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Trafficking of women and children is on a rise globally. The primary reason why most of the jurisdictions around the world including the most developed ones are unable to contain women trafficking is the ingenious ways devised by traffickers. One of the recent trends identified in cases of women trafficking stems from the mushrooming of International Marriage Brokering Organizations or the Mail Order Bride Industry. The International Marriage Brokering Organization or the Mail Order Bride Industry are marriage agencies that make use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT) and operate in virtual space. While the mail order brides entering into transnational matrimonial alliances hail from around the world, thise paper focuses on Indian women marrying an Non Resident Indian (NRI), Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) or any foreigner through iInternational marriage brokering agencies. The paper analyses the existing Indian law against trafficking prostitution and involuntary servitude, and how the same can be utilized to deal with international marriage brokers to curb trafficking.
Women trafficking is a societal malice and has been a matter of concern for governments of various jurisdictions around the globe. Despite there being robust legislation against the offence of trafficking of humans in almost all the states around the globe, the cases of human trafficking has been perpetually on the rise. One of the reason for this rise in the cases of human trafficking is the ingenious ways and new modus operandi being devised by the traffickers. One of the recent trends which has been identified to result in women trafficking stems from the mushrooming of International Marriage Brokering Organizations or the Mail Order Bride Industry.
The International Marriage Brokering Organization or the Mail Order Bride Industry are marriage agencies operating in virtual space. These agencies offer catalogues of potential brides with pictures and specifications in terms of women’s age, weight, height and interests from under developed jurisdictions and those who are ready to immigrate post marriage to the country of the mail sponsor. The mail sponsors are invariably men who belong to developed jurisdictions. Thus, the international marriage brokers or the international match making organizations help in facilitating the exchange between mail sponsors and female mail order bride. (Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate, 2004) The immigrant bride who transverses the national boundaries to move to the country of the mail sponsor usually lands in a vulnerable spot making her susceptible to exploitations and many a times victim of trafficking. This paper attempt to establish a link between marriage brokering organizations operating in virtual space and women trafficking. The paper also explores in Indian context how Indian girls marrying an NRI and moving base to foreign jurisdiction become victims of abuse and get subjected to sex slavery. [1: ]
The paper is divided into four parts. Part I deals with the development and operating mechanism of mail order bride industry. Part II dwells into the various social, economic and legal reasons resulting into flourishing of this industry and also tries to establish a link between mail order bride industry and women trafficking. Part III deals with the vulnerabilities and abuses faced by Indian mail order bride marrying an NRI or Overseas Citizen of India in the context of women trafficking. Part IV deals with the legal response to deal with women trafficking perpetuated in transnational marriages facilitated by international bride trade.
The mail order bride industry is replica of the more conventional arranged marriage settings but in virtual space. It mirrors arranged marriages where the families exchange “pictures of brides. ”(Gee, 1982) The mail order bride industry operate with the help of Information Communication and Technology. The international marriage brokers have operational websites which can be easily accessed with the help of internet. These websites comprise of profiles of the women willing to immigrate to foreign land after marriage. The profile of the women showcased on websites comprise of their pictures and other relevant information pertaining to them. [2: ]
The international marriage brokering industry is a major facilitator of transnational marriages. However, Tim Klass (1995) stated that “this industry is largely unregulated, unmonitored and not studied so far” and the same holds true till date. . It is nothing short of match making business with a commercial angle associated to it. One downside of the match making agencies is that they do not guarantee the accuracy of the information furnished to the parties. Most of the times it is women entering into matrimonial alliance who ends up at a disadvantaged spot. This is because of the information gap and its consequences. Lack of information is more detrimental for the spouse who plans to traverse the boundary of the home country and therefore, it is the women who invariably has to move base post marriage. Most of the time, the women do not get sufficient opportunity to know their prospective spouse before marriage or to do any background check including any history of domestic violence. As per various immigrant groups and women advocacy groups the instances of domestic violence and abuse are epidemic among spouses who have met through international marriage brokers. (Committee on Foreign Relations United States Senate, 2004) This is primarily because of the vulnerable position of the women in such a setting. The immigrant women who stands a chance of losing her potential to become a permanent resident or citizenship of the country to which she has immigrated does not report any form of violence or abuse out of fear. [3: ] [4: ]
In order to establish a link between women trafficking and mail order bride industry, it is important to first analyse some common trends and connecting factors seen in human trafficking cases. As per the hearing before Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs of the Committee on Foreign Relations, US Senate (2004) sSome common trends seen in human trafficking irrespective of the modus operandi used for the purpose of trafficking are identifiedlisted below:
A common trend seen in human trafficking case is that the victims belong to the more vulnerable set of population. It is well documented that traffickers prey on those who are easy to target as compared to others. It is because of this reason that women and children are more prone to trafficking. Most of the time the traffickers use some kind of allurement like money, better financial opportunities or better job avenues, educational opportunities, better living standard. . Traffickers also make use of physical and psychological coercion to keep their victims in control.
It is well researched and documented that false promises are used as a key tool to induce the victims of human trafficking. The deceptive promises of better financial conditions, better opportunities or a larger picture of better future are some of the pretext used by perpetrators of human trafficking. The main reason why the victims rely on the false promises made by the traffickers is the greener pastures they foresee in the host country where these immigrant population intends to immigrate. In case of women, it is reliance on the fact of better prospects post marriage that play an important role in them falling prey to potential traffickers.
It is usually seen that people belonging to underdeveloped jurisdictions or who are not in an economically viable position, are the ones who end up becoming victims of trafficking. The primary reason that most of the people belonging to this strata of population fall prey to trafficking is the prevailing underdevelopment and systematic corruption in most of these jurisdictions. Lack of faith in the government machinery results in people becoming more desperate and willing to undertake risks, thus making them prone to various schemes of trafficking.
Although it is difficult to document how international marriage brokering organization have been used for trafficking of women, but statistics given by women advocacy groups and international non-governmental organisations show that immigrant women who have entered into matrimonial alliance through international marriage brokering industry route have experienced abuse and have been subjected to sex slavery. This fact has been reiterated by thea Committee on Foreign Relations of United States Senate (2004). The committee is of the view that international marriage brokers who introduce prospective brides to wealthier men in developed foreign jurisdictions facilitate trafficking of women. Several cases have been reported and documented wherein marriage brokers have advertised and subsequently recruited women for the purpose of transnational marriage and later forced them into sexual servitude as per the Committee.
It is because of this reason that many developed jurisdictions have introduced legislation to extend protection to immigrant women entering into transnational marriage through international marriage brokering organisations. For instance, United States of America has a law titled International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 which has several key provisions to prevent abuse of mail order bride and consequently extends protection from potential trafficking and abuse. Some of the key provisions of the legislation include: Section 833(d)(1) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005 places prohibitionion on international marriage brokers to furnish personal contact, photographs or other information about anyone who is under 18 years of age to any individual or entity; the legislation also imposes a requirement on international marriage bureau to disclose criminal history and marital history of the foreign national client to the immigrant client before he/she enters into marital alliance under Section 833(d)(1) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005. For the purpose of the same the international marriage broker has to conduct a due diligence of the foreign national client i.e. the American client and as per Section 833(d) (2) and (3) of the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act of 2005, the due diligence shallwhich comprises of searching the sex offender public registers maintained by the concerned authorities for information regarding the United States client; collection, documentation or attestation of history of any previous marriage or any previous criminal record of the United States client; provide the foreign national client the records that has been procured from the sex offender public registry and any other background information pertaining to their marital history and previous criminal records in the primary language of the foreign client; also the legislation requires the foreign national client to furnish informed signed consent to the international marriage brokering organisation before sharing their information to the United States client. The International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, 2005 under Section 833(d)(c) also stipulates penalty for any violation or attempted violation by the international marriage brokers of their obligations under the Act. Thus, United States of America has addressed the problem of mail order bride through a specific legislation. However, most of the developed jurisdictions deal with this issue through incorporating stringent provisions in their immigration policy to curb marriage of convenience.
The mail order brides represent a structure which heavily relies on economic inequalities, besides gender and racial stereotypes.(Chun, 1996) The premises of the mail order bride industry i.e. mail order bride being treated as a commodity and potential husbands as consumer, have grave ramifications on the women. The harm caused by the dynamics of a relationship which is entered on convenience makes the position of the immigrant bride vulnerable. The displacement from the country to which they belong, dependence on the husband fostered by dependent spousal visa and other immigration rules, weaker economic status, result in change in power dynamics which consequently put the women in a vulnerable spot and susceptible to sexual exploitation.
As far as link between mail order bride industry and women trafficking is concerned, the mail order bride industry shall fall in the realm of involuntary servitude and trafficking only in narrowly prescribed cases.(Lee, 1998) The women’s sexuality which is subjected to commodification in mail order bride industry coupled with stringent immigration laws make women potential victims of trafficking. [14: ]
Many Indian girls today prefer marrying Non Resident Indian (NRI), Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) or a foreigner for better social and economic prospects. With the advent of technology, the most preferred medium to meet a prospective bride or groom today is online matrimonial sites. The Indian brides who meet their grooms in virtual space through international marriage brokering organizations find themselves in a vulnerable spot owing to their socially, economically and legally weak status in foreign land, thereby making them more susceptible to victims of trafficking and solitary servitude. The risks associated in entering into transnational marriage are well known to the Indian brides (Bal, 2001) and the same increases manifold in case the bride enters into marital alliance through online mode.
The international Convention on All Forms of Discrimination against Women under Article 6 states that “All parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women.” The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, specially women and children is yet another step taken by the international community to combat trafficking of women and children. In Indian context tThe primary law addressing the issue of trafficking in India is tThe Immoral Traffic (Suppression) Act, . 1956.
Despite there being a legal framework at international and national level, trafficking of women and children is on rise. In order to curb trafficking it is imperative to understand the innovative ways the traffickers device to victimise women and document them. One step in this direction would be to understand the mail order bride industry and how it results in trafficking and sexual exploitation of women. Several developed jurisdictions like USA have very specific laws with respect to mail order bride industry. Similarly, several jurisdictions from which most of the mail order bride are imported have legal provisions to regulate mail order bride trade. One such country is Philippines, wherein mail order bride trade is prohibited by the Republic Act 6955 and is used to regulate human trafficking and forced marriage resulting through international match making agencies. Several countries also regulate mail order bride industry and the consequential malpractices resulting from it through immigration laws.
Thus, it is time to analyse the anti-trafficking initiates in the context of fast paced developments made in the field of information communication and technology. It is also imperative to have international and national framework pertaining to trafficking to look into potential tools of trafficking like international marriage brokering organisations, deceptive transnational marriages and stringent immigration laws which are detrimental to women who are immigrating to foreign lands on dependent spousal visa.
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