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November 8, 2012

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An Overview of the Italian Response to Child Trafficking

Written by: Noemi Fantoni [1]**

All forms of trafficking in human beings including sexual exploitation of children are universally prohibited.  In order to comply with its international obligations, Italy introduced a number of changes in its criminal legislation, so that it continued to protect the principle of the “best interest of the child.” The offence of sexual exploitation of children was introduced into the Italian Criminal Code only in 1996, by art.609-bis of the Law No. 66 which punishes violent behavior against children. Subsequent legislation was passed again in 1998 which prohibited sex tourism and juvenile prostitution.[2] It was, however, only in 2003 that Law No. 228/2003 on Measures against Trafficking Persons (also called Anti-Trafficking Law) was amended as to include a specific provision of the offence of sexual exploitation of children. This was in order to ensure compliance of the Italian legislation with the treaties and other regional and international obligations that Italy submitted to.   

So what does the Italian legislation aim to accomplish with regards to trafficking of minors? Article 18 of the Immigration Consolidation Act requires creation of a Social Assistance and Integration Programme, which took more than 2 years to bring into existence.  Currently the Programme also serves to penalize the crime of trafficking by using the trafficking definitions found in the Palermo Protocol. All the measures which form the Programme are managed by the Inter-ministerial Committee. The Programme provides several tools, such as:[3] a free Help-line (a national hotline against trafficking) and the “Voluntary Repatriation Programme” which is run by the Italian branch of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior which provides programs for temporary assistance and long term social protection.[4]

The main objectives of the free Help-line are to provide detailed information on legislation and services granted to trafficked persons in Italy and, upon request, refer them to the specialised anti- trafficking (THB) agencies. In most cases, the territorial branches of the free Help-line are managed by the same NGOs and public institutions responsible for the implementation of projects funded within the Article 18 Programme. Information is provided in the various languages spoken by the target groups and it is free and active 24 hours since January 2007. The hotline provides assistance and information not only to victim of THB for sexual exploitation but also to victims of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation.[5]

All local branches provide information in various languages on several issues (immigration law, social and health services, programme of social assistance and integration, etc.); provide psychological support; provide legal advice; assess if the conditions for the application of the Article 18 procedures are in place; provide information about the available accommodation solutions; and place or refer victims to the accredited Article 18 agency located in the geographical area where the victim resides.

Another instrument which has aided Italy in combatting child trafficking is the Osservatorio Nazionale Tratta,[6] an Italian online portal which offers information on various aspects of the THB phenomenon. The portal was established by Department of Equal Opportunity within the European Equal-Project Observation and Resource Centre for THB, coordinated by the Association on the Road in partnership with other NGOs and governmental bodies. The portal is the most updated secondary source on THB issues within Italy (SIRIT – Sistema Informatizzato di Raccolta Informazioni sulla Tratta), where it is possible to complete individual courses for victims accepted under social protection under Article 18 or Article 13 of the Anti-Trafficking Law but its access is restricted. It gathers national statistical data from different institutions and offers an overview of the national and international legal framework against trafficking for monitoring and analyzing this phenomenon.[7]  This is connected with the Anti-Mafia National Direction (Direzione Nazionale Anti-Mafia – DNA) and its local Districts (Direzioni Distrettuali Antimafia  – DDA) which specifically concerns itself with of all crimes in Articles 600 and 601 of the Criminal Code (slavery, servitude, trafficking).[8]

In the last decade, several awareness-raising campaigns have been run in collaboration with the General Directorate of the Italian Cooperation for Progress of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Department of Rights and Equal Opportunities[9] and with some of the most relevant Italian NGOs. The direct participation of children in awareness-raising efforts is considered particularly relevant by the government, civil society, and NGOs fighting child trafficking.[10] Moreover, the Department for Rights and Equal Opportunities collects some key information on victims of trafficking through project reports that organisations and local authorities send to the Department every six months and on an annual basis.

In fact, the Department for Equal Opportunities every year calls upon the public for project proposals to provide and guarantee proper assistance and protection to trafficked persons. From 2000 to 2010, Department for Equal Opportunities helped to fund a total of 710 projects, in all the Italian regions (out of them 613 long term projects were financed under Article 18 and 97 short term projects under the Anti-Trafficking Law).[11]

In 2010 the Department for Equal Opportunities started to work for the implementation and set up of a National Action Plan, although it became into force only a year after.  The Plan analyzed the specific needs of trafficked/exploited children; it has a gender based approach, has cross-cutting issues to the national strategy to be developed and including minimum standards for protection and standard operating procedure for the referral of victims to the proper service providers. Nevertheless until now the Italian government has not yet appointed a National Rapporteur or equivalent mechanism. The technical board, called the Observatory and National Resource Centre on Trafficking in Human Beings, has the purpose of designing new tools and knowledge and monitoring systems on the different forms of exploitation linked to trafficking, proposing at the same time, liaison tools for different kinds of organisations working at different levels for the protection of trafficked persons and working in combating the phenomenon, for the purpose of influencing  positive policies and interventions in the sector.

Incorporating both short term and long term strategies, the Anti-Trafficking Law provides victims with three to six months of assistance while Article 18 guarantees victims shelter benefits for one year, subject to judicial review. As a matter of fact the law does not specify how often a permit can be renewed, and so it can technically be renewed until the child has reached the age of 18. Article 18[12] grants a special residence permit to foreigners, whatever their age, who are presumed to have been victims of violence or severe exploitation, whose life is at risk as a result of their desire either to escape from the control of criminal organisations or to cooperate with police and prosecutors. A residence permit may be granted without the victim reporting the traffickers, because exploitation and the associated danger for the victim are a sufficient condition for it to be obtained. Foreign child victims of trafficking receive an automatic residence permit until they reach 18 years old. The Italian legal system does not allow the deportation of foreign children below the age of 18, unless the minor constitutes a danger for public or a danger to state security.[13] A similar provision has been recently enacted for unaccompanied minors who are EU citizens.

In the end these victims receive a residence permit for education or for work, allowing them to remain in Italy.[14] The persons (including children) who are part of this Programme benefit from social services, educational provisions, and labour information in order to find a permanent job, while the Anti-Trafficking Law establishes a special aid programme granting on a temporary basis suitable accommodation and food and healthcare.

While the legislation in Italy is multidimensional (it also includes provisions for prosecutions, etc), focusing on the needs of victims and creating preventative efforts, allows for the Italian local communities to engage in combatting this crime, in addition to protecting vulnerable youth, who at times, against their own will, are far away from home.  The world has a responsibility to help those who cannot help themselves and because of their vulnerabilities are targeted so that criminals can make a profit.

[1] Noemi Fantoni is a graduate of the University of Torino (LLM) in 2012 and is currently a trainee with the European Union Parliament in Civil Liberties and Justice Unit. Noemi has worked with various NGO’s relating to child rights, most recently in Mongolia with Amici dei Bambini. She can be reached at noemi.fantoni@gmail.com for more information regarding Italian Child Trafficking laws.

** Unless otherwise noted, the author has translated the laws from Italian into English for the purposes of this post.

[2] Law No. 269, on 3rd August 1998, Norme conto lo sfruttamento della prostituzione, della pornografia, del turismo sessuale in danno di minori, quali nuove forme di riduzione di schiavitù. (http://www.normattiva.it/atto/caricaDettaglioAtto?atto.dataPubblicazioneGazzetta=1998-08-10&atto.codiceRedazionale=098G0337).

[3] Associazione On the Road, Isabella Orfano and Marco Bufo, The Italian system of assistance and integration of victims of trafficking in human beings, page. 9. (available in http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/download.action;jsessionid=GRPqPPcYfFkbL7CT7yWgyTVWNvG9gzjhwBBZkH81Rn22j7tLyXZ6!-1401219818?nodeId=e06d5560-83ce-4df1-ae98-832b58224819&fileName=The+Italian+system+of+assistance+and+integration+of+victims+of+).

[4] Idem., page.6.

[6] Web site of Osservatorio Nazionale Tratta –ONT- (www.osservatoriotratta.it).

[7]International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), Study on the assessment of the extent of different types of Trafficking in Human Beings in EU countries, April 2010, page.184.

[8] Giuseppina Valentina D’Angelo and Isabella Orfano, European Commission, Italian Report, Law enforcement agencies and NGOs co-operation in the prevention and victim assistance of trafficking in human  beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation (THBSE), Agis Programme 2005,  COOP-TRAF JLS/2005/AGIS/156, page. 19. (available: c.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/download.action;jsessionid=5RLNPvCFWpkSvnKPpy7x9vWPFnhN51WwLLQB9r1JDGqhGpjRLh1F!511069867?nodeId=3c5774ae-4f5a-4bc8-b1c3-7abe2b7e7d32&file).

[9] Prime Minister’s Office, which is the central public authority in charge of promoting and coordinating policies and actions on anti-trafficking, with specific regard to a human rights based and victim centered approach. 

[11]European Commission, Fight Against Trafficking Human Beings, Italy. (available in: c.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/showNIPsection.action;jsessionid=2z1KPlFG8gJLTvHYG66lJ3nXh5T7w8TjmQDpPCSCn9hLLprgYVJ1!511069867?sectionId=688).

[12] The implementation of the programme, pursuit by article 18 of the Law No. 286/1998 (the Immigration Consolidation Act),  are co-financed by the State (70%) and local authorities (30%), coordinated by a special Inter-Ministerial Committee and provided by local authorities  and/or accredited non-profit organizations. The Programme is managed by the Inter-ministerial Committee for the Implementation of Art. 18 of the Law No. 286/1998 (the Immigration Consolidation Act ), the managing body of the Programme, that is composed of representatives of the Department for Rights and Equal Opportunities, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Welfare and the Ministry of Interior. Idem., page. 34.

[13] Article 19, par. 2, of Italy/Decreto legislativo n. 286/1998 (25.7.1998) available at http://www.giustizia.it/cassazione/leggi/dlgs286_98.html (02.07.2008).

[14] Associazione On the Road, Isabella Orfano and Marco Bufo, The Italian system of assistance and integration of victims of trafficking in human beings. Page. 4. (available in http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/download.action;jsessionid=GRPqPPcYfFkbL7CT7yWgyTVWNvG9gzjhwBBZkH81Rn22j7tLyXZ6!-1401219818?nodeId=e06d5560-83ce-4df1-ae98-832b58224819&fileName=The+Italian+system+of+assistance+and+integration+of+victims+of+).

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November 7, 2012

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EU Response to the Crime of Human Trafficking

Written by Lina Laurinaviciute

“Trafficking in human beings is the slavery of our times” stresses the European Commission.[1] This position is largely reflected in the European Union (hereinafter EU) political interventions, which are usually seen in the international arena as exemplary with regard to fighting the crime of human trafficking in Europe. Indeed, the political commitment at the EU level to address this problem was established with large number of initiatives, measures and funding programmes both within the EU and external countries since the 1990s.[2]

However, the current economic situation faced by the EU countries raises business opportunities for traffickers. Human trafficking is considered to be one of the most profitable criminal activities worldwide, which estimated global annual profits are 31.6 billion U.S. dollars[3]. The warning of a dramatic increase in human trafficking put this complex issue involving criminality and law enforcement back on the political agenda of the EU and its Member States. Despite the lack of the reliable data, which makes it very problematic to develop comprehensive and effective measures to fight human trafficking, the estimated number of people trafficked to or within the EU amounts to several hundred thousand a year.[4]

Data collected by the European Commission in September 2011 shows that 76 % of registered victims of human trafficking were trafficked for sexual exploitation,14 % for forced labour, 3 % for forced begging,1 % for domestic servitude and the rest 6 % for criminal activities, removal of organs, etc. It also shows that women and girls are the main victims of this crime (79 %). Most Member States reported that majority of victims from within the EU come mainly from Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary, whereas most victims from non-EU countries are from Nigeria, Vietnam, Ukraine, Russia and China.[5]

While systematically collected and managed data on human trafficking remains essential for the efficient response to this crime, legal instruments to approach human trafficking need be harmonized within the EU Member States.

Human Trafficking is specifically prohibited by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, which states that: “Trafficking in human beings is prohibited.”[6] A lot of attention has also been paid to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (hereinafter Palermo Protocol) and the Council of Europe Convention on Actions against Trafficking in Human Beings.[7] Indeed, in the EU human trafficking is defined uniformly according to the Palermo Protocol: “Trafficking in persons shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”.[8]

In the case of Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia the European Court of Human Rights provided a decisive human rights benchmark with clear obligations for the EU Member States to take the necessary steps to address different areas of human trafficking. These include recruitment, investigation, prosecution, protection of human rights, and providing assistance to victims. If the authorities are aware of a case of human trafficking, or that an individual risks being a victim of this crime, they are obliged to take appropriate measures.[9]

However, despite the obligations for the Member States to criminalise all possible acts that constitute human trafficking and to provide an adequate framework to protect victims of this crime, not all Member States have ratified the above mentioned legal instruments. As well, there are still legislative gaps in their transposition into domestic legislation. Therefore, “the elements determining Trafficking in Human Beings vary considerably across EU Member States.”[10]

A major step forward was the adoption of the new Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, in 2011.[11] The Directive adopts a comprehensive approach to human trafficking from a gender (as beforehand mentioned, women and children are particularly affected) and human rights perspective. It supports the harmonisation of the EU Member States’ criminal laws, possibility not to prosecute and apply penalties to victims for unlawful activities they were forced to commit by the traffickers, possibility to prosecute the EU nationals for human trafficking offences committed in another EU State or outside the EU. It also includes robust provisions on victim’s protection, including special measures for children as well as victims’ support, such as shelters, medical and psychological assistance, translation services.[12] The new Directive also requires Member States to set up a ‘National Rapporteur’ responsible for monitoring and implementation of anti-trafficking policy at national level. Whereas the European Commission has already appointed an EU Anti-trafficking Coordinator who will oversee the implementation of the EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016 (hereinafter the EU Strategy).[13]

The EU Strategy focuses on prevention, protection, prosecution, partnerships and also increasing knowledge on emerging concerns related to human trafficking.[14] This instrument reflects a number of EU initiatives in various policy areas which contribute to addressing human trafficking. For instance, the development of guidelines to improve identification of victims; the guidelines on child protection systems; the improvement of access to information for victims of their rights and support for them to exercise these rights effectively; the measures to reduce the demand for and supply of services and goods by victims of human trafficking; the development of the EU-wide guidance on future prevention measures and gender-sensitive information campaigns, as the awareness-raising campaigns already implemented in the Member States were evaluated as insufficient in their scale and impact.

These and others EU instruments determine that any approach to human trafficking must be based on the needs of victims. This also means that the measures against this crime must involve work in countries of origin, transit and destination. As an example, the case of Siliadin v. France in 2005, was the first human trafficking case considered by the European Court of Human Rights. The applicant, a female Togolese national who lived in Paris, had served as an unpaid servant for several years as minor and her passport was confiscated. In this case the Court held that it could not be considered that the applicant had been held in slavery in the traditional sense of that concept but considered that the applicant had, at the least, been subjected to forced labour.[15]

Despite a decade of efforts, the statistical figures show that a total number of cases related to human trafficking prosecuted in the EU remains low (1534 cases in 2008,1445-  in 2009, 1144 in 2010).[16] It is also clear, that human trafficking extends beyond individual Member States. Therefore the investigation and prosecution of human trafficking face additional problems. For instance, in the case Kodos v. Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania (2010) the Prosecutor General’s Office sought the defendant from another Member State for the purpose of prosecution for sexual exploitation of 8 Lithuanian women in the United Kingdom.[17]

Furthermore, “the trends, patterns and working methods of traffickers are changing in all the different forms of trafficking in human beings, adapting to changing patterns of demand and supply”.[18] For example, in the Roma father casein Italy (2010), the father who sold his underage daughter for 200,000 Euros to people who were exploiting her for criminal activities (forcing her to steal) was charged with enslavement.[19]

Thus to better investigate and prosecute traffickers and further increase cross-border cooperation and centralise knowledge on human trafficking, Member States are required to establish national multidisciplinary law-enforcement units on human trafficking. Such units would function as contact points for the EU agencies, in particular Europol.[20] The national authorities of Member States and the EU agencies are also encouraged to create where relevant joint investigation teams and involve Europol and Eurojust in all cross-border trafficking cases.[21]

Further, in accordance with the new Directive for monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of measures addressing human trafficking in the EU, the European Commission will present report every two years to the European Council and the European Parliament. The first report is to be issued in 2014,[22] while the attention to the problems and possible actions by the EU agencies and Member States is brought every year on 18th October, the EU Anti-Trafficking Day.

All the EU existing and intended legal instruments and measures seem to establish a holistic system on preventing and combating human trafficking and protecting its victims. However, the effect of these efforts will depend to a large extent on the will of the Member States to implement those instruments in domestic laws in a harmonized and fair manner, cooperation of all the provided actors within and outside the EU, as well as funding opportunities for these actions.

[1]The European Commission, Communication From the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016, COM(2012) 286 final, 19 June 2012, [hereinafter The EU Strategy], p. 3.

[2]TheEuropean Commission, Communication on trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, COM(96) 567 final; European Commission, Communication on Fighting trafficking in human beings: an integrated approach and proposals for an action plan, COM(2005) 514 final; The EU Plan on best practices, standards and procedures for combating and preventing trafficking in human beings, 2005/C 311/01; European Commission, Commission working document on the Evaluation and monitoring of the implementation of the EU plan, COM(2008) 657, final.

[3] Patrick Besler, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits, working paper, International Labour Office, 2005.

[4]The European Commission, Trafficking in human beings, available at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-we-do/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/trafficking-in-human-beings/index_en.htm, [accessed 5 November 2012].

[5]The EU Strategy, supra note 1, p. 2.

[6]The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2000/C 364/01, Article 5.

[7]United Nations, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children,

supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000, [hereinafter Palermo Protocol]; The Council of Europe, Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, CETS No.197, 16 May 2005.

[8]Palermo Protocol, Article 3.

[9]European Court of Human Rights, Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, Application No 25965/04, Judgment (final), 10 May 2010.

[10]International Centre for Migration Policy Development, Study on the Assessment of the Extent of Different Types of Trafficking in Human Beings in EU Countries, April 2010, p. 2.

[11]Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, L 101/1, 15 April 2011.

[13]The EU Strategy, supra note 1, p. 4.

[14]Supra note 12.

[15]European Court of Human Rights, Siliadin v. France , Application No. 73316/01 , Judgment (final), 26 October 2005.

[16]The EU Strategy, supra note 1, p. 9.

[17]Royal Courts of Justice, Kodos v. Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Lithuania, Case No: CO/12374/2009, Judgment, 28 April 2010.

[18]The EU Strategy, supra note 1, p. 14.

[19]Supreme Court of Cassation, V. Criminal Section, The Roma father case, Case No. 35923, Judgment, 6 October 2010.

[20]The EU Strategy, supra note 1, p. 9.

[21]Ibid., p. 10.

[22]Ibid., p. 14.

* The poster is designed by RJDaae: http://rjdaae.deviantart.com.

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November 2, 2012

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Human Trafficking and Prostitution in India

Written by Garima Tiwari

“The red light district in Bombay generates at least $400 million per annum in revenue, with 100000 prostitutes serving 365 days a year, at the average rate of 6 customers per day at $2 each.”[i]

When Robert Friedman, wrote this in 1996, he must not have though that the industry was there to survive and flourish with even more vigour, crime and torture and become the largest in Asia. For ages, the commercial sex trade has been the chief destination for trafficked girls in India.[ii]Sex tourism involving underage girls still remains a highly profitable business, a billion-a-year industry in 2009, with a 30 percent increase from previous years.

India is listed in the Tier II list of the United Nations which includes countries which have failed to combat human trafficking. India continues to be a source, destination and transit country for forced labor and sex trafficking. According to a report by the Ministry for Women and Child Development, India has nearly 2.5 million prostitutes in nearly 300,000 brothels in 1,100 red-light areas across the country. 90% or more estimated as in-country and 5 to 10% to cross-border trafficking, reported mainly from Bangladesh and Nepal. The routes of trafficking do not exclude Europe and specifically to UK and United States.[iii] Around 1.2 million children are involved in prostitution in India.

The trafficking of girls from Nepal into India for forced prostitution is perhaps one of the busiest slave sex trafficking routes anywhere in the world; with estimated 5,000-10,000 Nepali women and girls trafficked to India each year.[iv] An estimated 100,000-200,000 Nepali trafficked persons are in India. [v] In addition to being a destination, India is also a transit country for Nepalese and Bangladeshi women trafficked to Pakistan, Western Asia, and the Middle East and for women trafficked from the Russian Federation to Thailand. [vi] Asia –Pacific therefore, has seen ‘feminization of migration’-with more population movement being that of women. The feminization of migration gives rise to specific problematic forms of migration, such as the commercialized migration of women and girls as domestic workers and caregivers, often resulting in the trafficking of women for labor and sexual exploitation.[vii]

Much of the attention on human trafficking focuses on those who are trafficked across national borders every year, and, in many cases, forced to work as prostitutes or virtual slaves. But those numbers don’t include victims trafficked within India — a country so large and diverse that victims taken hundreds of miles away where a different language is spoken have little chance of finding their way home. There are increasing reports of females from northeastern states and Odisha subjected to servile marriages in states with low female-to-male child sex ratios, including Haryana and Punjab. Maoist armed groups known as the Naxalites forcibly recruited children into their ranks. Establishments of sex trafficking are moving from more traditional locations – such as brothels – to locations that are harder to find, and are also shifting from urban areas to rural areas, where there is less detection.[viii] Not to hide, the rise of HIV/AIDS patients and vulnerable groups. Anyone who has watched ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ the Oscar-winning movie would have seen tiny speck of this dark side of India.

This remains, despite the fact that India has a fairly wide framework of laws enacted by the Parliament as well as some State legislatures, apart from the Constitutional provisions.[ix]Poor implementation along with low conviction rates, and serious corruption adds to the problem. But all is not lost, efforts from social activists, educated citizenry and international support towards combating this modern slavery, has started showing some impact.

(A Birds eye view of the problem and efforts can be seen in the video created by the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yJWvphsa3A)

[i] Robert I. Friedman, “India’s Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption leading to an AIDS catastrophe, The Nation, 8th April 1996

[ii] P. M. Nair, Sankar Sen, Trafficking In Women And Children In India( Orient Blackswan) 2005

[iii] India, Trafficking in Persons Report 2008. U.S. Department of State (June 4, 2008)

[iv] Koirala A, Banskota HK, Khadka BR: Cross border interception – A strategy of prevention of trafficking women from Nepal. Int Conf AIDS :15. 2004, Jul 11–16

[v] Mukherji KK, Muherjee S. (2007): Girls and women in prostitution in India Department of Women and Child Development, New Delhi, India

[vi] Joffres, C., Mills, E., Joffres, M., Khanna, T., Walia, H., & Grund, D. (2008). Sexual slavery without borders: trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation in India. International Journal for Equity in Health, 7, Pg.1–11.

[vii] The Female Face of Migration, Background Paper available at http://www.caritas.org/includes/pdf/backgroundmigration.pdf

[viii] Trafficking in Persons Report 2012, at http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/index.htm

[ix] Article 23 – Article 39 of the Constitution of India The inherent provisions of these articles has been incorporated under suppression immoral Traffic in Women and Girls Act of 1956(SITA) and Traffic in persons (prevention)Act 1986(PITA)an amendment to (SITA). There are 25 provisions relevant to fight trafficking Indian Penal Code, 1860!

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November 1, 2012

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Cutting off the Roots: Trafficking in Women from the CIS

Written by Jan Guardian

Trafficking Widespread human trafficking practices is the most disturbing yet common problem for both origin countries and destination countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (hereinafter CIS).[1] International trafficking in girls and women from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (hereinafter USSR) for purposes of sexual exploitation is a highly organized multi-billion revenue earning business.[2] For many years the main suppliers were represented mostly by African, Latin American and Asian countries, particularly by Thailand and Philippines.[3] However, the supply sources changed drastically throughout the past two decades. In the early 90s victims from the collapsed USSR and the socialist camp substituted their predecessors in many national sex markets as the fall of the USSR served a dam break making millions of potential victims easily accessible for human traffickers. Currently, former Soviet states such as Ukraine and Russia are the major suppliers of women to the international sex industry.[4] Generalized data on different countries of the European Union (hereinafter EU) shows that more than one third of all the women trafficked in 1999 and 2000 represented the CIS region, whereas now these are most of the victims in Germany, Belgium and Austria.[5]

It is extremely difficult to estimate the exact number of women trafficked from the former USSR for purposes of sexual exploitation. The trade is always behind the scenes, the voices of victims are scared into silence and prosecution seems to be somewhat a rarity. It is true that the CIS countries do have reliable statistics on trafficking instances that are declared but nevertheless it is obvious that most of them aren’t. The statistics at hand might be considered as reflecting the situation partially, but one should bear in mind that the real ‘shady’ numbers might exceed the official ones several times.

The trafficking routes are promptly known for the increasing number of women from the CIS region. Estimated 0,5 million women from Central and Eastern Europe are exploited sexually in the EU member states.[6] According to German data, nearly ninety percent of the women trafficked to Germany in 1998 originated from the Eastern Europe.[7] The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine estimated that the number of women trafficked from Ukraine for the past decades amounted to 400,000, whereas NGOs claim this figure to be much higher.[8]

According to the International Organization on Migration about five hundred thousand Ukrainian and Russian women were trafficked to Western Europe during 1991-1998.[9] Some statistics show that the number of women trafficked from Kyrgyzstan to Europe and Near East annually amount to 4,000; roughly 5,000 are trafficked annually from Kazakhstan.[10] Moldova, Ukraine and Russia currently occupy the leading position in trafficking women to the Western Europe. Approximately 50 to 100 thousand Moldovan citizens, more than 100 thousand Ukrainians and 500 thousand Russians are prostituting abroad with 80% of them being victims of trafficking.[11]

This being the case, one might reasonably question these figures given the national[12] and international,[13] individual and joint legislative efforts of the CIS member states on combating human trafficking. Moreover, with these arguably effective legal frameworks in place and the number of kidnappings for trafficking for purposes of subsequent sexual exploitation tending to zero,[14] it is highly likely that the majority of women trafficked from the CIS are recruited either through fraud, deception, and other enticements that exploit real social and financial needs, or in consent with the victims.[15] Lack of economic opportunities pushes citizens of the CIS countries away to seek for any kind of jobs anywhere,[16] mostly with single, unemployed females between the ages of 16 and 30 being at risk.[17] Impoverished women seeking employment and opportunities for the future abroad are lured by advertising images of a beautiful life beyond the borders of their homelands and are somewhat forced to make the choices that turn them into victims of human trafficking. The prime cause, thus, lies mostly in the realm of how to feed oneself and is better termed a survival strategy.[18]

Therefore, investing efforts in the prevention of human trafficking by the CIS member states requires not only introducing effective legislation in counteracting it and providing potential victims with access to information about their rights and threats of illegal employment,[19] but rather it requires enhancing national socio-economic environments, for poverty and despair are the main roots of the problem in the region at stake.[20]

[1]       Irina Ivakhnyuk, Migration in the CIS Region: Common Problems and Mutual Benefits. UN/POP/MIG/SYMP/2006/10. 28 June 2006 [hereinafter Ivakhnyuk, Migration], p. 4.

[2]       See e.g.: Patrick Besler, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits. International Labor Office, 2005, p. 14.

[3]       Martti Lehti, Trafficking in women and children in Europe. HEUNI Paper No. 18. Helsinki, 2003 [hereinafter Lehti, Trafficking], p.8.

[4]       Donna M. Hughes, The ‘Natasha’ Trade: The Transnational Shadow Market of Trafficking in Women. Journal of International Affairs 53(2), Spring 2000 [hereinafter Hughes, Trade], p. 626.

[5]       United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Trafficking in Persons to Europe for Sexual Exploitation. Extracts from “The Globalization of Crime – A Transnational Organized Crime Threat Assessment” Report, p. 2

[6]       Rombola, M., The Causes of the High Rate of Sex Trafficking from Central and Eastern European Nations to Western Europe. Unpublished Research Report Submitted to The University of Sydney.

[7]       Hughes, Trade, supra note 4, p. 627.

[8]       David Masci, Human Trafficking and Slavery: the Issues. The CQ Researcher 14(12), 26 March 2004, p. 277.

[9]       Stanislava Buchovska, Trafficking in Women: Breaking the Vicious Cycle. In: Making the Transition Work for Women in Europe and Central Asia, Marnia Lazreg (ed.), World Bank Discussion Paper No. 411. 2000, p. 85.

[10]     Trafficking in Persons in Central Asia: The Scope of the Problem and the Appropriate Responses. Regional Central Asia Conference “Combating Trafficking in Human Beings – Regional Response” Jointly organized by the OSCE and the Republic of Kazakhstan. Astana, Kazakhstan 18-19 May 2006.

[11]     Lehti, Trafficking, supra note 3, p. 29.

[12]     For an overview of the current national CIS member states’ legislation on the offence of trafficking in persons see: UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, February 2009, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/49997ae45.html [accessed 1 November 2012], pp. 205-231.

[13]     CIS Council of Heads of States, Program on Co-operation of States Members of the Commonwealth of Independent States in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for 2011-2013, 10 December 2010, available at: http://cis.minsk.by/reestr/ru/index.html#reestr/view/text?doc=2980 [accessed 1 November 2012].

[14]     Graeme R. Newman, The Exploitation of Trafficked Women. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police; Problem-Specific Guides Series, Guide No. 38, p. 10.

[15]     Cwikel, J., B. Chudakov, M. Paikin, K. Agmon & RH Belmaker (2004). Trafficked female sex workers awaiting deportation: comparison with brothel workers. Archives of Women’s Mental Health 7(4), pp. 243-249.

[16]     Kireyev, A. (2006) The Macroeconomics of Remittances: the Case of Tajikistan. International Monetary Fund Working Paper 06/02. Washington, D.C.

[17]     See generally: U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report 2010. 14 June 2010, available at: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/142759.htm [accessed 1 November 2012].

[18]     Ivakhnyuk, Migration, supra note 1, p. 7.

[19]     Mukomel, V., Migration policies of Russia: the post-Soviet contexts. Moscow: Institute for Sociology of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. 2005, p. 15.

[20]     See e.g.: BelTA, Belarusian legislation in counteracting human trafficking one of CIS’ most effective. 3 June 2008, available at: http://news.belta.by/en/news/society?id=230643 [accessed 1 November 2012].

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November 1, 2012

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Human Rights, Human Trafficking

Calculating the Truth in Human Trafficking

Written by: Dr. T.M. Steinfatt[1]

People gain interest in social issues in various ways. My interest in numbers of trafficking victims began in 1988 during research on health communication and AIDS in Thailand. These HIV/AIDS studies resulted in the book Working at the Bar, a detailed study of the beliefs and behavior of Thai sex workers.[2] In the late 1980s an estimate began circulating in Bangkok that 800,000 children under 18 were working in the Thai sex industry. It originated in print from a single individual employed in Bangkok by the Children’s Rights Protection Center (CRPC) who stated that of 2,000,000 Thai sex workers, 800,000 were children. A Bangkok Post editorial of January 17, 1989, questioned the basis for the estimate, joined by several Thai language media outlets. “Estimate” has two distinctly different meanings in English.

Empirical estimates are based on observed data and can usually be checked for accuracy. But estimate can also mean a guesstimate, a wild guess, as in estimating that the moon is made of green cheese. Many people, including the general public and many of those who write for and edit Western and international media sources, regularly fail to distinguish between the two. The 800,000 children “estimate” was taken essentially as fact in much of the media, and repeatedly publicized to billions of people across the globe. Simple repetition of the claim, with one media outlet quoting another as the source and then being quoted itself as the source, led to belief in and presumed credibility of the claim, severely damaging Thailand’s international reputation.

As an example in 2001, large numbers of sex trafficking victims were said to exist in Cambodia. The statement, presented jointly by several Cambodian NGOs at the 2001 Second World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children in Yokohama, Japan, claimed the existence of 80,000–100,000 trafficked women and children per year in Cambodia, with “10,000–15,000 child prostitutes” in Phnom Penh alone.[3] In comparing these numbers with worldwide estimates it seemed unlikely that Cambodia could have 80,000–100,000 of the 700,000 such persons estimated to exist by the US State Department’s first Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.[4] This would amount to 11–14% of the estimated 700,000 of the world’s cross-border international trafficking total within about 00.194% of the total world population. The most recent TIP Report was released in June 2011.[5]

Numerous other sex trafficking reports on Cambodia cited similar figures at that time. For example, in 2001 the Child Rights Foundation of Cambodia under the heading of “Trends in Sexual Slavery” reported the number of trafficked women and children as “17,000 in Phnom Penh, 30% under 18 years old, 80,000–100,000 nationwide.”[6] Many NGO and media reports published throughout the past decade quote the 80,000–100,000 numbers. Those few providing a reference source for these numbers cite one of those mentioned above, often.[7]

Most current published estimates of the numbers of sex workers, under-aged workers, and trafficked women and children in Cambodia cannot be relied upon. In following the references for the source of the 80,000 to 100,000 figures back to the earliest dated source[8] no study or empirical data in any form can be located to support the number. As with the false claim of 800,000 child sex workers in Bangkok, the presumed propaganda value of large trafficking numbers may be at work.[9] This author is forced to conclude that these 80,000–100,000 numbers are simply bogus, that they were fabricated at some point by someone, and the bogus numbers were simply reprinted, circularly citing other such reprints as the source.

These unsupported estimates of trafficking numbers in Cambodia led to our research there beginning in the summer of 2002 and our first paper.  A Fulbright to Cambodia from January to August of 2003, an extension of that Fulbright, and a research grant from USAID led to additional research and our second empirical paper.  In early 2007, UNIAP/UNESCO in Bangkok announced a competition to determine best methods of measuring human trafficking. My methods proposal received the top award in the UNIAP/UNESCO final competition for best methods of measuring human trafficking, held in Bangkok in November 2007. Data collection for that research, supported by a United Nations grant, began in May 2008 and ended that December, with the final report published by UNIAP/UNESCO in January 2011.  Those studies provide numbers concerning sex trafficking in Cambodia only.

They do not provide numbers representing all forms of trafficking victims. Abuse of female domestic laborers and spousal abuse victims are not included in these numbers, nor are any of the persons trafficked for maritime labor, for begging, for factory labor, or for any male trafficking victims. A 32 point detailed theory and rationale for the methods used in our studies to obtain data on sexual trafficking may be found in our 2011 UNIAP Report. 

Empirical evidence of the size and location of sex trafficking can be obtained through observational research. That evidence indicates sizeable numbers of victims, but substantially smaller numbers than are commonly spread as rumors and propaganda. The numbers of sex workers and of those trafficked is several levels of magnitude smaller than much NGO propaganda usually suggests. The solution is not to promulgate and propagate fake numbers, but to learn to locate and talk with those who are oppressed, listen to what they want and will accept, and to consider carefully both the effect of often brutal interventions on those persons’ lives, and the likely consequences for the returning workers who escaped the raids in terms of future police actions against them and their workplaces.

Understanding the number of persons trafficked in areas targeted for intervention is a requirement in reducing that number by a substantial amount. If numbers of trafficked persons are not known, no accurate measure of the efficacy or of possible negative effects of specific individual anti-trafficking interventions can be known. Obtaining accurate counts of trafficking victims in specific locales and at specific points in time allows evaluation of effectiveness of any anti-trafficking measure applied there. Such numbers create the potential to judge whether trafficking is increasing or decreasing, where, and by about how much, through comparison with later counts. Such data allows tentative inferences based on empirical methods concerning the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of trafficking approaches applied or not applied in the interim. If one does not know the trafficking numbers then there is no good basis for judging effectiveness of interventions. It is not sufficient to know that a particular intervention resulted in a number of captured traffickers and a listed number of trafficked women and children removed to the care of an NGO.

The problem of human trafficking cannot be effectively addressed unless we understand its actual size and which remedies can effectively reduce it. Accurate knowledge of the size and extent of trafficking are needed in order to plan and implement a practical and effective anti-trafficking strategy. Both overestimates and underestimates of the number of victims will result in the failure to allocate resources efficiently, and they may result in the ultimate failure of many anti-trafficking interventions. Overestimates of trafficking numbers may produce prevention and intervention programs that are overly extensive an in the wrong locations, wasting funds provided for anti-trafficking efforts. If guessed numerical estimates are given credence, and the guesses are kept high for funding reasons following an intervention, then an intervention that was effective may be branded as ineffective. Some strong anti-trafficking programs may subsequently be discarded due directly to inaccurate guessed numerical estimates. The effectiveness of interventions cannot be understood accurately without grounded empirical evidence of their effect, whether positive, negative, or neutral. It is important to understand how such guessed estimates appear in the public record in order to consider the validity of such numbers if and when they appear.

[1] Professor at the School of Communication at the University of Miami (Fl). He is also a Fullbright Scholar. For a more complete reading of Professor Steinfatt’s research see “Measuring the Number of Trafficked Women in Cambodia: 2002” Globalization Research Center, University of Hawaii-Manoa (November 13-15,2002). “Measuring the Extent of Sex Trafficking in Cambodia – 2008, SIREN Trafficking Estimates, UNIAP, (January 2011). “Measuring the Number of Trafficked Women and Children in Cambodia: A Direct Observation Field Study” (October 5, 2003).  “Sex Trafficking in Cambodia: Fabricated Numbers versus Empirical Evidence” Crime Law Soc Change (October 28, 2011 online).  He can be reached at: tms@miami.edu
[2] Steinfatt, T. M. (2002). Working at the bar: sex work and health communication in Thailand. Westport: Greenwood Press.
[3] NGO Statement. (2001). NGO Statement to the 2001 Consultative Group Meeting On Cambodia. Available at: http://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/ngoforum/cg2001/child.htm
[4] U.S. Department of State. (2001). Trafficking in Persons Report 2001. Available at: http://www.state. gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2001/index.htm
[5] U.S. Department of State. (2011). Trafficking in Persons Report 2011. Available at: http://www.state. gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/index.htm
[6] CRF. (2001). CAMBODIA: after the first world congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children: contribution to the second world congress in Yokohama, Japan. Phnom Penh: Child Rights Foundation (December). P.14
[7] CRF. (2001). CAMBODIA: after the first world congress against commercial sexual exploitation of children: contribution to the second world congress in Yokohama, Japan. Phnom Penh: Child Rights Foundation (December).
[8] Sophea, M. (1998). Notes of presentation made by Mr. Mar Sophea, National Program Coordinator of IPEC for Cambodia, in, the workshop on Combating the Trafficking of Children and their Exploitation in Prostitution and other forms of Child Labor in Mekong Basin Countries, 31st January 1998, Bangkok. Phnom Penh: ILO/IPEC.

[9] Steinfatt, T. M., (2006). Trafficking, Politics, and Propaganda. Encyclopedia Entry in M. Ditmore (Ed.) Encyclopedia of Prostitution and Sex Work, vol. 2. Greenwood Press, pp. 494–498.