Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Korean "comfort women" in landmark protest against Japan
Korean women seized by Japanese military during World War II, then forced into sexual slavery, staged their 1,000th successive weekly protest outside the Japanese embassy in Seoul, South Korea on Wednesday. "I want President Lee [Myung Bak] to urge Japan to apologize for the past sins and make compensation. The Japanese ambassador should make a formal apology as quickly as possible before we all die," said Kim Bok-dong, 88, one of five former "comfort women" in attendance, and one of only 63 still alive today from among the more than 200,000 girls taken to military brothels.

Bensouda to take on gender violence at ICC
Holding perpetrators of gender-based crimes accountable for their actions will receive increased focus moving forward, newly elected International Criminal Court Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda says. Bensouda, who is the first woman to hold the ICC's top prosecution position, believes the court's efforts can help end the impunity that surrounds sexual assault and gender-based crime in many parts of the world.

Photojournalist exposes secret world of child brides
In an interview, photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair -- who shot the feature "Too Young To Wed" for National Geographic magazine -- discusses nearly a decade of work investigating child marriage throughout the world. Despite international agreements that outlaw the practice in many countries, millions of young girls, some as young as five, are forced into marriage annually.

Five girls who resisted child marriage hailed as ‘icons' by President
Economic progress is not the only indicator of a country's development, a nation requires its people to show courage against social pressures and overcome social evils, said President Pratibha Devisingh Patil on Wednesday after meeting five teenagers from West Bengal who fought social and family pressure and resisted child marriage. The girls, with little education and almost no support, turned down marriage proposals and faced the anger of their families and the community. They earned praise from the President, who described them as “icons” and asked them to share their stories and encourage girls to say no to under-age marriages.

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Modern Slavery News Round-Up

How to End Modern-Day Slavery, 3 Voices
It seems impossible. Human trafficking cases, blind promises of freedom, forced prostitution rings — these aspects of modern-day slavery come to light all too often. Estimates of the number of slaves worldwide range from about 10 million to 30 million. Approximately 100,000 victims are in the United States, working as slaves inside homes, in agricultural fields, in the sex industry and other places, according to the U.S. Department of State’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report. That’s millions of women, children and men struggling to escape captivity. That’s millions of people wondering what it means or what it would take to be free again. But what about solutions - How can we end modern-day slavery? Three experts weigh in what businesses, governments, the public and individuals must do.

18 Years for Sex Ring Boss Convicted of Human Trafficking
Troy Bonaparte, a 46 year old Chicago man has finally been brought to justice after running an operation that forced women into prostitution. He was convicted of involuntary servitude and trafficking in persons for forced labor and pandering and was just sentenced to18 years in prison. Bonaparte is the first person convicted in Cook County under updated laws against human trafficking. Bonaparte would keep all of the money earned in the prostitution and threaten to beat or kill the women if they tried to disobey him, prosecutors said. He would rent motel rooms in the city and suburbs and force women to prostitute themselves to between 5 and 25 men a day.

Georgia Passes Sex Trafficking Law with Heavy Penalties
Georgia has passed one of the nation's toughest laws on human sex trafficking, giving victims advocates greater hope that other states will follow suit. The intent of the law is to impose tougher penalties on criminals and provide more treatment options for victims. The new law is the result of a four-year battle that sought to satisfy religious conservatives who argued the changes could in essence legalize prostitution, and children’s advocates who maintain a safety valve was needed for victims forced into the sex trade.