Sex Industry Rampant in Bucheon

-by Stephanie-

In a small yet populated city near Seoul you can find whatever you're looking for in the way of debauchery and communicable diseases. Look no further than 2 blocks from your apartment to find a slew of choice venues for your carnal pleasure.

A couple steps from the entrance of our apartment building you find this overt advertisement for a "massage." The Korean writing states, "Sport's Massage." Ah yes, because it is absolutely necessary that your masseuse wear a skimpy leopard print bikini while she pounds out your "sore muscles."

Another half block and you'll find another massage shop painted across the skyline. Bare-breasted and all it clearly advertises the true nature of its product.

 Here is a view of the hopping downtown night life strip. More than half of these bright lights contain sex shops masquerading as singing rooms and massage parlors. This is less than two blocks from our apartment.

Self explanatory.

I edited out some sensitive material on this next one so it would not be too vulgar, but in broad daylight next to populated apartments and playgrounds these pictures are anything but edited.

 Again, self explanatory.

This is a blown up advertisement standing in the middle of a pedestrian walkway descrying the benefits of their "Noraebang" (Korean for singing room). A sexy, scantily clad girl as its spokes person. Now, many companies use this technique, but few truly follow through. Here you know you can get what you pay for. If you're a group of men and with a nod from the owner a couple loose women will be sent to your room to sing with you. They will try and convince you to pay for more once your karaoke time is up.

 A plethora of calling cards are stuck into each car parked along the side of the road. It is possible that the owners of these cars are only too happy to pick up the phone, but it is just as likely to be a family with small children out for dinner. In the morning these siren cards will litter the streets for the high school kids to oggle as they walk innocently to the bus.

Another massage parlor hocks its wares.

 

And the women need not worry, they haven't been forgotten amongst the copious amount of of sex shops catering to middle aged, greasy business men. There is one shop for the middle aged woman seeking a night away from children and husband.

She can even choose what height she most desires.

 

 

 We were only out for an hour or so taking photos of all the "massage parlors", "singing rooms" and "bars" that were overtly designated for the lecherous pursuits. We took 56 photos of 56 different shops. All within a 2 1/2 block radius of our apartment. And this is in a relatively small city outside of Seoul. I asked one of my Korean friends how one can distinguish between a true massage parlor or singing room and ones that offer "pleasure." She said that generally they just assume that every place has the "pleasure" option. Every massage parlor I have come across has either a half naked women painted across its banner or is open 24 hours. What innocent massage parlor would need these expansive hours I wonder?

When asked what she thought of the sex trade here in Korea, she said, "When I think about this industry I feel ashamed of my country. Although we are a developed nation, this aspect of who we are seems third world. It's very disheartening."

In most of these shops the women are acquiescent, however, some of them may be forced into this life. Women from Thailand and the Philippines are brought over under the rouse of "lounge singing" and so on. Once they arrive at the country, however, they find that they are anything but the previously stated job description.

This happens in almost every country in the world, and America is no exception. It may not be as overt as here in Korea, but it exists nonetheless. Even though in Korea these types of shops are illegal the law enforcement is abysmal and does next to nothing to stop the rampant spread of this malignant evil. If you see any suspicious activities in the States, report it. Our judiciary system prosecutes these kinds of places. At least, for the most part...

the.idea: voting with your wallet

all sourced from betterworldshopper.com

the.problem

Money is power. And wherever large amounts of money collect, so also new centers of power form. The latest historical manifestation of this is the modern corporation.

Make no mistake, these new power centers are not democracies. We don't vote for the CEO's or their policies (unless we are: rich enough to be significant shareholders, informed enough to know what's going on, and compassionate enough to care about more than just personal profit), yet our destinies are increasingly in their hands.

the.solution

As these power centers shift, we must shift our own voices if we wish to be heard. As citizens, on average, we might vote once every 4 years, if at all. As consumers, we vote every single day with the purest form of power...money.

The average American family spends around $18,000 each year on goods and services. Think of it as casting 18,000 votes every year for the kind of world you want to live in.

how.some.stack.up 
New Belgium (A+) v. Guniess (D)

Toyota (A) v. Nissan (D)

Target (C+) v. Wal-Mart (F)

Clif Bar (A) v. Powerbar (D-)

Levi's (B+) v. Lee's (D-)

L.L Bean (B) v. Land's End (D+)

Cadbury (B-) v. Toblerone (F)

Starbucks (B) v. Maxwell House (F)

Chipotle (A) v. Baja Fresh (D)

In-N-Out (B) v. McDonald's (D-)

Micah's thoughts: If you have the choice between multiple products, all else being equal, why not choose the more responsible company's product?

To learn more, click here.

NYC's new $2M awareness campaign & "Journey" by the Helen Bamber Foundation

NOVEMBER 10, 2009, 2:30 PM

Art Show Shines Light on Sex Trafficking’s Victims

By JENNIFER 8. LEE

Jennifer 8. Lee/The New York Times A dozen artists collaborated on “Journey,” an installation at New York University that uses shipping containers to depict the experiences of sex trafficking victims.

The room is recreated with exquisite attention to detail: a scribbled price list for sexual services on a whiteboard. A large bowl with condoms spilling onto the end table. Half-used lipstick scattered among twisted thongs, high heels and toilet paper. A sickly perfume-type smell that clings to the torn wallpaper. A grimy stained bed designed to shudder under the weight of invisible, moving bodies. Men’s voices that alternately issue commands and groans.

The room is part of an immersive art exhibit, “Journey,” that depicts the experience of being a sex trafficking victim. The installation, made of seven shipping containers, was opened on Monday on Washington Place near Washington Square Park and will be open through Sunday. Visitors under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.

The exhibit is a collaboration of a dozen artists and was done under the aegis of the Helen Bamber Foundation, a British group that works with survivors of torture and abuse. Developed with a budget of 70,000 British pounds, “Journey” was originally shown in Trafalgar Square in London in September 2007, and now travels internationally.

The exhibit is a brainchild of Emma Thompson, the Oscar-winning British actress, who introduced the installation at a press conference with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday morning.

Ms. Thompson, who is chairwoman of the foundation, said she became aware of the issue of human trafficking when she was introduced to a woman who had essentially been a slave at a massage parlor that Ms. Thompson walked by every day on the way to the London subway “I was mentally, completely excoriated by it,” Ms. Thompson said. The inspiration for the project came from the woman’s request that people be able to understand, “just for five minutes, what it’s like.”

London and New York are hubs for human trafficking, though the victims’ countries of origin vary. London has many from Eastern Europe and Africa, and New York sees more from Latin America and Asia.

At the news conference, the mayor also announced a $2 million multilingual public advertising campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking. The campaign, which is to start in March, has the slogan “It’s happening here” and will include advertisements on buses, bus shelters and other media, said Norma Abbene, deputy counsel to the mayor, who is overseeing the campaign.

New York, Florida and California are all centers for human trafficking, according to Carol Robles-Roman, deputy mayor for legal affairs — New York, in large part, because it is a transportation hub with three airports, two of them international. The problem spills outside city boundaries. Long Island has also been identified as a region where trafficking is rampant.

The ads, which are designed by New York University students, will try to alert people to the existence of covert slavery. “When you walk, it’s in plain sight, but you don’t see it,” Ms. Abbene said. The campaign will use the languages that dominate in specific neighborhoods. At minimum, the languages will include Arabic, Chinese, Haitian creole, Korean, Russian and Spanish. Funds will come from outside sources, rather than from the city budget, Ms. Abbene said.

The advertisements dovetailed with the arrival of “Journey.” Each of the exhibit’s seven shipping containers are named for a different stage of human trafficking: “Hope,” “Journey,” “Uniform,” “Bedroom,” “Customer,” “Stigma” and “Resurrection.”

Contributing artists include Anish Kapoor, a winner of the Turner Prize; Sandy Powell, an Oscar-winning costume designer;MODE2, a British artist; Simon Stephens, a playwright; and James Oster, a photographer.

Mr. Oster went to six brothels in three British cities and hired prostitutes to take pictures of him, which were assembled for the “Customer” exhibit. It is unusual to have so many artists working on a mutual goal, he said. “There is so much ego in art,” said Mr. Oster, who flew in from London for the opening. “To remove the ego, to have a common objective, is brilliant.”

The exhibit is open at the following times: Tuesday through Friday, from noon to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sunday, Nov. 15, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/art-show-shines-light-on-sex-traffickings-victims/

2010 World Cup escalating sexual slavery

-by www.zoutnet.co.za-

A young girl in Limpopo is approached by a very sophisticated lady who offers her a modelling contract far from home.

She feels flattered and thinks about the money that she will be able to send to her orphan brothers and sisters. She falls for the trick and is transported away. On the way, cocaine is shoved up her nose. She finds herself in an unknown place, trapped. After being raped repeatedly until she offers no more resistance, she is ready to be exploited as a sex slave.

An unreal scenario?

Maybe not, if taking into account that between 28 000 and 30 000 children are currently being pros-tituted in South Africa. Half of these children are younger than 14 years old. Limpopo, Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape are the main “recruitment” areas for victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is expected to increase significantly in the months preceding the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa. The sex trade is also moving to middle- and high-income houses and rich neighbour-hoods near sports stadiums in the run-up to the world cup soccer tournament.

Information and statistics such as these were shared at the launch of a counter-human-trafficking campaign in Polokwane and Louis Trichardt and surrounds. On October 14, the Director of Stop Trafficking of People (STOP), Ms Corinne Sandenbergh of Stellenbosch, spoke at a LISA (Limpopo Independent Schools Association) meeting in Polokwane.

“Our children and women are not for sale,” Sandenbergh said.

Human trafficking is the exploitation of human beings by selling them for sex, bonded labour or domestic servitude. “Human trafficking is currently the fastest growing moneymaking scheme in the world. You can sell drugs or guns once, but a human being you can keep on selling for years on end,” informs www.givengain.com

“These people who traffic in humans are extremely cunning and totally unscrupulous. They employ innovative, devious methods. We want parents and children to be aware,” said Ms Sonja Prinsloo, Louis Trichardt coordinator of STOP.

The plan of action includes the training of teachers and volunteers. An educator’s manual on how to stop human trafficking, containing a detailed, easy-to-use les-son plan, is available. A DVD to create awareness is available as well as a complete written play, The butterfly spoke, which can be performed.

Part of the initiative is the Traffick Proof Project, as well as the Valuable to Jesus Project, where small dolls are knitted and given to children in Limpopo. “The doll is a tangible reminder to each child that he or she is special to the Lord and not to be trafficked,” Prinsloo said. Senior citizens and other people prepared to help with the knitting are requested urgently. A knitting pattern is available.

The involvement of churches is vital to help identify volunteers and to encourage intercessors to pray. Training for caregivers of trafficked victims is offered. Safe houses should be made available to support, counsel and empower trafficked victims.

The roll of the SAPS is crucial and police protocol will be observed. Last year, a persistent police officer from Port Elizabeth cracked a human trafficking syndicate.

Those talented in fundraising and communication are required to come to the fore to offer assistance. STOP is run in partnership with Firestorm Productions to put together an awareness campaign to inform and involve the public, also through Internet- based video clips and an interactive website. STOP is an alliance of like-hearted representatives from organisations that are involved in the fight against trafficking. For more information, visit www.givengain.com. Those who want to offer assistance or get involved can phone Corrinne on 082 456 2459 or Sonja on 084 700 7960.

source: http://www.zoutnet.co.za/details.asp?StoNum=7834

Something as simple as a birth certificate may cut down on child sex-slavery.

By Teo Kermeliotis, for CNN

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• More than 40 million people in 32 countries have been traced and given birth certificates
• Millions of children now have access to health services after Plan's registration campaign
• Registration is fundamental in protecting children from exploitation and abuse
• Each year, 51 million children are not registered at birth, directly affecting their rights to health

London, England (CNN) -- Most people take their birth certificates for granted, but for millions of people around the world, they simply do not exist, causing them to miss out on fundamental rights, including access to free health care and education services, according to the Britain-based international charity Plan.
Ten-year-old A-Lea is one of the generation of "invisible children." When he got ill, he was unable to visit the doctor. Instead he suffered at home in the remote mountainous district of Chiang Rai, northern Thailand.
As his condition deteriorated, he and his sister Orowan, 18, were forced to borrow money from a local loan shark to pay the hospital fees.
Orowan was also the victim of teasing and bullying at school. "One day, a teacher said to me in front of the whole class that I was not a Thai citizen and there's no point me continuing to study. I felt really embarrassed and hurt," she told Plan. "I had to walk out of the classroom and go home immediately. I haven't been back to that school since."
In 2007, Plan came to the area to help stateless children as part of its Universal Birth Registration campaign. Soon after, both A-Lea and Orowan were able to obtain citizenship and can now exercise their full rights as citizens.
They are among more than 40 million people, mostly children, in 32 countries who can now access a number of vital benefits, including life-saving medicines and immunization programs, following Plan's five-year campaign, the organization said in a report released Monday.
"A birth certificate gives you legal identity as a child or as an adult. It gives you a nationality and a sense of belonging. From our program work, we've come across cases where the certificate that proves who you are becomes a lifesaver," Plan's head of global advocacy Nadya Kassam told CNN.
An official record of birth could mean proof, not only of identity, but of existence, Plan's "Count Every Child" report says.
In many countries, those without a birth certificate may not have the right to marry, vote, be employed, inherit property, open a bank account, acquire a passport to travel outside their country of birth, or even to register their own children's births.
The report recounts the story of Marcelino, 28, and Juana, 22, from Cusco, Peru. Their 8-month-old baby, Isabel, had been refused specialized medical attention because neither parent had an identity document.
Worse, the child had no birth certificate. Marcelino had not obtained a legal identity because his work as a stonecutter had erased his fingerprints, he told Plan's researchers.
However, following a medical emergency affecting his child, he recognized the importance of having a document to verify his identity. Soon after, he registered Isabel.
The report says registration is also fundamental in protecting children from exploitation and abuse such as human trafficking, prostitution and from being treated as adults by the criminal justice system.
It helps in reuniting children with families after natural disasters and armed conflict. It also protects them from child marriage and early recruitment into the armed forces.
"The times we live in are making birth registration more important than ever. The global recession is pushing more children into trafficking, the sex industry and into illegal and hazardous child labor.
"Economic migration means children can be more easily made stateless and no one takes responsibility for their welfare and development," Plan International CEO Nigel Chapman told CNN.
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, who helped launch Plan's campaign in 2005 said, "Universal birth registration is impossible to ignore and entirely possible to achieve, if countries have the political will to make it happen."
Embracing innovative techniques such as the use of text messaging, media campaigning and celebrity ambassadors, Plan has managed to raise awareness on the issue.
In just 10 months, around 7 million people in Cambodia -- more than half the population -- received birth certificates. Sikka district in Indonesia saw birth registrations surge from just 3 percent in 2004 to 72 percent in 2006.
However, the goal of achieving 100 percent universal birth registration is still far from being accomplished.
Around 51 million children born in 2007 were unregistered and nearly half of them live in South Asia, according to UNICEF's latest official figures.
Susan Bissell, head of child protection for UNICEF, praised Plan for its efforts and urged governments and agencies to put more emphasis on the issue. "There's more that needs to be done.
"A quarter of developing countries with birth registration data have a birth registration rate of less than 50 percent. We must think outside the traditional boxes and really see what birth registration means for a child throughout their whole life," she told CNN.

As for A-Lea and Orowan, their future looks bright: "Since 2008 my name has been added to the house registration document, and when I turn 15 I can go to the district office and get a Thai ID card. This makes me very, very happy," A-Lea said.

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/16/birth.registration.plan/index.html