Displaying items by tag: trafficking

The authorities have intensified their investigation into internet influencer Andrew Tate, who faces serious charges, including human trafficking, sexual exploitation of minors, and money laundering. Recently, masked police conducted raids at his property near Bucharest, as part of an ongoing probe by Romania's anti-crime agency. Tate, along with his brother Tristan and two Romanian women, were arrested in 2022 and have since been formally indicted. While they have consistently denied all allegations, claiming a lack of evidence and a political conspiracy, they remain under strict legal restrictions, including house arrest and a ban on leaving the country. The case has garnered significant attention due to Tate's divisive online presence, where he promotes misogynistic views to millions of followers: he has already been banned by various social media platforms. The trial's start date is yet to be determined, following a lengthy preliminary legal process.

Imagine you’re looking for a new job. You come across an advert online for a well-paid, dream role. You get the job and move to a different country, full of excitement for this amazing opportunity. But when you arrive, you realise you’ve been sold a lie. It's too late. You’re trapped inside a compound, forced to scam people with fake romance or investment opportunities. You’re electrocuted if you don’t hit your targets. This nightmare of cyber-scam slavery is a reality for thousands of people in Southeast Asia. Pray for God to give success to the people who are tirelessly working to free the captives from these walled compounds. Pray for the traffickers to be caught and convicted so that those who were deceived and entrapped receive justice.

Over 700 people in one South Asian district were brought to freedom from trafficking by IJM-trained police at the end of 2022. The runup to a new year is the riskiest time for low-income workers. As industries begin recruiting people for manual labour, human traffickers deceive people with false job offers and trap them in slavery. But police officers intercepted 65 traffickers at train and bus stations as they waited to transport families to abusive businesses. Also, a government initiative brought freedom to over 1,400 children last month when police conducted an expert sweep of businesses to find children forced to work in bonded labour and hundreds more in other dangerous conditions. The authorities also arrested hundreds of suspected abusers.

Tina was attacked by her husband on her wedding night and beaten ‘black and blue’; the abuse continued for eight years. She said, ‘For years, I had to do as I was told or get beaten. He drove me around to put me in flats and then men came in. He sold me for sex. If I didn't do as I was told, I'd get beaten.’ She told Greater Manchester Police several times between 2009 and 2015, ‘but the force didn't care, they didn't believe me, they didn't do anything.’ In 2012, she told police she had suicidal thoughts due to the abuse she was suffering. Again, the complaint was not followed up. In 2015 Tina provided them with extensive evidence supporting her allegations. The police apologised and an offence under the Modern Slavery Act was recorded against her husband. However, he was not arrested, and has now left the UK.

In a South Asian country, approximately 15,000 women and children are trafficked each year with 1,000 being rescued. Exploitation happens frequently and many rituals and practices are hidden from sight. Although there is a minimum age for marriage, it is still common practice for children to be married off as young as twelve. A ritual where menstruating women are expected to live in a small hut away from their families for the duration is still widely practised despite being difficult for women. Child labour is still common, and many children still work in the entertainment sector, brick factories and dance bars. The sex industry has gone underground but still exists with girls that have been tricked into working. Migrant workers have left their families in search of better incomes and find themselves locked into physical labour contracts, or working as housemaids in homes where they are often abused.

Please pray for IJM Ghana staff and partners to be inspired with wisdom and innovation as they seek to identify and investigate cases of trafficking in the fishing industry. Pray for reliable sources of information that leads to the rescue and protection of many children exploited for labour on Lake Volta. In South Asia, please pray for IJM teams distilling and disseminating key information from recent studies to highlight the areas of greatest need. Pray for the approval of Philippine’s National Police Women and Children Protection Centre to become a National Operating Support Unit. The approval would allow the unit to be given a larger budget, enabling it to direct rescue operations of online sexual exploitation of children. IJM’s offices in the UK, USA, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, South Korea, Switzerland, and the Netherlands all need more team members and funding.

Praise God that the International Justice Mission (IJM) has signed its first collaborative agreement with the business sector in the Dominican Republic. IJM and Aerodom, the largest network of airports in the country, are joining forces to bring an end to sex trafficking. They are launching awareness campaigns in the air terminals, equipping their staff to recognise the signs of trafficking, and establish additional protocols to report these crimes to local authorities.

Praise God for all 88 children rescued during Operation Smile in South Asia. This was a police campaign focused on finding missing children and rescuing child labourers. IJM is so grateful for the tireless work of the authorities. Please pray for the children’s aftercare and safety, and that the government can reunite them with their parents, if safe. Also praise God for a significant conviction in Kenya of a police officer who shot a fisherman and then accused two bystanders of a crime to keep them quiet about the murder. It took five years to complete the trial. Please pray that the news of this conviction would be heard far and wide, so that police would know there is accountability under the law and any abuse of defenseless citizens will result in prosecution.

The United Nations have declared 2021 the Year for the Elimination of Child Labour. Children are being deprived of their childhood, their potential and their dignity. The worst forms include the sale and trafficking of children. For example trafficked children in Ghana worked longer hours, performed more hazardous work, and were more frequently prevented from attending school than non-trafficked children in the fishing industry. Also trafficked children do not have proper clothing and shelter and are more likely to be beaten. Trafficked girls risk sexual exploitation and forced marriage. Child labour can last for years, leaving children traumatised and robbing them of an education and social mobility. Covid-19 has closed schools, so teachers are not around to notice signs of abuse. An estimated 150 million people are in extreme poverty, creating conditions for child labour in its worst forms.

Pray for the IJM Kenya team opening an office in Mombasa in March to address child sex trafficking along the coast. This is a key time for building partnerships and relationships with local government, police, prosecutors, judges and community members. Pray that this would be the start of greater protection for children and more accountability for Kenya’s perpetrators. Pray for the arrest of a suspected perpetrator of online sexual exploitation in the Philippines, who has been evading custody for some time. Pray she is arrested soon, for a just trial, and that this accountability would prevent her from abusing children in the future. Pray also for the upcoming Make #SlaveFree Normal Campaign, that it would highlight the issue of slavery in supply chains and inspire people in their consumer habits. Pray that more people would join to Make #SlaveFree Normal and sign up to receive the video series that raises awareness of trafficking and slavery.