August 2012

PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA – Two Cambodian traffickers have been convicted and sentenced to nearly a decade in prison – a strong sentence according to the IJM staff who worked on the case. "The verdicts that came from this trial were extremely positive and send out a strong message," explains IJM Cambodia Case Monitor Vinira Hok.

But the now-convicted perpetrators weren't in the courtroom to hear the sentence: They have been at-large for the past four years. The manhunt will now intensify, as police search to find them so they can begin serving their prison sentences.

MUMBAI, INDIA – This week, two managers of a brothel in Mumbai's red-light district were found guilty for sex trafficking crimes. The conviction secures justice for eight young women who were rescued from the brothel in early 2011, in a rescue operation led by police based on information they received from IJM Mumbai.

The conviction marked the end of an 18-month battle for justice. Two of the trafficking survivors chose to testify against the managers, and IJM helped them as they prepared to share the painful truth about what had happened inside the dark brothel walls.

KOLKATA, INDIA – Laughter and the crash of bowling pins tumbling down fills the air. A popular song begins to play, and dozens of girls shout and sing along. It could be an afternoon of fun anywhere in the world, but for the nearly 150 girls gathered in Kolkata, this afternoon is a standout event. The girls, many of them teenagers and some of them young mothers, are sex trafficking survivors.

Every summer, IJM Kolkata hosts a day full of "summer camp" activities for trafficking survivors who live at the different aftercare homes in the city.

LUSAKA, ZAMBIA – Last week, one judge took a powerful stand for Tasiyana and her siblings. After a year-long trial, the uncle who stole their family’s home and left them penniless was convicted for his crimes. It is the end to a very long battle for justice – a battle that started 16 years ago.

When her father passed away in 1996, Tasiyana’s uncle threw her siblings from their home, taking the property for himself. Relying on their mother’s meager wages for shelter and food, all four children were forced to drop out of school and work to help the family survive.