Human Trafficking: From Nigeria to Paris

Benin City is not on most of our radars, not in the news. In the south of Nigeria, it is not a priority for the Nigerian government which is busy with Boko Haram in the north. It makes it easy for traffickers who prey on the girls who live around there particularly in the rural areas near the city. They are well- organized groups, who prey on the poverty and the need for young girls—some as young as 12—to seek education and a better life. They are promised that in Paris that is what they will find, and “mamas” guide them through the process. They know that they will have Continue reading “Human Trafficking: From Nigeria to Paris”

Homeless Prevention

New York City has long had a homeless prevention program, enabling people who are about to be homeless to reach out and receive assistance, perhaps legal advice, cash assistance or housing referrals. It is not perfect, but it exists. The program has even shown that helping people before they become homeless is more effective and costs less. Several cities and states have homelessness prevention programs too. According to Google so does Los Angeles, but that’s not quite so. In one of the largest homeless population in the US, homeless prevention is scant, and an op-ed by Adam Murray, executive director of Inner City Law Center, calls for shifting our focus from helping the homeless to preventing homelessness. Preventing homelessness is Continue reading “Homeless Prevention”

Implicit Bias

Implicit bias refers to beliefs that unconsciously drive decisions and behavior. They obviously become part of what lies behind racism. As far as the judicial system goes, racist behavior has been studied with juries, judges and prosecutors, those who put people away. Now there is growing awareness that this can be extended to public defenders as well. They apparently spend less time with defendants of color. Implicit bias is exacerbated by stress, exhaustion and speed, three of the things that affect public defenders. It’s not only the amount of time a public defender may spend with a defendant, implicit bias can affect Continue reading “Implicit Bias”

Trafficked Children and “The Ugly Truth”

Several days ago I read a couple of details in a story on the traficking of children in India that stayed with me. One was how unaware the realities of trafficking are is to most people in India, and the one that haunts me that young girls who were stolen as children to be trafficked were given hormone shots such as Oxytocin to makes them mature more quickly. That one detail evoked the horrors of that trade and I keep wondering about the effects of those Continue reading “Trafficked Children and “The Ugly Truth””