Fight Human Trafficking

Fight Human Trafficking, the modern day slavery to end it. Almost a million people are trafficked each year across the borders. Read here to find out how you can help stop human trafficking. Read more!

Trafficking of Bangladeshi girls

Mahmuda Begum writes at the The New Nation on February 7th on the plight of the vulnerable girl children in Bangldesh who have been trafficked to the neigboring countries into sex trade.

There are one-fifth population in the world lived in South Asian region. Poverty is one of the main problem in this region. Most of them earn in here less than a dollar a day. Several studies have shown that girl children and women bear a disproportionately large burden of the deprivation and exploitation resulting from such poverty related issues. The number of women living in poverty and the number of women headed households living below the poverty-line have increased over the last decade, impacting significantly on the wellbeing and human security of children, often leading to situations of trafficking.

Day by day South Asia is increasing women and girls being trafficked into the sex trade; the average age of girls trafficked from Bangladesh and Nepal into India has fallen over the past decade from 10-15 years to 16-18 years. Trafficking is by and large a gendered phenomenon. The majority of trafficking in India, happens for the purpose of commercial sex work, and over 60 percent of those trafficked into sex work are adolescent girls in the age-group of 12-16 years.

Women and girls trafficked to India are at high risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, It is estimated that half of the girls in Mumbai brothels who are under the age of 18 years have been infected with HIV. Although without being trafficking, every day many people cross border movement take place both officially and also illegally. Due to reason of that great chance to spread out HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh.

Bangladeshi girls and women are trafficked to India in maximum number from these districts of Bangladesh such as Kushtia, Jessore, Rajshahi and even from other district. India shares 4,222 kilometres of border with 28 districts of Bangladesh, most of it open with rivers running across. So, Bangladeshi trafficking groups have been able to build up powerful bases in the border districts of India in West Bengal and Assam, to the north and west, and these are now favorite transit points of trafficked women.

It is not just the problem of girls, little boys and women trafficking to India even they are trafficked with in Bangladesh form the villages to the city area promising them a better life and indulging them in different activates. These little boys and girls are involved in home bounded labour, child labor, pick pocketing, illegal drug selling, criminal activities, Thieving, commercial sexual exploitation or unfair jobs etc. India is the major market of trafficking as people from most of the countries are trafficked. Bangladesh is a big market of these trafficked victims. Even it is known as the sex tourist area as lots of European, Middle-East and American come to India as sex tourist. India has thousands of children in its sex-trade centers.

Commercial sex workers (CSWs) - as a group - are an important driver of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As has been shown in very recent research involving repatriated CSWs in Nepal, many of the CSWs who have been trafficked are at a significantly higher risk than "average" women of contracting HIV. A survey conducted by Rainbow Nari O Shishu Kallyan Foundation at Goalondo Brothel in Rajbari district in Bangladesh, this study points out that almost 53% of sex workers enter the profession before the age of 20 years, and 30% enter between 20 to 25 years of age, and some of them have been entangled through instigation of traffickers.

As the pandemic spreads wider, the link between trafficking and HIV is emerging stronger than ever before. With South Asia recording the fastest growing rates of new HIV infections, the nexus of poverty, HIV, and the trafficking of girls within and across borders is creating ever-widening circles of insecurity that disproportionately threaten the lives of girls and further impoverish the poor through sickness, loss of livelihood and rejection by society. The epidemic is severely undermining human security and posing serious threats to the health and socioeconomic sector and overall development of the region.

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Join CWLA Conference in DC

Join Child Welfare League of America's (CWLA) annual conference in Washington DC from February 25th through 27th. CWLA invites child welare professionals to attend this grand occasion. Read the conference brochure here for the detailed program description. In a welcome letter, CWLA President & CEO Christine James-Brown and the Chair of the Board of Directors Ross E. Wales write,

2008 promises to be a year of great change and great innovation! We are pleased and proud to convene our 2008 National Conference: A Call for Action - Leading the Nation for Children and Families with a fresh perspective, energizing us to seek positive outcomes for children and families.

It is with excitement and a sense of hope that we have developed this conference program. We have focused on your efforts and what we have all learned in relation to positive outcomes; systems/service integration; and state, local, and national public policy-and how these focus areas work together to improve the lives of children and families. Planned with a committee of members and staff, this conference is not to be missed!

The Child Welfare League of America has launched a campaign calling for a White House Conference on Children and Youth in 2010. The White House Conference will highlight issues related to child abuse and neglect and ensuring positive outcomes for children and youth. We ask that CWLA members and partners, and all organizations advocating on behalf of children, join us in this call for the President and Congress to commit to making vulnerable children a national priority.

This year, our Advocacy Day activities will include taking the sign-on from all of the supporters of the White House Conference, including resolutions from your boards of directors, staff, and community partners. Visit our website for more information.

So join us February 25-27 in Washington, DC, to get a glimpse of the very best work going on in the field and to move forward with us to make children and families our nation's top priority. We encourage you to register early to get the lowest rate, and we look forward to seeing you at the conference!

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Unicef News on Bangladesh

Cyclone Sidr devastated Bangladesh. See the vidoe news from Unicef:

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Bangladesh Cyclone Sidr

Courtesy: Save the Children UK

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Child Abuse in South Asian Eyes

This is an interesting research article posted in the Stop Honour Killings website. "Child Abuse is Dishonour" basically presents the survey results from the communities from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Communities across the South Asian countries deal sexual abuse cases with their victims. They don't bring the perpetrators to justice.

This article says, "Most people surveyed said they would prefer to deal with suspected child abuse themselves rather than involve the police or social services. They were afraid that the child could be removed from their family, and felt that the authorities did not understand their religion and culture. NSPCC Asian helpline manager Saleha Islam said: “We want to send out a message to the British Asian community that putting up a wall of silence will not protect children. It will only protect the abuser who will be free to abuse again.”

What should we do for these communities to increase their awareness about child protection? Read more!

More Assets for Foster Children

US Lawmakers are reconsidering assets for foster children. Currently, state foster care agencies claim federal money for maintaining foster children. As NPR's Rachel Jones reports on March 25th, "Across the country, child welfare agencies are trying to cover costs by claiming the Social Security benefits of tens of thousands of foster children. New legislation on Capitol Hill aims to give control of that money back to the children....Most states won't end the practice without a fight. But child advocates say that unless eligible foster children actually get the SSI payments they're entitled to, they could wind up like so many other youth who age out of the system: homeless and broke".

Does this mean that new initiative will reduce States burdens to take care older children? Does it imply that more monies will be allocated for States to maintain foster children as they will loose maintneance money? Who knows? Read more!