Abstracts: July 2004

July 6, 2004
Welcome to Heathrow, would all child slaves please go to Customs now. . .
According to this article:
Police are convinced that Britain has become a "transit country" for the child sex trade in other European states. An example is given of a 12 year old Afghan who was "married" at age eight, trafficked through Heathrow to meet her "husband" and then disappeared.

Lone children are arriving by the thousands into Britain. A reoccurring theme is that many are being "coached" in various churches before being sent to the UK. Scotland Yard has posted a full time child protection officer at Heathrow.  Details of the tactics used by international trafficking rings are given in this article.  Traffickers receive thousands of pounds per child, as innocent parents hoping to give their children a better life in Britain will pay GBP 3,000 for the child's passage.

The Government is considering appointing a minister with responsibility for child trafficking and to pressure airline crews to assist.  Hillindon council social services is caring for over 600 children. A recent court ruling requires young immigrants must receive care and the cost in Kent alone is running over GBP30 million a year.

Scotland Yard conducted the first study in the world into child migration.  Operation Paladin Child, begun in October 2002, resulted in 26 recommendations. The report is presently being reviewed by the Home Office. Operation Paladin Child follows high-profile tragic cases such as that of eight-year-old Victoria Climbie, native of the Ivory Coast who was abused then murdered (1999) and the Nigerian "Adam" torso found in the Thames(2001.)

Debbie Ariyo. Of Africans Against Child Abuse. Said: "We know that a lot of Nigerian children in particular are being brought into the UK for sexual exploitation and onward trafficking to other European countries.

• "Welcome to Heathrow, would all child slaves please go to Customs now. . ." The Express on Sunday. July 6, 2004.

July 11, 2004
Taxi drivers get cash for delivering lads to lappers
According to this article:
Taxi drivers in Dublin are being offered commission to bring punters to lapdancing clubs due to the fierce competition between clubs. La Petite issued flyers to 10,900 Dublin taxi drivers to entice them to bring customers to the club. Advertisements have also been taken out in the Taxi Independent magazine. La Petite gives €5 a head to the driver for each customer brought to the club and drivers are given free admission on Monday and Tuesday nights.

Lapello's, La Paradis and Garden of Eden also operate the policy. Angels apparently does  not.

La Petite manager, Paul Nolan said: ''We're in an awkward situation where we're trying to get people to come out of Temple Bar. ''We don't hand out leaflets there because, for one thing, it isn't safe for the girls because of certain elements and secondly we'd get hit with a €125 fine each time one of our leaflets is thrown on the ground. ''We find the taxi promotion works very well. Obviously there's competition among the clubs and the taxi drivers are in a no-lose situation.''

A number of the capital's lapdancing clubs have gone out of business – Strings on Leeson Street, Bunny's in Temple Bar, Shooters on Parnell St, The Barclay club on South William St and Honeys on Capel St. That leaves five clubs still in operation – Angels, Lapello, La Paradis, Garden of Eden and La Petite.

Vinny Kearns of the National Taxi Drivers Union said his organisation has no problem with the lapdancing bonus system.

• "Taxi drivers get cash for delivering lads to lappers" National Taxi Drivers Union / Sunday World. July 11, 2004. Dec. 10, 2004.
  <http://www.ntdu.com/index.cfm/loc/3/pt/0/spid/
  BFEC44E3-B81F-4839-BB47B39A44B381D9.htm>

July 16, 2004
Prostitution laws facing overhaul
According to this article:
A four month consultation into prostitution has begun, during which ministers are making public appeals for help in overhauling key prostitution laws.  The Home Office paper follows four months of internal government debate regarding methods used in other countries.

David Blunkett, Home Secretary wants to meet the "devastating consequences of prostitution" head-on.  He says the decision must be made whether the nation accepts or challenges the sex trade.  Blunkett's priorities are to prevent coercion of girls, to protect those already in the sex trade, and to bring to justice criminals controlling the lives of the women.  Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said they are exploring the prevention of prostitution, targeting of pimps and traffickers, and projects to divert the women and help them out of the sex trade.

Quote:
"The realities of prostitution - both for those involved and for the wider community - are often brutal. It involves the abuse of children and serious exploitation of adults." "There are important tasks ahead of us and there are no easy answers or one single solution." "Prevention is the key to alleviate the circumstances that make young people vulnerable to coercion into prostitution." David Blunkett, Home Secretary

A particular concern is the rise in international trafficking of women by organised crime. New laws would target organised crime and pimping. The official estimate of women involved in prostitution in the UK is 80,000.  Over nine out of ten are Class A drug users.   Many women have been prostitutes since childhood. 

In the four-month consultation, ministers are appealing to the public to help overhaul the law in key areas of prostitution. Ministers say they are entirely open minded but have detailed a number of possible changes in the law, including "managed tolerance zones", registering sex trade workers and licensing brothels.  The Home Office says none of those reforms has shown to be foolproof in other countries and have sometimes made the situation worse.

Certain cities, (i.e. Liverpool) are requesting trials of prostitution tolerance zones.  Prostitute collectives, (i.e. the English Collective of Prostitutes) have called for abolishment of all the current laws against prostitution.  They believe that penalties for kerb-crawlers drives more women underground.

• "Prostitution laws facing overhaul" BBC News. July 16, 2004. Nov. 19, 2004.
  <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3898009.stm>

July 29th 2004
Murdered Malawian 'worked as lap-dancer'
According to this article:
Gardai are focusing on where Paiche Onyemaechi was murdered and on claims that she worked as a lap-dancer and prostitute.  It is understood that she worked in lap-dancing clubs in Dublin and Limerick and worked for a time as a prostitute.  She was reported missing by her Nigerian partner on July 8.  Her partly decomposed body was discovered last week.

• Murphy, Sarah. "Murdered Malawian 'worked as lap-dancer'" Irish Independent.
  July 29, 2004. Dec. 1, 2004.
  <http://www.unison.ie/irish_independent/stories.php3?ca=
  9&si=1223369&issue_id=11204&printer=1>

July 30, 2004
Sex industry link to gruesome murder
According to this article:
Waterford city resident and mother-of-two, Paiche Onyemaechi (25), St. Herblain Park, Waterford, was identified as the murder victim whose headless body was  found in Piltown, South Kilkenny.  Post Mortem was carried out at the Waterford Regional Hospital by Dr. Marie Cassidy. The full autopsy details have not been disclosed, but it was known she died a very violent death and that a firearm was not used.  A local Piltown woman, Eithne Oakey discovered the body while walking her dog near the River Pil.

Gardai refused to confirm or deny allegations of her link to the sex industry.  The murder investigation is under the direction of Supt. Michael Devine and being carried out from an incident room at Carrickon- Suir Garda Station. They are being assisted by the Garda National Immigration Bureau and the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

Waterford News & Star was informed by "reliable sources" that Paiche regularly commuted to Limerick and Dublin to work as a lapdancer and that "prostitution was also an issue".  She had been living in Waterford for approximately four years.

Paiche was the mother of two sons, aged 18 months and three years.  She was married in 2001 to a Nigerian national, "Chika", who reported her missing on July 8.  She was known to her friends as "Gina" and described as glamorous, well-liked and a good mother. 

• Long, Jennifer. "Sex industry link to gruesome murder" Waterford News. July 30, 2004. Dec. 1, 2004.
  <http://www.waterford-news.ie/news/story.asp?j=15227>