money; prostitution is viewed as a victimless crime. In Japan, for example, many men consider visiting prostitutes a sensible solution to the difficulties of juggling work and relationships. Patriarchal and misogynistic beliefs about the status and value of women underscore many men’s attitudes toward sexual trafficking and prostitution. There are instances of parents in Thailand financing a new television set with the sale of a daughter. “A recent survey in the northern provinces found that of the families who sold their daughters, two-thirds could afford not to do so but instead preferred to buy color televisions and video equipment.”28
One major component of the proliferation of trafficking is sex tourism. Sex tourism is the practice of traveling or vacationing for the purpose of having sex, and is estimated to be a billion dollar annual industry worldwide.29 According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), sex tourism makes up between 2 and 14 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. Many sex tours explicitly feature prepubescent girls, marketing almost exclusively to pedophiles who prey on young children, and men who believe that having sex with virgins, or young girls, will cure sexually transmitted diseases. Often, these men spread HIV and other STDs to their young trafficking victims, creating localized disease epidemics. A recent study from the UN Commission on Human Rights found that “the influx of international aid workers, military personnel, peacekeepers and employees of international organizations in situations of armed conflict or political instability often brings about a demand for services deriving from sexual exploitation.”30 In an effort to combat this, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has enacted a zero tolerance policy regarding trafficking by NATO forces and staff.31 The Palermo Protocol also holds countries accountable to end trafficking as it calls upon governments to take social and legislative measures to discourage demand. As of October 2007, 115 countries have ratified and thus committed to this effort.32 A widespread belief exists that men who support the trafficking industry are “from somewhere else” and that trafficking does not happen within local communities. In fact, men who support the trafficking industry come from all walks of life, and many are highly respected members of their communities. A 2004 New York Times article on trafficking explored the sexual trafficking of young Mexican girls whose main customers were American businessmen. Said one young trafficking victim, “I was told my purpose was to keep these men from abusing their own kids.”33 A 2005 episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show detailed the story of Kim Meston, a Tibetan trafficking victim that was held hostage in the United States by a well respected Christian minister and routinely sexually abused.34
In order to deter trafficking, men must be educated about the harmful effects of trafficking and the commercial prostitution industry. Additionally, negative and sexist attitudes about women and girls must be addressed.
The High Cost of Human Sex TraffickingSex trafficking of women and girls has astronomical costs, both to the women and girls who are its primary victims, and to society as a whole. Trafficking is an abuse of physical and mental integrity, security of the person, freedom of movement, and privacy. Trafficking “violates the universal human right to life, liberty and freedom from slavery.”35
Sex trafficking also has widespread negative consequences for individuals and societies:
• Sex trafficking helps to promote societal breakdown by removing women and girls from their families and communities. If and when victims are able to return to their communities, they often find themselves doubly victimized by social stigmatization, discrimination and rejection.
• Sex trafficking fuels organized crime groups that usually participate in many other illegal activities, including drug and weapons trafficking and money laundering.
• Sex trafficking negatively impacts local and national labor markets, due to the loss of human resources. The effects of trafficking on economies include “depressed wages, fewer individuals left to care for elderly persons, and an undereducated generation. These effects leads to the loss of future productivity and earning power,” especially in child trafficking victims.36
• Sex trafficking burdens public health systems. Trafficking victims often suffer from myriad physical and psychological traumas, including sexually transmitted diseases, anxiety, depression and post traumatic stress disorder. Victims also often suffer physical complications from unsanitary living situations and poor nutrition.
• Sex trafficking erodes government authority, encourages widespread corruption, and threatens the security of vulnerable populations.37
Combating TraffickingIn order to end the sexual trafficking of women and girls, efforts must be made on both the supply side (the traffickers and victims) and demand side (trafficking clients and sex buyers) of the problem.38
It is critical that economic opportunities and alternatives are developed for potential trafficking victims. Examples of such initiatives include micro-lending programs, job training and counseling, educational programs, and grants to non-governmental organizations to accelerate and advance the political, economic, social and educational roles of women in their home countries.39
In order to better serve trafficking victims and to prevent sexual trafficking of women and girls, countries and regions are encouraged to increase public awareness about trafficking and develop educational materials for the public about trafficking. Lawmakers and law enforcement officials are urged to produce and enforce legislation that punishes traffickers and those that purchase sex. Domestic violence shelters and social support services are encouraged to develop programs to handle the needs of trafficked women and girls. And rehabilitative transitional living programs should be implemented to serve trafficked women and girls who are attempting to return to mainstream society.
In 2000, the United Nations passed the Palermo Protocol “to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children.” The Protocol calls for countries to “adopt or strengthen legislative or other measurers, such as educational, social or cultural measurers, including through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking.”40
Because trafficking is a transnational problem, it requires the cooperation and coordination of multiple national and international agencies. Thus far, efforts to counter trafficking have been largely inefficient and ineffective. When considering how to best combat trafficking demand, it is imperative that law enforcement and government officials “vigorously prosecute traffickers; fight public corruption which facilitates and profits from the trade; identify and interdict trafficking routes through better intelligence gathering and coordination; clarify legal definitions of trafficking; and train personnel to identify and direct trafficking victims to appropriate care.”41
In many countries, trafficking victims do not receive adequate assistance. A recent report from Anti-Slavery International found that authorities tend to give trafficking victims irregular migrant status, rather than consider them as victims of trafficking, which makes it difficult to track and manage cases of trafficking. The report also found that trafficking victims lack access to shelters and legal services, as well as inadequate security and few alternatives to returning to their home countries. Most countries lacked special services for trafficking victims under 18.42
Also critical is that work be done to reduce the demand for trafficking. This involves not only stricter punishment for men found financially supporting the trafficking industry, but also an increase in efforts to educate men about the struggles of women and the negative impact of misogyny, sexism, abuse and violence.
How Soroptimist Works to End Trafficking of Women and Girls. Soroptimist is an international volunteer service organization for business and professional women who work to improve the lives of women and girls, in local communities and throughout the world. Soroptimist clubs undertake a number of different projects to confront local realities facing women and girls. Many projects directly and indirectly help trafficking victims and women vulnerable to trafficking by providing direct aid to women and girls, and giving women economic tools and skills to achieve financial empowerment and independence. As an organization, Soroptimist supports the following programs:
Soroptimists STOP Trafficking—Soroptimists launched a public awareness campaign to address the sexual trafficking of women and girls in 2007. Soroptimist clubs around the world distributed printed materials and conducted media outreach to raise awareness about this devastating issue. The project launched on Sunday December 2, 2007, the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. In the United States, the project launches on Friday, January 11, 2008, the first National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. Soroptimist members will participate by distributing flyers on that day that focus on the message: Someone in this transportation center may be here against her will.
Women’s Opportunity Awards—The Women’s Opportunity Awards program is Soroptimist’s major program. The awards improve the lives of women by giving them the resources they need to improve their education, skills, and employment prospects. By helping women receive skill and resource training, Soroptimist provides women with economic alternatives to sex trafficking and prostitution.
Many Women’s Opportunity Award recipients have overcome enormous obstacles in their quest for a better life, including poverty, domestic violence, substance abuse, and in some cases, trafficking. Each year, more than $1 million is disbursed through the awards at various levels of the organization to help women achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. Since the Women’s Opportunity Awards program began in 1972, it is estimated that $20 million has been disbursed and more than 22,500 women have been assisted. In 2007, the Women’s Opportunity Awards received the Summit Award from the ASAE & The Center, its highest honor, bestowed on associations that implement innovative community-based programs.
Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls—Often the abilities and ambitions of Soroptimist clubs exceed their financial resources. Soroptimist introduced the Soroptimist Club Grants for Women and Girls in 1997 to assist with community projects that improve the lives of women and girls. Each year, grants are given to clubs working on projects that help foster economic independence, provide job skills training and education, and provide women with the resources necessary to move themselves and their families out of poverty. Projects of this type give women economic alternatives to migratory work and keep them out of the hands of traffickers. For the 2006-2007 club year, Soroptimist is funding more than $175,000 in club grants. Since the program’s inception, nearly $1.6 million has been awarded and clubs have assisted more than 100,000 women and their families.
Clubs have used Soroptimist Club Grants to support projects that raise awareness about trafficking. In 2005, for example, two clubs in Japan shared a $9,000 club grant for their Prevention of Trafficking Project. The clubs printed and distributed 6,000 brochures and 1,000 posters in eight languages, containing information on trafficking and how to obtain help for victims. They also held an international symposium to raise awareness about trafficking and offered support to a shelter for trafficking victims.
Several other clubs have developed projects and initiatives that benefit trafficking victims, among them:
A club in the Philippines supports a shelter for abused women and girls escaping from sexual trafficking. Members provide shelter residents with much-needed items, including toiletries and food, and health care services.
A club in California held a conference in support of the Western Regional Task Force on Human Trafficking. More than 200 people attended the meeting and 35 club members participated in organizing the event.
For the past eight years, a club in Chicago has made trafficking a major project focus. Club members have coordinated several projects, assisted groups in helping teens and women involved in the sex trade, and partnered with organizations to advocate for legislation and funding for victims.
Making a Difference for Women—The Soroptimist Making a Difference for Women Award honors women who, through their personal or professional activities, worked to improve the lives of other women and girls. Each year, Soroptimist chooses one finalist, who is honored and receives a $5,000 donation to her favorite charitable organization.
Kathryn Xian, Soroptimist’s 2006 Making a Difference for Women recipient, has devoted her life to improving the lives of women and girls though her non-profit organization, The Safe Zone Foundation. In 2004, Kathryn and the Safe Zone Foundation led a grassroots campaign to raise awareness about sex trafficking and tourism, and organized protests against a local tour company offering Asian sex tours. She also testified at a State House of Representatives hearing on trafficking. The hearings resulted in the passage of Act 82, which makes “promoting travel for prostitution” a Class C felony violation. Act 82 now serves as model legislation for other states.
Soroptimist’s Disaster Relief Fund—The Soroptimist Disaster Relief Fund provides financial assistance to regions affected by natural disasters or acts of war. Women and girls are hardest hit by acts of war and natural disasters, and poor women and single mothers—the poorest of the poor—who lack access to support services and aid following disasters are especially vulnerable to traffickers. Following the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, for example, there were many documented cases of rape, sexual abuse and trafficking.43 Many poor women lack the necessary resources to escape acts of war and natural disaster, and because of pre-existing poverty and gender inequality, are less able to recover from their losses and rebuild their lives after disaster has struck. Many of these women and girls are left vulnerable to traffickers and the trafficking industry. Because relief efforts targeted to women are often overlooked during a crisis, and because women and girls have special needs in times of crisis and disaster, Soroptimist’s Disaster Relief Fund supports projects that specifically assist women and girls. Clubs can apply for disaster relief grants for local areas hit by natural disasters or warfare, and the fund also supports international disaster relief projects. In the wake of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, Soroptimist donated more than $100,000 to three reconstruction projects that benefit women and girls. More than $50,000 was donated to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research to analyze the impact of Hurricane Katrina on women and girls, and $10,000 was donated to the Louisiana Coalition of Domestic Violence.
Soroptimist International of the Americas is a 501(c)(3) organization. In December 2004, Soroptimist received the Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations (PANO) Seal of Excellence for its successful compliance with the Standards for Excellence program. PANO recertified Soroptimist in 2007.

Sources
1This white paper will primarily discuss human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. However, human trafficking for the purpose of labor is also a pervasive international problem. Trafficking, according to the United Nations Crime and Justice Information Network is the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that approximately 12.3 million people are enslaved in forced or bonded labor, child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” 2007, page 8. <http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/> —back to whitepaper —
2“Trafficking in Persons Report.” 2006, page 13. U.S. State Department. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006 —back to whitepaper—
3“Trafficking in Persons Report.” 2006, page 13. U.S. State Department. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006 —back to whitepaper—
4“Fact Sheet: Human Trafficking.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2004, page 1. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_human.html —back to whitepaper—
5“Trafficking in Persons: A Gender Rights Perspective Briefing Kit.” 2002. United Nations Development Fund for Women and the United Nations Inter-agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Mekong Sub-region. http://www.unifem-eseasia.org/resources/others/traffic.htm. —back to whitepaper—
6“UN Commission on the Status of Women Adopts U.S. Human Trafficking Resolution.” March 18, 2005, page 1. U.S. Department of State. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/fs/2005/43630.htm.—back to whitepaper—
7“The Cause of Sex Trafficking is the Demand for It.” 2006. Captive Daughters. http://www.captivedaughters.org/demand.htm. —back to whitepaper—
8“Trafficking in Persons Global Patterns.” 2006, page 4. United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) http://www.unodc.org/pdf/traffickinginpersons_report_2006ver2.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
9’Connor, Monica, and Grainne Healy. “The Links Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: A Briefing Handbook.” 2006, page 3. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and the European Women’s Lobby. http://action.web.ca/home/catw/attach/handbook.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
10Richard, Amy O’Neill. International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime. 1999, page 3. DCI Exceptional Intelligence Analyst Program, Center for the Study of Intelligence. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/trafficking.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
11“Stop Violence Against Women: Trafficked Women and Girls Questions and Answers.” 2005, page 2. http://www.amnestyusa.org/women/trafficking/question_answer.html. Because of the difficulty in gathering true data, these statistics are often changing. —back to whitepaper—
12Landesman, Peter. “The Girls Next Door (How Sex Trafficking Works).” January 25, 2004, page 2. The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B04EEDA1439F936A15752C0A9629C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted. This quote is attributed to Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves. Because of the secrecy around and general lack of knowledge about this issue, it is difficult to find reliable statistics. —back to whitepaper—
13“Fact Sheet: Sex Trafficking.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_sex.html —back to whitepaper—
14Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. University of California Press: Berkeley, 2004. —back to whitepaper—
15Richard, Amy O’Neill. International Trafficking in Women to the United States: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime. 1999, page 8. DCI Exceptional Intelligence Analyst Program, Center for the Study of Intelligence. https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/trafficking.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
16“Trafficking in Persons Report.” 2007, page 8. http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2007/—back to whitepaper—
17O’Connor, Monica, and Grainne Healy. “The Links Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: A Briefing Handbook.” 2006, page 6. Coalition Against Trafficking in Women and the European Women’s Lobby. http://action.web.ca/home/catw/attach/handbook.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
18Organized crime tends to be less of an issue in domestic trafficking. However, in countries such as Japan, organized crime is a central factor in domestic and international trafficking. —back to whitepaper—
19Ibid, page 24. —back to whitepaper—20“Trafficking in Persons Global Patterns.” 2006, page 80. United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) http://www.unodc.org/pdf/traffickinginpersons_report_2006ver2.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
21Ibid. —back to whitepaper—
22“Protocol for Identification and Assistance to Trafficked Persons and Training Kit.” 2005. Anti-Slavery International. http://www.antislavery.org/homepage/resources/PDF/Protocoltraffickedpersonskit2005.pdf.—back to whitepaper—23“The Race Dimensions to Trafficking in Persons—Especially Women and Children.” 2001. United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.http://www.un.org/WCAR/e-kit/trafficking_e.pdf. —back to whitepaper—
24In 2006, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) examined the flow of trafficking victims around the world. Countries were ranked according their involvement in the trafficking industry and their role in the cycle of trafficking. Origin countries are countries from which trafficked women and girls originate. Typically, origin countries are developing countries with high levels of economic strife and social unrest. Major origin countries include Albania, Belarus, Bulgaria, China, Lithuania, Nigeria, Romania, the Russian Federation, Thailand and the Ukraine. The UNODC found 127 countries of origin. Transit Countries are countries through which trafficked women travel. Transit countries may also function as destination and origin countries for various populations of trafficked women. Major transit countries include Albania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Poland and Thailand. Though there is less data available on transit countries, the UNODC identified 98 transit countries. Destination Countries are countries to which trafficked women are sent to work in the sex industry and the point of exploitation. Major destination countries include Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey and the United States. In all, the UNODC, found 137 destination countries.

human trafficking of women and children from Armenia

2008-09-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

The Armenian genocide resulted in the kidnapping of thousands of Armenian women from their families, usually during deportations or overnight stops. After the organized mass killings of the Armenian male population, during the first stage of state-orchestrated policy of extermination, the Ottoman governors implemented another pre-meditated phase of the genocidal policy: the destruction of the rest of Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire, this time targeting the elderly, women and children.
Some of those individuals who were kidnapped and integrated into Muslim family life, over time forgot about their Armenian ethnicity and even lost the ability to speak their native language. In order to save their own lives and the lives of their loved ones many Armenian women forcibly to adopted Islam. They eventually were married off to Muslim men and in keeping with local tribal customs, were marked with specific tattoos. Tattoos were extensively used as amulets in the Middle East and Islamic countries, with the wearers believing that the mark imbued them with magical powers. These tattoos were often in the form of dots or a small “x” and provided protection, strength or fertility. These new markings represented new belonging and a marked change in their life.
What is ironic in this story is that Armenia’s society and especially the government do almost nothing to stop the ongoing and current human trafficking of women and children from Armenia.

Sexual Addiction and Online Perpetrators

2008-09-22T12:21:00.000-07:00

Sexual Addiction and Online Perpetrators
PORNOGRAPHY ADDICTION STATS
Pornography Addiction and Industry Statistics
As of 2003, there were 1.3 million pornographic websites; 260 million pages (N2H2, 2003).
The total porn industry revenue for 2006: $13.3 billion in the United States; $97 billion worldwide (Internet Filter Review).
U.S. adult DVD/video rentals in 2005: almost 1 billion (Adult Video News). Hotel viewership for adult films: 55% (cbsnews.com).
Unique worldwide users visiting adult web sites monthly: 72 million (Internet Filter Review).
Number of hardcore pornography titles released in 2005 (U.S.): 13,588 (Internet Filter Review).
Adults admitting to Internet sexual addiction: 10%; 28% of those are women (internet-filter-review.com).
More than 70% of men from 18 to 34 visit a pornographic site in a typical month (comScore Media Metrix).
More than 20,000 images of child pornography posted online every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).
Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Mission & Exploited Children).
100,000 websites offer illegal child pornography (U.S. Customs Service estimate).
As of December 2005, child pornography was a $3 billion annual industry (internet-filter-review.com)."At a 2003 meeting of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, two thirds of the 350 divorce lawyers who attended said the Internet played a significant role in the divorces in the past year, with excessive interest in online porn contributing to more than half such cases. Pornography had an almost non-existent role in divorce just seven or eight years ago." (Divorcewizards.com)
Christians, Pastors and Church Pornography Statistics
A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event.
51% of pastors say cyber-porn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle (Christianity Today, Leadership Survey, 12/2001).
Over half of evangelical pastors admits viewing pornography last year.
Roger Charman of Focus on the Family's Pastoral Ministries reports that approximately 20 percent of the calls received on their Pastoral Care Line are for help with issues such as pornography and compulsive sexual behavior.
In a 2000 Christianity Today survey, 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit Web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week.
29% of born again adults in the U.S. feel it is morally acceptable to view movies with explicit sexual behavior (The Barna Group).
57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation (Christians and Sex Leadership Journal Survey, March 2005).
Statistics on Women with Pornography Addiction
28% those admitting to sexual addiction are women (internet-filter-review.com).
34% of female readers of Today's Christian Woman's online newsletter admitted to intentionally accessing Internet porn in a recent poll and 1 out of every 6 women, including Christians, struggles with an addiction to pornography (Today’s Christian Woman, Fall 2003).
Statistics on Pornography's Effect on Families and Marriages
47% percent of families said pornography is a problem in their home (Focus on the Family Poll, October 1, 2003).The Internet was a significant factor in 2 out of 3 divorces (American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers in 2003 - divorcewizards.com).
Statistics on Child Pornography Use
9 out of 10 children aged between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, in most cases unintentionally (London School of Economics January 2002).
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography: 11 years old (internet-filter-review.com).
Largest consumer of Internet pornography: 12 - 17 year-old age group (various sources, as of 2007).
Adult industry says traffic is 20-30% children (NRC Report 2002, 3.3).
Youth with significant exposure to sexuality in the media were shown to be significantly more likely to have had intercourse at ages 14 to 16 (Report in Pediatrics, April, 2006)."Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions." - U.S. Department of Justice, Post Hearing Memorandum of Points and Authorities, at l, ACLU v. Reno, 929 F. Supp. 824 (1996).
Statistics on Online Perpetrators
1 in 7 children who use the internet have been sexually solicated - 2005. (Internet Filter Review)
1 in 4 kids participate in Real Time Chat. (FamilyPC Survey, 2000).
1 in 5 children (10 to 17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations online (Youth Internet Safety Survey, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001).
2 in 5 abductions of children ages 15-17 are due to Internet contact (San Diego Police Dept.).
76% of victims in Net-initiated sexual exploitation cases were 13-15, 75% were girls. "Most cases progressed to sexual encounters" - 93% of the face-to-face meetings involved illegal sex (Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004).

Statistics on Child Pornography Use

2008-09-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

9 out of 10 children aged between the ages of 8 and 16 have viewed pornography on the Internet, in most cases unintentionally (London School of Economics January 2002).
Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography: 11 years old (internet-filter-review.com).
Largest consumer of Internet pornography: 12 - 17 year-old age group (various sources, as of 2007).
Adult industry says traffic is 20-30% children (NRC Report 2002, 3.3).
Youth with significant exposure to sexuality in the media were shown to be significantly more likely to have had intercourse at ages 14 to 16 (Report in Pediatrics, April, 2006)."Never before in the history of telecommunications media in the United States has so much indecent (and obscene) material been so easily accessible by so many minors in so many American homes with so few restrictions." - U.S. Department of Justice, Post Hearing Memorandum of Points and Authorities, at l, ACLU v. Reno, 929 F. Supp. 824 (1996).
Statistics on Online Perpetrators
1 in 7 children who use the internet have been sexually solicated - 2005. (Internet Filter Review)
1 in 4 kids participate in Real Time Chat. (FamilyPC Survey, 2000).
1 in 5 children (10 to 17 years old) receives unwanted sexual solicitations online (Youth Internet Safety Survey, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001).
2 in 5 abductions of children ages 15-17 are due to Internet contact (San Diego Police Dept.).
76% of victims in Net-initiated sexual exploitation cases were 13-15, 75% were girls. "Most cases progressed to sexual encounters" - 93% of the face-to-face meetings involved illegal sex (Journal of Adolescent Health, November 2004).

Human Trafficking a local issue

2008-07-15T23:52:00.000-07:00

By Tracie Morales

Press Democrat

Girls and women working as prostitutes on Santa Rosa Avenue are evidence that Human Traffciking is a problem not confined to distant countires, experts said Wednesday July 2nd.

This is a call to awarness, to understand an a call to action.

Santa Rosa police Lt. Nicholas Sensley said during a forum on human traffciking at congregation

Shomrei Torah.

About 250 people heard local, state and national officals and human rights advocates discuss the issue in Sonoma county.

Bobbi Turner, Crisis intervention manger with United against Sexual Assualt in Sonoma County said runaways are the most vonurable.

Most of the women working on Santa Rosa Avenue about 55 percent got started in Human Trafficking, she said.

About 250 people heard local, state an antional officials and human rights advocates discuss the issue in Sonoma County. The event was sponsored by local Soroptimist International of santa Rosa.

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com

TRADE ........

2008-07-15T23:36:00.000-07:00

The CIA estimates that between 50,000 and 100,000 girls, boys and women are trafficked annually into the Unite states to be pimped out or sold for FORCED SEX.

Worldwide more than one Million people are trafficked across international borders against their will.

" WE ARE NOT FINDING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES
BECAUSE WE ARE NOT LOOKING FOR THEM."

Department of Justice.

Kidnapped 10 year old boy from China was Recovered by Monique Lessan

2008-07-15T23:05:00.000-07:00

TESTIMONIALS
STEPHEN J. NUTTINGAttorney at Law6th Floor Nauru BuildingP.O. Box 5093Saipan, MP 96950
June 7, 2008Dear Monique:
Thank you so much for assisting my client in recovering her child. Despite the fact that we had a court order giving my client custody of her 7-year old son, and ordering the return of the child to Saipan, we had been waiting months for the California authorities to act on that order. During all of this time, I was receiving almost daily calls from my client asking for additional information on what was happening with her case. Unfortunately, I never had any news, and felt very ineffective. At the time there seemed that there was little I could do but advise my client that "these matters just take time."
Because of the many accolades for your firm I found on the internet, I decided to advise my client to retain your services. Because I specialize in family law matters, I know how difficult it can be dealing with the emotions involved, and the stressful situations those emotions produce. But you and Randy Torgerson, managed to control the situation, and to give my client confidence and trust, even when confrontations with the abductor/father proved extremely contentious, and threats of never-ending litigation seemed imminent. The manner in which you used the local authorities to convince the father to release the child to the mother, without resorting to the courts, was truly masterful and clearly shows the respect you must command from law enforcement personnel.
The mother and child have returned to Saipan and came into my office yesterday, bringing me a gift for all that I have done. I must admit that I felt somewhat guilty taking it, because I know that you and Mr. Torgerson were really responsible for reuniting this child with his mother. You truly made one little boy very happy and gave a mother back the real joy in her life.

Horrifying Information on child trafficking in Chile

2008-06-25T01:05:00.000-07:00

I would like to share some of the relevant findings regarding children and trafficking in Chile:
Total population 15,988,000 Population Reference Bureau 2004
Child population 4,156,880 Population Reference Bureau 2004

Child labor: In 2000, less than 1% of children age 10 to 14 we working. Children do work in the following sectors: agriculture, fishing, ranching, shepherding, meat and shellfish processing, bagging in grocery stores, domestic service and street sales. US Dept. of Labor 2003 Findings on the worst forms of child labour

Children out of school: In 2001, 195,600 primary school aged children between the ages of 6-11 were out of school. UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005
Child Slavery: No confirmed reports.

Child Trafficking: Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for both laboral and sexual exploitation. Traffickers are know to contact victims and their families directly or through advertisements offering jobs as domestic help, model, or product promoters. US Dept of State TIP 2005

Child prostitution and pornography: A 2003 SENAME study found at least 3,700 children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. US Dept of State TIP 2005 More can be found on that in my piece here. Also, in 1998 “Operation Cathedral” exposed a link between Chilean pedophile network and the international pornography trade. This include 19 other countries as well. There are reports of children as young as 7 expoited through prostitution and sex tourism in Chile’s 4 largest cities. In 2003 a US man was arrested in the Santiago airport for possessing child pornography. Although the national authorities deny it, ECPAT claims that Chile is a sex tourism destination Ecpat CSEC database

Children used in crime: Children are involved in sale of drugs and prostitution. US Dept of Labor’s 2003 Findings on the worst forms of child labor.
Child soldiers: Under 18s could be recruited with their parents’ consent. No numbers are available. CSUCS, Global Report on Child Soldiers, 2004
Posted in Chile, Human Trafficking, child labor, children, prostitution, sex tourism, slavery, trafficking children
« Class consciousness
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Responses

[...] Similarly on the global scene Clare has a lot of info. [...]
By: Prostitution and Human Trafficking « HAPLOGROUP - bit that makes us human. on October 3, 2007 at 6:59 am

UN.GIFT (United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) website http://www.ungift.org aims to be an extension of UN GIFT activities worldwide.

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com
Monique Lessan
Eye Investigate International

Human Trafficking in Sonoma County

2008-06-25T00:04:00.000-07:00

Screening of the Film Cargo: Innocence Lost
with Director Michael Cory Davis followed by a panel discussion with local, state and natioal experts.

Moderated by Nicholas Sensley

Confirmed panelists will include representatives from the District Attorney’s office, Sheriff’s Dept., Santa Rosa City Attorney’s office, FBI, ICE, US Dept. of Justice, and United Against Sexual Assault (UASA).

Location: Congregation Shomrei Torah
2600 Bennett Valley Road
Santa Rosa 95404

Times: 5 PM Reception
6 PM Screening of CARGO: Innocence Lost, followed by panel discussion

Admission is free.

NOTE: The film is rated “R” and contains descriptions and dramatizations of violence that may not be suitable for all viewers.

Monique Lessan: http://www.eyeinvestigate.com/

Sex Slavery/Trafficking: Frequently Asked Questions

2008-05-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

What is trafficking?What is sex slavery/trafficking?
Who trafficks women and girls? How are women trafficked?
Who purchases trafficked women and girls?
What is the impact of sex trafficking?

What is trafficking? A $32 billion annual industry, trafficking is a type of slavery that involves the transport or trade of people for the purpose of work. According to the U.N., about 2.5 million people around the world are ensnared in the web of human trafficking at any given time.
Trafficking impacts people of all backgrounds, and people are trafficked for a variety of purposes. Men are often trafficked into hard labor jobs, while children are trafficked into labor positions in textile, agriculture and fishing industries. Women and girls are typically trafficked into the commercial sex industry, i.e. prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation.
Not all slaves are trafficked, but all trafficking victims are victims of slavery. Trafficking is a particularly cruel type of slavery because it removes the victim from all that is familiar to her, rendering her completely isolated and alone, often unable to speak the language of her captors or fellow victims.
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What is sex slavery/trafficking? Sex trafficking or slavery is the exploitation of women and children, within national or across international borders, for the purposes of forced sex work. Commercial sexual exploitation includes pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and girls, and is characterized by the exploitation of a human being in exchange for goods or money. Each year, an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders—though additional numbers of women and girls are trafficked within countries.
Some sex trafficking is highly visible, such as street prostitution. But many trafficking victims remain unseen, operating out of unmarked brothels in unsuspecting—and sometimes suburban—neighborhoods. Sex traffickers may also operate out of a variety of public and private locations, such as massage parlors, spas and strip clubs.
Adult women make up the largest group of sex trafficking victims, followed by girl children, although a small percentage of men and boys are trafficked into the sex industry as well.
Trafficking migration patterns tend to flow from East to West, but women may be trafficked from any country to another country at any given time and trafficking victims exist everywhere. Many of the poorest and most unstable countries have the highest incidences of trafficking, and extreme poverty is a common bond among trafficking victims. Where economic alternatives do not exist, women and girls are more vulnerable to being tricked and coerced into sexual servitude. Increased unemployment and the loss of job security have undermined women's incomes and economic position. A stalled gender wage gap, as well as an increase in women's part-time and informal sector work, push women into poorly-paid jobs and long-term and hidden unemployment, which leaves women vulnerable to traffickers.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine are among the countries that are the greatest sources of trafficked persons. The UNODC cites Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United States as common destination countries of trafficked women and girls.
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Who trafficks women and girls? Organized crime is largely responsible for the spread of international human trafficking. Sex trafficking—along with its correlative elements, kidnapping, rape, prostitution and physical abuse—is illegal in nearly every country in the world. However, widespread corruption and greed make it possible for sex trafficking to quickly and easily proliferate. Though national and international institutions may attempt to regulate and enforce anti-trafficking legislation, local governments and police forces may in fact be participating in sex trafficking rings.
Why do traffickers traffic? Because sex trafficking can be extremely lucrative, especially in areas where opportunities for education and legitimate employment may be limited. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the greatest numbers of traffickers are from Asia, followed by Central and Southeastern Europe, and Western Europe. Crime groups involved in the sex trafficking of women and girls are also often involved in the transnational trafficking of drugs and firearms, and frequently use violence as a means of carrying out their activities.
One overriding factor in the proliferation of trafficking is the fundamental belief that the lives of women and girls are expendable. In societies where women and girls are undervalued or not valued at all, women are at greater risk for being abused, trafficked, and coerced into sex slavery. If women experienced improved economic and social status, trafficking would in large part be eradicated.
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How are women trafficked? Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured with offers of legitimate and legal work as shop assistants or waitresses. Others are promised marriage, educational opportunities and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbors or even parents.
Trafficking victims often pass among multiple traffickers, moving further and further from their home countries. Women often travel through multiple countries before ending at their final destination. For example, a woman from the Ukraine may be sold to a trafficker in Turkey, who then passes her on to a trafficker in Thailand. Along the way she becomes confused and disoriented.
Typically, once in the custody of traffickers, a victim's passport and official papers are confiscated and held. Victims are told they are in the destination country illegally, which increases victims' dependence on their traffickers. Victims are often kept in captivity and also trapped into debt bondage, whereby they are obliged to pay back large recruitment and transportation fees before being released from their traffickers. Many victims report being charged additional fines or fees while under bondage, requiring them to work longer to pay off their debts.
Trafficking victims experience various stages of degradation and physical and psychological torture. Victims are often deprived of food and sleep, are unable to move about freely, and are physically tortured. In order to keep women captive, victims are told their families and their children will be harmed or murdered if they (the women) try to escape or tell anyone about their situation. Because victims rarely understand the culture and language of the country into which they have been trafficked, they experience another layer of psychological stress and frustration. Often, before servicing clients, women are forcibly raped by the traffickers themselves, in order to initiate the cycle of abuse and degradation. Some women are drugged in order to prevent them from escaping. Once “broken in,” sex trafficked victims can service up to 30 men a day, and are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy.
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Who purchases trafficked women and girls?
Many believe that sex trafficking is something that occurs “somewhere else.” However, many of the biggest trafficking consumers are developed nations, and men from all sectors of society support the trafficking industry. There is no one profile that encapsulates the “typical” client. Rather, men who purchase trafficked women are both rich and poor, Eastern and Western. Many are married and have children, and in some cases, as was reported in one New York Times article, men have sex with trafficked girls in lieu of abusing their own young children.
One reason for the proliferation of sex trafficking is because in many parts of the world there is little to no perceived stigma to purchasing sexual favors for money, and prostitution is viewed as a victimless crime. Because women are culturally and socially devalued in so many societies, there is little conflict with the purchasing of women and girls for sexual services. Further, few realize the explicit connection between the commercial sex trade, and the trafficking of women and girls and the illegal slave trade. In western society in particular, there is a commonly held perception that women choose to enter into the commercial sex trade. However, for the majority of women in the sex trade, and specifically in the case of trafficked women and girls who are coerced or forced into servitude, this is simply not the case.
In addition, sex tourism—that is, the practice of traveling or vacationing for the purpose of having sex—is a billion dollar industry that further encourages the sexual exploitation of women and girls. Many sex tours explicitly feature young girls. The tours are marketed specifically to pedophiles who prey on young children, and men who believe that having sex with virgins or young girls will cure sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Often, these men spread HIV and other STDs to their young victims, creating localized disease epidemics.
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What is the impact of sex trafficking?Trafficking has a harrowing effect on the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of the women and girls ensnared in its web. Beyond the physical abuse, trafficked women suffer extreme emotional stress, including shame, grief, fear, distrust and suicidal thoughts. Victims often experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and with that, acute anxiety, depression and insomnia. Many victims turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.
Sex trafficking promotes societal breakdown by removing women and girls from their families and communities. Trafficking fuels organized crime groups that usually participate in many other illegal activities, including drug and weapons trafficking and money laundering. It negatively impacts local and national labor markets, due to the loss of human resources. Sex trafficking burdens public health systems. And trafficking erodes government authority, encourages widespread corruption, and threatens the security of vulnerable populations.

2008-05-27T19:55:00.000-07:00

The TOP 3 Reasons You Will Lose Your House, Spouse and Money If You Don’t Hire a Private Investigator!

A Private Investigator today is not like the P.I.’s on T.V. They actually do an abundance of activities that go from the mundane, background checks for corporations, to the exciting, child abduction recovery. Hiring a P.I. is simple, most people believe it costs too much or they just don’t know where to go to get their services.

Costs are reasonable and you can find P.I.’s is all of the common places – Yellow Pages, Google, referrals etc. But why would you want to hire a P.I. and what do their services entail? Here are the Top 5 reasons people hire P.I.’s and what the services should include – so you have a checklist to review as you hire any potential P.I. for your needs;

1. PERFORM BACKGROUND CHECKS

Who would need to conduct a background check to ensure their safety (monetary or physical safety):

Human Resources Departments at large or small corporations – an new employee could potentially be bringing some bad habits or issues with them that could potentially cost you tens of thousands of dollars in losses, lawsuits and/or lost man-hours of work.
Parents who are looking to hire a live-in Nanny – will your children be safe with the person who is watching them? Do they have the certifications that you are requiring? A check can also determine any previous issues with past clients.
Homeowners or business owners who are looking to hire a general contractor for work – this is a big one. Are they true to their word? The contractor may have a background of overrunning job budgets or not finishing on time. They may also have outstanding liens against their company based on work that was not completed or previous project issues.
A family member who is looking into care facilities for elderly loved ones to ensure that they will be getting the best care possible – again if someone is taking care of a loved one, especially elder care, what are their certifications and are they current as described.
Dating someone on line – this is fast becoming one of the most researched fields for P.I.’s due to horror stories you hear about meeting people online and then having the person you thought they were turn into someone else.
Business ventures with a new partner – a new business venture is a touchy subject and a persons past can definitely affect the future of any relationship, especially if you are now venturing forth as partners. Find out what you can before the ink dries.

An extensive background check from a reputable source will include:
Bankruptcies, liens & Judgments Search
Business License
Cellular Phone Number Search
Civil History
Corporate & Limited Partnership Filing Search
Credential Verification
Criminal History Database
Criminal History On-Site
Drivers History
Education Verification
Employment Verification
Federal Civil History
Federal Criminal History
Fictitious Business Name Search
Fire Arms Search
License Plate or VIN Search
Media Searches
National Criminal Index Database Search
National Death Locator
OFAC (Office of Foreign Asset Control)
Officers/Directors Records Search
Personal Reference Verification
Phone - landline Number Search
Professional License Verification
Real Property Ownership Search
Sex Offender Search
Social Security Trace
Toll Free Number Search
UCC Filing Search
Utility Search
Vehicle and Vessel Search
Voter Registration
Watercraft Search
Workers’ Comp. Filing Search
Terrorist – Multinational Search

2. CONDUCT AN ASSET SEARCH

A private investigator is able to track real estate records and registered personal property belonging to any subject. Real estate records include assessor, deed, refinance and foreclosure records. Personal property records include aircraft, watercraft and stock ownership records for shareholders holding at least 10% of stock in public companies including the directors and top executive officers. the nationwide Asset Search also include tax Liens, judgments, notices of default, bankruptcies, lawsuits, business asset search, business credit check, business records, jury verdicts, news/media search and much more.
3. INVESTIGATE IDENTITY THEFT
Identity theft and identity fraud are terms used to refer to types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another individual's personal data in a way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Unlike fingerprints, which are unique to an individual and cannot be given to someone else for their use, personal data—especially Social Security numbers, bank account or credit card numbers, telephone calling card numbers, and other valuable identifying data—can be used by someone to personally profit at the victim's expense.
Unauthorized persons take funds out of others' bank or financial accounts or take over their identities altogether, running up debts and committing crimes while using the victims' names. A victim's losses may include not only out-of-pocket financial losses, but additional costs associated with trying to restore his reputation in the community and correcting erroneous information about his financial or personal status.
The most common form of identity theft is when someone obtains the Social Security number (SSN) and perhaps a few other pieces of information about an individual, and uses that information to impersonate them and obtain credit in their name. The imposter might apply for credit, rent an apartment, get phone service, buy a car -- and then not pay the bills, giving the victim a bad credit rating. Victims must then spend months and typically years regaining their financial health.

Private investigators can help you with your complaint to the proper law enforcement authorities by providing a declaration as to the search, which you can use with both law enforcement and your creditors. This process should help expedite the process of straightening out problems with creditors.

UN peace keepers in Ivory Coast are raping children they are suppose to protect

2008-05-27T00:28:00.000-07:00

A 13-year-old girl described to the BBC how 10 UN peacekeepers gang-raped her in a field near her Ivory Coast home, and left her bleeding, trembling and vomiting on the ground.
No action has been taken against the soldiers.
The report also found that aid workers have been sexually abusing boys and girls.
After research involving hundreds of children from Ivory Coast, southern Sudan and Haiti, the charity said better reporting mechanisms needed to be introduced to deal with what it called "endemic failures" in responding to reported cases of abuse.
It also said efforts should be made to strengthen worldwide child protection systems.
"It's a minority of people but they are using their power to sexually exploit children and children that don't have the voice to report about this.
"They are suffering sexual exploitation and abuse in silence."
Save the Children says the international community has promised a policy of zero-tolerance to child sexual abuse, but that this is not being followed up by action on the ground.
A UN spokesman, Nick Birnback, said that it was impossible to ensure "zero incidents" within an organisation that has up to 200,000 personnel serving around the world.
He said: "What we can do is get across a message of zero tolerance, which for us means zero complacency when credible allegations are raised and zero impunity when we find that there has been malfeasance that's occurred."
Save the Children said the most shocking aspect of child sex abuse is that most of it goes unreported and unpunished, with children too scared to speak out.

Human Traffciking: The World New Epidemic

2008-05-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

Stop Human Trafficking in: Cambodia, China, HongKong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Nicargua, Uzbakestan, Montenegro and the United States of America.
Human trade, slave markets, the buying and selling of people – these are words and phrases that, to many people, echo a brutal and distant time in our past. But to the countless women, men, and children trafficked every year, these words coldly define the horror of their lives. Trafficking is a global phenomenon where victims are sexually exploited, forced into labor and subjected to abuse. Trafficking is a crime under international law that requires international cooperation to address. For example Montenegro is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked internally and internationally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Urge the authorities of the above countries to ensure that the country's legal framework is in accordance with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

Human Trafficking a local issue, experts say

2008-05-21T00:08:00.000-07:00

Eye Investigate

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com/

A Missing Child- Reachelle Smith

2007-09-05T16:55:00.001-07:00

Child: Reachelle Smith
Age: 3
Height: 40'
Weight: 40 lbs.
Hair: Light brown straight middle of back
Eyes: brown
Clothing: no description
Additional Information (Location, Date, Time) : Last seen at residence 105 16th St NW , Minot , ND on May 16, 2006 at approximately 10:30 PM.
In case of identification, Please email Monique Lessan at: investigatrix@gmail.com

Female Sherlock Holmes

2007-08-16T23:22:00.000-07:00

Women's World Magazine

2007-08-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Why hire a private investigator to conduct Surveillance

2007-08-02T12:49:00.000-07:00

stakeout - surveillance of some place or some person by a private investigator, or law enforcement agent in anticipation of a crime or suspicious activity.

Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior.

Systems Surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people, objects or processes within systems for conformity to expected or desired norms in trusted systems for security or social control.

Although the word surveillance literally means (in French) "watching over",
the term is often used for all forms of observation or monitoring, not just visual observation.

Through surveillance, a number of activities can be uncovered. Here are five situations in which someone might hire a private investigator to conduct surveillance.

1. A spouse suspects that his wife or her husband may be cheating. This is a common situation in which a private investigator is hired to conduct surveillance. When you hire an investigator, you'll no longer have to sit at home and wonder if your spouse is out with someone else, where he or she is supposed to be or if your suspicions have merit. He or she can be watched from a distance, followed to certain locations and – if necessary – photographed to provide the necessary evidence of an affair.

2. Before joining in on a new business venture, an entrepreneur wants to verify that their investor is who he or she claims to be. In this case, surveillance by a private investigator will involve conducting a background check – something that can also be done by parents who are looking to hire a live in nanny or by homeowners or business owners who are looking to hire a general contractor for work. Similarly, surveillance may be done by a families who are looking into care facilities for elderly loved ones to ensure that they will be getting the best care possible.

3. An employer suspects that one of his or her employees may be embezzling from the company. When a business owner feels that an employee is being disloyal to or stealing from the business, it is important to identify which employee is at fault. Surveillance with cameras or even through the computer network can help to identify the source of the problem.

4. When an absentee parent stops making child support payments, a private investigator may be called in to conduct surveillance to determine if and where the person is living and working. Similar investigations may be conducted to identify the location of those who owe a business money and are refusing to pay.

5. Insurance companies may ask a private investigator to conduct surveillance when they suspect that someone who was injured in an accident may be overstating their injuries. Surveillance in this case may uncover the person participating in activities that their limitations should prohibit – giving the insurance companies grounds for no longer making payments to that individual.

Are their other reasons why someone may consider hiring a private investigator to conduct surveillance? Of course there are.

If you suspect that surveillance should be conducted to determine the actions of another individual, do not try to do it yourself. A private investigator will have a strong sense of regulations in your area and will be able to conduct that surveillance is legal and safe – surveillance that you'll be able to use to prove your case, if it comes to that.

If you think that you need the surveillance that a private investigator can provide, contact someone in your area who can answer your questions.

http://www.eyeinvestigate.com
Monique Lessan

2007-07-30T21:55:00.000-07:00

"Sara" (Had a Bad Dating Experience): "...and as the night progressed he was flirting with me a lot and hitting on me and talking about taking me to like, Lake Tahoe where he had a business trip and would fly me out there..."

We'll call this woman Sara. She'd rather not be identified.

This thirty-something professional thought she was having a nice, casual, honest dinner date. But, to her horror, she found exactly the opposite when a man took her to dinner, left her alone for a minute and her cell phone rang.

Sara: "The female voice is on the other end and asks for this person...'um', I say to her, 'you know I'm really sorry to hear about your separation' and she said, 'Oh, is that what he told you?' and I said, ‘yeah' and she said, 'Did he mention to you that I'm carrying? I'm pregnant with his fourth child.'"

Sara could have checked out the man she dated on any one of the growing number of online websites that searches databases for marriages, criminal records, bankruptcies, and past addresses.

Sara later on admitted after hiring me to investigate her next date: "I mean to think of what could have happened and just the deceit and I really wouldn't have known had she not, um, found my telephone number."

Dozens of these sites have sprung up, letting you play detective and comb public records to see if someone you've met is secretly married, bankrupt or has been in prison.

Our fees range from 50.00 dollars to about 200.00 and the search takes less than 24 hours.

In fact, many dating services, routinely do these basic background checks on their members before they can join.

If you are looking fr a long- term relationship or planning to spend the rest of your life with someone you owe it to yourself to run a background check on him/her.

Human trafficking is not a myth

2007-07-26T17:08:00.001-07:00

Human Trafficking is a reality that still exists

Slavery was outlawed in the US in 1864, and it is not legal anywhere in the world, yet there are more slaves in the world today than at any time in human history. 27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of slavery, for forced prostitution, labor, domestic work, and other forms of exploitation, with approximately 50% of victims being under the age of 18.
UNICEF estimates that one million children will be forced into prostitution this year. In South Asia, traffickers will pay $150 to parents for their child's life. Brothel owners can purchase the same child from the trafficker for about $1000. For traffickers, sex slavery is a lucrative business, generating over 7 billion dollars a year. Trafficking is often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Victims of trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Slavery was outlawed in the US in 1864, and it is not legal anywhere in the world, yet there are more slaves in the world today than at any time in human history. 27 million people around the world are estimated to be victims of slavery, for forced prostitution, labor, domestic work, and other forms of exploitation, with approximately 50% of victims being under the age of 18.
UNICEF estimates that one million children will be forced into prostitution this year. In South Asia, traffickers will pay $150 to parents for their child's life. Brothel owners can purchase the same child from the trafficker for about $1000. For traffickers, sex slavery is a lucrative business, generating over 7 billion dollars a year. Trafficking is often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Victims of trafficking are subject to gross human rights violations including rape, torture, beatings, starvation, dehumanization, and threats of murdering family members. In the case of trafficking for sexual exploitation, girls often have their virginity sold first, followed by multiple gang rape to break down their resistance. Since the bodies of young girls are not ready for sexual intercourse, this often results in abrasions, making the girls susceptible to HIV/AIDS and other diseases.

How do People End up as Slaves
People are trafficked in various ways: Some are sold by their parents or other relatives, who often think the "agent" will find their children education or employment. Some are tricked by false job offers, thinking that they will be working as a waitress or model in a richer country. Traffickers will also make false marriage offers to lure young women, who go willingly to their future "husband." Others are forcibly kidnapped or abducted. Even for those who go willingly, expecting that they will be paid for their work, most find themselves in slave-like conditions. Since they have given the traffickers their passports and other legal documents, for travel processing, they are often viewed as illegal immigrants.
Poverty is a factor which makes people vulnerable to trafficking, along with war, civil unrest, and natural disasters. Within a family, the death of a parent or the trafficking of an older sibling can make a person at particularly high risk for being trafficked.

Where does Human trafficking still exist
Currently, the regions of the world with the most severe trafficking problems are Southeast Asia (the Mekong region including Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos and Myanmar/Burma), South Asia (the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), the former Soviet Republics (including the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic).

Human Trafficking in the U.S.
Human Trafficking is a highly complex issue that affects potentially thousands of foreign and domestic men, women, and children in the United States. No one is certain how many people are trafficked in the United States every year. The US Government, state agencies, and various non-governmental organizations throughout the US are committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers.
It is important to know the difference between trafficking and smuggling, and the difference between trafficking and exploitation, as not all cases of labor exploitation or prostitution are instances of trafficking. Trained authorities and service providers, after interviewing the trafficked person, can be the best judge of whether there is a trafficking situation (instances of force, fraud, or coercion constitute sex or labor trafficking).
American girls as trafficking victims?
Underage American girls, many of them runaways or throwaways, also get caught up in forced prostitution in the United States. These can also be considered instances of trafficking, though again, trained authorities and service providers would be the best judge.

The Persian Mirror Interview with the Investigatrix

2007-07-25T01:04:00.001-07:00

International Child Abduction Recovery

2007-07-24T21:37:00.001-07:00

notes on The Hague Convention

Hague Convention Challenges

When the Hague treaty won’t support you

The Hague Treaty on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Hague Convention) provides that a child who is habitually resident in one party country, and has been removed to or retained in another party country in violation of the left-behind parent's custodial rights, should be promptly returned to the country of habitual residence. However, many countries are not parties to the Convention, and even some that are parties enforce the laws only sporadically or in accordance with their own societal customs. Thus, the attorney must take special care when faced with the possibility that his client's foreign national spouse might take the children to such a country.

Hague Convention and Middle East

While Muslim countries are generally not parties to the Hague Convention (Turkey being an exception, although it does not fully comply with its treaty obligations), the problem extends also to many other countries. For example, those Asian countries with Confucian-based state family registration systems, such as China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, are not parties to the Hague Convention (except for Hong Kong and Macau), and provide minimal assistance for the return of parentally abducted children.

Japan is a renowned safe haven for child abduction, particularly if the abducting parent is a Japanese national. In any custody battle involving a Japanese national, it would be foolish not to plan a custody order that precludes visits to Japan considering the possibility that that parent might take the child permanently to Japan. The courts in Japan will not enforce foreign custody orders and will not take any effective steps to return abducted children. The court will have minimal chance of securing anything more than extremely occasional visitation with his or her child in Japan if the other parent is Japanese. (Thus, in a case on which the author is currently working, the American father who lives in Japan has been allowed to see his child only once in 6 months, for only 2 hours, in court and with supervision).

Preventing Abductions to Non-Compliant Hague Countries

Merely because a country is a party to the Hague Convention does not mean that it will effectively enforce its treaty obligations. For example, the U.S. State Department has asserted that Mexico is "non-compliant" with the terms of the Convention. U.S State Department Report on Compliance with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, 2004. Mexico's noncompliance results from the following problems:
◊ Mexico has not enacted any legislation to implement the Hague Convention, which has not been integrated into the Mexican legal system.
◊ The Mexican Central Authority has no law enforcement powers and Mexican law enforcement agencies make no serious efforts to locate parentally abducted children.
◊ The burden of finding an abducted child in Mexico is left entirely to the left-behind parent. Mexican authorities provide no effective help and if the child cannot be located, nothing happens.
◊ There is an apparent lack of understanding of the Convention among the judiciary in Mexico.
◊ The Mexican Central Authority does not have adequate resources to perform its functions under the Convention.
◊ The "amparo" (a special appeal in Mexico claiming a violation of constitutional rights) is used by taking parents to block Hague proceedings indefinitely.
◊ Mexican courts are able to reconsider the facts of a Hague at any stage of the proceeding, which allows proceedings to be prolonged substantially.
Accordingly, custody orders concerning parents with strong ties to Mexico must be drafted so as to minimize the risk that the child will be taken to that country. It would be reckless to permit a Mexican parent who has expressed a desire to move to Mexico, and who has strong family or business ties to Mexico, to take a child into that country for a visit, regardless of the conditions that may be imposed to encourage the parent to bring the child back to this country.
The State Department's 2004 report establishes that similar concerns exist with respect to Austria, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Mauritius, Turkey and Romania and, to a somewhat lesser extent, several other countries.

Wrapping up

When courts receive applications to prevent children's temporary visits to their parents' country of origin, they are tempted to rely on the need to respect other countries' legal systems and on international comity to preclude them from deciding that the foreign country may not provide sufficient guarantees that the child will be returned. However, if counsel marshal extensive evidence to support the fact that a foreign country will not respect or effectively enforce an American custody order, the courts should be prepared to reach the necessary conclusion and issue an effective remedy. It is far better to prevent children being taken to such countries that do not fully respect their international treaty obligations than to attempt to procure their recovery after the fact.