Freeing Slaves is priority #1 and CALL+RESPONSE is deep in the fight. Together with your help, we want to provide care for 70 women this next year. It only costs $100 to support one woman for an entire year as well as give her hope for a new future.

CALL+RESPONSE is partnering with Free for Life International and the Peace Rehabilitation Center (PRC) to prevent and rescue those who have been human trafficked across the Indo-Nepal border. Along with creating a safe haven for young women they are also making the rest of the world a safer place by helping in the arrest of traffickers. Young women rescued at the borders are taken to the Peace Rehabilitation Center where they receive victim rescue and restoration, skills training, micro-loans for new business enterprise, care for HIV positive individuals and community training programs. In the past 20 years 1,000Ôs of girls have been rescued, educated and have found restoration through PRC.

To learn more and donate go to: http://www.callandresponse.com/free_slaves.php

By Joe Eskenazi, for SF Weekly  Dec. 28 2010

Eagle-eyed readers may recall a horrifying May lawsuit from a Russian-born mother and daughter who claim what started as an eHarmony romance ended as backbreaking, sexually charged slavery at the hands of a cruel taskmaster and his 400-pound grown son.

Natalya Shuvalova and her daughter, Liza, claim Natalya’s eHarmony-spawned husband, Joe Cunningham, put them to work — in more ways than one — on his Clear Lake property. A San Francisco federal judge last week dismissed a bevy of the Shuvalova’s claims against the Cunninghams — but allowed the forced labor portion of their complaint to move forward.

In the suit – which is worth reading — the Shuvalovas paint Joe Cunningham as a modern-day Simon LeGree and recall scenes worthy of Uncle Tom’s Cabin — only far more sexually perverse.

Following Natalya and Joe’s marriage in May of 2008, the plaintiffs claim they were made to hoist earth, rocks and soil for up to 10 hours a day, seven days a week without water or rest. The Russians say they were threatened with verbal abuse, death, and the weapons and knives that were around the house. The Cunninghams would only let the women leave the property to attend church with them weekly.

As for Liza, then 16, Cunningham allegedly prevented her from going to school until mid-September of 2008, and forced her to “massage his naked body” behind closed and often locked doors several times a week. At one point, Liza was purportedly kept from going to a doctor for an ear infection, instead being forcibly restrained while a “homemade remedy” was inserted into her ear.

Cunningham’s 35-year-old son, Daniel, who “claims to weigh 400 pounds and is well over six feet tall,” according to the suit, routinely grabbed at Liza’s crotch, buttocks and breasts, forced her to sit on his lap, forcibly kissed her and fondled her, and stared at her while she was dressing.

The two women managed to sneak off the property in September 2008 and escape to a women’s shelter. They now reside in San Francisco, where they filed charges under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA), The Fair Labor Standards Act, and the California Labor Code.

While Judge Richard Seeborg felt the women have a case regarding forced labor under the TVPRA, he dismissed all claims against Dan Cunningham; all trafficking claims (“As pled, plaintiffs have not stated a distinct claim for trafficking, as opposed to forced labor”); and contended the Cunninghams did not violate labor laws, as Joe was Natalya’s husband and not her “employer.”

In all, 17 of the women’s 18 complaints were dismissed, though some may be readdressed with a refiling within 20 days. In the meantime, Joe Cunningham is presumably still single — and looking.

Sarah Parker December 28, 2010 for Change.org

Most abolitionists know that ending slavery in our supply chain cannot be accomplished overnight. Changing supply chain ethics is a long-haul campaign, one that requires showing big business that using slave labor will have a negative impact on their bottom line. The folks at Call + Response are working to do just that. And now anyone with a mobile phone can join them.

To find out more about ongoing efforts to end supply chain slavery, I called Justin Dillon, director of the anti-trafficking film “Call + Response,” to discuss the newest tool in their campaign to change supply chain ethics: the C+R iPhone app (other platforms coming in 2011). His take is that moral reasons for ending supply-chain slave labor are not enough of an argument for the business community. Hard and fast data that shows how using slave labor will drive away consumers, or how NOT using it will draw them in, is the only way to make a lasting change. The bottom line for big business will always be their bottom line.

For example, recently Exxon representatives participated in the Luxor International Forum on ending human trafficking, quite a big win in and of itself, where Dillon was also in attendance. They reinforced his take on changing supply chain ethics, saying that business can’t and won’t change until there is real data to support the monetary impact. Throwing stones at big business with a “fix it or else” mentality won’t accomplish lasting change. So Dillon and C+R are asking consumers to use their new iPhone app to convince companies that slave-free is profitable.

The new C+R iPhone app and the web tools it uses, like ChainStore Reaction, Blood Phones, and SlaveFree Label, collects undeniable data that consumers are demanding slave-free products. And and you can participate wherever you are. Take a picture for SlaveFree Label and the app uploads it and geolocates you on a public map. Register your mobile phone on Blood Phones and it maps your location and phone’s brand. You can even send ten e-mails from ChainstoreReaction in about a minute. The app is also tied to social media, so you can post to Facebook and Twitter about the actions you just took and challenge friends to do them too. You and your network can make a daily impact with just a few minutes of your discretionary time wherever you are. And according to Dillon, they’re seeing more responses from targeted companies since the app launched.

Read more at: http://humantrafficking.change.org/blog/view/use_your_mobile_phone_to_show_big_business_slavery_doesnt_pay

Download the iPhone App here:
http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/c-r-mobile/id398089126?mt=8

Its nearing the end of the year which always makes us reflective.  We want to get better and better at fighting human trafficking.  In order to become great at something, you have to stop and recognize the greatness of others.  Below are some amazing people you may have not yet met, but should.  They are worth your (hammer)time.

1. Benjamin Skinner

Do you ever imagine being an undercover journalist working deep inside a story where your very life flashes before your eyes on an hourly basis?  Do you dream of unearthing some sinister truth that was deeply buried by very bad people?  If so, then you’ve pretty much imagined Ben’s life.  This life of his has been put on the line to suss out truth with a genuine humanity and compassion.  Ben wrote one of the best books on the modern day slave trade entitled “A Crime So Monstrous”.  Totally worth your (Hammer)Time.  www.acrimesomonstrous.com

2.  Siddharth Kara

I had the privilege of spending some time with Siddharth at the Luxor International Forum in Egypt.  He is a crack researcher and solid team player.  Kara first encountered the horrors of slavery in a Bosnian refugee camp in 1995. Subsequently, he has traveled to twenty countries across six continents to research these crimes, interviewing over one thousand former and current slaves of all kinds, witnessing firsthand the sale of humans into slavery, and confronting some of those who trafficked and exploited them.  His book, “Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery,” is worth your (hammer)time.

3.  Alison Friedman

Alison Friedman is one of those unspoken heroes that works behind people you’ve heard of.  She is policy advisor to Obama’s Human Trafficking Ambassador, Lou Cdebaca.  Prior to joining the State Department, Ms. Friedman served as Executive Director of the Alliance to Stop Slavery & End Trafficking (ASSET) where she helped to organize the first-ever UN Security Council Arria on the intersect between Terrorism, Organized Crime, and Trafficking in Persons.  She is one of my heroes and worth every bit of my (hammer)time.  You should try to meet her someday.  www.state.gov/g/tip/

4.  Brad Myles

Brad is someone you want on your side.  He is smart, humble, and takes really good notes.  Seriously, you should see his notes.  They are works of art.  Brad currently serves as Polaris Project’s Executive Director and CEO.  He works on all areas of Polaris Project’s comprehensive approach to fighting human trafficking, including over-seeing the direct victims services efforts of local offices in Washington, DC and New Jersey, supervising the policy team’s advocacy initiatives at the Federal and state levels, and providing strategic oversight for Polaris Project’s operation of the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) hotline.

The next time you see him speaking or on a panel somewhere, please try to attend.  You will be impressed with his knowledge and commitment to the issue.  Worth every minute of your (Hammer)time.   www.polarisproject.org

5.  Pam Omyidar/Randy Newcomb

Randy is President and CEO of Humanity United.  HU was founded by Pam Omydiar in 2005.  By building peace and advancing human freedom, Humanity United seeks to restore human dignity in places where it has been lost. They invest in ideas and individuals. By working in conflict and postconflict zones, Randy and his team support global, regional, and local actors that are working to mitigate the fighting, monitor and expose perpetrators of human rights abuses, amplify the voices of those directly affected, and prevent future hostilities. Our efforts to abolish modern-day slavery include supporting an ambitious worldwide advocacy and awareness-raising agenda, and making investments that help fight the practice of human trafficking and reduce the number of people living under the conditions of forced labor, bondage, and other forms of slavery.

Pam, Randy and HU are trailblazers on the road the freedom.  Following them is worth your (Hammer)time.    twitter.com/randynewcomb www.humanityunited.org

Intern at CALL+RESPONSE in Emeryville!

We’re looking for some passionate people to join our team.  Each applicant must be a current student enrolled in a degree-granting program at an accredited university. Internships are unpaid; school credit is available. Interns should be able to commit 10 to 20 hours per week, on average. The exact dates of the internship will depend on each student’s availability. Internships are broken into quarters, as you will see below.

-Fall Internship: August/September –December
-Winter Internship: January –March
-Spring Internship: April –June
-Summer Internship: May/June –August/September

Please send your cover letter and resume to hq [at] callandresponse [dot] com. Be sure to note to which internship you are applying, which days you will be available, and when you will be able to start. Include the term that you are applying for in the subject line (e.g., “Winter 2011 Internship”).

Graphic Design Internship
Communications/Social Media Internship
Event Outreach Internship
Chain Store Reaction Internship
Special Projects Internship
Grants Program Internship
Slavery Footprint Internship

1. Graphic Design Internship

Responsibilities:

-Assist in the conception and execution of projects across several media including, but not limited to: print, web, and video.
-Assist in the design of printed materials, post illustrations, web banners, and screen designs for www.callandresponse.com
-Perform basic administrative duties – phones, mailings, errands

Skills & Requirements:

-Proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and/or Illustrator, and InDesign
-Strong graphic design and typography skills
-Interest in editorial design, print and online media

Please submit a sample from your portfolio or url link of your work along with your resume and cover letter.

2. Communications/Social Media Internship

Responsibilities:

-Daily writing/postings of blog posts on the C+R website
-Moderating comments and uploading content on the C+R website and SlaveFree web site
-Update C+Rs various online profiles – Facebook/Twitter, grow fans/friends/followers
-Actively participate in and initiate conversations on C+R web pages
-Monitor, upload and facilitate data on C+R iPhone app
-Basic administrative duties – phones, mailings, errands
-Research best online practices and trends

Background / Skills:
-Interest in current events, print and online media and social media
-Experience with social media
-Strong writing & copyediting skills
-Proficiency in Word and Excel
-Blogging & CMS background useful

3. Event Outreach Internship

Responsibilities:

-Follow up with group purchases to clarify tools available for C+R events
-Partner with pre-existing C+R screening events to have C+R onsite presence
-Research and find new events to partner C+R with
-Research and contact new groups to screen film and find opportunities for SlaveFree partnerships
-Basic administrative duties – phones, mailings, errands

Background / Skills:

-Interest in current events and social justice
-Experience with event planning
-Strong communication skills
-Ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities on an ongoing basis
-Proficiency in Word and Excel

Chain Store Reaction Internship

Responsibilities:

-Update and add company contacts to CSR.com
-Communicate with C+R community in the suggestions and building of CSR list
-Communicate with companies to encourage their response to the issues of CSR
-Research best contacts for CSR.com companies

Background / Skills:

-Organized and efficient
-Ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities on an ongoing basis
-Ability to work quickly and on a deadline
-Strong research skills, creative thinking and problem solving skills
-Strong eye for detail and accuracy

4. Special Projects Internship

Responsibilities:

-Editorial research
-Online promotion of C+R, SlaveFree and Slavery Footprint
-Work closely with Executive Director and Operations Director to manage day to day tasks
-Basic administrative duties – phones, mailings, errands

Background / Skills:

-Organized and efficient
-Ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities on an ongoing basis
-Ability to work quickly and on a deadline
-Interest in helping make things happen

5. Grants Program Internship

Responsibilities:

-Research resources to assist with C+R projects and operations
-Assist with outreach to appropriate organizations and contacts
-Assist with quarterly/annual grant reports
-Basic administrative duties – phones, mailings, errands

Background / Skills:

-Organized and efficient
-Strong communication skills
-Proficient in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and googledocs
-Experience with non-profits or community based organizations a plus

6. Slavery Footprint Internship

A first of it’s kind online tool and mobile application, in partnership with the Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking that will allow users to answer select questions about their consumer spending which will then display a graphical “footprint” of the user’s participation in slavery, as quantified by their consumption of items created by forced labor.

Responsibilities:

-Extensive Research on products and services components, ingredients, elements
-Assist Project Manager with day to day tasks
-Assist Project Manager with user experience and information flow on web site
-Coordinate with fellow interns on group projects

Background / Skills:

-Strong research skills, creative thinking and problem solving skills
-Ability to handle multiple tasks and responsibilities on an ongoing basis
-Ability to work quickly and on a deadline
-Ability to work well in a team
-Proficient in Word, Excel, Powerpoint and googledocs

Give a Gift: http://www.callandresponse.com/store/dvd-kits/home-screening-kit.html
Fund Liberators: http://www.callandresponse.com/giving.php
iPhone App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/c-r-mobile/id398089126?mt=8

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Call.And.Response
Twitter: http://twitter.com/slavefree
RSS Feed: http://www.callandresponse.com/blog/
Email: http://www.callandresponse.com/

Ok, we know that we look at the world through a particular lens.  But this legend about Santa Claus is just too good to overlook.  As far as we’re concerned, anyone who intervenes on behalf of potential trafficking victims is a saint.

As legend has it, one of St. Nicholas of Bari’s most famous exploits regards a poor man had three daughters but could not afford a proper dowry for them. This meant that they would remain unmarried and probably, in absence of any other possible employment would have to become prostitutes. Hearing of the poor man’s plight, Nicholas decided to help him but being too modest to help the man in public (or to save the man the humiliation of accepting charity), he went to his house under the cover of night and threw three purses(one for each daughter) filled with gold coins through the window opening into the man’s house.

One version has him throwing one purse for three consecutive nights. Another has him throw the purses over a period of three years, each time the night before one of the daughters comes “of age”. Invariably, the third time the father lies in wait, trying to discover the identity of their benefactor. In one version the father confronts the saint, only to have Saint Nicholas say it is not him he should thank, but God alone. In another version, Nicholas learns of the poor man’s plan and drops the third bag down the chimney instead; a variant holds that the daughter had washed her stockings that evening and hung them over the embers to dry, and that the bag of gold fell into the stocking.  (William J. Bennett, The True Saint Nicholas, (Howard Books) 2009, pages 14-17)

Merry Christmas.  Glad tidings of Comfort and Joy to all.

The dowry for the three virgins (Gentile da Fabriano, c. 1425, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Rome).

Wired.com

Craigslist, the popular online classified ad service, has seemingly shut down its controversial “adult services” section worldwide.

In early September, Craigslist shuttered that section in the U.S., following years of being dogged on the issue by states attorneys general and some human trafficking groups, which eventually led to a hearing before Congress. The section included ads for legal quasi-sexual services and thinly veiled ads for prostitution.

Now, Craigslist has quietly removed the section in all its international sites, including those in Canada, Asia, Europe, South America and Africa.

When Craigslist shut down the section in the U.S., it defiantly replaced the section with the word “censored,” but the international shutdown came with no such protest and no announcement.

Craigslist says the section was originally created at the requests of users in order to clean up the site’s free online dating sections.

Later at the request of numerous U.S. states attorneys general, Craigslist began requiring a $10 fee paid by credit card and a working phone number to place an ad in that section. It also hired a lawyer to vet every ad for illegality and suggestions of underage girls. Craigslist was then attacked for being greedy and for profiting off of prostitution, an odd charge for a company that’s constantly criticized by business analysts for not charging for more services (the company charges only for job and housing listings in select markets).

Craigslist argued that shutting down the service would simply force the ads onto other services with less diligence and increase the spam in its other sections.

Craigslist became a favorite target of state attorneys generals, such as South Carolina’s Henry McMaster and Connecticut’s Richard Blumenthal who had ambitions for higher office. (In Blumenthal’s case, he’s now the incoming junior U.S. Senator.)

However, Craigslist was operating legally under the law, which puts legal liability on the person posting to the internet, not the internet service they use.

A Craigslist spokeswoman declined to comment on the unannounced disappearance of the section from the international versions of the site.

Backpage.com, a classified ads sites owned by Village Voice media, continues to run an adult services section, and saw a spike in traffic since Craigslist shut down its U.S. service in September.

I’ve had the privilege of watching Raven and Lily grow over the last few years into a thriving business, and idea.  We even had the opportunity to host one of their trunk sales at my home a few weeks ago.  Their products not only look good, they are made from 100% Goodness.  Check them out.  -Justin Dillon

Raven + Lily is a non-profit studio dedicated to empowering marginalized women through design partnerships and micro-enterprise opportunities. We support women’s empowerment programs that comply with fair trade standards and provide design focused micro-enterprise training.  In addition, proceeds from sales are returned to assist with community development, such as healthcare and education.  We focus on women because many women have little or no opportunity to rise above the cycle of poverty or their circumstances.

Collections from Raven + Lily include gorgeous jewelry made by women with AIDS in Ethiopia using hand-made recycled metal beads…many of the metals being former weapons.  From India, Raven + Lily’s newest additions include exclusive hand-loomed/embroidered shawls from Kashmir, as well as, hand-made natural soaps wrapped in beautiful recycled cotton papers.

www.ravenandlily.com

Check out the new video from Emmanuel Jal.

And artist who deeply understands how to leverage his art for justice.

I just returned from Egypt where I had the privilege of participating in the Luxor Forum on Human Trafficking.  The forum focused on key issues relating to human trafficking including  identifying best practices and positive experiences.  There was an effort to carve out sets of challenges to pursue with various partners in the movement. – governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, business and youth leaders.  In all it was a positive experience.  In case you did not make it, I thought I would humbly offer some of my impressions in no particular order of importance.

1.  I was impressed who showed up.  Luxor Egypt is far away from almost everywhere.   Participants willingness to travel that far is evidence that the movement is growing in depth and breadth.  From the head of Exxon to Obama’s Trafficking Czar (Lou CDebaca).  From trafficking survivors to Ashton and Demi.  From CNN correspondents to princesses.  From First Lady Mubarak (Egypt) to front line activists working around the world.  For the most part, people knew what they were talking about and seem to live what they believe.

2.  Corporate engagement of the issue is growing, but still has a long way to go.  I believe multi-national corps are waiting on the consumer sector to lay out clearly what they expect from them.  I may be biased, but I truly think this is the most efficient way forward to route out forced labor.  Our new Slavery Footprint Campaign will do much to help push the needle here.

3.  Just because it looks like a falafel doesn’t mean it is one.

4.  The movement has a branding problem.  And the criminals are benefiting from it.  Human Trafficking is Slavery.  But some think Human Trafficking is only moving people  from one place to another.  We need to get more aggressive with our language if we want to arrest peoples attention.  Ashton Kutcher and Mira Sorvino made excellent arguments to this point during a televised BBC Debate that was taped at the event.

5.  We need to move from anecdotal stories to empirical evidence.  We need to start offering businesses and governments clear data that expresses where they are missing their enforcement of law and corporate mission.  Data is the language that moves mountains, and we need more of it.

6.  Activist groups need to get better at working together.  Can’t express that enough.

7.  Pay for your camel ride before you get on, not after.  Long story.

Yours and Theirs,

Justin Dillon

Nomi Network is a non-profit organization bridging the private, public and non-profit sectors through enterprise and education to end human trafficking.

They primarily focus on sex trafficking as it seeks to increase the financial independence of women who are vulnerable to sex trafficking. Nomi uses a three-fold strategy that consists of developing talent and high-quality, profitable products, increasing capacity of employers to provide living wages and partnering with retailers and consumers to increase demand for their products.

Here’s are a couple of things that they think will be popular this holiday season:

1. Quilted Cosmetic Bag – $20

2. Quilted Laptop Sleeve – 13″ $35; 15″ $40

3. Quilted Cross Body Mini – $30

You can check out more products here:
http://www.buyherbagnotherbody.com/main.sc