Human trafficking may sound like a word that is foreign to the typical modern mind, but when we dig a little deeper, we will uncover some very unsettling things about what happens underneath our noses every single day. Living human beings are being captured, transported (trafficked) and exploited against their wills. This may sound like the slave trade that had happen in pre-modern times but in reality, such a phenomenon happens even today. Addressing this welfare issue is of paramount importance, especially today when a universal list of human rights exists that belong to all people.
Based on the Palermo Protocol 2000, there are three components (or elements) that helps us characterise all instances of human trafficking cases: the act, the means and the purpose. Acts would include recruiting (the initial procurement of a person), transporting (moving a person from one place to another), transferring (the passing of a person from one perpetrator to another), harbouring (keeping a person in hostage/captive) or receiving a victim.
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The means refer to the way the criminal causes the trafficking to take place, i.e. the methods they use to gain control of the person. This is not merely limited to abductions, where no consent from the victim was obtained. It also extends to cases where consent was obtained by means of deception, coercion or abuse of power/vulnerability - this is referred to as the negation of consent (Drew, 2009) The purpose would be the end to which the traffickers will lead/force the victims into. It is essentially the way traffickers choose to exploit the person(s), that will bring some sort of benefit or advantage to themselves.
Hence, a criminal who abducts a person to be recruited into forced labour would be guilty of human trafficking. Actions like this affect a deny a person’s right to freedom from slavery which usually leads to torture and inhumane treatment. Related to trafficking is the concept of human smuggling. It should be noted that the criminal act is referred to as smuggling is if the displaced person has given his/her consent, intending for themselves to be transferred across a border illegally. (Drew, 2009)
While the actual figures remain a mystery, a Global Report on Trafficking in Persons was released by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2018. It includes a detailed analysis of detected human trafficking cases in the years 2014 – 2017, while incorporating data trends that go back till 2007. According to the cross-sectional examination of data from 2016 which included a total of 24,000 detected cases, the findings show that sexual exploitation (59%) and forced labour (34%) are the two major forms(or purposes) of exploitations in trafficking. The remaining 7% include organ harvesting, forced marriages, exploitative begging, forced criminal activity, production of pornography, the use of children as child soldiers, and the trafficking of pregnant women for selling their babies. (UNODC, 2018)
The UNDOC report also notes numerous flows of trafficking, most of which occur within the bounds of a particular region (East Asia and the Pacific, North and Central America etc.). Intraregional flows would include displacements within the same country (58%), and subregions (Western Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa etc.) (28%). Less than 10% of cases involve the transregional moving of individuals. This can mean one of two things: (i) most human trafficking efforts are operated by a country’s local crime organisation and hence countries should double their efforts on cracking them down. (ii) many transnational and transregional crime have not been detected by the authorities and thus countries and intergovernmental agencies need to foster bilateral efforts to tackle human trafficking.
A crime as complex as this is rarely the work of a single person. Most human trafficking cases involve three or more people, making them fall under the classification of organised crime. This is especially true for cases that involve organ harvesting. Elaborate international networks are in place to facilitate the organ trade, linking supposedly “lawful” medical organisations like hospitals with criminal groups, usually through an ‘international coordinator/broker’. (Bos, 2015) By abducting a person and stealing their organs, these criminal entities obtain lucrative profits off the black market. Across the age board, statistics show that male victims tend to be exploited for forced labour while female victims are typically exploited sexually, many of which were subject to forced prostitution.
Since the trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation, or sexual trafficking, makes up the lion’s share among the many ways victims suffer, this essay shall focus a little bit more on it. Indeed, it can be argued that it is the most degrading way victims suffer since forced prostitution ruins the lives of its sufferers. Even beyond a successful return to their homes and communities, rehabilitation proves to be difficult, even with the assistance of social workers. A study in Albania showed how there are plenty of women victims who ‘have little hope for a good life’ back home. Wearing the label of a former prostitute, their prospects for marriage are low. Those who are too embarrassed to return would never reunite with their families, while many among those who did either committed suicide or were reportedly murdered by their family members for being dishonourable. Risk of AIDS and other STDs (Sexually-Transmitted Diseases) was also present due to unprotected sex. (van Hook et al, 2006)
In terms of psychological and mental harm, victims are shown to have a higher chance of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression. It was not uncommon to find those with a combination of ‘PTSD + anxiety + depression’. (Hossain et al, 2010) This would have a drastic effect on any investigative efforts to bring the traffickers to justice since memory loss and memory inconsistencies is prevalent among PTSD patients. Another aspect worth noting is their living in constant fear of retribution by their former perpetrators. This fear is not unfounded, since by sharing their account of exploitation to investigators and care workers, it may lead to exposing important evidence that might lead to the conviction of the traffickers (Zimmerman & Pocock, 2013)
A region that happens to be a hotbed for human trafficking is Southeast Asia. There is an intergovernmental organisation in place that facilitates social, economic and political cooperation between countries in the region commonly referred to as ASEAN (the Association of South-East Asian Nations). Unlike the EU and the Council of Europe, ASEAN does not bear any form of delegated powers. N.M. Klynn notes that while their mode of informal cooperation by consensus rather than mandate has done well in bringing nations from a history of animosity into peaceful relations, the tackling of transnational issues through policy has been relatively slow-paced. (Klynn, 2012)
This unique character of ASEAN has definitely manifested itself in the way it has been dealing with human trafficking. The first instance of a response being made by ASEAN against this issue was under the ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime 1997. It was a pledge that provided a decent legislative framework. Member states adopted measures to improve the cooperation between the police and customs, while fostering regional coordination.
The Manila Declaration on the Prevention and Control of Transnational Crime 1998 went slightly further to call for a crack-down on organised crime, stating human trafficking as an example which led to the exploitation of women and children. It specified actions like ‘extradition, mutual assistance, witness protection, transfer of prisoners, and the seizure and forfeiture of the proceeds of crime’ as examples of possible joint-efforts.
Together with NGOs and other Asian countries, ASEAN formulated the Asian Regional Initiative Against Trafficking in Women and Children (ARIAT) in 2000. It was ahead of its time, a workshop for creating a programme for victim-centred interventions that included providing ‘appropriate housing, economic, medical and psychological assistance… [and] physical safety assurance.’ Unfortunately, due to its non-binding nature, there was a lack on follow-ups. The programme stopped, but another declaration, the ASEAN Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women and Children 2004 called for member-states to provide appropriate welfare assistances to victims as they deemed fit. (Cheah, 2006) Poverty and wealth disparities were also identified then as a major contributor to human trafficking within the region based on the apparent movement of victims from marginalised communities to more affluent places.
As a confederation that emphasises on preserving their foundational principles of non-interference and state sovereignty, ASEAN’s influence on policy is limited to the willingness of member-states to conform to agreements. Hence ASEAN has adopted an alternative strategy to tackle human trafficking. In recent years, they have run initiatives to increase awareness, especially among children. The most recent one being a youth video competition against trafficking (ASEAN Against Trafficking: Humans are not for Sale) in 2018. They have also held a plethora of workshops, especially in countries with high counts of victim recruitment and victim exploitation. These would include training workshops for the purpose equipping social workers, NGOs and government servants with IT skills to share a pool of victim data , methods of identifying and meeting the needs of victims, and assist human trafficking prevention; criminal justice workshops for legal workers on how to provide adequate and effective help to victims; strategic workshops for enforcement personnel to discuss, exchange and cooperate on border control efforts.
Anti-Slavery International (ASI), formerly known as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS), is an International NGO that has been around for more than 180 years. In fact, it is the first human rights organisation to come into existence, which was formed to end the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. As an NGO who has been there since the beginning, they have surely amassed a vast amount of experience dealing with institutions that had been entrenched with slavery.
ASI did more than just advocating for ‘slave free alternatives’ on sugar and playing a part in establishing the Brussels Acts (the first in-depth treaty against slavery). Some of the ways they made themselves relevant even in the 20th Century would include campaigning against King Leopold II’s grip on slavery in the Congo Free State, assisting efforts to end ‘coolie’ system of indentured labour in the former British colonies, and put a stop to Peruvian Amazon Company’s activities, of which they exploited the natives as slave labourers in their rubber plantations. (Heartfield, 2016)
Ever since the establishment of the League of Nations, which eventually became the United Nations, ASI has focused its efforts in influencing policy by identifying regions and countries that face human trafficking issues, as well as call out governmental and intergovernmental organisations for their inaction. Lobbying was commonplace in their efforts to push for the recognition of human trafficking as a modern form of slavery, help organisation in defining the crime and hence efforts to eradicate such inhumane practices. Their successes are simply applaudable, especially with regards to seeing legislation being updated to combat trafficking in the Global South (Nepal, Niger, Mauritania, Kuwait, Qatar etc.)
ASI runs multiple on-the-ground intervention programmes in a number of locations. They are structured based on one, or a mix, among three different methods: enablement, support and empowerment. ASI runs initiatives that enable victims to exit their exploitative environments, provides legal, material and psychological assistance for rehabilitation, while also empowering communities to shielded from human trafficking, usually by providing access to education. Mauritania happens to be one of the sites where they partner with local groups to assist former victims in starting new lives by providing shelter and vocational training, whilst filing court cases to ensure that the perpetrators do not return for retribution. It should be noted that ASI focuses their efforts on trafficking cases that involve children and/or forced labour. This leaves victims of sexual trafficking somewhat neglected by their efforts. (Anti-Slavery International, n.d.)
Human trafficking creates welfare problems for the both its victims and their communities and are serious cases of human rights violation. At the same time, it should not be isolated from other welfare issues since poverty, wealth disparities and a lack of education are key contributors to this global problem. Since it usually involves organised crime, organisations and governments need to employ more multi-disciplinary, transnational concerted efforts to crack down on this crime.
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