Trafficking in Women and Children: A Global Human Rights Crisis

Trafficking in Women and Children: A Global Human Rights Crisis
Trafficking in Women Then and Now
Aurora Javate de Dios

• Mostly women and children but limited in reach
• Hundreds of thousands slave traders engaged in human trafficking
• Lucrative business
• Mostly for brothel prostitution
• Organized crime groups and syndicates
• Mega-business that is low risk and high profit
• Variety of forms/modes

Trafficking of Women: Then and Now

• No technology
• Invisible sector
• Absence of human rights standards addressing violations
• Spread of syphilis as public health concern
• Use of info technologies
• Part of mainstream economy;
• Human rights standards
• STD/AIDS pandemic as public health issue

Historical and Cultural Antecedents

• Infrastructure of prostitution around US Military Installations (Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Okinawa);
• Japan prostitution culture from the Geisha uruwa-Japayukisan;
• Devadasi prostitution and child marriages in India and South Asia
• Prostitution systems in almost all Asian countries

Trafficking of Women in Asia: Four Flash Points

1. Mekong Region: Thailand as centre of the sex trade; women and children come from Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. Estimated 4.6 Thai men and 500,000 tourists use prostitutes.
2. East Asia: Japan has the biggest number of entertainment establishments with 150,000 foreign women from Philippines, Thailand, East Europe, and Latin America. Japan also hosts the biggest and most violent pornography industry in Asia; enjo kosai is a big problem.
3. China and Taiwan as destination points for prostitution and bride trafficking from East Europe, Vietnam, Korea; prostitution around US bases and huge local prostitution industry.
4. South Asia: In India, Bombay and Calcutta are the destination points for trafficking of Bangladeshi and Nepalese women and children.

Four Flashpoints

Southeast Asia: Philippines as source country of women for bride trade and prostitution to Japan, Europe, Malaysia, Korea and even Africa; Thai women as prostitutes in Japan, Europe, and US.

Who Are Trafficked?

• young women and children due to their unequal status in society; illiteracy and low levels of education;
• marginalised, minority and poverty groups;
• women and girls in conflict areas and areas visited by disasters and calamities; refugees and illegal migrants.

Demand Side: Who Are the Traffickers and the Buyers?

• Illegal recruiters
• Organized crime groups including those involved in narcotics and arms smuggling
• Local pimps and procurers
• Entertainment promoters and impresarios
• Male buyers (local and foreign) of prostituted women and children

Factors Accounting for the Expansion of Trafficking

• An expanding global sex industry;
• Development policies that aggravate the marginalisation of women
• Promotion of sex tourism;
• Mass/global marketing of women as sex objects in the new information technologies
• Increased migration flow; feminisation of migration

Factors

• Normalization/legalization of prostitution as work in some countries;
• Bride trading;
• Persistence of patriarchal attitudes, behaviour and practices;
• Continued official encouragement of US military rest and recreation (R and R) and UN Peace keeping forces

Sex Trafficking as Human Rights Violation

• Right to Life and Security of Persons;
• Right not to be subjected from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment;
• Right to freedom of movement;
• Right to the highest attainable standards of physical and mental health;
• Right to equal protection under the law.

Sex Trafficking Promotes

• Racism
• Patriarchy/Sexism
• Violence Against Women
• Sexual Exploitation of women and children from the Third world made vulnerable by poverty and lack of economic opportunities
• Gender Inequality

International Instruments Addressing Trafficking Issue

• 1949 Convention on Traffic in Persons
• 1953 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
• 1979 Art. 6, UN CEDAW
• 1992 General Recommendation 19 CEDAW
• 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of VAW
• Beijing Platform of Action
• UN Transnational Organized Crime Optional Protocol on Trafficking

Definition and Scope

Recruitment, transfer, deployment of persons especially women and children through legal or illegal means, with or without the consent of the victim, within or across national borders through coercion, abduction, abuse of authority, inducement, deception for purposes of prostitution, forced labour, marriage, adoption.

Documented Cases from Philippines

At least 74 countries

In Europe: Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Cyprus (for prostitution); in Germany, UK for MOB;
In Asia: Malaysia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan
In Africa and Middle East: Lebanon, Israel, Nigeria, and Ghana

Global Estimates

• 50,000 to the US mainly from Mexico, Latin America, Asia, and Europe and East Europe;
• Asia: 30 million women and children
• Italy estimates about 35,000 mostly from East Europe, Africa and Latin America;
• Europe: countries with legalized prostitution with high incidence of trafficking: Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Spain
• Australia mostly for the bride trade

Strategies for Action Against Trafficking

PREVENTION: preventive education campaign in vulnerable and high-risk groups and communities; media projection; and awareness raising in civil society.

PROTECTION: International, regional and national human rights legal regimes; training of criminal justice agencies, prosecution of cases;

RETURN/REINTEGRATION: comprehensive assistance and healing program; community reintegration.

Aurora Javate de Dios, Coalition Against Trafficking in Women-Asia Pacific, Philippines