title: Sex trafficking

text: Another school of thought attributes women's migration for work in a context of strict immigration controls as the primary factor in women's vulnerability in becoming trafficked for sex. There has been an increase in women migrating within and across borders. Duong cites a demand for women migrant workers which encourages migration. The globalization of neoliberalism has shifted the global economy's focus to export production. Duong notes that there is a demand for women in export production because employers are able to pay them the lowest wages. Another reason for the demand of women workers is that there is a demand for care work. Since care work is gendered as women's work, Duong argues that women are encouraged to migrate to fill this demand. Janie Chuang is one scholar who notes the strict border controls which leave women who migrate for work in informal labor sectors, such as for care work, with little opportunity for legal migration. Chuang notes that women are thus more vulnerable to being taken advantage of by sex traffickers who provide opportunities for illegal migration. Strict immigration laws are also cited by Tiefenbrun as a key factor in individuals entering sex trafficking because women will agree to debt bondages and sex traffickers’ incentives to flee their social and economic realities.


title: Sex trafficking

text: One cause for women's migration that is widely agreed upon by scholars is the economic pressure upon women due to neoliberal globalization. Siddharth Kara argues that globalization and the spread of Western Capitalism drive inequality and rural poverty, which are the material causes for sex trafficking. Dong-Hoon Seol points out unequal development between countries as an effect of the globalization of neoliberalism. He argues that the growing disparity of wealth between developed and underdeveloped countries leads to migration of women from underdeveloped countries.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Duong cites Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), an aspect of development policies in the globalization of neoliberalism, as a cause for women's poverty, unemployment, and low wages which promote migration. SAPs affect men and women differently, she argues, because men and women experience poverty differently. This is known as the feminization of poverty. Much of women's time is spent doing unpaid labor such as housework and care work, leading to an overall lower income. Duong further argues that women are placed at a greater disadvantage due to their lack of access to land and other resources. Matusek also argues that the unequal distribution of resources and power lead to both push and pull factors of migration. According to Matusek, women are pushed to migrate on account of a lack of education and employment opportunities.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Other scholars focus on the demand for sex itself as a cause of sex trafficking. The pull factor comes from globalization creating a market around sex. Matusek cites the commodification aspect of capitalism as the cause for the industrialization of sex. The pull factor comes from globalization creating a market around sex. Seol also cites the globalization of the commodification aspect of capitalism as a cause of sex trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In the United States anyone is permitted to contact the Polaris Project at 1(888)-373-7888. The hotline is beneficial since providers are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist victims and provide information for those who are at risk. There are a variety of ways to help prevent trafficking. One must be aware of the indicators to identify victims: abnormal behavior, poor physical health, lack of control, and work and living conditions. However, these signs may only be shown through a number of people – there may be more severe, serious indicators of sex trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There is no single profile for victims of human trafficking. Most are women, though it is not uncommon for males to be trafficked as well. Victims are captured then exploited all around the world, representing a diverse range of ages and backgrounds, including ethnic and socioeconomic. However, there is a set group of traits associated with a higher risk of becoming trafficked for sexual exploitation. Persons at risk include homeless and runaway youth, foreign nationals (especially those of lower socioeconomic status), and those who have experienced physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, violent trauma, neglect, poor academic success, and inadequate social skills. Also, a study of a group of female sex workers in Canada found that 64 percent of them had been in the child welfare system as children (this includes foster and group homes). This research conducted by Kendra Nixon illustrates how children in or leaving foster care are at a higher risk of becoming a sex worker.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In the United States, research has illustrated how these qualities hold true for victims, even though none can be labeled as a direct cause. For example, more than 50 percent of domestic minor sex trafficking victims have a history of homelessness. Familial disruptions such as divorce or the death of a parent place minors at a higher risk of entering the industry, but home life in general influences children's risk. In a study of trafficked youth in Arizona, 20 to 40 percent of female victims identified with experiencing abuse of some form (sexual or physical) at home before entering into the industry as a sex slave. Of the males interviewed, a smaller proportion, 0 to 30 percent, reported former abuse in the home.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The main motive of a woman (in some cases, an underage girl) to accept an offer from a trafficker is better financial opportunities for herself or her family. A study on the origin countries of trafficking confirms that most trafficking victims are not the poorest in their countries of origin, and sex trafficking victims are likely to be women from countries with some freedom to travel alone and some economic freedom.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are numerous fake businesses that sound realistic that convince people to apply for the job. Some places have a reputation for holding an illegal business to attract their victims.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Children are at risk because of their vulnerable characteristics; naïve outlook, size, and tendency to be easily intimidated". The International Labor Organization estimates that of the 20.9 million people who are trafficked in the world (for all types of work) 5.5 million are children. In 2016, it was estimated that approximately one million children worldwide were victims of sex trafficking. Both boys and girls may be trafficked, though girls are more frequently victims; 23% of human trafficking victims identified by a United Nations Report were girls, compared to 7% for boys. Female child trafficking victims are more likely to experience sexual exploitation: 72% and 27% incidence rates for girls and boy, respectively.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In the US, children do not need to be forced into sexual exploitation according to the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to be considered victims of sex trafficking. Under this act, a child is defined as anyone under the age of 18, however the exploitation of children under the age of 14 carries a harsher punishment, though this is rarely enforced. The Bureau of Justice Statistics states that there are 100,000 child victims of sex trafficking, but only 150 child trafficking cases were brought to court in 2011. Of these, only 81 convictions were made. Many children who are trafficked are also at higher risk of turning to prostitution, a crime that many of them face criminal charges for, even under the age of 18.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Sex trafficked people face similar health consequences to women exploited for labor purposes, people who have experienced domestic violence, and migrant women. Many of the sex workers contract sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, "only one of 23 trafficked women interviewed felt well-informed about sexually transmitted infections or HIV before leaving home." Without knowledge about this aspect of their health, trafficked women may not take the necessary preventive steps and contract these infections and have poor health seeking behavior in the future. The mental health implications range from depression to anxiety to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the abuse and violence victims face from their pimps or "Johns". With such a mindset, many individuals develop alcohol or drug addictions and abusive habits. Also, traffickers commonly coerce or force their sex workers to use alcohol or drugs when they are in childhood or adolescence. Many victims use these substances as a coping mechanism or escape which further promotes the rate of addiction in this population. In a 30-year longitudinal study conducted by J. Potterat "et al.", it was determined that the average lifespan for women engaged in prostitution in Colorado Springs was 34 years.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Sex trafficking of women and children is the second most common type of trafficking for export in Africa. In Ghana, "connection men" or traffickers are witnessed regularly at border crossings and transport individuals via fake visas. Women are most commonly trafficked to Belgium, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and the United States. Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States are also common destination countries for trafficked Nigerian women. In Uganda, the Lord's Resistance Army traffics individuals to Sudan to sell them as sex slaves. The Nigerian syndicates dominate sex trades in multiple territories. The syndicates recruit women from South Africa and send them to Europe and Asia, where they are forced into prostitution, drug smuggling, or domestic violence. Law enforcement reported that sex traffickers force drug use to persuade these unwilling women.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Sex trafficking is a problem in North America, Central America, and South America People have been sex trafficked to and through Mexico.


title: Sex trafficking

text: It has been estimated that two-third of trafficking victims in the United States are US citizens. Most victims who are foreign-born come into the US legally, on various visas. State Department estimated that between 15,000 and 50,000 women and girls are trafficked each year into the United States.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), an organization based in New York, claims that the majority of girls in the sex trade were abused as children. Poverty and a lack of education play major roles in the lives of many women in the sex industry.


title: Sex trafficking

text: According to a report conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, anywhere from 100,000 up to 300,000 American children at any given time may be at risk of exploitation due to factors such as drug use, homelessness, or other factors connected with increased risk for commercial sexual exploitation. However, the report emphasized, "The numbers presented in these exhibits do not, therefore, reflect the actual number of cases of CSEC in the United States but, rather, what we estimate to be the number of children ‘at risk’ of commercial sexual exploitation." Richard J. Estes, one of the report's authors, noted that the report was based on 25 year old data, and was out of date because the world of the 1990s "was quite a different one from that in which we live today." A report from the University of New Hampshire says that only 1,700 kids reported having engaged in prostitution. David Finkelhor, one of the authors of that report, said "Given that running away has declined, I wouldn’t put any stock in these figures as indicators of what is going on today". People of color may also have high risks of sex trafficking due to lack of documentation, fear, distrust, etc. They often have difficulties contacting authorities or others for support due to inabilities to understand the language or the laws of the area.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 2003, 1,400 minors were arrested for prostitution, 14% of whom were younger than 14 years old. A study conducted by the International Labor Union indicated that boys are at a higher risk of being trafficked into agricultural work, the drug trade, and petty crime. Girls were at a higher risk of being forced into the sex industry and domestic work. In 2004, the Department of Labor found 1,087 minors employed in situations that violated hazardous occupation standards. The same year, 5,480 children were employed violating child labor laws. Due to the secretive nature of trafficking, it is difficult to piece together an accurate picture of how widespread the problem is.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The key hubs for both source transportation and destination of the sub-region of Asia include India, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. India is a major hub for trafficked Bangladeshi and Nepali women. In India itself, there are an estimated 3 million sex workers, 40% of whom are trafficked children, mostly girls from ethnic minorities and lower castes. In Thailand, 800,000 children under the age of 16 were involved in prostitution in 2004. Also, according to UNICEF and the International Labour Organization there are 40,000 child prostitutes in Sri Lanka. Thailand and India are in the top five countries with the highest rates of child prostitution. The 2014 Global Slavery Index (GSI) says that there are about 36 million victims of trafficking in the world, and nearly two-thirds of the people are from Asia. Pakistan, Indonesia, China, India, and Bangladesh are in the top 10 for countries with the largest number of trafficking victims around the world. India is at the top of the list with 14 million victims, China comes in second with 3.2 million victims, and Pakistan comes in at third with 2.1 million victims. Cambodia is also a transit, source, and a destination country for trafficking. 36% of trafficked victims in Asia are children, while 64% are adults.


title: Sex trafficking

text: According to Statistics Canada, in instances of human trafficking, 44% are sexually-related, which predominantly include offering sexually related services, sexual assault, offences, and exploitation. Sex trafficking is one of Canada's largest and fastest-growing criminal activities. It is also one of the world's largest criminal enterprises that generates $99 billion (USD) in profit. According to recent statistics from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, one victim could generate between $168,000 and $336,000 a year for one 'pimp'. While labour exploitation in Canada is extremely rare, human trafficking involving sexual exploitation is far more common, especially in densely populated urban areas but this may be because sexual exploitation is easier to detect in urban areas under current Canadian detection resources. Migrant workers are most commonly affected by labour exploitation. The Global Slavery Index noted in 2016 that roughly 17,000 people were experiencing modern-day slavery in Canada. Instances of human trafficking occur, 90% of the time, in metropolitan areas, with 97% of victims being female. The Criminal Code of Canada and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act state that human trafficking is an offence, but do not make a distinction specifically between sex trafficking or exploitation, and other forms of human trafficking. According to Public Safety Canada, at-risk groups of human trafficking include migrants and new immigrants, LGBTQ persons, people with disabilities, children in Welfare systems and At-Risk Youth. Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately more affected by sex trafficking in Canada, however, the discourse surrounding exploited Indigenous women and girls is more frequently labelled as sex work as opposed to sex trafficking, which has left many trafficked victims unaccounted for.Within recent years, the Canadian federal government has shifted its approach to sex trafficking away from an international perspective towards a domestic emphasis. This also includes the government's voicing of victims and witnesses along with a greater degree of attention to sex trafficking involving minors. On 29 July 2020, the Government of Canada invested $19 million to combat human and sex trafficking in Canada. This fund will be administered by two federal departments responsible for the implementation of the Government's five-year National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. This federally collaborative approach to eradicate human trafficking will support those who are impacted. Women and Gender Equality Canada plan to distribute $14 million to this effort, and $5 million will be funded through Public Safety Canada. These efforts are designed to empower survivors, deter trafficking altogether, protect vulnerable populations, and prosecute perpetrators in collaboration with both territories and provinces.


title: Sex trafficking

text: While there are no organizations in Canada focused exclusively on ending sex trafficking in Canada, The Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking (CCEHT) is the only nationally coordinated effort focused on ending human trafficking more broadly in a Canadian context. The CCEHT aims to organize collective action and systemic change in Canada. The organization works with other nonprofits, businesses, and stakeholders to establish what the best practices are, and ensure that no duplicate efforts are happening due to miscommunications between various actors. The CCEHT also provides services for survivors of sex trafficking in helping them return to society. Many other organizations in Canada aim to reduce sex trafficking as one of several objectives. Initiatives exist at federal, provincial and municipal levels. Covenant House Toronto leads a national campaign called Traffick Stop. Traffick Stop helps people develop skills to recognize the indicators of sex trafficking. This campaign aims to inform Canadians about the existence of sex trafficking in Canada and its prevalence.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In general, countries who are members of the European Union are destinations for individuals to be sex trafficked whereas the Balkans and Eastern Europe are source and transit countries. Transit countries are picked for their geographical location. This is because the locations the traffickers pick usually have a weak border control, the distance from the destination countries, corrupt official, or the organized crime groups are in on the sex trafficking. In 1997 alone as many as 175,000 young women from Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe were sold as commodities in the sex markets of the developed countries in Europe and the Americas. The European Union reported that from 2010 to 2013 30,146 individuals were identified and registered as human trafficking victims. Of those registered, 69 percent of the victims were sexually exploited and more than 1,000 were children. Although many sex trafficked individuals are from outside of Europe, two-thirds of the 30,146 victims were EU citizens. Despite this high proportion of domestic sex slaves, the most common ethnicities of women who are trafficked to the United Kingdom are Chinese, Brazilian, and Thai. Moldova is a known country in Europe for women, children and men to be subjected to sex trafficking. Girls from Moldova become sex slaves starting at the age of 14. On average, they have sex with 12 to 15 men per day. The national Bureau of Statistics in Moldova says that in 2008 there were almost 25,000 victims of trafficking. When the women from Moldova are being trafficked for sex, they are most likely to be sent to countries such as Russia, Cyprus, Turkey, and other Middle Western and Eastern European countries. 85 percent of the victims leave their country to find a better job to support their family, but they are tricked into becoming a sex slave and are forced to become a prostitute. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) asked victims what country they came from and 61 percent of the victims came from Moldova, 19 percent came from Romania, and the rest came from Albania, Bulgaria, Russia, and Ukraine. More than 60 percent of the victims had a secondary school education or better, and their average age was 21.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Iranian girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are targeted by traffickers for sale abroad; younger girls may be forced into domestic service until their traffickers consider them old enough to be subjected to child sex trafficking. An increase in the transport of girls from and through Iran en route to other Gulf States for sexual exploitation has been reported from 2009 to 2015; during the reporting period, Iranian trafficking networks subjected Iranian girls to sex trafficking in brothels in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Organized criminal groups kidnap or purchase and force Iranian and immigrant children to work as beggars and street vendors in cities, including Tehran. These children, who may be as young as 3, are coerced through physical and sexual abuse and drug addiction; reportedly many are purchased for as little as $150. Dozens of girls from Iran are brought to Pakistan to be sold as sex slaves every day. Most of these women have already been raped within the first 24 hours of their departure. It was also said in the Tehran newspapers that senior figures from the government have been involved in buying, selling, and abusing young women and children. Runaway girls in Iran are sought out for by the traffickers because it is incredibly easy to put them in the sex trafficking market since they have no home. There are about 84,000 women and girls in prostitution in Tehran. Most of them are on the streets, while others are in the 250 brothels.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The trafficking of women into prostitution in Israel increased in the early 1990s. An estimate of three thousand women were being trafficked in the 1990s and early 2000s. Many of the women came from "post-Soviet states particularly Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and many more." The women ended up in brothels where they worked seven days a week and served up to 30 clients a day. The traffickers used physical violence and threats to dissuade the women from leaving, they also confined women behind locked doors and barred windows. Throughout the 1990s the Israeli authorities failed to view sex trafficking as a problem, they simply viewed it as prostitution. They failed to interfere with brothel operations. If a case was filed the trafficker would have had a plea bargain with light punishment. The women who were being trafficked on the other hand were classified as illegal alien or criminals since they entered Israel illegally, so authorities concentrated on catching the women rather than the traffickers. Usually the victims of trafficking are vulnerable because they live in poverty, or they are not educated. Trafficking affects the mental health of the victim as well as physical health. Israel has become a country of destination for women who had been trafficked from surrounding countries.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 2000, the Knesset amended the Penal Law to prohibit sex trafficking. In 2006, an Anti-Trafficking Law was enacted. In 2001, Israel was placed in U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report Tier 3. Between 2002 and 2011 Israel was placed in Tier 2. Since 2012 through the recent 2019 report Israel has been ranked Tier 1 (full compliance with the TVPA's minimum standards).


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are many public health initiatives that are being implemented to identify victims of sex trafficking. There are few professionals that are likely to encounter victims of sex trafficking, but healthcare providers are a unique group because they are more likely to come into contact with individuals that are still in captivity. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center provides guidelines to aid healthcare providers in identifying victims of sex trafficking. They provide general guidelines to indicate human trafficking (i.e. inconsistent/scripted history, unwillingness to answer questions about illness or injury, etc.), but also includes indicators to home in on sex trafficking. In addition, this network has created a framework for sex trafficking protocols in healthcare settings once a victim is suspected or identified. The goal of the protocol is to provide those interacting with the patient step-by-step instructions on how to proceed once a potential trafficking victim has been identified. Additionally, an initiative known as the HEAL Trafficking and Hope for Justice Protocol Toolkit is being made accessible to healthcare providers. The goal of the toolkit is to provide a uniform medical response to trafficking. The toolkit combines known policies and procedures with tenets of trauma informed care. The toolkit is intended for the use of different healthcare providers such as community health workers, social workers, mental health counselors, nurses, and many others.


title: Sex trafficking

text: A second initiative was taken on by the Centers for Disease Control. They have started to implement new fields of data collection through International Classification of Diseases (ICD) to better identify and categorize cases of sex trafficking. The new fields are ICD-10-CM codes. These are further categorized into T codes and Z codes. The T codes are further subcategorized into specific diagnoses that are used to indicate suspected and confirmed cases of trafficking. In addition, Z codes are also further categorized, but will be used for examination or observation of trafficking victims for other reasons.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Approximately 87.8% of trafficking victims have come in contact with a healthcare professional either during or after their time of exploitation and labor. On 26 February 2018, the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP) under the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services passed the SOAR to Health and Wellness Act of 2018. SOAR which is an acronym which stands for Stop, Observe, Ask, and Respond is a training program which aims to properly equip professionals with the necessary resources and methods to identify victims of human trafficking. The training aids to help others recognize key indicators and characteristics of human trafficking as well as aid in key communication techniques that are effective for everyone involved. Response tactics can be key to identifying victims without causing harm and putting them in increased danger. The trainings also provide key communities with the support and resources they may need to bring attention to a crime which may be heavily impacting that area. The training can either be taken online or in person and can be personalized based the role of the professional. SOAR is available to anyone who may be interested in learning how to identify victims or situations of human trafficking in a healthcare setting. Trainings are available for social workers, medical and public health professionals, and even educators.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Physicians against the trafficking of humans (PATH) is a program of the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) that was started in 2014 with efforts to encourage medical professionals including physicians, residents, and medical students to become more aware of human trafficking. The initiative was initially brought into discussion by Dr. Gayatri Devi in 2012, the president of AMWA at the time. She identified human sex trafficking as a key issue to be addressed. This discussion then progressed into forming a Human Trafficking Committee to handle the issue. PATH has since been creating content for hospitals and other medical facilities to use to educate professionals and students on the identification and advocacy for human trafficking. PATH has also been featured in many media outlets such as Politico and TEDx.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are three main tactics social workers use to aid in the recovery of sex trafficking survivors: ecological, strengths-based, and victim-centered. Using the ecological approach, the social worker evaluates their client's current environment and goals for reintegration into the community. By examining how justice systems, legal, and medical services impact their client, they can help them look into areas of future employment, gaining legal status, and reuniting with family. The strengths-based approach aims to create a bond of trust between the social worker and their client to build confidence as well as autonomy and leadership skills. Lastly, when using the victim-centered approach, social workers develop services and plans for the future specifically catered to their client's individual needs. These services are developed through a survivor's lens, which allows social workers to easily meet the needs of their clients. All three methods have proven to be effective in the recovery of sex trafficking survivors.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are many control tactics used by sex traffickers to control their victims, such as threats, physical and sexual assault, confiscating legitimate travel and immigration documents, and threats against the victim's family. The University of Minnesota Duluth published the Power and Control Wheel to help target domestic abuse intervention. The wheel identifies eight different mechanisms of power and control used on victims including: intimidation, emotional abuse, isolation, denying, blaming, and minimizing, sexual abuse, physical abuse, using privilege, economic abuse, coercion and threats. The wheel was developed to be used in counseling and education groups for victims of sex trafficking. It breaks down the tactics used against victims so the cycle of violence may become visible and stopped.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Another mechanism used to understand control is the BITE Model created by Steven Hassan. The BITE Model describes four categories of coercion used on sex trafficking victims: behavior control, information control, thought control, and emotional control. He says that it is essential to understand the loss of identity victims experience to help them get out or recover from sex trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: International pressure to address trafficking in women and children became a growing part of the social Reform movement in the United States and Europe during the late nineteenth century. International legislation against the trafficking of women and children began with the conclusion of an international convention in 1901, and the International Agreement for the suppression of the White Slave Traffic in 1904. (The latter was revised in 1910.) The first formal international research into the issue was funded by American philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, through the American Bureau of Social Hygiene. The League of Nations, formed in 1919, took over as the international coordinator of legislation intended to end the trafficking of women and children. An international Conference on White Slave Traffic was held in 1921, attended by the 34 countries that ratified the 1901 and 1904 conventions. Another convention against trafficking was ratified by League members in 1922, and like the 1904 international convention, this one required ratifying countries to submit annual reports on their progress in tackling the problem. Compliance with this requirement was not complete, although it gradually improved: in 1924, approximately 34 percent of the member countries submitted reports as required: this rose to 46 percent in 1929, 52 percent in 1933, and 61 percent in 1934. The 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children was sponsored by the League of Nations. In 1923, a committee from the bureau was tasked with investigating trafficking in 28 countries, interviewing approximately 5,000 informants and analyzing information over two years before issuing its final report. This was the first formal report on trafficking in women and children to be issued by an official body.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Efforts to combat sex trafficking are often linked to efforts against prostitution; however, this is often problematic in regards to legal recourse of sex trafficking victims. While prostitutes are nominally working by choice, sex trafficking victims do so under duress. Recognizing this, many states have passed legislation that allows sex trafficking victims amnesty under prostitution laws, however many fail to do so due to legal illiteracy and institutional prejudices. As such, sex trafficking victims often risk legal persecution when alerting authorities to their situation.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Jane Addams was one of the most notable reformers during the Progressive Era, and refined the still early concepts of white slavery and sex work in her book "A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil". She, among others, fought to classify all people coerced into prostitution as victims of sexual slavery, and believed that all sex work was sexual exploitation of women by more powerful men. Addams also believed that abolishing white slavery would bring more women into the suffrage movement. Alex Smolak, a physician, has studied many of the health risks faced by women in white slavery during the Progressive era. She says in her article titled "White Slavery, Whorehouse Riots, Venereal Disease, and Saving Women..." that "The Progressive Era was a time when society was rapidly changing, with influences stemming from urbanization, industrialization, commercialization, immigration, and civilizing morality, all interacting with one another to fuel both prostitution and the anti-prostitution movement." Along with "The U.S. White Slave act of 1910", the "International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Trade" was ratified by 13 nations, including the United States in 1904. Throughout the next 45 years the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children was adopted by the League of Nations and the term white slavery was replaced by trafficking, the word used commonly today.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The first international protocol dealing with sex slavery was the 1949 UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others. This convention followed the abolitionist idea of sex trafficking as incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person. Serving as a model for future legislation, the 1949 UN Convention was not ratified by every country, but came into force in 1951. These early efforts led to the 2000 Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, mentioned above. These instruments contain the elements of the current international law on trafficking in humans.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 2011, the United Nations reported that girl victims made up two-thirds of all trafficked children. Girls constituted 15 to 20 percent of the total number of all detected victims, whereas boys comprised about 10 percent. The UN report was based on official data supplied by 132 countries.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 2013, a resolution to create the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons was adopted by the United Nations. The first World Day against Trafficking in Persons took place 30 July 2014, and the day is now observed every 30 July.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Current international treaties include the Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage, and Registration of Marriages, entered into force in 1964.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 1910, the U.S. Congress passed the White Slave Traffic Act of 1910 (better known as the Mann Act), which made it a felony to transport women across state borders for the purpose of "prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose". Its primary stated intent was to address prostitution, immorality, and human trafficking particularly where it was trafficking for the purposes of prostitution, but the ambiguity of "immorality" effectively criminalized interracial marriage and banned single women from crossing state borders for morally wrong acts. In 1914, of the women arrested for crossing state borders under this act, 70 percent were charged with voluntary prostitution. Once the idea of a sex slave shifted from a white woman to an enslaved woman from countries in poverty, the US began passing immigration acts to curtail aliens from entering the country to address this issue. (The government had other unrelated motives for the new immigration policies.) Several acts such as the Emergency Quota Act of 1921 and Immigration Act of 1924 reduced the number of emigrants from Europe and Asia from entering the United States. Following the increased restrictions of the 1920s (which were significantly relaxed by the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 and Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965), human trafficking was not considered a major issue until the 1990s.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The Commercial Sex Act makes it illegal to recruit, entice, obtain, provide, move or harbor a person or to benefit from such activities knowing that the person will be caused to engage in commercial sex acts where the person is under 18 or where force, fraud or coercion exists.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Towards the end of President Clinton's administration, Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), intended to fight human trafficking globally. Under the George W. Bush Administration, fighting sex trafficking within the scope of TVPA became a priority, framing human trafficking and sex trafficking as modern-day slavery. The TVPA intends to strengthen services to victims of human trafficking and sex trafficking, increase law enforcement's ability to prosecute traffickers by incentivizing survivors to cooperate in the prosecution, increase education about human trafficking, and train law enforcement to identify human trafficking. TVPA also has a mandate to collect funds for the treatment of sex trafficking victims that provided them with shelter, food, education, and financial grants. Internationally, the TVPA set standards for other countries to follow to receive aid from the U.S. to fight human trafficking. TVPA also establishes two stipulations an applicant can meet to receive the benefits of a T-Visa. First, a trafficked victim must prove to being trafficked and second must submit to prosecution of his or her trafficker. While providing incentives for survivors of trafficking to assist in the prosecution process, some scholars see these incentives as invalidating as they force the burden of proof to fall on the victim. An example of an alternative can be found in Connecticut, where there are safe harbor laws for minor victims of sex trafficking. These laws provide immunity to the survivors and shifts the burden of proof away from the individual. In general, incentivizing survivor cooperation in the prosecution process can be helpful considering the emotional manipulation and perceived romantic attachment that often stop survivors from accusing their traffickers or seeking help. After TPVA's initial implementation, several agencies and task forces were created. The Act has also undergone multiple revisions and authorizations. In February 2000, the Department of Justice established a Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force hotline that increased the number of trafficking cases that were opened and investigated. In 2001, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was established. In both 2001 and 2003, new criminal statues were added to TVPA to make it easier to prosecute traffickers. In 2003, TPVA was amended to provide access to civil remedies to trafficking cases to reduce a survivor's reliance on the criminal justice system. The Act was reauthorized in 2003, 2005, 2008, and 2013. The State Department publishes an annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Reports), which examines the progress that the U.S. and other countries have made in destroying human trafficking businesses, arresting the traffickers, and supporting the victims.


title: Sex trafficking

text: On the state level, sex trafficking legislation varies in terms of definitions and approaches. California sex trafficking legislation offers legal protection for women so they can make choices outside the criminal justice system and pursue civil remedies. California legislation also offers case worker privileges in sex trafficking cases. In Connecticut, in addition to safe harbor laws for minor victims of sex trafficking, there is also an emphasis on educating employees in the hotel industry to identify sex trafficking. The logic is that since trafficking activities often happen in hotels, employees need to be able to identify and report these occurrences. There are also arguments that the hotel industry needs to be offered incentives to report sex trafficking since they benefit financially from having guests in their hotels. Another provision in Connecticut's sex trafficking legislation is increased punishment for purchasers of sex.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In July 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) conducted a month-long operation to detect and detain sex traffickers and recover child victims. More than 100 sex trafficking victims were successfully rescued across the United States, under the initiative called "Operation Independence Day". Besides, a total of 67 suspected traffickers were arrested.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Towards the end of 2021, President Joe Biden signed an updated plan to fight against human trafficking. It is titled The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP). The new version is targeted toward those in society that are most impacted by trafficking. This includes marginalized groups who disproportionately face social and economic inequalities and are thus more susceptible to being trafficked. It is a three-year plan that entails improved protection for victims, a stronger indictment of traffickers, and other preventative measures. The National Action Plan requires collaboration between all levels of government and agencies to effectively support anti-trafficking services and policies. It relies on trafficking survivors' advice on what preventative measures should be taken as well as what protections and resources need to be allocated to survivors. The plan aims to address the needs of marginalized communities by improving racial and gender disparities, improving workers' rights, and establishing safe migration.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Starting with President Obama, in 2010, every consecutive President has declared January to be the month to educate and raise awareness regarding human trafficking. January has become "National Human Trafficking Prevention Month". During this time, efforts and progress to prevent trafficking are celebrated. The U.S. Department of State is tasked with disseminating information regarding human trafficking internationally. This is to continue the conversation and emphasize the importance of anti-trafficking efforts around the globe. During January, individuals are taught how they can work together to identify, prevent, and respond to trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Complementary protection is ensured through the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (signed in Lanzarote, 25 October 2007). The Convention entered into force on 1 July 2010. As of November 2020, the Convention has been ratified by 47 states, with Ireland having signed but not yet ratified. The goal of the Convention is to provide the framework for an independent and effective monitoring system that holds the member states accountable for addressing human trafficking and providing protecting to victims. To monitor the implementation of this act, the Council of Europe established the Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA). The Convention address the structure and purpose of GRETA and holds the group accountable to publish reports evaluating the measures taken by the states who have signed the Convention.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Actions taken to combat human trafficking vary from government to government. Some government actions include:


title: Sex trafficking

text: Raising awareness can take three forms. First, governments can raise awareness among potential victims, particularly in countries where human traffickers are active. Second, they can raise awareness amongst the police, social welfare workers and immigration officers to equip them to deal appropriately with the problem. And finally, in countries where prostitution is legal or semi-legal, they can raise awareness amongst the clients of prostitution so that they can watch for signs of human trafficking victims. Methods to raise general awareness often include television programs, documentary films, internet communications, and posters.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Many countries have come under criticism for inaction, or ineffective action. Criticisms include the failure of governments to properly identify and protect trafficking victims, enactment of immigration policies which potentially re-victimize trafficking victims, including by deporting them, and insufficient action in helping prevent vulnerable populations from becoming trafficking victims. A particular criticism has been the reluctance of some countries to tackle trafficking for purposes other than sex.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Studies of sex work and anti-sex trafficking efforts, intended to combat sex trafficking or provide support to victims, have raised concerns over the unintended effects of certain national and international policies, law enforcement strategies, and activist efforts on both sex-trafficked individuals and non-trafficked sex workers. For example, The United States' Tier 2 assessment of Japan on its 2004 TIP Report encouraged the Japanese government to add additional constraints to its procedures and policies for obtaining an entertainer visa, sometimes used by migrant workers seeking employment at businesses within the sex industry. However, these regulations provided opportunities for some third-party facilitators of these visas to exploit migrants while also limiting migrants' ability to leave employers with poor working conditions or overly restrictive practices, such as holding their passports or limiting their ability to leave the premises of the business. Practices of law enforcement officers in some countries have also been criticized for incentivizing non-trafficked sex workers to declare themselves to be trafficking victims and enter aid and rehabilitation programs to avoid prison sentences for prostitution charges.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Many NGOs work on the issue of sex trafficking. One major NGO is the International Justice Mission (IJM). IJM is a U.S.-based non-profit human rights organization that combats human trafficking in developing countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa. IJM states that it is a "human rights agency that brings rescue to victims of slavery, sexual exploitation, and other forms of violent oppression." It is a faith-based organization since its purported goal is to "restore to victims of oppression the things that God intends for them: their lives, their liberty, their dignity, the fruits of their labor." The IJM receives over $900,000 from the US government. The organization has two methods for rescuing victims: brothel raids in cooperation with local police, and "buy bust" operations in which undercover agencies pretend to purchase sex services from an underage girl. After the raid and rescue, the women are sent to rehabilitation programs run by NGOs (such as churches) or the government.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are also survivor-led organizations that provide services to victims of exploitation and trafficking including Treasures, founded by Harmony (Dust) Grillo in 2003 and GEMS founded by Rachel Lloyd in 1998.


title: Sex trafficking

text: There are also national non-governmental organizations working on the issue of human trafficking, including sex trafficking. In Kenya, for example, Awareness Against Human Trafficking (HAART) works on ending all human trafficking in the country. HAART has also participated in the UNANIMA International Stop the Demand campaign.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In India, J. Walter Thompson Amsterdam has opened a school called School for Justice. Here, survivors of sex trafficking are educated to become lawyers. The entire program is expected to take five to six years for each girl to complete. The women will graduate with law degrees, with a special focus on commercial sexual exploitation cases. JWT hopes that one day they may become prosecutors, or even judges, empowered to combat the criminals who once exploited and abused them.


title: Sex trafficking

text: NGOs often have the best of intentions when combating sex-trafficking. NGOs are often funded by the West and are implemented in countries that have a very different culture. Research shows that employees of the Western NGOs are slow to adapt to the culture of the community they are providing services to. This often leads to a disconnect between the NGO and the community. Employees of NGOs hold the responsibility of relaying the narrative of sex-trafficked people. This can create a hierarchical structure that makes the voice of Western NGOs as more legitimate than the voice of the people they are serving. Thus, reinforcing the essentialized notion of third-world women as backwards and other.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Japan is a popular place for sex-trafficking. Japan has a long history with the trade of women for sex. For a good part of the country's history, sex work was legal in Japan. This makes it difficult for the government to decipher between legal sex work and illegal prostitution. This is where NGOs step in to assist the government. NGOs provide services in countries where the government policies are failing to combat a specific issue. However, in Japan it is difficult for NGOs focused on issues with women to receive local funding. This weak political support makes the work for NGOs in Japan much more difficult. Japan's lack of support for women's rights shows why the role of NGOs is so important in that country.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Public information campaigns are defined as a "government-directed and sponsored effort to communicate to the public or a segment of the public in order to achieve a policy result".


title: Sex trafficking

text: In the past ten years, Spain has seen a surge of sex trafficking. In light of this crisis, social movements, organizations and government institutions have enacted policies like the Second National Plan against Sex Trafficking and Anti-Trafficking laws. Campaigns to fight against sex trafficking in Spain between 2008 and 2017 have been examined by researchers. Their research showed that many campaigns focus on the narrative of the victim as vulnerable and weak, rather than focusing on the actual crime of sex trafficking and the economic system that allows it to flourish. According to the research these narratives disempower sex trafficked people through repeated language of vulnerability and innocence. The researchers explain that the lack of information provided in these campaigns hinders their success. Campaigns will throw out huge numbers of women exploited into sex work but gives no context to the system that allows sex trafficking to flourish.


title: Sex trafficking

text: In 1994, Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women was established to combat trafficking in women on any grounds. It is an alliance of more than 100 non-governmental organizations from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. The Demi and Ashton (DNA) Foundation was created by celebrity humanitarians Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in 2009 in their efforts to fight human trafficking (specifically focusing on sex trafficking of children) in the U.S. In September 2010, the pair announced the launch of their "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" campaign to combat child sex trafficking alongside other Hollywood stars and technology companies such as Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook. "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" is based on the idea that high-profile men speaking out against child sex trafficking can help reduce the demand for young girls in the commercial sex trade. The popular TV channel MTV started a campaign to combat sex trafficking. The initiative called MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and Trafficking) is a multimedia initiative produced by MTV EXIT Foundation (formerly known as the MTV Europe Foundation) to raise awareness and increase prevention of human trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Another campaign is the A21 Campaign, Abolishing Injustice in the 21st Century, which focuses on addressing human trafficking through a holistic approach. They provide potential victims with the education and valuable information on how to best reduce their likelihood of being trafficked through strategies that reduce their vulnerability. The organization also provides safe environments for victims and runs restoration programs in their aftercare facilities. In addition, they provide legal council and representation to victims so they can prosecute their traffickers. Another key component of the campaign is to help influence legislation to enact more comprehensive laws that place more traffickers in prison.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The Not for Sale (organization) Campaign works in the United States, Peru, the Netherlands, Romania, Thailand, South Africa, and India to help victims of human trafficking. In 2013 alone, they provided 4,500 services to 2,062 individuals. The vast majority of victims who received assistance were from the Netherlands and the number of victims served increased by 42 percent from 2012. The campaign allocates the majority of their funds to providing victims health and nutritional care and education. Not for Sale provides a safe shelter for victims and empowers them with life skills and job training. This helps trafficked individuals re-enter into the workforce through a dignified form of work. In the organization's 2013 Annual Impact Report, it was determined that 75 percent of the victims had been sexually exploited.


title: Sex trafficking

text: While globalization fostered new technologies that may exacerbate sex trafficking, technology can also be used to assist law enforcement and anti-trafficking efforts. A study was done on online classified ads surrounding the Super Bowl. A number of reports have noticed increase in sex trafficking during previous years of the Super Bowl. For the 2011 Super Bowl held in Dallas, Texas, the Backpage website for the Dallas area experienced a 136 percent increase on the number of posts in the Adult section that Sunday. Typically, Sundays were known to be the day of the week with the lowest number of posts in the Adult section. Researchers analyzed the most salient terms in these online ads and found that most commonly used words suggested that many escorts were traveling across state lines to Dallas specifically for the Super Bowl. Also, the self-reported ages were higher than usual which conveys that an older population of sex workers were drawn to the event, but since these are self-reported the data is not reliable. Despite a lot of media hype about a supposed spike in sex trafficking surrounding the Super Bowl, academics and anti-trafficking campaigners have said this is largely a myth. They say that while the commercial sex market does grow modestly during large events, sex trafficking is a year-round problem. Twitter was another social networking platform studied for detecting sex trafficking. Digital tools can be used to narrow the pool of sex trafficking cases, albeit imperfectly and with uncertainty.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The term "End Demand" refers to anti-sex trafficking strategies that focus on the "Johns", the sex buyers. A common strategy is to make it a crime to buy sex, whether consensual or not. End Demand is very popular in some countries, including the United States and Canada. In the 1990s, for example, specific media attention was paid to sex trafficking of women outside the United States. The feminist reaction to this at the time was to not just call for social services for trafficked people but also for harsher punishments for Johns. Proponents of the End Demand strategy support initiatives such as "John's schools" to "rehabilitate" the Johns, increased arrests of johns, and public shaming (e.g. billboards and websites that publicly name johns who were caught). John's Schools were pioneered in San Francisco in 1995 and now used in many cities across the U.S. as well as other countries such as the UK and Canada. Some compare John's Schools programs to driver's safety courses, because first offenders can pay a fee to attend class(es) on the harms of prostitution, and upon completion, the charges against the john will be dropped. Another initiative in line with the End Demand strategy is the cross-country tour "Ignite the Road to Justice," launched by the 2011 Miss Canada, Tara Teng. Teng's initiative circulates a petition to end the demand for commercial sex that drives prostitution and sex trafficking. End Demand efforts also include large-scale public awareness campaigns. Campaigns were started in Sweden, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Atlanta, Georgia. Massachusetts and Rhode Island also had legislative efforts that criminalized prostitution and increased end demand efforts by targeting Johns.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The Atlanta campaign ran from 2006 to 2008 and was titled "Dear John". It ran ads in local media reaching out to potential Johns to discourage them from buying sex. The ads mimicked a break-up letter to John.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Critics of the Dear John campaign focus on the ‘male demand’ aspect of the campaign and find that this style of campaign reinforces gendered, racialized and sexualized assumptions about Johns and trafficked women. The historical discourse in the U.S. concerning Johns is racially charged. An example of this racialized nature is associated with the temptations of Thai massage parlors. Despite these objections, lawmakers have found this messaging morally compelling. The campaign was run by locals of Atlanta. Advocates for the campaign informed citizens through media that young women were the ones being arrested while the Johns were not. Contextual analysis research has shown the essentialized nature of the campaign. The Dear John campaign posters define women in terms of their relationship to sex. They also only depict white girls in the images inferring that the only victims worth caring about are young white and innocent.


title: Sex trafficking

text: It is interesting to note that there are no images of Johns in the campaign posters. A plausible explanation for this would be an effort by the campaign to widen the scope of the messaging and to avoid racial stereotypes. Conversely, the racial stereotypes of trafficked girls is made clear. This excludes a majority of victims who do not identify with the image that the poster conveys. Lawmakers in Atlanta were fully behind the campaign as a statement to the public that they will not tolerate the purchasing of sex. These public statements are in stark contrast to the actual amount of funding that the city gave to organizations who provide housing and services for victims. The city did no research into the effectiveness of the campaign and therefore there is no data on its actual impact on the city. It is also important to note that the campaign ads were only in English and many people are not familiar with the Dear John reference. Lawmakers believe that the campaign was effective in bringing awareness to the issue and therefore shaped public opinion and policy.


title: Sex trafficking

text: 'Romeo Pimps' or 'loverboys' are individuals who actively seek for younger individuals male or female with intent to make them fall in love. By doing so the 'loverboy' can gain leverage or control and use the individual for exploitment in the sex industry. Although this method takes time therefore, is less commonly used does not mean it is gone. 'Loverboys' methods are evolving due to social media. These 'loverboys' have access to young individuals online profiles like anyone else; which allows them to gain lots of personal information and build a case and/or connection with their chosen target.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The 'loverboy' has now made a connection with the younger individual and agrees to go on excursions and romantic getaways. Which is where the 'loverboy' makes his or her move on the victim. If they traveled the 'loverboy' takes his change and confiscates the individuals passport and/or form of identification. Which then makes the individual trapped and typically passes him or her off to the next trafficker.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The lack of conversation, advocacy, legal/social support services, and academic work around the sexual exploitation of men and boys can be traced to larger social discourses surrounding male sexuality, dominance, and behavior. Media representations of masculinity and sexual dominance contribute to the idea that men cannot be victims, especially in regards to sex-related crimes. The lack of public knowledge and attention to male victimhood and vulnerability is strongly reflected in the quality of services and strength of legal frameworks available to male victims of sex trafficking . Experts describe the "perceived agency and resilience in young males" to be a strong force in deterring male victims from seeking the support they need, and discouraging male-inclusive anti-trafficking service and support networks from forming in the first place. Within the spare support frameworks for male victims that do exist, the specific vulnerabilities of different populations in different areas around the world—regarding nationality and migration status, sexual orientation, drug use, socio-economic status, health status, family structure, and more—are often unaddressed, leaving crucial groups' needs unmet. The double stigma that surrounds male victims of sex trafficking, involving homosexuality and sex work more broadly—makes it incredibly difficult for male victims to come forward and seek help, or even to self-organize. Some scholars report that male victims have also faced higher rates of police violence and brutality than female victims in regards to contact with law enforcement.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Laws regarding the purchase and sale of voluntary and involuntary sex vary greatly across the developed world. Their effects on sex trafficking are difficult to discern. Proponents of various forms of criminalization, legalization, or regulation of prostitution, may all argue their model decreases sex trafficking.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The Dutch model of legalization and regulation and the Swedish model of criminalizing purchasers and pimps but not prostitutes are often discussed. The difference of these models casts the prevention of trafficking against the rights of voluntary sex workers and purchasers. It is argued that a hybrid model of licensing sex workers and criminalizing the purchase of unlicensed sex would reduce trafficking without crushing civil rights.


title: Sex trafficking

text: Numerous international organizations have partnered to create an anti-human trafficking Giving Day to raise awareness and funds on July, 30th 2017. This is the day designated by the United Nations as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. The Giving Day is being hosted by Charidy.com, a crowdfunding platform for non-profits.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The General Assembly in 2010, adopted the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, encouraging Governments around the world to undergo drastic measures in order defeat human trafficking. The goal was to put the fight against human trafficking into the United Nation's programmes to strengthen positive development and security around the world. A main section of the plan is to place a United Nations Trust Fund for the women and children who fell victim of trafficking. The Trust Fund in the plan ensures to assist and protect the victims of trafficking through grants to certified NGOs. In the future, the goal is to make the victims a priority who are come were victims and had issues with migration. It also places a focus on the aid to victims who were trafficked by their perpetrator for the goal of sexual relations, organ removal, forced begging, forced criminality, and emerging exploitative reasons.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The General Assembly in the year 2013, gathered a meeting to go over the world's plan of action. Numerous states also declared 30 July as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons. They came to the conclusion that day of remembrance and awareness was crucial to remember the victims, the right's they possess and their protection.


title: Sex trafficking

text: "Buying Sex Is A Crime" is a slogan used by anti human trafficking and abolitionist groups. The first known public use of the slogan was by thetraffickedhuman.org. in 2016 on a billboard campaign in metro Vancouver, British Columbia. thetraffickedhuman.org is a coalition that works to end the exploitation of women, youth, and girls.


title: Sex trafficking

text: The slogan with the same billboard artwork was also used by buyingsexisacrime.ca in 2017 throughout Canada including Edmonton, Alberta. The slogan was also picked up by the Edmonton Police's own awareness initiative. In 2018, a new campaign was launched at buyingsexisacrime.org sponsored by the Vancouver Collective Against Sexual Exploitation. The collective is a Vancouver, British Columbia, based abolitionist group of lawyers, judges, social workers, professionals, teachers, activists and advocates working to end sexual exploitation.


title: Sunny Kaushal

text: Sunny Kaushal (born 28 September 1989) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. After working as an assistant director on the films "My Friend Pinto" (2011) and "Gunday" (2014), he made his acting debut in the comedy-drama "Sunshine Music Tours and Travels" (2016). He gained recognition for his supporting part in the sports biopic "Gold" (2018), and has since starred in the web series "The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye" (2020) and the film "Shiddat" (2021).


title: Sunny Kaushal

text: Kaushal was born on 28 September 1989 in a suburban chawl in Mumbai to Sham Kaushal, an action director in Indian films and Veena Kaushal. His older brother is actor Vicky Kaushal. His family is Punjabi Hindu. Kaushal initially enrolled at The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India but later dropped out to pursue acting. He then started his acting career playing small roles in theater plays and skits.


title: Sunny Kaushal

text: Kaushal made his Bollywood debut by playing the leading role in the 2016 comedy-drama road film "Sunshine Music Tours and Travels" and the TV Mini-Series "Official Chukyagiri." He was also part of the short film "Love at First Sight." In the 2018, Kaushal featured in Reema Kagti's historical sports drama "Gold" which is based on the national hockey team's title at the 1948 Summer Olympics. He portrayed the role of Himmat Singh, a character inspired by Balbir Singh Sr. For his role in "Gold", he received a nomination for the at the 25th Screen Awards for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, he appeared in the TV Mini-Series "Official CEOgiri", a spin-off of the 2016 series "Official Chukyagiri." The short film "The Embrace" in which Kaushal plays the role of Siddharth was nominated in the Drama Short Film category at the Filmfare Awards.


title: Sunny Kaushal

text: Kaushal's next was the dance based film "Bhangra Paa Le" alongside Rukshar Dhillon which released on 3 January 2020 in select screens. Later that same year, Kaushal headlined Amazon Prime Video's original series "The Forgotten Army - Azaadi Ke Liye". The series was directed by Kabir Khan based on true events of the Indian National Army fight for Indian Independence during World War II. "The New Indian Express" found his performance to be "splendid". A year later, he starred in the romantic drama "Shiddat" where he played the role of Jaggi Dil, a man who desperately tries to reach London to be with his love who is getting married to another man. After being indefinitely delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film premiered on 1 October 2021 on Disney+ Hotstar. Samriddhi Srivastava of "India Today" commented: "Kaushal’s dialogue deliveries and convincing performance will win your heart."


title: Sunny Kaushal

text: In 2022, Kaushal featured alongside Nushrratt Bharuccha and Vijay Varma in "Hurdang", a love story set in the backdrop of the student agitation of 1990 in Allahabad. He has also completed the survival thriller "Mili" alongside Janhvi Kapoor and Manoj Pahwa. He will also feature opposite Yami Gautam in a suspense thriller titled "Chor Nikal Ke Bhaaga".


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: The Bridges of Madison County is a 1995 American romantic drama film based on the 1992 bestselling novel of the same name by Robert James Waller. It was produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in it with Meryl Streep. The screenplay was adapted by Richard LaGravenese. Kathleen Kennedy was co-producer. It was produced by Amblin Entertainment and Malpaso Productions, and distributed by Warner Bros. Entertainment.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: The film is set in 1965, featuring Italian war bride, Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep), who lives with her husband and two children on their Iowa farm. That year she meets "National Geographic" photojournalist, Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood), who comes to Madison County to photograph its historic covered bridges. With Francesca's family away for a short trip, the couple have an intense, four-day love affair. The film earned $182 million worldwide and was well-received by critics. Streep was nominated in 1996 for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: In the present, adult siblings Michael and Carolyn Johnson arrive at the Iowa farmhouse of their recently deceased mother, Francesca, to settle her estate. They are shocked upon learning that Francesca requested to be cremated and her ashes scattered from Roseman Covered Bridge, rather than be buried next to her late husband, Richard.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: Michael initially refuses, but while he and Carolyn look through the safe deposit box, they discover an envelope containing photographs, letters, and a key. The photos are of Francesca taken at the Holliwell Covered Bridge and the letters are from a man named Robert Kincaid. The key is to Francesca's locked hope chest. In it are three hardbound notebooks. There are also several "National Geographic" magazines, including one featuring Madison County's covered wooden bridges, old cameras, a book, and other mementos. The magazine includes a photo of Kincaid, who photographed the bridges; he is wearing Francesca's crucifix pendant.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: As Michael and Carolyn begin reading Francesca's notebooks, the film flashes back to 1965. Francesca, a WWII Italian war bride, stays home while her husband and teenaged son and daughter attend the state fair for the next four days. Robert Kincaid, a "National Geographic" photojournalist on assignment to photograph the county's historic bridges, arrives at the Johnson farm, asking for directions to Roseman Bridge. Francesca rides along to show him the way. Their subsequent affair occurs over four days.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: Francesca details the intense affair and its lasting influence on both her and Robert, hoping Michael and Carolyn will understand and honor her final request. Francesca and Robert fell deeply in love and nearly ran away together. Francesca, confined to a passionless marriage, was unable to abandon her teenage children and loyal husband. Though she loved Robert, she questioned whether their spontaneous relationship could survive over time. Robert, moved by their brief encounter, found renewed meaning in his life and true calling as an artist. Francesca's memories helped sustain her through the remaining years on the farm.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: After her husband's death, Francesca attempted to contact Robert, but he had left "National Geographic" and his whereabouts were unknown. She later learned that Robert died about three years after her husband, and he left his belongings to her. His ashes were scattered from Roseman Bridge.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: In the present, Michael and Carolyn, struggling with their own marriages, are deeply moved by their mother's story. They find new direction to their individual lives and carry out their mother's wishes to scatter her ashes at Roseman Bridge.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: Amblin Entertainment, a production company founded by Steven Spielberg, bought the film rights to Waller's novel for $25,000 in late 1991, before its publication—by the time of the film's release, the novel sold 9.5 million copies worldwide. Spielberg first asked Sydney Pollack to direct, who got Kurt Luedtke to draft the first version of the adaptation but then bowed out; Ronald Bass was brought in by Kathleen Kennedy and Spielberg to work on the script, but they were unsatisfied with the results. But a third draft by Richard LaGravenese was liked by Eastwood, who quite early had been cast for the male lead, and by Spielberg, who liked LaGravenese's version enough to consider making "Bridges" his next film after "Schindler's List", which was in post-production at the time. Both men liked that LaGravenese's script presented the story from Francesca's point of view; Spielberg then had LaGravenese introduce the framing device of having Francesca's adult children discover and read her diaries. When Spielberg decided not to direct, he then brought in Bruce Beresford, who got Alfred Uhry to draft another version of the script; when Warner Bros., Spielberg, and Eastwood all preferred LaGravenese's draft, Beresford dropped out.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: Waller championed Isabella Rossellini to play Francesca; she was a "strong contender" in a list that also included Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange, Mary McDonnell, Cher, and Susan Sarandon. But despite Spielberg's initial reluctance, Eastwood had advocated Meryl Streep for the role from the beginning.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: Principal photography took 42 days, ending on November 1, 1994, ten days ahead of Eastwood's 52-day schedule; Eastwood filmed it chronologically from Francesca's point of view, "because it was important to work that way. We were two people getting to know each other, in real time, as actors and as the characters." It was filmed on location in Madison County, Iowa, including the town of Winterset, and in the Dallas County town of Adel.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: The MPAA ratings board initially gave the film an "R" rating, for the line "Or should we just fuck on the linoleum one last time?", a line of dialogue spoken sarcastically by Francesca; Eastwood appealed, and the rating was reduced to a PG-13.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: "The Bridges of Madison County" opened theatrically on June 2, 1995, in 1,805 venues. It grossed $10,519,257 in its opening weekend, ranking number two at the US box office, behind "Casper" (which was in its second weekend and coincidentally features Eastwood in a cameo). It was number one at the Japanese box office for nine consecutive weeks, grossing over $35 million. At the end of its run, the film grossed $71,516,617 in the United States and Canada and $110,500,000 overseas for a worldwide total of $182,016,617.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a score of 90% based on 59 reviews, with an average rating of 7.40/10. The site's consensus states: "Sentimental, slow, schmaltzy, and very satisfying, "The Bridges of Madison County" finds Clint Eastwood adapting a bestseller with heft, wit, and grace." On Metacritic, the film has a 69 out of 100 rating, based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film a grade "A−" on scale of A+ to F.


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: According to Janet Maslin, "Clint Eastwood, director and alchemist, has transformed "The Bridges of Madison County" into something bearable—no, something even better. Limited by the vapidity of this material while he trims its excesses with the requisite machete, Mr. Eastwood locates a moving, elegiac love story at the heart of Mr. Waller's self-congratulatory overkill. The movie has leanness and surprising decency, and Meryl Streep has her best role in years. Looking sturdy and voluptuous in her plain housedress (the year is 1965), Ms. Streep rises straight out of "Christina's World" to embody all the loneliness and fierce yearning Andrew Wyeth captured on canvas. And yet, despite the Iowa setting and the emphasis on down-home Americana, Mr. Eastwood's "Bridges of Madison County" has a European flavor. Its pace is unhurried, which is not the same as slow. It respects long silences and pays attention to small details. It sustains an austere tone and staves off weepiness until the last reel. It voices musings that would definitely sound better in French." Richard Corliss said Eastwood is the "most reticent of directors—where the book ogles, the film discreetly observes—and, here, the courtliest of stars...As scripted by Richard LaGravenese ("The Fisher King"), the Madison County movie has a slightly riper theme than the book's. It is about the anticipation and consequences of passion—the slow dance of appraisal, of waiting to make a move that won't be rejected, of debating what to do when the erotic heat matures into love light. What is the effect of an affair on a woman who has been faithful to her husband, and on a rootless man who only now realizes he needs the one woman he can have but not hold?" Corliss concludes ""Madison County" is Eastwood's gift to women: to Francesca, to all the girls he's loved before—and to Streep, who alchemizes literary mawkishness into intelligent movie passion."


title: The Bridges of Madison County (film)

text: The film tied with "Goodbye South, Goodbye" and "Carlito's Way" as the best film of the 1990s in a poll by "Cahiers du cinéma".


title: Total Drama Island

text: Total Drama Island (sometimes shortened to TDI) is the first season of "Total Drama", a Canadian animated comedy television series created by Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch. The series premiered in Canada on Teletoon on July 8, 2007, and ran for 26 episodes, each 22 minutes in duration with a special 44-minute season finale.


title: Total Drama Island

text: "Total Drama Island" is set in the fictional titular reality show, which follows the competition of 22 unsuspecting and unwitting teenagers at Camp Wawanakwa, the most rundown, insect-infested, disgusting island in an unspecified area in Muskoka, Ontario. The campers participate in competitions and challenges that get more insane and dangerous each week to avoid being voted off the island by their fellow campers and teammates. At the end of the series, the winning contestant will receive C$100,000 (US$73,129.00). The competition is hosted by Chris McLean, assisted by the camp's chef, Chef Hatchet, who is also Chris's best friend despite being mistreated at times. Egotistical and immoral, unless something affects him legally, Chris places the show's contestants in various life-threatening challenges.


title: Total Drama Island

text: At the beginning of the season, the campers are placed into two groups of eleven, the "Screaming Gophers" and the "Killer Bass". In each episode, the teams participate in a challenge, in which one or more campers can win invincibility for their team. The losing team is called to the campfire that night, where they vote one of their members off the island. The camper with the most votes is eliminated from the competition. At this campfire, McLean passes out marshmallows to the campers who have not been voted off, while the one who does not get a marshmallow must walk down the Dock of Shame to the Boat of Losers, which will take them away from the island and they will "never, never, never, ever, ever, ever, come back, ever" according to Chris (this was proved a lie in Episode 15, "No Pain, No Game", when he brought Eva and Izzy back into the game).


title: Total Drama Island

text: In Episode 14, the teams are disbanded, so it is every camper for themselves, after which the challenges continue; the winner of each challenge then only receives invincibility for him or herself, whereupon the rest of the campers vote one camper without invincibility off the island. This process of elimination continues until two players remain. They are then subject to a final contest. "Total Drama Island" is a parody of the reality show "Survivor". McLean is very similar to "Survivor" host Jeff Probst. This is the first season in which the winner does not get to keep the money, due to it being eaten by a shark in the episode "Total Drama Drama Drama Drama Island".


title: Total Drama Island

text: "Total Drama Island" premiered on July 8, 2007, on the Teletoon channel. This season has 26 episodes, each 22 minutes long, and two special episodes. It was the third Cartoon Network show outside of Adult Swim and Toonami to have the U.S. rating of either "TV-PG" or "TV-PG-D", and a parental-guidance warning after every commercial break and at the beginning of the show (the first two being "Sunday Pants" and "IGPX"). Its rating in Canada was initially "G"; current broadcasts are rated "PG".


title: Total Drama Island

text: For every season, the show's producers create two alternate endings for the final episode, such that the winner seen in one country's broadcasts is the runner-up in other countries (and vice versa) where the show airs. Owen is the original winner in Canada, but he is also shown as the winner in Australia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Latin America and Brazil (Cartoon Network), the Middle East, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Singapore, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States. Gwen is the original runner-up in Canada, but she is also the winner in Finland, Japan, Latin America and Brazil (Boomerang and TBS) Norway, Poland, Romania and Sweden.


title: Total Drama Island

text: There are 22 original contestants who competed in "Total Drama Island". They are Beth, Bridgette, Cody, Courtney, DJ, Duncan, Eva, Ezekiel, Geoff, Gwen, Harold, Heather, Izzy, Justin, Katie, Leshawna, Lindsay, Noah, Owen, Sadie, Trent, and Tyler. Many of the characters return in later seasons either as contestants or as guests.


title: Total Drama Island

text: "Total Drama Island" was developed and produced by Fresh TV, starting in 2006, with an early name for the series being "Camp TV". The season was animated at Elliott Animation and was directed by Todd Kauffman and Mark Thornton. It was primarily targeted at twelve-to-eighteen-year-olds, and the creators, Tom McGillis and Jennifer Pertsch, studied what tweens liked and disliked about reality television shows in the writing process. McGillis said that they used a "countrywide online research project" to determine this demographic's likes. Fresh TV partners McGillis, Pertsch, Elliott and Irving produced the series. The budget for the series was US$8,000,000. It was animated in Flash, at Elliott Animation's studio in Toronto. Every cast and crew member on "Total Drama Island" had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to disclose who the winner was. All the characters were designed by Kauffman. Voice actors from the series "6teen" have lent their voices for "Total Drama Island". Christian Potenza, who played the character Jude on "6teen", played the role of host Chris McLean. Potenza said that the best part of the job was that his character could not be voted off the show. Emilie-Claire Barlow plays a recurring role as Chrissy on "6teen" and plays Courtney on "Total Drama Island". Barlow stated that Courtney was her favorite character that she had ever played. Other voice actors from "6teen" include Julia Chantrey as Eva; Drew Nelson (Kai) as Duncan; Megan Fahlenbock (Jen) as Gwen; Adam Reid (Wayne) as Justin; Stephanie Anne Mills (Kirsten) as Lindsay and Katie; Rachel Wilson (Melinda Wilson) as Heather; and Scott McCord (Stone) as Owen and Trent.


title: Total Drama Island

text: Carole Bonneau, the Vice President of Teletoon stated that "Total Drama Island", along with "6teen" were "consistently top performers" for audiences of ages 6–11, and also helped to bring in older viewers as well. When "Total Drama Island" aired on Cartoon Network, it performed very well; "The Toronto Star" reported that, "in some age groups ["Total Drama Island" showed] a 500% ratings increase in [its] time slot." On December 11, 2008, "Total Drama Island" garnered 3.5 million viewers. That year, the series was the top "regularly scheduled Thursday night program at 9 p.m. on all television throughout third quarter among kids 2-11, 6-11 and 9-14," according to the "Animation World Network". On Memorial Day weekend of 2009, a marathon of "Total Drama Island" increased viewership in age groups 2–11, 6–11, and 9–14, each by 20% or more compared to the same week in 2008. As of 2011, "Total Drama Island" has aired in over 188 countries.


title: Total Drama Island

text: "Total Drama Island" has received generally positive reviews. The series was nominated for a Gemini Award for "Best Animated Program or Series", shared by Tom McGillis, Jennifer Pertsch, George Elliott and Brian Irving. Common Sense Media gave the show 4 out of 5 stars, deeming it an "enjoyable, smart show" and finding that it appealed to all demographics. Matthew Price of "The Oklahoman" gave a mixed review of the series, stating that it "starts unbelievably slowly", but deeming that the later episodes effectively spoofed reality shows. Debi Enker of "The Age" gave a negative review of the season's last episode, calling the art, design and writing "lamentable."


title: Total Drama Island

text: A DVD was released by Warner Home Video on August 18, 2009, in the United States. It contains all of the 27 episodes (including TDI Rundown) of season one of this series in a 4 disc set, for a total of 594 minutes long. In addition, its bonus features (entitled as X-tras) are the audition tapes of twenty two campers, played after each of their respective eliminations, as well as Izzy's second audition tape and her exclusive interview with Chris (the latter of which is shown after Eva's second elimination). In Australia, "Total Drama Island" is on Region 4 DVD as separate volumes. This series of discs contains the widescreen version with uncut scenes and original dialogue, as seen on Teletoon and ABC3. In reviewing the DVD for season, Matthew Price of "The Oklahoman" wrote that while the show started out "unbelievably slowly," the series became more interesting as campers began getting voted off. Price also praised the parody of reality shows. In another review of the DVD, Jeffrey Kauffman of "DVD Talk" wrote that the character development was compelling and that the parody of reality shows were very funny. Mac McEntire of "DVD Verdict" praised the character development as well, but noted that the show sometimes sinks to "lowbrow gross-outs". Both Kauffman and McEntire recommended the series DVD.


title: Total Drama Island

text: "Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive!" was an online game in Canada and the US marketed in conjunction with the television series. It was produced by Xenophile Media. By registering a free account, the player could play games using a customizable avatar to earn points for marshmallows. Marshmallows are used as money in the game so the player can buy in-game items. The player who earned the most points had their avatar make a cameo appearance in the season finale. The games were based on the challenges in the show. "Total Drama Island: Totally Interactive!" was nominated for an Interactive Emmy Award in 2007. However, the website is no longer available, as it was replaced by Total Drama Online and the Teletoon and Cartoon Network official sites.


title: Jim Steinman

text: James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He produced albums for Bonnie Tyler and for Meat Loaf, including "Bat Out of Hell" (one of the best-selling albums in history) and "".


title: Jim Steinman

text: His most successful chart singles include Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart", Air Supply's "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", Meat Loaf's "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)", the Sisters of Mercy's "This Corrosion" and "More", Barry Manilow's "Read 'Em and Weep", Celine Dion's cover of "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" (originally released by Steinman's project Pandora's Box) and Boyzone's "No Matter What" (the group's first and only single to be popular and chart in the US). Steinman's only solo album "Bad for Good" was released in 1981.


title: Jim Steinman

text: Steinman's work also extended to musical theater, where he began his career. Steinman was credited with the book, music, and lyrics for "", as well as lyrics for "Whistle Down the Wind", and music for "Tanz der Vampire".


title: Jim Steinman

text: Steinman was born November 1, 1947, in Hewlett Harbor, New York, the son of Eleanor, a teacher of Latin, and Louis Steinman, who owned a steel distribution warehouse. He was of Jewish ancestry.


title: Jim Steinman

text: Steinman graduated from George W. Hewlett High School in 1965. In 1963, during his sophomore year at Hewlett High School, Steinman won "Newsday"s January essay contest on American History for his essay on what he believed were the three greatest American inventions. Steinman received his bachelor's degree from Amherst College in 1969.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In March 1968, Steinman contributed music for an Amherst College adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's "A Man's a Man". In May 1968, he directed an Amherst production of Michael McClure's "The Beard". Over the summer of 1968, he contributed music for an adaptation of Brecht's "Baal" by the Island Theater Workshop on Martha's Vineyard.


title: Jim Steinman

text: As a senior at Amherst College in Massachusetts, Steinman wrote the book, music and lyrics for "The Dream Engine" (April 1969), a musical that was used to fulfil the requirements for an independent study course in his senior year. Steinman himself played Baal while an audition call went out to fellow students for the remaining roles of the production. Barry Keating (serving as the co-creator and director) also played the role of the Historian/Narrator and worked extensively with Jim to compile the book for the production, often shouting lines from the audience and sourcing heavily from their earlier work with Brechtian form and tropes. The play was presented at the Amherst campus's "Kirby Theater" in April 1969 and transferred to nearby Holyoke for a small handful of performances, infamously drawing the attention of local authorities for its ensemble-wide display of nudity in the finale (an element that was begrudgingly muted for the off-campus performances).


title: Jim Steinman

text: "The Dream Engine", set in a satirical-dystopian 1969, is the story of a young boy named Baal who, along with his rebel fellows, doesn't accept the restraints and limits of their society. Baal is the leader of a self-assembled group of wild boys called The Tribe, whose mortal enemies are Max and Emily, the parents of the Girl, a young woman with whom Baal has fallen in love.


title: Jim Steinman

text: Several motifs, lyrics, and monologues from this show appear in songs Steinman later released. For example, the lyrics "turn around bright eyes" from "Total Eclipse of the Heart" can be heard in the song titled "The Formation of the Tribe". This was originally a reference to the blast flash of nuclear explosions, and the full riff of the original Dream Engine composition can be heard in the musical break of the Bonnie Tyler recording, including symbolic musical "blasts" to punctuate each phrase. Multiple esoteric references to "silver" and "gold" also occur first, throughout the book, and appear in numerous later Steinman works, and the full monologue that was later recorded to open "You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (Hot Summer Night)" is delivered in a love scene between Baal and The Girl.


title: Jim Steinman

text: Steinman said in an interview that Joseph Papp, founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival, saw the play and was so impressed he signed it up during intermission. He wanted to bring it to New York (either Broadway or Central Park), but balked when his Amherst faculty advisor explained to Papp that, contrary to Papp's published claim, Steinman was never threatened with "near-expulsion" from the college. Nonetheless, Steinman worked under Papp after his years at Amherst College.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1971, Steinman provided music for a puppet show titled "Ubu". The show, put on by puppeteer and filmmaker Demian, was an adaptation of "Ubu on the Hill", an 1888 play by Alfred Jarry.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1972, Steinman worked with college friend Barry Keating on a musical titled "Rhinegold" at the Mercer Arts Center, based on Richard Wagner's opera "Das Rheingold". Steinman wrote the music and Keating wrote the lyrics.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1972, Bette Midler sang a demo of the Steinman song "Heaven Can Wait". Midler's career was at an early stage at the time; she went on to far greater fame, making that demo a collector's item. The demo has been in circulation among fans on the internet.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1973, Steinman's song "Happy Ending" appeared on the album "Food of Love", sung by Yvonne Elliman. This was the first commercially released recording of a song written by Steinman. That same year, Steinman wrote music and lyrics for a musical titled "More Than You Deserve" (1973). One of the actors cast in this show was Marvin Lee Aday, who went by the name Meat Loaf, with whom Steinman later collaborated.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1973, a single of the song "More Than You Deserve", from the musical sharing that name, was released. Reid Whitelaw was producer. Norman Bergen was arranger. Meat Loaf was the lead singer. A cover of this single also appears on the 1981 album "Dead Ringer".


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1975, while working for Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival, Steinman contributed music and lyrics to Thomas Babe's "Kid Champion", which starred Christopher Walken.


title: Jim Steinman

text: In 1976, there was a minor one-month run of a musical titled "The Confidence Man". It was based loosely on the novel by the same title by Herman Melville. The book and lyrics were written by Ray Errol Fox, the music by Steinman. Ray Fox described the 1976 production as "a capsule version of the show". In 1986, a more elaborate production of the show with added songs was held at Queens College in New York City. It was directed by Susan Einhorn and performed by Queen's College students. Orchestrations were by Steven Margoshes, a frequent Steinman collaborator. One song from "The Confidence Man", "Milady", was recorded by Barry Manilow, but never released. The melody of that song later appeared in "Tanz der Vampire" as the melody of "Für Sarah" (for Sarah). Some music from this show later appeared in the hit song "Making Love Out of Nothing at All", and in the score of the film "A Small Circle of Friends". A cast album of the songs from "The Confidence Man", produced by Jeff Olmstead, was released in 2003. A cabaret show featuring songs from "The Confidence Man" was presented in 1977 at the Manhattan Theatre Club, where Steinman had previously written music for another cabaret show titled "Bloodshot Wine".


title: Jim Steinman

text: Since 1974, Steinman had been working on a musical entitled "Neverland" (its only performances were during a 1977 workshop at the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington DC ). Adapted largely from the Steinman/Keating source material developed for the Dream Engine, it also loosely sourced material from "Peter Pan" by J.M. Barrie. Steinman and Meat Loaf, who were touring with the National Lampoon show, felt that three songs were "exceptional" and Steinman began to develop them as part of a seven-song set they wanted to record as an album. The three songs were "Bat Out of Hell", "Heaven Can Wait" and "The Formation of the Pack", which was retitled "All Revved Up With No Place to Go". The show also contained Steinman's "Bolero" (a.k.a. "Great Bolero's of Fire") which was later used at many live shows featuring Steinman work. Jim Steinman originally wanted Kim Milford to sing the album "Bat Out of Hell", but later changed his mind.


title: Jim Steinman

text: Steinman and Meat Loaf had immense difficulty finding a record company willing to sign them. According to Meat Loaf's autobiography, the band spent most of 1975, and two-and-a-half years, auditioning "Bat Out of Hell" and being rejected. CBS executive Clive Davis even claimed that Steinman knew nothing about writing, or rock music in general. Recording started in 1976 in Bearsville, near Woodstock. After numerous further rejections, the album was released by Cleveland International Records in October 1977. The album was an immediate success in Australia and the United Kingdom, and later in the United States. Reports vary as to how many copies of the album have been sold, but in 2007, Cleveland International Records founder Steve Popovich said that it was around 40 million copies. The highest-charting song from the album was "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad", which reached No. 11 on the Billboard Charts.