Search results for: trafficking in human beings

Authors: Haezreena Begum Abdul Hamid

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This article will explore the conflation between voluntary sex work and trafficked sex work. In doing so, the article will analyse the meaning of trafficking according to the United Nations ‘Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children’ and the Malaysian Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Migrant Smuggling Act, 2007 (ATIP), and discuss the ambiguities that may arise in understanding the term. While the law on human trafficking has long been understood by scholars, key stakeholders, and enforcement officers, identifying a victim of trafficking is far from being straight forward. This is because of the diverse understanding on sex trafficking and sex work, and the fact that ‘consent’ by trafficked persons remains irrelevant in cases of trafficking. As a result, women who voluntarily engage in sex work are sometimes categorised as ‘trafficked’ and are ‘rescued’ by the authorities in the name of ‘protection’, while those who insist of having agency can be charged for violating the immigration laws. In light of such circumstances, this article aims to explore the conflation between voluntary sex work and trafficked sex work and how such conflation have succeeded in fostering distrust between sex workers and authorities.

Keywords: voluntary sex work, trafficked sex work, sex work, coercion, protection

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Authors: Jireh Reinor L. Vitto, Mylene S. Gumarao, Levy M. Fajanilan, Sheryll Ann M. Castillo, Leonardo B. Dorado, Miriam P. Narbarte

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Human trafficking may happen to anyone. The study aimed to explore the experiences of victim witnesses of human trafficking. It utilized a qualitative phenomenological study design. Eighteen women, 15 to 46 years old, had experienced human trafficking (sex or labor trafficking), and with a filed case or not. An in-depth semi-structured, open-ended interview was employed to gather information. Guardians were also interviewed for triangulation purposes. Findings showed that the participants experienced fatigue and abuse for their physical aspect and gained negative feelings such as burdened, sad, scared (fear), stress, anger, trauma, depress and suicidal thoughts for their psychological aspect. For the spiritual aspect, the participants concluded to have enhanced spiritual life where they knew about God, became closer to God, and learned how to pray. They also faced challenges such as dysfunctional family, delinquent friends, exploitation, problems kept from the family, and poverty, which resulted in their becoming victims of human trafficking. To cope with the situation, they utilized family support, prayers, guts or courage (lakas ng loob), negotiation with their employer, and support from kababayans. Their practices and mechanisms to recover were the Blas Ople Center, rescue/entrapment operation, shelter, and embassy. After the incident, the participants shared that they earned to have thoughts of having a good life without going abroad/makabayan, knowledge of overseas Filipino workers, wise choice of friends, contentment, and value for the family.

Keywords: victim-witnesses, human trafficking, lived experiences, challenges, coping strategies

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Authors: Perihan Hazel Kaya, Mustafa Göktuğ Kaya

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Turkey has been a busy destination for immigration and it will always be as it is the geographical and cultural exit door of the East and the entrance door of the West. Among these immigrations, we can see the victims of human trafficking, human smuggling, refugees and those who came here to work and live. Human smuggling, which is one of the movements of illegal immigration, is the specific subject of this work. The fact that our country lies on the transportation destinations between the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, the crime of human smuggling is highly committed in our country. The aim of the victims of human smuggling is to go to a more developed country to have higher standards of living, to get a better job and to escape from the economic and social instability of their countries. The human smuggling, which has gathered pace due to the improvements in communication and transportation, is not a regional issue and has become one of the most important problems for almost all countries. Accordingly, the reasons, methods and extent of human smuggling will be dealt firstly. Later, it will be studied why Turkey is preffered in human smuggling. Finally, statistical data will be given to show how much human smuggling has gone far in Turkey and the study will be finished with that what is being done and what can be done to prevent it.

Keywords: human smuggling, immigration, immigrator, human trafficking, Turkey

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Authors: Nisha James, Shubha Ranganathan

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Sex trafficking is a type of human trafficking involving prostitution of individuals for sexual exploitation. The stigma and social isolation they face in the society often makes it difficult for them to become rehabilitated from trafficking, due to which many of them continue in prostitution for years after being sex trafficked. Victims are subjected to violations of their fundamental human rights, deprived of basic medical facilities and undergo long-term abuse. This paper focuses on the role of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the rescue and rehabilitation of victims of sex trafficking. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 26 survivors of sex trafficking, five sex workers and 14 non-community staff members of a project running NGO in the city of Chennai in South India. Chennai has a number of NGOs that are involved in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention programs. In many cases, rehabilitation of sex trafficking victims is also a mandate of these NGOs. This particular NGO was also involved in development activities towards the eradication of HIV/AIDS. For instance, they were engaged in inculcating safe sex practices among high-risk groups such as sex workers or in fighting for sex worker rights. The study found that the NGO’s role in combatting sex trafficking is overrun by the way it approaches these issue related to HIV/AIDS. Further, their activities are dependent solely on funding. Given that gradually, international funding for HIV/AIDS has slowly been withdrawn, there have been problems such as reduction in the salary of the project staff, the outreach workers and peer educators, many of whom were survivors of sex trafficking who have been able to survive on their wages instead of continuing in prostitution. Therefore, till date, the project funding has helped in making them aware of the health and social consequences of continuing in prostitution, and in supporting them socioeconomically, but the lack of funding may also lead the NGO workers into a state of unemployment, poverty and eventually into being re-trafficked. The study concludes by pointing to the need for disengaging anti-trafficking efforts from the HIV/AIDS related programs.

Keywords: non-governmental organization role, non-governmental organization staff, sex trafficking survivors, sex workers

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Authors: Jeremy Berry, Shannon Rodrigue, Caroline Norris

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This study explores the impact of tattoos and/or brands on the recovery of sex trafficking survivors. Many victims of sex trafficking are forced or coerced to take markings of ownership while in the sex trafficking trade in the form of painful tattoos or brands. As a result, victims who are rescued and in recovery often must live with permanent reminders of their traumatic experiences or are left to resort to expensive cosmetic or cover-up jobs, which for many are out of reach. As is often true of domestic violence victims who are left with scars from their abusers, the impact of these permanent markers can delay the healing process and contribute to post-traumatic stress. This study tells the story from the perspectives of the survivors of sex trafficking, how these specific permanent reminders impacted their healing. The study employs a thematic analysis of interviews with sex trafficking victims via focus group interviews.

Keywords: sex trafficking, tattoos, trauma, healing

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Authors: Jessica J. Gillies

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Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights and thus invokes a strong response particularly throughout the global academic community. A longstanding tension throughout academic debate remains the question of a relationship between anti-trafficking policy and sex industry policy. In Australia, over the previous decade, many human trafficking investigations have related to the sexual exploitation of female victims, and convictions in Australia to date have often been for trafficking women from Thailand. Sex industry policy in Australia varies between states, providing a rich contextual landscape in which to explore this relationship. The purpose of this study was to deconstruct how meaning is constructed surrounding human trafficking throughout these supposedly related political discourses in Australia. In order to analyse the discursive construction of the problem of human trafficking in relation to sex industry policy, a discursive analysis was conducted. The methodology of the study was informed by a feminist theoretical framework, and included academic sources and grey literature such as organisational reports and policy statements regarding anti-trafficking initiatives. The scope of grey literature was restricted to Australian and Thai government and non-government organisation texts. The chosen methodology facilitated a qualitative exploration of the influence of feminist discourses over political discourse in this arena. The discursive analysis exposed clusters of active feminist debates interacting with sex industry policy within individual states throughout Australia. Additionally, strongly opposed sex industry perspectives were uncovered within these competing feminist frameworks. While the influence these groups may exert over policy differs, the debate constructs a discursive relationship between human trafficking and sex industry policy. This is problematic because anti-trafficking policy is drawn to some extent from this discursive construction, therefore affecting support services for survivors of human trafficking. The discursive analysis further revealed misalignment between government and non-government priorities, Australian government anti-trafficking policy appears to favour criminal justice priorities; whereas non-government settings preference human rights protections. Criminal justice priorities invoke questions of legitimacy, leading to strict eligibility policy for survivors seeking support following exploitation in the Australian sex industry, undermining women’s agency and human rights. In practice, these two main findings demonstrate a construction of policy that has serious outcomes on typical survivors in Australia following a lived experience of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The discourses constructed by conflicting feminist arguments influence political discourses throughout Australia. The application of a feminist theoretical framework to the discursive analysis of the problem of human trafficking is unique to this study. The study has exposed a longstanding and unresolved feminist debate that has filtered throughout anti-trafficking political discourse. This study illuminates the problematic construction of anti-trafficking policy, and the implications in practice on survivor support services. Australia has received international criticism for the focus on criminal justice rather than human rights throughout anti-trafficking policy discourse. The outcome of this study has the potential to inform future language and constructive conversations contributing to knowledge around how policy effects survivors in the post trafficking experience.

Keywords: Australia, discursive analysis, government, human trafficking, non-government, Thailand

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Authors: Erin Brands-Saliba

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In this evaluation study, we explore the efficacy and implementation of the five guiding principles of Bekaadendang “Being Peaceful,” a suite of services facilitated by our Anti-Human Trafficking Team, and a pivotal component of the Holistic Prevention Services department at NCFST. The guiding principles—trauma-informed care, cultural safety, 4-quadrant medicine wheel approach, harm reduction, and after-care peer support—are the foundation of Bekaadendang's mission to support at-risk individuals and survivors of human trafficking. This evaluation is of paramount importance given the profound impact of human trafficking on these communities and aims to ensure that Bekaadendang's principles are not only understood by staff but experienced by community members in a purposeful and meaningful manner. The issues at the heart of this evaluation are deeply entrenched in the historical and contemporary challenges faced by Indigenous communities, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous women and 2SLGBTQQIA+ individuals. Well-documented reports like the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) have cast a glaring light on the disproportionately high rates of violence, exploitation, and trafficking experienced by these communities. The MMIWG report underlines the pressing need for holistic, culturally informed interventions like Bekaadendang. Furthermore, the research efforts of scholars, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, shed light on the persistent systemic issues that make Indigenous individuals more vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Recognizing this broader context is crucial to truly grasp the importance of evaluating the guiding principles that underpin Bekaadendang's service model.

Keywords: human trafficking, indigenous healing, MMIWG, program evaluation

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Authors: Nur Iman Subono, Meidi Kosandi

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This paper examines the role of regional cooperation in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the fight against human trafficking for Indonesia. Many among scholars suggest that regional cooperation is necessary for combating human trafficking for its transnational and organized character as a crime against humanity. ASEAN members have been collectively active in responding transnational security issues with series of talks and collaboration agreement since early 2000s. Lately in 2015, ASEAN agreed on ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, particularly Women and Children (ACTIP) that requires each member to collaborate in information sharing and providing effective safeguard and protection of victims. Yet, the frequency of human trafficking crime occurrence remains high and tend to increase in Indonesian in 2017-2018. The objective of this paper is to examine the effectiveness and success of ACTIP implementation in the fight against human trafficking in Indonesia. Based on two years of research (2017-2018) in three provinces with the largest number of victims in Indonesia, this paper shows the tendency of persisting crime despite the implementation of regional and national anti-trafficking policies. The research was conducted by archive study, literature study, discourse analysis, and depth interviews with local government officials, police, prosecutors, victims, and traffickers. This paper argues that the relative success of ASEAN in establishing convention at the high-level meetings has not been followed with the success in its implementation in the society. Three main factors have contributed to the ineffectiveness of the agreements, i.e. (1) ASEAN institutional arrangement as a collection of sovereign states instead of supranational organization with binding authority; (2) the lack of commitment of ASEAN sovereign member-states to the agreements; and (3) the complexity and variety of the nature of the crime in each member-state. In effect, these factors have contributed to generating the regionalism paradox in ASEAN where states tend to revert to national policies instead of seeking regional collective solution.

Keywords: human trafficking, transnational security, regionalism, anti trafficking policy

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Authors: Neha Singh, Anshuman Rana

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Gender-Based Violence (GBV) is a violation of human rights and a form of discrimination which reinforces inequalities between men and women. It is defined as violence that is directed against a person on the basis of gender. There has been increased attention to human trafficking that has exposed to illegal migration. Trafficking is complex, but it generally takes place due to “push and pull factors”. India is both a source as well as a transit country for trafficking. Women are bought and sold with impunity and trafficked to other countries. They are forced to work as sex worker, forced labour and other practices of slavery. Trafficked victims often suffer from serious abuse and physical exhaustion. The effects of violence on women vary widely. GBV typically has physical, psychological and social effects. They face unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages, high rate of infertility and sexually transmitted disease. The social exclusion of women is so great that it constitutes a new form of apartheid. Women are considered as lesser value and deprived of their fundamental rights. Violation of human rights and fundamental freedom such as- trafficking of women, girls for sex trade, forced prostitution and sex tourism have become the focus of internationally organized crimes. My paper will analyse the impact of violence on society as well. Law alone cannot change the scenario and problem of gender-biasness. The whole issue of gender violence needs social awakening and change in attitude of masses, so that due respect and equal status is given to women.

Keywords: gender-based violence, trafficking, migration, violence impact, social exclusion, law enforcement

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Authors: Ricardo Schnug

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This paper puts the transnational crime of human trafficking in the context of Sub-Saharan Africa and its quickly growing youth bulge. By mapping recent and concurrent trends and emerging issues, it explores the implications that it has not only for the region itself but also for the greater global dynamics of the issue. Through the application of Causal Layered Analysis to various alternative future scenarios as well as the identification of the core narrative surrounding the international discourse, it is possible to understand more deeply the forces that underlie future trafficking and what change becomes possible. With the provision of a reconstructed narrative that avoids the current blind spots, this research points out the need for a new and organic leadership paradigm that allows for a more holistic and future-oriented inquiry about socio-economic and political change and what it entails for a transnational crime such as human trafficking. 'Ubuntu' as a social and leadership philosophy then, provides the principles needed for creating this path towards a truly preferred future. Furthermore, this paper inspires follow-up research and the continuous monitoring and transdisciplinary research of this region’s demographic emergence as well as its possible consequences that have been explored in this inquiry.

Keywords: causal layered analysis, emerging issues, human trafficking, scenarios, sub-Saharan Africa

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Authors: Alisha Fisher

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Sex trafficking is a worldwide crisis that requires trauma-informed and survivor-centered media attention to accurate disseminate information. Much of the previous literature on sex trafficking tends to focus on the frequency of incidents, intervention, and support strategies for survivors, with few of them looking to how the media is conducting their reporting on sex trafficking cases to the public. Utilizing data of reports from the media of cases of sex trafficking in the two Canadian provinces with the highest cases of sex trafficking, Ontario and Nova Scotia, the authors sought to analyze the similarities and differences of how sex trafficking cases were being reported. A total of twenty articles were examined, with ten based within the province of Ontario and the remaining ten from the province of Nova Scotia. The authors coded in two processes, first, who the article was about, and second, the framing and content inclusion. The results suggest that there is high usage and reliance of voices and images of authority, with male people of color being shown as the perpetrators and white women being shown as the survivors. These findings can aid in the expansion of trauma-informed, survivor-centered media literacy of reports of sex trafficking to provide accurate insights and further developing robust methods to intersectional approaches to reporting cases of sex trafficking.

Keywords: sex trafficking, media coverage, Canada sex trafficking, content analysis

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Authors: Erik Kuravsky

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One of the problems with a post-structuralist account of agency is that it appears to reject the freedom of an acting subject, thus seeming to deny the very phenomenon of agency. However, this is only a problem if we think that human beings can be agents exclusively in terms of being subjects, that is, if we think agency subjectively. Indeed, we tend to understand traditional theories of human freedom (e.g., Plato’s or Kant’s) in terms of a peculiar ability of the subject. The paper suggests to de-subjectivize agency with the help of Heidegger’s later thought. To do it, ir argues that classical theories of agency may indeed be interpreted as subject-oriented (sometimes even by their authors), but do not have to be read as such. Namely, the claim is that what makes agency what it is, what is essential in agency, is not its belonginess to a subject, but its ontological configuration. We may say that agency “happens,” and that there is a very specific ontological characteristics to this happening. The argument of the paper is that we can find these characteristic in the classical accounts of agency and that these characteristics are sufficient to distinguish human freedom from other natural phenomena. In particular, it offers to think agency not as one of human characteristics, but as an ontological event in which human beings take part. Namely, agency is a (non-human) characteristic of the different modes in which the experienceable existence of beings is determined by Being. To be an agent then is to participate in such ontological determination. What enables this participation is the ways human beings non-thematically understand the ontological difference. For example, for Plato, one acts freely only if one is led by an idea of the good, while for Kant the imperative for free action is categorial. The agency of an agent is thus dependent on the differentiation between ideas/categories and beings met in experience – one is “free” from contingent sensibility in terms of what is different from it ontologically. In this light, modern dependence on subjectivity is evident in the fact that the ontological difference is thought as belonging to one’s thinking, consciousness etc. That is, it is taken subjectively. A non-subjective account of agency, on the other hand, requires thinking this difference as belonging to Being itself, and thinking human beings as a medium within which occurs the non-human force of ontological differentiation.

Keywords: Heidegger, freedom, agency, poststructuralism

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Authors: Ashlyn Smith, Chloe Zampelli, Vincent Manna, Vernon Murray

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According to Polaris (a UN affiliate), there are currently 44 million human trafficking victims globally. Using a sample of 137 labor trafficking victims in Poland, we found that all were Ukrainian citizens. We categorized victims according to the “Victim Intervention Marketing” (Murray) social marketing framework. The largest victim type consisted of “Willing Assimilators” (57%). This means they entered their particular trafficking situations without coercion and were left at will. Such victims are typically driven by financial desperation. Twenty percent (20%) of Willing Assimilators were men, and 80% were women. Victims who were not Willing Assimilators were forced as either “Enlightened Apostates” (37%) or “Tricked and Trapped” (7%). All of the forced victims were women. Crosstabs with Chi-square test (Pearson Chi-Square test significance = .002) results indicated that the male victims were all between 30 and 38 years old, while female victim ages ranged from 24 to 47. Accordingly, labor trafficking victim interventions in Poland should be age-sensitive and focus on three areas: 1) economic development for the Willing Assimilators, 2) training to identify fraudulent job postings, etc. for the Tricked and Trapped segment, and 3) training to equip potential victims to distrust certain close “loved ones” for the Enlightened Apostates.

Keywords: Poland, labor trafficking, social marketing, victim intervention marketing

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Authors: Onyekachi Ohagwu

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Human trafficking remains a pressing issue globally, with Nigeria serving as a source, transit, and destination country. In response to this crisis, the Edo State Task Force Against Human Trafficking (ETAHT), in collaboration with local partners and international organizations such as the International Organization for Migration, has implemented various initiatives, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes. This research article examines the effectiveness of the ETAHT TVET programme in providing a second chance for female returnee migrants in Nigeria. Through qualitative analysis, including in-depth interviews and case studies, the study evaluates the impact of the programme on participants' lives, socio-economic reintegration, and empowerment. Findings suggest that the ETAHT TVET programme plays a significant role in empowering female returnees, fostering self-reliance, and reducing the risk of re-trafficking. The article concludes with recommendations for enhancing the programme's effectiveness and scalability.

Keywords: Edo State, human trafficking, TVET programme, female returnee migrants, empowerment, socio-economic reintegration

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Authors: Nisha James, Shubha Ranganathan

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Sex trafficking is a traumatic ongoing process which includes human rights violations against the victims. Majority of the trafficked individuals in India are from families with low socioeconomic status, from rural areas, unmarried or married off at a very young age. Many of the sex trafficked feel that it is necessary to make sacrifices, for the benefit of their families. The combination of these cultural family values with the stigma of rape and prostitution are manipulated and used as a tool in the abuse of power against the sex trafficked. The rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration of these individuals are usually difficult due to the stigma and social exclusion that they face. In these circumstances, social support is very effective in social inclusion of these individuals. The present study was a qualitative one, using semi-structured interviews with 29 Indian survivors of sex trafficking and a few sex workers. Thematic analysis was done on the data derived from the semi-structured interviews. The major findings indicate that the family can be seen as both the ‘cause’ for being sex trafficked, and the factor in victim continuing to be sex trafficked. At the same time, it can also become a driver for getting rescued, rehabilitated and reintegrated. The study also explores the social construction about ‘family’ among the survivors of sex trafficking, reflecting on who they refer to as ‘family’, what they mean by the term ‘family’ and how these families emerge. Therefore the analytic concept of ‘family’ is a crucial element in sex trafficking and cannot be defined only in terms of its conventional definition of a basic unit of society.

Keywords: sex-trafficking, survivor, family, social construction

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Authors: Sheetla Prasad

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The objective of this study is ‘discovering the real psyche of human beings for prediction of mode, direction and strength of the potential of actions of the individual. The human face was taken as a source of central point to search for the route of real psyche. Analysis of the face architecture (shape and salient features of face) was done by three directional photographs ( 600 left and right and camera facing) of human beings. The shapes and features of the human face were scaled in 177 units on the basis of face–features locations (FFL). The mathematical analysis was done of FFLs by self developed and standardized formula. At this phase, 800 samples were taken from the population of students, teachers, advocates, administrative officers, and common persons. The finding shows that real psyche has two external rings (ER). These ER are itself generator of two independent psyches (manifested and manipulated). Prima-facie, it was proved that micro differences in FFLs have potential to predict the state of art of the human psyche. The potential of psyches was determined by the saving and distribution of mental energy. It was also mathematically proved.

Keywords: face architecture, psyche, potential, face functional ratio, external rings

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Authors: Qamar Raza

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This paper deals with the human concern and onus which every person should provide to his/her society. Especially the rules and regulations described in constitution or traditions which we have inherited from ancestors should be followed, and also our lives should be led in accordance with them. The main concern of paper would be personal behavior with others in a good manner especially what he/she should exercise for society’s welfare. As human beings are the fundamental organ of society, who play a crucial role in reforming the society, they should try their best to develop it as well as maintain harmony, peace, we-feeling and mutual contact in the society. Focusing on how the modern society and its elements keep society successful. Regulations of our constitution and tradition are essential for reforming the society. In a nutshell, a human has to mingle in his society and keep mutual respect and understand the value of others as well as for himself.

Keywords: constitution, human beings, society, traditions

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Authors: Nisha James, Shubha Ranganathan

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One of the most poignant forms of organized crime against women, which has rarely made it to the world of Indian cinema, is that of sex trafficking, i.e. the forcible involvement of women in the sex trade through fraud or coercion (Hughes, 2005). In the space of Indian cinema, much of the spotlight has been on the sensational drug trafficking and gang mafia of Bombay. During our research on sex trafficking, the rehabilitated women interviewed often expressed strong criticism about mass media’s naive portrayal of prostitutes as money-minting, happy and sexually driven women. They argued that this unrealistic portrayal ignored the fact that this was not a reality for the majority of trafficked women. Given the gravity of sex trafficking as a human rights issue, it is, therefore, refreshing to see three recent films on sex trafficking in Indian Languages – Naa Bangaaru Talli (2014, Telugu), Mardaani (2014, Hindi) and Lakshmi (2014, Hindi). This paper reviews these three films to explore the portrayal of the everyday reality of trafficking for women. Film analysis was used to understand the representation of psychological issues in the media. The strength of these movies starts with their inspirations which are of true stories and that they are all aimed at bringing awareness about the issue of sex trafficking, which is a rising social evil in Indian society though none of the three films move to portray the next phase of rehabilitation and reintegration of victims, which is a very complex and important process in the life of a survivor. According to findings, survivors of sex trafficking find the rehabilitation and reintegration into society to be a slow and tough part of their life as they continuously face stigma and social exclusion and have to strive to live against all odds of non-acceptance starting from their family.

Keywords: film review, Indian films, sex trafficking, survivors

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Authors: Wing Kam Fung, Kexin Yu

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Child trafficking has been a serious problem in modern China. The Chinese government has established a national anti-trafficking DNA database to help reunite missing children with their families. The database collects DNA information from missing children's parents, trafficked and homeless children, then conducts paternity tests to find matched pairs. This paper considers the matching accuracy in such cases by looking into the exclusion probability in paternity testing. First, the situation of child trafficking in China is introduced. Next, derivations of the exclusion probability for both one-parent and two-parents cases are given, followed by extension to allow for 1 or 2 mutations. The accuracy of paternity testing of child trafficking cases is then assessed using the exclusion probabilities and available data. Finally, the number of loci that should be used to ensure a correct match is investigated.

Keywords: child trafficking, DNA database, exclusion probability, paternity testing

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Authors: Jessica J. Gillies

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Awareness of the tragedy that is human trafficking has increased exponentially over the past two decades. The four pillars widely recognised as global solutions to the problem are prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnership between government and non-government organisations. While ‘sex-trafficking’ initially received major attention, this focus has shifted to other industries that conceal broader experiences of exploitation. However, within the regions of focus for this study, namely Australia and Thailand, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation remains the commonly uncovered narrative of criminal justice investigations. In these regions anti-trafficking action is characterised by government-led prevention and prosecution efforts; whereas protection and reintegration practices have received criticism. Typically, non-government organisations straddle the critical chasm between policy and practice; therefore, they are perfectly positioned to contribute valuable experiential knowledge toward understanding how both sectors can support survivors in the post-trafficking experience. The aim of this research is to inform improved partnerships throughout government and non-government post-trafficking services by illuminating gaps in protection and reintegration initiatives. This research will explore government and non-government responses to human trafficking in Thailand and Australia, in order to understand how meaning is constructed in this context and how the construction of meaning effects survivors in the post-trafficking experience. A qualitative, three-stage methodology was adopted for this study. The initial stage of enquiry consisted of a discursive analysis, in order to deconstruct the broader discourses surrounding human trafficking. The data included empirical papers, grey literature such as publicly available government and non-government reports, and anti-trafficking policy documents. The second and third stages of enquiry will attempt to further explore the findings of the discourse analysis and will focus more specifically on protection and reintegration in Australia and Thailand. Stages two and three will incorporate process observations in government and non-government survivor support services, and semi-structured interviews with employees and volunteers within these settings. Two key findings emerged from the discursive analysis. The first exposed conflicting feminist arguments embedded throughout anti-trafficking discourse. Informed by conflicting feminist discourses on sex-work, a discursive relationship has been constructed between sex-industry policy and anti-trafficking policy. In response to this finding, data emerging from the process observations and semi-structured interviews will be interpreted using a feminist theoretical framework. The second finding progresses from the construction in the first. The discursive construction of sex-trafficking appears to have had influence over perceptions of the legitimacy of survivors, and therefore the support they receive in the post-trafficking experience. For example; women who willingly migrate for employment in the sex-industry, and on arrival are faced with exploitative conditions, are not perceived to be deserving of the same support as a woman who is not coerced, but rather physically forced, into such circumstances, yet both meet the criteria for a victim of human trafficking. The forthcoming study is intended to contribute toward building knowledge and understanding around the implications of the construction of legitimacy; and contextualise this in reference to government led protection and reintegration support services for survivors in the post-trafficking experience.

Keywords: Australia, government, human trafficking, non-government, reintegration, Thailand

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Authors: Andrew D. Henshaw, James M. Austin

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Introduction: Human trafficking is an increasingly serious transnational criminal enterprise and social security issue. Despite ongoing efforts to mitigate the phenomenon and a significant expansion of security scrutiny over past decades, it is not receding. This is true for many nations in Southeast Asia, widely recognized as the global hub for trafficked persons, including men, women, and children. Clearly, human trafficking is difficult to address because there are numerous drivers, causes, and motivators for it to persist, such as non-military and non-traditional security challenges, i.e., climate change, global warming displacement, and natural disasters. These make displaced persons and refugees particularly vulnerable. The issue is so large conservative estimates put a dollar value at around $150 billion-plus per year (Niethammer, 2020) spanning sexual slavery and exploitation, forced labor, construction, mining and in conflict roles, and forced marriages of girls and women. Coupled with corruption throughout military, police, and civil authorities around the world, and the active hands of powerful transnational criminal organizations, it is likely that such figures are grossly underestimated as human trafficking is misreported, under-detected, and deliberately obfuscated to protect those profiting from it. For example, the 2022 UN report on human trafficking shows a 56% reduction in convictions in that year alone (UNODC, 2022). Our Approach: To better understand this, our research utilizes a bespoke methodology. Applying a JAM (Juxtaposition Assessment Matrix), which we previously developed to detect flows of dark money around the globe (Henshaw, A & Austin, J, 2021), we now focus on the human trafficking paradigm. Indeed, utilizing a JAM methodology has identified key indicators of human trafficking not previously explored in depth. Being a set of structured analytical techniques that provide panoramic interpretations of the subject matter, this iteration of the JAM further incorporates behavioral and driver indicators, including the employment of Open-Source Artificial Intelligence (OS-AI) across multiple collection points. The extracted behavioral data was then applied to identify non-traditional indicators as they contribute to human trafficking. Furthermore, as the JAM OS-AI analyses data from the inverted position, i.e., the viewpoint of the traffickers, it examines the behavioral and physical traits required to succeed. This transposed examination of the requirements of success delivers potential leverage points for exploitation in the fight against human trafficking in a new and novel way. Findings: Our approach identified new innovative datasets that have previously been overlooked or, at best, undervalued. For example, the JAM OS-AI approach identified critical 'dark agent' lynchpins within human trafficking that are difficult to detect and harder to connect to actors and agents within a network. Our preliminary data suggests this is in part due to the fact that ‘dark agents’ in extant research have been difficult to detect and potentially much harder to directly connect to the actors and organizations in human trafficking networks. Our research demonstrates that using new investigative techniques such as OS-AI-aided JAM introduces a powerful toolset to increase understanding of human trafficking and transnational crime and illuminate networks that, to date, avoid global law enforcement scrutiny.

Keywords: human trafficking, open-source intelligence, transnational crime, human security, international human rights, intelligence analysis, JAM OS-AI, Dark Money

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Authors: Siddharatha Sharma

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With the advent of technology and machines, the role of biometrics in society is taking an important place for secured living. Security issues are the major concern in today’s world and continue to grow in intensity and complexity. Biometrics based recognition, which involves precise measurement of the characteristics of living beings, is not a new method. Fingerprints are being used for several years by law enforcement and forensic agencies to identify the culprits and apprehend them. Biometrics is based on four basic principles i.e. (i) uniqueness, (ii) accuracy, (iii) permanency and (iv) peculiarity. In today’s world fingerprints are the most popular and unique biometrics method claiming a social benefit in the government sponsored programs. A remarkable example of the same is UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) in India. In case of fingerprint biometrics the matching accuracy is very high. It has been observed empirically that even the identical twins also do not have similar prints. With the passage of time there has been an immense progress in the techniques of sensing computational speed, operating environment and the storage capabilities and it has become more user convenient. Only a small fraction of the population may be unsuitable for automatic identification because of genetic factors, aging, environmental or occupational reasons for example workers who have cuts and bruises on their hands which keep fingerprints changing. Fingerprints are limited to human beings only because of the presence of volar skin with corrugated ridges which are unique to this species. Fingerprint biometrics has proved to be a high level authentication system for identification of the human beings. Though it has limitations, for example it may be inefficient and ineffective if ridges of finger(s) or palm are moist authentication becomes difficult. This paper would focus on uniqueness of fingerprints to the human beings in comparison to other living beings and review the advancement in emerging technologies and their limitations.

Keywords: fingerprinting, biometrics, human beings, authentication

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Authors: Ray Bryant

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3Strands Global Foundation (3SGF), a non-profit with a mission to mobilize communities to combat human trafficking through prevention education and reintegration programs, launched a groundbreaking study that calls out the usage and benefits of artificial intelligence in the war against human trafficking. Having gathered more than 30,000 stories from counselors and school staff who have gone through its PROTECT Prevention Education program, 3SGF sought to develop a methodology to measure the effectiveness of the training, which helps educators and school staff identify physical signs and behaviors indicating a student is being victimized. The program further illustrates how to recognize and respond to trauma and teaches the steps to take to report human trafficking, as well as how to connect victims with the proper professionals. 3SGF partnered with Levity, a leader in no-code Artificial Intelligence (AI) automation, to create the research study utilizing natural language processing, a branch of artificial intelligence, to measure the effectiveness of their prevention education program. By applying the logic created for the study, the platform analyzed and categorized each story. If the story, directly from the educator, demonstrated one or more of the desired outcomes; Increased Awareness, Increased Knowledge, or Intended Behavior Change, a label was applied. The system then added a confidence level for each identified label. The study results were generated with a 99% confidence level. Preliminary results show that of the 30,000 stories gathered, it became overwhelmingly clear that a significant majority of the participants now have increased awareness of the issue, demonstrated better knowledge of how to help prevent the crime, and expressed an intention to change how they approach what they do daily. In addition, it was observed that approximately 30% of the stories involved comments by educators expressing they wish they’d had this knowledge sooner as they can think of many students they would have been able to help. Objectives Of Research: To solve the problem of needing to analyze and accurately categorize more than 30,000 data points of participant feedback in order to evaluate the success of a human trafficking prevention program by using AI and Natural Language Processing. Methodologies Used: In conjunction with our strategic partner, Levity, we have created our own NLP analysis engine specific to our problem. Contributions To Research: The intersection of AI and human rights and how to utilize technology to combat human trafficking.

Keywords: AI, technology, human trafficking, prevention

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Authors: Maria C. Almario, Pam Remer, Jeff Resse, Kathy Moran, Linda Theander Adam

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The identification of victims of human trafficking and consequential service provision is characterized by a significant disconnection between the estimated prevalence of this issue and the number of cases identified. This poses as tremendous problem for human rights advocates as it prevents data collection, information sharing, allocation of resources and opportunities for international dialogues. The current paper introduces the Inclusive Human Trafficking Checklist (IHTC) as a measurement methodology with theoretical underpinnings derived from dialectic theory. The presence of human trafficking in a person’s life is conceptualized as a dynamic and dialectic interaction between vulnerability and exploitation. The current papers explores the operationalization of exploitation and vulnerability, evaluates the metric qualities of the instrument, evaluates whether there are differences in assessment based on the participant’s profession, level of knowledge, and training, and assesses if users of the instrument perceive it as useful. A total of 201 participants were asked to rate three vignettes predetermined by experts to qualify as a either human trafficking case or not. The participants were placed in three conditions: business as usual, utilization of the IHTC with and without training. The results revealed a statistically significant level of agreement between the expert’s diagnostic and the application of the IHTC with an improvement of 40% on identification when compared with the business as usual condition While there was an improvement in identification in the group with training, the difference was found to have a small effect size. Participants who utilized the IHTC showed an increased ability to identify elements of identity-based vulnerabilities as well as elements of fraud, which according to the results, are distinctive variables in cases of human trafficking. In terms of the perceived utility, the results revealed higher mean scores for the groups utilizing the IHTC when compared to the business as usual condition. These findings suggest that the IHTC improves appropriate identification of cases and that it is perceived as a useful instrument. The application of the IHTC as a multidisciplinary instrumentation that can be utilized in legal and human services settings is discussed as a pivotal piece of helping victims restore their sense of dignity, and advocate for legal, physical and psychological reparations. It is noteworthy that this study was conducted with a sample in the United States and later re-tested in Colombia. The implications of the instrument for treatment conceptualization and intervention in human trafficking cases are discussed as opportunities for enhancement of victim well-being, restoration engagement and activism. With the idea that what is personal is also political, we believe that the careful observation and data collection in specific cases can inform new areas of human rights activism.

Keywords: exploitation, human trafficking, measurement, vulnerability, screening

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Authors: Obiageli Eze

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Millions of Nigerian children are subjected daily to all forms of abuse, ranging from trafficking to slavery, and forced labor. These under age children are taken from different parts of the Country to be used as sex slaves and laborers in the big cities, killed for rituals, organ transplantation, or used for money laundering, begging on the streets or are put to work in the fields. These children are made to do inhuman jobs under degrading conditions and face all kinds of abuse at the hands of their owners with no hope of escape. While lots of people blame poverty or culture as a basis for human trafficking in Nigeria, the National Agency for the Prohibition and Trafficking in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP) says other causes of the outrageous rate of human trafficking in the country are ignorance, desperation, and the promotion and commercialization of sex by the European Union (EU) as dozens of young Nigerian children and women are forced to work as prostitutes in European countries including the Netherlands, France, Italy, and Spain. In the cause of searching for greener pastures, they are coerced into work they have not chosen and subjected to perpetual life in bondage. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 prohibits slave trade and slavery. Despite the fact that Nigeria is a Sovereign member of the United Nations and signatory to this International instrument, Child trafficking and slavery is still on the increase. This may be caused by the fact that the punishment for this crime in Nigeria is a maximum term of 10 years imprisonment with some of the worst offenders getting off with as little as 2 years imprisonment or an option of fine. It goes without saying that this punishment is not sufficient to act as a deterrent to these modern slave traders. Another major factor oiling the wheel of trafficking in the country is voodoo. The victims are taken to shrines of voodoo priests for oath taking. There, underage girls and boys are made to swear that they would never reveal the identities of their traffickers to anyone if arrested whether in the course of the journey or in the destination countries and that they would pay off debt. Nigeria needs tougher Laws in order to be able to combat human trafficking and slave trade. Also there has to be aggressive sensitization and awareness programs designed to educate and enlighten the public as to the dangers faced by these victims and the need to report any suspicious activity to the authorities. This paper attempts to give an insight into the plight of under-age Nigerian children trafficked and sold as slaves and offer a more effective stand in the fight against it.

Keywords: child labor, slavery, slave trade, trafficking

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Authors: Choo Fatt Foo

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The Five Aggregates is core to Buddhism teaching. According to Buddhism, human beings and all sentient beings are made up of nothing but the Five Aggregates. If that is the case, the Five Aggregates must be found in all natural sciences. So far, there has not been any systematic connection between the Five Aggregates and natural sciences. This study aims at identifying traces of the Five Aggregates in various levels of natural sciences and pointing possible directions for future research. The following areas are briefly explored to identify the connection with the Five Aggregates: physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, DNA, cell, and human body and brain. Traces of the Five Aggregates should be found in each level of this hierarchy of natural sciences for human and sentient beings to be said to be made up of the Five Aggregates. This study proposes a hierarchical structure of nature cutting every level with the Five Aggregates and the Four Great Elements as its basis. The structure proposed by this study would revolutionize how we look at nature. Hopefully, better understanding of sciences in this manner will steer the application of scientific methods and technology towards a brighter future with compassion and tolerance.

Keywords: the five aggregates, Buddhism, four great elements, physics, calabi-yau manifold

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Authors: Maryam Bakhtyar-Pegah Akrami

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The relationship between spiritual health and spirituality is one of the important is that in recent years, the research about it is expanding and due to the rich heritage of the in this field of study and research in this important field more than before and we will come to spiritual life and healthier than before. In this research, we provide the following and the basics of Islamic Mysticism in the realm of spiritual health thoughts. This research is based on a descriptive method and comparison with analytical-method to data collected. The findings show that human beings due to this pivotal topic of full Islamic slab, and mental and physical education with the sought to reach the human place are complete, we can provide the basics along with new discussions of spiritual health help human beings to spiritual education along with our faiths in the reconstruction of the spiritual foundations of spiritual health are extremely helpful

Keywords: spirituality, health, Islam, mysticism, perfect human

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Authors: Priya Sepaha

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Commercial Surrogacy refers to a contract in which a woman carries a pregnancy for intended parents. There are two types of surrogacy; first, Traditional Surrogacy, in which, sperm of the donor or father is artificially inseminated in the women and carries the fetus till birth. Second, Gestational Surrogacy, in which the egg and sperm of the intended parent are collected for artificial fertilization through In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) technique and after the embryo formation, it is transferred into the womb of a surrogate mother with the help of Assisted Reproductive Technique. Surrogacy has become so widespread in India that it has now been nicknamed the "rent-a-womb" capital of the world due to relatively low cost and lack of stringent regulatory legalisation. The legal aspects surrounding surrogacy are complex, diverse and mostly unsettled. Although this appears to be beneficial for the parties concerned, there are certain sensitive issues which need to be addressed to ensure ample protection to all stakeholders. Commercial surrogacy is an emerging business and a new means of human trafficking particularly in India. Poor and illiterate women are often lured in such deals by their spouse or broker for earning easy money. Traffickers also use force, fraud, or coercion at times to intimidate the probable surrogate mothers. A major chunk of money received from covert surrogacy agreement is taken away by the brokers. The Law Commission of India has specifically reviewed the issue as India is emerging as a major global surrogacy destination. The Supreme Court of India held in the Manji's case in 2008, that commercial surrogacy can be permitted with certain restrictions but had directed the Legislature to pass an appropriate Law for governing Surrogacy in India. The draft Assisted Reproductive Technique (ART) Bill, 2010 is still pending for approval. At present, the Surrogacy Contract between the parties and the ART Clinics Guidelines are perhaps the only guiding force. The Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA), 1956 and Sections 366(A) and 372 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 are perhaps the only existing laws, which deal with human trafficking. Yet, none of these provisions specifically deal with the serious issue of trafficking for the purpose of Commercial Surrogacy. India remains one of the few countries that still allow commercial surrogacy. International Surrogacy involves bilateral issues, where the laws of both the nations have to be at par in order to ensure that the concerns and interests of parties involved get amicably resolved. There is urgent need to pass a comprehensive law by incorporating the latest developments in this field in order to make it ethical on the one hand and to curb disguised human trafficking on the other.

Keywords: business, human trafficking, legal, surrogacy

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Authors: Xiaoyu Stephanie Ren

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With the increase of massive migration, economic polarization, as well as increasing awareness and respects for religious freedom in the world, women have become unprecedentedly vulnerable to trafficking involving religious coercion. Such cases can also bring enormous challenges for prosecution in which the prosecutor bears the burden of proving that the victim acted, or not acted in a certain way due to the exploitation of her belief system: (1) Jurors who are nonbelievers tend not to be convinced that something of intangible nature can act as the force to get victim into women trafficking situation; (2) Court more often than not rules in favor of victims in women trafficking cases involving religious exploitation only when there is physical coercion in addition to religious coercion; (3) Female victims are often reluctant to testify at court due to their godly fear and loyalty to trafficker. Using case study methodology, this paper examines the unique characteristics of religious coercion as means of trafficking in women from a legal perspective and proposes multiple ways based on communal beliefs that faith communities, as victims for such crime themselves, can act in order to help to end religious exploitation. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to improve acknowledgment for the role of religious coercion as a sole force for women trafficking situation; to discuss legal hurdles in prosecuting women trafficking cases involving religious coercion; and to propose collaboration across borders among faith communities to end such exploitation.

Keywords: women trafficking, sex violence, religious exploitation, faith community, prosecution, law

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Authors: Rosa M. Senent

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Over the centuries, prostitution has been problematized from many sides, with women always at the center of the debate. However, prostitution is a gendered, demand-driven phenomenon. Thus, a focus must be put on the men who demand it, as an increasing number of studies have been done in the last few decades. The purpose of this paper is to expose how men's discourse online reveals the link between their demand for paid sex in prostitution and sex trafficking. The methodological tool employed was Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA). A critical analysis of sex buyers' discourse online showed that online communities of sex buyers are a useful tool in researching their behavior towards women, that their knowledge of sex trafficking and exploitation do not work as a deterrent for them to buy sex, and that the type of masculinity that sex buyers endorse is characterized by attitudes linked to the perpetuation of violence against women.

Keywords: masculinities, prostitution, sex trafficking, violence

Procedia PDF Downloads 112