Trafficking in human beings

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(Redirected from Human trafficking)
For the television mini-series relating to this subject, see Human Trafficking.

Trafficking in human beings is the criminal commercial trade in human beings, who are subjected to involuntary acts such as begging, sexual exploitation (eg. prostitution and arranged marriage), or unfree labour (eg. involuntary servitude or working in sweatshops). Trafficking involves a process of using physical force, fraud, deception, or other forms or coercion or intimidation to obtain, recruit, harbour, and transport people. To many, the contemporary phenomenon of trafficking in human beings is the modern day equivalent of slavery.

Human trafficking differs from people smuggling. A smuggler will facilitate illegal entry into a country for a fee, but on arrival at their destination, the smuggled person is free; the trafficking victim is enslaved. The trafficker takes away the basic human rights of the victim. Victims do not agree to be trafficked: they are tricked and lured by false promises or physically forced. Traffickers use coercive tactics including deception, fraud, intimidation, isolation, threat and use of physical force, debt bondage or even force-feeding with drugs of abuse to control their victims.

Women, who form the majority of trafficking victims, are particularly at risk from criminals who exploit lack of opportunities promise good jobs or opportunities for study and then force the victims to be prostitutes. Through agents and brokers who arrange the travel and job placements, women are escorted to their destinations and delivered to the employers. Upon reaching their destinations, some women learn that they have been deceived about the nature of the work they will do; most have been lied to about the financial arrangements and conditions of their employment; and all find themselves in coercive and abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous. The criminals profit while the women suffer rape and other physical and mental violence.

Men are also at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work predominantly involving hard labour. Other forms of trafficking include bonded and sweatshop labour, forced marriage, and domestic servitude. Children are also trafficked for both labour exploitation and sexual exploitation. On a related issue, children are forced to be child soldiers.

Trafficked persons are often from the most vulnerable in society (especially in post-conflict situations, such as Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina), though they may also come from any social background, classes and race.

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Entry into Trafficking

Victims of trafficking are brought into the system through several means. In some cases, they are captured through slave raiding, although this is increasingly rare. Most victims of trafficking today come from three populations. First, parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income. Second, runaways, refugees, or other displaced persons may be picked up by traffickers. Debt bondage through drug addiction seems to be a standard "justification" of human trafficking in these situations. Third, people who are seeking entry to other countries may be picked up by traffickers, and--typically--misled into thinking that they will be free after being smuggled across the border.

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Extent

Due to the illegal nature of trafficking, the exact extent is unknown. A US Government report published in 2003 estimates that between 800,000 and 900,000 people worldwide are trafficked across borders each year, the majority in South East Asia, Japan, Russia and Europe. This figure does not include those who are trafficked internally. [1]

Between 20,000 and 40,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year.[2] According to the Massachusetts based Trafficking Victims Outreach and Services Networkin Massachusetts alone, there were 55 documented cases of human trafficking in 2005 and the first half of 2006. [3] In the United Kingdom, the Home Office estimated that there were up to 1,420 women trafficked into the UK in a 1998 study. [4] Trafficking in people is increasing in Africa, South Asia and into North America. Between 80% and 90% of victims trafficked across international borders are female and the majority of those women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation through forced prostitution or sexual slavery.

In Russia, Africa and South and East Asia, many countries are faced with a rising child prostitution problem and the linkage with tourism is evident. Child prostitution and the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation is also increasing in Europe, North America, Japan and Australia.

The majority of child trafficking cases are in Asia, although it is a global problem. In Thailand, non-governmental organizations (NGO) have estimated that up to a third of prostitutes are children under 18, many trafficked from outside Thailand. [5] In Ukraine, a survey conducted by the NGO “La Strada-Ukraine” in 2001-2003, based on a sample of 106 women being trafficked out of Ukraine found that 3% were under 18, and the US State Department reported in 2004 that incidents of minors being trafficked was increasing. A report by World Vision Middle East/Eastern Europe funded by the Canadian government and supported by six United Nations agencies and the International Organization for Migration reported that the sexual exploitation of children, child trafficking and sexual violence towards minors is increasing and that Russia is becoming a new destination for child sex tourism. The report adds that some studies claim approximately 20 per cent to 25 per cent of Moscow's sex workers are minors.[6]

The 1996 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography estimates that about one million children in Asia alone are victims of the sex trade. According to the International Labour Organization, the problem is especially alarming in Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Vietnam and Nepal. [7]

Human trafficking is so common now that it is the third most profitable criminal activity in the world after illegal drugs and arms trafficking. Globally, forced labour — which includes sexual exploitation — generates US$31bn, half of it in the industrialised world, a tenth in transition countries, the International Labour Organization says in a report on forced labour ("A global alliance against forced labour", ILO, 11 May 2005).

Trafficking in people has been facilitated by porous borders and advanced communication technologies, it has become increasingly transnational in scope and highly lucrative. Unlike drugs or arms, people can be "sold" several times. The trafficking in human beings is not new, but it is a rapidly growing problem. A number of factors have led to its expansion, such as the easy profits made from exploitation; growing deprivation and marginalisation of the poor; discrimination against women; restrictive migration laws; a lack of information about the realities and dangers of trafficking and insufficient penalties against traffickers. The opening up of Asian markets, porous borders, the end of the Soviet Union and the collapse of the former Yugoslavia have contributed to this dark side of globalisation.

In exceptional cases, officials have been accused of corruption and helping traffickers. Also, many governments treat victims as illegal aliens, jailing and deporting them while not punishing the trafficker.

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International law

In 2000 the United Nations adopted the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, also called the Palermo Convention and two protocols thereto:

All of these instruments contain elements of the current international law on trafficking in human beings.

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Council of Europe

The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings [8] [9] was adopted by the Council of Europe on the 16 May 2005. The aim of the convention is to prevent and combat the trafficking in human beings. Of the 46 members of the Council of Europe, so far 23 have signed the convention and none have ratified it yet (Dec 15th 2005). [10]

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United States Law

The United States has taken a firm stance against human trafficking both within its borders and beyond. Domestically, human trafficking is prosecuted through the Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section of the United States Department of Justice. Older statutes used to protect 13th Amendment Rights within United States Borders are Title 18 U.S.C., Sections 1581 and 1584. Section 1584 makes it a crime to force a person to work against his will. This compulsion can be effected by use of force, threat of force, threat of legal coercion or by "a climate of fear", that is, an environment wherein an individual believes they may be harmed by leaving or refusing to work. Section 1581 similarly makes it illegal to force a person to work through "debt servitude".

New laws were passed under the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000. The new laws responded to a changing face of trafficking in the United States. It allowed for greater statutory maximum sentences for traffickers, provided resources for protection of and assistance for victims of trafficking and created avenues for interagency cooperation in the field of human trafficking. This law also attempted to encourage efforts to prevent human trafficking internationally, by creating annual country reports on trafficking, as well as by tying financial non-humanitarian assistance to foreign countries to real efforts in addressing human trafficking.

International NPOs, such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have called on the United States to improve its measures aimed at reducing trafficking. They recommend that the United States more fully implement the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and for immigration officers to improve their awareness of trafficking and support the victims of trafficking. [11][12]

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Human Trafficking in Film and Television

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

'Lilya 4-ever' by Lukas Moodysson shows a young woman from the former Soviet Union who is deceived into being trafficked for exploitation in Sweden. Human trafficking has also been portrayed in the Canadian/UK TV drama “Sex Traffic” and the Canada/US drama "Human Trafficking" by Christian Duguay.

'Svetlana's Journey' by Michael Cory Davis depicts the trials a 13 year old who loses her family and is sold to human traffickers by her adoptive family. She is drugged, raped and forced to endure continuous abuse by her 'clients' and traffickers until one day she decides not to live that way any longer. She commits the ultimate act of escape and releases herself from them. This is based on a true story. More information can be found at Face to Face

Maria Full of Grace follows the story of a young girl who is smuggled across the US border in exchange for her participation in trafficking cocaine.

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External links

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Amnesty International

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Other organisations and campaigns

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Articles, papers and factbooks

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Government and international governmental organisations

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Modern peacekeeping and forced prostitution

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Survivors' testimonies

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