What is human trafficking?
Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced,
defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Annually, about one million people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders. That
is in addition to the millions trafficked within their own countries. Traffickers
generate billions of dollars in profits every year while victimizing millions of
people around the globe.
- The average age of victims is 11-14.
- Approximately 80% of victims are female,
with 70% of those females trafficked into the commercial sex industry.
- After drug
dealing, human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry worldwide reaching
$32 billion annually.
- Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic.
- By 2010, sex trafficking will be the number one crime worldwide.
Trafficked persons
are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Under international law,
all children who are commercially sexually exploited are considered trafficking
victims, even if no force or coercion is used. Sex trafficking is one of the most
lucrative sectors of the trade in people, and involves sexual exploitation in prostitution
or pornography, bride trafficking, and commercial sexual abuse of children.
Who
are the traffickers?
- Organized crime
- Family, friends, village chiefs
- Owners
of small businesses
How are people recruited?
- Abduction
- Newspaper ads
- Fake
employment agencies
- Word of mouth
- Acquaintances or family
The challenges surrounding commercial sexual exploitation of women and children in Uganda stem from three principal factors:
- Poverty is the most visible cause of the vulnerability of women and children to sex trafficking. Destitute families are vulnerable to persuasion to hire out or sell their children because they lack adequate resources to provide for their family. Girls are most vulnerable to this form of exploitation.
- Armed conflicts destroy livelihoods, damage economies, and cause mass population movements.
- Trafficking in persons is a highly lucrative business.
Providing a safe environment, counseling, medical treatment, education and/or vocational training is imperative to the long-term success of children that have been exploited in the commercial sex industry and works towards breaking the cycle of trafficking and oppression. To this end, it is crucial that victims of sex trafficking receive sustained attention and support, particularly in impoverished, war-torn countries such as Uganda. Decades of conflict in Northern Uganda has led to institutionalized violation of human rights and severe political, social, and economic crisis. Purse of Hope’s rehabilitation residence and aftercare program is a first step in providing the hope and healing so desperately needed by these victimized women and children.
The highest service we can perform for others is to help them help themselves. –Horace Mann
For more details:
http://www.iast.net/thefacts.htm
INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
The U.S. State Department publishes an annual report of human trafficking, identifying
best practices of various countries, stories from trafficking victims, and efforts
of countries do address the issue of trafficking within their borders.
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/
Quick Guide to Victim Identification
You do not have to travel to a third world country to detect victims of trafficking. It could very well be happening in your
city. There are some indicators which may raise a red flag that a person may be
a victim of human trafficking. You may want to take a second look at situations
where a person:
- Appears to be under someone else's control. They appear to be
under someone else’s surveillance at all times. All or most contacts with family,
friends, and professionals are controlled and monitored. They are rarely alone.
- Is unable to move to a new location or leave their job.
- Does not manage their
own money/ or their money is largely controlled by someone else.
- Is not in control
of their own identification or travel documents.
- Works excessive hours.
- Is unpaid
for their work or paid very little.
- Lives with multiple people in a very cramped
space.
- Lives with their employer.
- Has no English language skills or knowledge
of the local community
- Appears to have little privacy or is rarely alone.
- Appears
to have visible injuries or scars, such as cuts, bruises, or burns. May have injuries
around the head, face, and mouth from being struck in the head or face.
- Has untreated
illnesses or infections, particularly sexually transmitted diseases. May have general
poor health and/or diseases associated with un-sanitary living conditions.
- Exhibits
submissive behavior or fearful behavior in the presence of others.
- Exhibits emotional distress such as depression, anxiety, manifestations of trauma, self-inflicted injuries
or suicide attempts.
- Engages in prostitution or living in a brothel.
- Is sexually
exploited in strip clubs, massage parlors, pornography.
- Is under the age of 18,
in prostitution, or hanging around adult entertainment businesses such as strip
clubs, massage parlors, adult book/video stores, etc.
Questions to Ask
The following
questions can help you identify victims if you encounter them:
- Are you now being
(or have you at one time been) held against your will?
- Were you ever forced or
intimidated to do something against your will?
- Do you have a choice of where
you work and how much you work?
- Have you been abused or beaten by your employers?
- Can you come and go as you please?
- Are you paid?
- How many hours/day and
days/week do you work?
- Have you or your family been threatened to prevent you
from leaving?
- Upon arrival in the U.S. did someone ask you to pay back a debt?
- Are you doing what you were told you would be doing in the U.S.?
- Who has
your passport/identification papers?
Other Resources:
Hiding in Plain Sight
Salvation Army
Psalm 82:3-4 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”