Human Trafficking: Global History and Perspectives 2021945117, 9781793648792, 9781793648808, 1793648794

Citation preview

Human Trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 1

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 2

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Human Trafficking Global History and Perspectives

Edited by Elisha Jasper Dung and Augustine Avwunudiogba

LEXINGTON BOOKS

Lanham • Boulder • New York • London

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 3

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Published by Lexington Books An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. 4501 Forbes Boulevard, Suite 200, Lanham, Maryland 20706 www​.rowman​.com 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE Copyright © 2021 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Library of Congress Control Number: 2021945117 ISBN: 978-1-7936-4879-2 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN: 978-1-7936-4880-8 (electronic) ∞ ™ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 4

08-10-2021 11:26:37

This book is dedicated to all the victims of human trafficking.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 5

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 6

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Contents

List of Illustrations

xi

Preface xiii Acknowledgments xv Abbreviations xvii Introduction xxiii PART 1: THEORIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKING 1 Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking Abu K. Mboka

1 3

2 Recalibrating Moral Compasses: A Global Conceptual History of Human Trafficking, 1870–2020 Ruth Ennis

23

3 Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women’s Bodies in India Rekha Pande

53

4 Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory Bob Spires PART 2: LEGISLATIONS AND CONVENTIONS 5 Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada Veronica Fynn Bruey

81 105 107

vii

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 7

08-10-2021 11:26:37

viii

Contents

6 Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era: A Critical Legal Studies Approach to the Problem of Human Trafficking Áquila Mazzinghy

133

7 The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem of Sex Trafficking 159 Robert O. White 8 Combating Global Trafficking in Persons: The Role of the United States Post-September 2001 Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

179

PART 3: OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL UNDERCURRENTS

211

9 The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking in South 24 Parganas in the Sundarban Delta Region, India Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy 10 The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty and the Violation of Human Rights: An Examination of the Uyghurs and Human Trafficking in the People’s Republic of China Alecia D. Hoffman 11 Voiceless Rohingyas: From Refugee to Modern Slaves Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

213

241 263

12 Sex Trafficking of Girls: Focus on Latin America and the Caribbean 281 Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon 13 Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions to Their Latin America and Caribbean Victims Ivon Alcime

307

PART 4: THE GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS, COSTS, AND CONSEQUENCES 327 14 The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking: A Global Analysis Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

329

15 House Girls and House Boys: Domestic Servitude in Southern Nigeria, 1940–2020 Robin P. Chapdelaine

347

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 8

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Contents

16 Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension, and Human Trafficking Abu K. Mboka

ix

369

17 The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking Kizito N. C. Okeke

389

18 Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa Leonard S. Bombom, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and Chinedu J. Anyamele

411

Conclusion: Human Trafficking: Global Problem, Local Solutions Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

431

Appendices 435 Appendix A

437

Appendix B

443

Index 455 About the Editors

463

About the Contributors

465

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 9

08-10-2021 11:26:37

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 10

08-10-2021 11:26:37

List of Illustrations

FIGURES Figure 9.1 Push Factors 216 Figure 9.2 Pull Factors 217 Figure 12.1 Number of Victims from South American Countries Trafficked for Sexual Exploitation: 2014 to September 2017 290 Figure 14.1 Global Human Trafficking Victims Identified: 2008–2019 334 Figure 14.2 Regional Trafficking Victims: 2008–2019 334 Figure 14.3 Trafficking Victims Regional Totals: 2008–2019 335 Figure 14.4 Origin Countries of Trafficking in Persons 336 Figure 14.5 Destination Countries of Trafficking in Persons 338 Figure 16.1 Forces of Cross-national Human Trafficking 370 Figure 18.1 Global Distribution of Human Trafficking Victims: 2007-2017 417 Figure 18.2 Source Countries of Victims of Human Trafficking 418 Figure 18.3 Number of countries where victims have been identified 419 Figure 18.4 Domestic Human Trafficking 420 Figure 18.5 Global Distribution of African Victims of Human Trafficking, 2007-2017 422 Figure 18.6 Global Spread of Human Trafficking victims from African Countries 423

xi

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 11

08-10-2021 11:26:37

xii

List of Illustrations

TABLES Table 8.1 Table 8.2 Table 8.3

Tier placements, June 2019 All trafficking prosecutions 1998 to 2019 Percentage of human-trafficking suspects prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, 2000–2015 Table 12.1 Number of Female Victims of Trafficking in Persons Detected for South American Countries: 2014 to September 2017 Appendix A Nonprofit organizations’ responses to incidence of TIP and the effectiveness of the law in human trafficking in Canada Appendix B Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 12

195 198 199 291 438 444

08-10-2021 11:26:38

Preface

In the summer of 2019, Dr. Sabella Abbide convened an informal meeting of a group of African, Latin American, and Caribbean Diaspora scholars and scholars of Africa comprising Drs. Brenda I. Gill, Alecia D. Hoffman and Elisha J. Dung (Alabama State University, Montgomery), Augustine Avwunudiogba (California State University, Stanislaus), and George K. Danns (University of North Georgia) to discuss some of the contemporary developmental issues and challenges in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The idea to investigate the vexing issue of human trafficking in Africa and social problems in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean was the product of that and subsequent meetings. During further discussions, it became clear that understanding the intractable problem of human trafficking in Africa requires its global context. Hence, the inclusion of global human trafficking as a topic of investigation. In the end, we settled on investigating three topics: “Human Trafficking in Africa: New Perspective, New Paradigm,” “Social Problem in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean,” and “Human Trafficking: Global History and Perspectives.” Drs. Gill and Danns took the lead on the social problems in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean, Drs. Hoffman, and Abidde on Human trafficking in Africa, while we (Drs. Dung and Avwunudiogba) took the lead on the global human trafficking project. Despite the recent global attention on human trafficking, attempts at finding an enduring solution to the phenomenon have remained elusive. Part of this situation is the dynamic nature of human trafficking, which is constantly evolving within globalization and the recent anti-globalization and nationalism movements worldwide. For this reason, we invited scholars, members of the civil society, government, and nongovernmental organizations to contribute chapters to this book project to interrogate human trafficking from a spatial, historical, and contemporary global perspective. The book brings xiii

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 13

08-10-2021 11:26:38

xiv

Preface

together scholars with varying backgrounds and experiences spanning five continents, including geographers, historians, sociologists, political scientists, criminologists, legal practitioners, educators, psychologists, and other social scientists. The multidisciplinary approach enabled us to provide a global perspective to this project. Although, several journal articles and books have examined human trafficking problems globally and in different regions of the world such as Africa, Latin America, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean. Nonetheless, fewer of these publications have addressed the issue from a global perspective using a multidisciplinary approach that examines the issue in historical, modern, and spatial contexts. This book, Human Trafficking: Global History and Perspectives, does just that and expands the existing body of work by offering a different perspective that helps to illuminate the problem of human trafficking. Working on this edited volume was an exciting yet very challenging undertaking. The Covid-19 pandemic created unforeseen challenges to the successful completion of this book project. Some of the contributors who submitted accepted abstracts could not follow through with the submission of their chapter manuscripts after receiving several time extensions. With some of these disappointments, we sought out new contributors to fill their places. We had proposed a nineteen-chapter book but ended up with eighteen chapters due to withdrawals. However, the bright side of this edited volume is the diversity of scholars that contributed chapters to the book. Their dedication, hard work, and professionalism made this project a worthwhile venture. Elisha J. Dung, PhD Department of Advancement Studies Alabama State University Montgomery, Alabama Augustine Avwunudiogba, PhD Department of Anthropology, Geography and Ethnic Studies California State University Stanislaus, California

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 14

08-10-2021 11:26:38

Acknowledgments

An edited book of this nature has its challenges. The successful completion of this project would not have been possible without the efforts, contributions, and encouragement of several individuals. This is more so as we engaged on this project amid the COVID-19 pandemic that disrupted, and in some cases, paralyzed academic endeavors worldwide, posing severe challenges to everyone involved in this book project. First, we would like to extend our appreciation and gratitude to the contributors who delivered their completed manuscripts, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. We would also like to thank our acquisition editor, Ms. Shelby Russell, for her patience and dedication to seeing this project to fruition. We extend special thanks to our dear friend and colleague, Dr. Sabella O. Abidde, whose original idea paved the way for this volume. We also wish to thank Dr. Parichard Thornton, Chair, Department of Advancement Studies, Alabama State University (ASU), and our colleagues at the Department of Anthropology, Geography, and Ethnic Studies, California State University, Stanislaus (CSUS). Our gratitude also goes to Dr. Evelyn Hodge, Dean, University College, ASU, and Dr. James Tuedio, Dean, College of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, CSUS, for providing us with financial support to attend various conferences. The conferences enabled us to network with other scholars working on migration and human trafficking. Finally, this book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of our families and friends. Special thanks to Mrs. Angela S. Dung, Dr. Paul Erhunmwunsee, and the late Dr. Francis O. Odemerho. We appreciate their understanding and accommodation of our absence from family and social events to meet our writing commitments for this book.

xv

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 15

08-10-2021 11:26:38

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 16

08-10-2021 11:26:38

List of Abbreviations

ACSS AHTC AIDS ALEA APRIES ASEAN BM CanLII CATW CCP CDAs CEDAW

African Center for Strategic Studies Anti-Human Trafficking Clubs Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Africa Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery Association of Southeast Asia Nations Bandhan Mukti Canadian Legal Information Institute Coalition Against Trafficking in Women Chinese Communist Party Contagious Diseases Acts Convention on the Elimination of All Discrimination Against Women CIA Central Intelligence Agency CICESCT The Inter-institutional Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons CII Confederation of Indian Industry CO2 Carbon dioxide COVID-19 Coronavirus-19 CPC Child Protection Committee CRC Convention on the Rights of the Child CSE Commercial Sexual Exploitation CSE Commercially Sexually Exploited (CSE) CSEC Commercial Sexual Exploitation of a child CSPA Child Soldier Prevention Act CSPA Child Soldier Protection Act CSPA Child Soldiers Prevention Act xvii

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 17

08-10-2021 11:26:38

xviii

List of Abbreviations

CST DEIC DHS DMST DoJ DoS DRC DWCD DWD&SW

Child Sex Tourism Directorate for Criminal Investigation Department of Homeland Security Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking US Department of Justice US Department of State Democratic Republic of the Congo. Department of Women and Child Development Department of Women Development and Social Welfare (Government of WB) ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States ETIM East Turkestan Islamic Movement EU European Union FBI Federal Investigation Bureau GAATW Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women GAATW Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women GAO Government Accountability Office GGBK Goranbose Gram Bikas Kendra GLOTIP Global Report on Trafficking in Persons GSI Global Slavery Index HIS Homeland Security Investigations HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome HRBA Human Rights-Based Approach HTNCC Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre IAF International Abolitionist Federation ICAC Internet Crimes Against Children ICC International Criminal Court ICE U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements IDPs Internally Displaced Persons IGOs International Governmental Organizations IJM International Justice Mission ILO International Labor Organization INS Immigration and Naturalization Service INTERPOL International Criminal Police organization IOM International Organisation for Migration IPA Innovations for Poverty Action grant IPC Indian Penal Code IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IRPA Immigration and Refugee Protection Act

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 18

08-10-2021 11:26:38

List of Abbreviations

ISNA ITPA IWG TIP: KP LAC LAC MA MAINA MINUSTAH MOUs MVP NAP NCJRSO NCRB NCSL NGO NGOs NSHTPM NSWP NVA OBC OCTIP OPPAGA OSCE PCA PCMA PEMS POCSO PPP PRB PRC PTSD RCMP SAP SC SC SDG

xix

(Salvadoran) Institute for the Complete Childhood and Adolescent Development Immoral Traffic Prevention Act Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons Kanyashree Prakalpa Latin America and the Caribbean Latin America and the Caribbean Muktir Alo The Integrated Attention Model for Children and Adolescents The United Nations Mission for Stabilization in Haiti Memoranda of understanding Millennium Villages Project National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking National Criminal Justice Reference Service Office National Crime Records Bureau National Conference of State Legislatures Nongovernment Organization Nongovernmental Organizations National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month Global Network for Sex Workers Projects National Vigilance Association Other backward communities Office to Combat Trafficking in Persons The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability Organization for the Security and Cooperation in Europe Paris Climate Agreement Prohibition of Child Marriage Act Program to End Modern Slavery Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Public Private Partnerships Population Reference Bureau People’s Republic of China Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Royal Canadian Mounted Police Structural Adjustment Programme Scheduled Castes Scheduled Caste Sustainable Development Goals

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 19

08-10-2021 11:26:38

xx

List of Abbreviations

SDGs SDR SITA SOFAS SOPs ST ST StatsCan STD STI SV SVET

Sustainable Development Goals Sunderban Delta Region Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act Status of Forces Agreements Standard operating procedures Scheduled Tribal Scheduled Tribes Statistics Canada Sexually Transmitted Diseases Sexually Transmitted Infections Shakti Vahini Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking in Persons TIP Trafficking in Persons TIP Trafficking in Person Report TRP Temporary Resident Permit TVPA Trafficking Victims Protection Act UK United Kingdom UN United Nations UN. GIFT United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking UN United Nations UNGA United Nations General Assembly UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund/United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund UNIFEM United Nations Development Funds for Women UNITAR United Nations Institute for Training and Research UNODC The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNOTC United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime UNSC United Nations Security Council UNWTVPRA The United Nations William Willberforce Trafficking and Victimization Protection Reauthorization Act USA United States of America. U.S. United States USAID United State Agency for International Development U.S. DOJ United State Department of Justice U.S. DoS United States Department of State

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 20

08-10-2021 11:26:38

List of Abbreviations

USIAHT WASTTF WB WBCPCR XUAR 3Ps

xxi

US Institute Against Human Trafficking West Alabama Sex Trafficking Task Force West Bengal West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Prosecution, Protection and Prevention

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 21

08-10-2021 11:26:38

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 22

08-10-2021 11:26:38

Introduction Elisha J. Dung and Augustine Avwunudiogba

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 define Human Trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring 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” (Article 3, paragraph (a)). The U.S. Department of State and many nongovernmental and intergovernmental organizations consider human trafficking “modern slavery.” Although the number varies, it is believed that, worldwide, no less than twenty million people are being trafficked. These institutions and scholars around the world have noted that assessing the full scope of human trafficking is problematic because, in the first place, many governments do not know what to do with the victims and their perpetrators. Secondly, the perpetrators often do not cooperate for fear of the law. Third, many of the victims do not cooperate because of the stigma attached and, most importantly, the fear of retribution against them and their friends and family members. There is a tendency to think that human trafficking is a recent phenomenon. This is not the case despite fervent traditional media reporting or its sensationalism in social media. Human trafficking, records show, is as old as any troubling or insidious social issue and or sociological issue. Perhaps the only discernible difference is the scope, the complexity, and the dimension of its occurrence in the last decade. While many of the victims are women and children, available evidence suggests that an increasing number of victims are men (as child laborers and child soldiers in war and conflict zones). Many xxiii

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 23

08-10-2021 11:26:38

xxiv

Introduction

of the women are used as commercial sex workers (prostitutes). Others serve as sex slaves or are forced into arranged and abusive marriages. Moreover, an increasing number of victims are also trafficked for the sole purpose of harvesting their organs. This eighteen-chapter book investigates the nature, scope, and dimension of human trafficking from a multidisciplinary global perspective. This is done by examining the history, theories, spatial patterns, sociocultural, socioeconomic consequences, and legal ramifications of human trafficking worldwide. National and regional considerations are discussed. Conclusions and generalizations are sought, and comprehensive solutions are proffered. Consequently, in chapter 1, “globalizing forces and child trafficking,” Abu Mboka insists that many factors inform globalization-related problems such as human trafficking. The question, according to him, however, is whether campaigns against certain globalizing factors account for the diverse traditional, social, political, and economic practices that inform the trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual, political, economic, or labor exploitation. Abu emphasizes that the discussion of tradition, culture, and social interaction concerning globalization forms a critically important part of how cultures, traditions, and economic and political conditions of previolent conflicts inform the trafficking of children for the purposes of “child soldiers” during ensuing violent conflicts. In this respect, the author references the use of children in violent conflicts in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo and the subsequent international prosecutions as examples of how local traditions, cultures, and political conditions inform the trafficking of children. Similarly, using chronology and relevant historiography as a guiding principle, Ruth Ennis, in chapter 2, “Recalibrating Moral Compasses: A Global Conceptual History of Human Trafficking, 1870–2020,” provides a global conceptual summary of human trafficking in a broad discursive and legislative history of the past 150 years. On the one hand, the author argues that this historiography shows how the concept of “human trafficking” underwent a gradual linguistic transformation from “white slavery” since the 1870s in Europe. While on the other, it highlights how the concepts’ high degree of flexibility in meaning has, throughout history, enabled the legitimization of state power and the regulation of poverty/migration. Ruth argues that by homing in and out between different transnational and national developments, the context-specific adaptability of human trafficking is made transparent. Building on Adam McKeown’s idea that globalization is obsessed with its newness, it becomes more tangible how fears of an apparently ever-worsening problem are perpetually renewed by (state) organizations and the media. While at the same time, it becomes clearer how these discourses render their past of appropriation invisible, all the while trivializing

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 24

08-10-2021 11:26:39

Introduction

xxv

the historical brutalities of transatlantic and plantation slavery. In chapter 3, “Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women’s Bodies in India,” Rekha Pande examines and analyses the impact of globalization on trafficking. Rekha argues that globalization, the new form of capitalism, has encouraged the alarming spread of free mobility of capital, technology, goods, sex tourism, and commercial sexual exploitation, also known as the trafficking of women. Accordingly, she asserts that the three pillars of neoliberalism—privatization, liberalization, and restructuring—impact the daily lives of women, who have been pushed into free trade zones to work under exploitative conditions. Rehka maintains that in many states in India, such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Odhisa, and Assam, trafficking is prevalent at various levels—local, interdistricts, interstate, and cross-border. Here, she claims that interstate trafficking and cross-border trafficking mainly occur in contract marriages to the Middle East. Bob Spires points out in chapter 4, “Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking and Contemporary Theory,” how the burgeoning field of study on human trafficking and modern slavery has accompanied an exponential growth in anti-trafficking efforts, organizations, and discourse. He laments that despite vast amounts of money invested into anti-trafficking work, the phenomenon appears to be growing by all accounts. The author argues that the discourse surrounding the phenomenon has reached a deadlock, both practically and theoretically, as diverse interest groups, actors and stakeholders have become entrenched in ideologically driven explanations for, and approaches to, the realities of human trafficking. He claims that without theoretical concepts and tools that push us beyond the limitations of contemporary social science, we will continue to see the same ineffectual anti-trafficking efforts. The author provides several novel theoretical tools developed by contemporary thinkers that offer critical lenses for engaging with the deadlock in discourse and pathways for going beyond these deadlocks to understand the underlying causes of extreme exploitation like human trafficking. Since trafficking in persons is a crime, Veronika Bruey assesses to what extend law and policy in Canada prevent, protect survivors, and prosecute perpetrators of trafficking in persons. She does this in chapter 5, “Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada,” where she reports that Sections 279.01 and 279.011 of the Canadian Criminal Code 1985 criminalizes human trafficking with penalties of four to fourteen years imprisonment for trafficking adults and five to fourteen years imprisonment for trafficking children. Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2001 prohibits coming into Canada by means of abduction, fraud, deception or use of threat of force or coercion with penalties of up to $1,000,000 or life imprisonment, or to both. The author reports that the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2012–2016 consolidated the federal government's efforts to combat human trafficking and introduced

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 25

08-10-2021 11:26:39

xxvi

Introduction

new initiatives to prevent, protect survivors, and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking. Also, in 2018, Public Safety Canada led national consultations to direct the government’s approach toward ending human trafficking. More recently, the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 20192024 creates a comprehensive framework that focuses on the empowerment of survivors to help them regain independence. In the same vein, Aquila Mazzinghy, in chapter 6, “Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era: A Critical Legal Studies Approach to the Problem of Human Trafficking,” assesses how the theoretical foundations of Critical Legal Studies provide an emancipatory language of justice for trafficked women and young girls, who are brutalized and reduced to the category of commodities, sold in a commercial chain of sexual products to supply humans’ greed worldwide. The author analyzes human trafficking through the perspective of postmodernity and its main traits: globalization, social acceleration, society of consumers, and the exuberance of evil. He demonstrates how critical thinking may advance the understanding of practical aspects regarding trafficking in persons and help to promote women’s millennium development goals of equality, fairness, and inclusiveness. The International Sex Trade brings into play several different factors that span the academic and geopolitical community. Because this crime spans international boundaries and federal, state, and local boundaries, the need to draw a nexus between international, federal, and state policy mandates is necessary. Thus, in chapter 7, “The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem of Sex,” Robert O. White asserts that the unifying factor in the development of laws against the international sex trade has been the “colorline” or the race and ethnicity of the offender and the victim. Robert believes that not only does the sex trade have roots in a very critical time in the shaping of Western social consciousness regarding race, but it also brings to light the relationship between concerns of past and present aspects of foreign and domestic policy. The author discusses the relationship between American foreign and domestic policy toward international sex trade and traces the development of international and national policy toward sex trafficking and the impact that such policies have on local legal enforcement. In chapter 8, “Combating Global Trafficking in Persons: The Role of the United States Post-September 2001,” Emmanuel Obuah states that, in modern TIP, the preponderance of those trafficked are women and children. Traffickers, he warns, often prey on individuals who are poor, unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. He claims that human trafficking is characterized by a low price, no acknowledgment of legal ownership, high-profit potential; short-term relationship; disposability; ambiguity in operation; entrapment, and concealment through fraudulent contract. Emmanuel points out that the United States adopted a multipronged

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 26

08-10-2021 11:26:40

Introduction

xxvii

strategy involving government departments, agencies, and advocacy groups to deal with TIP and its problems at the domestic level. These, according to him, include public awareness programs to educate the public, training, and empowerment of law enforcement officials, provision of legal and health-care assistance to the victims. The Act authorized the U.S. president to create an Interagency Task Force to monitor and combat human trafficking globally. Moments of crisis like human tragedies and natural disasters are the most opportune time for the traffickers to strike and get their victims. The combined effects of climate change, shifts in river course, enclaves, and extreme poverty (which is invariably the feminization of poverty) in India’s South 24 Parganas region have been responsible for the high incidence of human trafficking in and from West Bengal. This assertion is made by Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy, who describes the situation in chapter 9, “The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking in the Sundarban Delta Region, India.” These authors investigate the interconnections and effects of climate change, human trafficking, and human rights. Their analysis is a case study of South 24 Parganas of West Bengal. This region encompasses the Sunderban Delta Region, a biodiverse-rich region which is unfortunately flawed and prone to natural disasters, making it a goldmine for human traffickers. The authors address some of the administrative and legal gaps in coping with human trafficking in the region. They focus on the essential policies, programs, and success stories of the West Bengal government in tackling the menace of human trafficking in the Sunderban Delta Region on the one hand and rescue, rehabilitation, and empowerment of the victims on the other. In chapter 10, “The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty and the Violation of Human Rights: An Examination of the Uyghurs and Human Trafficking in The People’s Republic of China,” Alecia D. Hoffman explores the role of the sovereignty and national security nexus of the People’s Republic of China and its intersection with the human rights and self-determination of the Uyghurs of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, located in Northwest China. Alecia reports that the current relationship between the ethnically and culturally distinct Uyghur population and the traditional Han Chinese is fraught with mistrust on both sides. Utilizing the seminal essay of Samuel P. Huntington, entitled “Clash of Civilizations?” as the theoretical paradigm, the author explores the China-Uyghur dynamic and employs the six elements that Huntington proffered in his 1993 essay to explain his thesis of the “clash.” In doing so, the author analyzes the “clash” from an intrastate viewpoint. The author approaches the dynamic from a critical lens and examines how cultural, economic, and political forces all equally play a role in the unfolding situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the PRC. Likewise, in chapter 11, “Voiceless Rohingya: From Refugee to Modern Slaves,” Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath provide the readers with a

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 27

08-10-2021 11:26:41

xxviii

Introduction

wide-ranging overview of how the forcible, displaced, and stateless Rohingyas are subjected to decade-long persecution and discrimination in Myanmar, with hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and are currently one of the extremely vulnerable to human trafficking. The authors report that more than a year into the crisis in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh), the number of Rohingya refugees has reached nearly one million, with young girls in Bangladesh refugee camps sold into forced labor accounting for the largest group of trafficking victims. In chapter 12, “Sex Trafficking of Girls: Focus on Latin America and the Caribbean,” Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon describe sex trafficking in Latin America and the Caribbean. The authors maintain that women and girls account for 80 percent of all persons trafficked in the subregion, with girls more often the victims of sexual exploitation. Through a sociological lens, the authors explain how socioeconomic inequality between classes, developed and underdeveloped nature of nations, power imbalances, oppression, sexism, racism, and classism all contribute to the sex trafficking of girls, to, from, and within the LAC region. Additionally, the authors connect the relationship between human trafficking and the role of the family by exploring the reasons for encouragement and effects on families when girls are trafficked. It is not an understatement to say that communication is crucial when it comes to human trafficking. In the light of this, Ivon Alcime documents and examines the stories of human trafficking victims in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. Ivon’s examination is in chapter 13, “Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions to Their Latin America and Caribbean Victims.” Here, Ivon compares stories of victims from LAC with other victims’ stories from around the world. The author demonstrates that the communication strategies traffickers use to lure their victims are very effective. Human trafficking does not occur in a vacuum. This is highlighted in chapter 14, “The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking: A Global Analysis,” by Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung. The authors maintain that Human trafficking is rooted in the human history of migration. The authors opine that the modern phenomenon of human trafficking is manifested in complex multi-level national and international formal and informal interactions. This complexity, they claim, poses significant challenges to identifying and appreciating the magnitude of human trafficking within the political, governmental, and public domains. They argue that amplifying this problem is the lack of systematic, consistent, available, and readily accessible data. The authors use geographic information systems (GIS) software to analyze and visualize the spatial distribution of the global pattern of human trafficking. The authors further explain the observed global pattern, focusing on spatial and temporal trends. They conclude by discussing the implications of the study’s findings to the formulation of national

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 28

08-10-2021 11:26:41

Introduction

xxix

and global policies and strategies to combat the problem of human trafficking. In chapter 15, “House Girls and House Boys: Domestic Servitude in Southern Nigeria, 1940–2020” Robin Chapdelaine explores the 1940s and 1950s newspaper reports, colonial archival materials, contemporary media reports of child domestic servant abuses, and a dozen interviews to explain how custodians acquired and treated house girls and house boys in Nigeria. In this regard, the author offers a reexamination of child laborers in domestic spheres, historically and in the current era, with an emphasis on continuities and discontinuities by analyzing personal relationships, expectations between the parents and the recipient of the child, and a house child ability to enact forms of agency when they challenge(ed) the authoritative power of their guardians. The author argues that this examination is essential because it shows that host house members, at times, “othered” house children, which often resulted in abuse—making the child’s subordinate and semi-human status legible to that child. Abu Mboka, in chapter 16, “Socioeconomic and Sociocultural Apprehension and Human Trafficking,” focuses on factors that drive cross-national border or international human trafficking into destination territories. He also examines the actors and factors that facilitate the trafficking of humans from sending communities to destination cities and the various entities that exploit the labor and services generated by human trafficking activities. The author’s discussions draw on how cross-border human trafficking is perceived as a source of economic and social superiority in sending countries, how it serves as a means of economic and social apprehension in destination countries, and how cross-national human trafficking informs sexual, economic, and criminal exploitation of trafficked persons and informs anti-human-trafficking activism. Furthermore, in chapter 17, “The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking,” Kizito N. C. Okeke discusses human trafficking as a multibillion dollar industry. Kizito describes human tracking as an incubator for both physical and mental illnesses. He opines that victims are already exposed to Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and should get clinical attention. The author utilizes the economic law of demand and supply in understanding the trafficking business within and across Africa and other continents. The author uses Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to explain how Africans who pursue basic needs and who want to satisfy their physical and psychological needs through migrations within and beyond Africa’s borders will remain vulnerable to human traffickers. The ancient indignity of human slavery has resurfaced in diverse forms, commonly known as human trafficking, claims Leonard S. Bombom, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and Chinedu J. Anyamele in chapter 18, “Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa.” According to the authors, the concept itself is uncomplicated, but its manifestation has become more complex. The authors contend that, for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 29

08-10-2021 11:26:42

xxx

Introduction

many years, a sophisticated network of human trafficking flows has emerged globally. They acknowledge that though many cases of human trafficking have followed regular international migration procedures, many others have breached international boundaries and protocols to accomplish this criminal enterprise. The authors, therefore, map the flow patterns of human trafficking that emanates between African countries from the African continent to other countries of the world and explores any discernible patterns in the network. Finally, Elisha J Dung and Augustine Avwunudiogba close the book with some concluding remarks describing human trafficking as a global problem that requires a local solution. The authors maintain that, an integral part of the solution to the phenomenon of human trafficking lies in the identification and finding solutions to local economic, cultural, political, environmental, and social problems that create vulnerable populations for human trafficking. Elisha and Augustine insist that, intractable as it may seem, the fight against human trafficking is a war that the world cannot afford to lose.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 30

08-10-2021 11:26:42

Part 1

THEORIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 1

08-10-2021 11:26:42

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 2

08-10-2021 11:26:42

Chapter 1

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking Abu K. Mboka

Globalization-related problems such as human trafficking is informed by many factors. The question, however, is whether campaigns against certain globalizing factors account for the diverse traditional, social, political, and economic practices that inform the trafficking of children for the purpose of sexual, political, economic, or labor exploitation. Obviously, the study of globalization and indeed human trafficking is an interdisciplinary examination of technologically aided social and economic interconnectivity and interdependency, cross-border crime and international criminal laws that directly or indirectly transcend national borders. It is also the study of factors that inform cross-border criminal behavior and the conduct associated with human trafficking-related phenomena like sex tourism and other illegal crossborder activities.1 The discussion of tradition, culture, and social interaction in relation to globalization forms a critically important part of how cultures, traditions, and economic and political conditions of pre-violent conflicts inform the trafficking of children for the purposes of “child soldiers” during ensuing violent conflicts. In this respect, this chapter references the use of children in violent conflicts in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo as well as the subsequent international prosecutions as examples of how local traditions, cultures, and political conditions inform the trafficking of children. The term “child soldier” covers a wide range of roles in which trafficked children are used during violent conflicts including as armed combatants, spies, cooks, porters, messengers and “wives” or victims of sexual exploitation. Although there is no exact figure of the number of child soldiers that have been victims of human trafficking, the United Nations estimates that 357 million child victims of conflict result in child trafficking.2 Both girls 3

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 3

08-10-2021 11:26:42

4

Abu K. Mboka

and boys are used as child soldiers, some as young as eight years old. Not all child soldiers or victims of human trafficking, however, are forcefully recruited because many become involved in armed conflict due to desperate circumstances. The most common reasons most children become child soldiers or victims of human trafficking include poverty, a poor sense of belonging, social pressure, lack of security, lack of educational and employment opportunities, or because they are displaced from their homes, separated from their families, expected by community or family members to actively participate, or because they believe that the armed group will offer them food or security. CHILD TRAFFICKING IN SIERRA LEONE AND THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO The study of globalization and child trafficking is an interdisciplinary examination of international criminal law that transcends national and internal borders either directly or indirectly, the rights of children, cross-border criminal behaviors and an examination of roles played by tradition and customs in the trafficking of children, especially during violent conflicts, for labor and or sexual military exploitation.3 In these respects, this section discusses factors that inform the trafficking and use of children in hostilities, the traditions and customs that govern the treatment and roles of children during hostilities, and the differences between local and international understanding of children and “use” of children in hostilities in an attempt to create a better understanding of how local traditions and customs inform the trafficking of children during violent conflicts like the most recent civil wars in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United Nations recently supported the successful prosecution of rebel leaders in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo for, among other crimes, enlisting children in their ranks and or using them in hostilities.4 Trial documents, however, show that these prosecutions failed to take into account contributions made by prewar traditions, customs, and economic conditions. Indeed, social conditions and realities of violent conflicts are drastically different in places like Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo from the realities painted in places where distinctions between a child and an adult are easy to ascertain and from where decisions are made about the roles of children, parents, and caregivers in times of armed violence. Consequently, discussion of child trafficking outside violent conflict environments disregards the local traditions that inform the determination of children’s ages and the traditional obligations that make it impossible for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 4

08-10-2021 11:26:42

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

5

local authorities to craft new socioeconomic and political roles for children to play during conflict is necessary. In particular, the enlistment or use of children under the age of 15 in hostilities, the effects of pre-conflict traditions that govern the treatment of children during violent conflict, the reality of conditions of war in remote areas, and the veracity of a child’s age in an isolated war environment. Indeed, it is important to note that children’s pre-conflict traditional functions generally include some of the very duties they performed during hostilities and for which armed groups have been successfully prosecuted. Hence knowledge about the effects of traditions and culture on factors like the violation of Article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo are important in the name of understanding conditions that lead to the trafficking of children during violent conflict. Article 8(2)(e)(vii) prohibits the enlistment or use of children in hostilities and thus provide context for the discussion of factors that inform the enlistment and use of children in hostile action and the pre-conflict traditions that govern the treatment and roles of children during peace and war time as well as the differences between local and international understanding of the “use” of children in hostility and the reality of war conditions. The International Criminal Court prosecuted Mr. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, the president, commander-in-chief, and political leader of the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo for using children under the age of 15 in hostilities. The Special Court for Sierra Leone prosecuted three high-ranking members of the Civil Defense Forces, Samuel Hinga Norman, Moinina Fofana, and Allieu Kondewa, also for enlisting, trafficking, or using children under the age of 15 in hostilities. Since the purpose of the prosecution is to end the trafficking of and use of children during conflict, the challenges associated with the roles children typically play in pre-conflict societies and questions about who a child is and who is an adult before and during violent conflict leave many questions unanswered. THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN AND CHILD TRAFFICKING DURING CONFLICTS Until recently children were universally viewed as property of their parents, in this case mainly fathers, that could be traded, bought, or destroyed.5 The universal campaign that changed that view of children and pushed for the recognition of the rights of children gained ground in the beginning of the 1920s during which the Save the Children founder, Eglantyne Jebb, drafted

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 5

08-10-2021 11:26:43

6

Abu K. Mboka

the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, also known as the “Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child.” The declaration does not specify the age at which a child becomes an adult, but it does state that a child must be given the requisite means for normal development, must be fed, nursed, helped, sheltered, and must be given relief in times of distress and protected against every form of exploitation. On November 26, 1924, Jebb’s declaration was adopted by the League of Nations General Assembly. In 1948, world leaders reaffirmed the right of the child through the creation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).6 Article 25(2) of the UDHR demands that all nations recognize, secure, respect, and promote the rights of all children to special care and assistance and social protection. These early efforts helped move the universal recognition of the rights of children forward in ways that culminated in the passage of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (DRC).7 Principle 7 of the DRC recognizes the rights of children to receive education, and Principle 9 declares that children “shall be protected against all forms of neglect, cruelty and exploitation.” The Declaration of the Rights of the Child went into force on September 2, 1990, during the same period that the Convention on the Rights of the Child, a much broader version of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, entered into force. Unlike the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Article 1 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1990) defines a child as “every human being below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child.”8 Article 32 of the Convention also states that States Parties to the convention shall respect and ensure the rights of children “to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.” Article 38 of the Convention demands that States Parties to the convention respect international humanitarian laws applicable to the protection of children in conflicts by ensuring that children under the age of 15 years “do not take a direct part in hostilities” and to respect likewise the laws applicable to the taking of all measures to protect children who are affected by an armed conflict. Collectively, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the documents that preceded it laid the foundation for Article 4(c) of the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court’s prohibition of the trafficking use of children in war. The Rome Statute was adopted on July 17, 1998, and entered into force on July 1, 2002. In part Article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute prohibits the enlistment of children under the age of 15 by armed forces or

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 6

08-10-2021 11:26:43

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

7

groups and forbids the use of children to “participate actively in hostilities.” Article 4(c) of the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone also authorizes the court to prosecute persons who have committed the serious violation of international humanitarian law by “conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities.”9 Critical to these interpretations is the fact that the point at which a child legally transitions from childhood to adulthood is set by the international community at age 18, but the concept of age as a predictor of what duty a person performs in time of violent conflict is relatively foreign in many places outside the European countries or places in North America like the provinces of Sierra Leone and indeed the Democratic Republic of Congo. A “western-centric definition and construction of ‘child’ and ‘childhood’ ”10 clearly conflicts with the traditional definition of a child in villages and towns that often become the operational headquarters of armed groups during violent conflicts. Further, existing laws pertaining to the treatment of children during war do not specify who will care for children when settlements are attacked or taken over by enemy forces. Both the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Rome Statute also fail to distinguish between the traditionally acceptable use of children from the use of children to perform active combat roles. Together, these inadequacies constrain the ability of armed groups to comply with relevant provisions of the Rome Statute and the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone or to avoid the breach of the prohibition on child trafficking. These shortcomings are made possible by the fact that although globalization invokes a notion of a sense diversity hence the notion of global village, it advances Western interpretation of events. Differentiating Children from Adults Compliance with Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statue is less practical in remote regions of the world than it is in places where (1) birth registration automatically takes place or an enforceable birth registration policy exists for every newborn, (2) efficient public systems are in place for rapid age verification, (3) social services are available to protect children during violent conflict, and more importantly, (4) where age serves as a primary indicator of who does what during peace time and violent conflict. In developed places like Europe and North America, the practicality of Article 8 is easily envisioned and reinforced by the presence of well-established and well-kept ways of ascertaining a person’s age. Governments in these regions have wellestablished and organized systems in place to track children’s ages from the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 7

08-10-2021 11:26:43

8

Abu K. Mboka

moment they are born until death. However, it is not the same case in rural settlements in particularly Africa and Asia where armed groups tend to establish their operations and where different factors determine who is an adult and who qualifies as a child. Understanding of cultural and socioeconomic differences that exist between local-level construction of who is a child and international interpretations of childhood status is crucial to the understanding of why armed group trafficked and utilize children. Prior to the Sierra Leone war, for example, there was no standardized form of identification to use as a basis for distinguishing old from young on the grounds of date of birth. The majority of people in the country at the time, and even now, did not have or had no means of having any form of identification. Thus, there was no way to determine who was a child and what functions a child could and must perform. Decisions regarding such matters were dictated by physiological appearance or verbal expression of desire to partake in tasks generally reserved for those who were considered adults, of course depending on the children’s physical characteristics. In rural Sierra Leone, people’s view of children’s communal and traditional roles during peace and war time are informed by well-established customs and traditions that use physical appearance and strength as markers of age. What’s more, age is not a factor in many social and political encounters. Hence, the level of pain one can demonstratively tolerates, including pain associated with taking up arms in defense of one’s own life, beliefs, traditions, and lands, is dictated by each child’s physiological appearance and physical abilities. This tradition is well illustrated by the old West African proverb, made famous by Chinua Achebe’s novel Things Fall Apart, that children who wash their hands well have the right to eat with their elders from the same bowls.11 The tradition of using physiological appearance to determine childhood or adult status is reinforced by the fact that for centuries the majority of births have taken place in private homes, and in a few cases in community health clinics, with no system in place for birth registration or data collection to determine date of birth by a mother’s simply signing a declaration of name and age. As a result, no institution knows the precise age of children, and there is no established or centralized way to distinguish between a 14- and 15-year-old. Furthermore, even if age is easily ascertainable, compliance with the Rome Statute under conditions of war would place children at a greater risk of harm because in reality bush warfare does not distinguish between children that are deemed capable of firing weapons or executing war-related tasks from adults. That is, abandoning children in towns and villages under enemy attack to avoid using them in hostilities,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 8

08-10-2021 11:26:43

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

9

and the harsh reality of war conditions, are bound to lead to torturous death and pain. Rural Conditions of Hostility The mindsets that logically informed the crafting of Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) of the Rome Statues and the corresponding article of the Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone are guided by an understanding of violent conflicts that evolved out of the narratives formulated by news media, government, and non-profit organizations to explain violent conflicts in remote parts of the world like Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Given that those institutions compile their information outside the local context and environments of war, the tendency to misinterpret the use of children in hostilities could be very high, at least due to those institutions’ reliance on criteria void of the realities of local social and economic conditions that dictate the kinds of decisions that are made about the use of children during conflict. The potential for international understanding of local conflict to be predicated on situations and circumstances that are more aligned with conventional warfare where uniformed forces fight each other with third party actors in between looking after the welfare of children is obviously logical. However, like most conflicts that take place in regions like Africa South of the Sahara, the violence in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo played out in an extremely poor socioeconomic environment that had no basic social services or security. Armed groups were forced to deal with children residing within their controlled territories, children who were not easily accessible or officially affiliated with any local or international institution, and children who had no parents or anyone to provide them with any sort of protection. The conflict also lasted for years, which meant thousands of children grew up in areas controlled by armed groups and in environments where warfare was the only normal business people transacted, and the knowledge of warfare was the only visible and immediate means of defending one’s existence, family members, and community. Thus, children who found themselves in those territories had no choice but to participate in the conflict, and warlords who head the operation in Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo in hostility may not have had other traditionally acceptable options beyond the use or absorption of those children into their ranks. In the mix of conflict even in situations where resources exist, social institutions providing the resources to protect children often become the first casualty, leaving children with two options: join the armed group and gain

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 9

08-10-2021 11:26:44

10

Abu K. Mboka

some access to food, shelter, and protection or refuse and face the risk of getting killed by the forces of nature or enemy hostility. In this case, local traditions would dictate that if the situation were such that compliance with Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) would significantly compromise the safety of children, and violation of the law would at least provide some measure of protection and benefits for children caught up in conflicts, then the latter is logically better than the former. That is, the trafficking of children during violent conflicts are in some cases unavoidable. The question, however, is whether or not the justification to traffic legitimizes the use of children in the perpetuation of violence. Use of Children in Hostility One of the focuses of this chapter is how social realities of war in remote environments and prevailing local traditions may inspire the violation of Article 8 of the Rome Statute, which prohibits the act of trafficking and “conscripting or enlisting children under the age of fifteen years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities” (Article8(2)(e) (vii)). The premise is that the types of tasks children are expected and permitted to perform in rural areas where most civil war activities take place are dictated by specific cultural norms and traditions. Therefore, the use of children in hostilities can be influenced by traditionally accepted uses of children to perform labor-intensive tasks like mining and farming as well as domestic assignments including carrying loads, guarding property, and acting as messengers. Hence, the prosecution of alleged violations of Article 8 or anti-child trafficking activism ought to take those local customs and traditions into account. The use of children in the performance of war-related tasks can be guided by the desire to save one’s own life from the hands of enemy forces, starvation, and physiological pain. The alternative to participation in hostilities is flight or abandonment, both of which increase a child’s chances of being captured and treated as an enemy combatant or being deserted with no social protection and left instead with a high likelihood of dying from hunger, disease, or mental torment.

THE PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKED CHILDREN DURING WAR The International Criminal Justice System has successfully tried and convicted leaders of key armed groups in Sierra Leone12 and former heads of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 10

08-10-2021 11:26:44

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

11

the Union of Congolese Patriots like Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.13 Mr. Lubanga Dyilo was the president, the commander-in-chief, as well as the political leader of the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC). He was convicted on March 12, 2012, and sentenced on July 10, 2012, for “enlisting and conscripting children under the age of 15 years” into the Patriotic Force for the Liberation of Congo (FPLC) and for using children to “participate actively in hostilities” in violation of article 8(2)(e)(vii) of the Rome Statute. During Mr. Lubanga Dyilo’s trial, the International Criminal Court interpreted the use of children “to participate actively in hostilities” to mean the use of children to perform even domestic tasks like those of cooks, carriers, or messengers, which in peacetime are traditionally reserved for children. During the trials, the defense counter-argued that “actively participating in hostilities” should be interpreted as being synonymous with “direct participation,” meaning “acts of war which by their nature or purpose are likely to cause actual harm to the personnel and equipment of the enemy armed forces” (p. 268). The defense further argued that the Rome Statute does not provide a “basis for extending the concept of ‘actively participating’ to cover all activities other than fighting with an indirect link to the hostilities” (1746, p. 269).14 However, although the trial court acknowledged the failure of statutes to define the act of conscripting, and enlisting, a child under the age of 15, or what constituted “using them to participate actively in hostilities,” it held that the “use of children to participate actively in hostilities is not restricted to children directly involved in combat.” The court opined that “an armed force requires logistical support to maintain its operations. Any labor or support that gives effect to, or helps maintain, operations in a conflict constitutes active participation” (1798 p. 285). In this regard, using children to carry loads, find and/or acquire food, carry messages, make trails, or find routes means “active participation as much as actual fighting and combat.”15 Consequently, the International Criminal Court defines the concept of “using” children to participate actively in hostilities as meaning the use of children in “functions other than as front-line troops (participation in combat), and any participation that serves as ‘an essential support function’ to an armed force” (Trial chamber 626, 627). The International Criminal Court further held that the Rome Statute protects vulnerable children even when they lack alternative means of protection.16 The court goes on to say that “the consent of a child to his or her recruitment does not provide an accused with a valid defense.”17 Given that dire conditions of civil war in places like Sierra Leone and Democratic Republic of Congo make it hard to comply with the demands of Article 8, the court’s conclusions seem to rely more on the international understanding of conditions of civil war rather than the reality of war and the cultural norms

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 11

08-10-2021 11:26:44

12

Abu K. Mboka

that inform the use of children both in time of peace and war, as well as the grave consequences of abandoning children. In case of Sierra Leone, specifically the case of Prosecutor v. Sam Hinga Norman, the Special Court for Sierra Leone argued that Article 38 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 forbids children from taking “direct part in hostilities” and urges states actors to “refrain from recruiting any person who has not attained the age of fifteen years into their armed forces” and also demands that states “take all feasible measures to ensure the protection and care of children who are affected by an armed conflict.”18 Based on these developments, the Special Court for Sierra Leone held “that by August 1996 there was a universal acceptance that child recruitment was a criminal offense”; thus, an “existing customary international law” was already in force.19 Whether the Special Court for Sierra Leone holding is fair or not, Justice Robertson argues in the case of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Prosecutor v. Sam Hinga Norman that there “may be a distinction between the enlistment of child volunteers into a ‘force only for non-combatant tasks, behind the frontlines’ ”20 and forceful recruitment of children to actively participate in conflict. In his dissenting opinion, Justice Geoffrey Robertson further argues that the Special Court for Sierra Leone’s interpretation of the meaning of “use in conflict” is not consistent with the meaning advanced “at the preparatory conference before the Rome Treaty,” where it was agreed that the crime of using children in hostilities would “not cover activities clearly unrelated to the hostilities such as food deliveries to an airbase or the use as domestic staff” (2004, p. 7420).21 It is imperative to note that Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi)’s prohibition traps the welfare of trafficked children between two dangerous and consequential realities: leave behind children under the age of 15 in deserted settlements, even during a strategic relocation or retreat by armed groups, or use children in hostilities, as a way, among other things, of teaching them skills that they would ultimately be expected to demonstrate when they come face-to-face with the reality of conflict at age 15. It is, however, obvious that abandonment is inconsistent with local traditions and would place children in even greater danger, including the threat of starvation, lack of protection and the possibility of being executed at the hands of enemy forces. The tradition of caring for children and exposing children to tasks generally reserved for adults in preparation of taking on adult responsibilities is an old one. It is, therefore, problematic to expect that people would suddenly stop executing such communal obligations at a time when children have no organized means of support. Furthermore, the choice of deserting children in compliance with Article 8(2)(b)(xxvi) means leaving them at the mercy of enemy forces and blatantly violating local traditions and obligations that

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 12

08-10-2021 11:26:45

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

13

require adults and caregivers to protect children from danger. Compliance would also lead to a gross violation of traditions that demand adults, parents, and guardians to keep children within their physical control and to teach them the art of daily survival in preparation of adulthood, which in this case means the eventual task of defending themselves against enemy attacks as soon as they develop the physiological characteristics that are traditionally associated with adulthood. VIOLENT CULTURAL BELIEFS AND PRACTICES There is no society without shared cultures, and there is no society without shared violent cultures. In fact, the existence of shared cultures also means the presence of violent cultures that reward certain violent acts as objects of collective entertainment. For instance, public executions are still custom of public entertainment in some societies. Wars are also still glamorized in certain societies, just as suicide bombings are glorified in others. These shared cultures of violence are sustained by beliefs and practices that socially reward acts of violence through public recognition and celebration of the lives of those who carry out such acts of violence. Through those social interactions, societies create public spaces that encourage members to view shared violent acts as competitive sports whereby those who carry out the most devastating acts of violence receive the highest public approval. In terms of how shared beliefs and practices may inform the recruitment and trafficking of children during violent conflicts, the role the Poro society played during the civil war in Sierra Leone is a good example. To older Poro members, the name Poro refers to the “ancient and sacred laws” of their forefathers.22 In contemporary terms or to younger members, the name Poro is synonymous with the word medicine, which in this case means “occult medicines” or “devil.” Such occult medicines include masquerades or any entity that impersonates spiritual forces. However, the consensus among all Poro members, non-Poro members, and even among Western social scientists is that the society has for centuries demonstrated an active presence in particularly Sierra Leone and Liberia. To date the society is also known for exercising power over political matters, particularly in Sierra Leone. Such manifestations of power are evident in the society’s 1992–2002 display of force and demonstration of the capability to create collective resistance, to dominate every aspect of local lives, and to shape contemporary political outcomes in the name of Civil Defense Force. Poro society-related topics have produced many scholarly works and reports since early European explorers made contact with the West Coast of Africa in the seventeenth century.23 In 1668, for instance, one of the earlier

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 13

08-10-2021 11:26:45

14

Abu K. Mboka

European visitors to the area, a Dutchman named O. Dapper described the Poro society as Belli when talking about the “tribal manners and customs” of the inhabitants of the Guinea Coast. Dapper went on to write extensively about the society’s functions and its presence or spread in the coastal territory of Sierra Leone.24 In the early to mid-twentieth century, the Poro society also enjoyed a significant amount of attention from Western politicians and social scientists. These broad Western political and anthropological interests in the society produced many academic writings on the society’s history, structure, initiation process, powers, and functions. The poro society continues to exercise a wide range of control over legal, cultural, political, religious, socioeconomic, educational, and military matters, and to exercise regulatory power over moral code of conducts.25 The society also serve as the official custodian of bush medicine and the link between the dead and the living. During the Sierra Leone civil war, the founder of the Kamajor movement or Civil Defense Forces tapped into the shared beliefs and practices of the Poro society by simply referring to their members as Kamajoisia or Kamajors. One of the mysteries that has kept the Poro society in control of many local matters in Sierra Leone is the fact that the limits of the society’s powers and functions are hard to delineate. The shared knowledge, however, is that the society has the capacity to mobilize its men around common goals, including wars and political resistance, with very short notice. Beyond the power to declare war, the Poro society also enjoys broad jurisdiction over all matters that affect local and national affairs. This jurisdiction includes the power to arbitrate local conflicts including wars, to impose restrictions on certain behaviors like physical fights and farming, and to create its own tribunals whose authority takes “precedence over other authorities.”26 In the past 100 years, the Poro society has been repeatedly used by local and national political actors to wage war and to carry out armed resistance and political violence. In the colonial era, for example, the Poro society mounted tenacious egalitarian resistance to colonial policies at the end of the nineteenth century and in the mid-twentieth century. The Poro society promoted through its participation in the Hut Tax war of 1898, the civil uprising against local chiefs of 1956–1957, the students’ demonstration of 1977, and the post-1982 general election skirmishes or Ndogbuwusu war and during the 1992–2002 civil war. In both periods, as well as in contemporary times, such resistance always unfolded in the form of a response to unfavorable political outcomes like unwelcome election results. The methods of resistance or responses to unstable political outcomes also historically favored violent means, whereby Poro members collectively took up arms against people in political office or against the government. Generally, once a Poro-aided or initiated violent confrontation came to an end, the Poro society reverted to its

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 14

08-10-2021 11:26:45

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

15

traditional role of graduating boys into adulthood through elaborate initiation processes and cultural celebrations. The name Kamajor means “revered Mende hunter.” This title, one of the most distinguished Poro designations, denotes a specialized strength in the use of firearms and a demonstrated ability in occult medicine. Kamajors are also known for using their occult powers to defeat forces that threaten them or the communities they represent.27 As a result, the title is bestowed upon only Poro members who gain years of Poro socialization and who demonstrate a wide range of knowledge about bush life. The use of the name “Kamajor” by founders of the Civil Defense Forces (CDF) tapped into this shared belief in mystical forces by creating one of the most formidable armed groups during the 1992–2002 civil war and during which the CDF recklessly recruited and trafficked children in the name of the Poro society by simply referring to its forces as member of the Poro society and by using the Poro initiation process to graduate boys as young as eight years old from Kamajor military camps. By invoking Poro traditions, the CDF legitimized the use of its initiates, including children, to carryout violent acts.28 VULNERABILITY TO CHILD TRAFFICKING DURING VIOLENT CONFLICT Several factors highlight apparent weaknesses in Article 8 of the Rome Statute and further raise questions about the fight against the trafficking and use of children during hostilities or the use of children in hostilities during violent conflict by armed groups operating in remote towns and villages in poor regions of the world. First, the Rome Statute, and indeed anti-child trafficking and use during violent conflict does not recognize the fact that war in remote areas specifically creates appalling and abhorrent conditions for children. Unquestionably, the conditions get worse for abandoned children who are completely inaccessible to local and international organizations and who lack basic protection. Third, issue about how children should be treated by parents, guardians, or adults in peacetime and during violent conflict, for example, can be seen differently by people outside the locality from those that have been celebrating the same behavior for centuries. This is the case with Poro initiation practices in Sierra Leone, in which for centuries nationals proudly and fondly participated prior to reaching age 10 as a rite of passage.29 Indeed, almost a decade after the first conviction for the broad use of children in hostilities by the Special Court for Sierra Leone, “the U.S. Department of Labor concluded that one out of five sub-Saharan children

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 15

08-10-2021 11:26:46

16

Abu K. Mboka

are working under difficult if not squalid conditions.”30 The report further notes that child labor is prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa, citing Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria as examples. According to the report, the main reasons behind child labor in these places are that people are poor and “cannot afford” to hire adult laborers, which is why they rely “on the work of their kids.” Farmers take their children along with them to the plantations and miners bring them to mining grounds to perform backbreaking labor often in hazardous and abominable conditions.31 During conflict, armed groups generally assume the same traditional roles when a child’s “family unit has been fragmented or destroyed completely in the chaos and confusion of war.”32 Children in these sorts of environments become more vulnerable because their parents (mostly the male) are either engaged in fighting the war or have fallen victim to it, leaving children behind without a caregiver. Many of the children who voluntarily join armed groups “have no strong members to rely on in the fog of conflict, are orphans, or children who have been internally displaced” with minimal to no social security and are living a life “in constant peril from hunger, disease, abuse and death” and looking for any means to escape the poverty and to remove themselves from their perilous ground made worse by insecurity and endemic conflict.33 CONCLUSION No doubt, history is replete with examples of armed groups trafficking and using children in hostilities, starting back in the Middle Ages, to act as spies, lookouts, messengers, and students of the art of conflict.34 Unquestionably, however, things have changed around the world; therefore, those who have dragooned, enticed, and seduced children “into taking up arms and effectively sacrificing their innocence in the name of this or that motivation, deserved to be deterred and punished for their appalling and abhorrent acts.”35 At the same time, those children whose behaviors are motivated by the common desire to prepare for the future soon learn how to navigate the war terrain in which they are born and in some cases are destined to grow up and live in for a significant amount of their lives. To protect children from some of the harsh conditions of bush war deserve to be treated with the understanding that the appalling and abhorrent act of trafficking and using children in conflict roles poses just as much danger to children as abandoning them in fear of violating anti-child trafficking laws. The danger is especially eminent for children who are old enough to be mistaken as an enemy.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 16

08-10-2021 11:26:46

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

17

Since future conflicts are “much more likely to be confined within the borders of a sovereign state, and to involve sub-state actors or non-governmental entities,”36 anti-child trafficking campaigns are developed, and the decision to criminalize the broad use of children in hostilities are made in and is generally enforced from Geneva, Paris, New York, and London, often without much regard for the reality of events that take place in the remote villages and towns outside the control of state actors, questions will continue to be raised about how to end the trafficking and use of children during violent conflict. NOTES 1. Bales, K. and R. Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009. See also; Gallagher, A. T. The International Law of Human Trafficking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010; Joel, Q. The Anti-Slavery Project: From the Slave Trade to Human Trafficking. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc., 2011; Alicia, W. P. Responding to Human Trafficking: Sex, Gender, and Culture in the Law. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc. 2015; Shin, Yoon J. A Transnational Human Rights Approach to Human Trafficking: Empowering the Powerless. Boston: Brill | Nijhoff 2017; Virginia, M. K. and T. M. Funk. Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining Global Enforcement and Supply Chain Challenges and U.S. Responses. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2017. 2. Plett, M. Plight of the Child Soldier: Facts, Foundations and How to Help. Word Vision, 2020. Available at: https://www​.worldvision​.ca/. 3. Ibid. Bales, K. and R. Soodalter (2009); Se also; Gallagher, A. T. (2010); Joel, Q. (2011); Alicia, W. P. (2015); Shin, Yoon J. (2017); Virginia, M. K. and T. M. Funk (2017). 4. Jorda, C., A. Kuenyehia, et al. (2006). See also; Francis, D. J. (2007). “‘Paper Protection’ Mechanisms: Child Soldiers and the International Protection of Children in Africa’s Conflict Zones.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 45(2): 207–231; Fulford, A., E. O. Benito, et al. (2012). Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Case of the Prosecutor V. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. At The Hague, The Netherlands, International Criminal Court. ICC-01/04-01/06, Trial Chamber I; Lussick, R., T. Doherty, et al. (2012). Summary Judgment: Prosecutor v. Charles Ghankay Taylor, Special Court for Sierra Leone, Trial Chamber II. SCSL-03-1-T; Curran, V. G. From Nuremberg to Freetown: Historical Antecedents of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Special Court and Its Legacy: The Impact for Africa and International Criminal Law. C. C. Jalloh. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 5. Faulkner, F. “Kindergarten Killers: Morality, Murder and the Child Soldier Problem.” Third World Quarterly 22, no. 4 (2001): 491–504. See also, Shahidullah, S. M. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2014.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 17

08-10-2021 11:26:46

18

Abu K. Mboka

6. UDHR “Universal Declaration of Human Rights, G.A. res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71 “, 1948. 7. DRC. Declaration of the Rights of the Child. U.N. G.A. res. 1386 (XIV), 14 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 19, U.N. Doc. A/4354, 1959. 8. Convention on the Rights of the Child, entered into force September 2, 1990, in accordance with article 49. Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989. 9. SCSL. Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Article 4, Other serious violations of international humanitarian law, 2002. 10. Francis, D. J. “‘Paper Protection’ Mechanisms: Child Soldiers and the International Protection of Children in Africa’s Conflict Zones.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 45 no. 2 (2007): 207–231. 11. Achebe, C. Things Fall Apart. New York: Astor-Honor, 1959. 12. Lussick, R., T. Doherty, et al. Summary Judgment: Prosecutor v. Charles Ghankay Taylor, Special Court for Sierra Leone. Trial Chamber II. SCSL-031-T., 2012. 13. Fulford, A., E. O. Benito, et al. “Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Case of the Prosecutor V. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo. At The Hague, The Netherlands, International Criminal Court. ICC-01/04-01/06, Trial Chamber I, 2012. 14. The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, International Criminal Court, 2012. 15. Ibd. 16. Ibd. Fulford, A., E. O. Benito, et al. (2012). 17. Ibd. 18. Convention on the Rights of the Child, entered into force September 2, 1990, in accordance with article 49. Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989. 19. SCSL 2004-14-AR72(E), Special Court for Sierra Leone, 2004. 20. SCSL. “Special Court for Sierra Leone: Prosecutor V. Sam Hinga.” American Society of International Law 43, no. 5 (2004): 1129–1165. 21. Ibd. 22. Wright, A. R. “Secret Societies and Fetishism in Sierra Leone.” Folklore 18, no. 4 (1907): 423–427. 23. Brown, G. W. “The Poro in Modern Business: A Preliminary Report of Field Work.” Man 37 (1937): 8–9. See also; Little, K. “The Political Function of the Poro. Part I.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 35, no. 4 (1965): 349–365; Welmers, W. E. “Secret Medicines, Magic, and Rites of the Kpelle Tribe in Liberia.” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 5, no. 3 (1949): 208–243; Wright, A. R. “Secret Societies and Fetishism in Sierra Leone.” Folklore 18, no. 4 (1907): 423–427. 24. Little, K. “The Political Function of the Poro. Part I.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 35, no. 4 (1965): 349–365. 25. Ibd. Brown, G. W., 1937. See also, Ibid. Welmers, W. E., 1949; Ibid. Little, K., 1965. 26. Ibd. Little, K. 1965. See also, Fanthorpe, R. “Sierra Leone: The Influence of the Secret Societies, With Special Reference to Female Genital Mutilation”, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Status Determination and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 18

08-10-2021 11:26:47

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

19

Protection Information Section (DIPS),” from http:​/​/www​​.unhc​​r​.org​​/refw​​orld/​​pdfid​​ /46ce​​​e3152​​.pdf (2007, August 2007). 27. Ferme, M. C. and D. Hoffman. “Hunter Militias and the International Human Rights Discourse in Sierra Leone and Beyond.” Africa Today 50, no. 4 (2004): 73–95. See also, Hoffman, D. “The Meaning of a Militia: Understanding the Civil Defence Forces of Sierra Leone.” African Affairs 106, no. 425 (2007): 639–662. 28. Ibid. See also, Ibid. Hoffman, D., 2007. 29. SamForay, A. M. “Sierra Leone should not abandon Special Court detainees.” The Patriotic Vanguard. Freetown: The Patriotic Vanguard, 2010. 30. Young, J. Sub-Saharan Africa’s Dependence on Child Labor Affects Development, 2016. Available at Sub-Saharan Africa’s Dependence on Child Labor Affects Development | Voice of America - English (voanews​.c​om). 31. Ibid. 32. Faulkner, F. “Kindergarten Killers: Morality, Murder and the Child Soldier Problem.” Third World Quarterly 22, no. 4 (2001): 491–504. 33. Ibd. 34. Ibd. 35. Ibd. 36. Ibd.

REFERENCES Achebe, C. Things Fall Apart. New York: Astor-Honor, 1959. Alicia, W. P. Responding to Human Trafficking: Sex, Gender, and Culture in the Law. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc., 2015. Bales, K. and R. Soodalter. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2009. Brown, G. W. “The Poro in Modern Business: A Preliminary Report of Field Work.” Man 37 (1937): 8–9. Convention on the Rights of the Child, entered into force September 2, 1990, in accordance with article 49. Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989. Curran, V. G. From Nuremberg to Freetown: Historical Antecedents of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Special Court and Its Legacy: The Impact for Africa and International Criminal Law. C. C. Jalloh. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015. DRC Declaration of the Rights of the Child. U.N. G.A. res. 1386 (XIV), 14 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 19, U.N. Doc. A/4354, 1959. Fanthorpe, R. “Sierra Leone: The Influence of the Secret Societies, With Special Reference to Female Genital Mutilation, a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, August 2007. Status Determination and Protection Information Section (DIPS).” from http:​/​/www​​.unhc​​r​.org​​/refw​​orld/​​pdfid​​/46ce​​e3​ 152​​.pdf.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 19

08-10-2021 11:26:47

20

Abu K. Mboka

Faulkner, F. “Kindergarten Killers: Morality, Murder and the Child Soldier Problem.” Third World Quarterly 22, no. 4 (2001): 491–504. Ferme, M. C. and D. Hoffman. “Hunter Militias and the International Human Rights Discourse in Sierra Leone and Beyond.” Africa Today 50, no. 4 (2004): 73–95. Francis, D. J. “‘Paper Protection’ Mechanisms: Child Soldiers and the International Protection of Children in Africa’s Conflict Zones.” The Journal of Modern African Studies 45, no. 2 (2007): 207–231. Fulford, A., E. O. Benito, et al. “Situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Case of the Prosecutor V. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.” At The Hague, The Netherlands, International Criminal Court, 2012. ICC-01/04-01/06, Trial Chamber I. Gallagher, A. T. The International Law of Human Trafficking. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Hoffman, D. “The Meaning of a Militia: Understanding the Civil Defence Forces of Sierra Leone.” African Affairs 106, no. 425 (2007): 639–662. Joel, Q. The Anti-Slavery Project: From the Slave Trade to Human Trafficking. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, Inc., 2011. Jorda, C., A. Kuenyehia, et al. “The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo.” At The Hague, The Netherlands, International Criminal Court, 2006. ICC-01/04-01/06, Pre-Trial Chamber I. Little, K. “The Political Function of the Poro. Part I.” Africa: Journal of the International African Institute 35, no. 4 (1965): 349–365. Lussick, R., T. Doherty, et al. “Summary Judgment: Prosecutor v. Charles Ghankay Taylor.” Special Court for Sierra Leone, Trial Chamber II. SCSL-03-1-T., 2012. Plett, M. Plight of the Child Soldier: Facts, Foundations and How to Help. Word Vision, 2020. Available at: https://www​.worldvision​.ca/. SamForay, A. M. Sierra Leone should not abandon Special Court detainees. Freetown: The Patriotic Vanguard, 2010. SCSL. Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. Article 4, Other serious violations of international humanitarian law, 2002. SCSL. “Special Court for Sierra Leone: Prosecutor V. Sam Hinga.” American Society of International Law 43, no. 5 (2004): 1129–1165. SCSL 2004-14-AR72(E), Special Court for Sierra Leone, 2004. Shahidullah, S. M. Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. Burlington: Jones and Bartlett Learning, 2014. Shin, Yoon J. A Transnational Human Rights Approach to Human Trafficking: Empowering the Powerless. Boston: Brill | Nijhoff, 2017. The Prosecutor v. Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, International Criminal Court, 2012. UDHR. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948. G.A. res. 217A (III), U.N. Doc A/810 at 71. “ 1948. Virginia, M. K. and T. M. Funk. Child Exploitation and Trafficking: Examining Global Enforcement and Supply Chain Challenges and U.S. Responses. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2017. Welmers, W. E. “Secret Medicines, Magic, and Rites of the Kpelle Tribe in Liberia.” Southwestern Journal of Anthropology 5, no. 3 (1949): 208–243.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 20

08-10-2021 11:26:47

Globalizing Forces and Child Trafficking

21

Wright, A. R. “Secret Societies and Fetishism in Sierra Leone.” Folklore 18, no. 4 (1907): 423–427. Young, J. “Sub-Saharan Africa’s Dependence on Child Labor Affects Development.” VOAnews​.co​m, March 28, 2016. https​:/​/ww​​w​.voa​​news.​​com​/a​​frica​​/sub-​​sahar​​an​-af​​ ricas​​-depe​​ndenc​​e​-chi​​ld​-la​​bor​-a​​f​fect​​s​-dev​​elopm​​ent.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 21

08-10-2021 11:26:47

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 22

08-10-2021 11:26:47

Chapter 2

Recalibrating Moral Compasses A Global Conceptual History of Human Trafficking, 1870–2020 Ruth Ennis

Having first grown out of metaphorical use of the term “white slavery” in 1870, the concept of human trafficking emerged incrementally in Western Europe toward the end of the nineteenth century. Taking on the form of a new cultural narrative about illicit migration for the sale of sex, “white slavery” reflected far more about the fears of the masses and the concerns of state powers than it did about the real-life experiences, challenges, decisions, and choices of those in poverty who migrated, sold sex, or helped facilitate the one or the other.1 While there is still much-needed work in exploring the material worlds of historical actors whom (state) institutions have categorized, should we simply follow a discursive and legislative history, we see how the concept of “white slavery” made a gradual linguistic transformation to “human trafficking” in the twentieth century. More poignantly, however, we also learn how this concept has, since the beginning, always maintained a high degree of flexibility in its meaning, which continually enabled the legitimization of state power and the regulation of poverty/migration. By providing a broad overview of these (trans-)national developments over the past 150 years, this chapter tries to make transparent the historical context-specific adaptability of the concept of human trafficking.2 The historian of transnational migration Adam McKeown pointed out how in the whirlwind of globalization, discourses tend to produce a “cult of newness” which continually conceal their own past.3 Taking such a lens to look at the discursive glitches in time around “human trafficking,” we begin to see how the past disappears out of sight, while at the same time an overwhelming feeling remains that the problem is never going away. 23

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 23

08-10-2021 11:26:47

24

Ruth Ennis

Despite lockdowns and borders closing around the world in 2020, the Walk Free Foundation4 warned that the conditions under the current Covid19 pandemic have created “the perfect storm for exploitation, human trafficking and modern slavery to flourish.”5 This mirrored warnings in the late 2010s regarding the unprecedented scale of human trafficking resulting from climate change.6 While in the same decade, the United Nations Organization for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) issued a reminder that not only biological disasters but any: sudden geopolitical or economic shifts, such as the end of the Cold War, the integration of China into the world economy or violent conflicts like the Yugoslav Wars can create new opportunities for human traffickers.7

Speaking retrospectively in 2018, the UNODC framed 1989 as having unleashed “human trafficking flows [. . .] of Eastern European women into West European sex markets.”8 The United Nations had not, however, always made this claim. In the immediate aftermath of the cold war, “famines, ethnic conflicts, social disintegration, terrorism, pollution, and drug trafficking” were all being predicted as impeding global threats that would no longer remain “isolated events, confined within national borders.”9 In the immediate post–Cold War period, the problem of human trafficking was not initially on the radar. Taking chronology as a guiding light, we know that it was somewhat later in the 1990s that the question of trafficking became increasingly important within transnational debates among feminists; the Fourth World Conference on Women which took place in Beijing in 1995, being a battleground of note. Sometimes referred to as the feminist “sex wars,” these tensions began around the early 1980s and arguably still influence differing conceptualizations and positions within feminisms today. While touching several interrelated topics on gender and sexuality, the matter of prostitution and pornography began to form a particular frontline in the late 1970s regarding questions of choice, agency, exploitation, and who gets to define these for whom.10 Emerging from these debates, several international women’s organizations and alliances began to form in the 1990s along varying anti-trafficking and sex workers’ rights agendas. These competing coalitions contended for influence on language formulation during the drafting of the U.N. “Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,” which thereafter came into force in 2000, and was incrementally supplemented by three protocols, including the “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.”11 Immediately following the adoption of this protocol, research on behalf of the U.N. began producing knowledge that looked back

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 24

08-10-2021 11:26:48

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

25

upon the end of the Cold War as a moment when the flood gates for trafficking into the sex industry opened. On behalf of the United Nations University, Raimo Väyrynen sought to outline the “nested, but yet different concepts” of illegal immigration, human trafficking, and organized crime.12 Despite the U.N. having outlined a broader conceptualization of “trafficking in persons” in its Convention, which went beyond that for sexual exploitation, Väyrynen’s working paper, as well as any cursory examination of the media, NGO, or State reports from the past 20 years, still suggests a latent obsession with the cross-border movement of women into the sex industry. The UN Convention of 2000 defines human trafficking as including “the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”13 Yet, over the two decades since its drafting, the UN is still struggling to get its member states to reorientate national legislations so that human trafficking might be understood as including other forms of exploitation beyond commercial sex; that it may also affect “men and children” and not just women, and that it can occur “within one country” and not just over borders.14 Indeed, with this definition, human trafficking could include everything that is minority/poverty-based work, yet increased state/organizational funding and policing continue to be called for rather than a fairer redistribution of global wealth. There are, however, historical reasons for why notions of female migration for sexual exploitation dominate; just as there are historical reasons for why, despite increased criminalization, the problem of human trafficking appears to be an imminently growing threat exacerbated with every population spurt or pandemic, change in economy or climate, war, or conflict aftermath. In anchoring the observation made by Adam McKeown that an inherent part of globalization is an obsession with its own newness, this chapter embarks on a conceptual history of human trafficking to show how contexts always matter for meaning. THE CHRISTIAN EUROPEAN CONTEXT: 1870s–1880s As a means of formulating varying critiques about prostitution, the language of slavery and abolitionism was appropriated in the 1870s by several elitist and upwardly mobile transnational actors.15 In francophone Europe, the term “la traite des blanches” was metaphorically used by Comtesse Valérie de Gasparin in 1870 to stimulate the French Réveil movement to take up a cause against the Napoleonic system of “maisons closes.”16 Pastor Théodore Borel subsequently adapted her metaphor in 1876 to narrate a more substantial

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 25

08-10-2021 11:26:48

26

Ruth Ennis

critique of the so-called French System. His work further entangled notions and imagery of the trafficking of enslaved Africans with the idea of an interbrothel trade in girls, alleged to be run by an underworld of procuresses.17 Quickly following the publication of Borel’s work, his essay was commissioned for translation into English which resulted in the term “white slavery” becoming the linguistic equivalent of “la traite des blanches,” with both serving a new critique of state-regulated prostitution. This act of translation at the same time brought about the production of new meanings, which were helpful and relevant to a preexisting movement for the Repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts (CDAs) in the British context, as well as their related agenda to raise the age of consent.18 This transfer of ideas on “white slavery” was part of a broader circulation of knowledge and discourses between Britain and the continent, which had been enabled by the transnational infrastructure and networks established within the International Abolitionist Federation (IAF).19 From a state and medical perspective, a system of regulation had been first implemented throughout the Napoleonic Empire around 1800 to prophylactically prevent the spread of venereal disease through the toleration of brothels (“Maison closes”) and the forced registration and regular medical examination of women who engaged in paid sex.20 While members of the agitations against state regulation had previously existed on the continent, it was only after the British Empire adopted the CDAs in the metropole that a more coordinated transnational campaign began.21 In the mid-nineteenth century, as concerns during international medical congresses built about the spread of syphilis, the British Empire too implemented a similar system under the bills of 1864, 1866, and 1869 which came to form the CDAs. As awareness of regulatory practices outside ports and military bases grew, a movement for their repeal in Britain also quickly emerged. With similarity in reformist agendas both on the continent, as well as in Britain, the state practices of regulating prostitution came to be critiqued from varying international moral and feminist perspectives under the umbrella of the IAF. Their arguments spanned from the immorality of state toleration of vice to the unjustness of a moral double standard in which women (those who sold sex) must bear the brunt of the regulations while men (those who bought it) were exempted from undergoing such invasions on their privacy. The IAFs cause against state policy had, however, remained marginal up until the point that the metaphor of “white slavery” proved to be a sensationally powerful tool for drawing public attention in the context of a globalizing Europe. Since the late eighteenth century, the language of slavery and abolition has carried a lot of political weight in Western discourse. However, in the context of the late nineteenth-century Europe, it still bore a particular power for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 26

08-10-2021 11:26:48

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

27

formulating a critique of state practices. At the same time, national identities in metropolitan Britain and Europe were fastening amid telegraph and transport technologies becoming more accessible and affordable for the masses. Along with improved printing technologies and an ever more literate public, the narrative of a transnational underworld of trafficking in girls fed the popular craving for sensational stories in the 1880s. Early discourses on “white slavery” relied on class-related othering to express concerns about changes happening within modern Christian Europe.22 Initially, in the Francophone and Germanic narrations of the mid1870s, the traffickers were underworld networks of female procuresses who lurked around slum-class areas corrupting innocent girls by luring them with luxury. However, the profile of the trafficker shifted in the British context through the work of the journalist Alfred Stace Dyer who, in 1880, hung the blame on networks of fancy foreign men from the continent.23 Rather than luring with luxury, Dyers’s traffickers tricked innocent British girls into accompanying them across the Channel on promises of work placements or marriage.24 As some elements were transferred and appropriated between the continental context to the British one, the shift in how the trafficker was characterized reflected a conceptual reconfiguration that questioned if any women could ever, under any circumstances, freely choose to enter prostitution.25 Thus, “white slavery” the metaphor from 1870, had gained a more concrete meaning and association of narratives, becoming “white slavery” a concept of illicit migration for forced transnational prostitution by 1880. In both the British and the Francophone contexts, however, these new, more tangible, descriptions contained central themes which expressed fears of modernity and the anxiety that underground networks could be operating incognito; forging passports, using telegram networks, and transportation technologies; all without the knowledge of the state or the upper (wardly mobile) classes.26 THE EMERGING GLOBAL CONTEXT: 1885–1910 The journalist reports of Dyer in 1880 had some political and legislative impact in Britain, having triggered the House of Lords Commission of 1881 and the Repeal Bill of 1883. More significant, however, were the popular concerns about “white slavery,” which quickly culminated into a national movement following the explosive and controversial journalistic stunt of W. T. Stead. In 1885, the IAF’s leader Josephine Butler collaborated with Stead and others to purchase a girl from her mother in a slum, after which Stead brought her to the continent to prove how easy it was to go undetected.27 His tabloid journalism attested to the moral compass of the masses at the time,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 27

08-10-2021 11:26:49

28

Ruth Ennis

after the British working classes began donating in solidarity, writing letters of support, and ultimately exploded onto the streets in protest. Later that year, in August 1885, this popular movement resulted in the establishment of the National Vigilance Association (NVA) which became financed through regular donations, employing William Alexander Coote as its secretary. Collecting reports of kidnappings and receiving letters tipping them off about foreign girls living in British cities, the NVA immediately began forming committees and subcommittees throughout the country, which dealt with legislative questions and possible cases of “foreign trafficking in girls.”28 They printed warning fliers, coordinated civil policing of railway stations and ports, and reported suspected traffickers to the police both in Britain and the continent. This work was in part enabled by the preexisting networks within the infrastructure of the IAF, as well as by the newly established diplomatic connections Coote had built up with continental consuls. Following the explosion of “white slavery” revelations in the British media in 1885, scandals repeatedly broke, accusing Eastern European Jews of organizing child prostitution. At the time, because of pogroms, economic necessity, as well as a desire for betterment, Jewish migrants had begun making their journeys toward the Americas. Due to ticket costs and shipping routes, many first traveled from Eastern Europe to Britain and northern Germany by ship, and then from there tried to make their way across the Atlantic. While some remained in Britain, it was for most only intended as a transit point. However, the presence of new Jewish migrants aroused (old) anti-Semitic feelings while also causing splinters within the Jewish community between well-integrated West European Jews and the new arrivals from the East.29 In response to the growing accusations of Jewish involvement in trafficking, Lady Constance Battersea of the Jewish Rothschild banking family established the Jewish Association for the Protection of Women and Girls in 1886 to assist migrant women and girls from Eastern Europe upon arrival.30 As organizational and media activities continued to be coordinated through the networks of British-based actors, concerns of the global scale of the traffic grew increasingly into the 1890s, with particular reference to Jewish migrants heading to the New World, as well as to the Cape Colony, British India, and the Ottoman Empire.31 While the NVA carried out some preventative work, placing migrant girls who might potentially enter prostitution in institutional homes, most of the organization’s efforts throughout the 1890s involved hanging “friendly warnings” on steamships and train stations across the continent with the support of consuls and its network of volunteers. In a few cases, the warnings resulted in girls reaching out to the NVA, writing letters from Europe asking if the placements they had applied for abroad were safe. The NVA then forwarded these requests to their local consular contacts, which Coote had established.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 28

08-10-2021 11:26:49

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

29

Coote’s strategic expeditions abroad not only helped to create a network to whom the NVA could forward on inquiries, but his trips in some cases even secured further subscriptions for the NVA, and in 1898 one society in Germany even expressed interest in forming a federation.32 As the NVA coordinated transnational communication from its British base, the conceptualization of “white slavery” had fully shifted from still being a critique of state regulations in the early 1880s to becoming an account of illicit migration in the 1890s. THE ADMINISTRATIVE CONTEXT: 1899–1910 Coordinating around, gathering, and redistributing information became the main feature of the NVAs work in the 1890s. They also cooperated within their networks to identify “indecent publications” and report them to the police. In early 1899, Coote’s visits to the continent resulted in establishing “influential” and “strong” committees in Holland, Germany, Belgium, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Russia. His work with the consuls also resulted in some of these governments committing to sending diplomatic representation to the First International Congress against the White Slave Traffic, which the NVA organized in June in London that same year.33 The NVA received a letter from Josephine Butler expressing her “deep sympathy with the object of the congress”; however, they also received letters from some other members of the IAF in France who felt they were being excluded from the French delegation.34 Nevertheless, a mix of official, but mostly nonofficial state delegates from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Switzerland gathered at the invitation of the NVA. Before the Congress, the delegates had received a questionnaire which they were to prepare for presentation during the proceedings. It contained some open questions such as “what do you think is the best basis for an International Treaty,”35 but was predominantly made up of two sets of closed questions about (1) legal and juridical and (2) social and moral matters. The former focused on gaining an overview of laws on, and state responses to, the procuring of girls, including details on any bi- or multilateral treaties relating to the extradition of criminals. The latter sought to understand what was “being done for the moral uplifting of men and women” and to learn about any institutions in existence which focused on the “training of unprotected girls i.e. (a) children of drunkards/criminals, (b) rebellious girls.”36 The responses later came to serve as the main “evidence” of international trafficking in girls, while the standard set of questions enabled the pre-drafting of language for an international agreement which was most likely to lead to a

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 29

08-10-2021 11:26:49

30

Ruth Ennis

consensus among governmental representatives later. During the Congress of 1899, the delegates agreed to establish a permanent international organization called the “International Bureau,” which would be headquartered in London to coordinate their activities around the “White Slave Traffic.” The founder of this new international organization defined the object of their concern as “the traffic in girls for immoral purposes,” which is “carried out in the East” but also “more or less throughout Europe,” with “one branch of the trade [going] though Constantinople, another destination [being] South American ports, mainly Buenos Ayres [sic].”37 To deal with this new global problem, the 1899 congress resolved the need to establish an agreement among governments that would focus on punishing procurers while simultaneously collecting and exchanging data on, and establishing treaties for the extradition of the accused.38 While a few delegates present made some comment on the relationship of “white slavery” to state regulation of prostitution, the conclusions of the Congress maintained there was no such connection. The solution to trafficking in girls had become their repatriation, not the abolition of state regulations. Following the Congress, several key figures, including Coote, Senator Bérenger of France, the Marquess of Aberdeen, Senator Sabouroff of Russia, and Reverend Johannes Burckhardt of Germany, coordinated to get a formal state process in the swing. After rejection from the Swiss and the British governments, they succeeded with the French, who invited other governments to send delegates to Paris in 1902 to draft the first International Agreement for the Suppression of the “White Slave Trade.”39 The drafters were aware that any constitutional changes among signatory states would delay the whole process. Thus, the agreement was drafted as two projets; the Projet d’Arrangement and the Projet de Convention, which distinguished between the Paris conference’s administrative and legislative commitments. The Arrangement was primarily concerned with data sharing on suspected traffickers, as well as the exchange of best practices about border controls; not requiring the consent of parliament, this projet could be quickly signed by governments in 1904, allowing for the coordination activities to immediately be put into full swing by the preestablished International Bureau. The Convention, on the other hand, related to matters of extradition and repatriation, which in some cases required constitutional changes and parliamentary approval, and thus was only ratified in 1910 as the “International Convention for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic.” BEYOND EUROPE: 1890s–1920s During the late 1880s and 1890s, “white slavery” was completely shifted away from being a metaphorical means of critiquing state regulations in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 30

08-10-2021 11:26:50

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

31

relation to prostitution. As the nineteenth century ended, fears and concerns about “white slavery” became increasingly entangled in Jewish migration patterns from Eastern Europe toward the Americas and several European colonies. “White Slavery” had taken a clear anti-Semitic turn across places in Europe connected by migration routes from the East. From Russia through Germany, and in Britain, fears of migration and modernity were carried over within the concept since the 1870s, but the traffickers were no longer an internal class problem within Christian Europe.40 Rather the procuress’ or the French fancy men had become Jewish migrant networks on the global scale.41 While Jewish migrants were policed in the metropoles and the Americas, notions of crime and an underworld took on drastic new meanings in the colonies in the process of being culturally transferred.42 Concerns about “white slavery” in British colonial contexts mirrored colonial anxieties around protecting the good “white” name against the image projected by the presence of poor Whites.43 However, the victim narrative of the metropole did not work for Empire in the colonies, where, in certain cases, it proved more useful to sculpt the White woman selling herself as a shrewd business type.44 At the same time as British feminists and moral reformers were expanding their concerns beyond those of white women to speak about prostitution in the colonies, their work concerning non-white women also reproduced imperialistic thought and practice by assuming all women and girls experienced oppression in the same way as those in the British upper and middle classes.45 The notion of “white slavery” had arrived in the United States in the late nineteenth century through the Women’s Christian Temperance Union.46 In contrast to the colonial configurations, Race played its context-specific role in how “white slavery” was crafted within the 1910 U.S. White-Slave-Traffic Act, better known as the Mann Act. The enactment of the Mann Act served the FBI’s expansion as an institution, but the legislation was also predominantly used to imprison black men who were accused of having extramarital relations with white women; the case of the boxer Jack Johnson being the most famous.47 Furthermore, as coercion was no longer a necessary factor for punishment, the concept of “white slavery” came to have a very different legislative meaning and function in the United States compared to the framing within the international agreements.48 Although coercion was not necessary for the interpretation of how the legal language of the Mann Act was formulated, the Memorandum, which was submitted with the Bill of 1909, specifically expressed that it was neither intended to give police powers to repress vice in general, nor to target “voluntary prostitution.”49 Nevertheless, loose legislative language left all extramarital sexual activity of non-white men with white women open to the judgment of immorality and as a part of “white slavery.” This broad conceptualization of “white slavery” likely stemmed from the legal framing of the U.S. Page

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 31

08-10-2021 11:26:50

32

Ruth Ennis

Act of 1875, which criminalized the importing of women for immoral purposes and was specifically created to target Chinese women migrating to the United States in counteraction to the “yellow peril.”50 Outside of Europe, Race and the notion of whiteness had become solidified in the concept of “white slavery,” whereby it was no longer open to interpretation whether it was being used metaphorically or not. THE CONTEXT OF (INTER-)NATIONALISM: 1920s–1940s During the First World War, an international silence largely fell on the matter of “white slavery” until the League of Nations hosted an international conference on the trafficking of women and children in Geneva in 1919. This led to the establishment of a Special Advisory Committee and the signing of a Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children in 1921. “Anxious to secure more completely the suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children,” the League revised the term “white slave traffic” as used in the 1904 Agreement and the 1910 Convention, replacing it with “trafficking in women and children.”51 The renaming, it was argued, was part of the gradual recognition “that the traffic in women was not confined to women of the white race, but that the scourge appeared all over the world and included women of all races.”52 The League’s work on trafficking was not, however, as international as it presented itself. The United States bore heavy influence through the private financing of activities around trafficking.53 As a result, the U.S. conceptualization of marriage as a tool used by traffickers came to bear influence on the League and subsequently on how other nations enforced strict marriage laws throughout the interwar period.54 In Argentina, for example, the League’s investigations into trafficking resulted in the Jewish religious marriage Shtile Khush being framed as a device for traffickers.55 Funded predominantly by the U.S. philanthropist Rockefeller Jr., the special advisory committee spent five years trying to produce evidence for the criminal trafficking networks it was describing. Their style of producing knowledge has been likened to the investigations on trafficking carried out by the American Social Hygiene Association, and the New York Committee of Fourteen did around 1907, which were also funded by the Rockefeller Foundation.56 The League’s committee became so centrally focused on proving the existence of a criminal underworld in transnational prostitution that they ended up fabricating evidence in the process of covering up the findings of their investigations which contradicted their established conceptualizations.57 During its five years, the Special Advisory Committee had been a battle group for questions on the protection of women and their rights. Purity and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 32

08-10-2021 11:26:51

33

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

abolitionist arguments, however, tended to domoninate with the U.S. specific take on “white slavery,” which completely removed both definitional reliance on coercion, as well as on the need for trafficking to involve the crossing of an international border.58 Under the bill submitted in the United States in 1909 by Congressman Mann, it sufficed to “make it a crime for any person to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, or coerce any woman or girl to go from one State to another for the purpose of prostitution.”59 As conceptions differed from the past but also in varying contexts, the League was forced to acknowledge, at least internally, that: Many attempts have been made to define “traffic in women and children.” It has, of course, different aspects according to whether it is regarded from a legal, criminal, or social standpoint [sic]. [. . .] Traffic in women can be defined as the procuration for the gain of girls and women for immoral purposes. The League of Nations, however, did not deal originally with the traffic in women in the wide sense but with one of its aspects—the international traffic. This has been defined in the League’s reports as “meaning primarily the direct or indirect procuration and transportation for gain to a foreign country of women and girls for the sexual gratification of one or more other persons.” From the beginning, it has proved difficult, if not impossible, to “isolate the international question entirely from various forms of commercialized vice where there is no transportation to a foreign country.” The League could, therefore, not always avoid dealing with national traffic in women and children, but great care was always taken to do so only with the approval of the authorities concerned.60

Although the language of internationalism within the League moved toward a more “inclusive” conception concerning all “races,” “white slavery” was still very much alive both linguistically and culturally in more colloquial spheres throughout the 1920s and 1930s. In 1927, the same year that the League published its investigative results, an important figure of international interwar journalism, Albert Londres, traveled incognito to Buenos Aires to uncover the “white slave trade.” His travelogue reports were first published in French as part of a newspaper series and then as a book that same year, with a translation into English coming out in 1928.61 In the egg or the chicken complex, Londres’s presentation of the Jewish trafficker bore similarity to the standard image of the international media at the time.62 In 1930s’ Britain, headlines created relations between “white slavery,” “alien gangsters” and the criminal underworld who used “forged passports” and “bogus marriages,” drugged girls in cinemas, made them vanish, and shipped them off to South America.63 These headlines which sold papers were indeed often called into question, and investigations proved little truth to their claims.64 Similar cultural tropes had stirred the thoughts and feelings

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 33

08-10-2021 11:26:51

34

Ruth Ennis

of the young Adolf Hitler, while writing Mein Kampf in 1924, in which he expressed having first learned of Jewish trafficking of women into prostitution during his student years in Vienna.65 During the interwar period, the League’s Traffic in Women and Children Committee drafted two conventions, in 1933 and 1937, which sought to make the procurement of all women, even consenting adults, an offense or even illegal. The onset of World War II, however, pulled a break on these international proceedings.66 Then, in the 1940s, international non-state organizations began to coordinate action to mount pressure on governments to proceed with signing the 1937 Draft Convention.67 This led to its redrafting in 1949, with the United Nations revising the title to refer to the “suppression of the traffic in persons and of the exploitation of the prostitution of others.”68 The convention’s content made all procurement, irrespective of consent or cross-border movement punishable, and required states to enforce the convention in all their colonial territories. Most European countries, however, never signed the 1949 convention, but a few newly independent states did.69 CONTEXT OF POST-VIETNAM “SEX WARS” AND MORE CONCEPTUAL CONFUSION: 1970s–2000 The topic of trafficking faded into the background of political discussions in the 1950s.70 However, in the 1960s and 1970s, French nationalists and popular culture entangled notions of “white slavery” with Islamophobia through kidnapping and disappearance narratives at the height of the Algerian war and the sexual revolution.71 Likewise, concerns of trafficking began to reemerge in the United States in the 1970s, as feminist-appropriated ideas from the civil rights movement of the 1960s by applying the critiques of white racist oppression to the post-Vietnam U.S. soldiers paying for services from local women engaged in sex tourism.72 Similarly, in the early 1980s, feminists in the Netherlands were outraged at how the red-light district bore advertisements for “exotic Asian women” who were there to service “rich white males.”73 The so-called feminist “sex wars” had started, with sex worker and non-sex worker feminists in North America challenging other dominating feminist voices who argued that all forms of prostitution and pornography are part of patriarchal oppression. Into the 1990s, these debates became more globally circulated, posing questions of who has authority to define, categorize, and describe the experiences of women engaged in sex work. While offering competing conceptualizations, both the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW) and the Global Network for Sex Workers Project (NSWP) stake a claim in the impact they had on framing the language during the drafting of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 34

08-10-2021 11:26:51

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

35

the U.N. Convention on Transnational Crime. GAATW points out how they successfully pushed for a concept that met human rights standards, while NSWP noted they successfully lobbied for a definition that entailed force and coercion.74 While the 1949 Convention had made all procurement punishable by removing any conception of force, the 2000 Protocol reintroduced the requirement of coercion as had been present in the Conventions of 1910 and 1921. The general conception of “human trafficking” had, however, expanded significantly in 2000 from the initial framing of “white slavery,” which had referred explicitly to the cross-border movement for prostitution or immoral purposes. The focus was no longer only on commercial sex but also on forced labor, organ removal, slavery, and servitude, which may or may not involve organized crime groups and the crossing of national borders. While definitions of “white slavery” and its later equivalents were always flexible and debated, the increased confusion caused by conceptual overload can be seen in the heated debates between renowned sociologists, who struggle to defend their competing definitions of slavery through relation to their understandings of human trafficking.75 Depending on who is speaking and the context they are speaking from, conceptualizations of human trafficking can differ immensely across a spectrum of forced labor, illicit migration, human smuggling, trafficking for organ harvesting, modern-day slavery, sex slavery, child prostitution, forced surrogacy, and so on. Irrespective of whether it is an intergovernmental organization, an NGO, or a scholar doing the defining, there is always going to be a discrepancy between the language of such authorities and the self-descriptions of individuals who could fall into one categorization or another.76 APPROPRIATION AND MORAL COMPASSES Practices of exploitation, captive taking, and enslavement are as old as human history and can neither be summarized in two lines nor captured in one word.77 At the same time, our inherited concept of human trafficking stems from a metaphorical appropriation that spoke only of the binary opposition between “freedom” and “slavery,” which emerged around Trans-Atlantic Slavery in the context of the Modern West.78 While human practices, which could be categorized as “human trafficking” are ancient, the 1880s served a cesura in terms of how a new vocabulary for description came about within modernizing Europe. The concept of white slavery got moral compasses going back then, just as human trafficking still gets them going today. This loose metaphorical use of language, however, left meanings malleable from the beginning,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 35

08-10-2021 11:26:52

36

Ruth Ennis

whereby both its application and interpretation are highly dependent on time and context. Amid competing conceptions of what can be considered right or wrong, the intersectionality of traffickers and victims has continuously changed since the 1870s, as have the conditions or definition under which they could be categorized as such. In the long process of recalibrating moral compasses from “white slavery” to “human trafficking,” what is deemed as okay at any given moment in time has always differed globally depending on conditions and context, as well as the norms in existence between varying social groups. In the late nineteenth century, the language of white slavery was initially a strategy of bourgeois and upwardly mobile actors who were morally disturbed by the state regulation of prostitution on the European continent and the low age of consent in Britain. Their use of “slavery” and “abolition” had been appropriated language from the turn of the nineteenth-century movements and debates. Their late nineteenth-century use of metaphor, however, created an uncertainty of terms. As this historically appropriated language continues to be used today, the historical arguments, baggage, and consequences also get pulled forth with it, while at the same time, the contexts of their pasts are forgotten. Adam McKeown pointed out that “newness renders past interactions invisible.”79 Reports on human trafficking would have us believe there is something novel and ever-worsening under the conditions of globalization. What is left out of these reports, however, are the histories of the concept and the historical consequences of linguistic appropriation. Early narratives of “white slavery” tell us much more about historical middle-class fears of criminal underworlds than they do about the experiences of women and girls who had engaged in extramarital sex; while these anxieties around an emerging new problem reflected attempts to come to terms with new conditions and possibilities linked through nineteenth-century migration, urbanization, and the rise of international organizations. Whether we refer to Josephine Butler’s use of the “the modern slave trade” in 1880, or the use of “modern slavery,” “sex slavery,” today, the use of this language trivializes the brutalities of transatlantic and plantation slavery, while at the same time legitimizing labor migration control in the same capitalist world order.80 In other words, this historical appropriation of ideas of slavery and abolition renders transatlantic and chattel slavery invisible. Although clocked in a discourse of newness around fears of the future, human trafficking, and any conceptual use of it relies on discursive elements around the construction of race, nation, gender, and sexuality which emerged right from the beginning of the concept’s emergence and continue to work today.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 36

08-10-2021 11:26:52

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

37

NOTES 1. Several works in recent years which have begun the labor of producing historical knowledge which focuses on the lifeworlds and perspectives of minority historical actors, who have been constructed in the historical discourses on “white slavery” but who themselves have been silenced within the archives. Biancani, Francesca. Sex Work in Colonial Egypt: Women, Modernity and The Global Economy. London & New York: I.B. Tauris, 2018; Jakubczak, Aleksandra. “The Issue of Jew’ Participation in White Slavery and Prostitution as Reflected in Hebrew Press at the Turn of the 19th and the 20th Centuries.” Kwartalnik Historii Zydów 262, no. 2 (2017): 183–99; Stauter-Halsted, Keely. The Devil’s Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 2015; Wingfield, Nancy M. The World of Prostitution in Late Imperial Austria. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. Yarfitz, Mir. Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. New Brunswick, Camden; Newark, NJ & London: Rutgers University Press, 2019. These, of course, can be seen as building on a tradition that had already been started by Timothy Gilfoyle. Gilfoyle, Timothy J. City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920. New York & London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992. Likewise, while not having been a geography of concern with discourses on "white slavery," we can nonetheless use Luise White’s work in colonial Nairobi as being a brilliant example of how oral history, combined with a labor critique, can shed a very different light on historical women who sold sex. White, Luise. The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. In one of his chapters, Harald Fischer-Tiné indeed also made a first attempt at reconstructing the lifeworlds of women who sold sex in colonial India. Fischer-Tiné, Harald. Low and Licentious Europeans: Race, Class and “White Subalternity” in Colonial India. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Limited, 2009. 2. It goes without saying that this chapter cannot offer a comprehensive overview of global developments around “human trafficking” over the past 150 years. It merely sets out to make the point that we have never had, nor do we now have a clear definition of what is being referred to by using the concept and that this flexibility in meaning reinforced state power. 3. McKeown, Adam. “Periodizing Globalization.” History Workshop Journal, no. 63 (Spring 2007): 218–30. 4. The Walk Free—Minderoo Foundation a privately funded international human rights organization that serves as the secretariat of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime, which started in 2002 as part of an interregional process organized under the auspices of the International Organization for Migration, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Labor Organization. IOM UN Migration. “Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime.” Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www​ .iom​.int​/bali​-process.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 37

08-10-2021 11:26:52

38

Ruth Ennis

5. Walk Free—Minderoo Foundation, “Protecting People in a Pandemic: Urgent Collaboration Is Needed to Protect Vulnerable Workers and Prevent Exploitation,” 1. 6. Michael B. Gerrard, “Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement,” University of Miami Law Review 72, no. 2 (2018): 345; For further examples see: International Organization for Migration, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus (The U.N. Migration Agency, 2016); Linda Witong, "The Effects of Climate Change on Migration and Human Trafficking," Soroptimist International, June 7, 2019, https​:/​/ww​​w​.sor​​optim​​istin​​terna​​tiona​​l​.org​​/the-​​effec​​ts​-of​​-clim​​ate​-c​​hange​​ -on​-m​​igrat​​ion​-a​​nd​​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​/. 7. U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. "Booklet 2 - Trafficking in Persons in the Context of Armed Conflict." Vienna: UNODC, 2018, 40. 8. U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, 40. 9. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 1994. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994, 2. 10. For some different and often competing approaches to knowledge production on the question of sex work and trafficking from the 1990s, see: Barry, Kathleen. Female Sexual Slavery. New York & London: New York University Press, 1979; Nagle, Jill, ed. Whores and Other Feminists. New York: Routledge, 1997; Wijers, Marjan, and Lin Lap-Chew. Trafficking in Women, Forced Labour and Slaverylike Practices in Marriage, Domestic Laobur and Prostitution. Utrecht: Foundation Against Trafficking in Women, 1999. For a more recent attempt to start building bridges see: Kempadoo, Kamala, ed. Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder/London: Paradigm Publishers, 2012. 11. In addition to the trafficking protocol, the other two protocols supplementing the Convention are the “Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air” (adopted January 2004) and the “Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, their Parts, and Components, and Ammunition” (adopted May 2001). 12. Väyrynen, Raimo. “Illegal Immigration, Human Trafficking, And Organized Crime, Discussion Paper 2003/072.” Helsinki: United Nations University, 2003. 13. U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Adopted and Opened for Signature, Ratification, and Accession by General Assembly Resolution 55/25 of November 15, 2000." 14. O’Brien, Erin. Challenging the Human Trafficking Narrative: Victims, Villains, and Heroes. London: Routledge, 2020. 15. Ennis, Ruth. “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880.” In Beyond Slavery and Freedom, edited by Jeannine Bischoff, Stephan Conermann & Marion Gymnich 1. Oldenbourg: De Gruyter, forthcoming. 16. Critiques of the so-called French System of State Regulated Brothel Prostitution had been made among Réveil Movement members since as early as 1852. However, its framing in the language of "white slavery” first came about in the words of protest formulated by Valérie de Gasparin in 1870. For further details see:

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 38

08-10-2021 11:26:53

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

39

Ennis, “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880”; Limoncelli, Stephanie A. The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2010, 95. 17. Peter Becker observed that toward the end of the nineteenth century, the role and social meaning of the “Kupplerin” (female, intermediary, procuress) in Germanic culture gradually came to be replaced by the “Mädchenhandler” (male, intermediary, trafficker/trader in girls). Simultaneously, the cultural meaning shifted from reference to an exchange between brothels to becoming about procurement. Elsewhere, I have built on his work to try and explain how this shift in meaning occurred and how it was at the same time entangled with Francophone literary culture. Becker, Peter. Verderbnis Und Entartung Eine Geschichte Der Kriminologie Des 19. Jahrhunderts Als Diskurs Und Praxis. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 2002; Ennis, “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880.” 18. Ennis, “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880”; Gorham, Deborah. “The ‘Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ Re-Examined: Child Prostitution and the Idea of Childhood in Late-Victorian England.” Victorian Studies 21, no. 3 (1978): 353–79; Jordon, Jane, ed. Child Prostitution and the Age of Consent. Vol. 4. 5 vols. Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases and the Body Politic. London & New York: Routledge, 2003; Lammasniemi, Laura. “‘Prococious Girls’: Age of Consent, Class and Family in Late Nineteenth-Century England.” Law and History Review 38, no. 1 (2020): 241–66. 19. The British Continental and General Federation for the Abolition of Government Regulation of Vice was established in 1875 in Liverpool and later became known as the International Abolitionist Federation (IAF). Its founding had a centrally based agenda to build up European alliances to challenge state regulation of prostitution for histories of the IAFs establishment and its international entanglements see: Machiels, Christine. Les Féminismes et La Prostitution (1860-1960). Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2016; Summers, Anne. “Which Women? Which Europe? Josephine Butler and the International Abolitionist Federation.” History Workshop Journal 62 (2006): 214–31. For pretext to the emergence of ideas around state regulation as a means to prevent the spread of venereal disease see: Plumauzille, Clyde. “Du « Scandale de La Prostitution» à l’«atteinte Contre Les Bonnes Moeurs» : Contrôle Policier et Administration Des Filles Publiques Sous La Révolution Française.” De Boeck Supérieur 3, no. 107 (2014): 9–31. 20. For the initial development of the system see Harsin, Jill. Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Paris. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985; Plumauzille, “Du « Scandale de La Prostitution» à l’«atteinte Contre Les Bonnes Moeurs» : Contrôle Policier et Administration Des Filles Publiques Sous La Révolution Française.” 21. For agitations in the Netherlands, France and Italy see respectively: Limoncelli, The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women, 96; Machiels, Les Féminismes et La Prostitution (18601960); Wanrooij, Bruno P. F. “Josephine Butler and Regulated Prostitution in Italy.” Women’s History Review 17, no. 2 (April 2008): 153–71, 156.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 39

08-10-2021 11:26:53

40

Ruth Ennis

22. I have put modern Christian Europe in italics for a number of reasons. Firstly, the concept of modernity is a Western centric construction of time that fits a particular colonial narrative. Secondly, because Europe, of course, had more religious diversity than just Christian. Thirdly, because having had Christian identities themselves, those actors who produced the earliest discourses on “white slavery” spoke normatively about the religious affiliation of supposed traffickers, thus implying they were also presumed to be Christian. 23. Dyer ran a publishing house that worked with causes against the Opium trade and the International Abolitionist Federation. He published the translation of Pastor Borel’s 1876 work which had proven to be a sensational success. He later published his own take on “white slavery” but changed the networked culprits from being female procuress to being fancy foreign men. After publishing his pamphlet in 1880, Dyer co-founded the purity journal Sentinel in 1881 as well as the “London Committee for the Exposure of and Suppression of the Traffic in English, Scotch and Irish Girls for Prostitution” along with the Quaker banker George Gillet, and the Chamberlain of London, Benjamin Scott. For complete documentation, see Jordon and Sharp, Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases of the Body Politic. For a full examination of how the gender of the trafficker was shifted, see: Ennis, “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880.” 24. Dyer, Alfred Stace. The European Slave Trade in English Girls: A Narrative of Facts. London: Dyer Brothers, 1880. 25. Edmondson, Joseph, ed. The White Slavery of Europe. From the French of Pastor Borel of Geneva. London: Dyer Brothers, 1876, 10–11. 26. For further details see: Ennis, “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880.” 27. For a full chronicle and collection of primary sources see Jordon, Jane, ed., Child Prostitution and the Age of Consent, vol. 4, 5 vols, Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases and the Body Politic. London & New York: Routledge, 2003; For a biography and the full works of Stead published online see: Owen Mulpetre, “W.T. Stead Resource Website,” Attacking the Devil, accessed October 14, 2020, https://www​ .attackingthedevil​ .co​ .uk/. For an examination of the impact Stead and his “white slavery” reports had on journalism as an institution see: Soderlund, Gretchen. Sex Trafficking, Scandal and the Transformation of Journalism, 1885- 1917. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2013. 28. NVA, Executive Minutes of the National Vigilance Association, June 1886– December 1899. 29. For more context, see Gartner, Lloyd P. “Anglo-Jewry and the Jewish International Traffic in Prostitution, 1885–1914.” Cambridge University Press on Behalf of the Association for Jewish Studies 7, no. 8 (1983 1982): 129–78; Gartner, Lloyd P. “East European Jewish Migration: Germany and Britain.” In Two Nations: British and German Jews in Comparative Perspective, edited by Michael Brenner, Rainer Liedtke, and David Rechter, 117–34. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999; Mettauer, Philipp, and Barbara Staudinger, eds. “Ostjuden” Geschichte und Mythos. Innsbruck, Wien und Bozen: Studien Verlag, 2015.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 40

08-10-2021 11:26:54

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

41

30. The work of the JAPWG has been framed differently by varying historians. Edward Bristow and Mir Yarfitz have both viewed its establishment as a reaction of the British Jewish community in the face of growing anti-Semitism. Bristow, Edward J. Prostitution and Prejudice: The Jewish Fight Against White Slavery 1870–1939. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982; Yarfitz, Mir. Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. On the other hand, Rachel Attwood has argued that the impulse for the organization’s foundation was an act of classism to protect the good name of British Jews from the accusations of immoral trafficking and prostitution among Eastern European Jews. Attwood, Rachel. “Looking Beyond ‘White Slavery’: Trafficking, the Jewish Association’s Representation of ‘The Potential Victim’, and the Dangerous Politics of Migration Control in England, 1890–1910.” AntiTrafficking Review 7 (2016): 115–138. For a reproduction of the organization’s own recollection of its founding, see Knepper, Paul. “British Jews and the Racialisation of Crime in the Age of Empire.” British Journal of Criminology 47, no. 1 (2007): 67–79. 31. Becker, Peter. “Von Jamnica nach Kapstadt und Buenos Aires. Anna Königsberg und der Mädchenhandel in der Habsburgermonarchie.” In “Ostjuden”: Geschichte und Mythos, edited by Philipp Mettauer and Barbara Staudinger, 140–66. Innsbruck, Wien und Bozen: Studien Verlag, 2015; Fischer-Tiné, Low and Licentious Europeans: Race, Class and “White Subalternity” in Colonial India; Levine, Philippa. Prostitution, Race & Politics; Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire. New York: Routledge, 2003; Van Onselen, Charles. Studies in the Social and Economic History of the Witwatersrand 1886-1914. New York: Longman Inc., 1982; Vyleta, Daniel M. Crime, Jews and News: Vienna 1895–1914. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012; Yarfitz, Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. 32. NVA, Executive Minutes of the National Vigilance Association, June 1886-December 1899. 33. NVA; NVA, The White Slave Trade: Transactions of the International Congress on the White Slave Trade, Held in London on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of June, 1899. 34. NVA, "Minutes of the Meeting Held at 26. Strand on Tuesday, February 28, 1899." 35. NVA, The White Slave Trade: Transactions of the International Congress on the White Slave Trade, Held in London on the 21st, 22nd, and 23rd of June, 1899, 27. 36. NVA, 19–21. 37. NVA, 9. 38. NVA, 17. 39. “The United States did not become a party to the international agreement for the repression of trade in white women until June 15, 1908, at which time this Government adhered to the agreement under a proclamation issued by President Roosevelt.” Quoted from: Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. “Memorandum in Re White-Slave Trade.” Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909, 8. 40. Ibid, 22.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 41

08-10-2021 11:26:54

42

Ruth Ennis

41. Engelstein, Laura. The Keys to Happiness: Sex and the Search for Modernity in Fin-de-Siècle Russia. New York: Cornell University Press, 1992; Fletcher, Ian Christopher. “Opposition by Journalism? The Socialist and Suffragist Press and the Passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1912.” Parliamentary History 25, no. 1 (2006): 88–114; Jazbinsek, Dietmar. “Der Internationale Mädchenhandel: Biographie Eines Sozialen Problems.” Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, 2002. http://hdl​ .handle​.net​/10419​/49624. 42. On migration control, policing and criminal networks in the New World see Wingfield, Nancy M. “Destination: Alexandria, Buenos Aires, Constantinople: ‘White Slavers’ in Late Imperial Austria.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 20, no. 2 (May 2011): 291–311; Yarfitz, Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina; Van Onselen, “Jewish Marginality in the Atlantic World: Organised Crime in the Era of the Great Migrations, 1880-1914”; Van Onselen, Charles. “Jewish Police Informers in the Atlantic World, 1880-1914.” The Historical Journal 50, no. 1 (2007): 119–44. On the shift in meanings of “white slavery” between the British Metropole and Colonies see: Levine, Philippa. “The White Slave Trade and the British Empire.” In Crime, Gender, and Sexuality in Criminal Prosecutions, edited by Louise A. Knafla, 17:133–46. Criminal Justice History. Westport, CT & London: Greenwood Press, 2002. 43. Fischer-Tiné, Low and Licentious Europeans: Race, Class and “White Subalternity” in Colonial India. 44. Levine, Prostitution, Race & Politics; Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire, 427. 45. Burton, Antoinette. Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915. Chapel Hill & London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994; Stoler, Ann Laura. Carnel Knowledge and Imperial Power; Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule. Berkeley, Loa Angeles & London: University of California Press, 2002, 132. 46. Donovan, Brian. White Slave Crusades: Race, Gender, and Anti-Vice Activism, 1887-1917. Ubana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006, 19; Grittner, Frederick K. White Slavery: Myth, Ideology, and American Law. New York: Garland, 1990, 43. 47. Mumford, Kevin J. Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997; Pliley, Jessica R. Policing Sexuality: The Mann Act and the Making of the FBI. Cambridge, MA, & London: Harvard University Press, 2014. 48. Beckman, Marlene D. “The White Slave Traffic Act: The Historical Impact of a Criminal Law Policy on Women.” Geo L. J. 72 (1984): 1111–42; Pliley, “The FBI’s White Slave Division: The Creation of a National Regulatory Regime to Police Prostitutes in the United States, 1910–1918.” In Global Anti-Vice Activism, 1890– 1950 Edited by Jessica R. Pliley, Robert Kramm-Masaoka, and Harald Fischer-Tiné, 221– 45. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. 49. Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, “Memorandum in Re WhiteSlave Trade,” 9–10. 50. For a detailed examination of migration control strategies around the “yellow peril,” see Mckeown, Adam. Melancholy Order: Asian Migration and the Globalization of Borders. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 42

08-10-2021 11:26:55

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

43

51. League of Nations, “International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children,” 1921. 52. League of Nations, Questions 8: Traffic in Women in the East, Work of the Bandoeng Conference, Information Section. Geneva, 1938, 12. 53. Chaumont, Jean-Michel, Magaly Rodríguez García, and Paul Sevais, eds. Trafficking in Women 1924–1926: The Paul Kinsie Reports for the League of Nations Vol. 1. Historical Series 2. Geneva: United Nations Publications, 2017; Knepper, Paul. International Crime in the 20th Century: The League of Nations Era, 19191939. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 2011. 54. Pliley, “Trafficking White Slaves and Misleading Marriages in the Campaigns Against Sex Trafficking, 1885–1927.” Federal History, no. April (2019): 60–82, 61. 55. Yarfitz, Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. 56. Yarfitz, 34. 57. Chaumont, Jean-Michel. Le Mythe de La Traite Des Blanches; Enquête Sur La Fabrication d’un Fléau. Paris: La Découverte, 2002. Also see: Chaumont, Rodríguez García, and Sevais, Trafficking in Women 1924-1926: The Paul Kinsie Reports for the League of Nations Vol. 1. 58. For a summary of the debates between women’s rights arguments and social purity ones within the Leagues Committee, see Rodríguez García, Magaly. “The League of Nations and the Moral Recruitment of Women. International.” Review of Social History 57, no. S20 (2012): 97–128. https://doi​.org​/doi​:10​.1017​/ S0020859012000442. For an examination of how international women’s movements fought for influence also see: Limoncelli, The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women. 59. Mr. Mann, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. “White Slave Traffic Report (Report No. 47).” House of Representatives, 61st Congress, 2s Session, 1909. 5591H​.rp​.4​ 7. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 60. League of Nations, Questions 8: Traffic in Women in the East, Work of the Bandoeng Conference, 12–13. 61. Londres, Albert. Le Chemin de Buenos-Aires: La Traite Des Blanches. Paris: A. Michel, 1927; Londres. The Road to Buenos Ayres [Sic]. London: Constable, 1928. Yarfitz has noted that there were suspicions that Londres used the Leagues “experts” present in Buenos Aires at the time as his sources without acknowledging them. Yarfitz, Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina, 34. 62. Yarfitz, Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina, 46. 63. From our Correspondent, "White Slave Gang Arrests: Tragedy of Two Baby Girls - Duped Mothers," Daily Mail, November 7, 1932; Our Correspondent, "White Slavers Hoard Their Victims’ Children: Little Girls as Future Prey," Daily Herald, November 8, 1932; Ex-Detective Inspector Brust, “Trappers of Women: In This Underworld of London, Men-and Women- Who Ply the Vilest of All Trades Are Still to Be Found. An English Girl Is Worth a Lot of Money in Buenos Aires!,” November 30, 1935; The Daily Mail, “Gang Victim Unmasked: White-Slave Chief—Girls Tell of Luxury Life in Mayfair Flats,” January 31, 1936; A Special Correspondent, “‘Master Smuggler’ of Criminals to England: Ship’s Captain and Secret White Slave Landings,” The Daily Mail, February 7, 1936; Leslie Randall, “Urges Scheme for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 43

08-10-2021 11:26:55

44

Ruth Ennis

Closer Watch on Night Clubs: How White Slave Traffickers Work and The Fortunes They Make,” Sunday Dispatch, February 9, 1936; Sunday News, “Bad Men from Abroad: Demand for Closed Door Against Alien White Slavers and Swindlers,” February 9, 1936; The People, “Bogus Marriage Racket to Be Wiped Out: Women to Be Deported,” February 9, 1936; Daily Mirror, “Women Fighting Gansterdom Menace in This Country: Grown of White Slave Traffic,” March 11, 1936; The People, “Foreign Gangsters in Britain,” April 12, 1936; Thomsans Weekly News, “Accused Man’s White Slave Revelations. Tells Police How Girls Were Trapped,” August 8, 1936; Daily Sketch Reporter, “White Slave Warnings to Parents: Girls from Special Areas Are Being Duped in London,” March 5, 1937. 64. “Girls Drugged in Cinemas: Are the Stories True?” Sunday Dispatch, September 8, 1935; Neilans, Alison. “Mysterious ‘White Slave’ Traffic Rumous. Have the Stories Any Foundations?” Yorkshire Observer, September 9, 1935; Daily Express Staff Reporter. “Are Girls Lured to Theatres and Drugged?-NO: Investigation into Mystery of Britain’s Vanished Girls Is Over.” Daily Express, May 28, 1936. 65. Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Online: White Wolf, 2014, 119; Jazbinsek, “Der Internationale Mädchenhandel: Biographie Eines Sozialen Problems,” 68. For more context on circulating anti-Semitic claims of Jewish involvement in a traffic in Vienna see: Vyleta, Crime, Jews and News: Vienna 1895–1914, 57–62. 66. Limoncelli, The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women, 76. 67. Limoncelli, 91–92. 68. U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, "Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others: Approved by General Assembly Resolution 317 (IV) of December 2 1949 Entry into Force: July 25 1951, in accordance with Article 24." 69. Limoncelli, The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women, 92. 70. Dolinsek, “Gehandelte Frau Oder Unerwünchte Fremde? Zur Geschichte Der Prostituierten Als Migrantin in Deutschland (1950er-1980er Jahre)”; Limoncelli, The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women, 149. 71. Shepard, Todd. Sex, France, & Arab Men, 1962-1979. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2017. 72. Kempadoo, Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights, 13–14. As an 1970s example of resurgence of the “secret-world of trafficking uncovered” narrative that could be already be seen with Alfred Stace Dyer and Albert Londres see: Barry, Female Sexual Slavery. 73. Chew, Lin. “Reflections by an Anti-Trafficking Activist.” In Trafficking and Prostitution Reconcidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights Edited by Kamala Kempadoo with Jyoti Sanghera and Bandana Pattanaik, 2nd ed., 65–82. Boulder/London: Paradigm Publishers, 2012, 65. 74. GAATW. “History.” Accessed October 28, 2020. https://gaatw​.org​/about​-us​ /history. Provisional negotiation meetings took place in Buenos Aires in 1998 and Vienna in 1999. The final negotiations and drafting took place in Palermo in 2000.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 44

08-10-2021 11:26:56

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

45

75. In 2012, a debate between Kevin Bales and Orlando Patterson played out in Jean Allain’s edited book The Legal Understanding of Slavery. See Jean Allain, ed., The Legal Understanding of Slavery. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. For what are perhaps these scholars’ most influential works see: Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. 2nd ed. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2004; Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death a Comparative Study. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press, 1982. 76. These works take the language and self-descriptions of their interview partners seriously who are or were (child)/(migrants) who sold sex. This kind of very localized anthropological approach reveals differences in personal identities and experiences compared to the descriptive categories applied to such individuals from organizations and institutions. See Montgomery, Heather. “Children, Prostitution, and Identity: A Case Study from a Tourist Resort in Thailand.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistence, and Redefinition, edited by Kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema, 139–50. New York & London: Routledge, 1998; Testaì, Patrizia. “Debt as a Route to Modern Slavery in the Discourse on ‘Sex Trafficking:’ Myth or Reality?” Human Security Journal 6, no. Spring (2008): 68–77; White, The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi. 77. Bonn Center for Slavery and Dependency Studies. “Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn, ‘Beyond Slavery and Freedom.’” Accessed November 10, 2020. https://www​.dependency​.uni​-bonn​.de​/en; Cameron, Catherine M. Captives: How Stolen People Changed the World. Lincoln & London: University Press of Nebraska, 2016; Zeuske, Michael. Handbuch Geschichte Der Sklaverei: Eine Globalgeschichte von Den Anfängen Bis Zur Gegenward. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2013. 78. For efforts to move away from this binary conception, see the work coming from the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies (BCDSS). 79. McKeown, “Periodizing Globalization,” 228. 80. Butler, Josephine. “  ‘The Modern Slave Trade’, Letter to the Editor of the Shield,” May 1, 1880, pp. 63-5. In Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases of the Body Politic Edited by Jane Jordon and Ingrid Sharp, 4:20–24. London & New York: Routledge, 2003; Recent debates in history build upon older debates which call into question the conceptual separation of slavery and capitalism to look at how these were inextricable from one another in terms of historical development. See Conermann, Stephan, and Michael Zeuske, eds. The Slavery/Capitalism Debate. From “Capitalism and Slavery” to Slavery as Capitalism. Comparativ, 2020.

REFERENCES A Special Correspondent. “‘Master Smuggler’ of Criminals to England: Ship’s Captain and Secret White Slave Landings.” The Daily Mail, February 7, 1936. Attwood, Rachel. “Looking Beyond ‘White Slavery’: Trafficking, the Jewish Association’s Representation of ‘The Potential Victim’, and the Dangerous Politics of Migration Control in England, 1890-1910.” Anti-Trafficking Review 7 (2016): 115–138.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 45

08-10-2021 11:26:56

46

Ruth Ennis

Barry, Kathleen. Female Sexual Slavery. New York & London: New York University Press, 1979. Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. 2nd ed. Angeles, CA: University of California Press, 2004. ———. “Professor Kevin Bale’s Response to Professor Orlando Patterson,” 942–78. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. ———. “Slavery in Its Contemporary Manifestations.” In The Legal Understanding of Slavery: From the Historical to the Contemporary, edited by Jean Allain, 627–75. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Barry, Kathleen. Female Sexual Slavery. New York & London: New York University Press, 1979. Becker, Peter. Verderbnis Und Entartung Eine Geschichte Der Kriminologie Des 19. Jahrhunderts Als Diskurs Und Praxis. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 2002. ———. “Von Jamnica nach Kapstadt und Buenos Aires. Anna Königsberg und der Mädchenhandel in der Habsburgermonarchie.” In “Ostjuden”: Geschichte und Mythos, edited by Philipp Mettauer and Barbara Staudinger, 140–66. Innsbruck, Wien und Bozen: Studien Verlag, 2015. Beckman, Marlene D. “The White Slave Traffic Act: The Historical Impact of a Criminal Law Policy on Women.” Geo L. J. 72 (1984): 1111–42. Biancani, Francesca. Sex Work in Colonial Egypt: Women, Modernity and The Global Economy. London & New York: I.B. Tauris, 2018. Bonn Center for Slavery and Dependency Studies. “Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn, ‘Beyond Slavery and Freedom.’” Accessed November 10, 2020. https://www​.dependency​.uni​-bonn​.de​/en. Bristow, Edward J. Prostitution and Prejudice: The Jewish Fight Against White Slavery 1870- 1939. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1982. Burton, Antoinette. Burdens of History: British Feminists, Indian Women, and Imperial Culture, 1865-1915. Chapel Hill & London: The University of North Carolina Press, 1994. Butler, Josephine. “‘The Modern Slave Trade’, Letter to the Editor of the Shield, May 1 1880, Pp. 63-5.” In Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases of the Body Politic Edited by Jane Jordon and Ingrid Sharp, 4:20–24. London & New York: Routledge, 2003. Cameron, Catherine M. Captives: How Stolen People Changed the World. Lincoln & London: University Press of Nebraska, 2016. Chaumont, Jean-Michel. Le Mythe de La Traite Des Blanches; Enquête Sur La Fabrication d’un Fléau. Paris: La Découverte, 2002. Chaumont, Jean-Michel, Magaly Rodríguez García, and Paul Sevais, eds. Trafficking in Women 1924-1926: The Paul Kinsie Reports for the League of Nations Vol. 1. Historical Series 2. Geneva: United Nations Publications, 2017. Chew, Lin. “Reflections by an Anti-Trafficking Activist.” In Trafficking and Prostitution Reconcidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights Edited by Kamala Kempadoo with Jyoti Sanghera and Bandana Pattanaik, 2nd ed., 65–82. Boulder/London: Paradigm Publishers, 2012.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 46

08-10-2021 11:26:56

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

47

Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. “Memorandum in Re White-Slave Trade.” Washington: Government Printing Office, 1909. Conermann, Stephan, and Michael Zeuske, eds. The Slavery/Capitalism Debate. From “Capitalism and Slavery” to Slavery as Capitalism. Comparativ, 2020. Daily Express Staff Reporter. “Are Girls Lured to Theatres and Drugged?-NO: Investigation into Mystery of Britain’s Vanished Girls Is Over.” Daily Express, May 28, 1936. Daily Mirror. “Women Fighting Gansterdom Menace in This Country: Grown of White Slave Traffic,” March 11, 1936. Daily Sketch Reporter. “White Slave Warnings to Parents: Girls from Special Areas Are Being Duped in London,” March 5, 1937. Dolinsek, Sonja. “Gehandelte Frau Oder Unerwünchte Fremde? Zur Geschichte Der Prostituierten Als Migrantin in Deutschland (1950er-1980er Jahre).” Forum Für Frauen- Und Geschlectergeschichte 72 (2017): 66–73. Donovan, Brian. White Slave Crusades: Race, Gender, and Anti-Vice Activism, 18871917. Ubana & Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2006. Dyer, Alfred Stace. The European Slave Trade in English Girls: A Narrative of Facts. London: Dyer Brothers, 1880. Edmondson, Joseph, ed. The White Slavery of Europe. From the French of Pastor Borel of Geneva. London: Dyer Brothers, 1876. Engelstein, Laura. The Keys to Happiness: Sex and the Search for Modernity in Finde-Siècle Russia. New York: Cornell University Press, 1992. Ennis, Ruth. “Narrating ‘White Slavery’ in and out of Fiction, 1854-1880.” Beyond Slavery and Freedom Edited by Jeannine Bischoff, Stephan Conermann & Marion Gymnich 1. Oldenbourg: De Gruyter, forthcoming, 2021. Ex-Detective Inspector Brust. “Trappers of Women: In This Underworld of London, Men-and Women- Who Ply the Vilest of All Trades Are Still to Be Found.An English Girl Is Worth a Lot of Money in Buenos Aires!,” November 30, 1935. Fischer-Tiné, Harald. Low and Licentious Europeans: Race, Class and “White Subalternity” in Colonial India. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan Private Limited, 2009. Fletcher, Ian Christopher. “Opposition by Journalism? The Socialist and Suffragist Press and the Passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1912.” Parliamentary History 25, no. 1 (2006): 88–114. From our own Correspondent. “White Slave Gang Arrests: Tragedy of Two Baby Girls - Duped Mothers.” Daily Mail, November 7, 1932. GAATW. “History.” Accessed October 28, 2020. https://gaatw​.org​/about​-us​/history. Gartner, Lloyd P. “Anglo-Jewry and the Jewish International Traffic in Prostitution, 1885- 1914.” Cambridge University Press on Behalf of the Association for Jewish Studies 7, no. 8 (1983 1982): 129–78. ———. “East European Jewish Migration: Germany and Britain.” In Two Nations: British and German Jews in Comparative Perspective, edited by Michael Brenner, Rainer Liedtke, and David Rechter, 117–34. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1999. Gerrard, Michael B. “Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement.” University of Miami Law Review 72, no. 2 (2018): 345–68.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 47

08-10-2021 11:26:57

48

Ruth Ennis

Gilfoyle, Timothy J. City of Eros: New York City, Prostitution, and the Commercialization of Sex, 1790-1920. New York & London: W. W. Norton & Company, 1992. “Girls Drugged in Cinemas: Are the Stories True?” Sunday Dispatch, September 8, 1935. Global Network of Sex Work Projects. Accessed October 28, 2020. https://www​ .nswp​.org. Gorham, Deborah. “The ‘Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon’ Re-Examined: Child Prostitution and the Idea of Childhood in Late-Victorian England.” Victorian Studies 21, no. 3 (1978): 353–79. Grittner, Frederick K. White Slavery: Myth, Ideology, and American Law. New York: Garland, 1990. Harsin, Jill. Policing Prostitution in Nineteenth-Century Paris. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1985. Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf. Online: White Wolf, 2014. International Organization for Migration. The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus. The U.N. Migration Agency, 2016. IOM UN Migration. “Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime.” Accessed October 21, 2020. https://www​.iom​.int​/ bali​-process. Jakubczak, Aleksandra. “The Issue of Jew’ Participation in White Slavery and Prostitution as Reflected in Hebrew Press at the Turn of the 19th and the 20th Centuries.” Kwartalnik Historii Zydów 262, no. 2 (2017): 183–99. Jazbinsek, Dietmar. “Der Internationale Mädchenhandel: Biographie Eines Sozialen Problems.” Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin, 2002. http://hdl​.handle​.net​/10419​/49624. Jordon, Jane, ed. Child Prostitution and the Age of Consent. Vol. 4. 5 vols. Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases and the Body Politic. London & New York: Routledge, 2003. Jordon, Jane, and Ingrid Sharp, eds. Josephine Butler and the Prostitution Campaigns: Diseases of the Body Politic. 4 vols. London: Routledge, 2004. Kempadoo, Kamala, ed. Trafficking and Prostitution Reconsidered: New Perspectives on Migration, Sex Work, and Human Rights. 2nd ed. Boulder/London: Paradigm Publishers, 2012. Knepper, Paul. International Crime in the 20th Century: The League of Nations Era, 1919- 1939. Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 2011. ———. “British Jews and the Racialisation of Crime in the Age of Empire.” British Journal of Criminology 47, no. 1 (2007): 67–79. Lammasniemi, Laura. “‘Prococious Girls’: Age of Consent, Class and Family in Late Nineteenth-Century England.” Law and History Review 38, no. 1 (2020): 241–66. League of Nations. “International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children,” 1921. ———. Questions 8: Traffic in Women in the East, Work of the Bandoeng Conference. Information Section. Geneva, 1938. Levine, Philippa. Prostitution, Race & Politics; Policing Venereal Disease in the British Empire. New York: Routledge, 2003.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 48

08-10-2021 11:26:57

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

49

———. “The White Slave Trade and the British Empire.” In Crime, Gender, and Sexuality in Criminal Prosecutions, edited by Louise A. Knafla, 17:133–46. Criminal Justice History. Westport, CT & London: Greenwood Press, 2002. Limoncelli, Stephanie A. The Politics of Trafficking: The First International Movement to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Women. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2010. Londres, Albert. Le Chemin de Buenos-Aires: La Traite Des Blanches. Paris: A. Michel, 1927. ———. The Road to Buenos Ayres [Sic]. London: Constable, 1928. Machiels, Christine. Les Féminismes et La Prostitution (1860-1960). Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2016. Mckeown, Adam. Melancholy Order: Asian Migration and the Globalization of Borders. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. McKeown, Adam. “Periodizing Globalization.” History Workshop Journal, no. 63 (Spring 2007): 218–30. Mettauer, Philipp, and Barbara Staudinger, eds. “Ostjuden” Geschichte und Mythos. Innsbruck, Wien und Bozen: Studien Verlag, 2015. Montgomery, Heather. “Children, Prostitution, and Identity: A Case Study from a Tourist Resort in Thailand.” In Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistence, and Redefinition Edited by Kamala Kempadoo and Jo Doezema, 139–50. New York and London: Routledge, 1998. Mr. Mann, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. “White Slave Traffic Report (Report No. 47).” House of Representatives, 61st Congress, 2s Session, 1909. 5591H​.rp​.​47. Library of Congress, Washington D.C. Mulpetre, Owen. “W.T. Stead Resource Website.” Attacking the Devil. Accessed October 14, 2020. https://www​.attackingthedevil​.co​.uk/. Mumford, Kevin J. Interzones: Black/White Sex Districts in Chicago and New York in the Early Twentieth Century. New York: Columbia University Press, 1997. Nagle, Jill, ed. Whores and Other Feminists. New York: Routledge, 1997. Neilans, Alison. “Mysterious ‘White Slave’ Traffic Rumous. Have the Stories Any Foundations?” Yorkshire Observer, September 9, 1935. NVA. Executive Minutes of the National Vigilance Association, June 1886-December 1899. London: Unpublished, n.d. ———. “Mintues of the Meeting Held at 26. Strand on Tuesday, February 28 1899,” 1899. 6B/106/4/NVA. LSE Women’s Library. ———. The White Slave Trade: Transactions of the International Congress on the White Slave Trade, Held in London on the 21st, 22nd and 23rd of June, 1899. London: Office of the National Vigilance Association, 1899. O’Brien, Erin. Challenging the Human Trafficking Narrative : Victims, Villains, and Heroes. London: Routledge, 2020. Our Own Correspondent. “White Slavers Hoard Their Victims’ Children: Little Girls as Future Prey.” Daily Herald. November 8, 1932. Patterson, Orlando. Slavery and Social Death a Comparative Study. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press, 1982.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 49

08-10-2021 11:26:57

50

Ruth Ennis

———. “Trafficking, Gender and Slavery: Past and Present.” In Jean Allain (Ed) The Legal Understanding of Slavery: From the Historical to the Contemporary, 717–99. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Pliley, Jessica R. Policing Sexuality: The Mann Act and the Making of the FBI. Cambridge, MA & London: Harvard University Press, 2014. ———. “The FBI’s White Slave Division: The Creation of a National Regulatory Regime to Police Prostitutes in the United States, 1910-1918.” In Global AntiVice Activism, 1890- 1950, edited by Jessica R. Pliley, Robert Kramm-Masaoka, and Harald Fischer-Tiné, 221–45. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. ———. “Trafficking White Slaves and Misleading Marriages in the Campaigns Against Sex Trafficking, 1885-1927.” Federal History, no. April (2019): 60–82. Plumauzille, Clyde. “Du « Scandale de La Prostitution» à l’«atteinte Contre Les Bonnes Moeurs» : Contrôle Policier et Administration Des Filles Publiques Sous La Révolution Française.” De Boeck Supérieur 3, no. 107 (2014): 9–31. Randall, Leslie. “Urges Scheme for Closer Watch on Night Clubs: How White Slave Traffickers Work and The Fortures They Make.” Sundy Dispatch, February 9, 1936. Rodríguez García, Magaly. “The League of Nations and the Moral Recruitment of Women. International.” Review of Social History 57, no. S20 (2012): 97–128. https://doi​.org​/doi​:10​.1017​/S0020859012000442. Shepard, Todd. Sex, France, & Arab Men, 1962-1979. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2017. Soderlund, Gretchen. Sex Trafficking, Scandal and the Transformation of Journalism, 1885- 1917. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 2013. Stauter-Halsted, Keely. The Devil’s Chain: Prostitution and Social Control in Partitioned Poland. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press, 2015. Stoler, Ann Laura. Carnel Knowledge and Imperial Power; Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule. Berkeley, Loa Angeles & London: University of California Press, 2002. Summers, Anne. “Which Women? Which Europe? Josephine Butler and the International Abolitionist Federation.” History Workshop Journal 62 (2006): 214–31. Sunday News. “Bad Men from Abroad: Demand for Closed Door Against Alien White Slavers and Swindlers,” February 9, 1936. Testaì, Patrizia. “Debt as a Route to Modern Slavery in the Discourse on ‘Sex Trafficking:’ Myth or Reality?” Human Security Journal 6, no. Spring (2008): 68–77. Thamsans Weekly News. “Accused Man’s White Slave Revelations. Tells Police How Girls Were Trapped.” August 8, 1936. The Daily Mail. “Gang Victim Unmasked: White-Slave Chief - Girls Tell of Luxury Life in Mayfair Flats,” January 31, 1936. The People. “Bogus Marriage Racket to Be Wiped Out: Women to Be Deported,” February 9, 1936. ———. “Foreign Gangsters in Britain,” April 12, 1936.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 50

08-10-2021 11:26:58

Recalibrating Moral Compasses

51

U.N. Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. “Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others: Approved by General Assembly Resolution 317 (IV) of December 2 1949 Entry into Force: July 25 1951, in Accordance with Article 24.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 1949. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/en/​​ profe​​ssion​​alint​​erest​​/page​​s​/tra​​ffici​​​npers​​ons​.a​​spx. ———. “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Adopted and Opened for Signature, Ratification and Accession by General Assembly Resolution 55/25 of November 15 2000.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 2000. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/en/​​profe​​ssion​​alint​​erest​​/page​​s​/pro​​ tocol​​traff​​i ckin​​g​inpe​​rsons​​.aspx​. U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. “Booklet 2 - Trafficking in Persons in the Context of Armed Conflict.” Vienna: UNODC, 2018. ———. “Criminalization of human trafficking.” Human Trafficking, 2020. https​:/​/ ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/en​​/huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing​/w​​hat​-i​​s​-hum​​an​​-tr​​affic​​king.​​html. United Nations Development Programme. Human Development Report 1994. New York & Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994. Van Onselen, Charles. “Jewish Marginality in the Atlantic World: Organised Crime in the Era of the Great Migrations, 1880–1914.” South African Historical Journal 43, no. 1 (2000): 96–137. ———. “Jewish Police Informers in the Atlantic World, 1880–1914.” The Historical Journal 50, no. 1 (2007): 119–44. ———. Studies in the Social and Economic History of the Witwatersrand 1886-1914. New York: Longman Inc., 1982. Väyrynen, Raimo. “Illegal Immigration, Human Trafficking, And Organized Crime, Discussion Paper 2003/072.” Helsinki: United Nations University, 2003. Vyleta, Daniel M. Crime, Jews and News: Vienna 1895–1914. New York: Berghahn Books, 2012. Walk Free - Minderoo Foundation. “Protecting People in a Pandemic: Urgent Collaboration Is Needed to Protect Vulnerable Workers and Prevent Exploitation,” 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.wal​​kfree​​.org/​​repor​​ts​/pr​​otect​​ing​-p​​eople​​-in​-a​​​-pand​​emic/​. Wanrooij, Bruno P. F. “Josephine Butler and Regulated Prostitution in Italy.” Women’s History Review 17, no. 2 (April 2008): 153–71. White, Luise. The Comforts of Home: Prostitution in Colonial Nairobi. Chicago & London: The University of Chicago Press, 1990. Wijers, Marjan, and Lin Lap-Chew. Trafficking in Women, Forced Labour and Slavery-like Practices in Marriage, Domestic Laobur and Prostitution. Utrecht: Foundation Against Trafficking in Women, 1999. Wingfield, Nancy M. “Destination: Alexandria, Buenos Aires, Constantinople: ‘White Slavers’ in Late Imperial Austria.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 20, no. 2 (May 2011): 291–311. ———. The World of Prostitution in Late Imperial Austria. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 51

08-10-2021 11:26:58

52

Ruth Ennis

Witong, Linda. “The Effects of Climate Change on Migration and Human Trafficking.” Soroptimist International, June 7, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sor​​optim​​istin​​terna​​tiona​​l​.org​​/ the-​​effec​​ts​-of​​-clim​​ate​-c​​hange​​-on​-m​​igrat​​ion​-a​​nd​​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​/. Yarfitz, Mir. Impure Migration: Jews and Sex Work in Golden Age Argentina. New Brunswick, Camden; Newark, NJ & London: Rutgers University Press, 2019. Zeuske, Michael. Handbuch Geschichte Der Sklaverei: Eine Globalgeschichte von Den Anfängen Bis Zur Gegenward. Berlin & Boston: De Gruyter, 2013.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 52

08-10-2021 11:26:58

Chapter 3

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women’s Bodies in India Rekha Pande

Human trafficking poses serious threats to human life and dignity all over the world. Trafficking affects almost every country globally, whether as a country of origin, transit, or a victim’s destination. Particularly speaking of a globalized world, this shameful act of human trafficking not only points to the loopholes in the existing socio-legal system that strives to attain an equal and dignified life for all individuals, but it also questions the continuous practice of maltreating human beings who are easily trapped. Due to their illiteracy, ignorance, and poverty and hoping for a better life, these innocent people are trafficked for different purposes such as sexual exploitation, slavery, bonded, and forced labor on domestic and commercial fronts. According to international data, human trafficking is the third-largest international crime, following illegal drugs and arms trafficking. In 2005, the International Labor Organization (ILO) published its first estimate of the profits resulting from human trafficking. It was estimated that the global profits made using forced labor were at least US$44 billion per year, including US$32 billion from trafficking.1 In geographic terms, trafficking emerges as a global issue since it is not confined to a particular country, region, or community, but it is widespread all over the globe. Despite international labor standards and a U.N. convention against trafficking in human beings, millions of victims, particularly children—made vulnerable by poverty and abused by criminals—work in mines, sweatshops, brothels, and plantations—stuck in debt and abuse—are used as goods in cruel commercialization of society and then thrown away.2 We note a similar pattern of the prominence of the underprivileged and marginalized as significant victims of trafficking when analyzing the issue of trafficking from a gender perspective. Young women and girls are the 53

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 53

08-10-2021 11:26:58

54

Rekha Pande

most vulnerable targets of and often at the receiving end of such atrocities. For example, Western and Southern Europe and countries in the Middle East record large shares of victims trafficked from other regions. In contrast, in most other parts of the world, such detections are relatively rare.3 A considerable population of these people is from developing countries, particularly in South and Southeast Asia, including India and the Indian subcontinent.4 There is a close association between trafficking, globalization, migration, and security. We must recognize trafficking as an organized crime and a violation of human rights and women’s rights that compromises the security of individuals. The trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation has emerged as a new security threat, as one of the grossest and outrageous violations of human rights in the world today and is unacceptable.5 Traditional approaches to preventing trafficking, protecting, and assisting trafficked persons, and bringing criminals to justice have only limited impact. This issue threatens the very fabric of societies through crime and disease. It exacerbates corruption in already weak states, impairing their economic and political functioning, and prevents the states in the region from developing in a positive direction. WOMEN TRAFFICKING IN A GLOBALIZING WORLD Globalization connotes the deepening relationship and penetration in the economy and development of an interconnected economic system. Globalization gets manifested in many ways. These include increased collaboration between companies in production and research, greater use of international financial markets, and the spatial spread of production activities. Globalization has affected the third world in more than one way. Though defined in myriad ways, all definitions of globalization share one of its chief characteristics, that is, the flow of global capital and their thrust toward creating a global economy. Today, it is the economic changes that are altering structures and cultures. Most of the developing world economies are now in the process of restructuring in the direction of free market and liberalization with an overall aim at developing outward-looking internationally competitive economies with negative social consequences. The transition against capitalism is the philosophy and driving dialogues in the global world. In the road to globalization, the free play of trade, liberalization, privatization, and competitiveness have become key terms. The three pillars of neoliberalism, that is, privatization, liberalization, and restructuring, have pushed women into free trade zones to work under exploitative conditions. Many families forced to migrate have been displaced in search of better livelihood.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 54

08-10-2021 11:26:59

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

55

In this rapidly shifting paradigm, the state, instead of helping the poor, marginalized, and socially disadvantaged people, has gradually withdrawn from important sectors like health care, education, power, and water.6 More privatization has been followed by the withdrawal of the state from more and more welfare-oriented activities, and South Asia is no exception. Since there was already a disparity existing globally, the reduction in the social sectors undermined the quality of human resources, thereby jeopardizing the countries’ prospects for achieving sustained economic development in the future. Regions like Telangana in India have seen the diversion of large tracts of agricultural land for commercial aqua production. It has spurred the declining viability of traditional livelihood skills and a lack of education for alternative means of income. It has reduced these victims to a situation where there is no other choice but to join the sex trade. Simultaneously, we see a flow of ideas, culture, people, and images across borders. This “borderlessness” has an amazing grasp on our lives and nations. Chandra Mohanty speaks of feminism without borders, one that acknowledges the fault lines, conflicts, differences, fears, and containment that borders represent.7 Capitalist globalization today involves an unprecedented “commodification” of human beings. In the last three decades, the rapidly growing sex trade has been massively “industrialized” worldwide.8 This process of industrialization generates profits amounting to billions of dollars in both legal and illegal forms. This sex market has been created by the rapid deployment of prostitution in developing economies and the unprecedented growth of the tourism industry.9 The industrialization of the sex trade and its globalization are fundamental factors that distinguish contemporary prostitution qualitatively from the prostitution of yesterday. “Consumers” now in the Economic North have access to exotic and young bodies worldwide. The sex industry is diversified, established, and specialized: it can fulfill all kinds of demands. GENDER CONSTRUCTION OF SEXUALITY Sexuality is a site of power that the heteronormative society has constructed to regularize the bodies of men and women. This constructed sexuality is based on the patriarchal notion, which constructed men with higher and natural sexual tendencies and women devoid of any sexual tendencies and desires. This gendered construction of women has led society to treat women as inferior, unequal, and deficient, and society mimics and imposes the idea of “normal” womanhood.10 Foucault also spoke about the rise of prisons, asylums, and clinics that were created to control sexuality that led to the condemning of pathologized individuals. As a solution, they were separated

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 55

08-10-2021 11:26:59

56

Rekha Pande

from society and confined to restrictive spaces.11 Historically, the politics of legalizing sex work was to protect the citizens from venereal diseases and to monitor the bodies of sex workers.12 Sex was institutionalized through the institution of marriage since it ensured pure bloodlines and kinship. Sex outside the institution of marriage was repressed in ways that were termed or within the boundaries of moral and immoral, and the sex between couples for reproduction was proper and that for the sake of pleasure wrong for it has no production value. The culture of sexuality is developed around male pleasure that has adopted a phallocentric culture on sex and trafficking in girls and women. The unbounded hedonism for the pursuit of pleasure in postmodern society is only at the disposable of men.13 This construction of womencontrolled sexuality has led to the ostracization of the bodies of voluntary sex workers. Sex workers suffer ridicule and embarrassment in most public places. They are kept apart as if they had some form of infectious disease.14 This is because sexuality is shaped by power and influenced by cultural, social, and political factors. THE EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN IN INDIA’S PAST Slavery in some form or the other has always existed in India. In India, the ancient references of dasas, and the equivalent term dasi, for women is frequent. These dasis were largely employed in domestic services, as agricultural laborers, and for the sexual pleasure of their masters.15 Sexual exploitation was particularly evident in young dasis, whereas the older ones served in domestic households. Another practice for exploitation of women, which we see in the past, is the Devadasi system. They were married to gods and were hired as dancers, singers, musicians in the temples and given the deities certain services. The smooth running of the temple administration was the responsibility of some of them.16 This was a brutal form of enslavement of young girls who were given to the service of God much before they attained puberty and later were subjected to sexual exploitation. The kings, noblemen, vassals, and generals donated these girls to the temples, and we have many inscriptions from the eleventh century onwards as proof.17 According to one study by Maggie Black, the young Devadasi are easy victims of trafficking because of their preestablished sexual openness and lack of familial ties, whereas the older Devadasi may end up serving as perpetrators of trafficking.18 Most of the girls who enter as Devadasi end up in prostitution.19 The practices of women slavery and Devadasi draw our attention to another form of exploitation, prostitution. Prostitution which is commercial sex work as a profession and as an agency is mainly linked with the demand and supply chain of the trafficking for sexual purposes. Over three-fourth of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 56

08-10-2021 11:26:59

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

57

a brothel owners all over India admitted to having “direct dealings with traffickers.”20 These dealings include the sale, purchase, hire and transfer of girls for commercial sex work. Trafficking is a multidimensional problem in India today, encompassing a whole range of varied and highly nuanced economic, social, and cultural issues. With the hope of better employment, better career opportunities, and marriage, most of the victims are trafficked. Some are violently induced by kidnapping. Poverty and deprivation, a secondary status is given to women in society, discrimination toward girls, weakening of the institution of the family, shift in the attitude of the public toward sex and morality, caste institution, urbanization, migration, and rising consumerism are some of the factors that have led to trafficking.21 TRAFFICKING TODAY Putting together the poor socioeconomic indicators, poverty levels and the subjugation of women in the forms of derogatory practices of bonded labor, Devadasi, and prostitution establishes links with the frequency and magnitude of women trafficking in different regions. Women trafficking increased in South Asia after the 1990s. Due to globalization, this period witnessed new structural changes with the rapid acceptance of the free market economy, and the government loosened its restrictions. As more and more privatization set in, the government withdrew from developmental projects for the poor in rural areas. This increased the number of people below the poverty line. Globalization, followed by population increase, urbanization, immigration, colonialism, and political transition, are important contributors to the growth of prostitution and trafficking of women and girls worldwide.22 India was no exception. Bars, dance clubs, massage parlors, the pornographic industry, international hotel chains, brothels, and the tourist industry have all increased in numbers and have intensified the commodification process of women’s sexuality after globalization. It has been pointed out that if countries in the region maintain their restrictive immigration policies, trafficking can be expected to continue and almost certainly increase.23 Human smugglers and traffickers make high profits with low capital investment and face a low risk of detection and, if caught and tried, encounter relatively short prison sentences compared to drug traffickers. Many of these illegal immigrants are women who often end up in the sex industry and fall into the hands of traffickers. The growing presence of women in trafficking and related activities like sexual tourism has become a source of livelihood, profit-making, and the accrual of foreign currency for a country’s economy.24 These dynamics generate a shadow economy that includes

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 57

08-10-2021 11:27:00

58

Rekha Pande

informal, criminal services and the sale of women for sex. Globalization reinforces the preexisting structure on a global scale by commodifying and selling women’s sexuality.25 According to a study, nearly 150,000 women and children are trafficked from South Asian regions every year, and many of these are from India. It is also estimated that nearly 90 percent of trafficking is internal, between different states and regions.26 The trafficking process is perpetrated by traffickers who can exploit human (women) misfortune with near impunity.27 Shelly also supports this notion and argues that the process of human trafficking can be understood with a simple demand and supply model.28 He attributes this growth in trafficking to a liberal economy, lesser government control and less state intervention, and modern means of communications which have collectively diluted the security across borders and facilitated illegal and criminal activities, including drugs, arms, and human trafficking.29 In India, Sen and Nair also note similar patterns where globalization has led to the openness of borders (interstates and neighboring countries such as Nepal). Communication and transportation are made available at a cheaper cost. Increasing use of modern telecommunications such as the internet and mobile phones are some of the factors attributing to the rise in cases of trafficking since the 1980s.30 The route of trafficking can be broadly divided into three distinct parts: source, transit, and destination. The source (origin) refers to the place where victims are identified and captured. The transit part refers to one or more places where the victims are held or transferred during the act of trafficking before reaching their destination. HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN TELANGANA In 2018, Telangana was fourth in India, with around 242 cases reported under the various Anti-Human Trafficking laws, Jharkhand (373), Maharashtra (311), Assam (262), Telangana (242) and Andhra Pradesh (240) were the top five states in cases of trafficking in human beings. In Telangana, there were 137 cases reported in 2019, 242 in 2018, and 320 in 2017 and according to recent studies, Andhra Pradesh stands second in this regards and Telangana seventh in the country.31 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Telangana is a recent addition to the list of the states in India and came into existence on June 2, 2014, having separated from Andhra Pradesh as the 29th state of the union. The establishment of this state had a long history of struggle under the Telangana Movement with a demand to get freedom from

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 58

08-10-2021 11:27:00

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

59

the Nizam, the Patils, and the Jagirdars in Hyderabad State with a movement that began in 1946. The essential feature of people’s lives in Hyderabad state earlier was the feudal exploitation that led to the uprising of the peasants. There were various social ills in society. The Vetti system (forced labor and exactions) was imposed on all peasants in varying degrees. Each family had to send a person to collect wood for fuel, carry posts to other villages, and carry supplies. They also had to provide the landlord with footwear, agricultural implements, pots, or clothes for free. Many peasant girls were kept as slaves and dasis in the landlords’ house. When landlord’s daughters were married, these girls were often sent with them to serve as concubines. Education for women was unheard of, though social reform movements had brought women into public life outside the Nizam’s state. The social evils of the earlier period of forced labor, devadasi system, and adi papa were the percussor for the trafficking of women for sex work. OUR STUDY AND METHODOLOGY We conducted a study to examine the status, problems, and issues related to women victims of trafficking in a span of three years, 2012–2014. Our research methodology employs a triangulation method, which is a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. Case studies were used to highlight the main issues. Data for this study was obtained through an extensive survey of the shelter homes and an informal interview with the various people involved with this issue. Interviews were conducted with victims of trafficking, the police and social activists, and NGO personnel. For these three categories of personnel, we had some broad questions and asked the same to different people. We were able to interview ninety-two victims of trafficking from six districts, including Warangal, Khamman, Karimnagar, Adilabad, Vikarabad, and Hyderabad. Nineteen police personnel and twenty-eight NGOs were involved with this work. LIMITATIONS OF OUR STUDY There were several limitations in our study. The scope of the study was limited to only those victims who consented to have interactions and give interviews and were staying in homes set up by the NGOs or were rescued by the Police. During our study, NGOs, shelter homes, and rehabilitation centers were identified and contacted. These centers had trafficked victims (as per information released by police authorities), but when contacted, many of these centers refused to participate and were not comfortable with

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 59

08-10-2021 11:27:00

60

Rekha Pande

our questions. Hence, the study was conducted with only those that agreed to let us interview them. In few cases, some victims first agreed to interaction, but when we went there again, they refused to talk to us and walked out on the day of the interview. In some brothels and spa centers, where trafficked victims were suspected of working, they refused to participate in the study despite repeated requests. In this study, victims were identified and approached with the intervention of police or NGOs, or both. In such cases, interactions and interviews with trafficked victims were indirectly controlled and monitored by NGO/ police personnel to some extent. They never permitted us to interview the victims all alone, and they were present at the time of different interviews. They reserved the right to stop any interaction/ interview in the middle if they suspected the victims were getting stressed or showed any signs of discomfort, re-trauma, or uneasiness. We were stopped many times, and we had to conduct the same interviews with many gaps. While they were very cooperative in giving us contacts and allowing us to talk to the victims, the police and NGO members did not share their personal and sociodemographic details. They cited personal confidentiality and safety as the main reasons for this as they are actively involved with rescue operations and often dealt with critical situations. We agreed not to disclose the names of the police personnel and NGOs involved, and when we use the names of the victims, these are not their actual names; they are aliases. TRAFFICKED VICTIMS We were able to interview ninety-two victims of trafficking. In our talks with the girls, we were able to draw a picture of the lives of these girls before and after trafficking. We discovered that ten people were involved in this business and lived off the earning of these girls. These included the spotter, recruiter, buyer, seller, transporter, harborer, financier, brothel keeper, and pimp. Finally, the clientele and the women or girls passed through these various hands from the time she was spotted in the village to the time she is sent to the client. The younger victims, especially those unmarried girls below the age of 20, were relatively shy and reserved in their responses. This shows a departure from the assumption that the younger generations would be more open and expressive compared to their older counterparts, owing to their greater exposure to and closer proximity with modern means of communication (mobile phones and many others.) compared to their older counterparts. One reason for this reserved attitude of the younger lot is that we were probing a very delicate and traumatic area, and these girls still look for an opportunity to marry, have children, and settle down. In this regard, exposure to their “terrible past life” may adversely affect their future.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 60

08-10-2021 11:27:00

61

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

On the other hand, the older victims (particularly those in the age group of 45–60) were more open in their expressions. During the fieldwork, one victim remarked “that there is nothing to lose now—nothing to fear now. The past is over and behind me. I am well settled today and look to the future.”32 She was ready to share her story with the minutest details. Nearly in all cases, the interviews were completed in one sitting. In about twenty-four cases, the interview process was interrupted due to victims’ emotional outbursts and crying. However, with the help of NGO personnel, the victims were consoled, and interviews resumed and were completed in other sittings. However, further probing of a question (which might have initiated discomfort/ uneasiness or even sobbing) was avoided in such cases. Most of the women were married at the time of interview. Few women did not want to reveal their current relationship status. However, all these victims were unmarried at the time of trafficking, and they got married only after their rescue and reintegration process. Hence, it is wrong to state that the trafficked woman never gets married. Many of these respondents had kept their earlier lives a secret, and they lived in constant fear of their past being discovered. In only a few cases, the husbands knew about the women as previously trafficked, and these women were more at ease. Many trafficked victims came from broken, violent, and low-income families and were looking for security. Ramannamma, who was 12 years at the time she was trafficked, told us, “Anna (Brother) was a regular visitor to our house whenever he came from the city. He used to tell me that I am your elder brother. After a few visits, I started looking forward to his visit for he would bring many gifts, new clothes, chocolates for me and some foodstuff for my parents. Having four sisters and a very violent father who never had a regular job and spent all the evenings drinking, his presence was like fresh air. He even brought cigarettes for my father, who was smoking beedis, and very proudly smoke these cigarettes. He would tell us stories about his life in Hyderabad and how everyone was rich there, and he used to meet the film stars regularly, and he knew many of them. I was very keen to see some of these film stars. He then fooled my parents to send me to Hyderabad to get me an excellent job as a maidservant, and I can lead a happy life and send money to my parents regularly. My parents were convinced, and I was very excited when I left with him. We never reached Hyderabad, but I was imprisoned in a room for days and raped on the first day, and after that, I traveled to many places I do not even know the names of, and every night I had many men coming to me. I cried a lot, but I never saw Anna after this.”33

The principal causes that are attributed to sex trafficking are poverty, globalization, natural calamities, conflict, urbanization, caste and class structure, and lack of education. However, the most predominant foundation that the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 61

08-10-2021 11:27:00

62

Rekha Pande

literature has delineated on sex trafficking is poverty.34 Many of these victims cited poverty, lack of education, and lack of adequate employment opportunities and regular sources of income as the main reasons for their involvement in trafficking. Most of the girls were trafficked with a promise of a better life. They did make efforts to escape but were not successful. There were many other stories of how the victims wanted to escape, but there was no escape. Rani, who was 14 when trafficked, told us: I was imprisoned for more than a year, beaten, and stabbed with cigarette stubs for refusing to serve any one of the large numbers of clients sent by the brothel owner. Every day, I wanted to run away. However, everywhere they (brothel owners and pimps) kept an eye on us. We were not allowed to go out. If we went out for some shopping or even to the temple, Maalkin’s (Brothel owner) bodyguards were always with us. There was no way we could escape their eyes. Every night I prayed to God, hoping that someone will come and my rescue.35

At 13, while studying in a neighboring school, Roja was pulled out of school and sent along with her trafficker to get a good job in the neighboring state. She traveled with the so-called Aunty and three other girls out of the village. They were kept together for two weeks and were then separated. As Roja points out, “each of us was sent to a different brothel. They (traffickers) planned it very carefully, and they never let a group of girls from the same place be in one brothel. Because if many girls from the same place are spotted in one area, it will be dangerous for the traffickers.”36 In the brothel, Roja did not easily give in. She protested a lot and, in turn, got her skin and tongue burned with cigarettes, and she was even raped by two of the goons of the brothel owners. She was kept without food and water for many days until she succumbed to hunger, pain, and helplessness. She is unsure of what she was given but tells us that she felt as if she was in a trance and felt dizzy after the owners gave her some medicine to stay healthy and not bring any disease to her customers. Roja was in the brothel for five years, where she was exploited almost every day and had become a drug addict. Nevertheless, some hope was still alive in her heart. As Roja says, “I have always believed in God. Each day when I was going through this punishment, I was praying silently to God that this one would be my last one. Somehow, I also believed that this ordeal was only temporary, and God will bring this to an end. It was tough to keep up the faith at times, and I went into depression and cursed my life, but somehow, I did continue to have faith.”37 After being rescued, she was put into, de-toxification and after this, there was a need to have proper training and employment opportunities. Safety concerns, especially in the case of those who are deserted by family members

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 62

08-10-2021 11:27:01

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

63

and are forced to live independently, were critical. They also needed emotional stability and proper counseling. They lacked identity proof which was essential to open bank accounts, getting loans for employment and houses, and much work in this regard was done by the NGOs where they were stationed. Many victims, who were victims of trafficking in our study, came from underprivileged communities like scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), and other backward communities (OBC). Sixteen victims refused to give us their caste break up, and some were not aware of their caste, and hence we were not sure how many of these again belonged to general, SC, ST, or OBC castes. At the time of our interviews, the victims resided in urban areas, but they had their roots in rural areas. The rehabilitation home provided them some training and gave them some money, but this was certainly not enough. They earned about Rs. 3000 to 4000 per month. They were earning salaries through works such as housemaids and office jobs as janitors, peons. About an equal number of women were reported to be engaged in daily wage-earning. It included industrial laborers, piece-rate work in garment and manufacturing industries, and construction site labors. Another considerable number of women were currently undergoing training for vocational courses. This training includes tailoring, embroidery work, bakery, jute and cotton handicrafts, pottery, and the making of sanitary napkins. It may be noted that women currently undergoing training were residing in shelter/ transit homes and their training was a part of their daily life and an attempt toward rehabilitation. The NGO staff confirmed more than one-third of cases to be HIV and AIDS positive and told us that they were being treated for this. On the other hand, victims did not wish to reveal such information, which may be due to shame and uneasiness to share such details. Since the victims did not confess the same, it was not considered. Only the cases where victims themselves were confirmed to be suffering from HIV/ AIDS and STDs were recorded. We did not go through the health records of the victims available with the NGOs. Most of the victims view themselves as unhealthy. It may be noted that they often mix physical and emotional well-being and infuse it into their perception of health. So, in most cases, the victims are reported to be physically and emotionally unhealthy. Vani told us; “I do not feel very healthy. I have regular headaches and body pain. I do not feel very good about myself. I always feel low and have this headache which is there continuously. My head is always hurting. Though I have been prescribed a lot of medicines, somehow, I am not able to get over this problem. Due to this, I also cannot sleep well and often get up at odd hours.”38 Many victims were afraid that they would get back into the same rut and be trafficked again. Re-trafficking of victims was one of their primary concerns. Against their will, these girls are forced to work for the profit of others.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 63

08-10-2021 11:27:01

64

Rekha Pande

There were instances when they were forced to drink alcohol and were given drugs to deal with their body and their abuse. As a result, many of these girls were now addicted to alcohol and drugs and needed this on a regular basis. Recruitment agents used drugs to target those already in the profession or entice nonusers into recruitment. They could also keep control of the victim in a trafficking situation. They often used alcohol and drugs to punish, reward, and decrease victims’ will to escape. Often, we found that drugs and alcohol were used as a coping strategy so that victims use drugs to dull the pain. It was not easy to quantify this but talking to the girls made us realize how the recruiters used alcohol and drugs for their benefits, and finally, the girls were accustomed to this. Many girls told us that their customers showed them many pornographic pictures and wanted to try new positions. Often after sex, some of the customers forced them to sit and watch some pornographic films with them. Many of the victims were very religious in their approach to life and acknowledged their role in the reintegration processes. To quote Venkataamma, “God has helped me to come out of that situation. Now I must try to be happy and not think of past life. In counseling, Sirs and Madams always told us that God would help us if we helped ourselves. I feel it is true.”39 Victims also indicated their faith in God, in whatever religion they are practicing. According to many, they feel that God is always helping them. To quote Lalitha, “God has led me so far. I thank him all day and night. Maybe I was put in trouble due to my bad karma. But God helped me out of it, and I think the worst is over. God has given me hope to live. When I was in the brothel, I prayed to God to get me out of that hell, and I feel he has listened to my prayers.”40 The role of the family in the reintegration process becomes vital. It was noted that regardless of whether the family assisted in their reintegration or refused to acknowledge their presence, the victims acknowledged the role of the family in successful reintegration. To quote Mani, Of course, you cannot do without family. If they help you, you are good. If they do not help, you are lost. My family did not help me and told the NGO sisters who went to them that they have declared in the village that I had gone to work in the city and had died of viral fever. I feel my life would be better if they helped me a little. After all, I was their blood, and I always have this feeling of being let down by my family for no fault of mine. They have not even enquired about my wellbeing even once, though I keep thinking about them and think of my life before I was taken away.41

One prominent theme that emerged from fieldwork was the recurrence of shame and silence on the part of victims. Most of the time, the victims would

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 64

08-10-2021 11:27:01

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

65

either avoid a question, and when probed further, they would offer a monosyllabic answer. For example, in response to a discussion about their feelings during the days of being trafficked, many of them responded in a one-word answer like they felt “sorry,” “guilty,” “ashamed of themselves,” “shameful,” and “helpless.” There is a need to look at the connecting dots between forced victimization (as prevalent in the case of trafficking) and the notions of guilt, shame, and silence. Most of the victims reported being “happy” or “satisfied” with their present life. However, at the same time, they also felt “insecure” and “unsure” about their future. The victims often go through many negative feelings such as fear, guilt, shame, and depression. The victims try not to think about their past lives and their traumatic experiences, but it is not that easy. One significant observation is that most victims do not disclose their past lives to their family members (spouses and children). They make conscious efforts to bury their past experiences. Nevertheless, at the same time, it gives way to guilt and being untruthful to the family, which they find challenging to suppress, and they often feel very insecure. As Mala puts it, “my family is nice to me. I have been married for four years and have two children. But I know my family (parents) had lied to them about my past. I do not know how they will react if they find out about where I have been in the past. Every day I live in fear that someone from my past will come and point the finger at me. I know my husband will not keep me anymore if he knows that I was a sex worker.”42 It was noted that most victims reported that they live under constant fear of being recognized as ex-sex workers. Fear of re-trafficking was also noted among these victims. According to Sarla, a widow, “I know what I am doing is for the safety of my family. I do not want my child to be blamed for what I did. But sometimes, I feel sorry and feel shameful for not telling him the truth. I am living far away from the city, and I will not go back there. But still, I fear that someone from the city will find out about me and tell my family. I see bad dreams, and I cry in my sleep. When my child asks about it, I cannot tell him the truth. I only tell him that I was missing his father.”43 In some cases, where the victims were rescued and sent back to their parents (most of them aged 15–25), their parents also forced them to remain silent, often relocated and married off the victims to distant places. They were given in marriage to less-suitable persons, such as persons doubled the ages of the victims, widowers with children from the first wife, and the like. The victims also consented to such “arranged marriages” and reported to have “compromised their situation.” Few of the victims told us that it was better to get married, even if it was to an older person or an unsuitable person and have a family life than to remain single and always under the questioning eyes of people. Marriage for these girls was an essential institution that could provide safety and security to them. In the case of victims, who got married in the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 65

08-10-2021 11:27:02

66

Rekha Pande

same way, hiding their past lives, they lived with a constant feeling of guilt, fear, and insecurity lest their past be revealed. They fear the consequences as well, yet they cannot bring themselves to tell the truth to their husbands, inlaws, and in some cases, to their children. These victims agreed to talk about their past and their present sufferings on the promise of anonymity. In continuation with the victims’ disguise of their past lives, a couple of victims also admitted that they were pretending to live as “widowed/ divorced” women to avoid any social objections/ probing questions on their marital (single/unmarried) status. When they decided to disguise themselves as “once married,” these women were above marriageable age (30–35 years and above) and had no hope of marrying and settling down in real terms. This act of disguise underscores the prevalence and significance of marriage and family life for Indian women and the notion of their honor/ shame in association/ absence of the same. The victims also confessed to having occasional bursts of anger, sadness, and negative feelings. However, these feelings did not last long. To quote Ashalata, “What I have is not enough. But at least it is not bad and full of torture like my past. Do I have any choice? With my past, low status, and no education, I do not think I can complain about my life. I am happy with what I have. It is so much better than the past where I was living in hell. It is good. I do not have to sell my body anymore. No one plays with me and my emotions now.”44 No questionnaire or interview with the girls could unfold the trauma that the trafficked girls went through. We got emotional with the victim throughout our interviews and could imagine the hell that they went through. Their eyes would fill with tears, and it was tough for us to control our emotions. Many of our respondents told us many times the hell that they were living through. Geeta told us, I now know how the hell will be, and I used to curse myself day and night for being in this situation. I died every day there (in the brothel). Every time a customer touched me, I felt like I was dead. I was living in hell. I had lost all hope. I missed my family. They burnt me with cigarettes and kept me locked in a room until I was obeying their wishes. They did not give me food for many days. Every morning I was beaten by my pimp, and in the night again, after the business was over, he used to have sex with me. I was just like a toy in their hands. Maalkin (lady-owner of the brothel) used to give me high doses of alcohol. She deducted this money spent on me on liquor and drugs and gave me a pittance, though I served ten to fifteen customers every day. I have no idea how much money she collected from them. I was not the only one. Other girls were also on drugs and liquor. After getting drinks and drugs, we lost all sense, and they used our bodies the way they wanted. We were only toys in their hands.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 66

08-10-2021 11:27:02

67

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

We worked when we had a fever or headache. We worked even when we had our menstrual circles/ periods. Some customers liked it that way only. I wanted to run away, but I did not know where I will go. It is the same everywhere. It is the same in all places.45

However, while many girls were grateful to their rescuers and the NGO staff for helping them turn to a new life, they could not get over the feeling that they were treated as fallen women by everyone. We could hear these voices only when the NGO staff were not present or not listening. Ashalata told us, “Sometimes I feel that we are in prison for we are never allowed to go out on our own and talk to strangers. All these people are very suspicious of us. They observe us and tell us not to talk to anyone without their permission. The working staff that comes here also looks upon us as immoral women. I always get the feeling that these people think we are fallen women and responsible for our fate.”46 The shelter homes try to impose the idea of a new morally cleansed life that is inculcated. Lalitha tells us that “we often hear long lectures on being good women and controlling our sexual urges. When we complain about the food or not having enough toiletries such as soap, shampoo, and detergent, we are often reminded that we should be thankful for whatever we are getting. We are better off now than we were before. We are not given sanitary napkins and are asked to use cloth. When we ask them for sanitary napkins, they mock us saying, are you from business class families.”47 It was also noted that the victims trafficked for sex work were more fluent in languages other than Telugu as they stayed in Hindi/ Marathi/ Bengalispeaking areas for five to ten years. Ironically, a trafficked victim at the age of 5 stated that she had completely forgotten her native language (Telugu) and learned Marathi/ Mumbai-based Hindi in the brothel. On returning to Telangana, she still feels like “an outsider” and has not yet become fluent in Telugu, which is her month tongue. In yet another case, a victim was forced to speak only Hindi and English to her “clients” in her Mumbaibased brothel and was severely beaten if she tried to speak/ communicate with other Telugu girls in their native language who were brought to the brothel from time to time. In most cases, the victims were trafficked at a young age (below 15–18 years), and some were trafficked when they were just 5 or 6 years old. It indicates the patterns of traffickers’ preferences of victims’ age and vulnerability. Interactions with NGOs and the police also confirm that young girls are the most natural and most vulnerable targets of trafficking. Many of the victims were trafficked on the pretext of love and marriage and later betrayed by their so-called lover who turned out to be a trafficker and had deceived them in the name of love and few had run away from home to be with their lover. On

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 67

08-10-2021 11:27:02

68

Rekha Pande

the other hand, many victims were also trafficked on the pretext of earning their dowries or helping their families. These girls came from impoverished homes, and often there was much violence in these homes. Another important observation is that the victims suffered from a “loss of self” and “loss of identity.” Some of them were trafficked at a very young age; they do not recall their maiden names, their parents, and even the name and location of their village. Almost all victims were given new names in the brothel, mostly to hide their past identity and glamorize their names. Most of them were named after famous female celebrities and actresses. The gravity of this issue can be understood with the fact that even after rescue and reintegration, most of the victims address themselves by their fictitious names. As we shared with the girls their heartbreaking stories and the attitude of the family and the traffickers, it became clear to us that an overriding factor in the proliferation of trafficking was poverty and the fundamental belief that the lives of women and girls are expendable. In a society like ours, where women and girls are not valued or undervalued, women are at greater risk for being abused, trafficked, and coerced into sex slavery. The girls were looking for a better opportunity to improve their lives. We found that the girls did not have rights in both the sites (brothel and shelter home). The difference is that the former space (brothel) has been demonized and constructed as a site where girls and women are sexually brutalized, and the shelter home is the provision of the state where these girls and women are rehabilitated. POLICE PERSONNEL The police personnel were cooperative and talked at length about their experiences with cases of trafficking. Interactions with police centered around police officer’s perception of human trafficking and their firsthand experiences with cases of trafficking. The majority of the police personnel viewed their department/ police force positively and affirmed that they all were knowledgeable and trained enough to deal with such cases. They confirmed the active participative role of police in the rescue and rehabilitation of victims. The biggest hurdles in interviewing police personnel were obtaining an interview appointment and the intermittent interruptions during the interview (phone calls, staff calls, random exit to attend to some other issues). In the case of police, data on personal information is denied due to security reasons. Since police officers and their team are dealing with sensitive matters and, at times, must deal with armed traffickers; therefore, their identity is a significant security concern. The Telangana Police has released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to be followed for anti-human trafficking cases. It was the Women Safety Wing that played a significant role in formulating

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 68

08-10-2021 11:27:03

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

69

these. The new SOPs lays down the various procedures to be followed during the search, rescue, and investigation processes of human trafficking cases. The officials should ensure that the victims do not turn hostile, or worse yet, go back to the profession of trafficking and fail to break the chain.48 Two main issues emerged during these conversations. One was the khadama visa (a visa for domestic help), where many women fall into the hands of the agents who lure these poor and vulnerable women with the promise of jobs in the Gulf region, and they are trafficked to households in the Middle East. The police told us that the women are so desperate to leave that they never disclose the names of the agents to the police, and only when there is a serious problem, and can they contact relatives back home that the matter is reported to the police. The second was a child bride racket, where minor girls were married to wealthy sheiks and other foreign nationals but, this was a guise for trafficking. The agent who spotted this girl bride, the girl’s family, and the Maulwi who performed the marriage were all involved, but their details were never revealed to the police. This organized racket involves agents in Hyderabad and Gulf countries who promise to pull low-income families out of poverty if they married off their daughters. The economic boom of Telangana with Hyderabad as its capital and an ever-expanding IT infrastructure has also brought in organized criminals who make use of this to prey on young women by paying an amount to the family in the name of meher. For every successful marriage in the Gulf, with a rich aunty coming back to Hyderabad with her gold and jewelry talking about the dream-like life that she has in the Gulf, there were twenty that had failed, and the child bride was used, exploited, and never taken to the Gulf and kept waiting with her child for her husband to return or they returned when they were too ill, unhealthy, or just abandoned. In both cases, they fell back again into the grind of deprivation and poverty. The three Rs—Rescue, Rehabilitate, and Restoration—are the main objectives of the anti-trafficking discourse. Among these, rescue and rehabilitation have been actively adopted by both the government and the nongovernmental machinery. The police told us that raids and rescue operations are a key component of government initiatives to combat trafficking. In general, these activities are carried out by law enforcement officials, such as the assistant police chief. Unannounced, a raid and rescue team enter an identified brothel and forcibly removes underage girls and women. They use several decoy clients through whose help the girls and women are marked, and after due preparation, the police raid the premises and free these girls and hand them over to shelter homes. The police have developed a network of informants who provide specific information about trafficked women. Specific information may be in the form of letters, e-mails, photographs, identification marks, and addresses. The police try their best to give some incentive and protection to the informants in some form or the other and maintain their confidentiality.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 69

08-10-2021 11:27:03

70

Rekha Pande

While we found many police officers who were well informed about this issue, we also found that among the lower ranks of non-gazette officers, the police personnel had a vague idea about sex trafficking. Sometimes the person interviewed would pass on a load of answering the question to the other stating that, this was not their department and they do not know much about it. We often heard that they cannot tell us anything now since they have been posted to this section only recently and were still trying to understand this issue. These officials knew little about the distinction between forced and voluntary sex work. A few of them showed their attitude toward the victims by criminalizing them for engaging in sex work. The police, besides being involved in rescue was also involved in reintegration. They clearly stated that trafficking is an absolute crime. The police department has dedicated anti-trafficking cells and units. They felt that special training should be given to minor and young victims of trafficking, and the NGOs and media persons must come forward and help police departments. Few police officials informed us that the NGOs would not pass the information in few cases, and they would start their sting and rescue operations. They do not want to involve police and the system because they do not want to share its credit. They pointed out that it is not about taking and giving credits for humanity. What is more important here is that they must work as a unit to help them. Earlier, in few areas, such as in Peddapuram, coastal Andhra Pradesh, and Mahboob ki Mehendi in the old city of Hyderabad, red-light areas were reported to exist. The Mehboob ki mehendi was abolished in the 1990s. Although many of these red-light areas are nonexistent today, the police informed us that sex work has moved from these red-light locations to more posh hotels and areas and is more decentralized. Whereas the earlier women in brothels were illiterate, the women of today are more polished, and sex workers continue to be scattered with the people either renting out posh houses or hotels. It could also be in the neighborhood, and many trafficked girls are sent to serve here. In this situation, the active role of NGOs, media, and community people is crucial. The police also informed us that existing laws do not punish clients of such sex workers and trafficked women. If there are laws to punish them more severely, it can be stopped. Suddenly, there is a change in tone from the police. Earlier, they were carrying out raid operations, but now these are considered rescue missions. Initially, the trafficked women were culprits and were registered as such under the law, but now these women are referred to as Victims of Commercial sexual abuse (VOCSA). The priority placed by our law enforcement agency on illegal immigration has resulted in the treatment of cross-border trafficking as criminals. In many of these raids/rescue missions, women are often detained and punished and subjected to human rights abuses in jail. A few victims are afraid to testify

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 70

08-10-2021 11:27:03

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

71

against the traffickers or those who hold them captive fearing retribution for themselves and their families on most occasions, and the prosecutors do not offer stays of deportation or adequate protection for witnesses. There were cases of police and other governmental authorities accepting bribes and colluding with the traffickers by selling fake documentation. No one dares to touch them, for this is all done illicitly, and they are a powerful lot with political connections. THE NGO PERSONNEL/INDIVIDUAL ACTIVISTS In most cases, NGOs/ activists were willing to help and provided relevant information and data on trafficking. However, almost all NGO/ activists insisted that the interviews should be held in their presence, preferably in their office room only, where the victim was called. Hence, the interview sessions were continuously monitored by the NGO personnel in most cases. The fact that most of the victims, particularly the younger ones, were occasionally looking up to the NGO personnel during the interview might conclude that their responses were approved/ rehearsed in advance. It was particularly noted during life in shelter homes, amenities and services, and financial aid. Sometimes the trafficked victims keep shuttling between different shelter homes and rehabilitation centers due to their unique conditions. These include victims with HIV-AIDS positive cases, TB patients, minor girls, and emotionally unstable ones. The different schemes of government require differences in identification and separate treatment of victims. While this provision may look neat on paper, it adds to a victim’s suffering and grief in practice. It can be prevented by giving special attention to victims of trafficking and their needs and requirements. Because of their physical and emotional vulnerability, their transfers between different shelter homes should be minimized. During fieldwork, it was noted that some of the shelter homes had discontinued their schemes and provisions for trafficked victims. In the majority of cases, such NGOs and shelter homes operated in their respective areas for less than ten years. Lack of continuous and regular funds, security issues for inmates, and no renewal/ cancellation of their shelter home status are the main reasons why some shelter homes and NGOs discontinue their services. In a situation like this, the existing inmates of shelter homes are transferred to another house, which is emotionally disturbing. NGOs play a crucial role in dealing with cases of trafficking. Few of these NGOs told us that it was always disturbing as these girls are mentally disturbed and physically harassed. Seeing the girls in such a poor condition also affects them and all the other girls, for they go back into their memory and relive that trauma and pain again. Under Swadhar and Ujjawala schemes, the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 71

08-10-2021 11:27:04

72

Rekha Pande

government of India extends and seeks support from local NGOs to identify, rescue, and counsel victims of human trafficking. Swadhar homes, short-stay homes, transit homes, and shelter homes provide protection and counseling to rescued women and make attempts for their successful reintegration into society. Many NGO members and activists highlighted their key role in victims’ reintegration process. Many NGOs feel that it was their duty to help these women, for everyone has a right to live with dignity. They felt that they were mere tools in this and do the best that they can. However, we also felt that few of these NGOs looked upon themselves as reformist bodies trying to reform the fallen women who were trafficked. It is a well-known fact that once a person is trafficked, she will never get back to her former self completely. The majority of these girls also have withdrawal symptoms, for they are accustomed to liquor and drugs earlier, and when these are not available, they have mood swings, and some become violent. NGOs then play a key role in the rescue, rehabilitation, reintegration, and counseling of trafficked victims. A worker in an NGO told us, “Lives of women in shelter homes are far away from everyday life. They may appear happy, but we know the inside story. The women here are suffering from loss, trauma, stress, substance abuse, fear, dejection, and depression. We also get frustrated and worked out at times but keep telling ourselves that we need to be patient with these girls.”49 Kavya, another worker at an NGO, told us, “It was not their fault that they ended up like this as victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking. So, they should not carry the burden of it either. We are there to help them. Unfortunately, this is not an easy job. But I have complete faith in my team and myself. We will bring them out of their depression.”50 Most of the NGOs recognize the fact that the trafficking of women and children is a grave issue. Most of the cases occur due to the ignorance of the victims. They give much importance to having awareness drives against the trafficking of humans. Sonali, another person, working with an NGO, told us that “while we try to rehabilitate and provide support to the trafficked victim, we also must see that this woman or no other woman is pushed into trafficking again. Hence, awareness drives and the creation of knowledge about this subject is equally important to us.”51 There was a hierarchy within the home. The order of hierarchy is director or coordinator social worker the counselor the caretaker the guards the inmates. Therefore, inmates being lower in the hierarchy, have no autonomy over their lives. Anything and everything they do is following the orders of the people higher in the hierarchy. The construction of the home is based on this hierarchy. Specific spaces of the home are only meant for the coordinator and the staff of the organization. Such spaces are not allowed to be accessed by the inmates of the shelter home. Many a time, the victims had no agency.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 72

08-10-2021 11:27:04

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

73

There were very few community-based organizations that were involved with this issue. People (community members) also need proper knowledge and awareness on this matter. Otherwise, people are not very sensitive, and they start blaming trafficked victims for polluting society, especially in the case of women victims who were caught in the sex trade. There is a need to deal with such cases with proper care and understanding and make them (victims) feel safe and secure. NGOs should not put pressure on any victims to tell their stories. Instead, focus on building self-esteem and confidence by providing employment training. Then, they will slowly begin to be open. Making victims meet and interact with other victims of trafficking works. They meet and share their stories, and a bond is formed between them. In the case of victims, trust-building and winning the confidence of victims is a crucial point. Much time elapses before the victims start trusting NGO personnel and open to them. Vocational training and education are good for victims, and every NGO provides that. It helps build confidence in victims and help them in successful reintegration, but finding a job is often difficult. Under the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) is the primary government agency dealing with security and assistance policies and programs related to trafficking. In each state government, DWCD has corresponding departments.52 In the Vishal Jeet v. Union of India case, the 1990 Supreme Court ruling directed the government to ensure the care, safety, development, treatment, and rehabilitation of victims of commercial sexual abuse and establish a central advisory committee.53 In 1998, a national action plan was formulated by DWCD to combat trafficking and the commercial sexual exploitation of women. The plan covered various aspects, such as prevention, awareness-raising, economic empowerment, rescue, and rehabilitation, and was further strengthened in 2006.54 Despite their limited resources, funding, training, and access to information, most NGOs studied to take the lead in combating trafficking in their respective regions. The relative absence of government programs and assistance for victims of trafficking means that, despite their limited resources, NGOs have taken on the task of coordinating local, national, and foreign organizations to campaign for and address the needs of victims.55 Many female victims prefer to discuss their situation in a more gender-sensitive environment. For this reason, women’s NGOs have often been the first line of action-raising awareness, lobbying for change, and the provision of assistance. The NGOs have made the issue both locally and nationally one that concerns society. It had assisted the government, or the state execute the laws and acts effectively by establishing rescue and rehabilitation forums for reintegration of survivors of trafficking. Moreover, NGOs have also taken adequate steps to spread awareness of the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 73

08-10-2021 11:27:04

74

Rekha Pande

program. Due to their decentralized and small enterprise, unlike the state, they can create the necessary awareness regarding the phenomenon of trafficking.

CONCLUSION Hence, to conclude, trafficking is a highly complex issue encompassing a whole range of economic, social, and cultural issues which are varied. Putting together the poor socioeconomic indicators, poverty levels and the subjugation of women in the forms of derogatory practices of bonded labor, Devadasi, and prostitution establishes links with the frequency and magnitude of women trafficking in different regions. In India, the vulnerability of women due to their subordinate position in gender relations, coupled with their low socioeconomic and political status, makes them easy prey for sex trafficking. India has emerged as a potential source, destination, and transit point for trafficking, mainly prostitution and labor. Over the years, Indian states have recorded significant incidences of trafficking, particularly that of women and young girls. In this connection, Telangana serves as a primary source, destination, and transit point in the country, and the patterns vary according to the nature and occurrence of crime in each region within the state. The underprivileged areas and the semi-arid plains of Telangana are the main source points. In contrast, the metropolitan cities emerge as main destination points, besides facilitating cross-border trafficking to other Indian states and, in some cases, to other nations. Traditionally, the trafficking of women and girls in Telangana was confined mainly within the state, and neighboring states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Orrisa, and Tamil Nadu. It was through forced marriages, prostitution, and labor purposes. However, today, new trends in trafficking have emerged, and trafficking is also done for sex tourism within tourist destinations and pilgrim places, with an increase in cross-border trafficking. NOTES 1. ILO Report. Profits, and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour. International Labour Office, Geneva, Switzerland, 2014, p 9. 2. Annan, Kofi. Address to the House of Parliament, London. May 8th, 2007. 3. UNODC. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018, Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Austria, 2018, p. 9. 4. Samarasinghe, Vidyamali and Barbara Burton. "Strategizing Prevention: A Critical Review of Local Initiatives to Prevent Female Sex Trafficking." Development in Practice 17, no. 1 (2007): 51–64.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 74

08-10-2021 11:27:04

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

75

5. Pande, Rekha. "Human Security, Globalization, and Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia." In Zhquin Zhu (ed.), Globalization, Development, and Security in Asia, Foreign Policy and Security in an Asian Century: Threats, Strategies and Policy Choices, Vol. 1. Benny The Cheng Guan, World Scientific, 2014: 277–296. 6. Pande, Rekha. “The Social Costs of Globalization: Restructuring Developing World Economies.” Journal of Asian Women’s Studies 10, December, Japan. Kitakyushu Forum, pp. 1–14, 2001, p. 1. 7. Mohanty, Chandra Talpade. Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Duke University Press Books, 2003. 8. Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York University Press, 1995. 9. Truong, T. D. Sex, Money, and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in Southeast Asia. London: Zed Books, 1990. 10. Chow, Rey. “Sexuality." In M. Eagleton (ed.), A Concise Companion to Feminist Theory. Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing, pp. 93–110, 2003, p. 100. 11. Foucault, Michel, Translated from French by Robert Hurley, The History of Sexuality. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990. 12. Tambe, Ashwini. Codes of Misconduct: Regulating Prostitution in Late Colonial Bombay. London, England: University of Minnesota, 2009, p. xi. 13. Weeks, Jeffrey. The Languages of Sexuality. London, UK: Routledge, 2011, p. 131. 14. Jameela, Nalini. Romantic Encounters of a Sex Worker. India: Om Books International, 2018, p. 12. 15. Chakravarti, Uma. “Of Dasas and Karmakaras: Servile Labour in Ancient India." In Utsa Patnaik and Manjari Dingwaney (eds.), Chains of Servitude: Bondage and Slavery in India, Madras: Sangam Books, pp. 35–75, 1985, p. 58. 16. Pande, Rekha. “At the Service of the Lord- Temple Girls in Medieval Deccan (11th to 17th centuries).” In Deccan Studies II, no. 2 (July–December 2004): 25–43, p. 26. 17. Pande, Rekha. “Globalisation, and Trafficking of Women and Children.” Samyukta, A Journal of Women’s Studies 6, no. 2 (2006): 31–47. 18. Black, Maggie. Women in Ritual Slavery, Devadasi, Jogini, and Mathamma in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Southern India. Anti-slavery International, 2007. 19. Pande, Rekha. “Ritualized Prostitution: Devdasis to Jogins- A Few Case Studies." In Rohini Sahni, V. Kalya Shankar, and Hemant Apte (eds.), Prostitution and Beyond, An Analysis of Sex Work in India. New Delhi: Sage Publications, pp. 101–117, 2008. 20. Sen, Sankar and P. M. Nair. Trafficking of Women and Children in India. Institute of Social Sciences. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005, p. 105. 21. Pande, Rekha. “Globalisation, and Trafficking of Women and Children.” Samyukta, A Journal of Women’s Studies 6, no. 2 (2006): 31–47, 35. 22. Gail, Kligman, and Limoncelli Stephanie. "Trafficking of Women after Socialism: To Through and from Eastern Europe." Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 12, no. 1 (2005): 118–140.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 75

08-10-2021 11:27:05

76

Rekha Pande

23. Skeldon, Ronald. “Trafficking: A Perspective from Asia.” In Reginald Appleyard (ed.), Perspectives on Trafficking of Migrants. New York: International Organization for Migration, United Nations, 2000, 52. 24. Penttinen, Elina. Globalisation, Prostitution and Sex Trafficking. New York: Routledge, 2008. 25. Ritzer, George. Globalisation: A Basic Text. London: Wiley Blackwell, 2010. 26. Asian Development Bank. Combating trafficking of women and children in south Asia, Regional Synthesis Paper for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal, 2003. 27. Phinney, A. Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation in the Americas. Washington, DC: Inter American Commission of Women and World Health Organisation, 2001. 28. Shelly, Louis. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 37. 29. Ibid, pp. 42–43. 30. Sen, Sankar and P. M. Nair. Trafficking of Women and Children in India. Institute of Social Sciences. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005. 31. The New Indian Express. Telangana ranks fourth in India for human trafficking, March 12th 2020. Also see, Deccan Chronicles, M.D. Ilyas, October 4th, 2020. 32. Jayaamma, Personal Interview, Hyderabad. August 12th, 2013. Note that oral permissions were secured from the interviewees to have their quotes included in the book. In addition, all interviewees were anonymized using pseudonyms to conceal their identities. 33. Ramannamma, Personal Interview, Khammam, 20th August 2013. 34. Silverman, J.G., M.R. Decker, J. Gupta, A. Maheshwari, V. Patel, B.M. Willis, A. & Raj. “Experiences of Sex Trafficking Victims in Mumbai, India.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 97, no. 3 (2007): 221–226. 35. Rani, Personal Interview, Vikarabad, August 25th 2013. 36. Roja, Personal Interview, Khammam, March 20th 2014. 37. Ibid. 38. Vani, Personal Interview, Adilabad, September 20th 2013. 39. Venkataamma, Personal Interview, Karimnagar, 10th January 2014. 40. Lalitha, Personal Interview, Hyderabad, November 10th 2013. 41. Mani, Personal Interview, Warangal, February 22nd 2013. 42. Mala, Personal Interview, March 5th, Khammam, 2014. 43. Sarla, Personal Interview, Vikarabad, October 12th 2013. 44. Ashalata, Personal Interview, Warangal, 22nd December 2013. 45. Geeta, Personal Interview, Hyderabad, September 2nd 2013. 46. Ashalata, Personal Interview, Warangal, 22nd December 2013. 47. Lalitha, Personal Interview, Hyderabad, November 10th 2013. 48. Donita Jose, The New Indian Express. “Human trafficking thriving in Telangana.” September 19th, 2019. 49. Prachi, NGO worker, Personal interview, Hyderabad, February 15th, 2014. 50. Kavya, NGO worker, Personal interview, Hyderabad, February 16th, 2014 51. Sonali, NGO worker, Personal interview, Warangal, April 5th, 2014.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 76

08-10-2021 11:27:05

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

77

52. Asian Development Bank. “Combating trafficking of women and children in South Asia.” India report. New Delhi. Asian Development Bank, 2002, p. 48. 53. Pandian, S.R. “Vishal Jeet vs Union of India And Ors” on May 2nd 1990, 1990 AIR 1412, 1990 SCR (2) 861, https://indiankanoon​.org​/doc​/653695/. Accessed October 2nd, 2020. 54. “India Country Report To Prevent and Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women.” Ministry of Women and Child Development Government of India, 2008, p. 24. 55. Tzvetkova, Marina. "G.O. Responses to Trafficking in Women." Gender and Development 10, no. 1 (2002): 60–68.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Annan, Kofi. “Address to the House of Parliament.” London. May 8th, 2007. Asian Development Bank. “Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia.” India Report. New Delhi: Asian Development Bank, 2002. Asian Development Bank. “Combating trafficking of women and children in south Asia, Regional Synthesis Paper for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal” (Report), 2003, https​:/​/ww​​w​.adb​​.org/​​sites​​/defa​​ult​/f​​i les/​​publi​​catio​​n​/303​​64​/co​​mbati​​ng​-tr​​​affic​​king-​​ south​- asia​-paper​.p​df. Accessed, April 25th, 2020. Barry, Kathleen. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York University Press, 1995. Black, Maggie. “Women in Ritual Slavery, Devadasi, Jogini and Mathamma in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, Southern India.” Anti-slavery International, Report. 2007. http:​/​/www​​.anti​​slave​​ry​.or​​g​/inc​​ludes​​/docu​​ments​​/cm​_d​​ocs​/2​​009​/w​​/ wome​​n​_in_​​ritua​​​l​_sla​​very2​​007​.p​​df, accessed on March 21st, 2015. Chakravarti, Uma. “Of Dasas and Karmakaras: Servile Labour in Ancient India.” In Utsa Patnaik and Manjari Dingwaney (eds.), Chains of Servitude: Bondage and Slavery in India. Madras: Sangam Books, 1985: 35–75. Chow, Rey. “Sexality.” In M. Eagleton (ed.), A Concise Companion to Feminist Theory. Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing, 2003: 93–110. Deccan Chronicle. “Human Trafficking declines in Telangana.” M.D. Ilyas, October 5th 2020. Donita Jose. “The New Indian Express, Human trafficking thriving in Telangana.” September 19th, 2019. Foucault, Michel. Translated from French by Robert Hurley, The History of Sexuality. New York: Pantheon Books, 1990. Gail, Kligman and Limoncelli Stephanie. “Trafficking of Women after Socialism: To Through and from Eastern Europe.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State and Society 12, no. 1 (2005): 118–140. Gibson, Alan. “Fortress or Easy Street: The Impact of Emerging Trade Structures on Globalization and Developing Countries.” In S. Neelamegham (ed.), Competing Globally. New Delhi: Allied Publishers, 1994. ILO Report. “Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour.” International Labour Office, Report. Geneva, Switzerland. 2014. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​.org/​​wcmsp​​5​/

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 77

08-10-2021 11:27:05

78

Rekha Pande

gro​​ups​/p​​​ublic​/--- ed_no​rm/--​-decl​arati​on/do​cumen​ts/pu​blica​tion/​wcms_​​24339​​1​.p​ df​. Accessed, July 30th 2020. “India Country Report to Prevent and Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children and Women.” Ministry of Women and Child Development. Government Report, 2008. Jameela, Nalini. Romantic Encounters of a Sex Worker. India: Om Books International. 2018. Mohanty, Chandra Talpade.  Feminism without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity. Duke University Press Books, 2003. Pande, Rekha. “Human Security, Globalization, and Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia.” In Zhquin Zhu (ed.), Globalization, Development and Security in Asia. Foreign Policy and Security in an Asian Century: Threats, Strategies and Policy Choices, Vol. 1. Benny the Cheng Guan, World Scientific, 2014: 277–296. Pande, Rekha. “Ritualized Prostitution: Devdasis to Jogins- A Few Case Studies.” In Rohini Sahni, V. Kalya Shankar and Hemant Apte (eds.), Prostitution and Beyond, An Analysis of Sex Work in India. New Delhi, Sage Publications, 2008: 101–117. Pande, Rekha. “Globalisation and Trafficking of Women and Children, Samyukta.” A Journal of Women’s Studies VI, no. 2 (2006): 31–47. Pande, Rekha. “At the Service of the Lord- Temple Girls in Medieval Deccan (11th to 17th Centuries).” Deccan Studies II, no. 2 (July–December2004): 25–43. Pande, Rekha. “The Social Costs of Globalization: Restructuring Developing World Economies.” Journal of Asian Women’s Studies, Vol. 10, December, Japan. Kitakyushu Forum, 2001: 1–14. Penttinen, Elina. Globalization, Prostitution and Sex Trafficking. New York: Routledge, 2008. Phinney, A. Trafficking of Women and Children for Sexual Exploitation in the Americas. Washington, DC: Inter American Commission of Women and World Health Organisation, 2001. “”Ritzer, George. Globalisation: A Basic Text. London: Wiley Blackwell, 2010. Samarasinghe, Vidyamali and Barbara Burton. “Strategizing Prevention: A Critical Review of Local Initiatives to Prevent Female Sex Trafficking.” Development in Practice 17, no. 1 (2007): 51–64. Schwan, Anne and Stephen Shapiro. How to Read Foucault’s Discipline and Punish. London: Pluto Press, 2011. Sen, Sankar and P. M. Nair. Trafficking of Women and Children in India. Institute of Social Sciences. New Delhi: Orient Longman, 2005. Sen, Sankar and P.M. Nair. “A Report on Trafficking of women and Children in India, 2002-2003.” Institute of Social Sciences, Human Rights Commission and UNIFEM, Vol. I. New Delhi, 2004. Shelly, Louis. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 78

08-10-2021 11:27:05

Globalization and Commercial Sexual Exploitation

79

Silverman, J.G., M.R. Decker, J. Gupta, A. Maheshwari, V. Patel, B.M. Willis, & A. Raj. “Experiences of Sex Trafficking Victims in Mumbai, India.” International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics 97, no. 3 (2007): 221–226. Skeldon, Ronald. “Trafficking: A Perspective from Asia.” In Reginald Appleyard (ed.), Perspectives on Trafficking of Migrants. New York: International Organization for Migration, United Nations, 2000: 22. Tambe, Ashwini. Codes of Misconduct: Regulating Prostitution in Late Colonial Bombay. London: England: University of Minnesota, 2009. The New Indian Express. “Telangana ranks fourth in India for human trafficking.” March 12th 2020. Truong, T. D. Sex, Money and Morality: Prostitution and Tourism in Southeast Asia: London: Zed Books, 1990. Tzvetkova, Marina. “G.O. “Responses to Trafficking in Women.” Gender and Development 10, no. 1 (2002): 60–68. UNODC. “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” Division for Policy Analysis and Public Affairs. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Vienna, Austria, 2018. Weeks, Jeffrey. The Languages of Sexuality. London, UK: Roultledge, 2011.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 79

08-10-2021 11:27:05

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 80

08-10-2021 11:27:05

Chapter 4

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory Bob Spires

The academic disciplines that engage with the phenomenon of human trafficking continue to be tied to traditional theoretical frameworks and avoid engagement with more radical contemporary theory. Current discourse on modern slavery and human trafficking is in crisis as increased funding to address human trafficking has only shown an increase in trafficking worldwide. Several underutilized theoretical tools provide us with ways to rethink the causes and reimagine strategies to address real exploitation and mistreatment of humans today, and key theorists’ work may illuminate the study of trafficking of humans, and the anti-trafficking responses in ways that have not been included in the discourse. The concepts and intellectual tools explored in this chapter are intended to be put in conversation with the assumptions embedded in the study of human trafficking with the intention of providing new insights and directions. This chapter is not designed to be all encompassing of radical contemporary theory, or even of all the useful intellectual tools developed by the highlighted theorists. Rather, these ideas are explored with an intention of radical openness,1 keen to find new possibilities through imagination and hope from the margins of the discourse, with the intention of finding ways out of discursive deadlocks, and to spark further investigation into these and other theoretical contributions in the future. After pursuing a line of flight through several radical contemporary theorists, including Foucault, Deleuze and Guattari, Latour, Debord and Zizek, and their potentially useful theoretical tools, their ideas will be applied to some of the issues present in the current state of the field, including the following topics: rescue industry, celebrity activism and advocacy, and challenges with data and research on human trafficking.

81

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 81

08-10-2021 11:27:06

82

Bob Spires

MICHEL FOUCAULT: POWER AND DISCOURSE Michel Foucault’s2 innovative thought is often associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism. His writing is often considered quite inaccessible to general audiences3 and this may be a reason why his ideas are not often applied to anti-trafficking. Foucault had a keen understanding of the way power has shifted and morphed from the modern era to the present as well as how discourse frames our thinking. First, we need to understand Foucault’s concept of power, which he connected to truth. Truth in Foucault’s view is subjective, historically contingent and based on the dominant narratives of the time.4 Foucault’s conception of truth and its manifestations through power are harmful to a portion of the members of every society, particularly outsiders and marginalized groups. We all make sense of the world through narratives, but dominant narratives also come from powerful interests, individuals and groups who then use these narratives to dominate others. Dominant narratives change over time, as do our institutions. Within our social institutions the discourse becomes concrete, particularly in the lives of those considered outsiders, the insane,5 the criminal6 or the generalized other. Foucault saw our contemporary conceptualization of power as outdated because we continue to see power as emanating from a single monolithic source. Foucault argued that power in the modern era onward has no stable center, but instead is an unstable network flowing in all directions at once following varied discourses. We internalize and accept the norms in the discourses of the sciences and the academy. We accept the discourse on surveillance in our public spaces,7 and the cultural norms communicated through the media. Foucault did not see this power as only being exerted on us, but that we also exert our power on those we interact with through our social relations. We both internalize and perpetuate the discourses. To Foucault, science objectifies people’s lives in its use of data to both produce the knowledge about society and to control that power in a concept he calls biopower. As Foucault stated, Power would no longer be dealing simply with legal subjects over whom the ultimate dominion was death, but with living beings, and the mastery it would be able to exercise over them would have to be applied at the level of life itself; it was the taking charge of life, more than the threat of death, that gave power its access even to the body.8

Foucault noted an “explosion of numerous and diverse techniques for achieving the subjugation of bodies and the control of populations,”9 making it difficult to find a responsible party or unifying explanation for many phenomena,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 82

08-10-2021 11:27:06

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

83

particularly the exploitation of humans. The use of universal and generalizing theoretical approaches, often the overt driving force for academics whose careers may hinge on establishing universal theories, fall short of explaining the diffuse and diverse manifestations of abuse and exploitation encapsulated in the nebulous notion of human trafficking. Foucault argued that contemporary society saw the emergence of a new form of power which he termed disciplinary power.10 Foucault claimed that disciplinary power differed from the power inherent in classical forms of slavery “because [it is] not based on a relation of appropriation of bodies; indeed, the elegance of the discipline lay in the fact that it could dispense with this costly and violent relation by obtaining effects of utility at least as great.”11 According to Foucault, if we continue to misunderstand the ways in which discourse guides the material realities of people through biopower and disciplinary power, we will continue to trade one set of dominant narratives for another. GILLES DELEUZE AND FELIX GUATTARI: MACHINES, ASSEMBLAGES, AND RHIZOMES Deleuze and Guattari developed a variety of new and interesting concepts in unusual and provocative ways. One such concept is that of the desiringmachine.12 Deleuze and Guattari set out to overturn the logic developed by psychoanalysis to uncover how problematic the implications from psychology have become in their contemporary usage. The concept of the machine is one of their attempts to move away from the notions of the symbolic and imaginary in psychoanalysis and toward a new way to examine how we, as humans, use our bodies to interface with the world. They give the example of the baby’s mouth and the mother’s breast as a concrete iteration of the desiring-machine, in that this collage of parts of bodies have in them a collective desire to connect the flow of milk from the mother to the baby. Deleuze and Guattari present this as one of their simplest examples and then explain how desiring-machines produce flows to other desiring-machines in infinite chains. The abstract concept the desiring-machine is needed in order to then understand their notion of machinic enslavement.13 Society is a desiringmachine, in that it desires and produces flows, at increasingly more complex and abstract levels. Deleuze and Guattari articulated that capitalism transforms the desiringmachine they call the social machine.14 As Read explained, “What defines capital for Deleuze and Guattari is not the ‘free worker,’ liberated from slavery, serfdom, and dependence free to sell his or her labor, but ‘decoding,’ a divestment in the parts of bodies and their places in the social machine— the privatization of desire.”15 Deleuze and Guattari use the concept social

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 83

08-10-2021 11:27:06

84

Bob Spires

subjection to explain subjectivity in capitalist society. Read further clarified, “Social subjection is a split in the subject, a division between one’s social function, as impersonal as that may be, and the personal, private manner it is experienced.”16 This split allows a person to indulge in individual and private consumption of identity and culture, while publicly attending to capitalist modes of social relations. Read uses the example of Amazon and other online retailers to make these ideas more concrete, “the more one is reduced to an algorithm based on one’s shopping and browsing history the more the recommendations are tailored to one’s particular taste and proclivities.”17 This feedback loop that drives our desires is what Deleuze and Guattari attempted to explain with their concept of machinic enslavement. To clarify machinic enslavement, Read claimed, “The various forms of machinic enslavement that reduce individuals to drives, clicks, and attention risk producing subjects that do not recognize themselves in the narratives of subjection.”18 In that manner, Deleuze and Guattari argue that we become enslaved to the social machine, a desiring-machine whose desire dominates our entire being, our identity, our culture on the one side, and then alienates us from each other in the social realm. We animate flows coming from us through machinic enslavement to the complex desiring-machines that further generate more enslavement and social subjection. Deleuze and Guattari described the flows of desiring-machines as movement of all sorts of things, from money and people, to ideas, and even microbes as our recent COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies. One useful practical example of flow is the conceptualization of the flow of water in a river. What is responsible for the flow? Laws of physics, certainly, but also human laws interact and adjust the flow of the river. Other human interventions impact flows through complex processes Deleuze and Guattari call territorialization, deterritorialization, and reterritorialization by machines. Other machines become crucial parts of the flow, then redefined by connections to other machines (e.g., irrigation of a farm, the organisms in the water, and the dumping of municipal sewage into the river). The flow of the river is then deterritorialized because its inherent characteristics are no longer the defining features but bound up with other elements from other desiring-machines. The river is continually in a process of reterritorialization because these new aspects connected to the river are redefining the river and its associated flows. Deleuze and Guattari19 began to supplement the concepts of the machine and the flow with the concept of the assemblage in what became known as assemblage theory. Kennedy, Zapasnik, McCann, and Bruce defined the assemblage as follows: “assemblage has been increasingly used to designate, not an arrangement or a state of affairs, but an ongoing process of arranging, organising or congealing how heterogeneous bodies, things or concepts come

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 84

08-10-2021 11:27:07

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

85

‘in connection with’ one another.”20 Simply put, an assemblage is an open system. Rather than focusing on the flow in a machine, the assemblage is in a process of continual becoming, and “composed of a multiplicity of unstable organic and non-organic elements each invested with the capacity to transform the whole.”21 Assemblages have both spatial and temporal aspects, yet may have no beginning, end or entry point. Assemblages are made of bodies that “are drawn together affectively only to be shifted by other bodies— a continuous process that produces self-organizing differences and inherently transformative potential.”22 Deleuze and Guattari theorized the assemblage as simultaneously leading to both its own order and stability, as well as its own decay and obsolescence.23 Finally, Deleuze and Guattari further clarify two distinct forms of assemblage: machinic assemblage and enunciative assemblage.24 Yu differentiated machinic assemblages as the “body of social systems,”25 whereas enunciative assemblages are abstractions that “connects a language to the semantic and pragmatic contents”26 of other machinic assemblages. Therefore, as Yu explained, a “machinic assemblage is controlled by an enunciative assemblage.”27 Finally, Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of the rhizome28 is an alternative concept to contrast with hierarchical “arboreal” conceptual structures. Deleuze and Guattari analogize the way that rhizomes or subterranean root plants grow without a centralized core, without a clear beginning or end as mentioned above in discussing assemblages. Parts of a rhizome can be destroyed without destroying the whole network of roots, and a rhizome can be entered or exited at any point of the root system. The notion of the rhizome has since been applied to fields as varied as the arts, technology and politics and has been employed by an art collective29 and a cultural studies journal.30 These varied uses of the concept focus on the importance of decentered egalitarianism, experimentation, and organic bottom-up organization. Why might these concepts and abstractions be useful to us in understanding enslavement and exploitation? First, these new ways of looking at the world provided by Deleuze and Guattari give us a glimpse into the complexity of the social realities in which human trafficking occur in contemporary society and provide us with tools that can better account for change over time, as well as help us to understand “something that is consistent but has fuzzy borders.”31 Scholars have come to acknowledge the complexities associated with human trafficking in its diverse iterations across the globe. Activists have come to acknowledge the failures of current anti-trafficking efforts worldwide. Anti-trafficking, as an assemblage of actors, discourses, and interventions, continues to incur configuration, undoing and reconfiguration (territorialization, de-territorialization, and re-territorialization in Deleuze and Guattari’s terms). The concepts of the rhizome, desiring-machines, and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 85

08-10-2021 11:27:07

86

Bob Spires

assemblages give us new metaphors with which to begin organizing a more organic set of approaches and understandings about enslavement, considering the spatial and temporal elements, as well as the continually fluctuating and contingent elements of human trafficking and contemporary enslavement. BRUNO LATOUR: ACTORS AND ASSOCIATIONS Bruno Latour’s work on Actor-Network Theory32 provides a particularly useful sets of intellectual tools with which we may productively rethink and reframe the issues of modern slavery and human trafficking, as well as how we present the realities of human trafficking through anti-trafficking discourse. Latour argued that social science moves toward a sociology of associations and away from a sociology of the social. What he meant by a sociology of associations is that social relations exist only in the active connections and new associations being made between actors and that these associations are not static but require ongoing work on the part of the actors. He argued that social scientists should focus on tracing those connections and associations with an eye for the dynamics present when actors design these assemblages of associations. He contrasted the traditional approach to sociology, which he calls a sociology of the social, where concepts like social are framed as static objects, rather than actively produced by actors. As he stated, “I am going to define the social not as a special domain, a specific realm, or a particular sort of thing, but only as a very peculiar movement of re-association and reassembling.”33 Latour argued that a static view of social relations, too common in the social sciences in his view, cannot account for the innovative dynamics that occur in the associations continually being established by actors. Latour argued against purely a priori theorizing from without, and for the privileging of local actors, their associations, and their explanations of those associations. Profound implications for understanding modern slavery and human trafficking are present in the work of Latour. To understand the ways in which contemporary social relations lead to exploitation, we must go to the actors themselves. Too often, we see academics and practitioners import explanations and solutions from outside the network and setting at hand. Even more often, we see a blatant disregard for the perspectives of the exploited, including human trafficking survivors and those who have experienced modern slavery firsthand in its diverse iterations. Latour goes even further by claiming that this traditional approach to understanding social relations, the sociology of the social,34 was a tool instrumental in establishing and maintaining civil order in the modern era. Latour claims that the traditional sociology of the social now falls short, however, when the assumptions on which modernization are built are called into question, and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 86

08-10-2021 11:27:07

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

87

humans are forced due to growing and spreading crises to find new ways to establish collective ways of being and doing together. The traditional manner of interpreting social relations falls short within the contemporary neoliberal global capitalism era, and Latour helps us to see the need for a radically different way to think about our current circumstances. Latour offers an additional useful tool in what he calls the travel book approach.35 Latour claims that the metaphor of the travel book is important because it “can be put to use as well as forgotten, placed in a backpack, stained with grease and coffee, scribbled all over, its pages torn apart to light a fire under a barbecue. In brief, this approach offers suggestions rather than imposing itself on the reader.”36 The previously privileged ideas brought to bear on the human trafficking dilemma have failed spectacularly. The use of neoliberal market mechanisms, carceral politics, intensified nationalism and border control, militarism and the militarization of law enforcement, paramilitary-style vigilantism in the rescue industry and other contemporary go-to solutions are incapable of reducing modern forms of exploitation, and it is looking more and more as though they make things worse. We are left to scrounge for new ideas and solutions through novel avenues, and for us that is the micro-level social relations, where trust and authentic relationships begin. As Latour stated, “The task of defining and ordering the social should be left to the actors themselves, not taken up by the analyst.”37 To Latour’s point, we should be abilitating those most vulnerable to exploitation to not only reduce their vulnerability, but also to tell us and lead us to designing and implementing the solutions we, the academics, practitioners, and officials, seem to be longing to grasp. Further, we need to actively break down the arbitrary barriers established by the ivory tower of the academy, and the fortified expertise of government institutions to begin proactively building trust within and across all entities, relinquishing our entrenched positions to build radically collaborative collectives. Latour offers some indicators of quality when applying the sociology of associations (or Actor-Network Theory) in the field, which are helpful when applied to understanding the perspectives of trafficking survivors and vulnerable groups. (1) The concepts of the actors are stronger than the experts and the actors do more talking than the experts. 2) The “queerest, baroque and idiosyncratic terms offered by the actors”38 are embraced and experts avoid only prioritizing actors’ ideas that “have currency in the rear-world of the social.”39 The ethnographic approaches in anthropology offer us great insight in this regard, as well as qualitative social science approaches like grounded theory, prioritizing theory development based on the empirical realities. Unfortunately, what we have seen across the globe is the a priori use of decontextualized, Western-centric, privileged and entitled attitudes that have guided our evaluation of human trafficking as a phenomenon, the theorizing

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 87

08-10-2021 11:27:08

88

Bob Spires

about the phenomenon and its causes, and also the solutions to human trafficking. We must go back to the actors and essentially start from scratch. As the phenomenologists say, we need to bracket those a priori assumptions, and privilege the local and individual explanations instead. From Latour we can learn to continually question the construct of human trafficking when framed without the prioritized input of the actors directly impacted. Latour also encourages us to avoid laying blame on poorly defined and opaque terms like social factors, culture, and other notions devoid of local and material meaning to and by the actors themselves. These heavyhanded explanations are cop-outs and do nothing to actually solve the issues, much less understand them. Without the actors, these terms become black boxes that conceptualize the social as a stuff rather than fluid associations. Using Latour as our guide, we can avoid the intellectually evasive maneuvering tainting much of the academic work on human trafficking and modern slavery. Then, we can begin clarifying the real associations, connections, movements, translations, and interactions between actors that lead to real exploitation of real humans (rather than relying on our imagined stereotypes so prevalent in anti-trafficking work). GUY DEBORD: THE SPECTACLE Debord’s Society of the Spectacle is an important critical analysis of the media and modern society’s commodity fetishism.40 Debord criticized the way in which media and imagery moved social life from the concrete to the virtual in contemporary society using the concept of the spectacle. Debord argued, “The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images.”41 Debord illustrated that this virtualization of social life was seductive and difficult to resist. The spectacle presents itself as something enormously positive, indisputable and inaccessible. It says nothing more than “that which appears is good, that which is good appears.”42 Debord stated, “The spectacle subjugates living men to itself to the extent that the economy has totally subjugated them. It is no more than the economy developing for itself.”43 Debord analyzed the infiltration of imagery and consumer culture into daily life in modern society, when he claimed, “The first phase of the domination of the economy over social life brought into the definition of all human realization the obvious degradation of being into having.”44 In a decisively Marxist approach, Debord argued, “[w]ith the generalized separation of the worker and his products, every unitary view of accomplished activity and all direct personal communication among producers is lost.”45 Debord saw the move from an industrial to a postindustrial society

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 88

08-10-2021 11:27:08

89

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

as the process of commodifying the imagery that subsequently alienated us: “The spectacle within society corresponds to a concrete manufacture of alienation.”46 Debord observed the way that individuals were incriminated in their own alienation: “The more his life is now his product, the more he is separated from his life.”47 Taking Marx’s predictions a step further, Debord claimed, “Alienated consumption becomes for the masses a duty supplementary to alienated production.”48 Debord further incriminates our present consumer culture by claiming that “[b]ehind the mask of total choice, different forms of the same alienation confront each other, all of them built on real contradictions which are repressed.”49 Of particular interest to issues present in the discourse on anti-trafficking is the issue of celebrity and celebrity activism. Debord explained, The celebrity, the spectacular representation of a living human being, embodies this banality by embodying the image of a possible role. Being a star means specializing in the seemingly lived; the star is the object of identification with the shallow seeming life that has to compensate for the fragmented productive specializations which are actually lived. Celebrities exist to act out various styles of living and viewing society-unfettered, free to express themselves globally. They embody the inaccessible result of social labor by dramatizing its byproducts magically projected above it as its goal: power and vacations, decision, and consumption, which are the beginning and end of an undiscussed process.50

Debord further uncovers the implications for culture: “When culture becomes nothing more than a commodity, it must also become the star commodity of the spectacular society.”51 Debord’s ideas are even more relevant today, implicating the problematic nature of our contemporary attitudes toward consumption and superficial social relations. Debord’s notion of the spectacle shows us how imagery has become the mediator for our social relations, and how the convergence of consumerism, commodity fetishism, cult of celebrity, alienation from production, and the shift to production of culture and identity have become a perfect storm of isolation and dehumanization in the contemporary world. Not surprisingly, then, that our consumption has dire implications for the disadvantaged and manifests in extreme forms of exploitation like human trafficking. Further, the spectacle has intensified in our current technological zeitgeist, with the ubiquitousness of the internet, social media, producers, and consumers of online content. Our obsessions with the newest technologies and products have direct impact on the precarious nature of growing numbers of migrant laborers and economically disadvantaged people globally.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 89

08-10-2021 11:27:08

90

Bob Spires

SLAVOJ ZIZEK: PHILANTHROCAPITALISM Slavoj Zizek’s popularity in radical, as well as mainstream, circles has garnered him the moniker the most dangerous philosopher in the West.52 Similar to Foucault’s work on discourse, one of Zizek’s overarching theoretical themes is that of uncovering and understanding the inner workings of ideology and how ideology functions in our contemporary world to preserve capitalism. Because his work is so prolific, it is most productive for our uses to narrow our focus on Zizek to the notion of philanthropic capitalism or philanthrocapitalism, also referred to as feel good capitalism or conspicuous philanthropy.53 Zizek argued that the feel-good capitalism that has developed in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries is simultaneously masking the harmful aspects of capitalism as well as preserving the ideology that capitalism does benefit the greater good.54 Zizek began with a critique of the concept of cultural capitalism, or the notion that we no longer consume for utility or status, but now for experience, or to render our lives pleasurable and meaningful.55 Among his examples are Starbucks, where purchasing overpriced coffee offers the consumer a feel-good connection to fair-trade purchasing from coffee growers in the Third World.56 Further, to defuse or obfuscate the potential ideological crises (ecological, social, political, economic) developing due to neoliberalism, Zizek argued that one of the most effective ideological strategies in the contemporary era is to present the present phase of history as post-ideological, and philanthrocapitalism is part of that strategy.57 Thorup argued that philanthrocapitalism is an attempt to mask the inequality created and facilitated by the wealthy class and reframe the role of the elite as part of the solution, not the problem. Zizek used the example of Apple, the technology company with a reputation for innovation and creative capitalism.58 Behind the scenes of Apple’s effective marketing campaigns which frame their products as providing authentic experiences to its consumers is Foxconn, the Taiwanese manufacturer who produced Apple products in militarized Chinese factories who put up safety nets due to the high number of suicides of workers. The chairman of Foxconn’s parent company referred to his employees as animals and brought in the director of a zoo to a management event so that managers could learn how to manage their employees.59 Zizek argues that this kind of abuse and deficit view of low-skilled workers is not an exception but an integral facet of contemporary neoliberal global capitalism. McGoey argued that although the philanthrocapitalist work of Bill Gates may seem like only a recent trend, the business approach to charity goes back at least to early industrialists like Carnegie and Rockefeller. McGoey points out that for over a century, profit-making, and the altruism of charity have been intimately linked to the notion that private profit-making benefits the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 90

08-10-2021 11:27:09

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

91

overall social good. McGoey does support Zizek’s claim that a new characteristic of contemporary philanthrocapitalism has emerged, that of scale. For example, half of the private philanthropic foundations in the United States were established in the past 15 years and thousands of new ones are created each year.60 Ultimately, McGoey concludes that private profiteering happens at the public’s expense through philanthrocapitalism, yet the public rarely benefits from philanthrocapitalism without government intervention. Wilson documented the example of George Soros’s Millenium Villages Project (MVP) headed up by economist Jeffrey Sachs.61 In the villages of Ghana, where the MVP efforts began, poverty, infant mortality, and disease prevalence rose as a gold rush began due to Soros’s speculation in the area, and the project was abandoned.62 Despite the villagers’ declining standard of living during and after the program, Soros and his partners profited handsomely. Zizek’s criticism of the wealthy elite and their philanthropy is not without detractors. Bishop and Green argued that billionaire philanthropy may be society’s best chance for changing the world and addressing major crises such as climate change and disease. However, a growing consensus of scholars engaging with issues of trafficking and anti-trafficking are increasingly critical of the way in which the extremely wealthy (as well as celebrities which will be discussed later) have used their money and influence to steer the antitrafficking movement in unproductive ways. CONNECTING CONTEMPORARY THEORY TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND MODERN ENSLAVEMENT After exploring potentially useful contemporary theory, now it is time to connect these ideas to contemporary anti-trafficking. These varied ideas help us reexamining important components of anti-trafficking discourse: what we think about society and social relations, how we consider the power issues that encourage and facilitate exploitation, how we resist the traps of capitalism and rationale for enslavement in the public imagination, the media and even anti-trafficking itself. The theoretical tools outlined above will now be applied to some of the big components of trafficking discourse, including: the rescue industry, celebrity activism and advocacy, and challenges with data and research on human trafficking. RESCUE INDUSTRY Agustín argued that what she calls social agents, made up of social workers, activists, law enforcement, NGO workers and advocates, and celebrities have

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 91

08-10-2021 11:27:09

92

Bob Spires

developed self-sustaining job security through what she called the rescue industry, which depends on the perpetuation of sensationalized myths about human trafficking and the ways to stop it. Moore argued that this rescue industry has become a multimillion-dollar enterprise with only a few large organizations reaping the majority of that funding. Moore also explained how the rescue industry has created a subset of paramilitary-style mostly white male rescuers employed by anti-trafficking organizations who rescue purported victims with little to no understanding of their needs after removal from an exploitative situation.63 Although some of these rescue organizations work in conjunction with formal law enforcement, others operate in a vigilante manner, often in foreign countries where they have no jurisdiction or legal right to conduct (often violent) raids. Moore argued that the growing number of sweeps and sting operations in the United States and abroad are done with little to no oversight, and little of the funding goes to support rescued victims post-rescue. Moore and Agustín argued that the paternalistic attitudes with which this growing industry has operated do not effectively address human trafficking, and likely facilitate or perpetuate the phenomenon. As Hayes further posited, the images of rescues and their associated machismo presented in movies like Taken do more harm than good. Baker noted the gendered and racial narratives embedded in many movies and books on human trafficking, perpetuating a myth of the naive and innocent young girl as a victim, the evil trafficker, and the heroic (and often white male) rescuer. The mythologizing that occurs in both the media and the rescue industry displaces attention on the structural issues that are present. Bravo argued that one of the biggest issues perpetuating the ineffectiveness of the rescue industry is the blatant dishonesty about, and avoidance of, the structural foundations of exploitation, particularly by the state. Bravo further posited that the manner in which states frame enslavement overemphasizes the role of transnational crime syndicates without accounting for the statesanctioned structures that enable corporations and individual exploiters to manipulate the precariousness of vulnerable people like migrant laborers. As Bravo explained, “we are assured of continued bread-and-circuses performances: horror at the exploitation, contemptuous pity for the victims, and rage at the perpetrators.”64 In other words, states benefit from the sensationalization and overgeneralization of the issues that distract us from the structural causes in which states are complicit. The spectacle of human trafficking and modern slavery mediate the reality of exploitation for us, rendering our efforts ineffective and our understandings misplaced. Howard argued that NGOs have also vested interests in misrepresenting child labor as trafficking, particularly to the Western media. These misrepresentations further perpetuate sensationalization of trafficking in parts of the world where children need to work to contribute to the survival of their families, adding additional

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 92

08-10-2021 11:27:09

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

93

distraction from situations of true enslavement. Rescues of child laborers may actually make the children and their families’ lives worse by disrupting income, disempowering child laborers and putting them in even more precarious situations. Howard claimed that this presentation of child laborers as agency-less victims “deploys a gaze which is almost pornographic.”65 Instead, Howard (much like Latour) suggested that journalists and NGOs focus more on allowing the people they purport to help to tell their own stories and situating those stories within the broader “global structures of power and exclusion of the kind characterizing life under neoliberal capitalism.”66 McGrath and Watson posited that human trafficking has increasingly been framed discursively as an issue of development, giving the Global North leverage to intercede in all aspects of life in the Global South on the precarious claim that more development will lead to less trafficking. McGrath and Watson argued that the rescue industry perpetuates a racialized other-izing of trafficking victims and racialized hero-izing of abolitionists and development efforts. McGrath and Watson’s concerns mirror the ways Foucault analyzed discursive power in other arenas. Molland used the concept of biolegitimacy to illustrate the way in which the anti-trafficking movement in its manifestations as a rescue industry frames the legitimacy of victims and survivors. In the anti-trafficking context, “a legitimate being is only recognized when bereft of agentic qualities”, and “any notion of an alleged victim exercising or ‘free will’ renders claim of victimhood suspect.”67 CELEBRITY ACTIVISM AND ADVOCACY Hayes described the celebritization of human trafficking as the growing interest and advocacy in anti-trafficking by high-profile celebrities. Several celebrities have created their own anti-trafficking NGOs and others have lent their names and endorsements to existing NGOs. Hayes argued that this celebritization trend, although offering some benefits to anti-trafficking NGOs in terms of funding, also risks over-sensationalizing the issue as celebrities become seen as experts, and scholarly work on the issue becomes overshadowed by sensationalized and dramatized accounts by actors and pop stars.68 Celebrity awareness campaigns have presented the issues in superficial ways, overlooking the social and structural causes, and presenting victims as one-dimensional pawns rather than individuals with agency. Zizek’s philanthrocapitalism critique is pertinent to the celebritization of anti-trafficking as a mechanism for displacing critique of capitalism’s structural causes of exploitation and gives overwhelming power to elites who are complicit in propping up the neoliberal structures that facilitate exploitation in the first place. As Foucault69 explained, the discourse perpetuated by powerful voices becomes an important

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 93

08-10-2021 11:27:10

94

Bob Spires

interpreting factor regarding what we consider truth and knowledge. In our age of mass media, Debord’s concept of the spectacle is also apt, in that the privileged celebrity voice becomes the mediator for what we consider reliable information. As Debord stated, “that which appears is good, that which is good appears,”70 eliminating the need for us to critically engage with the discourse, but encouraging us to passively observe, and thereby agreeing by default. In addition to Hollywood’s involvement in anti-trafficking activism, several movies and television shows have been produced focusing on human trafficking-related subject matter, perpetuating the myths of the rescue industry.71 Hashamova suggested that overuse of traumatic imagery and narrative in the media runs the risk of creating empty empathy without providing contextual factors and background information to the viewer. Hashamova argued that feature films like Human Trafficking and Taken continue to objectify women’s bodies under the guise eliciting empty empathy. Rather than facilitating an authentic empathy that encourages transformation of the viewer, Hashamova considered the overall effect of many feature films about human trafficking to be voyeuristic and run the risk of hiding the “latent conflicts between evoking catharsis and inciting titiliation,”72 or worse, not representing the issue realistically and thus minimizing the real lived experiences of those who have been exploited through trafficking. Hashamova invokes Hannah Arendt’s concept of the banality of evil by suggesting that in order for trafficking to be portrayed more representationally (using the examples of the majority of real trafficking cases) and suggests that popular understanding of trafficking ought to be informed by actual realistic experiences of the vast majority of those who have experienced trafficking and exploitation, along the lines of Latour’s suggestions. Finally, Hashamova challenged the stereotypical cultural interpretations on film representing various locales such as Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia as caricatures, framing the issues in terms of good heroes and evil villains. Perhaps a nod to Deleuze and Guattari is helpful in terms of representation of human trafficking, calling for a messier, and even contradictory, representation of exploitation in these geographic settings. If we look to the fluid and ever-changing nature of exploitation in these settings (as documented by a variety of grass-roots anti-trafficking NGOs and ethnographic work), we may more effectively understand the assemblages in action, and thus have a more nuanced understanding of the dynamics of the phenomenon. THE LINGERING CHALLENGES OF DATA AND RESEARCH IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING Gozdziak and Bump found that much of the research on human trafficking was based on assumptions founded on unreliable data, and then disseminated

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 94

08-10-2021 11:27:10

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

95

and perpetuated across the anti-trafficking sector, as well as by policymakers and scholars. Gozdziak and Bump found that although a few journal articles were published on human trafficking only 17% were peer-reviewed empirical studies and only one of those was based on quantitative data that the researchers actually gathered. Sixty-eight percent were reports by organizations and government agencies were based on empirical data, though not peer reviewed, with only 22% of those empirical reports being quantitative.73 Of the books examined, most were nonempirical and sensationalistic, with the ideology of the scholars was more apparent and blatant in the publications on human trafficking. Fedina argued that things have not improved since the previously mentioned study, with weak methodology continuing to be the norm in human trafficking research. Fedina claimed that most publications were uncritically using data from common sources like the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report,74 and Bales without acknowledging the flaws and limitations in the sources, and that most publications present others’ prevalence data without verifying the data or collecting their own. Further, the gap between the small number of incidences of trafficking cases recorded and reported by actors including the U.S. government, and the prevalence data perpetuated by the few empirical sources, are irreconcilable.75 Thus, the circular citing of unverified data and the confirmation bias is likely due to the ideological skewing prevalent in human trafficking scholarship. More recently, the Walk Free Foundation established the Global Slavery Index which sought to employ novel methodologies to estimate the scale and prevalence of human trafficking across the world, as well as assess the effectiveness of each national government’s efforts to address human trafficking and other social issues. The Global Slavery Index (GSI) is not without its critics. Gallagher cited a general lack of critical engagement and scrutiny of the GSI’s methodologies and potential misuses.76 Gallagher explained that the GSI is biased toward wealthy Western countries, ignoring the unique challenges developing nation governments face in mobilizing resources to address trafficking. Guth, Anderson, Kinnard, and Tran argued for more inclusion and scrutiny from a larger cadre of methodologists and statisticians to continue mining the data, closely examining methodologies for continued improvement of data collection, and more consistency across data sources, and caution policymakers on making major decisions on the GSI until the methodological issues are improved and replication over time can be achieved. Feingold echoed these sentiments, particularly arguing that policymakers should be skeptical of these new estimates of trafficking prevalence by the GSI and that we in the general public should be wary of the politically convenient way in which the GSI is being employed with little scrutiny. McGrath and Watson suggested that quantitative data on trafficking has been co-opted by NGOs (GSI) and governments (TIP) as ranking systems

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 95

08-10-2021 11:27:10

96

Bob Spires

that are used for political gains, and further cement neocolonial control over the developing world by the Western powers. McGrath and Watson argued that this approach to (mis)use data is an extension of the colonial project and mirrors the ways in which Western colonial powers benefited from the coercive labor and migration structures historically. Foucault is useful for viewing the issues with data and research as we think about the competing interests that influence the discourse on trafficking for their own benefit. We see that we must look beyond traditional lenses of interpretation and analysis assigning power only to the formal actors like governments and business leaders. Although these formal actors play a role, but with a Foucaultian productive and decentered conception of power, we can also incorporate informal actors into the ongoing development of the discourse framing trafficking and enslavement. Business and political leaders have increased public relations efforts to clean up supply chains.77 Yet, LaBaron, Howard, Thibos, and Kyritsis noted that in addition to the underlying causes making laborers more vulnerable to trafficking (poverty, discrimination, precarity, limited mobility), businesses continue to have the “freedom to exploit,”78 and that in a financial sense, forced labor continues to be good for business. As LaBaron et al. concluded, “the root causes of forced labor are fundamentally and inherently political.”79 Surveillance of people in public spaces,80 in schools,81 in prisons,82 in private,83 online84 and even while migrating has intensified, yet the flow of capital has arguably never been easier and faced less resistance than it does in the twenty-first century. The dominant discourse dictates that capital is in a privileged position over humans, and policies continue to be crafted to simultaneously ease the flow of capital across borders while restricting the flow of people. Framing whole groups of people as criminals and traffickers, in similar ways to what Foucault85 found in his work on madness in early Modern Europe, illustrates the subjective and historically situated notions of power evident in anti-trafficking discourse. Debord’s spectacle concept helps us to critique the optics of large-scale reports like the GSI and TIP reports and the manner in which these reports mediate our understanding of human trafficking rather than innocuously reporting out to the public. Finally, Zizek’s focus on ideology’s effectiveness at masking underlying capitalist logic provides us a critical lens for scrutinizing the data-driven discourse. CONCLUSION The entanglements between neoliberal global capitalism (with its drive for profit and continuous growth) and human trafficking become evident as we saw in the issues of philanthrocapitalism, the rescue industry, the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 96

08-10-2021 11:27:11

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

97

celebritization of anti-trafficking and the sensationalization of the issues in the public imagination. We can also understand now more clearly that modernist ways of thinking about the issues of human trafficking continue to be undermined and co-opted by the logic of capital, creating heroes and villains, focusing on the marketability of programs, policy, and solutions, and the exalting of benevolent charitable wealth, thus inverting and obfuscating the realities of exploitation through the current political economy. A deadlock has developed both practically and theoretically in the anti-trafficking movement, and the theoretical tools noted above offer novel ways to bring a critical lens to the field, as well as potential ways out of this deadlock by understanding the mutually reinforcing nature of the structural causes and present solutions to human trafficking.

NOTES 1. hooks, bell.”Choosing the margin as a space of racical openness.” In Yearning: race, gender and cultural politics, by b. hooks, 145–153. Boston: South End, 1990. 2. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Translated by A. Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1998. See also; Foucault, M. Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. 3. West, Stephen. “Michel Foucault Part 3: Power.” Philosophize This, 2018. Accessed 2020. http:​/​/phi​​losop​​hizet​​his​.o​​rg​/ep​​isode​​-123-​​tran​s​​cript​/. 4. Ibid. 5. Foucault, 1988. 6. Foucault, Michel, 1995. 7. Ibid. 8. Ibid, 143. 9. Ibid, 140. 10. Ibid. 11. Ibid, 137. 12. Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix. Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. New York: Viking Press, 1977. 13. Ibid. 14. Ibid. 15. Read, Jason. “Beyond enslavement and subjugation: Deviations from Deleuze and Guattari.” 2017. Unemployed Negativity. http:​/​/www​​.unem​​ploye​​dnega​​tivit​​y​.com​​ /2017​​/08​/b​​eyond​​-ensl​​aveme​​nt​-an​​d​-su​b​​jecti​​on​.ht​​ml. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid. 19. Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix. A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. New York: Viking Press, 1987.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 97

08-10-2021 11:27:11

98

Bob Spires

20. Kennedy, Rosanne, Zapasnik, Jonathan, McCann, Hannah and Bruce, Miranda. “All those little machines: Assemblage as transformative theory.” Australian Humanities Review, 55 (2013): 45–66. http:​/​/aus​​trali​​anhum​​aniti​​esrev​​iew​.o​​rg​/wp​​-cont​​ ent​/u​​pload​​s​/201​​5​/09/​​AHR55​​_3​_Ke​​nned​y​​_etal​​_FINA​​L​.pdf​. 21. Ibid, 46. 22. Ibid, 48. 23. Legg, Stephen. “Assemblage/apparatus: Using Deleuze and Foucault.” Area 43, no. 2 (2011): 128–133. 24. Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix, 1987. 25. Yu, Jae Eon. “The use of Deleuze’s Theory of Assemblage for ProcessOriented Methodology.” Historical Social Record/Historische Sozialforschung 38, no. 2 (2013): 144, 197–217. 26. Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix, 1987, 7. 27. Yu, Jae Eon, 2013, 203. 28. Deleuze, Gilles and Guattari, Felix, 1987. 29. Rhizome​.or​g. n.d. Rhizome. Accessed 2020. http://rhizome​.org. 30. Rhizome: Cultural Studies in Emerging Knowledge. 31. Ibid, Legg, Stephen, 2011, p. 129. 32. Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the social: An introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. 33. Ibid, 7. 34. Ibid. 35. Ibid. 36. Ibid, 17. 37. Ibid, 23. 38. Ibid, 47. 39. Ibid, 56. 40. Debord, Guy. Society of the spectacle. Detroit: Black and Red, 1983. 41. Ibid, Section 4. 42. Ibid, Section 12. 43. Ibid, Section 16. 44. Ibid, Section 17. 45. Ibid, Section 26. 46. Ibid, Section 32. 47. Ibid, Section 33. 48. Ibid, Section 42. 49. Ibid, Section 63. 50. Ibid, Section 60. 51. Ibid, Section 193. 52. O’Brien, Erin. “Slavery and human trafficking campaigns by Hollywood celebrities can be misleading.” ABC News Australia, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .abc​​.net.​​au​/ne​​ws​/20​​18​-07​​-07​/b​​eware​​-the-​​holly​​wood-​​hype-​​on​-hu​​man​-t​​​raffi​​cking​​/989 3​​330. 53. Thorup, Mikkel. “Pro bono?: On philanthrocapitalism as ideological answer to inequality.” Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization 13, no. 3 (2013): 555–576.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 98

08-10-2021 11:27:11

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

99

54. Zizek, Slavoj. First as tragedy, then as farce. New York: Verso, 2009a.; See also; Zizek, S. “First as tragedy, then as farce- video lecture.” Thersa, 2009b. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​rsa​.o​​rg​/di​​scove​​r​/vid​​eos​/e​​vent-​​video​​s​/200​​9​/11/​​first​​ -as​-t​​rag​ed​​y​-the​​n​-as-​​farce​. 55. Ibid, Zizek, 2009a, p. 52. 56. Ibid, Zizek, 2009a; See also; Zizek, Slavoj. “Democracy and capitalism are destined to split up.” Big Think, 2014. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/bi​​gthin​​k​.com​​/vide​​os​/sl​​ avoj-​​zizek​​-on​-c​​apita​​lism-​​and​-​t​​he​-co​​mmons​. 57. Ibid, Zizek, 2014, p. 65. 58. Zizek, Slavoj, “We don’t want the charity of rich capitalists.” ABC Religion and Ethics, 2012. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.abc​​.net.​​au​/re​​ligio​​n​/we-​​dont-​​want-​​the​ -c​​harit​​y​-of-​​rich-​​capit​​​alist​​s​/101​​00362​. 59. Ibid. 60. Ibid. 61. Wilson, Japhy. “Counting on billionaires.” Jacobin, 2015. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jac​​obinm​​ag​.co​​m​/201​​5​/03/​​georg​​e​-sor​​os​-ph​​ilant​​hroca​​pital​​ism​-m​​il​len​​ nium-​​villa​​ges/. 62. Ibid. 63. Moore, Anne Elizabeth. “The American rescue industry: Toward an antitrafficking paramilitary.” Truthout. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/tr​​uthou​​t​.org​​/arti​​cles/​​the​-a​​ meric​​an​-re​​scue-​​indus​​try​-t​​oward​​-an​-a​​nti​-t​​raffi​​c​king​​-para​​milit​​ary/. 64. Bravo, Karen E. “Contemporary state anti-”slavery” efforts: Dishonest and ineffective..” Northern Kentucky Law Review, 2019. 65. Howard, Neil. “When NGOs save children who don’t want to be saved: Western media misrepresent voluntary child labour as slavery.” Al Jazeera, 2017. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.alj​​azeer​​a​.com​​/inde​​pth​/o​​pinio​​n​/201​​7​/04/​​ngos-​​save-​​child​​ ren​-d​​on​-sa​​ved​-1​​​70425​​10183​​0650.​​html. 66. Ibid. 67. Molland, Sverre. “On trafficking survivors: Biolegitimacy and multiplications of life.” Dialectical Anthropology 43 (2019): 279–293. 68. O’Brien, Erin. 2018. 69. Foucault, 1988; 1995. 70. Debord, 1983. Section 12. 71. Augustin, Laura M. Sex at the margins: Migration, labour markets and the rescue industry. London: Zed Books, 2007. 72. Hashamova, Y. Screening trafficking: Prudent and perilous. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2018. 73. Gozdziak, Elzbieta, M. and Bump, Micah N. “Data and research on human trafficking: Bibliography of research-based literature.” 2008. Institute for the Study of International Migration. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ncj​​rs​.go​​v​/pdf​​files​​1​/nij​​/gran​​ts​/​ 22​​4392.​​pdf. 74. United States Department of State. “TIP Report Archive.” US Department of State, n.d.. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/20​​01​-20​​09​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/g/​​tip​/r​​ls​/fs​​/20​01​​/4051​​.htm. 75. Fedina, Lisa. “Use and misuse of research in books on sex trafficking: Implications for interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners and advocates.” Trauma, Violence and Abuse 16, no. 2 (2015): 188–198.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 99

08-10-2021 11:27:12

100

Bob Spires

76. Gallagher, Anne T. “Unravelling the 2016 Global Slavery Index (Parts One and Two).” 2016. openDemocracy. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ope​​ndemo​​cracy​​.net/​​anne-​​ galla​​gher/​​unrav​​ellin​​g​-201​​6​-glo​​bal​-​s​​laver​​y​-ind​​ex. See also; Gallagher, A. “What’s wrong with the Global Slavery Index.” Anti-Trafficking Review 8 (2017): 90–112. 77. Know the Chain. Know the Chain, n.d. Accessed 2020. https://www​.knowthechain​.org. 78. LaBaron, Genevieve, Howard, Neil, Thibos, Cameron and Kyritsis, Penelope. “Confronting root causes: Forced labour in global supply chains.” openDemocracy, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/co​​re​.ac​​.uk​/d​​ownlo​​ad​/pd​​f​/145​​63​777​​9​.pdf​. See also; Hodges, Cassie. “How Uber, UPS, Walmart and Marriott are combatting human trafficking.” Free Enterprise, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.fre​​eente​​rpris​​e​.com​​/uber​​ -ups-​​walma​​rt​-ma​​rriot​​t​-com​​batti​​ng​-hu​​m​an​-t​​raffi​​cking​/. 79. Ibid, LaBaron, Howard, Thibos and Kyritsis, 2018. See also; Hodges, C. 2018. 80. Stanley, Jay. “The burdens of total surveillance.” American Civil Liberties Union, 2013. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.acl​​u​.org​​/blog​​/nati​​onal-​​secur​​ity​/p​​rivac​​y​ -and​​-surv​​eilla​​nce​/b​​urden​​s​-tot​​al​-su​​rveil​​lance​​?redi​​rect=​​blog​/tech​​nolog​​y​-and​​-libe​​rty​-n​​ ation​​al​-se​​​curit​​y​/bur​​dens-​​total​​-surv​​eilla​​nce. 81. Beckett, Lois. “Under digital surveillance: How American schools spy on millions of kids.” The Guardian. October 22, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​.c​​om​/wo​​rld​ /2​​019​/o​​ct​/22​​/scho​​ol​-st​​udent​​-surv​​eilla​​​nce​-b​​ark​-g​​aggle​. 82. Foucault, 1988. 83. Graham, J. “Is Facebook listening to conversations: Why those ads appear after you talk about things.” USA Today, 2019. Accessed 2020. 84. Beckett, 2019. 85. Foucault, 1995.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ASEAN. “ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons.” 2015. ASEAN​.org​. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/as​​ean​.o​​rg​/as​​ean​-c​​onven​​tion-​​again​​st​-tr​​affic​​king-​​in​-pe​​rsons​​ -espe​​ciall​​y​-wom​​​en​-an​​d​-chi​​ldren​/. Augustin, Laura Marie. Sex at the margins: Migration, labour markets and the rescue industry. London: Zed Books, 2007. Baker, Carrie N. “An intersectional analysis of sex trafficking films.” Meridians. Duke University Press 12, no. 1 (2014): 208–226. Beckett, Lois. “Under digital surveillance: How American schools spy on millions of kids.” The Guardian. Accessed October 22, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​.c​​om​/ wo​​rld​/2​​019​/o​​ct​/22​​/scho​​ol​-st​​udent​​-surv​​eilla​​​nce​-b​​ark​-g​​aggle​. Bishop, Matthew and Green, Michael. Philanthrocapitalism: How the rich can save the world. New York, NY: Bloomsbury Press, 2008. Bravo, Karen E. “Contemporary state anti-”slavery” efforts: Dishonest and ineffective.” Northern Kentucky Law Review, 2019. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/pa​​pers.​​ssrn.​​ com​/s​​ol3​/p​​apers​​.cfm?​​abstr​​act​_i​​​d​=350​​4027.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 100

08-10-2021 11:27:12

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

101

Brosowski, Michael. “To anti-trafficking NGOs: A little less conversation, a little more action please.” The Guardian. July 30, 2013. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.the​​guard​​ian​.c​​om​/gl​​obal-​​devel​​opmen​​t​-pro​​fessi​​onals​​-netw​​ork​/2​​013​/j​​ul​/30​​/resc​​ uing-​​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-chi​​ldren​. Choi-Fitzpatrick, Austin. What slaveholders think: How contemporary perpetrators rationalize what they do. New York: Columbia University Press, 2019. Chou, Meng-Hsuan. “The European Union and the fight against human trafficking: Comprehensive or contradicting.” St. Antony’s International Review 4, no. 1 (2008): 76–95. United States Chamber of Commerce. “Eliminating human trafficking: A case for corporate self-regulation.” US Chamber of Commerce, 2017. Accessed 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.usc​​hambe​​r​.com​​/site​​s​/def​​ault/​​files​​/elim​​inati​​ng​_hu​​man​_t​​raffi​​cking​_-​_a_​​ case_​​for​_c​​orpor​​ate​​_s​​elf​-r​​egula​​tion.​​pdf. Debord, Guy. Society of the spectacle. Detroit: Black and Red, 1983. Deleuze, Gilles and Felix Guattari. A thousand plateaus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. New York: Viking Press, 1987. ———. Anti-Oedipus: Capitalism and schizophrenia. New York: Viking Press, 1977. Fedina, Lisa. “Use and misuse of research in books on sex trafficking: Implications for interdisciplinary researchers, practitioners and advocates.” Trauma, Violence and Abuse 16, no. 2 (2015): 188–198. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Translated by A. Sheridan. New York: Vintage Books, 1995. ———. Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. New York: Vintage Books, 1988. ———. The history of sexuality, Volume 1: An introduction. New York: Pantheon Books, 1978. Fukushima, Annie Isabel. “Has someone taken yor passport? Everyday surveillance of the migrant laborer as trafficked subject.” Biography: An Interdisciplinary Quarterly 42, no. 3 (2019a): 561–585. ———. Migrant crossings: Witnessing human trafficking in the US. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2019b. Gallagher, Anne T. “Unravelling the 2016 Global Slavery Index (Parts One and Two).” openDemocracy, 2016. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ope​​ndemo​​cracy​​.net/​​ anne-​​galla​​gher/​​unrav​​ellin​​g​-201​​6​-glo​​bal​-​s​​laver​​y​-ind​​ex. Gallagher, Anne T. “What’s wrong with the Global Slavery Index.” Anti-Trafficking Review 8 (2017): 90–112. Gozdziak, Elzbieta, M. and Bump, Micah N. “Data and research on human trafficking: Bibliography of research-based literature.” Institute for the Study of International Migration, 2008. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ncj​​rs​.go​​v​/pdf​​files​​1​/nij​​ /gran​​ts​/​22​​4392.​​pdf. Graham, Jefferson. “Is Facebook listening to conversations: Why those ads appear after you talk about things.” USA Today, 2019. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.usa​​ today​​.com/​​story​​/tech​​/talk​​ingte​​ch​/20​​19​/06​​/27​/d​​oes​-f​​acebo​​ok​-li​​sten-​​to​-yo​​ur​-co​​nv​ ers​​ation​​s​/147​​84680​​01/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 101

08-10-2021 11:27:12

102

Bob Spires

Guth, Andrew, Anderson, Robyn, Kinnard, Kasey and Tran, Hang. “Proper methodology and methods of collecting and analyzing slavery data: An examination of the Global Slavery Index.” Social Inclusion 4, no. 2 (2014): 14–22. Half the Sky Movement, n.d. Accessed 2020. https://halftheskymovement​.org. Hashamova, Yana. Screening trafficking: Prudent and perilous. Budapest: Central European University Press, 2018. Hayes, Dina Francesca. “The celebritization of human trafficking.” The Annals of the American Academy 653 (2014): 25–45. Hodges, Cassie. “How Uber, UPS, Walmart and Marriott are combatting human trafficking.” Free Enterprise, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.fre​​eente​​rpris​​e​.com​​/ uber​​-ups-​​walma​​rt​-ma​​rriot​​t​-com​​batti​​ng​-hu​​m​an​-t​​raffi​​cking​/. hooks, bell. “Choosing the margin as a space of racical openness.” In Yearning: Race, Gender and Cultural Politics, by b. hooks (1990): 145–153. Boston: South End. Howard, Neil. “When NGOs save children who don’t want to be saved: Western media misrepresent voluntary child labour as slavery.” Al Jazeera, 2017. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.alj​​azeer​​a​.com​​/inde​​pth​/o​​pinio​​n​/201​​7​/04/​​ngos-​​save-​​child​​ren​-d​​on​ -sa​​ved​-1​​​70425​​10183​​0650.​​html. Kennedy, Rosanne, Zapasnik, Jonathan, McCann, Hannah and Bruce, Miranda. “All those little machines: Assemblage as transformative theory.” Australian Humanities Review, 55 (2013): 45–66. http:​/​/aus​​trali​​anhum​​aniti​​esrev​​iew​.o​​rg​/wp​​ -cont​​ent​/u​​pload​​s​/201​​5​/09/​​AHR55​​_3​_Ke​​nned​y​​_etal​​_FINA​​L​.pdf​. Know the Chain. Know the Chain, Accessed 2020. https://www​.knowthechain​.org. Knowledge, Rhizomes: Cultural Studies in Emerging. The Rhizomes Manifesto. Accessed 2020. http://rhizomes​.net​/files​/manifesto​.html. LaBaron, Genevieve, Howard, Neil, Thibos, Cameron and Kyritsis, Penelope. “Confronting root causes: Forced labour in global supply chains.” openDemocracy, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/co​​re​.ac​​.uk​/d​​ownlo​​ad​/pd​​f​/145​​63​777​​9​.pdf​. Latour, Bruno. Reassembling the social: An introduction to Actor-Network Theory. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005. Legg, Stephen. “Assemblage/apparatus: Using Deleuze and Foucault.” Area 43, no. 2 (2011): 128–133. McGoey, Linsey. “Does Philanthrocapitalism make the rich richer and the poor poorer?: Income inequality and philanthropy.” Evonomics: The Next Evolution in Economics, 2016. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ev​​onomi​​cs​.co​​m​/doe​​s​-phi​​lanth​​ropy-​​actua​​ lly​-m​​ake​-t​​he​-ri​​ch​-ri​​ch​er-​​and​-t​​he​-po​​or/. McGrath, Siobhan and Watson, Samantha. “Anti-trafficking as development: A global politics of rescue.” Geoforum 93 (2018): 22–31. Meriläinen, Niina and Vos, Marita. “Public discourse on human trafficking in international issue arenas.” Societies 5 (2015): 14–42. Molland, Sverre. The perfect business?: Antitrafficking and the sex trade along the Mekong. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2012. Molland, Sverre. “On trafficking survivors: Biolegitimacy and multiplications of life.” Dialectical Anthropology 43 (2019): 279–293.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 102

08-10-2021 11:27:13

Human Trafficking, Anti-Trafficking, and Contemporary Theory

103

Moore, Anne Elizabeth. “Special Report: Money and Lies in anti-human trafficking NGOs.” Truthout. 2015a. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/tr​​uthou​​t​.org​​/arti​​cles/​​speci​​al​-re​​ port-​​money​​-and-​​lies-​​in​-an​​ti​-hu​​man​-t​​​raffi​​cking​​-ngos​/. ———. “The American rescue industry: Toward an anti-trafficking paramilitary.” Truthout, 2015b. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/tr​​uthou​​t​.org​​/arti​​cles/​​the​-a​​meric​​an​-re​​scue-​​ indus​​try​-t​​oward​​-an​-a​​nti​-t​​raffi​​c​king​​-para​​milit​​ary/. O’Brien, Erin. “Slavery and human trafficking campaigns by Hollywood celebrities can be misleading.” ABC News Australia, 2018. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.abc​​.net.​​au​/ne​​ ws​/20​​18​-07​​-07​/b​​eware​​-the-​​holly​​wood-​​hype-​​on​-hu​​man​-t​​​raffi​​cking​​/9893​​330. Read, Jason. “Beyond enslavement and subjugation: Deviations from Deleuze and Guattari.” 2017. Unemployed Negativity. http:​/​/www​​.unem​​ploye​​dnega​​tivit​​y​.com​​ /2017​​/08​/b​​eyond​​-ensl​​aveme​​nt​-an​​d​-su​b​​jecti​​on​.ht​​ml. Rhizome​.or​g. n.d. Rhizome. Accessed 2020. http://rhizome​.org. Severino, Rodolfo C. “Asean in 2010.” Southeast Asian Affairs (2011): 26–32. Stanley, Jay. “The burdens of total surveillance.” American Civil Liberties Union, 2013. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.acl​​u​.org​​/blog​​/nati​​onal-​​secur​​ity​/p​​rivac​​y​-and​​ -surv​​eilla​​nce​/b​​urden​​s​-tot​​al​-su​​rveil​​lance​​?redi​​rect=​​blog​/tech​​nolog​​y​-and​​-libe​​rty​-n​​ ation​​al​-se​​​curit​​y​/bur​​dens-​​total​​-surv​​eilla​​nce. Subano, Nur Iman and Kosandi, Meidi. “The regionalism paradox in the fight against human trafficking: Indonesia and the limits of regional cooepration in ASEAN.” Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics 16, no. 2 (2019): 89–98. Thorn. Homepage. n.d. Accessed 2020. from https​:/​/ww​​w​.tho​​rn​.or​​g​/abo​​ut​-ou​​r​-fig​​ht​ -ag​​ainst​​-sexu​​al​-ex​​ploit​​ati​on​​-of​-c​​hildr​​en/. Thorup, Mikkel. “Pro bono?: On philanthrocapitalism as ideological answer to inequality.” Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization 13, no. 3 (2013): 555–576. United States Department of State. “TIP Report Archive.” US Department of State, n.d.. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/20​​01​-20​​09​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/g/​​tip​/r​​ls​/fs​​/20​01​​/4051​​.htm. United Nations. n.d. United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. Accessed 2020. http://www​.ungift​.org. Walk Free Foundation. Global Slavery Index, 2016. Accessed 2020. https://www​ .globalslaveryindex​.org. West, Stephen. “Michel Foucault Part 3: Power.” Philosophize This, 2018. Accessed 2020. http:​/​/phi​​losop​​hizet​​his​.o​​rg​/ep​​isode​​-123-​​tran​s​​cript​/. Wilson, Japhy. “Counting on billionaires.” Jacobin, 2015. Accessed 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.jac​​obinm​​ag​.co​​m​/201​​5​/03/​​georg​​e​-sor​​os​-ph​​ilant​​hroca​​pital​​ism​-m​​il​len​​nium-​​ villa​​ges/. Wong, Alfred and Gomes, Roxanne. “Societal and economic elements of trafficking of human beings into the European Union.” Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 7, no. 3 (2014): 831–852. Yu, Jae Eon. “The use of Deleuze’s Theory of Assemblage for Process-Oriented Methodology.” Historical Social Record/Historische Sozialforschung 38, no. 2 (2013): 144, 197–217.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 103

08-10-2021 11:27:13

104

Bob Spires

Yusran, Ranyta. “The ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons: A preliminary assessment.” Asian Journal of International Law 8 (2018): 258–292. Zizek, Slavoj. “Democracy and capitalism are destined to split up.” Big Think, 2014. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/bi​​gthin​​k​.com​​/vide​​os​/sl​​avoj-​​zizek​​-on​-c​​apita​​lism-​​and​-​t​​he​-co​​ mmons​. ———. First as tragedy, then as farce. New York: Verso, 2009a. ———. “First as tragedy, then as farce- video lecture.” Thersa, 2009b. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​rsa​.o​​rg​/di​​scove​​r​/vid​​eos​/e​​vent-​​video​​s​/200​​9​/11/​​first​​-as​-t​​rag​ed​​ y​-the​​n​-as-​​farce​. ———. “We don’t want the charity of rich capitalists.” ABC Religion and Ethics, 2012. Accessed 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.abc​​.net.​​au​/re​​ligio​​n​/we-​​dont-​​want-​​the​-c​​harit​​y​ -of-​​rich-​​capit​​​alist​​s​/101​​00362​.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 104

08-10-2021 11:27:13

Part 2

LEGISLATIONS AND CONVENTIONS

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 105

08-10-2021 11:27:13

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 106

08-10-2021 11:27:13

Chapter 5

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada Veronica Fynn Bruey

The trafficking of human beings is as old as our existence. The most gruesome form of trafficking in persons (TIP) occurred over a period of 400 years (fourteenth to eighteenth centuries) when twelve million enslaved Africans were forcibly displaced from their homeland to the Americas.1 The incidence of white slavery—using drug, deceit, or force to procure a white woman or girl for an immoral life—increased between 1899 and 1902 (International Agreement for the Suppression of the “White Slave” Traffic 1904) and continued throughout the two world wars.2 Today, we are faced with a new form of slavery (or TIP), where “people become completely disposable tools for making money.”3 Back in 1997, the U.S. government reported that the number of people trafficked annually was 700,000.4 In 2006, the United Nations estimated the same amount of people trafficked.5 Ten years later, the International Labor Organisation and Walk Free estimated that between 3.8 and 40.3 million adults were victims of forced sexual exploitation and 1.0 million children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation in 2016—99 percent were girls and women.6 The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reports 108,613 individual cases of TIP between 2017 and 2020. The United States Department of State’s (USDoS) Trafficking in Person’s 2020 Report estimates some 105,787 survivors in 2019 globally.7 The first instance of trafficking in persons (TIP) and smuggling in Canada occurred on August 11, 1986. Crammed in 2 lifeboats drifting for 5 days, the 150 Sri Lankan migrants, who departed from India 35 days prior on a cargo ship, were rescued by local fishing boats off the shores of Newfoundland.8 Police services in Canada reported 1,708 incidences of 107

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 107

08-10-2021 11:27:13

108

Veronica Fynn Bruey

human trafficking between 2009 and 2018, with Ontario and Nova Scotia having rates higher than the national average.9 Canada’s Uniform Crime Reporting Data recorded a total of 350 trafficking incidents and 236 individuals accused of trafficking in 2018. Over the years, the scarcity of data, coupled with the clandestine nature of TIP, has made the assessment of the severity of the unlawfulness of human trafficking extremely difficult.10 Generating approximately $150,000 billion in profit globally, the prosecution of TIP offenders, mostly young men between the age of 18 and 34 who target girls and women, has been everything but easy. Sections 279.01 and 279.011 of the Canadian Criminal Code 1985 criminalizes human trafficking with penalties of 4–14 years of imprisonment for trafficking adults and 5–14 years of imprisonment for trafficking children. Section 118 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2001 prohibits coming into Canada by means of abduction, fraud, deception, or use or threat of force or coercion with penalties of up to $1,000,000 or life imprisonment, or both. The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report states that ninety cases of human trafficking were initiated in Canada in 2019. Since 2005, the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre has provided a focal point for law enforcement organizations to develop and coordinate activities related to the prevention, protection, and prosecution of trafficking in persons. The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2012–2016 consolidated the federal government’s efforts to combat human trafficking and introduced new initiatives to prevent, protect survivors, and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking. In 2018, Public Safety Canada led national consultations to direct the government’s approach toward ending human trafficking. More recently, the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 2019–2024 creates a comprehensive framework that focuses on the empowerment of survivors to help them regain independence. It is against this backdrop that this chapter examines the efficacy of human trafficking legislation and policy in Canada. The chapter specifically questions whether Canadian TIP law and policy is effective in preventing human trafficking, protecting survivors of trafficking, and prosecuting perpetrators of trafficking in persons. The chapter begins with defining key terms association with TIP in Canada. Following, a conceptual framework underpins the theoretical reasoning behind the incidence, prevalence, and persistence of TIP. The next section identifies and describes international, national, and provincial laws used to address TIP in Canada. An overview of Canada’s national policy and strategic plan is presented considering the role and contribution made by law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations. The chapter closes by highlighting the first TIP case prosecuted in Canada.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 108

08-10-2021 11:27:14

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

109

DEFINITIONS Trafficked in Persons: The multiple definitions and conceptual understandings of trafficking is a conundrum described as a “slippery concept.”11 The lack of a single definition, coupled with its clandestine nature, accentuates the challenge of identifying the complex transactions of modern-day slavery. This chapter uses the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime’s 2000 (the Palermo Protocol) definition of TIP: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring 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. (Article 3(a))12

Child trafficking, based on the Palermo Protocol, is the illegal recruitment, transportation, transference, harboring, or receiving of children for the purpose of exploitation.13 Noteworthy, although girls and women are disproportionately survivors of human trafficking, boys and men are also exploited through various forms of labor.14 Smuggling versus trafficking: smuggling “facilitated migration” involves taking an undocumented person across a border for a fee. The smuggler or “cayote” demands pay for service with the agreement that the undocumented person will be left at the point of entry or the border of the desired country.15 Two critical elements distinguish human trafficking from human smuggling. The first is the presence of force, coercion, fraud, or deception as part of the process of organizing entry into Canada. In the case of smuggling, it is implicit that the person being smuggled may be a willing participant in the scheme to gain entry, but once entry has been affected, there may be no further relationship between the person organizing the entry and the person being smuggled. In contrast, human trafficking, involves the use of force, fraud, or deception, to compel a person to participate in the scheme to gain entry. The second critical difference is that in the case of trafficking there is a continuing relationship with the person organizing entry after entry into Canada.16 Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: Sex trafficking is “intricately linked” and is a subset of commercial prostitution whereby trafficked survivors are often forced or coerced into the trade of prostitution.17 Although sex trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 109

08-10-2021 11:27:14

110

Veronica Fynn Bruey

and prostitution do not always overlap, sex trafficking is exploitative and is a serious crime under the Criminal Code. However, non-coerced prostitution is legal in Canada with some caveat.18 The link between sex trafficking and prostitution is established in the UN Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 1949 (Article 1);19 the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979 (Article 6);20 the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000 (Article 3);21 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (Articles 35 and 35),22 Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 2000 (Article 3);23 and the International Labor Organisation (ILO) Convention 182 on Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor 1999 (Article 3).24 CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Intersectionality is a metaphor for understanding the ways that multiple forms of inequality or disadvantages sometimes compound themselves to affect an individual or group (e.g., a trafficked persons).25 The multiplier effect argues that many factors, such as the colonial history of nation-building, poverty, discriminatory laws, patriarchy, and dominant Western hegemony, may act together to exacerbate the impact of migration on vulnerable populations.26 The accentuated impact of migration on people from the Global South (visà-vis developing nations) is a determinant to some extent of how the laws in Canada are made and implemented as it relates to trafficked persons. For example, the violent colonial history in Canada and its consequential intergenerational trauma on Indigenous women explain, in part, the heightened vulnerability of Aboriginal girls and women to being trafficked persons.27 The concepts of internationality and the multiplier effect encompass the multidimensionality, complexity, enormity, and persistence of the illegal trade of TIP regarding certain marginalized communities, including refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants. Failure to consider the totality of these two conceptual understandings makes the ongoing challenge of modern-day slavery impossible to address. Feminist legal theory or feminist jurisprudence: Since girls and women are disproportionately affected by human trafficking in Canada, can they seek access to equal and fair treatment by the law without being silenced by it?28 Drawing on feminist legal theory is crucial in explaining the paradigmatic shift from using patriarchal dominance of white settlers’ Canadian laws toward effecting realistic change with preventing and protecting girls

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 110

08-10-2021 11:27:14

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

111

and women against human trafficking. To be clear, women are traditionally viewed not only as different in the eyes of the law but also as subordinate, a status that is enforced by institutional, cultural, and interpersonal interactions and social practices of coercion and violence.29 This misogynistic philosophical foundation of the law (e.g., the subjugation of the female subject by the concept of the reasonable man) demands that legal justice must be informed and reformed by women’s experiences to achieve any semblance of equality and fairness.30 Feminist legal theory or feminist jurisprudence challenges the traditional male-centered legal norms by ensuring that women’s perspectives in the law are understood so that their claims to legal discourse will not be perceived as legitimate.31 Legitimizing women’s perspective begs a more indepth understanding of Laura Emerson’s conviction of human trafficking in Canada. According to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the most significant human trafficking sentence was handed to Ms. Emerson for her role in the trafficking of three females, including an underage girl, for sexual exploitation. Emerson faced several charges, including three counts of human trafficking (s. 279.01), for which she was sentenced to a total of 41 years, served concurrently equaling seven years in a federal institution.32 For a crime predominantly committed by men, Canada is poised to see a harsher sentence handed down to convicted male traffickers. The Law and Legal Framework International The first legally binding international instrument on TIP is the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 1949 (hereafter the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons). The Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons consolidates a series of protocols, conventions, and agreements, including the International Convention for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic 1910. Linking human trafficking and slavery to commercial sex work, the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons was approved by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in resolution 317(IV) of December 2, 1949. It entered into force on July 25, 1951, pursuant to article 24. Canada signed the succession of the amended protocol, which eventually became the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, on May 4, 1949. States Parties to the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons agree to punish any person who procures, entices, exploits, leads away, for the purpose of prostitution, of another person, even with the consent of that person (Articles 1 and 2).33

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 111

08-10-2021 11:27:14

112

Veronica Fynn Bruey

Branded the International bill of rights for women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), 1979,34 is one of the most ratified (189 states) international instruments that specifically address the exploitation and abuse of girls and women. A culmination of some 30 years of work by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, CEDAW entered into force on September 2, 1981. Article 6 of CEDAW obliged States Parties to take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of the prostitution of women. Canada signed CEDAW on July 17, 1980, and ratified it on December 10, 1981. The Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention 1999 (No 182) (hereafter C182) was adopted by the International Labor Organisation (ILO) on July 1, 1999.35 Each member that ratifies C182 is mandated to take immediate and effective measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor (Article 1), which includes all forms of slavery (e.g., sale and trafficking of children), debt bondage, serfdom, forced or compulsory labor, forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict (Article 3). Canada ratified C182 on June 6, 2000. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 2000 (hereafter, the CRC Optional Protocol) was adopted on May 25, 2000, by the UNGA and entered into force on January 18, 2002, further achieve the purpose of the Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (hereafter CRC). Like the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, CRC Optional Protocol connects the sale of children (any act or transaction whereby a child is transferred by any person or group of persons to another for remuneration or any other consideration), which include trafficked children to prostitution and pornography (Article 2). Canada signed the CRC Optional Protocol on November 10, 2001, and ratified it on September 14, 2005. The UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) was adopted by UNGA Resolution 55/25 on November 15, 2000, and came into force on September 29, 2003. As the main international law on transnational organized crime, the UNTOC focuses on border control by promoting cooperation among states to prevent and combat the organizing of crimes across international frontiers Article 1. The UNTOC comprises three additional Protocols: (1) the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air 2000; and the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition 2000. Canada signed UNTOC on December 14, 2000, and ratified it on May 13, 2002.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 112

08-10-2021 11:27:15

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

113

Nearly thirty years after the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000 (hereafter the Palermo Protocol) was adopted by the UNGA and entered into force on December 25, 2003. The Palermo Protocol is the first legally international law to establish the first common international definition of trafficking in persons. The purpose of the Palermo Protocol is to prevent trafficking, protect survivors, and promote cooperation among States Parties in combating human trafficking (Article 2). Canada signed the Palermo Protocol on December 14, 2000, and ratified it on May 13, 2002. The Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air 2000 (hereafter the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrant) entered into force on January 28, 2008.36 Focused on curbing the problem of smuggling migrants, organized the criminal groups, who are at a relatively high risk of being trafficked, the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrant is the first international document to provide a definition of smuggling of migrants. As with the UNTOC and the Palermo Protocol, Canada signed the Protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants on December 14, 2000, and ratified on May 13, 2002. National Laws Evidently, Canada has signed or ratified all the major international law instructions pertinent to TIP. Nonetheless, Canada adopts the dualist approach to treaty-making under international law. Turning international law into a domestic one is not self-executing in Canada as it is in a monist state such as South Africa. Therefore, an international law signed and ratified by the Executive Branch in Canada must be incorporated into domestic law to be enforceable at the national level.37 Under Canada’s federal system, the jurisdiction or authority to make laws is divided between the Parliament of Canada and the provincial and territorial legislatures. Criminal law, including criminal procedure, falls under federal jurisdiction (i.e., parliamentary powers), while the administration of civil/criminal justice is the exclusive power of provincial legislatures.38 To this end, there are two federal laws in Canada that outlaw sexual exploitation, forced labor, and harvesting of organs and tissues: The Criminal Code 1985 and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act 2002. Canada’s first legal attempt to combat TIP took place on June 28, 2002, with the enactment of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) 2001. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act replaced the Immigration Act 1976, which uniquely classified “convention refugees” under immigration law. Section 2 of the Immigration Act describes “convention refugees” as

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 113

08-10-2021 11:27:15

114

Veronica Fynn Bruey

those defined by Article 1(A) of the UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 and its Protocol 1967, which Canada ratified on June 4, 1969. Section 117 of IRPA distinguishes trafficking from smuggling, s118 of IRPA defines the offense of TIP, and ss122–123 describes the offenses related to fake documents and the use of a fake travel document as well as buying or selling such documents as an offense. Section 117 (1): No person shall organize, induce, aid, or abet the coming into Canada of one or more persons knowing that, or being reckless as to whether their coming into Canada is or would be in contravention of this Act. Section 118 (1) and 2): No person shall knowingly organize the coming into Canada of one or more persons by means of abduction, fraud, deception, or use or threat of force or coercion. Organize with respect to persons, includes their recruitment or transportation and, after they enter into Canada, the receipt or harboring of those persons. Section 122 (1): No person shall, in order to contravene this Act, (a) possess a passport, visa, or other documents, of Canadian or foreign origin that purports to establish or that could be used to establish a person’s identity; (b) use such a document, including for the purpose of entering or remaining in Canada; or (c) import, export or deal in such a document.

Aggravating factors to aid courts in prosecuting an accused of TIP are dependent on whether the commission of the offense was for the benefit of, at the direction of or in association with a criminal organization or was for profit, irrespective of whether a profit was gained or not (s123 (2). Last introduced in the 38th Parliament, first Session, Bill C-49 came into force on November 25, 2005, adding ss 279.01–279.04 to the Criminal Code 1985, creating an offense of TIP in Canada. Three main prohibitions are enshrined in the sections. Section 279.01 of the Criminal Code prohibits the “recruiting, transporting, transferring, receiving, holding, concealing or harboring a person, or exercising control, direction or influence over the movements of a person, for the purpose of exploiting them or facilitating their exploitation.” Section 279.02 of the Criminal Code prohibits every person from receiving a financial or other material benefit, knowing that it is obtained by or derived directly or indirectly from the commission of the trafficking offense (above). Section 279.03 of the Criminal Code prohibits the concealing, removing, withholding, or destroying of any travel document that belongs to another person or any document that establishes or purports to establish another person’s identity or immigration status.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 114

08-10-2021 11:27:15

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

115

Exploitation is crucial to the offense of TIP as provided by s297.04 of the Criminal Code: a person exploits another person if they cause them to provide, or offer to provide, labor or service by engaging in conduct that, in all the circumstances, could reasonably be expected to cause the other person to believe that their safety or the safety of a person known to them would be threatened if they failed to provide, or offer to provide, the labor or service. A court may consider three main factors in determining whether an accused exploits another person: (1) use or threat to use force or another form of coercion; (2) use deception; and (3) abuse a position of trust, power, or authority. Five years after adding ss279.01–279.04 to the Criminal Code, Bill C-268 enacted on July 10, 2010, by the 40th Parliament, Second Session, amended Criminal Code s279.011(b) to include a minimum punishment of imprisonment for a term of five years for offenses involving trafficking of persons under the age of 18 years. Criminal Code s279.011(a) If a trafficker kidnaps, commits an aggravated assault or aggravated sexual assault against, or causes death to the trafficked person, imposes imprisonment for life to a minimum term of six years. Last introduced in the 41st Parliament, First Session, Bill C-310, which amended Criminal Code s7(4.11), passed into law on April 12, 2012. Criminal Code s7(4.11) grants Canadian courts extraterritorial jurisdiction to prosecute Canadian citizens or permanent residents who have committed offenses of TIP outside Canada. Following the Supreme Court decision in Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford 2013, Bill C-36 (Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act), introduced in the Second Session of the 41st Parliament, was enacted on October 6, 2014. Bill C-36 amended s279.03 of the Criminal Code, ensuring a level of consistency with connecting prostitution to human trafficking offenses by creating a “new mandatory minimum penalties for human trafficking involving adult victims and for the financial benefit and documents offenses involving child victims.”39 Bill C-75,  An Act to amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and other Acts and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, was introduced on March 29, 2018, and enacted into law on June 21, 2019. Bill C-75 was a direct response to the Supreme Court of Canada’s (SCC) decision on the right to be tried within a reasonable time pursuant to R v Jordan 2016 affirmed by R v Cody 2017. Amending section of the Criminal Code, Bill C-75 facilitates the prosecution of human trafficking offenses while adding TIP offense to a list of offenses to which a reverse onus applies in proceedings for the forfeiture of proceeds of crime.40 Then, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom Statement on Bill C-75 asserts “potential to be found to unjustifiably limit section 12 . . . (right against cruel and unusual punishment) which has been held by the courts

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 115

08-10-2021 11:27:15

116

Veronica Fynn Bruey

to protect against the imposition of grossly disproportionate sentences of imprisonment.”41 PROVINCIAL LAWS AND INITIATIVES Of Canada’s ten provinces three territories, only two have provincial laws on TIP. Manitoba is the first province to enact a law on human trafficking. The Child Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act, which became law on April 30, 2012, is a stand-alone protection order that imposes restrictions on an alleged offender toward a child survivor: The law creates a protection order for victims of human trafficking or child sexual exploitation that offers protection to victims by requiring the respondent (the person you want to be protected from ex: the human trafficker or child sexual exploiter) to stay away from the victims. The law also allows a victim of human trafficking to sue the trafficker for money.

Violations of the conditions of the order are subject to charges and penalties from s286.2 of the Criminal Code (Offences Against the Person and Reputation: Commodification of Sexual Activity). Alberta is the first and only province to establish a more comprehensive law on human trafficking against anyone (not just minors) at the provincial level. Bill 8 (Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking), which was introduced on April 7, 2020, and received royal assent, took effect on May 12, 2020. The Protecting Survivors of Human Trafficking Act 2020 (hereafter the Alberta Human Trafficking Act), guided by Alberta’s Human Trafficking Action Plan and concerned that 12 of the 228 TIP police reported incidents in Canada in 2018 were in Alberta, protects vulnerable Albertans at-risk of being trafficked and strengthen a survivor’s ability to get away from physically, emotionally, and financially damaging abuse.42 Key aspect of the Alberta Human Trafficking law is that its definition is synonymous with that of the Palermo Protocol. In July 2007, British Columbia opened the Office to Combat Trafficking in Person (OCTIP), a one of a kind service in Canada under the Provincial Public Safety and Solicitor General Ministry with the mandate to develop and coordinate responses to domestic and international human trafficking: (1) coordinating services for trafficked persons; (2) identifying gaps and barriers that a trafficked person may encounter when accessing protection and services; (3) contributing to local, national, and international efforts, including prosecutions, to prevent human trafficking; and (4) advising and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 116

08-10-2021 11:27:16

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

117

assisting other jurisdictions and organizations in developing location-specific responses to international and domestic human trafficking. Unfortunately, barely four years after, the office was shut down, with the director’s position terminated.43 National Policy and Strategy National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking In 1999, the Canadian federal government established the Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking in Persons (IWG-TIP), co-chaired by Justice and Foreign Affairs departments and comprised of seventeen federal departments, to coordinate all activities to address TIP. In 2012, the Human Trafficking Taskforce, led by Public Safety Canada, replaced the IWG-TIP and is now responsible for overseeing the implementation of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (hereafter the National Action Plan). The National Action Plan consolidated the federal government's efforts to combat human trafficking while introducing new initiatives to prevent human trafficking, protect survivors, prosecute offenders and partnership with others (the four pillars or 4-Ps). In September 2019, the government of Canada announced the National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking 2019–2024. Led by Public Safety Canada, the National Strategy sets out a comprehensive way forward to address human trafficking, bringing together all federal efforts in Canada and abroad under one strategic plan. The National Strategy is a flexible framework that supports the development of culturally relevant services for Indigenous survivors and develops awareness programs to better identify survivors and training tools for law enforcement. Law enforcement agencies and nonprofit organizations play key roles in this partnership. Law Enforcement Agencies The Royal Canadian Police (RCMP) is responsible for enforcing the law, seeking out and identifying potential victims of trafficking through awareness initiatives and investigations, helping to build and foster crime prevention initiatives, and collaborating with other police and government agencies to share information and coordinate approaches to combat trafficking.44 In investigating human trafficking cases, the RCMP draws on various sources, including public reports (e.g., missing persons) on suspicious activities; government agencies and nongovernment organizations; international agencies working together to combat human trafficking; survivors escaping from traffickers; and other law enforcement agencies’ investigations.45

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 117

08-10-2021 11:27:16

118

Veronica Fynn Bruey

The RCMP’s Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre (HTNCC) was established in 2005 as a center of excellence that provides a focal point for law enforcement organizations in their efforts to combat human trafficking, which includes a 24/7 multilingual national human trafficking hotline.46 Its mandate is to develop and coordinate activities and initiatives related to prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership.47 Although Canada has no national database (save the Uniform Crime Reporting system) on human trafficking to enhance law enforcement efforts, some progress has been seen with the prosecution of perpetrators.48 For example, the Peel Regional Police is the leading police department, with 62 percent of all human trafficking court cases in Canada originating from the Greater Toronto Area.49 Starting with the first ever charge and conviction (Imani Nakpangi) under s279.1 of IRPA in May 2008.50 Despite the RCMP’s genuine efforts to curb human trafficking in Canada, a recent report criticizes the institution for having: a toxic culture which has proved intractable to change despite numerous reports and substantial litigation costs . . . [that] promotes, or at the very least tolerates, misogynistic, racist, and homophobic attitudes among many members of the RCMP. Such attitudes cause harm and are inconsistent with the Charter values of equality. They must not be allowed to persist.51

This statement reverberates, authenticates, and accentuates earlier concerns about feminist legal engagement with colonial settler’s law in Canada regarding TIP. Honorable Michel Bastarache’s comments demand further research that examines the impact of systemic racism and gender discrimination of the very institution tasked with enforcing the constitutional principle of equality under the rule of law. Nonprofit Organizations In the absence of a comprehensive and well-coordinated data collection system to identify and prosecute traffickers, the role of grassroots and nonprofit organizations is critical. Several nonprofit organizations in Canada contribute enormously to addressing TIP. In the months leading up to writing this chapter, forty-one nonprofit organizations were contacted to complete a survey of five questions (see appendix A). While the seven responses to the questionnaire are not generalizable, few points are worth highlighting regarding the TIP and the law in Canada: 1) A temporary resident permit is essential for survivors: I have limited knowledge of this legislation and its effectiveness. I do know that a positive element is that internationally trafficked persons can

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 118

08-10-2021 11:27:16

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

119

apply for a TRP—Temporary Residence Permit—and this is very helpful to cover basic income and health care needs. 2) Increased sentences for perpetrators convicted of TIP: The sentences, for example, could be increased to ensure that a trafficker does not get out of prison in a short period, re-locate his or her previous victims, and then re-victimize them. 3) Training and awareness for law enforcement: Our Coalition has also identified that law enforcement officers, lawyers, and other players in the criminal justice system would benefit from training on the various forms of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking and labor trafficking. 4) The impact delayed prosecution has on survivors of TIP: In terms of laws being effective, officers attending an HT case can certainly lay charges initially, but getting an actual conviction is difficult. Not to mention how re-traumatizing the criminal proceedings are for the victim and the lack of trauma-informed care during cross-examination. 5) Lack of provincial legislation: We currently do not have provincial legislation in Newfoundland, but hopefully, we can change that with submission and recommendations to government soon.

A Select Case Law: R v Wai Chi (Michael) Ng 2008 Prior to writing this chapter, 44 jurisdictions reporting 993,395 decisions between 1876 and 2020 were searched on the Canadian Legal Information Institute (CanLII) using the phrase “trafficking in persons” and “human trafficking” (see appendix B). A cursory review of an estimated 186 “human trafficking” and “trafficking in persons” cases was conducted. While a comprehensive assessment of the cases found is beyond the scope of this chapter, an overview of Canada’s first human trafficking case is instructive regarding the extent to which Canadian laws protect trafficked persons.52 In Canada, the first charges ever made under section 118 of IRPA happened on April 13, 2005—R v Wai Chi (Michael) Ng—three years after the federal law was enacted. Wai Chi (Michael) Ng, a 42-year-old man who ran a massage parlor in Southeast Vancouver, was accused of organizing the entry of two women into Canada and then forcing them into prostitution in violation of section s118 of IRPA inter alia.53 In 2006, Mr. Ng challenged the constitutionality of s118 of IRPA. Mr. Ng argued that the inclusion of the terms, fraud, and deception as a means of committing the offense renders the section vague and overly broad or both, to which Judge MacLean dismissed:

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 119

08-10-2021 11:27:16

120

Veronica Fynn Bruey

In the context of Part 3 of the IRPA and regarding its legislative objective, the terms fraud and deception are sufficiently precise to delineate “the risk zone for criminal sanction” to provide general guidance to citizens. Fraud or deception as a means of committing an offense under S. 118(1) is consistent with the objective of the IRPA. In addition, and, considering the objectives and context of Part 3 of the IRPA, the inclusion of fraud and deception as a means of committing an offense under section 118(1) does not render the section so vague as to provide insufficient limitations on the exercise of discretion by law enforcement authorities in the enforcement of the IRPA. (para 19, R v Ng 2006)

Notwithstanding, Mr. Ng was acquitted of all human trafficking charges, including fifteen of the twenty-two charges brought against him because. [t]he Crown failed on the main thrust of its case, which was that Mr. Ng had engaged in human smuggling with respect to the two complainants, [YHW] and [LYT], and had assaulted them. Their evidence was not believed except to the extent that it was confirmed by evidence independent of them. (para 4, R v Ng 2008)

Mr. Ng was sentenced to nine months, dwarfing the life imprisonment and $1 million fine if he were convicted for human trafficking. Despite historic progress made in British Columbia to combat trafficking in person, the province is labeled as a major hub and transit location for human smuggling and the sex trade industry.54 Since Mr. Ng’s acquittal in 2005 relatively few cases have been prosecuted under the federal trafficking law amidst the shutdown of the OCTIP. DISCUSSION The challenge with data collection: Except for the US Department of State’s Annual TIP Report and Statistics, Canada’s Integrated Criminal Court Survey, statistical and analytical data on the prosecution of court cases on human trafficking in Canada are not available.55 Several factors challenged requests to access data from Statistics Canada (StatsCan). Primarily, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in staff furlough, causing an awful amount of delay in honoring requests. The information requested from StatsCan will be ready sometime in 2021. Secondly, StatsCan variables on trafficked survivors are restricted to those listed in the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey Manual.56 Third, the cost of the data requested is priced at CND $1,000 for the bare minimum. This challenge hinders the progress of using evidencebased research to assess the efficacy of Canada’s TIP laws.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 120

08-10-2021 11:27:17

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

121

Claiming Refugee Status as a Trafficked Person: For the limited cases reviewed for this chapter, it is not hard to question the relationship between TIP and refugee law in Canada. Thus, the criminalization of refugees as trafficked persons or smuggled migrants surfaces as a violation of Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, as observed in R v Ng. Notwithstanding, beyond the criminality of IRPA, there is no evidence to show a strong correlation between being trafficked as a ground for seeking refugee status in Canada.57 Resident Status of Trafficked Survivors: Since survivors of trafficking are vulnerable to all sorts of violence, exploitation, and abuse, it is argued that regularising their residence status is necessary for protecting and preventing further risks of being trafficked. Article 7(1) and (2) of the Palermo Protocol urges States to adopt legislative or other appropriate measures that would permit trafficked survivors to remain in their territory, temporarily or permanently, in appropriate cases subject to humanitarian and compassionate considerations. On December 12, 2005, pursuant to ss 24(1) and (3) of IRPA, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration issued a Ministerial Instruction allowing a short-term temporary resident permit (TRP) lasting up to 180 days, in cases where preliminary (discretionary) assessment to verify an individual as a trafficked survivor met certain criteria.58 In spite of the aforementioned, trafficked persons (mostly girls and women) in Canada are frequently arrested, detained, charged, and prosecuted for unlawful activities, particularly prostitution, drug, or immigration-related violations that are incompatible with the human rights-based approach to combating TIP.59 Between 2006 and 2011, of the 178 TRPs that were granted, only 14 were given to survivors of sex trafficking.60 Since the granting of TRP is dependent on the discretion of an individual immigration officer, there have been reported inconsistencies with delays and identifying trafficked survivors where some cases are deemed to be “too late” for issuing permits.61 Furthermore, considering that trafficked survivors enter Canada as undocumented migrants, generally, they are not eligible to receive health-care services,62 but for special provisions such as the Ministerial Instruction of 2005. At this point, it is not clear whether the public health concerns of trafficked survivors are relevant since the Public Health Agency of Canada Act 2006 is silent on the health of noncitizens. Protection Scheme for Trafficked Survivors: The Criminal Code provides for both mandatory and discretionary publication bans which prevent the publication, broadcast, or transmission in any way of any information that could identify the victim or witness. Section 486.4 of the Criminal Code provides that a judge, upon application, must order a publication ban to withhold the publication of the identity of, or any information that could identify, any witness under the age of 18 years or a complainant, in respect of a number of enumerated offenses, including the four specific human trafficking offenses contained in the Criminal Code.63

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 121

08-10-2021 11:27:17

122

Veronica Fynn Bruey

Every survivor of crime in Canada, including those surviving TIP, should be provided with information about available services. The exacerbated vulnerability of trafficked survivors makes it particularly important for them to access services available to survivors of TIP.64 Survivors’ Compensation and financial Benefits: all Canadian provinces have crime survivor compensation/financial assistance programs to compensate victims of violent or personal crimes, except Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and the Territories, which offer survivor assistance.65 However, the rights of trafficked survivors are often ignored as there is limited guidance on how survivors of TIP, especially undocumented migrant children, should be treated.66 The lack of support for trafficked survivors impedes prosecution as they are often threatened and afraid to cooperate with law enforcement.67 CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION Without a doubt, Canada has made significant strides in honoring its obligation under international law on human trafficking by establishing a few legislations, policies, and strategic action plans since ratifying the Palermo Protocol. While the prosecution of cases had increased from 2005, when the first human trafficking case was prosecuted in British Columbia, there is a concern about whether cases prosecuted amount to actual convictions and subsequent punishment as stated in the law. It is highly questionable. Although the study cannot definitively conclude that Canadian TIP law and policy are efficient in preventing trafficking in persons, protecting survivors of human trafficking, and prosecuting traffickers, there are visible gaps. First, the lack of a national database on TIP is a fundamental problem. Secondly, the minuscule protection and services provided to survivors of TIP hinder the successful outcome of court cases. Third, institutional racism and discrimination inherent in colonial settlers’ law invalidate the experiences of girls and women who are mostly survivors of TIP. Fourth, the criminalization of refugees who are trafficked poses ongoing conflicts of laws. In concluding, two recommendations are key: (1) the need to conduct further research on court cases; and (2) moving beyond prosecution and developing clear legislative and policy priorities will help prevent, protect survivors, and prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking.68 NOTES 1. Alfred-Kamara, Michaela, Elizabeth Khawajkie, and David Mason. “Impact on Africa, Caribbean, Americas, and Europe.” Education. Breaking the Silence: Learning About the TransAtlantic Slave Trade. http:​/​/old​​.anti​​slave​​ry​.or​​g​/bre​​aking​​

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 122

08-10-2021 11:27:17

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

123

thesi​​lence​​/main​​/07​/i​​​ndex.​​shtml​. See also; Kahn, Andrew, and Jamelle Bouie. 2015. “The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes.” Slate, June 25. Results and Analysis. Accessed November 17, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.slat​​e​.com​​/arti​​cles/​​life/​​the​_h​​istor​​y​_of_​​ ameri​​can​_s​​laver​​y​/201​​5​/06/​​anima​​ted​_i​​ntera​​ctive​​_of​_t​​he​_hi​​story​​_of​_t​​h​e​_at​​lanti​​c​_sla​​ ve​_tr​​ade​.h​​tml, and M’baye, Babacar. “The Economic, Political, and Social Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa.” The European Legacy 11, 6 (2006): 607–22. Accessed May 15, 2019. doi:10.1080/10848770600918091. 2. Oh, Stella. “Human Trafficking and the Haunting Legacy of Military Sexual Slavery – World Policy.” World Policy Journal, October 2016. Accessed November 19, 2019. http:​/​/wor​​ldpol​​icy​.o​​rg​/20​​16​/10​​/20​/h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-and​​-the-​​haunt​​ing​-l​​ egacy​​-of​-m​​ilita​​​ry​-se​​xual-​​slave​​ry/. See also; Oster, Grant. “The History of Human Trafficking.” Private Blog. Hankering for History. October 3, 2015. Accessed August 10, 2019. https​:/​/ha​​nkeri​​ngfor​​histo​​ry​.co​​m​/the​​-hist​​ory​-o​​f​-hum​​an​-t​r​​affic​​king/​. 3. Bales, Kevin. New Slavery: A Reference Handbook. 2nd ed. Contemporary World Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004. 4. United States Government. International Crime Threat Assessment. Washington, DC: US Government Interagency Working Group, 2001. Accessed July 18, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cia​​.gov/​​libra​​ry​/re​​ading​​room/​​docs/​​DOC​_0​​000​49​​7956.​​pdf. 5. Barnett, Laura. “Trafficking in Persons.” Ottawa, ON: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, 2006. 6. International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. 2017. “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labor and Forced Marriage.” UN. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Organization, 2017. Accessed June 16, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​.org/​​wcmsp​​5​/gro​​ups​/p​​ublic​/​@dgr​​eport​​s/​@dco​​mm​/do​​cumen​​ts​/pu​​blica​​tio​ n/​​wcms_​​57547​​9​.pdf​. See also; Walk Free Foundation. “Highlights: Global Slavery Index.” NGO. Global Slavery Index, 2018. Accessed May 20, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.glo​​ balsl​​avery​​index​​.org/​​2018/​​findi​​ngs​/h​​i​ghli​​ghts/​. 7. United States Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Government Report, 2020. Washington, DC: United States Department of State. Accessed December 20, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/tra​​ffick​​ing​-i​​n​-per​​sons-​​r​epor​​t​-202​​0/. 8. Ibid, Barnett 2006. See also; Wright, Knowlton. “1986: Sri Lankan Migrants Rescued off Newfoundland—CBC Archives.” CBC Digital Archives. August 11, 1986. Accessed August 12, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cbc​​.ca​/a​​rchiv​​es​/en​​try​/1​​986​-s​​ri​-la​​nkan-​​ migra​​nts​-r​​escue​​d​​-off​​-newf​​oundl​​and. 9. Cotter, Adam. “Trafficking in Persons in Canada, 2018.” Government Report. Juristat. Ottawa, ON: Statistic Canada, 2020. See also; Housefather, Anthony. “Moving Forward in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.” 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Ottawa, ON: Canadian House of Commons, 2018. Accessed June 17, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.our​​commo​​ns​ .ca​​/Cont​​ent​/C​​ommit​​tee​/4​​21​/JU​​ST​/Re​​ports​​/RP10​​24309​​9​/jus​​trp​24​​/just​​rp24-​​e​.pdf​. 10. Raaflaub, Riordan. “Human Trafficking.” Government Report PRB 04-25E. In Brief. Ottawa, ON: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, 2006. 11. Bello, Paul O., and Adewale A. Olutola. “The Conundrum of Human Trafficking in Africa.” In Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking [Working Title],

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 123

08-10-2021 11:27:17

124

Veronica Fynn Bruey

1–13. [Online]: IntechOpen, 2020. Accessed September 18, 2020. doi:10.5772/ intechopen.83820. See also; Gould, Chandré. “CHEAP LIVES: Countering Human Trafficking—Considerations and Constraints.” South African Crime Quarterly, no. 16 (March 2006): 19–25. Accessed May 7, 2019. doi:10.17159/2413-3108/2006/ v0i16a996. 12. UN Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 2000. CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland. 13. UNICEF—USA. “Child Trafficking.” UN Website. UNICEF USA, 2020. Accesed December 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uni​​cefus​​a​.org​​/miss​​ion​/p​​rotec​​t​/tr​a​​ffick​​ing. 14. Ibid, Barnett, 2006. 15. Ibid. 16. R v Wai Chi (Michael) Ng 2008 BCCA 535.  17. Barrett, Nicole A., and Margaret J. Shaw. 2013. “Laws to Combat Sex Trafficking: An Overview of International, National, Provincial and Municipal Laws, and Their Enforcement.” Ottawa, ON: Canadian Women's Foundation and Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada. Accessed June 18, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.can​​adian​​centr​​etoen​​dhuma​​ntraf​​ficki​​ng​.ca​​/wp​-c​​onten​​t​/upl​​oads/​​2016/​​10​/La​​ws​ -to​​-Comb​​at​​-Se​​x​-Tra​​ffick​​ing​.p​​df. 18. Canada (Attorney General) v Bedford 2013 SCC 72, [2013] 3 SCR 1101. 19. Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others 1949. 20. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women 1979. 21. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children 2000. 22. Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. 23. Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 2000. 24. ILO Convention 182 on Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor 1999. 25. Hill Collins, Patricia, and Sirma Bilge. 2016. Intersectionality. Key Concepts Series. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2016. Accessed July 12, 2020. http:​//​www​​.wile​​y​ .com​​/Wile​​yCDA/​​Wiley​​Title​​/prod​​uctCd​​-0745​​68449​​1​,subje​ctCd​-SO10​.html. See also; Kimberlé Crenshaw: What Is Intersectionality? Video clip. Washington, DC: YouTube, 2018. Accessed August 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.you​​tube.​​com​/w​​atch?​​v​=ViD​​t​nfQ9​​FHc., and Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Colour.” Stanford Law Review 43, 6 (1991): 1241–99. 26. Fynn Bruey, Veronica. “Systematic Gender Violence and the Rule of Law: Aboriginal Communities in Australia and Post-War Liberia.” Ph.D. Thesis, Canberra, ACT: The Australian National University, 2016. Accessed May 13, 2019. https​:/​/op​​ enres​​earch​​-repo​​sitor​​y​.anu​​.edu.​​au​/ha​​ndle/​​18​85/​​15952​​0. 27. Sethi, Anupriya. “Domestic Sex Trafficking of Aboriginal Girls in Canada: Issues and Implications.” First Peoples and Family Review 3, 3 (2007): 57–71. 28. James, Susan, and Stephanie Palmer. Visible Women: Essays on Feminist Legal Theory and Political Philosophy. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2002.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 124

08-10-2021 11:27:18

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

125

29. Smith, Patricia. “Four Themes in Feminist Legal Theory: Difference, Dominance, Domesticity, and Denial.” In The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, edited by Martin P. Golding and William A. Edmundson, 90–104. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2005. 30. Levit, Nancy, and Robert R. M. Verchick. Feminist Legal Theory: A Primer. Second. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2016. See also; Ibid, Smith, 2005; see also; Naffine, Ngaire. Law and the Sexes: Explorations in Feminist Jurisprudence. Sydney, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1990., see also; Naffine, Ngaire. Female Crime the Construction of Women in Criminology. Sydney, NSW: Routledge, 2017. Accessed May 16, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.vleb​​ooks.​​com​/v​​leweb​​/prod​​uct​/o​​penre​​ ader?​​id​=no​​ne​&is​​bn​=9​7​​81315​​64699​​2., see also; Lacey, Nicola. “Violence, Ethics and Law: Feminist Reflections on a Familiar Dilemma.” In Visible Women: Essays on Feminist Legal Theory and Political Philosophy, edited by Susan James and Stephanie Palmer, 117–35. Oxford, UK: Hart, 2002, see also; Bartlett, Katharine T., and Rosanne Terese Kennedy, eds. Feminist Legal Theory: Readings in Law and Gender. New Perspectives on Law, Culture, and Society. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991. Accessed July 20, 2019. https​:/​/we​​stvie​​wpres​​s​.com​​/book​​s​/fem​​inist​​-lega​​ l​​-the​​ory/., and Barnett, Hilaire. Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence. London, UK: Cavendish, 1998. 31. Bartlett, Katharine T. “Feminist Legal Methods.” Harvard Law Review 103, 4 (1990): 829–88. See also; Bowman, Cynthia Grant. “Socialist Feminist Legal Theory: A Plea.” In Research Handbook on Feminist Jurisprudence, edited by Robin West and Cynthia Grant Bowman, 91–111. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2019. 32. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Human Trafficking in Canada: Unclassified.” Government Report. Ottawa, ON: RCMP Criminal Intelligence and the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre, 2010. 33. Ibid, 1949. 34. Ibid, 1979. 35. Ibid, ILO, 1999. 36. Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air 200. 37. Barnett, Laura. “Canada’s Approach to the Treaty-Making Process.” Legal and Social Affairs Division, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2020. https​:/​/lo​​p​.par​​l​.ca/​​sites​​/Publ​​icWeb​​site/​​defau​​lt​/en​​_CA​/R​​ esear​​chPub​​lica​t​​ions/​​20084​​5E. See also; Ert, Gib van, and Curtis A. Bradley. “The Domestic Application of International Law in Canada.” In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law, 1–18. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019. Accessed August 16, 2020. 38. Ibid, Barrett and Shaw, 2013. 39. Taylor, Matthew. “Evidence—JUST (42-1)—No. 87—House of Commons of Canada.” Government Records. House of Commons Canada: Minutes of Parliamentary Proceedings. February 15, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.our​​commo​​ns​.ca​​/Docu​​mentV​​iewer​​/en​/4​​2​-1​/J​​UST​/m​​eetin​​​g​-87/​​evide​​nce. 40. Department of Justice. “Bill C-75: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and Other Acts and to Make Consequential Amendments to

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 125

08-10-2021 11:27:18

126

Veronica Fynn Bruey

Other Acts.” Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 2018. Accessed July 5, 2019. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gc​.ca​​/eng/​​csj​-s​​jc​/pl​​/char​​ter​-c​​ha​rte​​/c75.​​html. 41. Department of Justice. “Legislative Background: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and Other Acts and to Make Consequential Amendments to Other Acts, as Enacted (Bill C-75 in the 42nd Parliament).” Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 2019. Accessed February 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​ gc​.ca​​/eng/​​rp​-pr​​/csj-​​sjc​/j​​sp​-sj​​p​​/c75​​/p3​.h​​tml. 42. Small, Kaylen. “Alberta Government Introduces Human Trafficking Bill.” Global News, April 8, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https​:/​/gl​​obaln​​ews​.c​​a​/ new​​s​/679​​2605/​​alber​​ta​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​​cking​​-bill​/. 43. Weichel, Andrew. “BC's Anti-Human Trafficking Office Gutted: Collaborator | CTV News.” CTVNews, August 3, 2011. Accessed May 23, 2019. https​:/​/bc​​.ctvn​​ews​ .c​​a​/b​-c​​-s​-an​​ti​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-offi​​ce​-gu​​tted-​​colla​​​borat​​or​-1.​​67906​​6. 44. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Human Trafficking and the Law.” Government. Human Trafficking and the Law. June 11, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.rcm​​p​-grc​​.gc​.c​​a​/en/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cki​ng​​-and-​​ the​-l​​aw. 45. Ibid. 46. Northcott, Paul. “The High Cost of Human Trafficking | Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” Gazette, October 1, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .rcm​​p​-grc​​.gc​.c​​a​/en/​​gazet​​te​/th​​e​-hig​​h​-cos​​t​-hum​​​an​-tr​​affic​​king. 47. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Index of Policing Initiatives.” Public. Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre: Synopsis. December 21, 2018. Accessed June 7, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.pub​​licsa​​fety.​​gc​.ca​​/cnt/​​cntrn​​g​-crm​​/plcn​​g​/cnm​​cs​ -pl​​cng​/n​​dx​/sn​​​pss​-e​​n​.asp​​x​?n​=4​​89. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2010. See also; Douglas, Pam. 2016. “Peel Leading the Way with Human Trafficking Protocol.” Brampton Guardian, November 30, 2016. Accessed June 14, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.bra​​mpton​​guard​​ian​.c​​ om​/ne​​ws​-st​​ory​/6​​99601​​3​-pee​​l​-lea​​ding-​​the​-w​​ay​-wi​​th​-hu​​man​-t​​​raffi​​cking​​-prot​​ocol/​ ., and Stone, Laura, and Janice Dickson. “Ontario to Invest $202-Million over Five Years in Massive Strategy Targeting Human Trafficking—The Globe and Mail.” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2020. Accessed August 3, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .the​​globe​​andma​​il​.co​​m​/can​​ada​/a​​rticl​​e​-ont​​ario-​​to​-in​​vest-​​202​-m​​illio​​n​-ove​​r​-fiv​​e​-yea​​​ rs​-in​​-mass​​ive​-s​​trate​​gy/. 50. Ibid, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2010. 51. Bastarache, Michel. “Broken Dreams Broken Lives: The Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment on Women in the RCMP—Final Report on the Implementation of the Merlo Davidson Settlement Agreement.” Public Report. Ottawa, ON: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. https​:/​/me​​rloda​​vidso​​ n​.ca/​​wp​-co​​ntent​​/uplo​​ads​/R​​CMP​_F​​inal-​​Repor​​t​_Bro​​​ken​-D​​reams​​.pdf. 52. Bogart, Nicole. “Top 5 Human Trafficking Cases in Canada.” Global News, April 3, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2019. https​:/​/gl​​obaln​​ews​.c​​a​/new​​s​/230​​116​/t​​op​-5-​​ human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-ca​​​ses​-i​​n​-can​​ada/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 126

08-10-2021 11:27:18

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

127

53. Ibid, Barnett, 2006. See also; Ibid, Wright, 1986; see also; Matas, Robert. “Vancouver Man Charged with Human Trafficking—The Globe and Mail.” Global and Mail, April 14, 2005. Accessed June 4, 2020. https​:/​/we​​bcach​​e​.goo​​gleus​​ercon​​ tent.​​com​/s​​earch​​?q​=ca​​che​:2FxUSOfI2​csJ​:https://​www​.t​​heglo​​beand​​mail.​​com​/n​​ews​/ n​​ation​​al​/va​​ncouv​​er​-ma​​n​-cha​​rged-​​with-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/ar​​ticle​​18​220​​596/+​​&cd​=2​​ &hl​=e​​n​&ct=​​clnk&​​gl​=us​., and Ibid, Barnette, 2016. 54. The Canadian Press. “BC. Man Charged with Human Trafficking Sentenced.” CTVNews, April 24, 2008. Accessed May 6, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ctv​​news.​​ca​/b-​​c​-man​​ -char​​ged​-w​​ith​-h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-sen​​​tence​​d​-1​.2​​91281​. 55. Winterdyk, John, Benjamin Perrin, and Philip L Reichel. Human Trafficking: Exploring the International Nature, Concerns, and Complexities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2012. Accessed February 15, 2019. http:​/​/pub​​lic​.e​​bookc​​entra​​l​.pro​​quest​​ .com/​​choic​​e​/pub​​licfu​​llrec​​ord​.a​​​spx​?p​​=1446​​761. 56. Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) Manual. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada, 2020. 57. Ibid, Barnett, 2006. 58. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. “Ministerial Instructions Regarding the Issuance of Temporary Resident Permits to Victims of Human Trafficking.” Government. Mandate Policy. July 21, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.can​​ada​.c​​a​/en/​​immig​​ratio​​n​-ref​​ugees​​-citi​​zensh​​ip​/co​​rpora​​te​/ma​​ndate​​/poli​​cies-​​opera​​tiona​​l​ -ins​​truct​​ions-​​agree​​ments​​/mini​​steri​​al​-in​​struc​​​tions​​/othe​​r​-goa​​ls​/mi​​-htv.​​html. 59. Ibid, Barnett and Shaw, 2013; see also; Ibid, Barnett, 2006. 60. Ibid, Barnett and Shaw, 2013. 61. Canadian Council for Refugees. “Temporary Resident Permits: Limits to Protection for Trafficked Persons.” Private Advocacy. Our Work on Trafficking. June 2013. Accessed August 12, 2019. https​:/​/cc​​rweb.​​ca​/en​​/traf​​ficki​​ng​/te​​mpora​​ry​-re​​siden​​t​ -per​​​mit​-r​​eport​. 62. Canada Health Act RSC, 1985, c C-6. 63. Department of Justice. A Handbook for Criminal Justice Practitioners on Trafficking in Persons. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 2015. Accessed June 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gc​.ca​​/eng/​​rp​-pr​​/cj​-j​​p​/tp/​​ hcjpo​​tp​-gt​​pupjp​​/hcjp​​​otp​-g​​tpupj​​p​.pdf​. 64. Ibid. 65. Ibid, Barnett and Shaw, 2013. 66. Ibid. 67. Burgess, Lindsay E. “Prosecuting Human Trafficking Offences in Canada: An Analysis of the Provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code.” Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta, 2014. See also; Andreychuk, Raynell, and Joan Fraser. “Children: The Silenced Citizens.” Ottawa, ON: Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, Canadian Senate, 2007. Accessed October 12, 2020. https​:/​/se​​ncana​​da​.ca​​/cont​​ent​/s​​en​/Co​​mmitt​​ee​/39​​1​/hum​​a​/rep​​/rep​1​​0apr0​​7​-e​.p​​df. 68. Oxman-Martinez, Jacqueline, Jill Hanley, and Fanny Gomez. “Canadian Policy on Human Trafficking: A Four-Year Analysis.” International Migration 43, 4 (2005): 7–29.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 127

08-10-2021 11:27:19

128

Veronica Fynn Bruey

REFERENCES Alfred-Kamara, Michaela, Elizabeth Khawajkie, and David Mason. “Impact on Africa, Caribbean, Americas, and Europe.” Education. Breaking the Silence: Learning About the TransAtlantic Slave Trade, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2020. http:​/​/old​​.anti​​slave​​ry​.or​​g​/bre​​aking​​thesi​​lence​​/main​​/07​/i​​​ndex.​​shtml​. Andreychuk, Raynell, and Joan Fraser. “Children: The Silenced Citizens.” Ottawa, ON: Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights, Canadian Senate, 2007. Accessed October 12, 2020. https​:/​/se​​ncana​​da​.ca​​/cont​​ent​/s​​en​/Co​​mmitt​​ee​/39​​1​/hum​​ a​/rep​​/rep​1​​0apr0​​7​-e​.p​​df. Bales, Kevin. New Slavery: A Reference Handbook. 2nd ed. Contemporary World Issues. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Bales, Kevin. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2012. Barnett, Hilaire. Introduction to Feminist Jurisprudence. London, UK: Cavendish, 1998. Barnett, Laura. “Trafficking in Persons.” Ottawa, ON: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, 2006. Barnett, Laura. “Trafficking in Persons.” Government Report 2011-59-E. Ottawa, ON: Legal and Social Affairs Division, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2016. Accessed September 23, 2019. https​:/​/lo​​p​.par​​l​.ca/​​stati​​cfile​​s​/Pub​​ licWe​​bsite​​/Home​​/Rese​​archP​​ublic​​ation​​s​/Bac​​kgrou​​ndPap​​ers​/​P​​DF​/20​​11​-59​​-e​.pd​​f. Barnett, Laura. “Canada’s Approach to the Treaty-Making Process.” Legal and Social Affairs Division, Parliamentary Information and Research Service, 2018. Accessed April 24, 2020. https​:/​/lo​​p​.par​​l​.ca/​​sites​​/Publ​​icWeb​​site/​​defau​​lt​/en​​_CA​/R​​esear​​chPub​​ lica​t​​ions/​​20084​​5E. Barrett, Nicole A., and Margaret J. Shaw. “Laws to Combat Sex Trafficking: An Overview of International, National, Provincial and Municipal Laws, and Their Enforcement.” Ottawa, ON: Canadian Women's Foundation and Task Force on Trafficking of Women and Girls in Canada, 2013. Accessed June 18, 2020. https​:/​ /ww​​w​.can​​adian​​centr​​etoen​​dhuma​​ntraf​​ficki​​ng​.ca​​/wp​-c​​onten​​t​/upl​​oads/​​2016/​​10​/La​​ws​ -to​​-Comb​​at​​-Se​​x​-Tra​​ffick​​ing​.p​​df. Bartlett, Katharine T. “Feminist Legal Methods.” Harvard Law Review 103, 4 (1990): 829–88. Bartlett, Katharine T., and Rosanne Terese Kennedy, eds. “Feminist Legal Theory: Readings in Law and Gender.” In New Perspectives on Law, Culture, and Society. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991. Accessed July 20, 2019. https​:/​/we​​stvie​​wpres​​ s​.com​​/book​​s​/fem​​inist​​-lega​​​l​-the​​ory/. Bastarache, Michel. “Broken Dreams Broken Lives: The Devastating Effects of Sexual Harassment on Women in the RCMP—Final Report on the Implementation of the Merlo Davidson Settlement Agreement.” Public Report. Ottawa, ON: Royal Canadian Mounted Police, 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. https​:/​/me​​rloda​​vidso​​n​.ca/​​wp​-co​​ntent​​/uplo​​ads​/R​​CMP​_F​​inal-​​Repor​​t​_Bro​​​ ken​-D​​reams​​.pdf.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 128

08-10-2021 11:27:19

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

129

Bello, Paul O., and Adewale A. Olutola. “The Conundrum of Human Trafficking in Africa.” In Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking [Working Title], 1–13. [Online]: IntechOpen, 2020. Accessed September 18, 2020. doi:10.5772/intechopen.83820. Bogart, Nicole. “Top 5 Human Trafficking Cases in Canada.” Global News, April 3, 2012. Accessed March 26, 2019. https​:/​/gl​​obaln​​ews​.c​​a​/new​​s​/230​​116​/t​​o​p​-5-​​human​ - trafficking-cases-in-canada/. Bowman, Cynthia Grant. “Socialist Feminist Legal Theory: A Plea.” In Research Handbook on Feminist Jurisprudence, edited by Robin West and Cynthia Grant Bowman, 91–111. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 2019. Burgess, Lindsay E. “Prosecuting Human Trafficking Offences in Canada: An Analysis of the Provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Criminal Code.” Edmonton, AB: University of Alberta, 2014. Canadian Centre for Justice and Community Safety Statistics. Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) Manual. Ottawa, ON: Statistics Canada, 2020. Canadian Council for Refugees. “Temporary Resident Permits: Limits to Protection for Trafficked Persons.” Private Advocacy. Our Work on Trafficking. June 2013. Accessed August 12, 2019. https​:/​/cc​​rweb.​​ca​/en​​/traf​​ficki​​ng​/te​​mpora​​ry​-re​​siden​​t​-per​​​ mit​-r​​eport​. Cotter, Adam. “Trafficking in Persons in Canada, 2018.” Government Report. Juristat. Ottawa, ON: Statistic Canada, 2020. Crenshaw, Kimberlé. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Colour.” Stanford Law Review 43, 6 (1991): 1241–99. Department of Justice. A Handbook for Criminal Justice Practitioners on Trafficking in Persons. Ottawa, ON: Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, 2015. Accessed June 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gc​.ca​​/eng/​​rp​-pr​​/cj​-j​​p​​/tp/​​hcjpo​​ tp- gtpupjp/hcjpotp​-gtpupjp​.p​df. Department of Justice. “Bill C-75: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, Youth Criminal Justice Act, and Other Acts and to Make Consequential Amendments to Other Acts.” Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 2018. Accessed July 5, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gc​.ca​​/eng/​​csj​-s​​jc​/pl​​/char​​ter​-c​​ha​rte​​/c75.​​html. Department of Justice. “Legislative Background: An Act to Amend the Criminal Code, the Youth Criminal Justice Act, and Other Acts and to Make Consequential Amendments to Other Acts, as Enacted (Bill C-75 in the 42nd Parliament).” Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada, 2019. Accessed February 18, 2020. https​:/​/ ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gc​.ca​​/eng/​​rp​-pr​​/csj-​​sjc​/j​​sp​-sj​​p​​/c75​​/p3​.h​​tml. Douglas, Pam. “Peel Leading the Way with Human Trafficking Protocol.” Brampton Guardian, November 30, 2016. Accessed June 14, 2019. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.bra​​mpton​​guard​​ian​.c​​om​/ne​​ws​-st​​ory​/6​​99601​​3​-pee​​l​-lea​​d​ing-​​the​-w​​ay​-wi​​ th- human-trafficking-protocol/. Ert, Gib van, and Curtis A. Bradley. “The Domestic Application of International Law in Canada.” In The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Foreign Relations Law, 1–18. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2019. Accessed August 16, 2020. https​:/​/pa​​pers.​​ssrn.​​com​/s​​ol3​/p​​apers​​.cfm?​​abstr​​act​_i​​​d​=327​​7884.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 129

08-10-2021 11:27:19

130

Veronica Fynn Bruey

Fynn Bruey, Veronica. “Systematic Gender Violence and the Rule of Law: Aboriginal Communities in Australia and Post-War Liberia.” Ph.D. Thesis, Canberra, ACT: The Australian National University, 2016. Accessed May 13, 2019. https://openresearch- repos​​itory​​.anu.​​edu​.a​​u​/han​​dle​/1​​885​​/1​​59520​. Gould, Chandré. “CHEAP LIVES: Countering Human Trafficking—Considerations and Constraints.” South African Crime Quarterly, no. 16 (March 2006): 19–25. Accessed May 7, 2019. doi:10.17159/2413-3108/2006/v0i16a996. Hill Collins, Patricia, and Sirma Bilge. 2016. Intersectionality. Key Concepts Series. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2016. Accessed July 12, 2020. http:​//​www​​ .wile​​y​.com​​/Wile​​yCDA/​​Wiley​​Title​​/prod​​uctCd​​-0745​​68449​​​1​,subjectCd- SO10​ .htm​l. Housefather, Anthony. “Moving Forward in the Fight Against Human Trafficking in Canada: Report of the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.” 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. Ottawa, ON: Canadian House of Commons, 2018. Accessed June 17, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.our​​commo​​ns​.ca​​/Cont​​ent​/C​​ommit​​tee​/4​​21​/JU​​ ST​/Re​​ports​​/RP10​​24309​​9​/jus​​trp​24​​/just​​rp24-​​e​.pdf​. Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada. “Ministerial Instructions Regarding the Issuance of Temporary Resident Permits to Victims of Human Trafficking.” Government. Mandate Policy. July 21, 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.can​​ada​.c​​a​/en/​​immig​​ratio​​n​​-ref​​ugees​- citiz​enshi​p/cor​porat​e/man​date/​polic​ ies-o​perat​ional​-inst​ructi​ons-a​greem​ents/​minis​teria​l- instructions/other-goals/mi​ -htv​.ht​ml. International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labor and Forced Marriage.” UN. Geneva, Switzerland: International Labor Organization, 2017. Accessed June 16, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​ .org/​​wcmsp​​5​/gro​​ups​/p​​ublic​/​@dgr​​eport​​s/​@dco​​mm​/do​​cumen​​ts​/pu​​blica​​tio​n/​​wcms_​​ 57547​​9​.pdf​. James, Susan, and Stephanie Palmer. Visible Women: Essays on Feminist Legal Theory and Political Philosophy. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2002. Kahn, Andrew, and Jamelle Bouie. “The Atlantic Slave Trade in Two Minutes.” Slate, June 25, 2015. Results and Analysis. Accessed March14, 2019. http:​/​/www​​ .slat​​e​.com​​/arti​​cles/​​life/​​the​_h​​istor​​y​_of_​​ameri​​can​_s​​laver​​y​/201​​5​/06/​​anima​​ted​_i​​ntera​​ ctive​​_of​_t​​he​_hi​​story​​_of​_t​​h​e​_at​​lanti​​c​_sla​​ve​_tr​​ade​.h​​tml. Kimberlé Crenshaw: What Is Intersectionality? Video clip. Washington, DC: YouTube, 2018. Accessed August 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.you​​tube.​​com​/w​​atch?​​v​ =ViD​​​tnfQ9​​FHc. Lacey, Nicola. “Violence, Ethics and Law: Feminist Reflections on a Familiar Dilemma.” In Visible Women: Essays on Feminist Legal Theory and Political Philosophy, edited by Susan James and Stephanie Palmer, 117–35. Oxford, UK: Hart, 2002. Levit, Nancy, and Robert R. M. Verchick. Feminist Legal Theory: A Primer. Second. New York, NY: New York University Press, 2016. Matas, Robert. “Vancouver Man Charged with Human Trafficking—The Globe and Mail.” Global and Mail, April 14, 2005. Accessed June 4, 2020. https​:/​/we​​bcach​​e​ .goo​​gleus​​ercon​​tent.​​com​/s​​earch​​?q​=ca​​che​:2FxUSOfI2​csJ​:https://​www​.t​​heglo​​beand​​

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 130

08-10-2021 11:27:19

Human Trafficking and the Law in Canada

131

mail.​​com​/n​​ews​/n​​ation​​al​/va​​ncouv​​er​-ma​​n​-cha​​rged-​​with-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/ar​​ticle​​1 ​ 8220​​596/+​​&cd​=2​​&hl​=e​​n​&ct=​​clnk&​​gl​=us​. M’baye, Babacar. “The Economic, Political, and Social Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on Africa.” The European Legacy 11, 6 (2006): 607–22. Accessed May 15, 2019. doi:10.1080/10848770600918091. Naffine, Ngaire. Law and the Sexes: Explorations in Feminist Jurisprudence. Sydney, NSW: Allen and Unwin, 1990. Naffine, Ngaire. Female Crime the Construction of Women in Criminology. Sydney, NSW: Routledge, 2017. Accessed May 16, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.vleb​​ooks.​​com​/v​​ leweb​​/prod​​uct​/o​​penre​​ader?​​id​=no​​ne​&is​​bn​=​97​​81315​​64699​​2. Northcott, Paul. “The High Cost of Human Trafficking | Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” Gazette, October 1, 2019. Accessed January 27, 2020. https://www​.rcmpgrc​.g​​c​.ca/​​en​/ga​​zette​​/the-​​high-​​cost-​​human​​-tr​af​​ficki​​ng. Oh, Stella. “Human Trafficking and the Haunting Legacy of Military Sexual Slavery – World Policy.” World Policy Journal, October 2016. Accessed November 19, 2019. http:​/​/wor​​ldpol​​icy​.o​​rg​/20​​16​/10​​/20​/h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-and​​-the-​​haun​t​​ing​-l​​ egacy​​-of- military-sexual-slavery/. Oster, Grant. “The History of Human Trafficking.” Private Blog. Hankering for History. October 3, 2015. Accessed August 10, 2019. https://hankeringforhistory​ .com​/the- history-of-human-trafficking/. Oxman-Martinez, Jacqueline, Jill Hanley, and Fanny Gomez. “Canadian Policy on Human Trafficking: A Four-Year Analysis.” International Migration 43, 4 (2005): 7–29. Raaflaub, Riordan. “Human Trafficking.” Government Report PRB 04-25E. In Brief. Ottawa, ON: Parliamentary Information and Research Service, Library of Parliament, 2006. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Human Trafficking in Canada: Unclassified.” Government Report. Ottawa, ON: RCMP Criminal Intelligence and the Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre, 2010. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Index of Policing Initiatives.” Public. Human Trafficking National Coordination Centre: Synopsis. December 21, 2018. Accessed June 7, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.pub​​licsa​​fety.​​gc​.ca​​/cnt/​​cntrn​​g​-crm​​/plcn​​g​/cnm​​cs​-pl​​cng​/n​​ dx​/sn​​​pss​-e​​n​.asp​​x​?n​=4​​89. Royal Canadian Mounted Police. “Human Trafficking and the Law.” Government. Human Trafficking and the Law. June 11, 2020. Accessed February 10, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.rcm​​p​-grc​​.gc​.c​​a​/en/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cki​ng​​-and-​​the​-l​​aw. Sethi, Anupriya. “Domestic Sex Trafficking of Aboriginal Girls in Canada: Issues and Implications.” First Peoples and Family Review 3, 3 (2007): 57–71. Small, Kaylen. “Alberta Government Introduces Human Trafficking Bill.” Global News, April 8, 2020. Accessed November 16, 2020. https​:/​/gl​​obaln​​ews​.c​​a​/new​​s​ /679​​2605/​​alber​​ta​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​​cking​​-bill​/. Smith, Patricia. “Four Themes in Feminist Legal Theory: Difference, Dominance, Domesticity, and Denial.” In The Blackwell Guide to the Philosophy of Law and Legal Theory, edited by Martin P. Golding and William A. Edmundson, 90–104. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub, 2005.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 131

08-10-2021 11:27:20

132

Veronica Fynn Bruey

Stone, Laura, and Janice Dickson. “Ontario to Invest $202-Million over Five Years in Massive Strategy Targeting Human Trafficking—The Globe and Mail.” Globe and Mail, March 6, 2020. Accessed August 3, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​globe​​andma​​il​.co​​m​/ can​​ada​/a​​rticl​​e​-ont​​ario-​​to​-in​​vest-​​​202​-m​​illio​​n​-ove​​r- five-years-in-massive-strategy/. Taylor, Matthew. “Evidence—JUST (42-1)—No. 87—House of Commons of Canada.” Government Records. House of Commons Canada: Minutes of Parliamentary Proceedings. February 15, 2018. Accessed March 12, 2019. https​:/​/ ww​​w​.our​​commo​​ns​.ca​​/Docu​​mentV​​iewer​​/en​/4​​2​-1​/J​​UST​/m​​eetin​​​g​-87/​​evide​​nce. The Canadian Press. “BC. Man Charged with Human Trafficking Sentenced.” CTVNews, April 24, 2008. Accessed May 6, 2019. https://www​.ctvnews​.ca​/b​-c​ -man​-charged- with-​human​-traf​ficki​ng-se​ntenc​ed-1.​29128​1. UNICEF—USA. “Child Trafficking.” UN Website. UNICEF USA, 2020. Acceded December 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uni​​cefus​​a​.org​​/miss​​ion​/p​​rotec​​t​/tr​a​​ffick​​ing. UN Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 2000. CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland. United States Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Government Report, 2020. Washington, DC: United States Department of State. Accessed December 20, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/tra​​ffick​​ing​-i​​n​-per​​sons-​​r​epor​​t​-202​​0/. United States Government. International Crime Threat Assessment. Washington, DC: US Government Interagency Working Group, 2001. Accessed July 18, 2019. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.cia​​.gov/​​libra​​ry​/re​​ading​​room/​​docs/​​DOC​_0​​000​49​​7956.​​pdf. Walk Free Foundation. “Highlights: Global Slavery Index.” NGO. Global Slavery Index, 2018. Accessed May 20, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.glo​​balsl​​avery​​index​​.org/​​2018/​​ findi​​ngs​/h​​i​ghli​​ghts/​. Weichel, Andrew. “BC's Anti-Human Trafficking Office Gutted: Collaborator | CTV News.” CTVNews, August 3, 2011. Accessed May 23, 2019. https://bc​.ctvnews​.ca​ /b​-c​-s​-anti- human​-traf​ficki​ng-of​fice-​gutte​d-col​labor​ator-​1.679​066. Winterdyk, John, Benjamin Perrin, and Philip L Reichel. Human Trafficking: Exploring the International Nature, Concerns, and Complexities. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2012. Accessed February 15, 2019. http:​/​/pub​​lic​.e​​bookc​​entra​​l​.pro​​quest​​ .com/​​choic​​e​/pub​​licfu​​llrec​​ord​.a​​​spx​?p​​=1446​​761. Wright, Knowlton. “1986: Sri Lankan Migrants Rescued off Newfoundland— CBC Archives.” CBC Digital Archives. August 11, 1986. Accessed August 12, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cbc​​.ca​/a​​rchiv​​es​/en​​try​/1​​986​-s​​ri​-la​​nkan-​​migra​​n​ts​-r​​escue​​d​-off​ - newfoundland.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 132

08-10-2021 11:27:20

Chapter 6

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era A Critical Legal Studies Approach to the Problem of Human Trafficking Áquila Mazzinghy

There is more than one way the story of the human trafficking of women and girls can be told. This research piece is one of such stories. It is a story based upon two pillars. The first is that postmodernity established a new language for the problem of trafficking in persons. The author assumes that the contemporary forms of human trafficking are a by-product of postmodernity. Accordingly, if one agrees that commodified human trafficking, as it stands today, constitutes a problem of the postmodern society, then it is scientifically questionable to study this object exclusively through the lenses of international legal agreements and conventions. This new language urges a thorough philosophical critical analysis and interpretation. Therefore, this work proposes to tell the story of the human trafficking of women and girls through the epistemological approach of the Critical Legal Studies school. The second pillar is that, although a myriad of international agreements concerning the protection of women and young girls from human trafficking has been adopted, signed, and ratified throughout the twenty and early twenty-first centuries not much has changed. On the one hand, the list of rights granted in international treaties increased exponentially. On the other hand, adequate protection of these rights is just a cosmetic measure for many victims. Criminal enforcement is often deficient and inadequate. Consequently, justiciability of rights is often too little too late. This work assesses how the theoretical foundations of the Critical Legal Studies can provide an emancipatory language of justice for trafficked women and young girls, who are brutalized and reduced to the category of commodities, sold in a commercial chain of sexual products to supply human greed worldwide. 133

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 133

08-10-2021 11:27:20

Áquila Mazzinghy

134

“LIQUID MODERNITY” In his book, Modernity, and Ambivalence, the social theorist Bauman Zygmunt asks a controversial question: “How old is modernity?” Prior to coming up with an attempted answer, he recognizes that there is no agreement on this point. He accepts that the ambiguity and plurality of meanings of the term account for most of the problem with setting a date in history for modernity.1 He tries to address the question again in Legislators and Interpreters, Liquid Modernity, Postmodernity, and Its Discontents, and in Wasted Lives: Modernity and Its Outcasts. Instead of setting a specific date, Bauman numerates some features of the beginning of the modern era (solid modernity), or what he calls the “triumphant progress of modernization.”2 According to David Harvey, the beginning of modernity is placed in history as being the time when demystification and desacralization of knowledge is claimed to be inaugurated.3 In addition, modernity inaugurated the era of certainty: a time when humanity is totally in order, and there is a social organization. In modernity, man is master over nature. He designs the society he wants, manipulates and distributes probabilities unevenly, and possesses explanations for surrounding events; he is subordinated to what Bauman calls, “human inventiveness and technical capacity.” Importantly, combining order and transparency, Bauman maintains that the “transparent world marked the beginning of Modernity”: one in which nothing dark or impenetrable stood in the way of the eye; a world with nothing spoiling the harmony; nothing “out of place,” a world without “dirt,” a world without strangers.4 Adam Todd claims that modernity’s dawn coincides with the period in the history of industrialization and secular governance when reason and science supplanted “tradition and authority.”5 Being careful in what he refers to as “tradition and authority,” he problematizes the tricky question of the Language of modernity. For him, metanarratives of truth seemed to be the inaugural support of the nascent modernity. How so? Progress, a project of modernity, can uncover the truth. The autonomous and rational individual substitutes the public narrative of truth: the individual is placed as the unique actor to pursue the truth and thus create meaning in the world.6 Also addressing that very issue of tradition and authority, Bauman claims that, at the nascent stages of modernity, there was a change in the way of life in which order-making consisted of the dismantling of the traditional, inherited and received, order (authority).7 FROM MODERNITY TO POSTMODERNITY In his masterful work, Liquid Modernity, Zygmunt Bauman explores society’s passage from modernity to postmodernity. Structuring his thesis in five

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 134

08-10-2021 11:27:20

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

135

aspects of humanity—Emancipation, Individuality, Time/Space, Work, and Community—he analyzes postmodernity from the perspective of the metaphors of fluidity, liquidity, lightness, and heaviness. He uses them to explain the contemporary transformation of heavy/solid modernity into light/liquid modernity. Bauman utilizes those terms to explain the nature of the present in the history of modernity. For him, the human condition was undeniable and thoroughly impacted and transformed by the advent of fluid modernity.8 From the physics theory, he borrows the concept of solids and fluids (liquids and gases). Solids, he explains, possess low plasticity, low adaptability, and low moldability. They tend to maintain their shapes, making it difficult to remold them into a different form. Solids are cast once and for all. Solids are, then, the simulacrum of modernity—or what he calls “early modernity.” On the other hand, fluids are hardly stoppable. Obstacles can be easily trespassed by the flows of the fluids. They can even be dissolved and bore or soak their way through others still. Their shape fades away quickly. Unlike solids, fluids require much attention, constant vigilance, and perpetual effort.9 For Bauman, fluid, particularly the liquids, are the perfect representation of postmodernity—also called late modernity or contemporaneity. The transition from modernity to postmodernity is a process of the melting of solids into liquids. The solid modernity melts into liquid modernity. It is a dissolving process, rather than a process of replacement, he asserts. Early modernity is permanently melting into late modernity: solid modernity into liquid postmodernity. The “melting of solids” (is) the permanent feature of modernity. The present moment in human history is an expression of a redistributed and reallocated melted power, says Bauman. Bauman maintains that in postmodernity, many morals, and political levers of the rigid (solid) times have been broken. Consequently, the reconstructive task to shift and reform that defective agenda was rendered too short or inadequate. He then starts to ask rhetorical—maybe zetetic—questions: if the postmodern political, social agenda is not concerned with addressing the deficits of modernity, was not modernity a process of “liquefaction” from the start? In this sense, “has modernity not been ‘fluid’ since its inception?” In the solid modern era, “was liberation a blessing or a curse? A curse disguised as a blessing, or a blessing feared as a curse?”10 In trying to deal with those questions, he comes to some interesting conclusions. Just as the solid was not in a liquefied state since the beginning, neither was the fluid original and unique substance and state of the premodern time. In other words, modernity is still here: Modernity is still with us. It did not melt entirely as a type of intellectual mode or as a type of unfulfilled hopes and interests ossified in self-reproducing institutions, as Bauman puts it in modernity and ambivalence. He concludes by saying that postmodernity does not constitute an advance over the modern one; that is, modernity (has not

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 135

08-10-2021 11:27:21

136

Áquila Mazzinghy

been) conclusively superseded by the advent of postmodernity. Therefore, postmodernity is not a reduced version of modernity. Bauman ponders that modernity left many tasks of humanity unfinished, incomplete, and underdetermined.11

POSTMODERNITY Jean-François Lyotard considered one of the prominent heralds of postmodernity, with the publication of La Condition Postmoderne,12 in 1979, indicates that the dawn of the condition initiated with what he calls “the decline of the socialist alternative,”13 at the end of the 1970s. He also mentions other conditioning factors that signaled the world’s approach to a new postmodern condition: a reappraisal of the state’s role, re-significance of the sovereignty concept, fierce economic competition, reopening of the world market, including China, with the consequent breakdown of USA hegemonic capitalism.14 Professor Adam Todd indicates that the electronic or information age, as opposed to the Industrial Age, is one of the main characteristics of postmodernity, with a sound revolution on culture and methods of expression.15 In terms of philosophical lexicon, the “postmodern” term entry was introduced by Lyotard’s “The Postmodern Condition” in 1979.16 In his thorough analysis of postmodernity, he explored the theory of language games from Wittgenstein in 1953.17 Lyotard revisits concepts taken from speech act theory to account for what he calls a transformation of the game rules for science, art, and literature since the end of the nineteenth century.18 When applied to law, however, Adam Todd warns that the postmodernity term gives rise to much controversy.19 Bauman, Leonidas Donskis, and Baudrillard refer to postmodernity as an era where evil is either transparent or invisible. In his masterpiece The Transparency of Evil, Baudrillard affirms that the real problem of evil in the postmodern era is that it is everywhere.20 For Baudrillard, not even the “triumph of good does not eclipse the evil.”21 In Liquid Evil and Moral Blindness, Bauman and Donskis refer to the attractable22 and seductive powers of evil as an operable cancer tumor that can be separated from healthy tissue. Ultimately, Bauman speaks of postmodernity as an era of fear and insecurity. He sustains that fear is arguably the most sinister of the demons nesting in the open societies of our time, a fatal abnormality, a cancerous growth on the brave new world of modernity. He sees fear in the foundational levels of contemporary society, seemingly inexhaustible and eagerly reproduced.23

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 136

08-10-2021 11:27:21

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

137

ARE THERE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MODERNITY AND POSTMODERNITY? For Bauman, two aspects may indicate why postmodernity is innovative and different from modernity. The first is what he calls a gradual collapse and swift decline of early modern illusions.24 The second novel feature of postmodernity over modernity that Bauman indicates is the deregulation25 and privatization of the modernizing tasks, duties, and fears, and the subordination of individual autonomy by the market. He understands that postmodernity is a privatized version of modernity, where former plural and collective responsibilities and burdens for failures are now left on the individual’s shoulders.26 Schwartz and Friedrichs believe that postmodernity poses a fundamental historical break with modernity.27 David Harvey calls that break of sea change “bounded up with the emergence of new dominant ways in which (man) experience space and time.”28 He also points to sea changes in the postmodern era regarding cultural, political, and economic practices since the 1970s. David Harvey and Adam Todd place the break more on language discourse than the theoretical aspects of culture. For Harvey, modernity is profoundly entrenched with reliance on linear progress, absolute truths, rationally planned social orders, and the standardization of knowledge and production.29 In postmodernity, however, single articulation of meaning or definition of truth is rejected;30 centralized and monolithic modern mindset is abandoned; the cultural discourse is redefined by fragmented, indeterminate, and liberating forces of heterogeneity and difference; universal or “totalizing” discourses are distrusted as a personification postmodern thought;31 and what is traditionally marginal in modernity is transformed into the central focus of inquiry.32 The absence of “absolute truths” underlines social theorist Jean Baudrillard’s The Intelligence of Evil seemingly makes the struggle between good and evil to no longer exist. Employing the metaphor of transparency, Baudrillard explains that, until modernity, at least in theory, the good was transparent, one could see through it. Evil, by contrast, shows through; it is what you see when you see through. In postmodernity, evil is transparent as well as good: “our evil is faceless and imageless. It is present everywhere in homeopathic doses.”33 POSTMODERNITY TRAITS: GLOBALIZATION, SOCIAL ACCELERATION, AND SOCIETY OF CONSUMERS It has been argued that globalization is a product of liquid modernity. Globalization is an irreversible phenomenon of multidimensional traits.34

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 137

08-10-2021 11:27:21

Áquila Mazzinghy

138

Social theorists affirm that globalization has heralded a significant move in international politics: a “new world order”35 of emancipation, profoundly marked by unprecedented wealth and economic security.36 They generally conceive globalization as a process and a condition marked by deterritorialization,37 where what is local is supplanted by what is global. It is associated with an increasingly worldwide interconnection and interdependency of people and economies using modern communication technologies and the easy and rapid new forms of transportation.38 In economic terms, globalization generally refers to removing hurdles that block the free flow of capital across the globe.39 It also refers to eliminating trade and service barriers between states and the subsequent integration of international financial markets.40 Flexible accumulation and the increasing role of international business and financial markets in the political-economic realm of states, thereby influencing its decisive domestic agenda, policies, and legislation, is also part of globalization.41 Also, information, communications technology, and the exponential growth of global media arose as a dominant force in the global production system. Consequently, the timespace compression has intensified. Overlapping cultures, profound cultural exchanges, expansion of religions, and substantial cultural revolutions also accompanied globalization and led, in some cases, to a debacle of national identities.42 Be that as it may, globalization turned out to be a delusion, at least in parts.43 Globalization has demonstrated its capacity to be a centrifugal force to disseminate poverty and misery and a massive centripetal force to accumulate wealth. Goods, services, capital, and technology are unequally distributed.44 Bauman affirms that global inequality is one of the most contentious aspects of globalization, where the poor hardly benefit from the market’s profits.45 This means that the rich countries have an extraordinary capacity to sell out their poison as the poor people’s meat, the only meat the poor can hope for.46 Adam McBeth maintains that the imposition of this so-called “global order”47 is undoubtedly the most significant human rights violation ever committed in human history. Unemployment, flex jobs, labor insecurity uncertainty, meager wages, and the weakening of social structures and/or disintegrating the social network are all prongs of the same issue, precarization of work in the globalized society without frontiers is a recipe for injustice.48 GLOBALIZATION AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING The unprecedented technological advances in the era of globalization brought people together via the internet and other efficient tools of communication. Globalization facilitated international banking and financial and economic

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 138

08-10-2021 11:27:21

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

139

transactions. It brought awareness and information in real-time to the four corners of the world using global satellite technology. At the same time, this monumental advancement in communication facilitated human trafficking through the internet, where it is possible to find child pornography, discreet encounters with sex-trafficked women and young girls, overseas sex tourism, and even “brides” for every kind of taste in a speedy, low-cost, and anonymous deep-web open market.49 In this manner, globalization has been a fruitful and fertile soil for the human trafficking transboundary criminal enterprise.50 Globalization’s by-products, such as marginalization, poverty, and accelerating rural to urban migration, are among the main driving factors of the tremendous business of child trafficking and child prostitution.51 The transnational sex trafficking enterprise is built on disgrace and human suffering.52 Girls have become servants of globalization53 in an illicit global economy. Louise Shelley explains that almost every country globally is involved in (the illicit economy of) human trafficking either as a source, host, or transit country. Indeed, she warns that some countries function in all three categories simultaneously.54 In a postmodern world where sexual exploitation is globalized55 and commodified, the issue of human trafficking is profoundly entrenched with the problem of the actual state of job precarization and insecurity worldwide. Job insecurity is a slippery slope that compels people to seek alternative work to maintain basic survival. While the globalized market for the labor force offers insecurity, international traffickers seem to offer the opposite: a dreamland of high wages, stability, housing, and safety. That trafficking market, however, is delusional. Ultimately, globalized sex trafficking transforms women and young girls into the mendicant wanderers of the world, worthy of being expelled from the territory they were sent to for granting pleasure right after such pleasure is delivered. They are the “vagabonds” of the world, and are the “human waste,” and represent everything that breeds anxiety.56 SOCIAL ACCELERATION One of the most important by-products of postmodern globalization is social acceleration or perpetual emergency.57 It is extremely hard to find a legal, sociological, or historical systematic conceptualization of this social phenomenon.58 Hartmut Rosa explains that theories of hyper-acceleration, turbocapitalism, and the digital speed revolution were consistently on the rise at the turn of the twenty-first century. He enumerates some of the characteristics that help to understand what is meant by “acceleration”: Technological Acceleration, Acceleration of Social Change, Acceleration of the Pace of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 139

08-10-2021 11:27:22

140

Áquila Mazzinghy

Life, acceleration of the Economic Motor, increasing scarcity of time, acceleration of the “Cultural Motor, and acceleration of the Structural Motor.”59 Social acceleration of time and global capitalism are heavily entrenched.60 Globalization was built over the pillars of social acceleration.61 Acceleration of social activity gave substratum to globalization, and globalization has accelerated even further than social activity. It is the never-ending cycle of individuals in a global accelerated capitalized society whose long-term thinking has collapsed. The rearrangement of accelerated time has also impacted “the pyramid of power” and the foundations of democracy.62 Changes in the relation of space and time also serve to illustrate how globalized postmodern society is fascinated with flexibility, instantaneousness, expansiveness, fragmentation, and simultaneity, where Bauman and Scheuerman observed that time became the scarcest product on the shelves of the postmodern era.63 Breuer calls this obsession with acceleration “the nihilism of speed.”64 Acceleration brings men and women to the philosophical nothingness and the existential emptiness. There are no foundations for anything that lasts: nihilism is translated as the unbearable hollowness of being. Instantaneity is a decisive ideal. Long-term compromises are interrupted as (an) ordinary condition(s) of (. . .) life. Lightness, speed, and brevity become the mother tongue of engagements. For Bauman, the new forms of human arrangements and social constructions, built under the aegis of the accelerated postmodern sign, ha(ve), presently reached its “natural limit.”65 Accelerated sexual pleasure is also the order of the day. There is no time for building bounds and founding pillars for lasting relationships. The homo celeritas needs pleasure at any cost, immediately. In a highly technologically connected world, finding someone over the internet to satisfy sexual impulses seems to take less time than trying to engage in a relationship for the sake of only sexual intercourse. However, for the accelerated postmodern man, “buying” in the trafficked market for a period (or for life) over the internet seems even more attractive: fast, convenient, and light. It takes less effort, and it is not difficult to find a “good deal” with a “product guarantee.” Delivery is speedy, efficient, and discrete. Scarcity of time is filled with dozens of fast and volatile sexual encounters. Industrialized sex trafficking is a by-product of these accelerated times. Commodified bodies are sold in the supermarket of flesh on the internet. That seems a viable and natural “solution” for the insatiability and loneliness in a world accelerated with numerous responsibilities and daily obligations. In that market, one can choose any virtually human physical characteristic from the virtual shelves. The homo celeritas has no time for talking; there is no need for human interaction, as it is a consumer versus product relationship.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 140

08-10-2021 11:27:22

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

141

The less time the postmodern man has in his ordinary life for good relational experiences, the more time he will need to meet his inner desires in his virtual sexual life. It is a paradox of this time. He gets trapped in the wheel of nihilist acceleration: his actual, solid emptiness is filled with more emptiness and virtual emptiness. Social acceleration puts him in chains. He is so accelerated that he cannot bear any solid emptiness. He needs to live a multiplicity of virtual lives to fill the hollowness of his real life.

A CONSUMER SOCIETY OF VOLATILE PLEASURES: THE CASE OF LIQUID BODIES In Bauman’s work on Globalization and Liquid Modernity, one may find his soundest assumption of Postmodernity and globalization, where he states that, in a world that is full of opportunities, contemporary society is a “consumer society,” full of consumers, guided by seduction, longing for speedy, ever accelerated, and exhilarating experiences. In this society, constantly greedy for new attractions and fast bored with attractions, according to Bauman, consuming nonstop thwarts one’s desires and expectations by continually offering new and “appetizing” opportunities that exceed or compensate the previous ones. Since the beginning of human history, Bauman recognizes that the desire to consume is heavily entrenched in all living creatures. In the same way, this present postmodern society is a compulsive consumer society, addicted to shopping66 and volatile wishes. For a society in which shopping is a “rite of exorcism,” uncertain and insecure, today’s luxuries quickly become tomorrow’s necessities. Desire is the only “uncontested and unquestionable purpose.”67 If there is evil in postmodernity, unlimited shopping is the cure, sustains Bauman in Modernity and Ambivalence. The postmodern globalized society is the habitat of the homo consumens. The homo consumens has an insatiable demand. No prize is sufficient. Modern humanity tastes “life in all its heights and depths,” but it is impossible ever to gratify it; the discontents of modernity never get enough.68 Its discontents “can’t get no satisfaction,” sings the Rolling Stones.69 Humanity’s ambitions are always frustrated.70 The postmodern human climbs mountains, runs through the fields, crawls, scales the city walls, but “still ha[s] n’t found what [s/he] is looking for,” sings the prophetic poem from U2.71 Nietzsche’s Zarathustra reveals the modern sad man/woman, wholly unsuited to nihilist restlessness and anxiety with the present time: “Everything is empty, everything is the same, everything was!”72

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 141

08-10-2021 11:27:23

Áquila Mazzinghy

142

THE SHOPPING LIST OF LIQUID BODIES: HUMAN TRAFFICKING AS A BUSINESS The search for pleasure at any cost, or the “celebration of hedonism” as Robert Castel puts it,73 is indeed one of the most outstanding characteristics of postmodernity. Bauman affirms that desire, in postmodern society, is insatiable and exists in a large quantity of competing liquid forms. Categorically, he upholds that pleasure is the presiding judge of the contemporary court of justice. In seeking pleasure, postmodern humanity sees no limits; every drop of satisfaction bought in the supermarket of pleasures pays off. Moreover, its shopping list knows no end. All that can bring temporary amusement is allowed; no strings are attached to any form of moral or ethical “value.” It is a “society of consumers” and “producers,” Living on borrowed time and Wasted lives.74 In the global postmodern supermarket of pleasures, bodies are turned into commodities75 and sold as commercial sexual products to supply human greed76 or to satisfy their impulses, points.77 “The present globalization trends seem to fuel the unwholesome trade.”78 It is the “global flesh trade,”79 the industry’s (human) commodity, an ideology of everything for sale increasingly extended to sexual bodies. “Bodies can be sold, used, and resold without (a person’s) permission or even her knowledge.”80 Here, Bauman and Anthony Carty seem to articulate the same idea: postmodern man’s desire for liquid sexual “one-night-stands” generates the need for commodified bodies in the marketplace. Commodified bodies generate unhappiness. Unhappiness generates the urge for liquid sexual encounters, which generates the need for commodified bodies, and the cycle never ends. Bauman explains that the market feeds on the unhappiness it generates 81or, as Carty puts it, the distribution and consumption of exchange values whereby the commodification of needs and satisfiers are produced and reproduced.82 In the flesh supermarket, there are advertised83 products for all tastes and luxury desires. It is possible to choose eye color, skin color, height, weight, breast size, age, race, sexual preferences—all of them take-and-go, firstcome-first-serve commodities. In Living on Borrowed Time, Bauman examines the inner parts of this business in which instant-sex agencies tend to introduce the would-be partners in one-night stand through a catalog in which the “available goods” are selected according to their selected features.84 When one acquires any of the flesh products, there is a free delivery service 24/7 anywhere on the globe, unpacked or sent through airports inside large suitcases,85 with a money-back guarantee86 in case one does not like the product. That is the industrialization of human trafficking. That is the commodified international business of body trafficking,87 different from early historical forms of human trade.88 That is a very product of postmodernity.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 142

08-10-2021 11:27:23

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

143

The marketization89 of human bodies globalizes not only fresh “meat” but, equally, fears, inequalities, abuse, torture, pain, hardly treatable emotional suffering, ill-treatment, and deception. POSTMODERNITY AND THE CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES APPROACH What is the intersection of postmodernity and legal scholarship? Is postmodernity of any interest to the theoretical foundations of law? Is there a place for the postmodern in the law? Is there any place for the law in postmodernity? What are the possible, if any, epistemological approaches to the by-products of postmodernity: globalization, social acceleration, and human commodification? How does postmodernity relate to international law and its philosophy? Those are tough and sound questions, albeit imperative ones. Critical Legal Studies, a legal movement that emerged in the 1970s in the USA, seemed to be the conducive environment for the expansion, investigation, and deepening of postmodernity in legal scholarship.90 As observed by Alan Hunt, it has been in Critical Legal Studies that postmodernity founded its niche and expanded its influence in legal scholarship.91 For Anthony Carty, Critical Studies encompass the “so-called post-modem approach to international law.”92 Postmodernity, notes Douglas Litowitz, is a politicalsocial-juridical event of colossal magnitude for the Critical Legal Studies that shifted how power and law are related.93 Hunt further argues that the impact that the study of postmodernity by Critical Legal Studies has produced on legal scholarship is comparable to the impact of realism during the 1920s and 1930s.94 Legal Realism and Marxism are at the core of the critical legal approach. As Mark Tushnet points out, Critical Legal Studies is the heir to the tradition of legal realism.95 Legal realism lent to Critical Legal Studies the notion of indeterminacy of law, the indissolubility of the relation of law and politics, as well as the concept that precedents are inherently malleable. Marxism, in its turn, provided familiar notions of base/superstructure, alienation, hegemony, and ideology.96 New Left anarchism, Sartrean existentialism, neo-progressive historiography, liberal sociology, radical social theory, and empirical social science are also on the intellectual roots of the Critical Legal Studies movement.97 Adam Todd explains that Critical Legal Studies have paved the way to postmodern legal movements. It heralded a major shift in the epistemological investigation of the links between law and the capitalist society, a by-product of the liberal society. Substantial efforts of Critical Legal Studies were then turned to the examination of the Language and rhetoric of that capitalism in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 143

08-10-2021 11:27:23

Áquila Mazzinghy

144

contemporary democracies.98 That capitalism was heavily attacked by critical scholars99 who considered the premodern positivist legal order as being full of incongruities.100 The then premodern positivist qualities of law, as found to the liberal and capitalist society as neutrality, objectivity, internal consistency, and the truth, were rejected by postmodern critical scholars that considered them as being “totalizing” and “large-scale” theories.101 Addressing those “totalizing” theories from solid modernity, Bauman speaks about a totalitarian tendency of a society presumed to be burdened with totalistic proclivities endemically and permanently.102 Anthony Carty observes that the international law produced under the auspices of liberal positivism was heavily combated by Critical Legal Studies scholars. The scholars conceived law as being a very debatable consensus among States. Their hypotheses were that the Language of international law was a merely rhetorical discourse; that is, it was sustained under the wrong assumption that states are equally represented in the international arena.103 Nigel Purvis also indicates that those critical scholars also criticized the intellectual structure of international legal reasoning from liberal ideology as being circumscribed, limited, biased, and indeterminate. Critical scholars considered international law from that age as ethically incoherent, intellectually constrained, and logically indeterminate.104 Therefore, points out Hunt, one of the main assignments of the Critical Legal Studies, in its “earliest stage of development,” was to produce a radical and “alternative theorization of law” contrary to the not-differentiative, insensible, intolerant, totalizing, and large-scale legal foundations of the liberal-capitalist language and discourse.105 Even more profoundly, the “critique” of postmodern scholars runs contrary to the very “foundational suppositions” that give substratum to the most variable areas of law.106 CRITICISM AGAINST THE CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES APPROACH There are significant hurdles in the path of Critical Legal Studies. Often, they abridge or even hinder the full development of its scholarship. There is no complacence in the legal academy with the critical epistemological approach, indicates Mark Tushnet. Most of the time, Critical Legal Studies are even demonized.107 There is a myriad of reasons for this hostility, the most important being the fact that, according to Bauman, contemporary society is “definitely and resolutely not hospitable to critique” Bauman’s critique regards not only the legal scholarship; he observes similar critiques in the social sciences, art, literature, and history. His comments on the postmodern scientist’s mind are as follows: “The postmodern mind seems to condemn everything, propose

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 144

08-10-2021 11:27:24

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

145

nothing. Demolition is the only job the postmodern mind appears to be good at. Destruction is the only construction it recognizes.”108 For many legal scholars, Critical Legal Studies is nothing more than a passing fashion or a fallacious strategy pretending to be a hallmark in the transformation of (the) society. Critical scholars are criticized for their inability to put forth an agenda for social change. Its approaches are considered irrelevant. Its rhetoric is dangerous, fragmented, antithetical to the normativity of the law, and engraved with uncertainty.109 Even one of the main heralds of Critical Legal Studies, Duncan Kennedy, believes that the best days of this school have passed or are irrelevant in the current international legal discourse.110 CRITICAL APPROACH LANGUAGE For arts, a picture is worth more than a thousand words, but a word is worth more than a thousand pictures in legal scholarship. David Fraser, for example, asserts that “the powerful tool of lawyers is language.”111 Their asset is the very word and the language that it represents: the word and the knowledge associated with it. Transitions in history are profoundly marked by shifts in how language is structured. The process in which humans communicate with each other and with the objects of knowledge has always captured the attention of philosophy. This was, for example, Wittgenstein’s main concern in his Tractatus logico-philosophicus and Philosophical investigations.112 Language, in Wittgenstein’s view, is situated in a realm of “languagegames” and pictures. Pictures are formed by signs. Depending on the game— the underlying context—the very same logos could bear completely different interpretations. And pictures, an important caveat from Wittgenstein, are not true a priori. To know an object and explore the whole picture, one must know not its external but all its internal qualities.113 Context, then, is crucial for an accurate analysis. By its turn, post-structuralists are more concerned with the combined structure of sign and linguistics to sustain that every aspect surrounding human life is textual, be they personal, political, social, economic, and civil. “Signs” in Derridá’s theories are broken into pieces. Jacques Derrida’s prominent and profound theory of deconstruction constitutes a milestone for Critical Legal Studies. Deconstruction is a very important technique that helps break the sign into the level of language and the meaning and signification of the words in different contexts. This technique seeks out meanings in text that are otherwise explicitly excluded from making authorized meaning possible. A new understating can come up through a deconstructive epistemological approach to solidify conceptual hierarchies in a text. Here,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 145

08-10-2021 11:27:24

146

Áquila Mazzinghy

morphological, syntaxial, teleological, semantic, and hermeneutical aspects of the logos are investigated. At this point, postmodernity assumes a comprehensive role in understanding and translating patterns of thought.114 Alan Hunt and Maria Grahn-Farley present at least two reasons for the current crisis of the language of postmodernity, constituting, consequently, an issue for Critical Legal Studies: (1) the questions of postmodernity are unanswerable, rather than being “the wrong answers,” and (2) language has come undone in this postmodern world. As they put it, “(one) lacks the words to describe what is happening (. . .) to the nation and to the World.”115 There are missing words in the language of postmodernity, which underly missing structures “which are crucial for the functioning of the whole,” observes Altwicker and Diggelmann.116 But here is “the big fear” and “profound paradox” of the postmodern critical school, annotates Hunt: If there are missing words, how can critical scholars propose a wholeheartedly set of a meaningful philosophical question? “If everything is constituted in discourse, how can an alternative politics exist, or any criticism take purchase which appeals to other meanings or knowledges?”117 If there’s total incredulity from the critical school toward external manifestations of the sign, meta-signs, and metanarratives,118 how can one fill the gap of missing words—missing language—in this current, chaotic, overpopulated, economic unequal, brutalizing, speedy, social accelerated, misery diffusor, wealth concentrating world? Overall, the language of the Critical Legal Studies school is, in certain ways, immune to those critiques. Six features contribute to that immunity and constitute the fingerprint of the language of the critical school. First, the Critical Legal Studies thought is anti-foundational; that is, philosophy is prevented from giving epistemological substratum for the legal discourse; foundational pillars of positivism, such as certainty and predictability, are emptied. Second, language from Critical Legal Studies goes to the very heart of the project of liberal legalism, undermining grounds for validity and epistemological structure. Third, it recognizes, at the same time, that states are a paramount center of legal culture and significance119 and that anarchy is the language to which state actors can refer. Fourth, the critical school recognizes that relations among states are many times fragile. In this case, the critical language serves to facilitate interstate dialogue and understanding. Fifth, critical scholars serve as legal translators of the contemporary international society, marked by its partiality, fragmentation, and multivariability. Sixth and finally, in engaging with history, contemporary international law constitutes much more than a meek alternative to the discourse of post-Enlightenment law and to the “liberal political theory” explaining liberalism’s incoherencies regarding the “origins of international law.”120

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 146

08-10-2021 11:27:24

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

147

CRITICAL LEGAL STUDIES: A LANGUAGE OF EMANCIPATION AND JUSTICE On the one hand, liquid modernity has undoubtedly heralded major shifts in the international economy, international commerce, international politics, and international law. Unprecedented development has been experienced across the globe: economic progress, an increase of wealth, modern and globally integrated and speedy forms of transportation, increase in international tourism, the astonishing advancement of satellite technology, the progress of communication technology, exchanges of all sorts of commodities, cultural exchange, tourism integration, unprecedented pharmacological advances, and access to medicaments, and unprecedented development in the sciences. These are indisputable, undeniable, and factual truths about postmodernity. On the other hand, concepts very fond of postmodern thought, such as truth, morality, certainty, and guarantee of rights, have turned out to be an illusion. The failure, in turn, abridged the subject’s rights, which were conquered under the aegis of the universalization of human rights. The postmodern agenda has set up two types of individuals: first-class persons, called “citizens” of the world, who have access to the outcomes, goods, assets, and resources of the globalized economy, and second-class persons, those who do not participate in the shares of capitalism. They are the useless vagabonds.121 In the postmodern globalized society, women and children are many times brutalized and reduced to the category of a “product”; they are transformed into commodities; they are sold and resold numerous times and hold a “second class” passport in this world. Postmodernity did not create those problems. It is naive and over-simplistic to “blame” and “demonize” Liberalism, Capitalism, and Globalization as the sole cause of the global misery spread in every corner of the planet. Indeed, as was already mentioned, globalization was a hallmark in economic, social, cultural, and technological spheres. Its assets, however, were unevenly distributed. Preexistent inequalities were magnified, potentialized, and spread. Other inequalities, such as the commodification of humans, particularly women and female children for sex trafficking, were conceived, elaborated, and multiplied. The political objectives of modernity, such as universal human rights, have proven to be unrealizable. Human emancipation and discourses of freedom and equality remain incomplete, lack of justice became the daily routine, and history seems to run in the opposite direction of a “just society.” At the same time, evil is materialized everywhere in an invisible, translucid, and transparent form.122 The bedrock of those struggles between the advances and shortcomings of postmodernity and its by-products lies in a very deep, rugged soil. These

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 147

08-10-2021 11:27:25

148

Áquila Mazzinghy

shortcomings prompted Santos Boaventura de Sousa to ask the following questions: Is there any aesthetic comprehension that permits one to value all the concepts involved in the quest of liquid modernity and take a stable and constructive way toward it? Is there stability in postmodernity? What are the theoretical foundations that would permit a sound comprehension of contemporaneity? Are there any semantic propositions or epistemological approaches to reconstruct the deficits of fluid modernity? Is it necessary to fix it? Can Critical Legal Studies give a contribution to the debate of postmodernity? How to reconcile liquid legal scholarship and people’s sound aspirations and necessities?123 A critical legal approach toward excluded and trafficked women and children transmutes insensitiveness into recognizing their economic insecurity and meaninglessness to the mainstream body of law and legal protection. A critical approach to human trafficking turns commodification into humanization, meaningfulness into signification, disrespectfulness into recognition, and forced will into emancipation. Although some of the most classic theorists of Critical Legal Studies refute the idea of systematization, classification, and the existence of a program of their theory, it is unquestionable that an emancipatory agenda permeates Critical Legal Studies. Bauman explains in Liquid Modernity that, in liquid times, the “individual autonomy de jure” was disjointed from the “autonomy de facto.”124 Therefore, emancipating “de facto” the subject “de jure” is one of the main tasks of the critical agenda. The theoretical foundations of Critical Legal Studies, its program for action, and its political perspective are eminently leftist. It intends not only to be a leftist political location but rather to extend its “distinctive theoretical domain of the Left in the legal academy.”125 CONCLUSION This work assumed that the transition from modernity to postmodernity, or the process of the “melting of solids,” brought new codes to the age-old problem of human trafficking. It also showed how not much has changed in terms of adequate protection of trafficked women and young girls, despite a myriad of international agreements on the topic. Accordingly, it has chosen to tell the story of this human plight in a different perspective from the mainstream papers on this topic: the perspective of postmodernity. It was reviewed through the lenses of the Critical Legal Studies school as the epistemological bedrock to investigate postmodernity. It assumed that globalization, social acceleration, a society of insatiable consumers, and the exuberance of evil are by-products of postmodernity. Each of them directly affects the problem of sex trafficking of women and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 148

08-10-2021 11:27:25

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

149

girls. It was argued that liquid modernity commodified and globalized sexual exploitation in a socially accelerated, fragmented, and expansive contemporary society. Search for pleasure at any cost, or the “celebration of hedonism” is, indeed, one of the greatest characteristics of postmodernity. To meet high demands and volatile pleasures, tentacular multibillion dollar organizations create a violent network of organized crime. It was argued that, at some point in this process, evil was also commodified. But not only that, evil itself had become a commodified agent. Evil commodifies corruption, and corruption then becomes a commodity. It argued that this process is the exuberant, indefatigable, and magnificent dance of evil, which is the language of postmodernism. It was maintained that one could not combat a system of Language with rules. It is because language interacts with language, and only language deconstructs language. It then argued the Critical Legal Studies scope in the issue of trafficking. It then discussed what was (and is) the critique of the critical studies to the present moment and why this school was so heavily criticized for being “uncritical,” fragmented, and/or nihilist for its inability to put forth an agenda for social change. The theoretical foundations of Critical Legal Studies, its program for action, and its political perspective are eminently leftist. Accordingly, Critical Legal Studies’ ultimate language is emancipation and justice. Its well-established leftist agenda permits one to transit within the advances and shortcomings of postmodernity and its by-products. Critical Legal Studies is an exceptional social tool in the resignification of this contemporary language of mass exclusion. It is an instrument of reconstruction through its way of criticizing liquid modernity. NOTES 1. Zygmunt Bauman. “Modernity and ambivalence.” Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1991, p. 10. 2. Zygmunt Bauman. “Wasted lives: Modernity and its outcasts.” Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2004, p. 6. 3. David Harvey. The condition of Postmodernity: An inquiry into the origins of cultural change. Cambridge, USA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1989, p. 13. 4. Zygmunt Bauman. “Postmodernity and its discontents.” Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1997, p. 14. 5. Adam Todd. “Neither dead nor dangerous: Postmodernism and the teaching of legal writing.” Baylor L. Rev. 58 (2006): 898–899. 6. Ibid. 7. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 11, p. 13.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 149

08-10-2021 11:27:25

150

Áquila Mazzinghy

8. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, pp. 2–3. 9. Ibid. 10. Ibid, p. 18. 11. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 62. 12. Gary Aylesworth. "Postmodernism." The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Spring 2015 Edition). Ed. by Edward N. Zalta. Available at https​:/​/pl​​ato​ .s​​tanfo​​rd​.ed​​u​/arc​​hives​​/spr2​​015​/e​​ntrie​​s​/p​os​​tmode​​rnism​/ Last visited: September, 7th, 2017, p. 1. 13. Jean-François Lyotard. The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge. Manchester, USA: Manchester University Press, 1979, p. 6. 14. Ibid. 15. Adam Todd. Supra note 12, p. 897. 16. Gary Aylesworth. Supra note 40, p. 5. 17. Ludwig Wittgenstein. Philosophical investigations. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd, 1953. 18. Gary Aylesworth Supra note 40, p. 5. 19. Adam Todd. Supra note 12, p. 894. 20. Jean Baudrillard. The transparency of evil: Essays on the extreme phenomena. Paris, France: Editions Galilée, 1990, p. 81. 21. Jean Baudrillard. The spirit of terrorism. London, UK, and New York, USA: Verso, 2002, p. 13. 22. Zygmunt Bauman; Donskis, Leonidas. Moral blindness: The loss of sensitivity in Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2013, p. 23. 23. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 54, pp. 9, 17. 24. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 29. 25. For Bauman, “ours, (…) is the time of deregulation.” (Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 11, p. 7.). 26. Ibid. 27. Martin D. Schwartz; David O Friedrichs. “Postmodern thought and criminological discontent: New metaphors for understanding violence.” Criminology 32 (1994): 221–246. 28. David Harvey. Supra note 5, p. VII. 29. Ibid, p. 9. 30. Adam Todd. Supra note 12, p. 899. 31. David Harvey. Supra note 5, p. 9. 32. Adam Todd. Supra note 12, p. 941. 33. Jean Baudrillard. The intelligence of evil or the lucidity pact. Oxford, UK: Berg, 2005, p. 142. 34. Dinah Shelton. “Protecting human rights in a globalized world.” B. C. Int'l Comp. L. Rev. 25 (2002): 273–322. 35. Susan S Silbey. “Let them eat cake: Globalization, postmodern colonialism, and the possibilities of justice.” Law & Soc'y Rev. 31 (1997): 207–235. 36. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 16. 37. William Scheuerman. Liberal democracy and social acceleration of time. Baltimore, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004, p. 147.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 150

08-10-2021 11:27:25

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

151

38. Kenneth MacDonald. Supra note 80, p. 65. 39. Barbara Stark. “Women and globalization: The failure and postmodern possibilities of International Law.” Vand. J. Transnat'l L. 33 (2000): 503–571. 40. Gordon R. Walker; Mark A. Fox. “Globalization: An analytical framework.” Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 3 (1996): 375–412. 41. Dinah Shelton. “Protecting human rights in a globalized world.” B. C. Int'l Comp. L. Rev. 25 (2002): 273–322. 42. Jürgen Osterhammel. “Globalizations.” In The Oxford handbook of world history. Ed. by Jerry H. Bentley. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 91; See also; Ahmet Icduygu, E. Fuat Keyman. Supra note 88, p. 387. 43. Pierre de Senarclens. “The politics of human rights.” In The globalization of human rights. Ed. by Jean-Marc Coicaud, Michael W. Doyle, and Anne-Marie Gardner. United Nations University Press, 2003, p. 148. 44. Susan S Silbey. Supra note 78, pp. 148–149. 45. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 11, p. 55. 46. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 1, p. 214. 47. Adam McBeth. “Human rights in economic globalization.” In Research handbook on international human rights law. Ed. by Sarah Joseph and Adam McBeth. Cheltenham, UK, and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, p. 165. 48. Zygmunt Bauman. Liquid times: Supra note 54, p. 8. 49. Vidyamali Samarasinghe. “Confronting globalization in anti-trafficking strategies in Asia.” Brown J. World Aff. 10 (2003): 91–104. See also; Louise Shelley. Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010, p. 41, and Sheila Jeffreys. “Globalizing sexual exploitation: sex tourism and the traffic in women.” Leisure Studies Journal 18, no. 3 (1999): 187. 50. Dinah Shelton Supra note 76, pp. 296–297. See also; Edgardo Rotman. “The globalization of criminal violence.” Cornell J. L. & Pub. Pol'y 10, no. 1 (2000): 1–44. 51. Laurie Nicole Robinson. “The globalization of female child prostitution: a call for reintegration and recovery measures via article 39 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 5 (1997): 239–261. 52. Louise Shelley. Supra note 113, p. 39. 53. Rhacel Salazar Parreñas. “Servants of globalization: migration and domestic work.” California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2015. 54. Louise Shelley. Supra note 113, pp. 118–119. 55. Sheila Jeffreys. Supra note 114, p. 185. 56. Zygmunt Bauman. Living on borrowed time: conversations with Citlali Rovirosa-madrazo. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2010, p. 66. 57. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 30. 58. Hartmut Rosa. “Social acceleration: Ethical and political consequences of a desynchronized high-speed society.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 77–111, p. 78. 59. Ibid, p. 92.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 151

08-10-2021 11:27:26

152

Áquila Mazzinghy

60. William E. Scheuerman. Citizenship and speed in High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 287–306, p. 291. 61. William Scheuerman. Supra note 81, p. 146. 62. Bob Jessop. “The spatiotemporal dynamics of globalizing capital and their impact on state power and democracy.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press (2009), pp. 135–158, p. passim. 63. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 9. 64. Stefan Breuer. “The nihilism of speed: On the work of Paul Virilio” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 215–241, p. 215. 65. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 10. 66. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, pp. 81–82. 67. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra 1, pp. 73, 215. 68. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 1, p. 15. 69. The Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. I can get no satisfaction. The Out of Our Heads Album, 1965. 70. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 1, p. 15. 71. U2. Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul David Hewson, Victor Reina. I still haven’t found what I am looking for. The Joshua Tree Album, 1987. 72. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus spoke Zarathustra: A book for all and none. Ed. by Adrian Del Caro; Pippin, Robert B. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006, p. 105. 73. Castel, Robert Supra note 109, p. 329. 74. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 4, p. 13. 75. Please refer to: Mooney, Annabelle and Evans, Betsy. Globalization: The Key Concepts. London, UK and New York, USA: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2007, p. 31. 76. In this sense, please read: Victor Malarek. Supra note 177, p. XV. 77. Zygmunt Bauman. Collateral damage: Social inequalities in a Global Age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2011, p. 81. 78. Ikpeze, Ogugua V.C.; Ifemeje, Sylvia C. “Dynamics of trafficking in nigerian women and globalization.” J.L. Pol'y & Globalization 39, no. i (2015): 34–47. 79. Uche U. Ewelukwa. “Women and International Economic Law: An annotated bibliography.” Law & Bus. Rev. Am. 8 (2002): 603–632. 80. Kathryn Farr. “Globalization and sexuality.” In The Blackwell Companion to Globalization. Ed. by George Ritzer. Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2007, pp. 610–629, p. 619. 81. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 6, p. 189. 82. Anthony Carty. Philosophy of International Law. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2007, p. 214. 83. Lynellyn D. Long. Supra note 199, p. 14. 84. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 131, p. 164.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 152

08-10-2021 11:27:26

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

153

85. Edgardo Rotman. Supra note 116, p. 20. 86. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 155, p. 50. 87. Maggy Lee. “Understanding human trafficking.” In Human trafficking. Ed. by Maggy Lee. Cullompton, UK: Willan Publishing, 2007, pp. 1–25, p. 5–6. 88. Lynellyn D. Long. Supra note 199, p. 14. 89. Attar, Mohsen al. “Reframing the universality of International Law in a globalizing world.” McGill L. J. 59 (2013): 95–139. 90. Douglas Litowitz. “Postmodernism without the pomobabble.” Fla. Coastal LJ 2 (2000): 41–76. 91. Alan Hunt. “The Big Fear: Law confronts postmodernism.” McGill L. J. 35 (1990): 507–540. 92. Anthony Carty. “Critical International Law: Recent trends in the theory of International Law.” Eur. J. Int'l L. 2 (1991): 66–96. 93. Douglas Litowitz. Supra note 211, p. 62. 94. Alan Hunt. “The theory of Critical Legal Studies.” Oxford J. Legal Stud. 6 (1986): 1–45. 95. Mark Tushnet; Jaff, Jennifer. “Critical Legal Studies and criminal procedure.” Cath. U. L. Rev. 35 (1986): 361–384. 96. Douglas Litowitz. Supra note 211, p. 62. 97. David Luban. “Legal modernism.” Mich. L. Rev. 84 (1986): 1656–1695. 98. Alan Hunt. Supra note 215, p. 4. 99. Nigel Purvis. Supra note 220, p. 92. 100. Lon F. Fuller. The morality of law. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1969, p. 167. 101. Adam Todd. Supra note 12, p. 905. 102. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, p. 26. 103. Anthony Carty. Philosophy of International Law. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2007, p. 214. 104. Nigel Purvis. “Critical Legal Studies in Public International Law.” Harv. Int'l. L. J. 32 (1991): 81–127. 105. Alan Hunt. Supra note 212, p. 521. 106. Douglas Litowitz. Supra note 211, pp. 46–47. 107. Mark Tushnet. “Critical Legal Studies: A political history.” Yale L.J. 100 (1991): 1515–1544. 108. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 60, p. IX. 109. J. M. Finnis. “On the Critical Legal Studies movement.” Am. J. Juris. 30 (1985): 21–42. See also; David Fraser. “If I had a rocket launcher: Critical Legal Studies as moral terrorism.” Hastings L.J. 41 (1990): 777–804. See also; Reza Dibadj. “Postmodernism, representation, law.” U. Haw. L. Rev. 29 (2007): 377–435. See also; Tilmann Altwicker; Oliver Diggelmann. “What should remain of the critical approaches to International Law: International legal theory as critique.” Swiss. Rev. Int'l & Eur. L. 24 (2014): 69–92. 110. Kennedy, Duncan. In Tilmann Altwicker; Oliver Diggelmann. Supra note 251, p. 70. 111. David Fraser. Supra note 249, pp. 781–782.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 153

08-10-2021 11:27:27

154

Áquila Mazzinghy

112. Ludwig Wittgenstein. Tractatus logico-philosophicus. London, UK: Routledge and K. Paul; Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1988. 113. Ludwig Wittgenstein. Supra note 258, p. 26. 114. Adam Todd. “Neither dead nor dangerous: Postmodernism and the teaching of legal writing.” Baylor L. Rev. 58 (2006): 893–947. 115. Maria Grahn-Farley. “Urgent times.” NYU. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 31 (2007): 435–445. 116. Tilmann Altwicker; Oliver Diggelmann. Supra note 251, p. 78. 117. Alan Hunt. “The theory of Critical Legal Studies.” Oxford J. Legal Stud. 6 (1986): 1–45. 118. Jean-François Lyotard. Supra note 41, p. xxiv. 119. Anthony Carty. Supra note 213, p. 67. 120. Anthony Carty. “Critical International Law: Recent trends in the theory of International Law.” Eur. J. Int'l L. 2 (1991): 66–96. See also; Alan Hunt. “The Big Fear: Law confronts postmodernism.” McGill L. J. 35 (1990): 507–540. 121. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 128, p. 92. 122. Martti Koskenniemi. The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law 1870–1960. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004, p. 3. 123. For the term deficit related to postmodernity, please refer to: Santos, Boaventura de Sousa. Para uma concepção pós-moderna do direito. A crítica da razão indolente. 4. Ed. São Paulo: Cortez, 2005, p. 164. 124. Zygmunt Bauman. Supra note 3, pp. 38–39, 51. 125. David Luban. “Legal modernism.” Mich. L. Rev. 84 (1986): 1656–1695.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Altwicker, Tilmann; Diggelmann, Oliver. “What should remain of the critical approaches to International Law: International legal theory as critique.” 24 Swiss. Rev. Int’l & Eur. L. 69, no. 92 (2014): 69–92. Attar, Mohsen al. “Reframing the universality of International Law in a globalizing world.” 59 McGill L.J. 95, no. 140 (2013): 95–139. Baudrillard, Jean. The intelligence of evil or the lucidity pact. Oxford, UK: Berg, 2005. Baudrillard, Jean. The spirit of terrorism. London, UK and New York, USA: Verso, 2002. Baudrillard, Jean. The transparency of evil: Essays on the extreme phenomena. Paris, France: Editions Galilée, 1990. Bauman, Zygmunt. Collateral damage: Social inequalities in a Global Age. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2011. Bauman, Zygmunt. Globalization: The human consequences. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1998. Bauman, Zygmunt. Intimations of Postmodernity. London, UK and New York, USA: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2003.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 154

08-10-2021 11:27:27

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

155

Bauman, Zygmunt. La globalización: Consecuencias humanas. Mexico: FCE, 2001. Bauman, Zygmunt. Legislators and interpreters: on modernity, post-modernity and intellectuals. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1989. Bauman, Zygmunt; Donskis, Leonidas. Liquid evil. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2016. Bauman, Zygmunt. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2000. Bauman, Zygmunt. Living on borrowed time: conversations with Citlali Rovirosamadrazo. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2010. Bauman, Zygmunt. Liquid times: Living in an age of uncertainty. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2007. Bauman, Zygmunt. Modernity and ambivalence. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1991. Bauman, Zygmunt. Wasted lives: Modernity and its outcasts. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2004. Bauman, Zygmunt; Donskis, Leonidas. Moral blindness: The loss of sensitivity in Liquid Modernity. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2013. Bauman, Zygmunt. Postmodernity and its discontents. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 1997. Bauman, Zygmunt. Trabajo, consumismo y nuevos pobres. Barcelona, España: Editorial Gedisa, 2000. Breuer, Stefan. “The nihilism of speed: On the work of Paul Virilio.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 215–241. Carty, Anthony. “Critical International Law: Recent trends in the theory of International Law” 2 Eur. J. Int’l L. 66, 96 (1991): pp. 66–96. Carty, Anthony. Philosophy of International Law. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press, 2007. Castel, Robert. Las metamorfoses de la cuestión social: Una crónica del salariado. Available at https​:/​/ww​​w​.scr​​ibd​.c​​om​/do​​cumen​​t​/658​​10866​​/Cast​​el​-Ro​​bert-​​​ 1995-​​1997-​​LA- METAMORFOSIS-DE-LA-CUESTION-SOCIAL Last visited: September 7th, 2017. Dibadj, Reza. “Postmodernism, representation, law.” 29 U. Haw. L. Rev. 377, 436 (2007): 377–435. Ewelukwa, Uche U. “Women and International Economic Law: An annotated bibliography.” Law & Bus. Rev. Am. 8 (2002): 603–632. Farr, Kathryn. “Globalization and sexuality.” In The Blackwell Companion to Globalization. Ed. by George Ritzer. Malden, USA: Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2007, pp. 610–629. Finnis, J. M. “On the Critical Legal Studies movement.” Am. J. Juris. 30 (1985): 21–42. Fraser, David. “If I had a rocket launcher: Critical Legal Studies as moral terrorism.” Hastings L.J. 41 (1990): 777–804. Fuller, Lon F. The morality of law. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1969. Grahn-Farley, Maria. “Urgent times.” NYU. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 31 (2007): 435–445.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 155

08-10-2021 11:27:27

156

Áquila Mazzinghy

Harvey, David. The condition of Postmodernity: An enquiry into the origins of cultural change. Cambridge, USA and Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, 1989. Hunt, Alan. “The Big Fear: Law confronts postmodernism.” McGill L. J. 35 (1990): 507–540. Hunt, Alan. “The theory of Critical Legal Studies.” Oxford J. Legal Stud. 6, no. 1 (1986): 1–45. Icduygu, Ahmet; Keyman, E. Fuat. “Globalization, security, and migration: The case of Turkey.” Global Governance 6 (2000): 383–398. Ikpeze, Ogugua V.C.; Ifemeje, Sylvia C. “Dynamics of trafficking in nigerian women and globalization.” J.L. Pol’y & Globalization 39 no. i (2015): 34–47. Jeffreys, Sheila. “Globalizing sexual exploitation: sex tourism and the traffic in women.” Leisure Studies Journal. 18 no. 3 (1999): 179–196. Available at Last visited: September 7th, 2017. Jessop, Bob. “The spatiotemporal dynamics of globalizing capital and their impact on state power and democracy.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 135–158. Koskenniemi, Martti. The Gentle Civilizer of Nations: The Rise and Fall of International Law 1870–1960. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004. Lee, Maggy. “Understanding human trafficking.” In Human trafficking. Ed. by Maggy Lee. Cullompton, UK: Willan Publishing, 2007, pp. 1–25. Litowitz, Douglas. “Postmodernism without the pomobabble.” Fla. Coastal LJ, 2 (2000): 41–78. Long, Lynellyn D. “Anthropological perspectives on the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.” International Migration Journal. IOM. 42, no. 1 (2004): 5–31. Luban, David. “Legal modernism.” Mich. L. Rev. 84 (1986): 1656–1695. Lyotard, Jean-François. “The postmodern condition: A report on knowledge”. Manchester, USA: Manchester University Press, 1979. Malarek, Victor. The Johns: “Sex for sale and the men who buy it”. New York, USA: Arcade Publishing, 2009. MacDonald, Kenneth. “Epistemic violence: The body, globalization, and the dilemma of rights.” Transnat’l L. & Contemp. Probs 12 (2002): 65–87. McBeth, Adam. “Human rights in economic globalization.” In Research handbook on international human rights law. Ed. by Sarah Joseph and Adam McBeth. Cheltenham, UK and Northampton, USA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2010, pp. 139–166. Mooney, Annabelle and Evans, Betsy. Globalization: The Key Concepts. London, UK and New York, USA: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2007. Nietzsche, Friedrich. Thus spoke Zarathustra: A book for all and none. Ed. by Adrian Del Caro; Pippin, Robert B. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Osterhammel, Jürgen. “Globalizations.” In The Oxford handbook of world history. Ed. by Jerry H. Bentley. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2011, pp. 89–104. Available at < https​:/​/pd​​fs​.se​​manti​​cscho​​lar​.o​​rg​/a1​​89​/95​​300c6​​1f93e​​d07bf​​32268​​ 2e2c​e​​5dde9​​e27d.​​pdf> Last visited: September 7th, 2017.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 156

08-10-2021 11:27:28

Liquid Bodies in the Postmodern Era

157

Parreñas, Rhacel Salazar. Servants of globalization: migration and domestic work. California, USA: Stanford University Press, 2015. Purvis, Nigel. “Critical Legal Studies in Public International Law.” Harv. Int’l. L. J. 32 (1991): 81–127. Robinson, Laurie Nicole. “The globalization of female child prostitution: a call for reintegration and recovery measures via article 39 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 5 (1997): 239–261. Rosa, Hartmut. “Social acceleration: Ethical and political consequences of desynchronized high- speed society.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 77–111. Rotman, Edgardo. “The globalization of criminal violence.” Cornell J. L. & Pub. Pol’y 10, no. 1 (2000): 1–43. Samarasinghe, Vidyamali. “Confronting globalization in anti-trafficking strategies in Asia.” Brown J. World Aff. 10 (2003): 91–104. Santos, Boaventura de Sousa. Para uma concepção pós-moderna do direito. A crítica da razão indolente. 4. Ed. São Paulo: Cortez, 2005. Scheuerman, William E. “Citizenship and speed.” In High-speed society: social acceleration, power, and Modernity. Ed. by William E. Scheuerman. Pennsylvania, USA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2009, pp. 287–306. Scheuerman, William. Liberal democracy and social acceleration of time. Baltimore, USA: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004. Schwartz, Martin D.; Friedrichs, David O. “Postmodern thought and criminological discontent: New metaphors for understanding violence.” Criminology 32 (1994): 221–246. Senarclens, Pierre de. “The politics of human rights.” In The globalization of human rights. Ed. by Jean-Marc Coicaud, Michael W. Doyle, and Anne-Marie Gardner. United Nations University Press, 2003. Shelley, Louise. Human trafficking: A global perspective. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Shelton, Dinah. “Protecting human rights in a globalized world.” B. C. Int’l Comp. L. Rev., 25 (2002): 273–322. Silbey, Susan S. “Let them eat cake: Globalization, postmodern colonialism, and the possibilities of justice.” Law & Soc’y Rev. 31 (1997): 207–235. Stark, Barbara. “Women and globalization: The failure and postmodern possibilities of International Law.” Vand. J. Transnat’l L. 33 (2000): 503–571. Todd, Adam. “Neither dead nor dangerous: Postmodernism and the teaching of legal writing.” Baylor L. Rev. 58 (2006): 893–947. Tushnet, Mark. “Critical Legal Studies: A political history.” Yale L.J. 100 (1991): 515–1544. Tushnet, Mark; Jaff, Jennifer. “Critical Legal Studies and criminal procedure.” Cath. U. L. Rev. 35 (1986): 361–384. Walker. Gordon R.; Fox, Mark A. “Globalization: An analytical framework.” Ind. J. Global Legal Stud. 3 (1996): 375–411.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 157

08-10-2021 11:27:28

158

Áquila Mazzinghy

Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Philosophical investigations. Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd, 1953. Wittgenstein, Ludwig. Tractatus logico-philosophicus. London, UK: Routledge and K. Paul; Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press International, 1988.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 158

08-10-2021 11:27:28

Chapter 7

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem of Sex Trafficking Robert O. White

The International Sex Trade brings into play several different factors that span the academic and geopolitical community. Because this crime spans international boundaries and federal, state, and local boundaries, the need to draw a nexus between international, federal, and state policy mandates are necessary. The unifying factor in the development of laws against the international sex trade has been the “colorline” or the race and ethnicity of the offender and the victim. Not only does the sex trade have roots in a very critical time in the shaping of Western social consciousness regarding race, but it also brings to light the relationship between concerns past and present aspects of foreign and domestic policy. The sex trade makes for an intersection of issues that have climaxed since the international community and primarily the United States have recognized the relationship between the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and the modern-day sex trade. This chapter discusses the relationship between American foreign and domestic policy relating to international sex trade. The chapter traces the development of international and national policy toward sex trafficking and the impact that such policies have on local legal enforcement. The primary sources of data used in this chapter are interviews and contributions from law enforcement and nongovernmental organization experts dedicated to studying and eradicating the sex trade. The human sources used in this chapter are geographically located in the southern region of the United States because of the proliferation of the international sex trafficking establishments in the South and the mobilization of interdepartmental task forces to stop the practice. This chapter relies heavily on the departmental procedures and protocols established to address the international sex trade once they enter the United States. The topic of sex trafficking is approached from criminal justice and a social sciences perspective, identifying the economic 159

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 159

08-10-2021 11:27:28

160

Robert O. White

motivations for the trade and how the sex trade industry is associated with political, social, and historical factors. ORIGINS OF THE INTERNATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKING ENTERPRISE As soon as the first fury of this terrible pestilence was over, a sale was made of the Day’s slaves; I was purchased by a merchant and carried to Tunis; this man sold me to another merchant, who sold me again to another at Tripoli; from Tripoli, I was sold to Alexandria, from Alexandria to Smyrna, and from Smyrna to Constantinople. At length, I became the property of an Aga of the Janissaries, who was soon ordered away to the defense of Azof, then besieged by the Russians.1

The text mentioned above does not come from a modern-day narrative but an ancient one. In his work, Candide Voltaire reveals that the eighteenthcentury savage practice of sex trafficking2 dates to a time that marks the birth of European and Arab colonial expansion. It is not coincidental that the stories in Candide are pretty similar to the accounts of those who are victims of the synonymous systems3 of “modern slavery” or “human trafficking” today. It is also not a coincidence that on the same day that celebrates the liberation of the African slave, those victims of the sex trafficking holocaust are also mentioned. The Barbery or Trans-Atlantic trade association with the modern one illustrates that the horrors of the past continue despite the West’s assertions of cultural exceptionality.4 By examining the ancient literary accounts of Barbery piracy and the international policies like the U.S. Treaty of Tripoli that emerge from the Barbery control of the Mediterranean Sea to the trans-Saharan and trans-Atlantic practice, the point could be made that slavery at various points in time shows continuity with the expansion of colonial imperialism. COLORLINE VICTIMIZATION, AND HOW IT IS CONTEXTUALIZED The term colorline victimology has been created to merge two genres of the social sciences; the African American intellectual thought (colorline) and the science of criminal justice, which involves victimology. The term infers the question of the role that race plays in identifying victims; in some instances, the victim might be determined to be a coconspirator or accomplice. Our thesis is that sex trafficking, since the recognition of the offense until now, has

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 160

08-10-2021 11:27:28

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

161

been a crime, the victims of which, have been determined by race or nationality. A departure from this mode of observation has recently occurred with the development of various forms of legislation and executive actions5 that recognize nonwhite female participants in the sex trade as victims. During the eighteenth century, the trafficking of European women as spoils of piracy was so expansive and costly that it sparked the first global attempt to limit the sex trade industry, proliferated aboard the high seas. The notion of colorline victimization or the designation of ethnic-based protective measures begins with the sexual exploitation of the European white woman by the Barbery Pirates and the invading Moorish armies, which arguably began around 711 AD and, in some instances, continues to this day. Even in the eighteenth century, the identity of the alleged victims was the determining factor in the development of laws and policies that limit the victimization of women. Known as the white slave trade, the exploitation of white women by Arab and African men gives rise to the first of many international measures to limit the trade. At the turn of the twentieth century, a woman’s citizenship was determined in one of two ways: through the geographic territory where she was born or the nationality of her father/husband. In the United States, an 1855 federal statute declared that any woman who married a U.S. citizen became a citizen herself.6 The 1855 law followed the lead established by the Code Napoleon, which in 1804 declared that wives’ statuses followed that of their husbands and an 1844 British law that established the naturalizing capacity of marriage. By the turn of the century, most European nations had followed suit. While the question of whether a woman who willingly agrees to be trafficked is an actual accomplice or not, the anti-slavery laws simply removed the white female victim from the culpable equation by not making her a compliance element. In the United States v. Holte, 236 U.S. 140 (1915), the Supreme Court held that a woman could be indictable as a conspirator in her own transportation under certain circumstances.7 However, in Gebardi v. the United States, 287 U.S. 112 (1932), the court, while not dismissing Holte, held that a mere consent on the part of the women does not implicate her in the commission of the crime.8 The court also held that such a woman cannot be charged with conspiracy and that where the only coconspirator is the man who transported her or caused her transportation, a conspiracy charge against him must fall also. Gebardi has been used as a precedent in many lessercharged offenses.9 The problem with colorline victimization and complicity is the diminished capacity of the woman to make rational decisions for herself. At the turn of the century, the typical scenario which gave rise to the lynching or castration of a black man was his alleged association with a white woman who was deemed incapable of making her own decision. So, the white woman was the first to be protected by law when it comes to sex trafficking in America, which in many

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 161

08-10-2021 11:27:29

162

Robert O. White

instances freed her from prosecution while condemning the man, typically black, to a social as well as actual death. This pattern followed the assumption of the previous treaties and agreements regulating sex trafficking in Europe. The 1910 International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Trade and the 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children serves as early twentieth century acts to limit what was at the time a growing concern regarding the exploitation of white women while women of other races remained exploited without the sanctuary. In subsequent United Nations actions, trafficking has been expanded to mean “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring 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.”10 The laws regulating the sex trafficking industry remained colorline-based as the United States enacted laws such as the Mann Act, which sought to limit the victimization of white women at the hands of Negro men who always connotate sexual predation.11 In May 2018, then-president Donald Trump did something that his predecessor then-president Barack Obama neglected to do: to pardon Jack Johnson for his alleged violation of the Mann Act, which was designed to protect white female “victims” from black males offenders. However, the fears of black male sexuality predated the twentieth century and extended back to a seldom-studied point in European colonialism, from which many myths and exaggerations emerge. The first international agreement for the suppression of the White Slave Trade was signed in France in 1904. Then in 1910, the International Agreement for the suppression of the white slave12 was the first international agreement to address the trafficking of sex slaves. At the time of the signing, looming in the background was the development of an international crisis, World War I, which would displace millions of people and make them subject to exploitation. After World War I, the League of Nations became the institutional home of the anti-trafficking movement13 which focused on the annulment of marriages that were undertaken for trafficking purposes. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TRANS-ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE AND MODERN-DAY SEX TRAFFICKING Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction.14

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 162

08-10-2021 11:27:29

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

163

Modern sex slavery is likened to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Carter G. Woodson’s efforts to commemorate the history of black people materialized into what is known as Negro History Week and then Black History Month. Nevertheless, what is unknown to many is that another movement materialized as a national agenda before Woodson’s, which perpetuated into modern-day significance. Black History month gained prominence in 1976, but before then, a little-known patriot, a former slave named Richard Robert Wright Sr., called national and local leaders to Philadelphia to discuss the implementation of a day commemorating the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment. After he died in 1947, Congress passed, and President Harry Truman signed into law the National Freedom Act (NFA). While little known and seldom referenced, the NFA touches on issues that are of significance to the remnant of the new slave trade. According to the NFA: The President may issue each year a proclamation designating February 1 as National Freedom Day to commemorate the signing by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865, of the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives that proposed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution.15

While not a holiday, the observance of the NFA does bring national attention to the building of a new period of American foreign and domestic policy, which involved the dismantling of the slave trade and the incorporation of former slaves into becoming citizens. Many similarities occur between the modern-day sex trade and the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that have international as wells domestic implications. First, the National Freedom Day, a day that commemorates President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the joint resolution that established the Constitution’s Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States, is also marked to recognize the international sex trade 150 years later. National Freedom Day also acknowledges National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, which has been celebrated every January since 2010.16 It is a bold admittance by the United States and the international community to associate the modern sex trade as equivalent to the trans-Atlantic Slave trade, resulting in the displacement and subsequent exploitation of millions of people. It is estimated that human traffickers exploit over 24.9 million individuals around the world17 and American foreign military policy has a lot to do with the sustained sex industry. According to Amnesty International, there are approximately 250,000 child soldiers worldwide under 18 who are believed to be currently engaged in armed conflicts and hundreds of thousands more combat ready.18

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 163

08-10-2021 11:27:29

164

Robert O. White

THE ROLE OF THE WEST ALABAMA TASK FORCE IN ADDRESSING INTERNATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKING In January of 2017, we realized that we were part of a commercial sex circuit that extended down from Memphis, TN. During this time, we also realized that we needed to shift to a victim-centered approach if we were going to be successful.19

Sex trafficking relates to governments, NGOs, and victims of various nationalities and ethnic groups. The link is most critical when addressing the victims or alleged victims of these crimes, which are sometimes apprehended thousands of miles away from home. It is not uncommon for law enforcement agencies to deal with victims from other countries, some underage. In most states, those victims who are underage fall under Safe Harbor Laws20 and are not prosecuted but diverted from the courts to social agencies that can help them. Those victims who are adults obtain the assistance of the many NGOs like the Welhouse in Odenville, Alabama, that assist victims of the trafficking industry. As the victims of sex trafficking found their way to west Alabama to show up in the rundown and dilapidated courtyards of cheap hotels located on city strips, local and regional law enforcement began to merge efforts to combat the trade, which was by 2017, an epidemic of its own. The law enforcement cooperative began to reach out for training and received some quality training from the Department of Homeland Security and the Alabama Fusion Center (AFC), an NGO run by experts in the subject. As the number of victims began to increase, the task force realized that human trafficking was a very heinous crime that preyed on the most vulnerable in society and that physical and psychological trauma was very prevalent. Agents stated that the task force began undercover operations in 2017, which focused on the mindset of victim traumatization, which problematically resembled Stockholm Syndrome.21 Many of the victims are psychologically linked to their traffickers in an emotional state of dependency. Because of their loyalty to their pimp or crew or for shared hatred for law enforcement, many victims feel loyalty to their traffickers and system. For this reason, the task force enlisted the help of a victim service provider, Trafficking Hope, which served to support many of the displaced victims. Each time a task force would do a sting or conducted an undercover operation that might involve the recovery of a victim, Trafficking Hope or another NGO dedicated to helping victims of the illicit trade would be on scene to help. Once the scene was safe, counselors could speak with the potential victims—some of whom could not speak English. Because most of the victims refuse to testify against their traffickers, a major success in combating the sex trade in West Alabama involves targeting the johns or the solicitors of illegal sex.22 In January 2018, the vice

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 164

08-10-2021 11:27:29

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

165

unit felt overwhelmed by the number of cases from 2017 and personnel shortages at the Tuscaloosa Police Department. Permission was sought and received to conduct a presentation to the other three major law enforcement agencies in Tuscaloosa County in hopes of creating a county-wide human trafficking task force. The Northport Police Department joined immediately, with the University of Alabama Police Department and the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. During the formative years of the WASTTF, a sustained relationship with Homeland Security was forged, which assumed the responsibility of handling foreign victims by offering them T Visas, U Visa, and safe house protection. Partnerships were formed with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the Alabama Fusion Center, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. With a national recidivism rate of 30 percent by sex buyers, many believe that we are successful, with our repeat offender rate being less than 1 percent. Since the creation of our task force, they have contacted and rescued, thirty-two human trafficking victims, arrested 341 sex buyers (johns) on a total of almost 400 charges and taught classes to over 5,000 people.23 The Asian enterprise is often cloaked using legitimate business; typically, in the massage therapy industry.24 Because of the high rate of sex trafficking victims in Alabama, the West Alabama Sex Trafficking Task Force (WASTTF) is the largest law enforcement human trafficking task force in the state of Alabama, with twentyfive sworn personnel. The WASTTF has a three-tiered approach to human trafficking: Education: for Law Enforcement, Hotel/Motel Staff, Hospital ER Staff (also sexual assault nurses SANE), students, school counselors, and the public. Rescue / Recovery of Victims: Undercover operations, Victim Services and Successful prosecution of the pimp/trafficker; Buyer Suppression (Johns): Undercover operations Fines / Penalties to sex buyers. HOW THE ASIAN SEX TRAFFICKING CRIME WEB RELATE TO THE U.S. FOREIGN POLICY On March 16, 2021, Robert Aaron Long opened fire at three Atlanta area massage parlors.25 The first happened at Young’s Asian Massage in Acworth, Cherokee County, where four people died. Then shots rang out at two northeast Atlanta spas located across the street from each other. When the smoke cleared, eight people were dead, and all were associated with certain Asian massage parlors. While the initial allegation was that the event was a hate crime, law enforcement later associated the crime as more of a “sex crime.” Why are sexual fantasies or even mentions of sexual motivations associated with legal and legitimate businesses that

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 165

08-10-2021 11:27:30

166

Robert O. White

offer massages and not sexual acts? This recent event gave rise to the racial undertones of hate crimes and international sex trafficking, which has been associated with the so-called Asian massage parlors, which exist openly in many cities throughout the country. Interstate investigations of organized international sex trafficking have revealed that international sex rings are spread throughout the United States like a spider web and involve several legitimate businesses in many different states. However, according to experts, the fact has been established that Duluth, Georgia, is the center of the web and is linked to over twelve hubs of sex trafficking throughout the southern United States.26 Yet, the Asian sex trade emerges from the same global roots as the trades responsible for establishing international laws against sex trafficking in the past, establishing U.S. military bases in Asian countries. The United States has had troops in South Korea for six decades—since 1945 after World War II. Today there are 100 U.S. military bases in South Korea with 28,000 troops. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the U.S. Forces in Korea (USFK) and the Republic of Korea set up “relaxation” centers for the troops. These kijicho’s (military camp towns) were closed to South Korean citizens, and only troops and South Koreans who provided “services” could enter.27 With over 800 bases in nearly 80 foreign countries and territories, American military interests are secured from possible involvement in local acts of criminal exploitation like prostitution by Status of Forces Agreements (SOFAs). It defines the relationships between the U.S. Military and the host country regarding preventing human rights violations associated with military occupation.28 The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 200029 was signed by then-president Bill Clinton on October 28, 2000, to display the U.S. intention to eradicate the sex trade. The Act established a three-pronged approach to dealing with the sex trafficking industry: protection, prosecution, and prevention.30 After a recent shooting involving Asian message’ parlors, as the signs come down over businesses that specialize in Asian massages, there is a very anxious attitude involved in addressing the paradox of American social order regarding race, ethnicity, and crime. To avoid stigma, the ethnic identity of victims of crimes that might or might not be hate-related is often given a miscellaneous connotation. However, the ethnic identity of the offender is identified as a contributing factor. Also, associating criminal activity with ethnicity is equally problematic unless the focus is on victimology and not criminology. It seems okay to identify Asians as victims but not as criminals. IN 2020, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) issued the Warmth group $20 million as an awardee of its 2020 Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) grant. The purpose of this grant was to strengthen global anti-trafficking efforts to measure and reduce the prevalence of modern slavery and assess the effectiveness of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 166

08-10-2021 11:27:30

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

167

interventions. Two geographical locations of interest in fighting international trade are in Costa Rica- Puntarenas and Guanacaste.31 According to a 2017 Polaris Report and the Urban Institute, the nation’s 4,790 Asian massage businesses generate over 2.5 billion dollars32 According to the Alabama Fusion Center, many Asian Sex Trafficking establishments are also associated with money laundering for casinos.33 In Alabama,34 all massage’ parlors must be licensed, but in illegal establishments, typically, these credentials are not displayed. The function of most businesses involved in the international sex trade is to assume total control and oversite of the victims, many of whom were either tricked into the business or were forced into it to pay off debts incurred by them while trying to reach America. Many of these operations are run by women who provide food, clothes, and shelter for the women and contact the clients. Some of these workers also acquire debt because they are charged for menial things such as toothbrushes, housing, personal products, and food. Typically, a sign that a person is being trafficked is their lack of knowledge concerning their location and the general surroundings. Typically, trafficked persons live where they work and rotate from facility to facility regularly and have no means of personal transportation. Usually, local law enforcement is tipped off by an informant or a customer that possible trafficking occurs. Then local authorities are contacted, and surveillance is conducted. Undercover officers are dispatched, and if probable cause is found, warrants are signed, and arrests are made. Usually, upon investigation, through interviews, tracing phone records, and the tracing of wire money transfers and cash deposits, the point is discovered that the illegal sex trade in one city is related to other locations throughout the country. Because massage parlors must be licensed in Alabama, records are kept, which can be used when prosecuting illegal establishments. In recent investigations of sixteen massage parlors in Alabama, nine were closed down and prosecuted for illegal sex trafficking.35 At least twenty-four states have legislatively created task forces, steering committees, or director positions to improve stakeholder collaboration for responses to human trafficking. Many of the entities are charged with addressing trafficking generally.36 CONCLUSION By some estimates, as many as 24.9 million people, adults, and children are trapped in the form of human trafficking around the world, including in the United States.37 It is not by accident that the modern-day abolitionist movement, to end the practice of sex trading, like the one over a millennia ago, looks with great significance on January 1, which marks the beginning of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 167

08-10-2021 11:27:30

168

Robert O. White

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.38 On this date in 1863, President Lincoln signed the Declaration of Independence, freeing conditionally millions of slaves not under the auspices of the U.S. government. Later, the passage of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments created the transitional status of millions of people of African origin, which was a new form of slavery to freedom. Thousands of slaves who fled their former colonial slave masters were now free to come back to America from Canada, which had previously been a sanctuary for runaway slaves after the passage of the varying versions of the Fugitive Slave Act, which made every state and every citizen a coconspirator and, therefore, culpable in the dastardly practice. In the spirit of remembering the African Holocaust, which began on the western shores of Africa, the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP) has made an additional $4 million investment to the Africa Programming and Research Initiative to End Slavery (APRIES) at the University of Georgia (UGA) to expand programming and research efforts in West Africa, as well as support research efforts under the Prevalence Reduction Innovation Forum.39 In 2010, by presidential proclamation, January was declared National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 symbolized the U.S. commitment to combating modern slavery domestically and internationally.40 Then-president Donald Trump hosted a White House Summit on sex trafficking41 wherein many agencies and invested parties met to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). This Act, at the time of its signing, unlike the Emancipation Proclamation and other anti-slavery measures, had no filibusters or major political challenges as did the trade in Africans, the financial consequences and profits from the illegal trade implicate a much deeper involvement on the part of international parties, which made the enterprise a multibillion dollar industry. Just as the African slave trade could not have existed and proliferated without the influence of governmental entities, the sex trade today exists and proliferates because of the overwhelming demand for cheap sex. Even in an advanced society like America, the horrors in trafficking human flesh of the past continue, which seems to challenge the theme of the Declaration of Independence, which claims “forever free.” Listed below is a chronology of congressional events that highlight the United States’ efforts to end the sex trade. • In 2012, the issuance of the Executive Order42 “Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts”; • In 2016, the first convening of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking;43

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 168

08-10-2021 11:27:30

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

169

• In 2017, the State Department launched its largest anti-trafficking program, the Program to End Modern Slavery;44 and • In 2020, the launch of a whole-of-government website on human trafficking implementing part of the Executive Order on Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation.45 The international community, under the guise of the United Nations (U.N.) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons moved on the international sex trade and joined the United States to implement the “3Ps” paradigm of prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing the crime passage and implementation of national anti-trafficking laws.46 This plan would become the model for shaping policy and practice regarding the suppression of the sex trade on an international scale. Twenty years after the 2010 initiative, the Department of State issued its 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, which has received mixed adherence from the over 200 nations to whom it was issued.47 During the past administration of Donald Trump, by proclamation, the international sex trafficking community48 was introduced to a more unified systematic governmental apparatus that involved the empowering of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which led to the pursuit of a criminal, the dismantling of the financial infrastructure network, and the arresting of over 5,000 human traffickers.49 Then-president Trump signed an Executive Order on Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States and released a comprehensive National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking (NAP), which incorporated the 3P paradigm and included the creation of an interdisciplinary committee on addressing the intricate issues which emerge from the initiative; a concept which thenpresident Trump referred to as a whole-of-government approach. Prior to Executive Order 13733, there was no rule of law that makes the sex slave a “victim” from which criminal prosecution could be enacted. This is critical because sometimes even the law views the protected class as a commodity or merchandise rather than a person. It is a continuing reality of the various efforts of criminalization of sex trafficking that society tends to view slaves of any kind as nonpersons as stated in the various laws and court decisions that characterized the African slaves as nonpersons or “property of no one.” NOTES 1. Voiltaire, Candide. The Project Gutenberg. EBook of Candide. Voltaire, November 27, 2006. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.gut​​enber​​g​.org​​/file​​s​/199​​42​/19​​942​-h​​/​ 1994​​2​-h​.h​​tm.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 169

08-10-2021 11:27:31

170

Robert O. White

2. The United States has defined trafficking in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act ("TVPA"). Trafficking is "sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery." Available at: https​:/​/hr​​ionli​​ne​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2019​​/05​/H​​ RITra​​ffick​​ingPa​​​per08​​2109-​​1​.pdf​ (U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 8, Section 214.11(a) (2009). 3. These terms are considered synonymous by the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 4. Anna Belle Hoots. “Severing the Connection Between Sex Trafficking and U.S. Military Trafficking and U.S. Military Bases Overseas.” Fordham Law Review 88, no. 2, Article 12 (2019): Fordham University School of Law. see also; US Department of State. “See What Is Modern Slavery?” Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​ .go​​v​/wha​​t​-is-​​mode​r​​nslav​​ery [https://perma​.cc​/W3TV​-HC2N] (last visited October 6, 2019). 5. Trafficking Victims Protection Act, 22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq. See also Executive Order 13903 of January 31, 2020. 6. Sarah Song. Justice, Gender, and the Politics of Multiculturalism. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. 7. The United States v. Holte 236 U.S. 140 (1915) https​:/​/ti​​le​.lo​​c​.gov​​/stor​​age​-s​​ ervic​​es​/se​​rvice​​/ll​/u​​srep/​​usrep​​236​/u​​srep2​​36140​​​/usre​​p2361​​40​.pd​​f. 8. The United States Department of Justice Archives. 2027.MANN ACT. Updated January 17, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/a​​rchiv​​es​/jm​​/crim​​ inal-​​resou​​rce​-m​​anual​​-​2027​​-mann​​-act. 9. Ibid. 10. United Nations. "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime: Article III." (2000): 3. July 24, 2009. 11. Frans Fanon. Black Skin, White Mask: The Black Man and Psychopathology. New York, NY: Grove Press, 2008, p. 120. 12. Each of the Contracting Governments undertakes to establish or name some authority charged with the coordination of all information relative to the procuring of women or girls for immoral purposes abroad; this authority shall be empowered to correspond directly with the similar department established in each of the other Contracting States. As amended March 26, 1910, Traffic, and the Immigration Act. 13. European Commission. “International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children.” The 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children (1921 Convention) was concluded and adopted under the auspices of the newly established League of Nations. Primarily, this Convention built on the recommendations contained in the Final Act of the International Conference, which was summoned by the Council of the League of Nations between June 30 and July 5, 1921. Available at: https​:/​/ec​​.euro​​pa​.eu​​/anti​​

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 170

08-10-2021 11:27:31

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

171

-traf​​ficki​​ng​/le​​gisla​​tion-​​and​-c​​ase​-l​​aw​-in​​terna​​tiona​​l​-leg​​islat​​ion​-u​​nited​​-nati​​ons​/1​​921​-i​​n​ tern​​ation​​al​-co​​nvent​​ion​_e​​n. 14. National Archives. “The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery.” January 31, 1865. Available at: 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery | National Archives. 15. National Freedom Day: 36 U.S.C. 124 … 136. Text contains those laws in effect on July 10, 2021. Available at: [USC02] 36 USC 124: National Freedom Day (house​.g​ov). 16. U.S. Department of State. “National Freedom Day: Deepening Our Resolve to Fight Human Trafficking.” Press Statement; Antony J Blinken February 1, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-free​​dom​-d​​ay​-de​​epeni​​ng​-ou​​r​-res​​olve-​​to​-fi​​ght​-​h​​uman-​​ traff​​i ckin​​g/. 17. U.S. Department of State. “National Freedom Day: Deepening Our Resolve to Fight Human Trafficking.” Press Statement; Antony J Blinken February 1, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-free​​dom​-d​​ay​-de​​epeni​​ng​-ou​​r​-res​​olve-​​to​-fi​​ght​-h​​uman-​​ traff​​i ckin​​g​/htt​​ps://​www​.s​​tate.​​gov​/n​​ation​​al​-fr​​eedom​​-day-​​deepe​​ning-​​our​-​r​​esolv​​e​-to-​​ fight​​-huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing/. 18. Amnesty International. “Ending the use of Child Soldiers: One step Forward.” October 10, 2012. Available at: Ending the Use of Child Soldiers: One Step Forward (amnestyusa​.o​rg). 19. Quote taken from an interview with Lt. Darren Beam - Head of West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force, March 10, 2021. 20. Safe Harbor Laws: 3 aspects of these laws (1) States can provide prostituted minors with immunity from arrest and prosecution. These laws make it a criminal offense for an adult to engage in sex with a minor, with the assumption that minors cannot consent to sex. (2) Through diversion, a prostituted minor is charged with a crime but redirected away from formal processing in the justice system; prosecution is deferred, pending completion of therapeutic Diversion treatment. (3) prostituted youth under mandatory referral are treated as children in need of services; however, a mandatory referral does not come with the threat of formal processing in the Mandatory justice system that is typical in the diversion In Phase 1, a comparative analysis found that, by the end of 2017, 35 states (70 percent) had enacted safe harbor statutes to remove the punitive sanctions for young victims of C.S.E. The remaining 15 states did not have a safe harbor law. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ojp​​.gov/​​pdffi​​les1/​​ojjdp​​/gran​​ts​/25​​​3244.​​pdf. 21. Taken from an interview with Lt. Darren Beam - Head of West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force (March 10, 2021). 22. Emily Enfinger. “West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force: Twoday undercover operation nets 20 arrests.” The Tuscaloosa News, March 2, 2021. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.tus​​caloo​​sanew​​s​.com​​/stor​​y​/new​​s​/cri​​me​/20​​21​/03​​/01​/w​​est​-a​​ labam​​a​-tas​​k​-for​​ce​-ar​​rests​​-20​-h​​uman-​​traff​​i​ckin​​g​-ope​​ratio​​n​/686​​97030​​02/. 23. The quote is taken from an interview with Lt. Darren Beam - Head of West Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force April 10, 2021. 24. Hannah Morse. “How to Spot an Illicit Sex Parlor.” Palm Beach Post via A.P., File. April 25, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.al.​​com​/n​​ews​/2​​019​/0​​4​/how​​-to​-s​​pot​-a​​n​-ill​​icit-​​mass​a​​ ge​-pa​​rlor.​​html.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 171

08-10-2021 11:27:31

172

Robert O. White

25. Eliott C. McLaughlin, Casey Tolan, and Amanda Watts. “What we know about Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in Atlanta spa shootings.” CNN, March 18, 2021. Updated 11:11 AM ET, Thu March 18, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2021/​​03​/17​​/us​/r​​ obert​​-aaro​​n​-lon​​g​-sus​​pecte​​d​-sho​​​oter/​​index​​.html​. 26. Interview with Tracy Cole. The Alabama Fusion Center 2021. Note that oral permission was obtained from the interviewees to have their quotes included in the book. In addition, the interviewees have been anonymized using pseudonym to conceal their identities. 27. Interview with Tracy Cole of the Alabama Fusion Center Alabama Fusion Center (A.F.C.) Support and Analysis for a Multi-agency, Multi-state Human Trafficking Investigation into Korean Massage Parlors (K.M.P.s). See also; The U.A.B. Computer Forensics Lab compiled a report identifying three Chinese Massage Parlors in the Birmingham area providing sexual services based on reviews from USASexGuide. The Report was based on reviews placed between November 21, 2018, to January 18, 2019. 28. Anna Belle Hoots, “Severing the Connection Between Sex Trafficking and U.S. Military Bases Overseas.” 88 Fordham L. Rev. 733 (2019). Accessed February 20, 2021 at: https​:/​/ir​​.lawn​​et​.fo​​rdham​​.edu/​​flr​/v​​ol88/​​​iss2/​​12. 29. Public Law 106–386. “Victims of Trafficking and Violence.” Protection Act Of 2000; October 28, 2000. https​:/​/en​​dslav​​eryan​​dtraf​​ficki​​ng​.or​​g​/sum​​mary-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​ -vic​​tims-​​prote​​ction​​-act-​​tvpa-​​reaut​​horiz​​​ation​​s​-fy-​​2017-​​2/. 30. U.S. Department of State. "Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2017." Accessed: July 24, 2020. https​:/​/en​​dslav​​eryan​​dtraf​​ficki​​ng​.or​​g​/sum​​mary-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​ -vic​​tims-​​prote​​ction​​-act-​​tvpa-​​reaut​​horiz​​​ation​​s​-fy-​​2017-​​2/. 31. U.S. Department of State. “National Freedom Day: Deepening Our Resolve to Fight Human Trafficking.” Press Statement; Antony J Blinken February 1, 2021. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-free​​dom​-d​​ay​-de​​epeni​​ng​-ou​​r​-res​​olve-​​to​ -fi​​ght​-​h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g/. 32. Human trafficking in Philly hidden in ‘massage parlors,’ Report says https​ :/​/ww​​w​.met​​ro​.us​​/huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing​-i​​n​-phi​​lly​-h​​idden​​-in​-m​​assag​​e​-par​​lors​-​​repor​​t​-say​​s​ /amp​/. 33. Interview with Tracy Cole, Alabama Fusion Center. 34. Alabama Code Title 45. “Local Laws sections: 45-13-41.” Current as of January 01, 2019. Available at: Alabama Code Title 45. Local Laws § 45-13-41 | FindLaw. 35. Interview with Tracy Cole; The Alabama Fusion Center April 2021. 36. NCSL. “Safe Harbor State Efforts to Combat Child Trafficking.” National Conference of State Legislators. April 2017. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ncs​​l​.org​​/Port​​als​/1​​/Docu​​ ments​​/cj​/S​​afeHa​​r​bor_​​v06​.p​​df. 37. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Fact Sheet. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, January 20, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​ .go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-slav​​ery​-a​​nd​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-pre​v​​entio​​n​-mon​​th/. 38. Michelle Lillie. “Human Trafficking Search Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.” January 13, 2014. Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month—Human Trafficking Search.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 172

08-10-2021 11:27:31

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

173

39. The Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking Announces Recipients of 2020 Program to end modern slavery awards October 22, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​ te​.go​​v​/the​​-offi​​ce​-to​​-moni​​tor​-a​​nd​-co​​mbat-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-an​​nounc​​es​-re​​cipie​​nts​ -o​​f​-202​​0​-pro​​gram-​​​to​-en​​d​-mod​​ern​-s​​laver​​y​-awa​​rds/. 40. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month U.S. Department of State. Office to Monitor and Combat the Trafficking of Persons January 20, 2021 https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-slav​​ery​-a​​nd​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-pre​v​​entio​​n​-mon​​th/. 41. White House Human Trafficking Summit. President Trump at White House Summit on Human Trafficking. January 31, 2020. https://www​.c​-span​.org​/video/​ ?468828​-1​/pres​​ident​​-trum​​p​-del​​ivers​​-rema​​rks​-w​​hite-​​house​. 42. Chelsey Cox. “Fact check: Trump signed 2 executive orders, 3 proclamations against human trafficking.” USA TODAY, October 17, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/ ww​​w​.usa​​today​​.com/​​story​​/news​​/fact​​check​​/2020​​/10​/1​​7​/fac​​t​-che​​ck​-tr​​ump​-s​​igned​​-2​-ex​​ ecuti​​ve​-or​​ders-​​again​​st​-hu​​ma​n​-t​​raffi​​cking​​/3642​​00100​​1/. 43. U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Traffickers in Persons. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/u​-s​​-advi​​sory-​​counc​​il​ -on​​-huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing/#​:~​:te​​xt​=Th​​e​%20U​​nited​​%20St​​ates%​​20Adv​​​isory​​%20Co​​uncil​​ ,Pres​​ident​’s%20​Inter​agenc​y%20T​ask%2​0Forc​e%20t​o. 44. Program to End Modern Slavery Office to Monitor and Combat the Trafficking in Persons. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/pro​​gram-​​to​-en​​d​-mod​​er​n​-s​​laver​​y/. 45. Executive Order 13903—Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States January 31, 2020 https​:/​/ww​​w​.pre​​siden​​cy​.uc​​sb​.ed​​u​ /doc​​ument​​s​/exe​​cutiv​​e​-ord​​er​-13​​903​-c​​ombat​​ing​-h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-and​​-onli​​ne​​-ch​​ild​-e​​ xploi​​tatio​​n​-the​​-3. 46. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Fact Sheet from Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons July 20, 2021 https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​ te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-slav​​ery​-a​​nd​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-pre​v​​entio​​n​-mon​​th/. 47. Ibid. 48. Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States Executive Order 13903 of January 31, 2020, Executive Order 13903 of January 31, 2020. 49. Ibid, 46.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Alabama Code Title 45. “Local Laws sections: 45-13-41.” Current as of January 01, 2019. Available at: Alabama Code Title 45. Local Laws § 45-13-41 | FindLaw. Amnesty International. “Ending the use of Child Soldiers: One step Forward.” October 10, 2012. Available at: Ending the Use of Child Soldiers: One Step Forward (amnestyusa​.o​rg). Alabama Fusion Center (A.F.C.) “Investigation into Korean Massage Parlors (K.M.P.s).” The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Fusion Center. State Bureau of Investigation, 2020. Available at: Alabama Fusion Center | Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (alea​.g​ov).

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 173

08-10-2021 11:27:31

174

Robert O. White

Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST). “Summary.” Accessed 12 January 2021. https​:/​/en​​dslav​​eryan​​dtraf​​ficki​​ng​.or​​g​/sum​​mary-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-vic​​tims-​​prote​​​ction​​ -act-​​tvpa-​ reauthorizations-fy-2017-2/. Anna Belle Hoots. “Severing the Connection Between Sex Trafficking and U.S. Military Bases Overseas.” 88 Fordham L. Rev. 733 (2019). Accessed February 20, 2021 at: https​:/​/ir​​.lawn​​et​.fo​​rdham​​.edu/​​flr​/v​​ol88/​​​iss2/​​12. Branden Green, Stephen V. Gies, Eoin B. Healy and Amanda Bobnis. “Safe Harbor Laws: Changing the Legal Response to Minors involved in commercial sex, phase 3.” The qualitative Analysis. 2018. National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS). Development Services Group, Inc. Bethesda, Maryland. Accessed 20 January 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ojp​​.gov/​​pdffi​​les1/​​ojjdp​​/gran​​ts​/25​​​3244.​​pdf. Chelsey Cox. “Trump signs order to combat human trafficking.” USA TODAY. Oct. 17, 2020. Accessed 12 January 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.usa​​today​​.com/​​story​​/news​​/ fact​​check​​/2020​​/10​/1​​7​/fac​​t​-che​​ck​​-tr​​ump​-s​​igned​​-2- execu​tive-​order​s-aga​inst-​human​ -traf​ficki​ng/36​42001​001/.​ Code of Alabama Title 13A - criminal code. “Chapter 6 - offenses involving danger to the person.” Article 8B - Alabama Human Trafficking Safe Harbor Act. 2016. C-SPAN. “President Trump at White House Summit on Human Trafficking.” January 31, 2020. Accessed 12 January 2021. https://www​.c​-span​.org​/video/​?468828​-1​/ president​-trump- delivers-remarks-white-houseA. Christine Cooney Mansour. “What is International Human Trafficking?” Human Rights Initiative org North Texas, Inc. 2019. Accessed 10 March 2021. https:// hrionline​.org​/wp- conte​nt/up​loads​/2019​/05/H​​RITra​​ffick​​ingPa​​per08​​2109-​​​1​.pdf​. Donna M. Hughes, Katherine Y. Chon and Derek P. Ellerman. “Modern-Day Comfort Women: The U.S. Military, Transnational Crime, and the Trafficking of Women.” Violence Against Women 13, no. 9 (2007): 901–922. Accessed March 10, 2021 at http:​/​/vaw​​.sage​​pub​.c​​om​/cg​​i​/con​​tent/​​abstr​​act​​/1​​3​/9​/9​​01. Eliott C. McLaughlin, Casey Tolan and Amanda Watts. “What we know about Robert Aaron Long, the suspect in Atlanta spa shootings.” CNN. Updated 11:11 AM ET, Thu March 18, 2021. Accessed 21 March 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2021/​​03​/17​​ /us​/r​​obert​​-a​aro​​n​-lon​​g- suspected-shooter/index​.htm​l. Executive Order 13903. “Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation in the United States.” January 31, 2020. Accessed 12 January 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .pre​​siden​​cy​.uc​​sb​.ed​​u​/doc​​ument​​s​/exe​​cutiv​​e​-ord​​er​-13​​903​​-c​​ombat​​ing​-h​​uman-​ traff​ ickin​g-and​-onli​ne-ch​ild-e​xploi​tatio​n-the​-3. Eilleen Bolger. “Naturalization Process in U.S.: Early History.” Virginia Commonwealth University: Library Social Welfare History Project, n.d. Accessed April 10, 2021, at: https​:/​/so​​cialw​​elfar​​e​.lib​​rary.​​vcu​.e​​du​/fe​​deral​​/natu​​raliz​​ation​​-proc​​ ess​-i​​n​-u​-s​​​-earl​​y​-his​​tory/​. Fanon, Franz. Black Skin White Mask. New York, NY: Grove Press, 2008. George W. Knox. “Females and Gangs: Sexual Violence, Prostitution, and Exploitation.” Chicago, IL, National Gang Crime Research Center, 2008. Hannah Morse. “How to Spot an Illicit Sex Parlor.” Palm Beach Post via A.P., File, April 25, 2019. Accessed 12 December 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.al.​​com​/n​​ews​/2​​019​/0​​4​/ how​​-​to​-s​​pot​-a​​n- illicit​-massage​-parlor​.h​tml.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 174

08-10-2021 11:27:32

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

175

H.R.1865. “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017.” International Justice Mission (I.J.M.) Case Work Series. Human Trafficking, 2019. Accessed 12 November 2020. https://www​.ijm​.org​/documents​/IJM​-2019Casework​_FactSheets​_SexTrafficking​.​pdf. International Trafficking. “International sex trafficking is the second largest international criminal enterprise.” Polarisproject​.or​g. July 24, 2009. Katherine Y. Chon and Derek P. Ellerman. “Modern-Day Comfort Women: The U.S. Military, Transnational Crime, and the Trafficking of Women.” Donna M. Hughes University of Rhode Island Polaris Project, 2007. Metro Philadelphia. “Human Trafficking in Philly hidden in ‘massage parlors,’ report says.” 2018. Accessed 18 January 2021. Human trafficking in Philly hidden in ‘massage parlors,’ report says | Metro US. National Center for Civil and Human Rights. “Impact of Human Trafficking on victims and Survivors.” International human Trafficking Institute. Available at: International Human Trafficking Institute (ihtinstitute​.o​rg). National Conference of State Legislatures. “Safe Harbore: State Efforts to combat child trafficking.” 2017. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ncs​​l​.org​​/Port​​als​/1​​/Docu​​ments​​/cj​/S​​afeHa​​r​ bor_​​v06​.p​​df. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month Fact Sheet from Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons July 20, 2021 https://www​.state​.gov​/ national​-slavery- and-human-trafficking-prevention-month/. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime; United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto; Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly: November 15 2000, by resolution 55/25 Entry into force: September 29 2003, in accordance with article 38 Signatories: 147 Parties: 190 (as of July 26 2018). Public Law 106–386. “Victims Of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act Of 2000.” October 28, 2000. Available at: E:\PUBLAW\PUBL386.106 (govinfo​.g​ov). Sarah Song. Justice, Gender, and the Politics of Multiculturalism. UK: Cambridge University Press, 2007. The 1910 International Agreement for the Suppression of the white slave Trade; International Convention for the Suppression of the White Slave Traffic, signed at Paris on May 4 1910, amended by the Protocol signed at Lake Success, New York, May 4 1949 Lake Success New York May 4 1949. https​:/​/tr​​eatie​​s​.un.​​org​/P​​ages/​​ PageN​​otFou​​​nd​.as​​px. The Expatriation Act of 1907 (59th Congress, 2nd session, chapter 2534, enacted March 2, 1907) was an act of the 59th United States Congress 8 U.S.C. §§ 6–17, b. The U.A.B. Computer Forensics Lab compiled a report identifying three Chinese Massage Parlors in the Birmingham area providing sexual services based on reviews from the website USASexGuide. The Report was based on reviews placed between November 21, 2018, to January 18, 2019. The President may issue each year a proclamation designating February 1 as National Freedom Day to commemorate the signing by Abraham Lincoln on February 1, 1865, of the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 175

08-10-2021 11:27:32

176

Robert O. White

Representatives that proposed the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. (Pub. L. 105–225, August 12, 1998, 112 Stat. 1259 ); https​:/​/us​​code.​​house​​.gov/​​view.​​xhtml​​ ?req=​​granu​​leid​:USC​-pre​lim​-title36- section124&num=0&edition=prelim. The 1921 International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children Geneva, September 30 1921. https​:/​/tr​​eatie​​s​.un.​​org​/P​​ages/​​PageN​​otFou​​​nd​ .as​​px. The U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (U.N. Trafficking Protocol), adopted in 2000. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA) (Public Law 106386, Division A). UNICEF. “Children Out of Sight, Out of Mind, Out of Reach.” London (December 14, 2005). July 24, 2009. 10 U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2009.” Publication 11407 (2009): 9. July 24, 2009. United States v. Holte 236 U.S. 140 (1915) https://tile​.loc​.gov​/storage- servi​ces/s​ervic​ e/ll/​usrep​/usre​p236/​usrep​23614​0/usr​​ep236​​140​.p​​​df. U.S. Department of Justice. Citizen’s Guide to U.S. Federal Law on Child sex trafficking. 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/c​​rimin​​al​-ce​​os​/ci​​tizen​​s​-gui​​de​-us​​-fede​​ral​-l​​aw​ -ch​​i​ld​-s​​ex​-tr​​affic​​king. U.S. Dept. of State, Report on Status of Forces Agreements 1 (2015), https://20092017.​​state​​.gov/​​docum​​ents/​​organ​​izati​​on​/23​​​6456.​​pdf [https://perma​.cc​/JMD6​ -E54E]. U.S. Department of State. National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Fact Sheet, Office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, January 20, 2021. www​.s​​tate.​​gov​/n​​ation​​al​-sl​​avery​​-and-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-pr​​event​​ion​-m​​onth/​. U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, Title 8, Section 214.11(a) (2009). Available at: CFR​-2011​-title8​-vol1​-sec214​-​11​.pdf (govinfo​.g​ov). U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Office To Monitor And Combat Trafficking In Persons. Annual Reports of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/u​-s​​-advi​​sory-​​counc​​il​-on​​-huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ ing/#​:~​:te​​xt​=Th​​e​%20U​​nited​​%20St​​ates%​​20Adv​​​isory​​%20Co​​uncil​​,Pres​​ident​’s%20​ Inter​agenc​y%20T​ask%2​0Forc​e%20t​o. U.S. Department of State. Program to end modern slavery. Office to monitor and combat trafficking in persons. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/pro​​gram-​​to​-en​​d​-mod​​er​n​-s​​ laver​​y/. U.S. Department of State. “National Freedom Day: Deepening our Resolve to Fight Human Trafficking.” Press Release Statement, Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of State. February 1, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-free​​dom​-d​​ay​-de​​epeni​​ng​ -ou​​r​-r​es​​olve-​​to​-fi​​ght- human-trafficking/. U. S. Department of State. “Policy Issues, Human trafficking.” Trafficking in Persons Report, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. U.S. Department of State. “The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Announces Recipients of 2020 program to end modern slavery awards.” October 22, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/the​​-offi​​ce​-to​​-moni​​tor​-a​​nd​-co​​mbat-​​traff​​i c​kin​​g​-in-​​ perso​​ns- annou​nces-​recip​ients​-of-2​020-p​rogra​m-to-​end-m​odern​-slav​ery-a​wards​/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 176

08-10-2021 11:27:32

The International Sex Trade and the Global Problem

177

U.S. Department of State. “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Office to Monitor and combat trafficking in persons.” January 20, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-slav​​ery​-a​​nd​-hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-pre​v​​entio​​n​-mon​​th/. U.S. Department of State. “National Freedom Day: Deepening our Resolve to Fight Human Trafficking.” Press Release Statement, Anthony J. Blinken, Secretary of State. February 1, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/nat​​ional​​-free​​dom​-d​​ay​-de​​epeni​​ng​ -ou​​r​-r​es​​olve-​​to​-fi​​ght- human-trafficking/. U.S. Department of Justice Archives. 2017.MANN ACT. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/ a​​rchiv​​es​/jm​​/crim​​inal-​​resou​​rce​-m​​anual​​​-2027​​-mann​​-act;​ https​:/​/hr​​ionli​​ne​.or​​g​/wp-​​ conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2019​​/05​/H​​RITra​​ffick​​ingP​a​​per08​​2109-​​1. U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2008.” (2008): 7. July 24, 2009. U.S. Department of Justice. “Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons: September 2005.” (2005): 4. July 24, 2009. U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2009.” Publication 11407 (2009): 8. July 24, 2009. Voiltaire, Candide. The Project Gutenberg. EBook of Candide. Voltaire, November 27, 2006. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.gut​​enber​​g​.org​​/file​​s​/199​​42​/19​​942​-h​​/​1994​​2​h​.h​​tm.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 177

08-10-2021 11:27:32

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 178

08-10-2021 11:27:32

Chapter 8

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons The Role of the United States Post-September 2001 Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

Trafficking1 in persons (TIP) is modern-day slavery that involves victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. TIP is a transnational crime and sexual enslavement. It is a crime against humanity under the Article 7 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.2 The magnitude of TIP is huge and the profits generated runs into billions of dollars. Although it is difficult to measure accurately, the U.S. official sources estimate that 800,000–900,000 human beings are bought, sold, or forced across the world’s borders each year.3 However, current estimates by the International Labor Organization (ILO) put the minimum number of persons in forced labor at a given time because of trafficking at 2.45 million. This figure is in addition to a far, yet indeterminate number of persons trafficked within countries. In fact, by 2003, an estimated 27 million people were held in some form of bondage worldwide, which indicates that TIP is, in terms of sheer numbers, greater today than in any other period of history.4 Of this figure, about eight million are children forced into prostitution, pornography, and bonded labor.5 TIP is a pernicious and brutal abuse of human rights. Policing and combating it is problematic because of its clandestine nature, underreporting by relevant government agencies, and a lack of political will among governments to pursue anti-trafficking programs, results in many of the perpetrators remaining at large and going unpunished. Prosecuting these criminals is further hindered by the fact that many of them are associated with international criminal organizations and are, therefore, highly mobile, and difficult to prosecute.6 Although there have been efforts by the UN, sovereign states, 179

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 179

08-10-2021 11:27:32

180

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to tackle the traffic in human beings, these efforts are not sufficient and ineffective in combating this illicit trade in humans. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, the United States took a strong step toward tackling this problem by enacting the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) in October 2000. Following its passage by Congress, the federal statute was signed into law by President Bill Clinton and reauthorized by Presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. The Act, among other things, mandates the publication of an annual report that ranks countries according to the progress made in fighting human trafficking. In terms of consequences, it authorizes the cessation of most non-humanitarian U.S. aid to any nations deemed not trying hard enough to address and combat the problem of human trafficking. Following the attack of September 2001, the U.S. government strengthened and re-authorized the Act. In 2001, the U.S. State Department published the first report of the Act with the intention of raising global awareness to the problem.7 Marking the 20th anniversary of the TIP report in 2020, the U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reaffirmed the commitment of the U.S. government in the fight against human trafficking, thus: For 20 years, the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) has demonstrated the United States’ conviction that human trafficking is a global threat necessitating a global response. Traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to freedom, forcing them to live enslaved and toil for their exploiter’s profit. This report arms governments with the data they need to increase the prosecution of traffickers, provide victim-centered and traumainformed protection for victims of trafficking, and prevent this crime altogether.8

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 11,500 human trafficking cases were reported in the United States in 2019 alone. The most common type of trafficking was sex trafficking (8,248), with the most common venues being illicit massage/spa businesses and pornography. The report listed ten states with the highest rates (per 100K) of human trafficking in the United States to include Nevada (7.5), Mississippi (4.99), Florida (4.08), Georgia (3.85), Ohio (3.84), Delaware (3.84), California (3.8), Missouri (3.78), Michigan (3.64), and Texas (3.63). Since 2007, total human trafficking cases reported in the United States stands at 63,380.9 Combating TIP and modern slavery requires a multifaceted approach at various levels. Since September 2001, the United States has intensified its effort at combating the problem through various means, which included, but not limited to, monitoring of efforts by countries, attaching strings to U.S. foreign assistance contingent upon formulation of better anti-trafficking measures and the use of NGOs and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 180

08-10-2021 11:27:33

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

181

through USAID’s anti-trafficking cooperation with origin and transit countries. In 2003, the U.S. attorney general, John Ashcroft noted that: Trafficking is a transnational criminal enterprise. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders. Profits from trafficking feed into the coffers of recognized crime. Trafficking is fueled by other criminal activities such as document fraud, money laundering and migrant smuggling. Because trafficking cases are expansive in reach, they are among the most important matters—as well as the most labor and time-intensive matters—undertaken by the Department of Justice.10

It is the intent of this chapter to contribute toward the discourse on abolishment of modern-day slavery and trafficking in persons (TIP) by examining the role of the United States in combating it. The chapter argues that, although, the anti-trafficking overtures of the U.S. government are noble and desirable, they are largely supply-driven measures hence unlikely to have any tremendous impact on global TIP. THE LITERATURE ON TIP Bales11 noted that slaves touch every life directly or indirectly: For instance, the shoes we wear or carpets in our homes may have been made by slave workers in Pakistan, or the sugar in our kitchen and toys in the hands of children may have been made by people working in slave-like conditions in the Caribbean. As Kyle and Koslowski12 pointed out “Trade in humans and migrants is more than a subcategory of global migration . . . [It] is a subject that intersects contemporary anxieties concerning the global political economy, ethnic and gender stratification, multiculturalism, population growth, political corruption, transnational crime, the Internet, human rights abuse, and the (in)ability of states and global agencies to control effectively.” Yet, despite these anxieties, Kyle and Koslowski13 point out that international relations experts, migration specialists and labor scholars have ignored this global phenomenon. The debate has been dominated by governments concerned with irregular immigration and/or transnational organized crimes (especially after the September 2001 event) and international and domestic advocacy NGOs (such as the feminist abolitionists, e.g., Barry, Jerrys, Kempadoo and Doezema, Raymond)14 and the workers’ rights advocates like Masika;15 who are concerned about the violations and abuses of human rights of the victims, be it women, children, or men to deal with that humanitarian concern of bondage.16 Although there has been intense debate on the trafficking phenomenon, Jordan17 notes that there have been inadequate responses by governments

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 181

08-10-2021 11:27:33

182

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

to combat trafficking. The reasons for these inadequate responses, Jordan18 argues are due to the denial of the problem of trafficking by states; the objectification of the victims and failure to consider the victims’ human rights because states view trafficking as organized criminal activity; the conflation of TIP with undocumented migration by governments; and the improper definition of the crime of trafficking. Drawing from studies by Hollifield, Joppke, Kyle and Koslowski, Rijken and Cornelius et al.,19 this chapter attempts to fill a gap in current literature by presenting an assessment of U.S. efforts at combating TIP. To this end, the chapter intends to examine the characteristics, causes, and sources of TIP, the scope, and efforts by the United States to combat it. The study is important because it seeks to enhance our understanding of the trade and its intricate networks, the profit involved, the graveness of the crime, and the efforts by both states and non-state actors aimed at combating this illicit trade. INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS AT COMBATING TIP By the end of the nineteenth century, many countries had abolished slavery, which had characterized the growth and expansion of capitalism in Europe and the Americas.20 These efforts were country based. However, since the 1900s, international treaties were passed and adopted that outlawed slavery on a worldwide basis. In 1910, the International Convention for the Suppression of White Slave Trade was signed in Paris to obligate signatory states to punish anyone who recruits a woman, below the age of maturity, into prostitution, even if she consents.21 In 1926, the League of Nations outlawed slavery, and, in 1930, in conjunction with the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Forced Labor Convention was passed seeking to protect colonial laborers. This was in response to the imposition of mass forced labor on indigenous populations by the various colonial powers. The first concrete step to outlaw slavery on a global basis was in 1948, when the UN established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which declared that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.” Similarly, in 1949, the UN passed the convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others. In 1956, the UN passed a Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices similar to Slavery such as bondage, sale of wives, serfdom, child servitude and other forced-labor practices. By this act, the UN expected slavery to be jus cogen. But following the exponential growth in TIP and forced labor in all countries, the UN in 1975 created the Working Group on Contemporary Forms of Slavery to collect information and make

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 182

08-10-2021 11:27:33

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

183

recommendations on slavery and slave-like practices around the world. While the UN was making these efforts, pressure was brought to bear by the emergence and activities of NGOs that began to mount campaigns on the evils of human trafficking and slavery. Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War and other geopolitical changes in the world which intensified human trafficking, the UN in 2000 approved the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish the Trafficking in Persons. This protocol came into force on December 25, 2003, and has been ratified by ninety-two countries.22 The protocol supplements the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, and it aims to prevent and combat TIP, paying particular attention to women and children; to protect and assist the victims of such trafficking, with full respect for their human rights; and to promote cooperation among state parties to meet those objectives.23 In this era of globalization, the protocol was intended to create a global language and legislation to define TIP, establish the parameters of judicial cooperation and exchange of information among countries, globalize legality of prohibiting TIP and slavery by creating penalties that fit the crime, and offer human rights protection and assistance to the victims.24 While the protocol was hailed as a bold step forward in combating trafficking and advancing human rights, like other conventions and protocols of the UN, it lacks any force as implementation and interpretation of its contents depend on the willingness of state parties to incorporate the stipulations into their domestic laws. In other words, it lacks policing powers or the mechanism to enforce its prohibition. To supplement the efforts of the UN, many countries and/or regions have risen to the challenge by dedicating resources and enacting new laws to combat this obnoxious trade in humans. In Europe and Africa, for example, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); and the Economic Community for West African States (ECOWAS) have developed regional anti-trafficking strategies to combat TIP.25 IGOs and NGOs have also initiated a variety of assistance programs for trafficking victims and survivors. In 2003, for example, 24 nations enacted new laws, thus resulting in nearly 8,000 prosecutions of traffickers and 2,800 convictions worldwide.26 DEFINITIONS OF TIP Due to the interest in trafficking and debate it has generated, it has been difficult to reach a precise and acceptable definition of the term.27 According to the Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW), trafficking involves “all acts in the recruitment and/or transportation of a person within

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 183

08-10-2021 11:27:33

184

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

and across national borders for work or services by means of violence or threat of violence, abuse of authority or dominant position, debt bondage, deception, or other forms of coercion.”28 The European Parliament defined trafficking in human beings as “the illegal action of someone who, directly or indirectly, encourages a citizen from a third country to enter or stay in another country in order to exploit that person by using deceit or any other form of coercion or by abusing that person’s vulnerable situation or administrative status.”29 Considered as a process, trafficking involves recruitment, transportation, and control in the place of destination.30 However, a generally agreed definition of TIP is that proffered in Article 3 of the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish TIP. It is defined as: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring 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 power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of 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 labor or services, slavery, or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.31

The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. Traffickers often prey on individuals who are poor, unemployed, or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets. Sometimes the victims are lured with false promises of good job opportunities and better lives, but they are later exploited and forced to work under brutal and inhuman conditions.32 CHARACTERISTICS AND CAUSES OF TIP Compared to old slavery which was characterized by legal ownership, high purchase price, and long-term relationship, TIP is characterized by low price, no acknowledgment of legal ownership, high profit potential, short-term relationship, disposability, ambiguity in operation (neither purely voluntary nor involuntary from the perspective of the trafficked person), entrapment and concealment through false/fraudulent contract, and subjugation and complete control by slaveholders/traffickers without asserting ownership or accepting responsibility for their survival.33 Like old slaves, trafficked victims are forced to work on various sectors and industries and their exploitation feeds directly into the global economy. Victims of TIP may be smuggled illegally across borders to work, and they

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 184

08-10-2021 11:27:34

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

185

sometimes know the nature of the work, but they do not know the terms of the “contract.”34 There has been a phenomenal growth in TIP in the last quarter of the twentieth century and many scholars believe this increase is due to the simultaneous existence of several “push,” “pull,” and facilitating factors.35 As a global market, trafficking can be explained in terms of supply and demand: the victims being the supply/commodity, while the abusive traffickers, unscrupulous employers, sexual exploiters represent the demand side. The “push” factors include population growth since World War II, the increase in civil wars since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the collapse of the Chinese socialist system, poverty, violence in the family, uneven economic development, and political instability, and so on.36 The “pull” factors on the other hand include the relative prosperity and peace in industrialized and newly industrializing countries. Other pull factors are the lowering of barriers, and xenophobic immigration laws that discriminate against unskilled workers.37 The facilitating factors include the growth in the industrialized economies, the existence of informal and underground economies and the process of globalization of the world economy which is accompanied by lower cost of transportation and communication. There is a link between TIP and the existence of underground economy and xenophobic immigration laws. For instance, Kyle and Koslowski38 noted that immigration laws which were created to stem the flow of immigration and human trafficking during U.S. restructuring of its economy contained many loopholes, back doors, and side doors which facilitated even greater levels of immigration.39 TIP is also facilitated by the growth of underground and informal economies where, as noted by Foo,40 multiple violations of minimum wage and overtime laws, health and safety, workers compensation and other labor laws are common practices. While TIP may be economically driven, it is, in some cases, promoted by governments via their policies. Kyle and Dale41 noted that the Burmese government promotes the sale of Burmese virgins to the lucrative sex industry in Thailand. They further noted that the Thai government supported illegal immigration into the country in the 1990s to provide for the shortfall in the labor requirements in its key industries and to protect a key source of revenue generated by sex workers. For instance, it was estimated that the annual illegal income generated by women sold into sexual bondage in Thailand was $10 billion.42 Therefore, it was in the government’s interest to maintain this important source of labor and revenue. In Thailand, Pakistan, India, and Brazil, Bales43 noted that the local police act as enforcers to the “contracts” that conceal slavery. In Britain, Bales44 noted that the immigration law which gives concession to foreigners moving into the United Kingdom as well as returning British nationals to bring in their domestic servants perpetuates slavery.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 185

08-10-2021 11:27:34

186

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

SOURCES AND SCOPE OF TIP The twenty-first century’s TIP represents a global demand for cheap and vulnerable labor.45 It is often characterized by commoditization of human lives in which monetary value is attached to the life of a child, woman or man that is to be set free. Trafficked persons are procured by many methods and the major sources of this human commodity include wars, kidnapping, voluntary, deception by slave dealers who pose as employers, bondage, involuntary organ transplant and sacrifice, and involuntary servitude. To control their victims, traffickers utilize various means of coercion such as rape, beatings, confiscation of travel documents, threat of retribution and ritual offering (which is common among West African traffickers).46 In terms of scope and profit from TIP the numbers are staggering. Although the actual number of persons trafficked annually worldwide may never be known, authorities generally agree that the scope of the trade is huge and multifaceted, making policing and eradication of TIP difficult. In 2005, the U.S. government revised the number of trafficked persons across international borders from 600,000 to 800,000.47 But the International Labor Organization (ILO)48 puts the estimate at 2.45 million. According to the ILO figures, the regional distribution of forced labor because of trafficking is as follows: Asia and Pacific 1,360,000; industrialized countries 270,000; Latin America and Caribbean 250,000; Middle East and North Africa 230,000; transition countries 200,000; and sub-Saharan Africa 130,000. From Sudan to Mauritania, India to Pakistan, Brazil to Bangladesh, Haiti to Dominican Republic, men, women, and children are trafficked and sold into slavery where they live and work as slaves or in slave-like conditions. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UNESC),49 over 1.2 million children are trafficked globally every year. The largest trafficked victims are from Asia, with over 225,000 victims each year from Southeast Asia and over 150,000 from South Asia.50 In Southeast Asia, the practice of sex slavery and bridal trade are common,51 especially among young girls who, due to poverty are deceived and forced into slavery. The current trend among sex salivates in Southeast Asia is to kidnap and lure young girls who are supposedly HIV/AIDS free from Burma, China, and Cambodia and send them to Thailand. In India, it is estimated that parents have sold 15 million children into bonded labor in return for meager loans from moneylenders, and in Bangladesh, an estimated 25,000 women and children are trafficked annually.52 The handmade woolen carpet industry in India, Pakistan, and Nepal survives on “carpet” slaves. Similarly, the perennial labor shortfall at harvest season in the sugar industry in the Dominican Republic is sourced by slave labor from Haiti.53 In Africa, it is estimated that over 50,000 persons are trafficked out of the continent annually.54 In sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that at least

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 186

08-10-2021 11:27:34

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

187

200,000 people are in bondage, especially in war-torn Sudan and Congo, and in Uganda, Mauritania, Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, and Sierra Leone. Nigeria, Gabon, Ghana, and South Africa are transit locations for trafficked persons to Western Europe and the Middle East.55 Mauritania and Sudan still practice the classic chattel slavery in the form of debt bondage, forced labor, and child prostitution for breeding purposes. There are reports that from 30,000 to 100,000 Brazilians (mostly migrant workers) are being held in debt bondage in Brazil.56 Since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe has become a fecund ground for traffickers and a vital source supplying young women and children to support the sex industry and the factories of Europe and the United States. For example, it is estimated that about 80 percent of women trafficked as prostitutes in Western Europe might be from Moldova and about 400,000 Ukrainian women have been trafficked for sexual exploitation in the past decade.57 It has also been estimated that between 3,000 and 8,000 Nigerian women were trafficked as prostitutes in Italy.58 The scale of the inflow of trafficked persons into developed economies is immense and the exact number may never be known because of the clandestine nature of the trade and the limited studies on the subject. There were up to 750,000 sex-trafficked victims transported into the United States in the past decade,59 and about 300,000 trafficked women into the Western European sex trade in the same period.60 The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated in 2003 that between 18,000 and 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States each year.61 These numbers were refined and revised in 2004 from 14,400 to 17,500: the largest number, 5,000–7,000, came from East Asia.62 However, the number of persons entering the United States under false pretenses and held in servitude, forced into prostitution, bonded sweatshop labor and/or domestic servitude is between 45,000 and 50,000 annually.63 Of this figure, approximately 30,000 come from Asia (Thailand, China, Vietnam), 10,000 from Latin America, and 5,000 from other regions such as Africa and the former Soviet Union and 1,000 from other regions.64 PROFIT FROM TIP Traffickers of this illicit trade make huge profits which run into billions of dollars with little risk. In fact, Foo65 noted that trafficking in women is more lucrative than the international trade in drugs and arms. According to UNESC,66 it is estimated that trafficking in children involving some 1.2 million children netted $12 billion. Others estimate the annual profit from TIP to be between $10 and $12 billion yearly for the perpetrators, making it the third largest illegal business following drugs and arms trade.67 This figure

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 187

08-10-2021 11:27:34

188

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

does not include the cost benefits gained by industries and factories that use slave labor. In Thailand, it was estimated that the annual illegal income from sex workers ranged between $10 and $10.5 billion.68 In the United States, the profit from trafficking is staggering. It was estimated that traffickers in persons made profit anywhere from $1 million to $8 million in a period from one to six years.69 For instance, it was reported that the Thai Traffickers who, incarcerated some Thai women and men in a sweatshop in El Monte, California made over $8 million in six years. While Thai traffickers who enslaved women in a New York brothel, made over $1.5 million in approximately one year.70 Similarly, Chinese criminal syndicates made between $5,000 and $7,000 for each Malaysian woman delivered to the United States, and a Mexican crime family that forced deaf Mexicans to peddle trinkets made about $8 million in over 412 years.71 To all intents and purposes, TIP despite its heinous nature is very lucrative to the dealers and its proceeds continue to support and encourage the global network of organized crimes. COMBATING TIP BY THE UNITED STATES The United States is one of the countries in the world that is taking serious steps and persuading other countries to combat and abolish TIP. Until 2000, the United States did not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. Law enforcement relied on a few fragmented criminal, labor, and immigration laws to address and prosecute the activities of human traffickers. For instance, it relied on the Mann Act of 1910 to prosecute and impose penalties on traffickers of women within the U.S. borders; the 1948 federal law 1581 (Code 18 of 2003) which criminalized peonage and involuntary servitude; the Smoot–Hawley Act of 1930 which prohibits forced labor and importation of goods manufactured with forced labor; the Alien Tort Claims Act of 1789 which enables foreign victims of slavery, forced labor, or other serious human rights violations to sue their abusers in U.S. courts for conduct that occurred outside the United States.72 It was, therefore, cumbersome as prosecutors were required to prove each element of each crime. However, certain momentous developments in various parts of the world were to change the attitude of the U.S. government toward creating a comprehensive statute on trafficking. These events included the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the end of the Cold War, the creation of the Single European Market, the internecine conflicts in Africa, the growth in sex trade in Asia and the Bosnian crisis. Each of these factors increased TIP worldwide and raised concerns among governments on how to combat the illicit trade. Furthermore, the existing statutes and laws had shortcomings: for instance,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 188

08-10-2021 11:27:35

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

189

Congress noted among other things that (i) the existing legislations and law enforcement regimes in the United States were inadequate to deter trafficking and bring traffickers to justice; (ii) no comprehensive law existed that penalized the range of offenses involved in the trafficking scheme; (iii) crime of TIP was not reflected in the sentencing regime, thus resulting in weak penalties for convicted traffickers; (iv) existing laws often failed to protect victims of trafficking; and (v) exiting laws failed to provide adequate services and facilities to meet the needs of the victims.73 It was, therefore, against this backdrop that the U.S. government took a more aggressive and proactive approach to the problem by launching a comprehensive trafficking statute in 2000 known as the TVPA. A comprehensive trafficking statute would streamline the prosecutorial burden, provide additional tool, permit better tracking of cases and record keeping, improve coordination; and serve as a greater deterrent to such behavior.74 Accordingly, the TVPA was intended to sharpen the teeth of existing sanctions for involuntary servitude, peonage and slavery and new crimes such as human trafficking, sex trafficking, forced labor and document servitude. It was also intended to provide specific measures to address the unique needs of trafficked victims and expand the repertoire of law enforcement tools to fight trafficking.75 THE TVPA 2000 The TVPA is a comprehensive statute which was the culmination of the U.S. government’s efforts via the TIP and Worker Exploitation Task Force, the interagency group (which included the FBI and INS), the Department of Labor, DoJ and other agencies to remedy a problem with both domestic and external dimension which involved mainly women and children as victims. The primary objectives of the statute are to combat TIP, to ensure just and effective punishment of traffickers, and to protect the victims of the trade.76 The TVPA tries to fill the lacunae in previous legislations and statues. It introduced new sentencing regimes for traffickers, ways of dealing with countries of origin, transit and destination, protection for victims and expanded tools to prosecutors and other government agencies. For example, the statute involves the following: • The criminalization of trafficking with respect to slavery, involuntary servitude, peonage or forced labor. • The extension of the definition of coercion to include the prosecution where non-violent coercion is involved to force victims to work in the belief that they would be subject to serious harm (TVPA, 2000, Section 103B). • The prosecution of traffickers where victims are compelled by confiscation of documents such as passports or birth certificate.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 189

08-10-2021 11:27:35

190

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

• The increase of prison terms for all slavery violations (including force labor) from ten to twenty years and life imprisonment where the violation includes kidnapping or attempted kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, or attempted aggravated sexual abuse, or death or an attempt to kill (TVPA, 2000, Section 112, 1A–B, and 2–3). • The authorization of courts to order restitution and forfeiture of assets upon conviction. • The empowerment of victims to seek witness protection and other types of assistance—health care, normalization of immigration status, education, and shelter. • The empowerment of prosecutors and agents to obtain legal immigration status for victims of severe form of trafficking. • The creation of a three-tier system of assessing and ranking countries that are making or not making progress toward combating TIP. • The authorization of the president to aid countries that are making progress toward the elimination of TIP and to withhold “non-humanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance from countries that are not making progress toward eliminating TIP (TVPA, 2000, 110A).” To monitor TIP globally, the Act authorized the president to create an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking (TVPA, 2000: section 105). The Task Force issues the TIP annual report (compiled by the Department of State) on efforts by individual countries to end TIP. The TIP report includes those countries defined to be countries of origin, transit, or destination of a significant number of victims of severe forms of trafficking.77 According to Section 103(8) of the TVPA, severe forms of TIP means (a) “sex trafficking in which commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or (b) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery.” The report gives weight to concrete actions by the U.S. government to combat trafficking and uses a three-tier system to rank countries. Tier 1 is for countries that are actively fighting trafficking and whose governments are in full compliance with TVPA’s minimum standards. According to TVPA, as amended in the 2003 authorization, the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking applicable to country of origin, transit or destination for a significant number of victims of severe forms of trafficking are the following: (a) the government of the country should prohibit severe forms of TIP and punish acts of such trafficking; (b) for the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking involving force, fraud, coercion, or in which the victim of sex

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 190

08-10-2021 11:27:35

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

191

trafficking is a child not cable of giving meaningful consent, or of trafficking which includes rape or kidnapping or which causes death, the government of the country should proscribe punishment commensurate with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault, (c) for knowing commission of any act of severe form of TIP, the government of the country should proscribe punishment that is sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately reflects the heinous nature of the offense, and (d) the government of the country should make serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of TIP.78 Tier 2, on the other hand, are for countries not fully complying with minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance. Tier 2 Watch List exists if the number of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or significantly increasing; or there is a failure to provide evidence of efforts to eliminate trafficking; or there are additional steps in future by the country to bring itself in compliance.79 Finally, Tier 3 are for countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance (TVPA, 2000, Section 110). Although the link between TIP and threats to the security of the United States was made in the 1990s,80 it became apparent to policy makers after the events of September 11, 2001. For instance, in 2000, the U.S. General Accounting Report noted that “Alien smuggling is a significant and growing problem. Although it is likely that most smuggled aliens are brought into the US to pursue employment opportunities, some are smuggled as part of a criminal or terrorist enterprise that can pose a serious threat to US national security.”81 The U.S. government’s attitude toward global issues which can impact on the security of the country was to change swiftly after September 2001. For instance, apart from the misery imposed by trafficking to its victims, there was the need to tackle the problems of TIP to break the link with organized crimes. Consequently, in October 2001, President Bush established the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat TIP, and the Office to Monitor and Combat TIP was created in the State Department. The USAID was given the task of developing partnerships between source and destination countries to combat trafficking. In 2001, the Task Force produced its first report and in December 2003 TVPA was reauthorized by the president. The aims of the reauthorization were to strengthen the tools the U.S. enforcement officers use to prosecute traffickers; enhance assistance to victims and evaluate efforts by other countries toward eliminating TIP.82 To expand the statute’s limitations to the life of the victims of abduction, sexual abuse of minors in almost all cases and to expand the powers of the law enforcement officials, the president in 2003 signed the Protect Act. The Act allows the U.S. law enforcement to prosecute U.S. citizens who travel abroad and engage in sex with minors without having

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 191

08-10-2021 11:27:35

192

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

to prove prior intent. Since the establishment of the TVPA, the United States has been active in preventing and combating TIP and slavery through arrest and punishment of perpetrators, and provision of assistance to victims. The U.S. government has also put pressure on countries to take the necessary measures to punish those involved in the trade. RECORD OF PROGRESS IN COMBATING TIP SINCE TVPA INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (OMCTIP) is mandated to combat and eradicate TIP by focusing worldwide attention on the global slave trade; assist countries to eliminate trafficking and promote regional and bilateral cooperation, and support NGOs that are active in trafficking prevention and victim protection. In 2003, the OMCTIP supported 240 anti-trafficking programs in over 75 countries around alternative economic programs for vulnerable groups, education programs, training of government officials and medical personnel, and development of ant-trafficking laws, and so on.83 In a conference on human trafficking in Florida, President George Bush noted that “human trafficking is an affront to the defining promise of our country.”84 Although the United States has not ratified the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking, it continues to support countries and other international instruments designed to enable countries to work together against criminals engaged in transnational criminal activities. To date the United States has provided more than $295 million to support anti-trafficking programs in more than 120 countries. Both in domestic and international terms, the US government has adopted an integrated approach based on prevention, protection and assistance to victims, and prosecution of traffickers.85 It offers the following assistance to countries: The U.S. government trains law enforcement and immigration officers in other countries for better identification and crackdown on traffickers and their victims at the borders: In 2001, the U.S. government supported 118 programs in 55 countries and in 2002 and 2003 fiscal years, the U.S. government invested over $146.8 million on international anti-trafficking projects.86 In 2003, over 90 countries benefited from the U.S. supported 234 international anti-trafficking programs costing over $91 million.87 Some of these programs include the Mano River project for Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea; the Cambodian “initiative to end commercial sexual exploitation project”; the “Indian Trafficking prevention in rural areas project”; the Balkan and Ukraine “Combating trafficking in children project”; and the capacity building in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 192

08-10-2021 11:27:35

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

193

counter-trafficking project in Afghanistan, and so on. These are all projects benefiting from the U.S. international anti-trafficking programs.88 Furthermore, the U.S. government, the USAID, and U.S. embassies in conjunction with host countries and local NGOs train police and other law enforcement officials and prosecutors on the methods and techniques of dealing with cases of TIP. In 2003, the DoJ Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance and Training, trained prosecutors, police, judges, NGO representatives from different countries including officials from Albania, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cost Rica, Czech Republic, El Salvador, Hungary, India, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Nepal, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement staff provided briefing to representatives from over forty countries on new statutes, TVPA immigration relief, and victim’s assistance procedures.89 Similarly, USAID trained officers in the Juvenile Protection Squad of the Haitian Police in methods of investigating and prosecuting traffickers, and as well as building advocacy and leadership capacity at various levels in East Asian region (Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos) to support anti-trafficking campaigns. The USAID in collaboration with the UN Development Funds for Women (UNIFEM) and the Academy of Educational Development is supporting countries in the South Asian region to design legal frameworks relevant to combat TIP.90 In 2003, the Senior Policy Group on TIP (set up by the U.S. government) selected Brazil, Mexico, Moldova, India, Cambodia, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Indonesia as priority countries to channel U.S. efforts at combating human trafficking. Through collaboration with these governments, individualized task force-based programs were established to investigate human trafficking and related crimes in these countries.91 In June 22 and 23, 2004, the Civil Rights Division of DoJ sent one of its prosecutors, Hillary Axam to provide expert training service to the training of anti-trafficking prosecutors in South Africa.92 In some Asian countries (Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore etc.), for example, the USAID, DoS and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are funding preventive and technical programs.93 Furthermore, the U.S. government is involved in public information programs to raise awareness through bilateral and multilateral relations with foreign governments about TIP. In 2002, President Bush signed a Trafficking in Persons National Security Presidential Directive which commits the U.S. government to raising awareness about human trafficking. Since 2000, the U.S. government has provided more than $295 million to support anti-trafficking awareness programs in more than 120 countries.94

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 193

08-10-2021 11:27:36

194

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

The U.S. government has demonstrated leadership in awareness-raising on this issue in different international and regional forums. For example, in February 2003, the U.S. government hosted an international conference in partnership with the non-governmental War Against Trafficking Alliance on Path-breaking Strategies in Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking, which was attended by over 400 activists from 113 countries.95 In 2003, the USAID missions and regional bureaus provided approximately $5.7 million to Central and Southeast Europe and Eurasia, $3.2 million to Asia, $2.5 million to Africa and $1.0 million to Latin America and the Caribbean.96 The USAID in partnership with local and international NGOs, national governments and U.S. embassies has established return and reintegration programs (in Ethiopia); legal, psychological, and social support programs (in Democratic Republic of Congo); and rehabilitation programs (in Nigeria) to assist victims of TIP. The U.S. government is also raising awareness through the publication of the TIP report. Through the report the U.S. government has been able to assess steps taken by countries to combat severe forms of trafficking. It uses the report as a diplomatic tool for continued dialogue, encouragement for actions of some government and as a guide to channel resources to prosecution, protection and prevention programs and policies. Table 8.1 shows the ranking of countries on the three-tier placement system by the U.S. Department of State for June 2019. As expected, the United States is ranked in tier 1 on the table. Based on the June 2019 TIP report, there were thirty-five countries in Tier 1, eighty-nine countries in Tier 2, forty-nine countries in the Tier 2 Watch List and nineteen countries in Tier 3. A special case category was added to the list, comprising of three countries (Libya, Somalia, and Yemen). There are rewards and penalties for compliance and noncompliance. Countries that are making serious and sustained progress to comply with the minimum standard for the elimination of TIP are rewarded through assistance. Countries that do not fully comply with the minimum standard but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards are put under Watch List to receive special scrutiny. Those countries that are not in full compliance and not making any significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards are assessed and may be recommended for certain sanctions such as withholding nonhumanitarian, non-trade-related assistance. Where a country does not receive such assistance, the U.S. government might apply withholding of assistance for participation in educational and cultural exchange programs or oppose any non-humanitarian or certain nondevelopment-related assistance by the international financial institutions (e.g., the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks, such as the Work Bank).97

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 194

08-10-2021 11:27:36

195

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons Table 8.1  Tier placements, June 2019 Tier 1 Argentina Australia Austria The Bahamas Bahrain Belgium Canada

Chile Colombia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Finland France

Georgia Guyana Israel Korea, South Lithuania Luxembourg Namibia

Netherlands New Zealand Norway Philippines Portugal Singapore Slovenia

Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan United Kingdom United State of America

Jamaica Japan

Morocco Mozambique

St. Maarten Slovakia

Kenya Kosovo Kuwait Laos Latvia Lebanon Liberia Madagascar Malawi

Nepal Niger North Macedonia Oman Palau Panama Paraguay Peru Poland

Solomon Islands South Africa Suriname Tajikistan Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia

Malta

Qatar

Turkey

Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Sierra Leone

Rwanda Saint Lucia St. Vincent The Grenadines Serbia

Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay Vanuatu Zimbabwe

Cameroon Chad Hong Kong Curacao Jordan Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Rep. Macau Senegal

Guinea Guinea Bissau Sudan Ireland Nigeria Pakistan Romania Saudi Arabia Zambia

Maldives Mali Marshall Islands Mauritania Timor-Leste Uganda Uzbekistan Vietnam

Burundi China Comoros Cuba

Eritrea Iran Korea, North Lesotho

Nicaragua Syria Papua New Guinea Turkmenistan Russia Venezuela South Sudan

Somalia

Yemen

Tier 2 Albania Ecuador Angola Egypt Antigua and Barbuda El Salvador Bangladesh Eswatini Benin Ethiopia Bolivia Gabon Botswana Germany Brazil Ghana Bulgaria Greece Burkina Faso Guatemala Cabo Verde Haiti Central African Rep Honduras Congo, Rep of The Hungary Costa Rica Iceland Cote D’Ivoire India Croatia Indonesia Denmark Iraq Djibouti Italy Montenegro

Tier 2 Watchlist Armenia Aruba Azerbaijan Barbados Belize Dominican Rep Equatorial Guinea Fiji The Gambia

Seychelles Sri Lanka Congo, Democratic Rep Tanzania Bhutan Bosnia & Herzegovina Brunei Cambodia

Tier 3 Afghanistan Algeria Belarus Burma

Special Case Libya

Source: U.S. Department of State. “Tier Placements.” Trafficking in Persons Report, 20th Edition, P. 55. June 2020. Available at: 2020-TIP-Report-Complete-062420-FINAL - Copy​.p​df

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 195

08-10-2021 11:27:36

196

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

Recently, the U.S. government introduced the publication of an interim assessment in January intended to serve as a tool to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that are in danger of slipping a tier. The interim report also focuses on concrete actions taken by foreign governments since the June 2004 TIP report. Although the United States can use sanctions, none has been imposed on any country. DOMESTIC EFFORTS The United States is one of the largest destination countries for trafficked persons. Governmental efforts at eliminating TIP are multifaceted based on prevention, protection, and prosecution of the traffickers. Since September 2001, the U.S. government has adopted multipronged strategy involving government departments, agencies, and advocacy groups to deal with trafficking and its attendant problems. These strategies include: The use of public awareness programs to educate the public on the evils and dangers of TIP and slavery through: information sharing and dissemination by government agencies; and creation of victims’ organizations and encouragement to witnesses to report cases of trafficking to the appropriate authorities. Toll-free hotline numbers have been created to encourage and facilitate the reporting process. For instance, more than half of the totals of 153 investigations opened in April 2004 were initiated because of the “Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line” (1-888-428-7581). Another strategy is through the training and empowerment of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, immigration officials and child protection work. In 2003, the DoJ formed a multidisciplinary task force in four centers, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and Tampa to train and educate officials in dealing with traffickers and their victims. Accordingly, between June 2003 and June 2004, conferences and training sessions were organized by the FBI and by DoJ in various centers across the United States for law enforcement officers, prosecutors, child protection agencies, advocacy immigrant rights groups, and faith-based organizations, and so on.98 Another strategy is the provision of health-care services to victims by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The DHHS provides victims with letters of certification and eligibility that allow them to access most benefits and services akin to those offered to refugees. In 2003, the DHHS issued $3.48 million to 15 organizations to help victims of trafficking with a variety of services such as temporary housing, skills acquisition, cultural orientation, transportation needs, education, and legal assistance. The DHHS provided 151 certifications and benefits eligibility letters (of which

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 196

08-10-2021 11:27:36

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

197

145 letters were issued to adults and 6 were issued to children).99 The DHHS has also embarked on a sustained outreach campaign program entitled “Look Beneath the Surface” which is intended to last for twenty-four months from 2003 through 2005 to educate the public about human trafficking and the benefits and services available to victims. Another strategy is the provision of legal assistance to victims. According to U.S. government records, between 2001 and 2004, the DoJ prosecuted the largest trafficking cases which involved over 200 Vietnamese and Chinese nationals trafficked to the American Samoa.100 The DoJ’s Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) awarded twelve grants of more than $9.5 million to NGOs for the purpose of providing trafficked victims with comprehensive or specialized services.101 Also, in 2003, the Legal Service Corporation grantees assisted a total of eighty-one victims.102 Furthermore, the U.S. government provides immigration benefits to victims. There are two types of immigration benefits provided to victims stipulated in the TVPA—the continued presence to temporarily remain in the U.S. visa to enable federal law enforcement to determine if there are potential witnesses to trafficking; and the “T” nonimmigrant visa issued to victims who comply reasonably with requests for assistance to investigate or prosecute acts of trafficking. Under the “T” visa, victims remain in the United States for three years and can thereafter apply for permanent residency. In September 2003, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) granted an estimated 374 continued presence requests for victims to be repatriated to their home countries. In November 2003, the DHS received 757 “T” visa applications and granted 328; denied 38 and the remaining was pending.103 The United States is the only country that offers the possibility of permanent residency to victims of severe form of trafficking.104 Since the creation of the new immigration benefits in 2003, about 450 victims of trafficking have accessed immigration benefits either received continued presence or “T” nonimmigrant status.105 Finally, the U.S. government supports the anti-trafficking efforts through investigation and prosecution of traffickers. Investigating and prosecuting TIP cases is among the most laborious and time-intensive due to language barriers; the clandestine nature of the crime; the involvement of multiple agencies within the United States and overseas; and the use of rape counsellors, psychiatrists, sex and trauma experts and other professionals. In 2001 through 2003, the DoJ Civil Rights Division and the Attorneys Offices initiated prosecutions of 110 traffickers, nearly a threefold increase from the previous 3 years. From 2001 to 2003, the DoJ secured seventy-eight convictions and guilty pleas, a 50 percent increase over the previous three years.106 By April 2004, the Civil Rights Division opened 153 cases.107 Some of the high-profile prosecutions include United States v. Soto-Huarto (SD Texas)

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 197

08-10-2021 11:27:37

198

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

Table 8.2  All trafficking prosecutions 1998 to 2019 Years 1998-2000 2001-2006 2007-2019

Investigations Open 100 149 606

Defendants Charged

Defendants Convicted

48 149 575

43 104 339

Source: Feehs and Currier, 2019. Federal Human Trafficking Report (2020).109

2003 (Soto received the longest sentence of thirty-three years under TVPA); United States v. Kil Soo Lee 2003; United States v. Jimene-Calderon (D.NY) 2004; United States v. Navovasaisri (DNY) 2004, and so on.108 As Table 8.2 shows, there has been a dramatic increase in human trafficking prosecutions in United States from 1998 to 2019. The increase in the rate of investigations and prosecutions was made possible by the passage of the TVPA which expanded not only the crimes but the length of sentence and provided for forfeiture and mandatory restitution. Table 8.3, on the other hand, shows only percentage of TVPA prosecutions and prison sentences from 2000 to 2015. ASSESSMENT The TVPA marked a significant stride in U.S. efforts not only to combat TIP at the domestic level but to persuade other countries to eliminate this pernicious trade worldwide. However, although, noble and desirable are the efforts of the United States toward the elimination of TIP worldwide, these efforts are largely supply-driven and lacking in tackling the underlying structural problems of the US-led global economy which feeds on slavery, peonage, exploitation, and servitude. These structures include, but not limited to, the existence of underground/informal economy, homelessness, and low wages in some sectors of the economy. Anti-trafficking programs, therefore, should also include demand-driven measures that address the unmet labor requirements, and reduce the incentives to traffickers. Measured in terms of the aspiration and objectives of the U.S. government, the progress of the TVPA has been minimal at best. For instance, as shown in Tables 8.2 and 8.3, the number of prosecutions and convictions has remained low compared to the annual flow of trafficked persons into the United States. In 2003, for example, there were only 8,000 prosecutions and 2,800 convictions worldwide. The poor record of anti-trafficking measures can be explained in part, in terms of the ambivalence of some governments to implement measures, the clandestine nature of trafficking activity, the lack of reportage of traffickers by their victims and lack of funding available for anti-trafficking programs and projects. For example, since 2001, the U.S.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 198

08-10-2021 11:27:37

199

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

Table 8.3  Percentage of human-trafficking suspects prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison, 2000–2015

Fiscal year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Convictions 132 143 175 240 259 317 333 377 410 429 425 452 570 604 722 759

Suspects prosecuted (%) 53.6 53.3 51.6 58.9 53.6 58 58.4 61.8 54.5 57.2 57.2 58.1 60 60.4 62.5 59.2

Defendants convicted (%)

Convicted defendants sentenced to prison (%)

91.7 95 91.8 92.9 92.3 93.4 91.8 94.6 91.5 91.6 92.7 93.4 91.5 92.2 89.6 93.2

91.7 94.7 92.1 97.2 99.2 97.5 99.1 98.4 98.6 98.2 99.5 97.6 99.5 98.4 99.9 99

Source: Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal years 2000–2015.

government has provided a trifling sum of $295 million to support antitrafficking projects in 120 countries. This figure is a pittance in relation to the magnitude and gravity of the problem. Although there is evidence that the U.S. government is investing its energy and millions of dollars to support projects and programs in many countries, it is hard to assess the impact of these programs on TIP on a global scale. It still needs to give more priority attention and funding and needs to apply the stipulations of the TVPA equally and fairly to all countries. The TVPA has been criticized in some quarters that it does not give the full story on global slavery.110 For instance, the report focuses only on government action rather than on total slavery within a nation’s border. This narrow focus obliques the realities in these countries. It has been noted that countries can introduce anti-trafficking legislation but are unable to implement them and punish perpetrators. For example, the 2004 and 2005 TIP report ranked South Korea in tier 1. However, it is estimated that 15,000 people are trafficked yearly in South Korea.111 Furthermore, critics of U.S. policy under TVPA argue that the government has given wide latitude to the standard, especially under tier 2 as a way of keeping strategic allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia (which has slipped from tier 2 in 2004 to tier 3 in 2005) from being hit by sanctions. It

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 199

08-10-2021 11:27:37

200

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

is, therefore, weak to force real behavior change. NGOs who are critical of US-Saudi Arabia relations point to the fact that Saudi Arabia has launched no anti-trafficking law and has prosecuted no offender and continue to use child labor in its recreation industry. Yet the U.S. government has not imposed any sanctions on Saudi Arabia or any noncompliant countries.112 Critics also point out that some of the Middle Eastern and North African countries (e.g., Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Oman, Yemen) may have been moved up the TVPA placement ranking because the U.S. government is courting them to support its war on terror, because there is a lack of evidence that these countries have really progressed in the fight against human bondage.113 Finally, as one of the largest destinations for trafficked persons, the United States needs to pursue aggressive and proactive demand-driven measures. Demand-driven measures will among other things reduce the incentive in origin countries to supply trafficked persons to work in various factories in the demand economies and reduce the profit incentives to the unscrupulous traffickers and slave dealers. More developed countries need to introduce demand-driven anti-trafficking measures to support the U.S. efforts. CONCLUSION It has been the task of this chapter to examine the causes, scope, and the profit of the global TIP. The scope of the illicit trade is huge and multifaceted and the explanations as to why people are trafficked are diverse and vary from country to country. Generally, TIP is caused by several economic, social, cultural, and security factors and facilitated by the process of globalization which sustains the underground economy. The chapter also examined the various international attempts through the UN to combat the obnoxious trade in persons. The twenty-first century has witnessed an exponential increase in human trafficking exacerbated by the process of globalization, hence efforts by both international organizations and states to combat it. The chapter noted that the United States is by far one of the largest destination countries for trafficked persons and, therefore, provided global leadership in the fight against TIP. The chapter further showed that its proactive and aggressive posture became overt and robust after the events of September 2001. The events provided a logical rationale to pursue an aggressive anti-trafficking policy. TVPA provides the legal framework for U.S. domestic and global campaign for the elimination of the severe forms of TIP and the chapter examined some of the overtures by the U.S. government to support anti-trafficking measures. The chapter noted that funding for global anti-trafficking programs by the United

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 200

08-10-2021 11:27:37

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

201

States are inadequate. Although the United States parades itself as providing global leadership in the war against TIP, it has failed to ratify the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons which came into force in 2003. The TVPA requires the Department of State to produce an annual report which among other things ranks countries according to anti-trafficking measures taken to address TIP. Based on the TIP report, the U.S. government can impose sanctions on countries that are not making any significant efforts to combat TIP. Although the result from the U.S. efforts have been minimal, for the TIP report to be credible and sustain the support of countries and the international community, it must be fair in its reporting.

NOTES 1. This chapter was originally published as Obuah, Emmanuel. “Combating Global Trafficking in Persons: the Role of the United States Post-September 2001.” International Politics, Vol. 43 (2006): 241–265. DOI: doi:10.1057/palgrave. ip.8800142. Reprinted here with permission. 2. International Criminal Court (ICC). Establishing a Permanent International Criminal Court in 1998. Accessed June 7, 2002. www​.u​​n​.org​​/law/​​icc​/s​​tatut​​e​/99_​​corr/​​ cstat​​ute​.h​​tml. 3. Bush, G. “Address to the United Nations General Assembly,” 2003. Accessed March 4, 2003. www​.whitehouse​.gov​/news/ relea​se/20​03/09​/prin​t/200​​30923​​-4​.ht​​ ml​​.Se​e also; USAID. Trafficking in Persons: USAID’s Response, 2004. Accessed August 3, 2004. www​ .usaid​ .gov. See also; Masci, D. “Human Trafficking and Slavery,” Global Issues (2005): 251–272, and Department of State (DoS). Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, DC, 2005a. 4. Free the Slaves. Slavery today 2003. Accessed March3, 2004. www​.f​​reeth​​ eslav​​es​.ne​​t​/sla​​very_​​today​​/inde​​x​.htm​​l. 5. Save the Children. The fight against Child Trafficking, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sav​​ethec​​hildr​​en​.or​​g​/us/​​chari​​ty​-st​​ories​​/chil​​d​-tra​​ffick​​​ing​ -a​​waren​​ess. 6. OHCHR. “Human Rights Standards and Practices for the Police.” Expanded pocketbook on human rights for the police. United Nations, New York, and Geneva, 2004. 7. Department of State (DoS). Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act 2000: Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington DC, July 2001. 8. Pompeo, Mike. Message from the secretary of State on the 20th Anniversary of the TVPA Report. US Department of State, 2020. 9. National Human Trafficking Hotline. Hotline Statistics, 2021. Accessed March 8, 2021. https​:/​/hu​​mantr​​affic​​kingh​​otlin​​e​.org​​/​stat​​es. 10. Department of Justice. “Fact Sheet Accomplishment in the Fight to Prevent Trafficking in Persons,” 2003a. Accessed May 6, 2003. www​.usdoj​.gov​/opa​/pr​/2003​ /February​/03 crt 110​.ht​m.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 201

08-10-2021 11:27:38

202

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

11. Bales, K. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. California: University of California Press, 1999. 12. Kyle, D. and Koslowski, R. “Introduction.” In D. Kyle and R. Koslowski (eds.), Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001: 1–25. 13. Ibid. 14. Barry, K. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York: New York University Press, 1995. See also; Jerrys, S. The Idea of Prostitution. Melbourne: Spinifex, 1997. See also; Kempadoo, K. and Doezema, J. (eds.). Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. London: Routledge, 1998, and Raymond, J. Guide to the New UN Trafficking Protocol. Massachusetts: North Amherst CATW, 2001. 15. Masika, R. (ed.). Gender, Trafficking, and Slavery. Oxford: Oxfam, 2002. 16. Anderson, B., and Davidson, J.O. “Trafficking: A Demand Led Problem?” A Multi-Country Pilot Study. Stockholm: Save the Children Sweden, 2002. 17. Jordan, A.D. “Human Rights or Wrong? The Struggle for a Rights-Based Response to Trafficking in Human Beings.” In R. Masika (ed.), Gender, Trafficking, and Slavery. Oxford: Oxfam, 2002: 28–37. 18. Ibid. 19. Hollifield, J.F. Immigrants, Markets, and States: The political economy of Post war Europe. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992. See also; Joppke, C. “Why Liberal States Accept Unwanted Migration.” World Politics 50, no. 2 (1998): 266–293. See also; Ibid, Kyle and Koslowski, 2001. See also; Rijken, C. Trafficking in Persons: Prosecution from a European Perspective. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2003, and Cornelius, W.A., Takeyuki, T., Phllip, L.M., James, F.H. (eds). Controlling Immigration: A Global Perspective, 2nd edn. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004. 20. Free the Slaves. “Slavery still Exists today,” 2003. Accessed March3, 2004. www​.f​​reeth​​eslav​​es​.ne​​t​/sla​​very_​​today​​/inde​​x​.htm​​l. See also; Masci, D. “Human Trafficking and Slavery,” Global Issues (2005): 251–272. 21. Ibid, Free the Slaves, 2003. 22. Following the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War and other geopolitical changes in the world which intensified human trafficking, the UN in 2000 approved the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish the Trafficking in Persons. 23. Coalition against trafficking in Women (CATW). Guide to the New UN Trafficking Protocol, 2001. Accessed February 25, 2001. http:​/​/act​​ion​.w​​eb​.ca​​/home​​/ catw​​/atta​​ch​/un​​_prot​​​ocol.​​pdf. 24. Ibid. 25. ECOWAS. ECOWAS Initial Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons (2002–2003), Dakar: Ecowas’ Executive Secretariat, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2001. www​.u​​nodc.​​org​/p​​df​/cr​​ime​/t​​raffi​​cking​​/Mini​​mum​_P​​lan_ CEDEAO​.pd​f. See also; Ibid, Rijken, 2003. 26. President George W. Bush signs H.R. 972, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2006. The bill directs the U.S. Agency for International Development

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 202

08-10-2021 11:27:38

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

203

(USAID), the State Dept., and Dept. of Defense to incorporate anti-trafficking and protection measures for vulnerable populations, particularly women and children, into their post-conflict and humanitarian emergency assistance and program activities. 27. Ucarer, E. “Trafficking in Women: Alternative Migration or Modern Slave Trade?.” In M. Meyer and E. Prugal (eds.), Gender Politics in Global Governance. London: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. 28. Ibid, Rijken, 2003. 29. Ibid. 30. Ibid, Anderson and Davidson, 2002. 31. United Nations. UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. New York: UN, 2001. See also; Department of State (DoS). “Legal Building Blocks to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” 2004c. Accessed March 21, 2004. www​.state​.gov​ /g​/tip​/rls​/19087​.htm. 32. Department of Justice. “Assessment of US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” DOJ: Washington D.C, June 2004. Accessed May 5, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj.​​gov​/c​​rt​/cr​​im​/we​​tf​/us​​_asse​​ssmen​​t​_200​​4​.pdf​. 33. Ibid, Bales, 1999. See also; Free Slaves, 2003. 34. Ibid, Kyle and Koslowski, 2001. 35. Ibid, Morrison, 2000. See also; Ibid, Jordan, 2002; and Ibid, Rijken, 2003. 36. Ibid, Bales, 1999. See also; Ibid, Jordan, 2002; see also; Kelly, 2002; see also; Rijken, 2003; and Department of State (DoS). Trafficking in Persons Report June 2004, Washington DC, Publication 115, 2004b. 37. Ibid, Morrison, 2000. See also; Ibid, Jordan, 2002; and Ibid, Rijken, 2003. 38. Ibid, Kyle and Koslowski, 2001. 39. Ibid, Hollifield, 1992. See also; Ibid, Joppka, 1998; and Ibid, Cornelius et al., 2004. 40. Foo, L.J. Asian American Women: Issues, and Responsive Human and Civil Rights Advocacy. USA: Ford Foundation, 2002. Accessed May 4, 2002. www​.aapip​ .org​/pdfs​/aaw. 41. Kyle, D. and Dale, J. “Smuggling the State Back in: Agents of Human Smuggling Reconsidered.” In D. Kyle and R. Koslowski (eds.), Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001: 30–57. 42. Ibid. 43. Ibid, Bales, 1999. 44. Ibid. 45. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 46. Kelly, L. Surviving Sexual Violence. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1987. See also; Kelly, L. and Regan, L. Rhetoric and Realities: Sexual Exploitation of Children in Europe. London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, 2000. 47. Department of State (DoS). “Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment,” January 2005. Accessed December 22, 2004. www​.state gov/documents/organization/40419​.pd​f. 48. ILO. “A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor.” A Report of the DirectorGenera International Labor Conference 93rd Session, Geneva, 2005.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 203

08-10-2021 11:27:38

204

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

49. UNESC. “Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund on the Work of its First Regular Session of 2004. UN: New York. E/2004/34 (part 1),” 2004. Accessed May 8, 2003. www​.unicef​.org/ about/execboard/files/04​ -7​_Part1​.​pdf. 50. Miko, F.T. and Park, G. (Jea-Hyun). “Trafficking in Women and Children: The US and International Response.” A CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, 2002. 51. Ren, X. “Trafficking in Children: China and Asian perspective. National and International Perspective.” International Bureau for Children’s Rights, 2004. Accessed July 13, 2003. www​.ibcr​.org/ PAGE_EN/2004Conference document/Ren​ _ENG​.p​df. 52. Ibid, Masci, 2005. 53. iAbolish. Slavery Still Exists, 2005a. Accessed June 26, 2004. www​.i​​aboli​​sh​ .co​​m​/tod​​ay​/ba​​ckgro​​und​/w​​orldw​​ide​-e​​vil​.h​​tm. 54. Ibid, Miko and Park, 2002. 55. Ibid. 56. Ibid, Masci, 2005. 57. Ibid. 58. Ibid, CATW, 2001. 59. Ibid, Masci, 2005. 60. A reasonable statistical projection is that 15 percent of the sexually exploited population, or 30,000 women and children, die every year. Over a ten-year span, it is more than those killed by the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Therefore, it is the most compelling human rights problem of our time. Yet, this tragic situation is causing few concerns among most governments of the world. 61. Department of Justice. ‘Fact Sheet ‘Accomplishment in the Fight to Prevent Trafficking in Persons,” 2003a. Accessed May 6, 2003. www​.usdoj​.gov​/opa​/pr​/2003​ /February​/03 crt 110​.ht​m. 62. Department of Justice. “Assessment of US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” DOJ: Washington D.C, June 2004. Accessed May 5, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj.​​gov​/c​​rt​/cr​​im​/we​​tf​/us​​_asse​​ssmen​​t​_200​​4​.pdf​. 63. Richard, A.O. “International Trafficking in Women to the United States: a Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime.” USA: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000. See also; Ibid, Foo, 2002. 64. Ibid, Foo, 2002. 65. Ibid. 66. Ibid, UNESC, 2004. 67. Ashcroft, J. “Speeches delivered on human trafficking,” 2004a. Accessed June 12, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj.​​gov​/a​​rchiv​​e​/ag/​​speec​​hes​/2​​004​/7​​1604h​​umant​​raffi​​cking​​ agfin​​al​.ht​​m. See also; Ibid, Masci, 2005. 68. Ibid, Bales, 1999. See also; Ibid, Kyle and Dale, 2001. 69. Ibid, Richard, 2000. 70. Ibid. 71. Ibid. 72. Ibid. See also, Free the Slaves, 2004.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 204

08-10-2021 11:27:38

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

205

73. TVPA, 2000. 74. Ibid, Richard, 2000. 75. Ibid, Free the Slaves, 2004. 76. Ibid, TVPA, 2000. 77. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 78. Department of State (DoS). “Facts About Human Trafficking,” 2004a. Accessed May 12, 2004. www​.state​.gov​/g​/tip. 79. Ibid, Dos, 2004b. 80. Ibid, Kyle and Dale, 2001. 81. Ibid. 82. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 83. Ibid, DOJ, 2003a. See also; Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 84. President Bush on Friday urged aggressive law enforcement to combat the crime of human trafficking, as the president zeroed in on a critical section of Florida’s electorate that could tip the state to Bush or John Kerry in November. 85. Ibid, USAID, 2003. 86. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004a. See also; Ashcroft, J. Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on US Government, 2004b. 87. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. 88. Ibid. 89. Ibid, DoJ, 2003a. See also; Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. 90. Ibid, USAID, 2004. 91. Civil Rights Division DOJ. “National Trafficking Conference Expands Task Force Approach.” In Anti-Trafficking News Bulletin, vol. 1, 6 (2004). Accessed January 13, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj/​​crt​/c​​rim​/t​​raffi​​cking​​_news​​lette​​r/ antitraffnews​-june04​.p​df. 92. Ibid. 93. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. See also; Ibid, USAID, 2004. 94. The information was provided through the whitehouse press release in 2004. 95. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 96. Ibid, USAID, 2004. 97. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 98. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. 99. Ibid, DoJ, 2004. 100. Ibid, DoJ, 2004. 101. Ibid, DoS, 2004b. 102. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. 103. Ibid. 104. Ibid. 105. Ibid. 106. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. See also; Ibid, DoJ, 2004. 107. Ibid, Ashcroft, 2004b. 108. Ibid, Civil Rights Division DoJ, 2004. 109. Feehs, Kyleigh and Alyssa Currier. Federal Human Trafficking Report, 2019. Human Trafficking Institute (2020). Accessed February 18, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.tra​​ ffick​​ingin​​stitu​​te​.or​​g​/fed​​eral-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-​re​​port-​​2019/​.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 205

08-10-2021 11:27:39

206

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

110. Ibid, Masci, 2005. 111. Ibid. 112. Ibid. 113. Ibid.

REFERENCES Anderson, B., and Davidson, J.O. “Trafficking: A Demand Led Problem?” A MultiCountry Pilot Study, Stockholm: Save the Children Sweden, 2002. Ashcroft, J. “Speeches delivered on human trafficking, 2004a.” Accessed June 12, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj.​​gov​/a​​rchiv​​e​/ag/​​speec​​hes​/2​​004​/7​​1604h​​umant​​raffi​​cking​​agfin​​al​.ht​​ m. Ashcroft, J. “Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on US Government, 2004b.” Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003, Washington DC: US Department of Justice. Bales, K. Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy. California: University of California Press, 1999. Barry, K. The Prostitution of Sexuality. New York: New York University Press, 1995. Bureau of Justice Statistics, based on data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, Criminal Master File, fiscal years 2000–2015. Bush, G. “Address to the United Nations General Assembly 2003.” Accessed March 4, 2003. www​.whitehouse​.gov​/news/ release/2003/09/print/20030923​-4​.ht​ml. Bush, G. “Whitehouse News Release, 2004.” Accessed February 21, 2004. www​.w​​ hiteh​​ouse.​​gov​/n​​ews​/r​​eleas​​e​/200​​4​/07/​​print​​/2004​​16​-11​​.html​. Civil Rights Division DOJ. “National Trafficking Conference Expands Task Force Approach.” In Anti-Trafficking News Bulletin, vol. 1, 6 (2004). Accessed January 13, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj/​​crt​/c​​rim​/t​​raffi​​cking​​_news​​lette​​r/ antitraffnews​ -june04​.p​df. Coalition Against trafficking in Women (CATW). “Guide to the New UN Trafficking Protocol, 2001.” Accessed February 25, 2001. http:​/​/act​​ion​.w​​eb​.ca​​/home​​/catw​​/atta​​ ch​/un​​_prot​​​ocol.​​pdf. Cornelius WA, Takeyuki T, Phillip LM, James FH (eds). Controlling immigration: a global perspective, 2nd edn. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2004. Department of State (DoS). “Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act 2000.” Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington DC, July 2001. Department of State (DoS). “Facts About Human Trafficking, 2004a.” Accessed May 12, 2004. www​.state​.gov​/g​/tip. Department of State (DoS). “Trafficking in Persons Report June 2004.” Washington DC, Publication 115, 2004b. Department of State (DoS). “Legal Building Blocks to Combat Trafficking in Persons, 2004c.” Accessed March 21, 2004. www​.state​.gov​/g​/tip​/rls​/19087​.htm. Department of State (DoS). Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, DC, 2005a.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 206

08-10-2021 11:27:39

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

207

Department of State (DoS). Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment, January 2005. Accessed December 22, 2004. www​.state gov/documents/organization/40419​.pd​f. Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report, 2019. Accessed February 16, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. Department of Justice. ‘Fact Sheet ‘Accomplishment in the Fight to Prevent Trafficking in Persons”, 2003a. Accessed May 6, 2003. www​.usdoj​.gov​/opa​/pr​ /2003​/February​/03 crt 110​.ht​m. Department of Justice. “Assessment of US Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” August 2003b. Accessed June 4, 2004. www​.usdoj​.gov​/05publications​ /05​_3​_a​.html. Department of Justice. “Assessment of US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” DOJ: Washington D.C, June 2004. Accessed May 5, 2004. www​.u​​sdoj.​​gov​/c​​rt​/cr​​im​/we​​tf​/us​​_asse​​ssmen​​t​_200​​4​.pdf​. ECOWAS. ECOWAS Initial Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons (2002– 2003), Dakar: Ecowas’ Executive Secretariat, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2001. www​.u​​nodc.​​org​/p​​df​/cr​​ime​/t​​raffi​​cking​​/Mini​​mum​_P​​lan_ CEDEAO​.pd​f. ECOWAS. Declaration on the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons, Dakar: ECOWAS’ Executive Secretariat, 2001. Accessed October 14, 2002. www​.u​​nodc.​​ org​/p​​df​/cr​​ime​/t​​raffi​​cking​​/Decl​​arati​​on​_CE​​DEAO.​​pdf. Feehs, Kyleigh and Alyssa Currier. “Federal Human Trafficking Report 2019.” Human Trafficking Institute (2020). Accessed February 18, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.tra​​ ffick​​ingin​​stitu​​te​.or​​g​/fed​​eral-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-​re​​port-​​2019/​. Foo, L.J. “Asian American Women: Issues, and Responsive.” Human and Civil Rights Advocacy, USA: Ford Foundation, 2002. Accessed May 4, 2002. www​ .aapip​.org​/pdfs​/aaw. Free the Slaves. “Slavery Still Exists today.” 2003. Accessed March3, 2004. www​.f​​ reeth​​eslav​​es​.ne​​t​/sla​​very_​​today​​/inde​​x​.htm​​l. Free the Slaves. Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States. Washington, DC, and Human Rights Center, Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004. Hollifield, J.F. Immigrants, Markets, and States: The political economy of Post war Europe, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1992. Human rights First. Fact Sheet, 2017. Accessed January 12, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hum​​ anrig​​htsfi​​rst​.o​​rg​/si​​tes​/d​​efaul​​t​/fil​​es​/Tr​​affic​​kingb​​​ytheN​​umber​​s​.pdf​. iAbolish. Slavery Still Exists, 2005a. Accessed June 26, 2004. www​.i​​aboli​​sh​.co​​m​/tod​​ ay​/ba​​ckgro​​und​/w​​orldw​​ide​-e​​vil​.h​​tm. iAbolish, 2005b. Accessed May 5, 2004. www​.i​​aboli​​sh​.co​​m​/tod​​ay​/ex​​perie​​nce​/b​​ ecomi​​ng​.ht​​m. International Criminal Court (ICC). Establishing a Permanent International Criminal Court in 1998. Accessed June 7, 2002. www​.u​​n​.org​​/law/​​icc​/s​​tatut​​e​/99_​​corr/​​cstat​​ ute​.h​​tml. ILO. “A Global Alliance Against Forced Labor.” A Report of the Director-Genera International Labor Conference 93rd Session, Geneva, 2005. Jerrys, S. The Idea of Prostitution. Melbourne: Spinifex, 1997. Joppke, C. “Why Liberal States Accept Unwanted Migration.” World Politics 50, 2 (1998): 266–293.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 207

08-10-2021 11:27:39

208

Emmanuel Ezi Obuah

Jordan, A.D. “Human Rights or Wrong? The Struggle for a Rights-Based Response to Trafficking in Human Beings.” In R. Masika (ed.), Gender, Trafficking, and Slavery, Oxford: Oxfam, 2002: 28–37. Kelly, E. Journeys of Jeopardy: A Review of Research on Trafficking in Women and Children in Europe. London: IOM, 2002. Kelly, L. Surviving Sexual Violence. Cambridge: Polity Press, 1987. Kelly, L. and Regan, L. “Rhetoric and Realities: Sexual Exploitation of Children in Europe.” London: Child and Woman Abuse Studies Unit, 2000. Kempadoo, K. and Doezema, J. (eds.). Global Sex Workers: Rights, Resistance, and Redefinition. London: Routledge, 1998. Kyle, D. and Dale, J. “Smuggling the State back in: Agents of Human Smuggling Reconsidered.” In D. Kyle and R. Koslowski (eds.), Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001: 30–57. Kyle, D. and Koslowski, R. “Introduction.” In D. Kyle and R. Koslowski (eds.), Global Human Smuggling: Comparative Perspectives. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001: 1–25. Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime, USA: Center for the Study of Intelligence. Rijken, C. Trafficking in Persons: Prosecution from a European Perspective. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2003. Masci, D. “Human Trafficking and Slavery.” Global Issues (2005): 251–272. Masika, R. (ed.) Gender, Trafficking, and Slavery. Oxford: Oxfam, 2002. Miko, F.T. and Park, G. (Jea-Hyun). “Trafficking in Women and Children: The US and International Response.” A CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service, The Library of Congress, 2002. Morrison, J. “Trafficking and Smuggling of Refugees: The End Game in European Asylum policy,” 2000. Accessed August 3, 2001. www​.u​​nhcr.​​ch​/re​​fworl​​d​/pub​​/ wpap​​ers​/w​​pno39​​.pdf. National Human Trafficking Hotline. Hotline Statistics, 2021. Accessed March 8, 2021. https​:/​/hu​​mantr​​affic​​kingh​​otlin​​e​.org​​/​stat​​es. OHCHR. “Human Rights Standards and Practices for the Police.” Expanded pocketbook on human rights for the police. United Nations, New York, and Geneva, 2004. Pompeo, Mike. Message from the secretary of State on the 20th Anniversary of the TVPA Report. US Department of State, 2020. Save the Children. The fight against Child Trafficking, 2015. Accessed March 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sav​​ethec​​hildr​​en​.or​​g​/us/​​chari​​ty​-st​​ories​​/chil​​d​-tra​​ffick​​​ing​-a​​waren​​ ess. Raymond, J. Guide to the New UN Trafficking Protocol. Massachusetts: North Amherst CATW, 2001. Ren, X. “Trafficking in Children: China and Asian perspective. National and International Perspective.” International Bureau for Children’s Rights, 2004. Accessed July 13, 2003. www​.ibcr​.org/ PAGE_EN/2004Conference document/ Ren​_ENG​.p​df.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 208

08-10-2021 11:27:39

Combating Global Trafficking in Persons

209

Richard, A.O. “International Trafficking in Women to the United States: a Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery and Organized Crime.” USA: Center for the Study of Intelligence, 2000. Rijken, C. Trafficking in Persons: Prosecution from a European Perspective. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press, 2003. Ucarer, E. “Trafficking in Women: Alternative Migration or Modern Slave Trade?” In M. Meyer and E. Prugal (eds.), Gender Politics in Global Governance. London: Rowman and Littlefield, 1999. United Nations. UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. New York: UN, 2001. UNESC. “Report of the Executive Board of the United Nations Children’s Fund on the Work of its First Regular Session of 2004. UN: New York. E/2004/34 (part 1).” 2004. Accessed May 8, 2003. www​.unicef​.org/ about/execboard/files/04​-7​_Part1​.​ pdf. USAID. Trafficking in Persons: the USAID Strategy for Response, 2003. Accessed March 16, 2003. www​.usaid​.gov. USAID. Trafficking in Persons: USAID’s Response, 2004. Accessed August 3, 2004. www​.usaid​.gov. Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, 2000. Accessed May 6, 2003. www​.state​.gov​/documents​/organization/ 10492​.pdf​#sea​rch 1/4 ‘TVPA%202000. Women’s Center-youth and family services. US Victims Statistics, 2021. Accessed March 5, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.wom​​ensce​​ntery​​fs​.or​​g​/ind​​ex​.ph​​p​/get​​-info​​/huma​​n​-tra​​ ffick​​​ing​/s​​tatis​​tics.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 209

08-10-2021 11:27:39

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 210

08-10-2021 11:27:39

Part 3

OVERVIEW OF REGIONAL UNDERCURRENTS

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 211

08-10-2021 11:27:40

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 212

08-10-2021 11:27:40

Chapter 9

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking in South 24 Parganas in the Sundarban Delta Region, India Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

Human trafficking or migrant/human smuggling refers to the process through which individuals are placed or maintained in an exploitative situation for economic gain and can occur either inside one’s own country or outside.1 It2 is an organized and transnational crime and a form of “disaster capitalism”3 that profits from the vulnerabilities, precarity, and exploitation of individuals and groups and enslaves women, children, and men for numerous purposes. It includes forced labor and sex and is one of the many forms of “modern slavery” or Commercial Sexual Exploitation (CSE).4 Inequalities within and between countries, increasingly restrictive immigration policies, and growing demand for cheap and disempowered labor are just some of the underlying causes identified as reasons for human trafficking. Human trafficking is marked by complexity, secrecy, illicitness, ambiguity and violence, all of which accounts for the difficulty in attaining accurate figures due to “guesstimates” and low conviction rates of the traffickers5 and explains why it falls under the rubric of shadow / illicit/underground/phantom economy. Feminists, human rights advocacy groups, and scholars like Jahic and Finckenauer6 and Weitzer7 draw a distinction where they emphasize that human trafficking and sex work should not be synonymous and not necessarily lead to the other.8 But while it is true that not all cases of human trafficking result in CSE, data suggests that sexual exploitation is by far the most identified form of human trafficking (79 percent), followed by forced labor (18 percent).9 A vast majority of the exploited come from the Global South and are sex slaves who face disempowerment, discrimination, dehumanization, and criminalization. Often, they 213

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 213

08-10-2021 11:27:40

214

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

also become victims of re-trafficking. It is also a fact that human trafficking, in general, affects both developed and developing nations. Still, it has a detrimental effect, particularly on vulnerable and poor communities and countries with poor socioeconomic indicators or, in other words, the Global South. A fractured socioeconomic condition and hybrid regime provide the perfect ecosystem for the nurturing and mushrooming of human trafficking, turning India into a source, destination, and transit country for trafficking for forced labor and CSE.10 Human trafficking is a bottomless pit with a rhizomatic growth having multiple nodes and fan out in different directions. It is an anti-modern and a feudal act that aims to colonize and control human bodies and which compromises and impedes human development goals like the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal 5 (Gender Equality), Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and Goal 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions). Human trafficking or “trafficking in persons” was ambiguous until the late 1990s and still suffers from a lack of a comprehensive definition that hinders discussions on trafficking and modern slavery. Its multiple interpretations probably become one of the many reasons for the low numbers of actual victims and abysmally low conviction rate of the traffickers. Moreover, there is a lack of accurate and reliable quantification system and the temporal restriction built into modern-day slavery, extending over an extensive period.11 According to Ronald Weitzer, “among the most serious issues are whether transit from one place to another is a necessary ingredient in human trafficking; whether a person’s consent is relevant; the line between smuggling and trafficking whether trafficking is distinct from slavery overlaps with it, or is synonymous with it; how exploitation is defined; and the status of bonded labour.”12 Simultaneously, the victims are hardly granted any rights in the destination countries, and cooperation with the police is limited due to fear or the fact that the police might be corrupt and involved in the crime.13 The first-ever agreed definition of trafficking was incorporated in 2000 in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Trafficking Protocol is also called the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNOTC) or the Palermo Convention with 190 parties including 185 United Nations member states (as of September 19, 2017).14 The Palermo definition is more inclined toward crime control and does not include human rights in its ambit.15 It is also soft on the protection and restitution of the victims. The Protocol’s emphasis on sexual exploitation condoned the fact of trafficking for forced labor.16 There are also valid concerns that the trafficking of women and children should not be lumped together but dealt with separately to understand the issue better. One of the primary reasons for the fast, complex, and highly networked spread of human trafficking has been the far-reaching, all-absorbing, and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 214

08-10-2021 11:27:40

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

215

accelerated pace of globalization, resulting in the commodification of human bodies, feminization of poverty and the workforce. Globalization associated with trade liberalization in the last few decades has had far-reaching effects worldwide, and nowhere have these effects been more pronounced than in South Asia. Loan conditionalities coupled with the “Structural Adjustment Programme” (SAP), privatization of public institutions, the introduction of “green” revolution technologies, and many such steps have led to the disintegration of rural communities. These programs have deprived people of their customary rights over common property resources in South Asia and caused severe ecological damage or ecocide. Globalization and liberal economic forces have led to an erosion of state capacity. A weakening of the provision of public goods and trafficking is a symptom of deprivation, as poverty is an essential factor leading to vulnerability. Disparities in economic and social conditions provide a clear explanation for the direction and flow of trafficking. Besides, improved means of transport and communication and increased mobility have facilitated a large-scale “flow” of people never like before in recorded history. However, this has also enabled transnational organized crime syndicates and trafficking rings to exploit vulnerable women and children for profit and contribute to human trafficking.17 The “mobility turn”18 has necessitated framing migration policies in countries both of origin and destination.19 Moreover, free-market fundamentalism has also helped overheat the planet, which has led to climate change in different parts of the world. As a result, many countries of South Asia have reached alarming stages of agricultural stagnation, which has increased the already growing pressures on rural economies. The situation is mainly prevalent in countries like India, where almost 70 percent of the population is dependent on agriculture, making a large section of the populace vulnerable to trafficking. During a crisis, the position of women becomes particularly vulnerable, and there is an increase in the number of women migrants as they are compelled to take on more responsibility in supporting their families financially. In some cases, promises of better-paid jobs, even the assurance of a new experience and exposure act as “pull factors” in this process. Similarly, the female migrant population is easily absorbed into low paying industry of caregivers as nannies, nurses, cooks, and maids in different parts of the world, particularly in the Global South. According to media reports, technology giants in the Silicon Valley like Apple, Facebook, and Google run apps that support the online slave market and are complicit in human trafficking.20 Human trafficking is contingent on the interaction of “push factors” (see Figure 9.1) that exist at the point of origin and motivate or compel people to leave their homes searching for better prospects and “pull factors” (see Figure 9.2) that operate at the point of destination and generate demand for exploitation.21 

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 215

08-10-2021 11:27:41

216

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

Figure 9.1  Push Factors. Source: Created by the Authors: Rana & Roy, 2021.

In India, the principal factors that contribute to vulnerability to trafficking include hunger,22 and poverty, illiteracy and unemployment, debt bondage, and uneven development. Besides, factors like unstable polity, social discrimination, low child sex ratio, gender-based violence, and family or marital separation or dysfunction, and crisis zones like war,23 or civil strife, migration, and substance abuse also encourage human trafficking. Furthermore, lack of educational or economic opportunity, poor social infrastructure, lack of awareness about trafficking, and cultural practices like child marriages bolster trafficking.24 Some reports indicate that trafficking young girls is also fuelled by the myth that intercourse with a virgin can cure a man of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and rejuvenate him. Migrant smuggling and human trafficking are particularly affected by geopolitical and socioeconomic factors, which vary significantly by region and drive vulnerable communities in those regions to migrate. While some of the preventive measures have effectively hindered specific criminal opportunities in the short term, smugglers, and traffickers, as well as their victims, have sought and found ways to overcome them.  The economic consequences impact peoples’ desire and ability to migrate and the incentive and opportunities for criminals to profit from illegal migration, which is also expected to increase. Human trafficking, whether for sexual or labor exploitation, is already complex to detect in “normal” times, and the novel coronavirus pandemic has only pushed human trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 216

08-10-2021 11:27:41

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

217

Figure 9.2  Pull Factors. Source: Created by the Authors: Rana & Roy, 2021.

deeper into the dark abyss of illicit economies and its victims further away from possible detection and assistance. Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights. It is a transnational organized crime against humanity since it regulates and restricts the victim’s rights of movement through coercion or threat. It is also a form of genderbased discrimination and violence against women and girls. Today, human trafficking has global footprints and is sometimes carried out even within established institutions. The risk, vulnerability, and perpetration against others falling victim to trafficking increases as state and non-state structures weaken and people turn to negative coping strategies to survive. At the same time, internal or external conflict increases the demand for goods and services provided by exploited persons and creates new markets for exploitative combat and support roles.25 Moreover, inequalities within and between countries, restrictive regimes of immigration policies, and growing demand for cheap, disempowered labor also add to some of the fundamental causes of trafficking. Scholars like Newman and Cameron,26 attribute human trafficking to underlying explanatory or structural factors (broad social, economic, and political context like economic deprivation and market downturns; social inequality, attitudes to gender, demand for sex workers) and proximate factors (like lax national and international legal regimes, poor law enforcement, corruption, organized criminal gangs, weak education campaigns, etc.).

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 217

08-10-2021 11:27:41

218

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

India occupies a unique position in human trafficking as it is both a “sending” or origin and “receiving” or destination country. It forms an intermediary space from where women and children are trafficked to sites within the region and outside and other parts of the world. Bangladesh and Nepal, meanwhile, can be characterized purely as sending countries.27 Coomarswamy’s (2000) report provides essential indicators for the intersections between migration and human trafficking.28 In today’s world, where mobility is linked with lifestyle and status, better living conditions, and exploring one’s independence, these lifestyle choices and aspirations also result in vulnerabilities. McLean points out that those migrant women who lack marketable skills or education or face cultural and ethnic barriers or occupations with low status or low pay face multiple vulnerabilities due to social and cultural capital inadequacies. Furthermore, these migrant women are exposed to health risks as their capacity to secure sustainable livelihoods is limited, and therefore, are more at risk of being exploited and trafficked. McLean claims that a situation like this can result in incomplete citizenship or a de facto stateless status, making them susceptible to being trafficked, and the probability of exploitation and statelessness increases as these factors are not exclusive but compounded and mutually reinforced.29 CLIMATE CHANGE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, AND HUMAN RIGHTS: INTERCONNECTIONS, EFFECTS, AND ANALYSIS In the last few decades, climate change and environmental degradation have emerged as major factors behind human trafficking and an immense challenge before the global community. The threat is amplified as the 3C or “thirddegree world” which we inhabit is doomed as the world’s major coastal cities might be inundated and wiped off the earth’s surface by 2050.30 Scientists also predict that due to the retreating coastline, much of the Sundarbans (presented as a case study here to analyse the links between climate change and human trafficking) could be submerged in the coming fifteen to twentyfive years. The Paris Climate Agreement (PCA) attempted to set out a global framework to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2oC (2 Degrees) and outsourcing efforts to limit it to 1.5oC. It also aimed to strengthen countries’ ability to deal with the impacts of climate change and support them in their efforts. The United Nations Secretary General António Guterres has pointed out that climate change, natural disasters, and poverty exacerbate the vulnerabilities and desperation and enable trafficking to flourish as the traffickers take advantage of the loopholes in the system. The multidimensional nature

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 218

08-10-2021 11:27:41

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

219

of poverty and the resultant vulnerability of people seems to be the key to this vicious cycle. In the decades to come, climate change will very likely lead to a mammoth increase in the number of people who are displaced and thus vulnerable to trafficking, and the World Migration Report 202031 alludes to the severity of the problem. A recent study by Michael Gerrard linked displacement, water crisis, and climate change with trafficking. Gerrard adds that the U.N. Environment Programme has indicated that trafficking may increase by 20–30 percent during disasters. The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has warned that disasters or conflict may increase the exposure of women to trafficking as families are disrupted, and livelihoods are lost. There are multiple instances in which trafficking has been shown to grow in the aftermath of cyclones, flooding, earthquakes, and tsunamis leading to sex trafficking and forced labor.32 We also see a great deal of human smuggling leading to dangerous journeys and too often fatal. According to Gerrard, there are multiple instances in which civil and military conflict makes women vulnerable to sexual exploitation, torture, and exploitation. In some of the refugee camps, frequent cases of sexual assault on women have been recorded. Climate change and other forms of environmental degradation have also led to considerable increases in child labor, sexual violence, and domestic abuse and contribute to armed conflict between ethnic groups and violence over the exploitation of natural resources. Corruption by officials handling international funds for refugee camps, border crossing officials, and others makes matters worse and contributes to trafficking.33 The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that millions of people will be forced to relocate in the coming years due to effects of climate change, including shoreline erosion, coastal flooding, or disruption of normal farming practices. Today, analysts predict that this crisis “in the making” will affect 150–200 million men, women, and children by 2050, or roughly one in every 45 persons on earth. This situation is made even worse from a moral perspective. It is the poorest country and least responsible for greenhouse emissions causing climate change that bears a tremendous burden and is the first to deal with forced migration. Moreover, as is the case in most of the poorest countries, those living in rural areas who depend on climate-sensitive resources such as local water supplies and farming for their basic livelihoods are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Many experts believe that by 2050, more than 200 million people will become climate migrants or climate refugees as they will be forced to flee their homes due to climate change and seek refuge in alien lands. The PCA of 2015 established objectives to limit global temperature increases, but the voluntary pledges made by nearly every country fall far short of what is needed to meet these objectives. Several international agreements and domestic laws aim to combat human trafficking, but it is highly uncertain whether they will

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 219

08-10-2021 11:27:42

220

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

be adequate to deal with the scale of the problem that is likely to occur due to climate change.34 The link and nexus between climate change, environmental degradation, and human trafficking was first acknowledged and established at a meeting organized in the Vatican in July 2015 titled Modern Slavery and Climate Change: The Commitment of Cities as part of the symposium on Prosperity, People and Plant: Achieving Sustainable Development in our Cities.35 In the outcome declaration, a commitment aimed at “building . . . the resilience of the poor . . . and reducing exposure to climate-related extreme events and other . . . environmental shocks and disasters which foster human trafficking and dangerous forced migration” was made.36 Bales gives a brilliant exposition of the links between modern slavery and environmental change and how the loop of human trafficking is connected to “slaveholders” who indulge in slave-based deforestation and another carbon dioxide (CO2) producing crimes resulting in ecocide and human slavery.37 This information on climate change become necessary to keep it in the backdrop while discussing issues of human trafficking in the Sundarban Delta Region (SDR) of West Bengal (WB), as it has a huge bearing on the lives of those who populate South 24 Parganas district, the case study for this chapter. Over the past decade, an international consensus has developed around the need for a rights-based approach to trafficking. A Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA) is a conceptual framework for dealing with trafficking that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. Such an approach requires analysis of how human rights violations arise throughout the trafficking cycle and of states’ obligations under international human rights law. It seeks to identify and redress the discriminatory practices and unjust distribution of power that underlie trafficking, that maintain impunity for traffickers, and that deny justice to their victims. Under the HRBA, every aspect of the national, regional, and international response to trafficking is anchored in the rights and obligations established by international human rights law. The lessons learned in developing and applying the HRBA in other areas, such as development, provide essential insights into the main features of the approach and how it could be applied to trafficking. It is perplexing to see how climate change and natural disasters can affect the lives of the vulnerable and the desperate and which translates into forced migration, trafficking, slavery, sexual abuse, and violence, an example of which is the SDR of WB. Sundarbans is the second biosphere reserve from India and declared as a World Heritage Site in 1987 which today suffers from nature’s fury and multiple climatic challenges that translate into poverty, unemployment, illiteracy, and migration. Most of these migrations are linked with human trafficking or what is known in the local parlance as pachaar.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 220

08-10-2021 11:27:42

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

221

EXPLORING LINKAGES BETWEEN CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING: CASE STUDY OF SOUTH 24 PARGANAS DISTRICT IN WEST BENGAL WB is the fourth largest state in India in terms of population, with 80 million people with the highest population density at 903 persons per square kilometres. The average is 302 for the country. WB is an origin, transit, and destination place for trafficking since girls and women can transition from Nepal and Bangladesh to the rest of the country. Simultaneously, they can also remain in the state, more precisely in Kolkata, the state capital. They also come from rural areas of WB and either go to Kolkata or move to other big cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, or Pune. With the increase in poverty, food, and livelihood insecurity, populations are forced to migrate to other villages or cities and, more particularly, girls and women because they assume the family’s responsibility. The name Sundarban or Sunderbunds, as known earlier, is thought to have been derived from Sundri or Sundari (Heritiera fomes) tree and named so due to the large mangrove trees in the area. Today, Sundarban, a group of lowlying islands in the Bay of Bengal in India, to Bagerhat district in southern Bangladesh, covers 10,000 km. Its administrative boundary is spread over two districts, that is, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas. Sundarban is a rich geographical hotspot with a Tiger Reserve, Reserve Forests, and a National Park, which form the core area of the Reserve and is famous worldwide for its Royal Bengal Tiger. Three-fifths of Sundarban lie in India and the rest in Bangladesh and is a vast and rich mesh of estuaries, tidal rivers, and creeks intersected by numerous channels and enclosed by flat, densely forested, marshy islands. The SDR forms part of the world’s largest delta (also known as the Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta). It is home to three sanctuaries, namely Holiday Island, Lothian Island, and Sanjhnekhali, and lies across the outer deltas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna Rivers. This region is of immense ecological value due to its diverse flora and fauna, including endangered and exotic species. Sundarban, populated by 4.4 million people, is like a rich container endowed with all forms of natural bounties, including water bodies, flora, and fauna, and broadly divided into two ecoregions: freshwater swamp and mangrove forests. A vast section of the people in Sunderban is impoverished and faces issues of human insecurity and whose livelihood depends on the collection of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP). It includes fishing and collecting gastropods, shifting agriculture with forest and wild honey collection or mouals, prawn seed collection, wildlife tourism, and migrant laborers.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 221

08-10-2021 11:27:42

222

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

However, the collection of forest produce is hazardous and fraught with risks as the villagers face threats from man-eating tigers and crocodiles, so much so that there has been a rise in cases of Bag Bidhoba or “tiger widows” where lives have been lost due to tiger attacks38 and who ultimately had to face cultural stigma and consequent discrimination and social rejection,39 such that in few blocks, these widows are living in segregated hamlets called Bidhoba Palli (widow hamlet), reflecting their outcaste status and social isolation,40 a reason that led to the cult of Banbibi or Bandurga or Bandevi (Lady or Queen of the Forest).41 These are widows who have difficulty negotiating with everyday hardships and are incredibly vulnerable to trafficking. Although the Sundarbans, as the world’s largest estuarine mangrove forest, is home to one of the largest and most biodiverse mangrove ecosystems on earth, life-sustaining soil, water, and mangrove biodiversity have been depleted due to climate change effects in addition to deforestation, overexploitation, and industrial pollution. More substantial and more recurrent floods and cyclones, erratic rainfall, increased temperatures, and encroaching sea-level rise have contributed to soil and water salinity, crop losses, soil infertility, and significant long-term reductions in agricultural yields. It has adversely impacted local livelihoods. Low human development characterizes the region, with vast gender inequities in multiple arenas, including educational attainment, work participation, and gender-based violence. Frequent cyclones, soil erosion, and floods are a fallout of climate change in the region, creating a rapidly shifting, unsustainable environment where the forests cannot survive. In May 2020, the Sundarban mangroves were ravaged by the super cyclone Amphan which destroyed around 1,600 square kilometers of the total 4,000 square km forest area. The South and North 24 Parganas comprise 19 blocks of Sundarbans. They have been identified as highly vulnerable to climate change and susceptible to trafficking not so much due to unified and simple accounts of vulnerability relying on the “demand and supply” or “push and pull” factors, but rather, due to the localized conditions that have encouraged trafficking in and from the region. Sundarban region produces a more grounded understanding of the drivers of vulnerability. Molinari42 gives a comprehensive account of a wide range of factors responsible for peoples’ vulnerability to trafficking or pachaar. According to her, it includes lack of social or educational infrastructure, inequities based on gender, caste, class, religion, and indigeneity, high rates of gender-based violence, significant disruptions within households, landlessness and lack or loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, and hunger, severe poverty and indebtedness, natural disasters and environmental degradation, and displacement or forced out-migration. Sundarbans has a high representation of Muslim, Scheduled Caste (SC), and Scheduled Tribe (ST) groups and undocumented Bangladeshi migrants

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 222

08-10-2021 11:27:43

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

223

and landless households that have historically and contemporaneously faced discrimination, marginalization, and poverty. All these social and biophysical dimensions intersect and cumulate to render the region and its people highly vulnerable to climate and environmental change and, therefore, susceptible to human trafficking. In the state of WB in general, and the SDR in particular, the influence of climate change and extreme poverty have made it easier to lure women and children into forced CSE, marriage, and labor. Moreover, constant flooding from the rising sea makes things worse, and apart from lives and livelihoods, these disasters erode the social fabric of the communities in the Sundarban region. These natural disasters have resulted in children being sent away from home to make a living. This is now more of a culturally and socially accepted practice in the region, with kiosks being set up by traffickers to lure children for jobs in the cities. The traffickers pose as job scouts or deploy local teenagers to lure girls with the false promise of glamorous employment and marriage, and once in the net, the girls are sold into sex work, marriage, and domestic help. The district of South 24 Parganas is one of the largest districts of WB and the sixth most populous district of India according to the Population Census of 2011. Parts of the community remain economically backward, and large sections of its population face economic marginalization, leading to an increase in cases of human trafficking. In recent years there has been a spurt in mananimal conflicts with climate change and human-made ecological disasters in the garb of developmental projects inside the world’s largest mangrove forests. As a result of habitat destruction, more tiger attacks in the villages and adjoining forests kill many people who roam the forests searching for honey, wood, and shrimps for a living. All these have exacerbated inequities and compelled large-scale migration to distant lands, making them vulnerable to trafficking. The situation in WB became more frustrating and gloomier due to the ongoing pandemic followed by the nationwide lockdown.43 Moreover, the introduction of plastic money and cryptocurrency and the inroads and impact of information technology and social media platforms,44 coupled with a tardy judicial system have only provided a conducive and thriving condition to facilitate and embolden the traffickers in running the phantom economy. South and North 24 Parganas are known for natural disasters at regular intervals with limited skill development training opportunities. Moreover, the agricultural cycle is compromised due to water salinity, single crop pattern, lack of irrigation facilities, with disasters being a general geo-climatic condition. Lack of preparedness like early warning system leads to an adverse impact on the disaster, aggravated by destruction of river embankment due to inadequate repair, administrative apathy, absence of shelter homes, leading to loss of lives and assets. Natural calamity in various forms strikes the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 223

08-10-2021 11:27:43

224

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

Sundarban area almost one to two times every year, resulting in massive soil erosion and flooding at frequent intervals rendering many families homeless and without any documentary proof of land ownership records. There has been a spate of major natural disasters in the last thirty years, including floods and inundation of the embankment of the Matla River. However, all was silent on the eastern front till cyclone Aila wreaked havoc in May 2009, destroying on a broad scale and endangering people’s lives in the region. When an environmental disaster occurs, people are forced to flee without legal authorization or documents. Desperate to survive and unfamiliar with the culture of the refugee community, these people are extremely vulnerable to human trafficking. It is virtually impossible to estimate the number of people displaced by environmental disasters who become victims of trafficking, but a rough estimate suggests that human trafficking increases by around 20 to 30 percent during disasters. The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) has also warned that the separation of families during environmental disasters increases the risk of women and children to trafficking. Whereas refugees are exposed to human trafficking because of their losses and the instability in their lives, environmental refugees are at a greater risk. Under current international refugee agreements, people displaced by environmental disasters do not qualify as refugees and thus do not qualify for international aid or protection.45 Climate change increases the risk of natural disasters and places a strain on livelihoods; it increases poverty and can potentially cause conflict and instability. When combined with a mismatch between demand and supply of labor and the proliferation of unscrupulous recruitment agencies, these conditions increase high-risk behaviors and other negative coping strategies among affected populations. This may include resorting to migrant smugglers, which in turn makes them vulnerable to trafficking in persons (TiP) and associated forms of exploitation and abuse. However, the impact of climate change is rarely considered a potential contributor to human trafficking in global discussions or national-level policy frameworks, and the nexus remains relatively underexplored.46 Ravi Kant runs Shakti Vahini (SV), a Delhi-based NGO which works on gender-based inequality and violence in general and has played a pivotal role in curbing trafficking in West Bengal. He has been involved in anti-human trafficking measures, particularly in the field of rescue and protection of the trafficking survivors, for a long time. Kant provides a cultural logic as to why young girls become easy bait for the traffickers in Bengal in general, and particularly, the Sundarban. According to him, girls in Bengal are more outgoing and expressive, which renders them vulnerable to trafficking, coupled with the influence of cinema, social media platforms, and entertainment culture of romance and love. It is natural for them to befriend strangers in exchange for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 224

08-10-2021 11:27:43

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

225

love and affection. The popularity and “craze” of virtual spaces and social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and online gaming and dating sites and chat rooms are such that teenagers find this a novel way of expressing themselves. This tactic bypasses the illiterate or the not-so techno-savvy parents of these “love-lorn teenagers.” Criminals are making virtual connections with children through gaming and social media platforms.47 In many states, gaming counts as a team sport and can earn players a varsity letter. Colleges offer scholarships to elite gamers, and cities are racing to establish professional teams. The industry is enormously profitable, generating over $43 billion in revenue last year in the United States. Virtual spaces have become hunting grounds for sexual predators. There have been cases of “sextortion” reported from India, too, where victims have been sexually exploited and coerced by threatening to release sexual images and information related to the victim. In fact, in the United States and the United Kingdom, the pandemic has created a new class of victims where young women who cannot afford to pay their rent or are financially vulnerable are subject to sextortion by their landlords.48 According to reports, India reported a 95 percent rise in viewing porn content during the first three-week lockdown due to the pandemic and a 20 percent jump in consuming porn content even before the official restrictions took effect in late March 2020.49 According to Kant, socializing and “chit-chatting” is an essential part of a teenagers’ life in the eastern front under modernity. New sources of entertainment try to experiment with and get a taste of this newfound freedom and express their innate desires. He also adds that the mobile recharge outlets are part of this larger trafficking loop. The shopkeepers help the traffickers get the mobile numbers of the young girls who visit these shops for mobile recharge and, for this intrusion, charge a sum from the young traffickers. Kant says that the term “trafficking” is of a recent purchase in WB and began to be used only after 2006–7 since previously, terms which were commonly used were “elopement” and “kidnapping.” Kant and Anwesha Banerjee have been working relentlessly in this region focussing on the modus operandi and tactics adopted by the traffickers and accordingly help in developing strategies and sensitize anti-trafficking personnel and officials. They also play a vital role in spreading awareness and information on mobilizing villagers against this crime against humanity. Both Kant and Banerjee pointed out the policies and schemes run by the central and state government. They hinted at a lack of coordination among the different agencies concerned with the victims’ prevention, rescue, and rehabilitation. According to them, the survivor’s stigma, discrimination, and criminalization are such that the chances of the survivor getting re-trafficked or revictimized are very high. In this context, Kant mentions that the number of rescue operations is going down in India in general and in WB due to

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 225

08-10-2021 11:27:43

226

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

the inadequate funding from the government for meeting the administrative expenses like tracking, rescue, and rehabilitation operations by the antitrafficking agencies. Besides, the low awareness among ordinary people regarding identifying the traffickers and ingenious ways to stop the criminalization, discrimination, and social boycotts of the trafficked leave the danger of re-trafficking unresolved. It seems the modus operandi and pattern of trafficking adopted by the traffickers has been a copybook style of luring and preying upon the victim. However, they are quick to modify and adapt their strategies according to the winds of change. While it is true in few cases that the young girls do want to escape the drudgery and appalling conditions at home, they certainly do not and cannot envisage the state and situation that would occur after getting into the trap. According to both Kant and Banerjee, the process of trafficking entails a long chain of handlers and agents. At every point of exchange, care is taken to keep the identities of both the trafficker and the trafficked as fluid as possible to evade getting caught by the police or anti-trafficking units in the state. Goranbose Gram Bikas Kendra (GGBK), an NGO located in Canning in South 24 Parganas and working in anti-trafficking and rehabilitation of survivors, has been involved with an anti-human trafficking program called Swayangsiddha. This program is a highly structured initiative where women are rescued and counseled, and their psychological needs are addressed. They are also provided with different types of vocational training, and most of the rescued women under this initiative have been successfully rehabilitated, having jobs and families. The initiative entails encouraging familial support for the trafficked victims. GGBK also runs Bandhan Mukti (BM), a survivor’s collective to help rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegrate survivors of trafficking and transform them from passive victims to active survivors. It is a movement by such victims under the mentorship of GGBK to become changemakers and take leading roles in delivering justice and contribute to saving vulnerable girls of the districts from becoming victims of trafficking. BM is an equal and vital partner in the anti-trafficking ecosystem. On discussing their experience with traffickers, the authors were told that the NGO works on various facets of human trafficking and is tied up with child rights, women’s rights, the impact of climate change on communities and provide special assistance to affected persons in the South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal. While talking to some of the survivors of trafficking at GGBK, the authors were told about the standard protocol or the modus operandi followed by the traffickers to lure the victim, usually with either befriending or else kidnapping the victims. They also narrated how the victims were drugged, changed different handlers, ferried from one place to another, crisscrossing other states, and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 226

08-10-2021 11:27:44

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

227

finally landing in a brothel. The survivors also spoke about how they were introduced to the drug culture, beaten up by the clients and madams, and asked to “behave” with them. REHABILITATING, RESTORING, AND EMPOWERING COMMUNITIES: BEST PRACTICES, SCHEMES, POLICIES, AND PROGRAMMATIC INTERVENTIONS Human trafficking has a profound tragic impact on the lives of the victims and their families. It has now reached a scale where it has begun to influence many countries’ domestic and foreign policies since trafficking involves the movement of people across international borders. Therefore, migration policy becomes one of the most critical areas of policy framing. However, because trafficking in persons is also a human crisis, it has become a significant issue of discussion and concern in human rights circles.50 There have been several legal provisions and legislative interventions in India from time to time to engage sternly and robustly with human trafficking. The Indian Constitution has prohibited all sorts of trafficking under Article 23 (1). The Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act (SITA) 1956, later amended as the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), was in response to the ratification of the International Convention on Suppression of Immoral Traffic and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others in 1950. Other constitutional and legislative provisions in India to curb human trafficking include the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act 2012 and the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013. Few other specific legislations enacted in connection with trafficking in women and children includes Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) 2006, Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1976, Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act 1986, Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1984, separately from specific sections in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It is challenging to judge or estimate the scale of the phenomenon, and collecting reliable information is an arduous task due to the clandestine and complex nature of the operation. The trade is secretive, and the victims are silenced. The traffickers are dangerous. Not too many agencies are involved in keeping a headcount of trafficked persons or engaged in the trade responsible for low figures and abysmally poor conviction rate. There is a wide discrepancy between the actual figures of crime reported to the police and the crimes that had taken place, as estimated by the police officers themselves. There are several factors responsible for the underreporting of the phenomenon. Trafficking is very hard to measure because, in many cases (mainly when the women are not in the sex trade), the family members,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 227

08-10-2021 11:27:44

228

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

relatives, and friends have consent about young girls going to distant places for lucrative earning. Kant and Banerjee observe that problems usually start when the flow of money sent by the girl stops and the communication link cuts off. Suddenly, someone who was a role model for other girls becomes a matter of concern and dejection by the family and friends. The failure of the relatives, neighbors, and civil society, in general, to stand by the suffering of women and children and bring the matter to the notice of the police may be one powerful reason. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data show that human trafficking is increasing despite various trafficking-related legislation for protecting women and children. This expanding enterprise has been the adaptability of the business to any crisis and changing times like using technology. Technology has given a slippery edge and phantom character to human trafficking besides quick and huge profits in a short period. Moreover, globalization and its neoliberal policies have resulted in poverty and unemployment, making more and more people vulnerable to traffic. Other factors like administrative corruption, loopholes in the legal systems, and the paucity of funds with the police and other anti-human trafficking agencies have also played a major role in encouraging its rapid growth. Like all criminal enterprise, human trafficking keeps growing due to its collusion with the empire of crime which includes “politicians, police, officials and judges and law-abiding agencies and where it is impossible to separate the legal from the illegal” in short where “politics is systematically criminalised, and crime politicised.”51 Estimates provided by different NGOs and survey reports on sex workers and trafficked women and children are several times higher. Human trafficking is far from waning as incidences of crimes under various other provisions of laws relating to the issue are rising. Most strikingly, this study shows that the extent of re-trafficking among the survivors is as high as 57 percent. This means that victims are being criminalized, harassed, and excluded, and not easily accepted by their community, all of which raise doubts about the official figures on trafficking. Some of the efforts made by national schemes and programmatic interventions and the aid and assistance of international agencies in rehabilitating, restoring, and empowering trafficked victims and steps taken at the village and district level in West Bengal have borne positive results. For example, schools and colleges are creating awareness of human trafficking, and Anti-Human Trafficking Clubs (AHTC) and units and Cyber Police Stations have been created in every district of West Bengal to form and create a safety net for society. Climate change and natural disasters have played a significant role in escalating cases of human trafficking. Therefore, after Cyclone Amphan, a dedicated helpline and desk were set up to curb human trafficking and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 228

08-10-2021 11:27:44

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

229

child marriages by the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (WBCPCR). Moreover, reporting the crime has been made easier with the introduction of Zero FIR. Regular sensitization programs are conducted to train the investigative agencies and the prosecutors to better handle and deal with cases of human trafficking. The police, in its part, have been trying their best to complete investigations of cases of human trafficking in a time-bound manner to initiate in-custody trials of the suspects. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in collaboration with NGOs, government, and the private sector, has worked towards initiating Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to collectively provide rehabilitation programs for survivors of trafficking through skill development of the survivors to enhance their employment opportunities. There have been various innovative schemes, partnerships, and collaborations with other major stakeholders in running anti-trafficking initiatives and the rehabilitation and social reintegration of the trafficked victims that have become great success stories. The schemes include spreading anti-human trafficking awareness programs through panchayats, schools, theatres, and pandals during festive occasions like Durga Puja. The trafficked victims are also empowered in the real sense by providing them with employment opportunities who get educated, trained, and acquire required skills to later work in the hospitals, banks and as ATM guards or as fillers at petrol pumps or as housekeepers and caterers and in the fashion garment industry.52 This approach brought enterprises like Nestle, Amul, Microsoft Corporation, and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Bihar Chamber of Commerce together to work for the initiative. The PPP model has successfully provided skills and employment opportunities to survivors of human trafficking. MWCF has recognized the PPP model and has established a think tank with various ministries, corporate and IOM as a special representative. Swayangsiddha, or self-reliance, is a scheme run by the government of WB and executed by the WB Police and was introduced in 2016 in South 24 Parganas. The scheme is an awareness program about human trafficking and child marriages meant to raise awareness on human rights and gender and child rights and prevent human trafficking and child marriage using a convergence approach. It facilitates building safe communities by engaging youth from different schools and colleges to spread awareness about the menace and strengthen response mechanisms in collaboration with police and protection committees. The scheme also creates awareness about projects and entitlements on education, training, livelihood, and food security for vulnerable groups. The Swayangsiddha scheme envisages the formation of the Swayangsiddha Committee at the block and district levels. At the Block level, groups like

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 229

08-10-2021 11:27:44

230

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

Sikshabandhu,53 paralegal volunteers, Anwesha Clinic Counsellors, and members of wards and Panchayats provide cooperation to the committee. At the district level, meetings under the district magistrate or additional district magistrates are convened to discuss human trafficking and child marriage issues. The district administration and the police felicitate the best group. The aim of Swayangsiddha was also to create a police-public relationship so that information about incidents of missing girls, women, traffickers, and other related matters could reach the police. The scheme has a cultural and creative significance. It involved mapping the natural resources of villages to raise awareness in the community about the rich cultural significance of their respective areas. It also includes preparing a “cultural map” to display the cultural tradition in the village, and the list of folk art and artists would be prepared to provide information about human resources in villages. It also organized cultural programs and activities like street plays, cycle rallies, candle vigils, poster making, wall painting, and wall drawings. It holds discussions on child marriage and human trafficking in schools to raise awareness and celebrate important days in schools. The group prepares a list of those illiterate and vulnerable families prone to child marriage and human trafficking. The list is presented to the Child Protection Committee (CPC), linking them to various government schemes and preventing illegal activity. The scheme also entails preparing a list of school dropouts and submits them to the schools and panchayats for appropriate action. This scheme has been very successful. It led to increased awareness about the problem and information flow to the police, which helped arrest traffickers and rescuing many trafficked girls. Given the success achieved in South 24 Parganas, the police officials decided to pass an order for the implementation of the program in all districts and Commissionerate of W.B. As a result, the program has been established in every district with good results. Muktir Alo (MA) is another extensive scheme for the rehabilitation of sex workers and victims of sex trafficking begun by the WB state government in 2015. The objective of MA is to provide life opportunities with dignity to the girls and women who have been drawn into sex work by force or otherwise. It also offers alternative career opportunities for sex workers and victims of sex trafficking who wish to leave the profession through appropriate job training and vocational training for skill up-gradation to enable them to start their life afresh through alternative livelihood options. Childline 1098 is an important platform and an emergency helpline that works in child trafficking. It brings together the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India working in partnership with state governments, NGOs, international organizations, the corporate sector, and concerned individuals and children. Childline 1098 was successful in preventing many child marriages during the lockdown period in 2020.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 230

08-10-2021 11:27:45

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

231

The Trafficking of Persons (Prevention, Protection, and Rehabilitation) Bill of 2018 is indeed a welcome step. It addresses one of the most persistent yet invisible crimes affecting the most vulnerable persons, especially children and women. The current bill covers prevention, protection, and rehabilitation, making it different and a promising step. An admirable part of the bill is setting up institutional mechanisms at the district, state, and national levels. Under the new bill, the National Anti-Trafficking Bureau has been asked to coordinate and monitor surveillance and prevention efforts and form a National Anti-Trafficking Relief and Rehabilitation Committee. Kanyashree Prakalpa (KP), designed by the Department of Women Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal (DWD&SW), was initiated in 2013 as a conditional cash-transfer scheme (a one-time grant of Rs. 25,000 apart from annual scholarships, when the girl turns 18 and if she is studying in school or undergoing vocational training) aimed at improving the status and well-being of the girlchild. WB was a fit case for launching this scheme as it was among the top five states in terms of early marriages as the district of Murshidabad, Birbhum, Malda, and Purulia were notorious for child marriages, and trafficking of girls. The launching of the cash incentive scheme convinced many families to send their daughters to school and delay their marriage. Officials opine that besides the scheme’s tangible benefits, KP has motivated young girls, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas, and encouraged them to stand up for themselves. In many places, Kanyashree Sanghas have been formed and now are the first line of defense against child marriages and help identify girls who have dropped out of school. The success of the scheme saw KP get the United Nation’s Public Service Award at the Hague.54 Besides, multinational organizations, NGOs, and state government functionaries like International Justice Mission (IJM), West Bengal Special Task Force, WB Commission for Child Rights, Women and Child Welfare Department, NCRB, Shakti Vahini, GGBK, Child Rights Commission, District Child Rights Tribunal, District Child Protection Units, Directorate of Child Rights and Child Trafficking (the only office dedicated to child trafficking in India) and many others contribute toward apprehending the traffickers and giving new life to the victims. CONCLUSION Human trafficking is a scourge for humanity in the twenty-first century and a serious global and humanitarian crisis, but unfortunately, the phenomenon continues to grow unabated. This trade has survived like crustaceans withstanding stringent legislation and disciplinary regimes and has shown agility, adaptability, and robustness to the changing times. The traffickers use social

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 231

08-10-2021 11:27:45

232

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

media tools and gaming and dating websites, and the darknet to lure the victims. Cryptocurrency and Bitcoin are conduits that facilitate human trafficking as it maintains the anonymity of the actors and stakeholders involved in the transaction. The criminal gangs, mafias, and trafficking syndicates have constantly been evolving their techniques and modus operandi and being a step ahead of the police and law enforcement agencies reflected in the global criminal networks with corporate entity-like status. Law enforcement agencies and police require an overhaul in training and sensitization while dealing with the victims. These departments need funds to design and develop strategies, tools, and technologies to keep surveillance and track traffickers. It becomes crucial for labor-exporting nations, the primary source countries for trafficking, to manage migration to contribute to social and economic development and is not seen as a danger by their citizens or a threat to public security and stigmatizing their citizens. Climate change and environmental degradation have harmed the Sundarban region due to frequent cyclones and floods, resulting in soil erosion and increased salinity, making land infertile and compelling impoverished families to migrate to other places. Unemployment, poverty, animal-human conflict, and illiteracy provide a conducive environment for traffickers to poach and traffic young and vulnerable girls and children, mainly from disenfranchised communities, caste, and religious groups. The state government has been taking steps, but they do not seem adequate. Mitigating the trafficking volume that is projected to increase, there is a need for the world’s economies to transition away from fossil fuels, which will decrease greenhouse gas emissions and make the impacts of climate change less severe. It is equally desirable for governments to sit, discuss and act responsibly in tackling the issue which is linked with the existence of this planet and humankind. From traditional news outlets to social media, a growing movement exposes human trafficking as a concern both from a human right and a national and transnational security perspective. These media reports have changed how the public looks at human trafficking and impacts us as global citizens. The media will keep on playing the role of a sentinel in highlighting the menace of human trafficking and child marriage while encouraging citizens to help the police and concerned officials with “tip-offs” or suspicion that they might have on strangers or suspects. Governments must apply an integrated and holistic approach that gives equal attention to the 3Ps—prevention, prosecution, and protection and the need for partnership to effectively address human trafficking. In this regard, the HRBA and gender-sensitive approach, and child rights approach are best suited to fight the menace of human trafficking.55 While the WB government has taken some innovative steps to curb and control human trafficking in hotspot regions like Sundarbans, they are not

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 232

08-10-2021 11:27:45

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

233

adequate. They require commitment and political will to implement strict and more stringent legislation to capture the culprits and break the syndicate. It is important to break this nexus, for this synergy between different actors gives it the strength and sustenance to rope in new actants and expand its empire. Vigilante groups at the village/mandal level should be necessary preliminary steps to screen outsiders in the villages. Moreover, there is an urgent need to think ingeniously and out of the box for “real” and “creative” solutions for rehabilitating the survivors and working toward their integration into mainstream society. NOTES 1. UNHR. Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Fact Sheet No. 36. New York and Geneva, 2014. 2. (a) Under international law, “trafficking” is different than “migrant smuggling” and “illegal migration,” where “trafficking” is a crime against an individual and involves exploitation that can continue well after the victim has arrived at their destination but “smuggling of migrants” or “human smuggling” is generally a crime against the government, as a breach of immigration laws and generally ends once a person has arrived at their destination. (b) The United States considers “trafficking in persons,” “human trafficking,” and “modern slavery” to be interchangeable umbrella terms that refer to both sex and labor trafficking. In the 1990s, “human trafficking” was used interchangeably with the terms “human smuggling” or “illegal migration.” In India, human trafficking as a specific crime category began its usage after 2005–6, before terms like elopement, kidnapping, and missing, were used instead of trafficking. 3. Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. United States: Picador, 2007. 4. Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung and European Union. Trafficking in Human Beings: Learning from Asian and European Experiences. EU-Asia Dialogue for Shaping a Common Future for Europe and Asia–Sharing Policy Innovation and Best Practices in Addressing Common Challenges. Singapore, 2014. 5. For more, see Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. 2020 Country Profile: South Asia. UNODC, p. 6. 6. Jahic, Galma and James, O. Finckenauer. “Representations and Misrepresentations of Human Trafficking.” Trends in Organized Crime 8, no. 3 (2005): 24–40. 7. Weitzer, Ronald. “New Directions in Research on Human Trafficking.” The Annals of the American Academy. ANNALS, AAPSS, 2014: p. 653. 8. According to Kapoor, there has been a failure on anti-trafficking initiatives to distinguish between consensual migration, albeit covert, and coerced movement, which results in an adverse impact of international trafficking initiatives on women and their families. Kapoor feels that treating all women’s movement as coerced reinforces assumptions about (“third world”) women as victims, infantile, and incapable

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 233

08-10-2021 11:27:45

234

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

of decision-making. They also implicate their families in the trafficking chain and cast them as criminals. As a result, these women and their families are excluded from access to legal recognition, rights, and benefits and rendered even more vulnerable and insecure 2008. 9. U.N.GIFT. Global Report of Trafficking in Persons, 2009, p. 50. 10. Global Fund for Children. Scan of Issue Areas, Trends and Organisations Working in the Area of Child Trafficking in India: Final Report. U.S. State Dept, 2019. 11. Bales, Kevin, and Soodalter Ron. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. California and London: University of California Press, 2009. 12. Weitzer, Ronald. “Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery.” Annual Review of Sociology 41 (2015): 223–242. 13. Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung and European Union. Trafficking in Human Beings: Learning from Asian and European Experiences. EU-Asia Dialogue for Shaping a Common Future for Europe and Asia – Sharing Policy Innovation and Best Practices in Addressing Common Challenges. Singapore, 2014, p. 7. 14. Refer to the definition of human trafficking in UNHR. Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Fact Sheet No. 36. New York and Geneva, 2014, p. 2. 15. Sen S and P.M. Nair. A Report on trafficking on women and children in India 2002-2003, Vol. 1. Institute of Social Sciences, NHRC & UNIFEM, India, 2004, p. 440. 16. Annie, G., U. Vindhya, and R. Swamy. “Sex-trafficking and Sex-work: Definition, Debates, and Dynamics- A Review of the Literature.” Economic and Political Weekly 45, no. 17 (2010): 64–73. 17. Cameron, S. and E. Newman (Eds.) Trafficking in Humans: Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions. Tokyo; New York; Paris: United Nations University Press, 2008. 18. Cresswell, Tim. “Mobilities I: Catching Up.” Progress in Human Geography 35, no. 4 (2011): 550–558. 19. U.N. GIFT. United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, 2018. 20. Owen, Pinnell and Kelly Jess. “Slave markets found on Instagram and other apps.” BBC News. October 31, 2019. Retrieved on 06.01.2021 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.bbc​​ .co​.u​​k​/new​​s​/tec​​hnolo​​gy​-​50​​22854​​9. 21. Jasparro, C. and J. Taylor. “‘Climate Change and Regional Vulnerability to Transnational Security Threats in Southeast Asia.”‘ Geopolitics 13, no. 2 (2008): 240. 22. According to the 2020 Global Hunger Index (GHI), a tool for comprehensively measuring and tracking hunger at global, regional, and national levels classifies South Asia and Africa South of the Sahara as dangerous in hunger. India too shares this bad reputation due partly to large shares of undernourished and high child stunting rates. At the same time, South Asia has the highest number of malnourished people globally and the world’s highest rate of “child wasting.” The pandemic has become an added burden on the people, and now it looks impossible to reach Zero Hunger by 2030. India’s GHI position is improving compared to 2000, which was 38.9 and now stands at 27.2 and shows -30.1 as the percentage change since 2000.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 234

08-10-2021 11:27:46

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

235

23. UNODC. Countering Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Situations, 2018 refers to the various forms of sexual exploitation and oppression that occur in war and conflict zones like sexual exploitation of women and girls by members of armed and terrorist groups like ISIL or Da’esh, Al Shabab, and Lord’s Resistance Army, exploitation of children as child soldiers, removal of organs to treat wounded fighters or finance war and enslavement as a tactic of terrorism as well as suppression of ethnic minorities. 24. Ghosh, B. “Trafficking in Women and Children in India: Nature, Dimensions, and Strategies for Prevention.” The International Journal of Human Rights 13, no. 5 (2009): 716–738; See also; International Development Law Organization (IDLO).  Preventing and Combating the Trafficking of Girls in India Using Legal Empowerment Strategies, 2011, p. 4. 25. UNODC. Countering Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Situations. Thematic Paper. Vienna, 2018. 26. Cameron and Newman (Eds.) Trafficking in Humans, 2008. 27. Chaudhury, Anasuya Basu Roy. Strengthening Anti-Human Trafficking Mechanisms in the Bay of Bengal Region. ORF Issue Brief. No. 421, 2020. 28. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Report on Trafficking in Women, Women’s Migration and Violence against Women. U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2000/68 (The Special Rapporteur’s Report), 2000. Retrieved on 10.01.2021 from http:​/​/www​​.unhc​​hr​.ch​​.html​​/menu​​2​/7​/b​​/​ mwom​​.htm. 29. McLean, Pascale. Incomplete Citizenship, Statelessness, and Human Trafficking: A Preliminary Analysis of the Current Situation in West Bengal, India. Policies and Practices 38. Calcutta Research Group. Kolkata, West Bengal, 2011. 30. Lu Denise, and Flavelle Christopher. “Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050, New Research Shows.” The New York Times, October 29, 2019. Retrieved on 24.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.nyt​​imes.​​com​/i​​ntera​​ctive​​/2019​​/10​/2​​9​/cli​​mate/​​coast​​al​-ci​​ ties-​​​under​​water​​.html​. 31. International Organization for Migration. World Migration Report 2020. Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. 32. Gerrard, Michael. Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement. Columbia, US: Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School, 2016. Available at: https​:/​/sc​​holar​​ship.​​law​.c​​olumb​​ia​.ed​​u​/fac​​ulty_​​schol​​​arshi​​ p​/198​5 33. Gerrard, Michael. “Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement.” University of Miami Law Review 72 (2018): 345. Retrieved on 10.12.2020 from https​:/​/re​​posit​​ory​.l​​aw​.mi​​ami​.e​​du​/um​​lr​/vo​​​l72​/i​​ss2​/4​. 34. Ibid. 35. As cited in The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus (2016), p. 3. 36. Ibid. 37. Bales, Kevin. Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World. New York: Spiegel and Grau, 2016. 38. Mukherjee, Ritayan. In the Sundarbans, a tiger-shadowed wedding, January 4 2021. Retrieved on 09.01.2021 from https​:/​/ru​​ralin​​diaon​​line.​​org​/a​​rticl​​es​/in​​-the-​​sunda​​ rbans​​-a​-ti​​ger​-s​​had​ow​​ed​-we​​dding​/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 235

08-10-2021 11:27:46

236

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

39. Chowdhury, Arabinda N. et al. “Stigma of Tiger Attack: Study of Tigerwidows from Sundarban Delta, India.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry 58, no. 1 (2016): 12–19. 40. Ibid. 41. Human-animal conflicts, especially tiger-human encounters, are regular events in Sundarban; tigers attack about forty people. People of Sundarban, both Hindus and Muslims, have strong faith in the folk cult of Bonbibi, the guardian deity of the forest, and Dakkhin Ray, the God of the tiger. Sundarban islanders perceive Bonbibi as the unified symbol of forest and people, and she stands beyond any caste, class, and religion. 42. Molinari, N. “Intensifying Insecurities: The Impact of Climate Change on Vulnerability to Human Trafficking in the Indian Sundarbans.”  Anti-Trafficking Review, no. 8 (2017): 50–69. 43. Davidson, Catherine. Twin crises of coronavirus and climate change put girls in India at risk of trafficking, July 16, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.tel​​egrap​​h​.co.​​ uk​/gl​​obal-​​healt​​h​/cli​​mate-​​and​-p​​eople​​/twin​​-cris​​es​-co​​ronav​​irus-​​clima​​te​-ch​​ange-​​putt​i​​ng​ -gi​​rls​-i​​ndia-​​risk/​. 44. UNODC. Global Report on TIPs, 2018, pp. 38–39. 45. U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking and Environmental Refugees, n.d. 46. International Organization for Migration. The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus. Thailand, 2016. 47. Bowles, Nellie and Michael H. Keller. “Video Games and Online Chats are ‘Hunting Grounds’ for Sexual Predators.” The New York Times, December 7, 2019. Retrieved on 11.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.nyt​​imes.​​com​/i​​ntera​​ctive​​/2019​​/12​/0​​7​/us/​​ video​​-game​​s​-chi​​ld​-​se​​x​-abu​​se​.ht​​ml. 48. Women Around the World. “The Evolution of Human Trafficking During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” August 13, 2020. Retrieved on 14.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​ .cfr​​.org/​​blog/​​evolu​​tion-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-du​​ring-​​covid​​​-19​-p​​andem​​ic. 49. Kannan, Saikiran. “Pornography gets a Pandemic Boost, India Reports 95 percent viewing.” India Today, April 11, 2020. Retrieved on 10.12.2020 from https​:/​/ ww​​w​.ind​​iatod​​ay​.in​​/news​​-anal​​ysis/​​story​​/porn​​ograp​​hy​-ge​​ts​-a-​​pande​​mic​-b​​oost-​​india​​ -repo​​rts​-9​​5​-per​​-cent​​-rise​​-in​-v​​​iewin​​g​-166​​5940-​​2020-​​04​-11​. 50. U.N.GIFT. An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact, and Action. Background Paper. Vienna, 2008. 51. Harris-White, Barbara and Lucia Michelutti (Eds.) The Wild East: Criminal Political Economies in South Asia. London: UCL Press, 2019. 52. UNODC and GoI. Compendium of Best Practices on Anti Human Trafficking by Non-Governmental Organizations. New Delhi, 2008. 53. Sikshabandhu identifies ambitious children and finds their place of interest, which, with proper nurturing and care by mentors, help them realize such children’s goal. The fundamental purpose is to guide them to their complete growth and deliver quality education to the children of West Bengal. Shikshabandhu is a platform where future mentors are groomed and trained for dynamic teaching experience to be open to new forms of learning.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 236

08-10-2021 11:27:46

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

237

54. Singh, Shiv Sahay and Indrani Dutta. “Progress, One Girl at a Time.” The Hindu, August 5, 2017. Retrieved on 17.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​hindu​​.com/​​ socie​​ty​/pr​​ogres​​s​-one​​-girl​​-at​-a​​-time​​/arti​​cl​e19​​43390​​8​.ece​. 55. For details, see United Nations. Human Trafficking: Joint U.N. Commentary on the E.U. Directive- A Human Rights-Based Approach, 2011: pp. 24–29.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Annie G, Vindhya U and Swamy R. “Sex-trafficking and Sex-work: Definition, Debates and Dynamics- A Review of Literature.” Economic and Political Weekly 45, no. 17 (2010): 64–73. Bales, Kevin. Blood and Earth: Modern Slavery, Ecocide and the Secret to Saving the World. New York: Spiegel and Grau, 2016. Bales, Kevin and Soodalter Ron. The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. California and London: University of California Press, 2009. Bowles, Nellie and Michael H. Keller. Video Games and Online Chats are ‘Hunting Grounds’ for Sexual Predators. (December 7, 2019). The New York Times. Retrieved on 11.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.nyt​​imes.​​com​/i​​ntera​​ctive​​/2019​​/12​/0​​7​/ us/​​video​​-game​​s​-chi​​ld​​-se​​x​-abu​​se​.ht​​ml. Cameron, S. and E. Newman (Eds.) Trafficking in Humans: Social, Cultural, and Political Dimensions. Tokyo; New York; Paris: United Nations University Press, 2008. Chaudhury, Anasuya Basu Roy. “Strengthening Anti-Human Trafficking Mechanisms in the Bay of Bengal Region.” ORF Issue Brief. No. 421, 2020. Chowdhury, Arabinda N. et al. “Stigma of Tiger Attack: Study of Tiger-Widows from Sundarban Delta, India.” Indian Journal of Psychiatry 58, no. 1 (2016: 12–19. Cresswell, Tim. “Mobilities I: Catching Up.” Progress in Human Geography 35, no. 4 (2011): 550–558. Davidson, Catherine. “Twin crises of coronavirus and climate change put girls in India at risk of trafficking.” July 16, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.tel​​egrap​​h​.co.​​ uk​/gl​​obal-​​healt​​h​/cli​​mate-​​and​-p​​eople​​/twin​​-cris​​es​-co​​ronav​​irus-​​clima​​te​-ch​​ange-​​putt​i​​ ng​-gi​​rls​-i​​ndia-​​risk/​. Gerrard, Michael. “Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement.” Columbia, US: Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, Columbia Law School, 2016. Available at: https​:/​/sc​​holar​​ship.​​law​.c​​olumb​​ia​.ed​​u​/fac​​ulty_​​ schol​​a​rshi​​p​/198​​5. Gerrard, Michael. “Climate Change and Human Trafficking After the Paris Agreement.” University of Miami Law Review 72 (2018): 345. Retrieved on 10.12.2020 from https​:/​/re​​posit​​ory​.l​​aw​.mi​​ami​.e​​du​/um​​lr​/vo​​​l72​/i​​ss2​/4​. Global Fund for Children. Scan of Issue Areas, Trends and Organisations Working in the Area of Child Trafficking in India: Final Report. U.S. State Dept, 2019.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 237

08-10-2021 11:27:46

238

Subir Rana and Suchismita Roy

Ghosh, B. “‘Trafficking in Women and Children in India: Nature, Dimensions and Strategies for Prevention.”‘ The International Journal of Human Rights 13, no. 5 (2009): 716–738. Harris-White, Barbara and Lucia Michelutti (Eds.) The Wild East: Criminal Political Economies in South Asia. London: UCL Press, 2019. International Development Law Organization (IDLO). Preventing and Combating the Trafficking of Girls in India Using Legal Empowerment Strategies, 2011, p. 4. International Organization for Migration. World Migration Report 2020. Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. International Organization for Migration. The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus. Thailand, 2016. Jahic, Galma and James, O. Finckenauer. “Representations and Misrepresentations of Human Trafficking.” Trends in Organized Crime 8, no. 3 (2005: 24–40. Jasparro, C. and J. Taylor. “‘Climate Change and Regional Vulnerability to Transnational Security Threats in Southeast Asia.”‘ Geopolitics 13, no. 2 (2008): 240. Kannan, Saikiran. “Pornography gets a Pandemic Boost, India Reports 95 percent viewing.” India Today (April 11, 2020). Retrieved on 10.12.2020 from https​:/​/ ww​​w​.ind​​iatod​​ay​.in​​/news​​-anal​​ysis/​​story​​/porn​​ograp​​hy​-ge​​ts​-a-​​pande​​mic​-b​​oost-​​india​​ -repo​​rts​-9​​5​-per​​-cent​​-rise​​-in​-v​​​iewin​​g​-166​​5940-​​2020-​​04​-11​. Klein, Naomi. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. United States: Picador, 2007. Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung and European Union. Trafficking in Human Beings: Learning from Asian and European Experiences. EU-Asia Dialogue for Shaping a Common Future for Europe and Asia–Sharing Policy Innovation and Best Practices in Addressing Common Challenges. Singapore, 2014, p. 7. Lu Denise, and Flavelle Christopher. “Rising Seas Will Erase More Cities by 2050, New Research Shows.” The New York Times, October 29, 2019. Retrieved on 24.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.nyt​​imes.​​com​/i​​ntera​​ctive​​/2019​​/10​/2​​9​/cli​​mate/​​c​oast​​al​ -ci​​ties-​ underwater​.htm​l. McLean, Pascale. Incomplete Citizenship, Statelessness and Human Trafficking: A Preliminary Analysis of the Current Situation in West Bengal, India. Policies and Practices 38. Calcutta Research Group. Kolkata, West Bengal, 2011. Mukherjee, Ritayan. “In the Sundarbans, a tiger-shadowed wedding.” January 4 2021. Retrieved on 09.01.2021 from https​:/​/ru​​ralin​​diaon​​line.​​org​/a​​rticl​​es​​/in​​ -the-​ sundarbans-a-tiger-shadowed-wedding/. Molinari, N. “‘Intensifying Insecurities: The Impact of Climate Change on Vulnerability to Human Trafficking in the Indian Sundarbans.”‘  Anti-Trafficking Review, no. 8 (2017): 50–69. Owen, Pinnell and Kelly Jess. “Slave markets found on Instagram and other apps.” BBC News. October 31, 2019. Retrieved on 06.01.2021 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.bbc​​.co​.u​​ k​/new​​s​/tec​​hnolo​​gy​​-50​​22854​​9. Radhika Coomaraswamy. Report on Trafficking in Women, Women’s Migration and Violence against Women. U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2000/68 (The Special Rapporteur’s Report), 2000. Retrieved on 10.01.2021 from http:​/​/www​​.unhc​​hr​.ch​​.html​​/menu​​2​ /7​/b​​/​mwom​​.htm.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 238

08-10-2021 11:27:47

The Effect of Climate Change on Human Trafficking

239

Sen, S. and P.M. Nair. A Report on trafficking on women and children in India 20022003, Vol.1. Institute of Social Sciences, NHRC & UNIFEM, India. 2004, p. 440. Singh, Shiv Sahay and Indrani Dutta. “Progress, One Girl at a Time.” The Hindu, August 5, 2017. Retrieved on 17.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​hindu​​.com/​​socie​​ty​/ pr​​ogr​es​​s​-one​- girl-at-a-time/article19433908​.ec​e. UNODC. Countering Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Situations. Thematic Paper. Vienna, 2018. UNHR. Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Fact Sheet No. 36. New York and Geneva, 2014. U.N.GIFT. An Introduction to Human Trafficking: Vulnerability, Impact and Action. Background Paper. Vienna, 2008. United Nations. Human Trafficking: Joint U.N. Commentary on the EU Directive-A Human Rights-Based Approach. 2011, pp. 24–29. U.S. Catholic Sisters Against Human Trafficking. Human Trafficking and Environmental Refugees, n.d. UNODC. Global Report on TIPs, 2018, pp. 38–39. UN.GIFT. United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, 2018. UNODC and GoI. Compendium of Best Practices on Anti Human Trafficking by Non Governmental Organizations. New Delhi, 2008. Weitzer, Ronald. “New Directions in Research on Human Trafficking.” The Annals of the American Academy. ANNALS, AAPSS, 2014, p. 653. Weitzer, Ronald. “Human Trafficking and Contemporary Slavery.” Annual Review of Sociology 41 (2015): 223–242. Women Around the World. (August 13 2020). “The Evolution of Human Trafficking During the Covid-19 Pandemic.” Retrieved on 14.12.2020 from https​:/​/ww​​w​.cfr​​ .org/​​blog/​​evolu​​tion-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-du​​ring-​​covid​​​-19​-p​​andem​​ic.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 239

08-10-2021 11:27:47

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 240

08-10-2021 11:27:47

Chapter 10

The Intersection of NationState Sovereignty and the Violation of Human Rights An Examination of the Uyghurs and Human Trafficking in the People’s Republic Of China Alecia D. Hoffman

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), human trafficking consists of three elements: the Act, the Means, and the Purpose. The Act comprises the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons. The Means consists of the threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victims. Lastly, the Purpose centers on why it is done, and this typically comprises the elements of exploitation. The types of exploitation are varied and can range from prostitution, forced labor, slavery, organ removal, and other exploitation types.1 The Act, the Means, and the Purpose provides some context for examining the Uyghur population, which mainly occupy Xinjiang, China, and why this minority population’s movement, against their will, can still be viewed as a violation of international human rights and a disregard for international law. This chapter examines the propensity to which the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) employs measures to protect its national security and how the practice of state sovereignty and security intersects with the safeguard of human rights of millions of Uyghurs that call the Western province of Xianjing, China, home. Combined with the study of national security, state sovereignty, and human rights, the crux of this chapter centers on the practice of human trafficking and how its employment as a means of controlling the 241

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 241

08-10-2021 11:27:47

242

Alecia D. Hoffman

religious, cultural, and social practices of a minority group—the Uyghurs. Through the use of international campaigns such as the “war on terror,” the PRC has assumed strict protocols to ensure that state security is maintained. However, the procedures taken have come into question by the international community and human rights observers as violating international law standards. Human trafficking is not of new origin. Many studies are being conducted to better understand its effects on the victims, and the economies of origin, threshold, and receiving states. Furthermore, analysis is also ongoing as it pertains to the types of mitigation policies implemented by governments and international organizations to curb its practice. However, when a sovereign nation-state with near superpower status sanctions and condones such practices against a particular segment of their population, this begins to pique the interest of those who study and analyze the intrastate dynamics of political systems and the people who are governed by them. This interest leads to questions about the reach, scope, and scale of international law, and who fully adheres to the law of nations? STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Most research that focuses on human trafficking has a propensity of information that points towards the criminal aspects of organized nefarious groups profiting from the movement of persons within a country to another destination that may be considered a threshold country or the final destination country. Often the activities in which the victims are forced to participate include forced labor, drug running, prostitution, child soldiering, forced/arranged marriages, and so on. However, the question of the illegality of human trafficking poses a different set of queries when it pertains to sovereign states that participate in and condone such actions for the sake of protecting their own culture, values, and norms, all in the name of national security. Several research think tanks and international organizations purport this to be the case with the PRC. Hence, the reason for examining the form of state-sanctioned trafficking in persons within the country mentioned above. As Stanley Hoffmann aptly discusses in his essay the “Uses and Limits of International Law,” published in 1973, there are at times ambiguity of international law that occasionally allows its benefactors to act as if the very aspect of the international law does not exist.2 NedZad Basic’s 2002 essay “International Law and Security Dilemmas in Multiethnic States” rightfully examines the juxtaposition of two fundamental principles of international law; self-determination of a people and territorial integrity of a sovereign

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 242

08-10-2021 11:27:47

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

243

state.3 The second principle would prevent any intervention or act of aggression by another nation of the international community into the state’s internal affairs, experiencing internal discord from differing ethnic groups. These arguments proffered by Hoffmann and Basic are essential when examining the PRC’s role and the plight of the Uyghurs, a people whose customs and practices are different from the traditional Han people of China, and hence the reason for this discussion. Very little analysis has been provided on the state’s role in protecting its territorial integrity and how this intersects with the rights of certain ethnic and religious minorities occupying the same territory. How does selfdetermination proceed for the minorities occupying the nation-state where the governmental apparatus and the majority hold different customs, norms, and religious practices? In addition to this overarching question, others also come to the fore. In protecting its territorial integrity, how much power is a sovereign nation allowed and expected to wield as it pertains to quelling the voices of the minority? Does the sovereign state have the right to detain dissidents and require those persons to undergo reeducation programs and be transported against their will to work in factories or other locales, away from families and loved ones to undergo Sinicization? When does the right of a people or ethnic group(s) right to self-determination clash with the maintenance of the state’s national security? Moreover, does the state have the right to curb religious freedoms and autonomy when the ethnic minority is perceived as a terrorist group? These questions are the crux of this chapter. The lack of research on this very question of state sovereignty and self-determination of a people in the PRC rightfully deserves examination and analysis within the broader scope of international law and the legal precepts that outlaw human trafficking. THEORETICAL PARADIGM The central theoretical paradigm to undergird the PRC-Uyghur clash examination is Samuel P. Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations.” The basic premise of Huntington’s theory was that of a conflict of civilizations. This clash is not due to political ideologies or economic matters, but due to that of cultures. As he posits in his 1993 essay, “Nation states will remain the most powerful actors in world affairs, but the principal conflicts of global politics will occur between nations and groups of different civilizations.”4 Another important caveat of Huntington’s article and theory is that the post–Cold War society provides us with a glimpse into the interactions between the West and the rest of the world and those interactions within non-Western civilizations.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 243

08-10-2021 11:27:48

244

Alecia D. Hoffman

This basic premise of Huntington’s theory provides the context or lens to examine the PRC-Uyghur controversy. A key term within Huntington’s thesis is civilization. As operationalized by Huntington, its meaning aptly describes the Uyghur population and their existence in Xinjiang Province. The Uyghurs are a “cultural entity” that occupies a portion of what is now modern-day PRC. This group has retained its history, religion, language, and customs—all elements make the Uyghur population a bona fide civilization. With this basic definition/understanding of a civilization, a proper examination of how the Uyghur people and the crises occurring in the PRC can adequately unfold. Huntington elucidates six key elements that would highlight the conflict that occurs between civilizations. These six elements are (1) How civilizations are differential, with a specific focus on history, language, culture, tradition, and religion; (2) The shrinking of the world due to globalization is increasing the interactions of different civilizations. This fact of globalization can lead to animosities and increased focus on differences; (3) The nation-state is no longer the only source of identity. The rise of the importance of religion has begun to fill this gap and replace the nationstate. Now more than ever, religion transcends borders and unites people and civilizations; (4) The move toward de-Westernization of elites in nonWestern societies while the masses take on more Western characteristics; (5) Cultural characteristics are much more constant than fluid economic and political stances; and lastly, (6) Economic regionalism exacerbates the role of civilizations.5 Of these six elements, each of them is evidenced within the PRC with the Uyghur population. Although some are more nuanced and not as pronounced, Huntington’s theory applies to the study of the Uyghur crisis in the PRC. Lastly, Huntington’s analysis of the “clash” happens on two levels, the macro and the micro-levels. In his seminal article, there is a great deal of discussion surrounding the macro level, where nations are pitted against each other utilizing the “kin-country” approach, the West-versus-the rest syndrome, or the West-versus-Islam. However, scant attention is provided to the micro conflicts that occur within nation-state boundaries where differing civilizations clash with the agents of the state and the resultant policies implemented to control the minority group. Concomitantly, Huntington’s 1993 article did not foresee the shifting power dynamic in the international arena due to 9/11. As a result, the West, particularly the United States, gained an ally like the PRC to join them in the fight against the global war on terror, which specifically pointed to those who were practitioners of fundamentalist Islam as the enemy that all nations need be leery. The Uyghurs, whose push for autonomy, their traditional practices—either through customs, religion, and even language—piqued the interest of the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 244

08-10-2021 11:27:48

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

245

Chinese Communist Party (CCP). This nationalistic push of the Uyghur people led to the practice of “Sinicization” due to the rising fears of Islamic fundamentalism in China. Although the paradigm first espoused by Bernard Lewis in 1990 and two years later received wider attention after Huntington published it, it has received much criticism. Some foreign policy experts have used the theoretical paradigm in more recent times to describe the U.S.–China relationship. Former national security adviser John Bolton, who served under the most recent former president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, brought this theory to the fore in 2019 to describe and warn of foreign policy shifts between the United States and China.6 Furthermore, the paradigm has been used by many hawkish members in Western foreign policy circles to bring some clarity to the dilemma between the West and Islam. For this reason, it has received criticism as being a racist policy position, propagandist, and even an intellectual attempt to justify war and interventions.7 In this chapter, the Lewis/Huntington theory will take a slightly different approach to utilization. Through much of the paradigm’s usage, it has been employed to explain the West’s course in dealing with other civilizations. However, the approach here is to apply the “clash of civilizations” paradigm cautiously and judiciously to the internal discord within one nation-state and analyze and attend to the intersection of state security and human rights abuses. METHODOLOGY This study’s methodological approach is unobtrusive and employs a case study embodied with a normative procedure. By utilizing the “clash of civilizations” paradigm, this chapter will explore the norms and values of the international arena regarding human rights, the nation-state in its quest to maintain national security, and the rights of certain groups to exercise selfdetermination. The study will consist of examining existing secondary source material derived from journal articles, policy think tanks, nongovernmental organizations, governmental organizations, and books to gain clarity on the following research questions: 1. How does self-determination proceed for the minority groups occupying the nation-state where the governmental apparatus and the majority hold different customs, norms, and religious practices? 2. In protecting its territorial integrity, how much power is a sovereign nation allowed and expected to wield as it pertains to quelling the voices of the minority?

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 245

08-10-2021 11:27:48

246

Alecia D. Hoffman

3. Does the sovereign state have the right to detain dissidents and require these persons to undergo re-education programs and be transported against their will to work in factories in other locales away from families and loved ones to undergo the process of “Sinicization”? 4. When does the self-determination of a people or ethnic group(s) clash with the maintenance of the state’s national security? 5. Does the state have the right to curb religious freedoms and autonomy when the ethnic minority is viewed as a terrorist group? The questions above will be explored with the end goal of analyzing the intersection of human rights and nation-state sovereignty and security. Furthermore, the state’s role of methods of what “should not be” as opposed to “what ought to be” as it pertains to the practice of human trafficking. This study of a nation’s normative facets juxtaposed against the overarching normative international law approaches is the chapter’s crux. Examining how a state justifies human trafficking to achieve its national security objectives presents a “clash” of some of the most basic principles undergirding human rights. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE The literature is organized thematically. An examination of the history of the Uyghurs is necessary to understand the dynamics of Northwest China, a history of Uyghur unrest and state-sanctioned crackdowns, the ideological lens on Uygur unrest and crackdowns, and lastly, the movement of Uyghurs for work purposes and Sinicization. History of the Uyghurs Dolkun Kamberi offers an extensive history of the Uyghur people and documents a vibrant history with a distinct culture, language, art, music, religious, and regional identity.8 Uyghur identity can is traced back to as early as the second-century BCE. According to Kamberi: The Uyghurs and their ancestors established their reign under the rule of the Huns (second century B.C.E. to second century C.E.), the Jurjan (third century to fifth century C.E.), and the Turkish empires (522 to 744 C.E.). The Uyghurs also established their own states throughout history: these included the Uyghur Äli (744 to 840 C.E.), the Ïdïqut Uyghur (605–840 to 1250), the Uyghur Qarakhan (tenth to thirteenth century), the Uyghur Chaghatay (thirteenth to sixteenth century), the Yärkänt Uyghur Khanate (1514–1678), the Qumul and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 246

08-10-2021 11:27:49

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

247

Turpan Uyghur Baks (from the end of the seventeenth century to the beginning of the nineteenth century), and finally the Yakup Bak (1820–1877), which lasted until the Qing invasion. The Uyghurs reclaimed Uyghur-land as the Republic of Eastern Turkistan in 1933 and as the Eastern Turkistan Republic in 1944–1949.9

The significance of the information provided by Kamberi clearly shows that the Uyghur people are not of recent origin and have a very distinct history that is rich with all the elements that would constitute a culture. This distinct culture is marked by literary, religious, and linguistic characteristics uniquely situated in the far Western province of what is now under PRC control. Those who primarily comprised the area before the state-sanctioned movement of Han Chinese into the region are of Indo-European and Turkish background. Kamberi notes that extensive intellectual and literary accomplishments took place during the height of Uyghur prominence, and previous leaders sought to preserve such endeavors. Examples include the writing of plays, operas, and establishing women’s rights to be a part of artistic events.10 An additional characterization of the Uyghurs is their religious beliefs and practices. There are several noted, such as Shamanism, Tengrilism, and Nestrorian Christianity which have spanned the history of their civilization. These spiritual practices include Buddhism, Manichaeism, and Islam. Islam was “officially adopted in 960 C.E. under the medieval Uygur king, Sultan Sutuq Bughra Khan.”11 Today most Uyghurs still adhere to the practice of Sunni Islam. Islam’s practice has come under threat in the Xinjiang region, as the CCP has considered the religion closely linked to terrorist activities and a danger to the state’s goals. Furthermore, the increased settlement of Han Chinese in the Xinjiang region, set in place by the Chinese government’s resettlement policies, has severely restricted the Uyghurs’ ability to enjoy the basic freedoms fundamental to human rights. Geography of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region In addition to the varied periods of Uyghur reign, religion, and literary accomplishments, extensive works illustrate the group’s geographic area. The area located in Central Asia was previously called East Turkestan, and the geographical landmass is some 635,000 square miles. Furthermore, it is the largest autonomous region in China and located in a resource-rich area strategically placed between Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, and India.12 The location of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), as the PRC named it in 1955, makes it unique not only because of the rich resources within the area but also its strategic location. The region’s geographical position places it squarely within a geopolitical site that is uniquely important for the PRC as a rising superpower.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 247

08-10-2021 11:27:49

248

Alecia D. Hoffman

History of Uyghur Unrest and Crackdowns Much discussion centers on the history of the CCP’s policies to curb the religious expression and cultural identity in Xinjiang Province. Some of the existing literature aptly examines the early policies of the Mao Tse Tung era during the Cultural Revolution. In contrast, more recent literature examines some of the contemporary uprisings initiated by the Uyghurs and the state policies implemented to quell the uproar for autonomy. Justin Hastings’s examination of Uyghur unrest posits that the political geography of Xinjiang Province and the policies of the PRC are reasons for the increase in violence during the period 1990–1996.13 During both the Barren Campaign of 1990 and the subsequent Strike Hard Campaign of 1996, Hastings notes, several logistically planned attacks against the Uyghur population by the Chinese government occurred. The attacks were designed to thwart the rise of separatist movements carried out in this region of China and further indicate that the PRCs’ use of rapprochement with other Asian countries prevents the Uyghurs from launching a large-scale violent campaign. As a result of the region’s political geography, Hastings argues, the Uyghur population’s ability to carry out attacks against the PRC is difficult due to the area’s terrain and the inability to move people or goods across borders. Although the topography of the region would hamper any largescale organization on the part of the Uyghurs, this has not eased the fears of the CCP, hence the institution of restrictive policies in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. Patrick Meyer provides a glimpse of China’s policies toward minorities in the PRC after the Cultural Revolution and the end of Mao Tse Tung’s leadership in the PRC.14 During the post-Mao era, the interrelations between the Han Chinese and the Uyghur population is characterized as friendly and harmonious due to the political, economic, cultural, and religious freedoms enjoyed specifically by the Uyghur people. However, there was a shift in policy direction toward the Uyghur people during the 1990s after the CCP began instituting crackdowns after noticing rising nationalism amongst the Uyghur population. The CCP instituted a variety of campaigns to control the Uyghur people. Measures such as the 100-Day Crackdown Campaign, the General Campaign Against Terrorism, and the Strike Hard Campaign were all instituted to quell the growing nationalist sentiment and foster Uyghur assimilation.15 Gerry Groot also provides an overview of Xi Jinping’s “Strike Hard” policy instituted in Xinjiang Province.16 As part of the strategy to bring harmonization within Xinjiang Province, the Communist Party introduced harsh measures to eradicate what it calls the “Three Evils: separatism, terrorism, and religious extremism.”17 To provide some context as to how the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 248

08-10-2021 11:27:49

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

249

CCP is attempting to eradicate this issue, Groot’s discussion centers on the contemporary history of policing in Xinjiang Province commencing in 2009. The use of re-education camps, the elimination of Islamic Heritage site, and the quartering of CCP officials in the homes of Uyghur citizens are just some of the measures taken as part of the “Strike Hard Strategy.” Coupled with an overview of the policies implemented, the author highlights the respective signs that security forces need to be aware of that would signal extremist activity may be afoot. He indicates that there are some forty-eight signs, all of which seem innocuous, as signals to authorities that extremism is highly likely amongst a family, person, or a group.18 IDEOLOGICAL LENS ON UYGHUR UNREST AND CRACKDOWNS Elena Caprioni examines the Hans/Uyghur relationship from that of a sociopolitico lens.19 Her focus centers on the interactions of an upwardly mobile sample of both groups, which she calls the agents. She examines their exchanges within a structure. For her analysis, she defines the structure as the nation-state and its respective policies implemented to ensure that order and security are maintained. Methodologically, Caprioni, realizing the sensitive nature of the topic and the stringent control measures in place by the PRC, devised a nuanced ethnographic study instrument which allowed her to speak directly with Han Chinese and the Uyghur population during a five-month stay in Xinjiang. A qualitative approach was used in the area of Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang. Her findings indicate that although two different cultural groupings reside in the XUAR, they are separated by their own neighborhoods, languages, time, and religion. Although these barriers exist, they are what Caprioni would call “moveable barriers.”20 This movability is predicated on varied situations. Overall, both the Han Chinese and Uyghurs showed unease interacting with each other despite the many moveable barriers within Xinjiang.21 Ching Mun Rosalyn Lim examines the intersection of ethnicity and religiosity and how these are motivating factors for conflict in Xinjiang compared to other factors at play, such as economic marginalization.22 According to Lim’s analysis, religion and ethnicity are not enough to lead to armed conflict and indicates that the tension goes deeper than Huntington’s idea of a “clash of civilizations.” Lim suggests that there is a need to evaluate policies in Xinjiang. In conclusion, Lim’s study examines how the policies of the CCP are exclusionary, not inclusionary of the Uyghur minority.23 To augment Caprioni and Lim’s research, Reza Hasmath has conducted extensive studies on the Uyghur/Han dynamic. One specific manuscript

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 249

08-10-2021 11:27:49

250

Alecia D. Hoffman

penned in 2013 focuses on the Uyghur/Han conflict’s ethnocultural reason in Xinjiang.24 However, Hasmath cautions readers not to let ethnocultural divides be the only reason for the rise in tensions in the Xinjiang region. According to Hasmath, the socioeconomic stratification dimension is also of importance. He has consistently studied the Han/Uyghur relations and, more specifically, has looked beyond the ethnocultural lens. In a 2019 article, Hasmath delved into other dynamics such as the concentration of Uyghurs in the rural areas compared to urban areas, the types of gainful employment available to the Uyghur minority, and the wage-earning gap that exists between the Hans and Uyghurs.25 MOVEMENT OF UYGHURS FOR WORK PURPOSES AND SINICIZATION Vicky Xiuzhong et al. provides a brief report of the Uyghur population’s indicators of forced labor.26 Utilizing Chinese state sources and accounts of those who have escaped China, the report indicates that the forced labor camps are not voluntary. She and her colleagues report little movement, carefully guarded living quarters, isolation from loved ones, and unequal pay assignments amongst those who undergo re-education. According to their documentation of an official state-sanctioned office located in Xinjiang Province, ideological, medical, and employment details are maintained for each laborer. The use of threat and coercion are used to Sinicize those that are contracted out for labor services. Xiuzhong goes further and details the threats made to the families of those working and living in controlled factories and isolated quarters. Those who are defiant of CCP wishes and demands are the ones targeted with threats to their families. Those who are part of the re-education programs and forced labor camps must undergo random phone searches for Islamic and religious content. Their dorms are also randomly searched. Overall, Xiuzhong et al.’s report emphasized not only the violation of international laws but a violation of the tenets embodied in China’s constitution. In addition to Xiuzhong’s report, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has written a report highlighting the re-education and forced labor programs that the Uyghurs have to endure. Fergus Shiel and Saha Chavkin answered a poignant question that many are asking: What are the Chinese government’s re-education camps? In answering this question, the authors highlight not only the vocational training that some Uyghurs must endure but also the assignment to work in factories as a form of forced labor.27 Other reports highlight the number of multinational firms that employ Uyghurs as part of the relocation for work and re-education purposes instituted by the PRC.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 250

08-10-2021 11:27:50

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

251

Lexology notes that there are specific actions that are being considered by the U.S. government to address the long-held reports of labor trafficking in the XUAR province and movements beyond the region. The accusations of the PRCs forced labor are particularly concerning to the United States because of the global supply chains and the number of U.S. multinational firms implicated in the process. As a result of this, various U.S. government agencies have taken concerted efforts to ensure that U.S. companies are mindful and not participatory in the human rights degradations occurring against the Uyghur population.28 These four areas, the history of the Uyghurs, unrest and crackdowns, the ideology of unrest and crackdowns, and Uyghurs’ movement for work purposes and Sinicization, are not by any means exhaustive. However, it does provide a glimpse of the literature and the recent existing reports within the international community that highlight the plight of the Uyghur people. With this background on the literature established, the link between Huntington’s theory and what is occurring with the Uyghurs can be more firmly established, and therefore, analyzed. THE INTERSECTION OF THE “CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS”: THE SINICIZATION AND FORCED MOVEMENT OF THE UYGHURS The strained relationship between the traditional Han Chinese and the Uyghur population is not of new origin. Throughout history, the Uyghurs have gone through several nadir periods in their culture due to foreign groups’ invasions. However, in recent times, explicitly commencing with the PRC’s formation in 1949, the Uyghurs’ culture has consistently been delineated to very little importance in the State’s eyes. Although the region, formerly known as East Turkestan, has the largest ethnic minority in the country, its presence is slowly diminishing. The Uyghur presence and culture’s erosion are physically and figuratively being weakened by the state via several channels. The tactics include the following: 1. The colonization of the traditional Han Chinese in the XUAR through the use of CCP policies; 2. The use of state-sanctioned policies to destroy religious sites, prevent spiritual practices, and thwart linguistic and artistic culture and heritage; 3. The physical intrusion by state agents into Uyghur homes to monitor their actions and habits; 4. Digital monitoring of the movements of Uyghur people;

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 251

08-10-2021 11:27:50

252

Alecia D. Hoffman

5. Undertaking actions sanctioned by the state to move Uyghur people from their homes to re-education camps and work factories for Sinicization purposes. Each of these points mentioned above constitutes international law violations and directly conflicts with the PRCs’ own constitution, which should apply to all persons within their borders. To understand how this constitutes a “clash of civilizations,” a return to Samuel Huntington’s thesis is warranted. As previously noted, the Uyghurs are a “cultural entity.” This group has retained all elements that comprise a culture, including history, religion, language, and customs. Thus, this constitutes a bonafide civilization. Furthermore, the “clash” ensues vis-à-vis the six elements that are elucidated upon by Huntington. For the Uyghurs in XUAR, this is undoubtedly evident. ELEMENT ONE: DIFFERENTIAL CIVILIZATIONS, SELF DETERMINATION, AND COLONIZATION One of the first elements mentioned by Huntington is the conflict that occurs between civilizations. As previously stated, the Uyghur people date back centuries in the northwestern section of what is now the PRC. Additionally, other groups, such as the Mongols and the Qing, have occupied the area, with the Uyghurs living with these groups or entering into skirmishes. Either way, the Uyghurs have remained a prominent cultural group within the region of Central Asia. However, at the end of the Chinese Communist Revolution and the PRC’s creation in 1949, the Uyghurs, although they were designated as autonomous in 1955, were not indeed allowed to practice self-governance, and herein lies the problem. As part of the CCP policy, even the slightest change to policy focused on autonomy had to receive approval from higher government levels. Furthermore, the typical governance structures allowed in a nation’s autonomous regions were not implemented correctly or adhered to, a point concisely made by Gardner Bovington.29 Therefore, the Uyghur people’s ability to genuinely have self-determination from the date of the region’s creation was severely hampered and consequently close to nonexistent. The Uyghurs never had a chance to practice self-governance in an area they primarily occupied, coupled with the institution of CCP policies that allowed for non-Uyghur settlements in the XUAR region, exacerbated the issue. The Han Chinese settlements and colonial movements into the area are done in a manner to dilute the Uyghur culture and supplant it with more traditional Chinese culture, an antithesis to the Uyghur way of life.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 252

08-10-2021 11:27:50

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

253

ELEMENT TWO: GLOBALIZATION, STATE SOVEREIGNTY, AND QUELLING DISSENT The second element is that of the shrinking of the world due to globalization. Post 9/11 marked a significant change for the PRC and the rest of the world. The fear of Islamic radicalism caused many nations to panic, and many implemented extra precautions to prevent the spread of Islamic fundamentalism to their jurisdictions. For the Uyghur people, this did not bode well. The growth of fundamentalist groups in nations close to the PRCs borders led to extra security and a shift from soft policies to rigid policies in the XUAR to control the Muslim minority group. Some of these measures, albeit they were instituted after some uprisings in the region, consisted of extra police presence, tight controls over the Uyghurs’ movement, closing mosques, and curtailing religious practices. The state further extended these measures to encompass cultural and linguistic realms. Uyghurs were encouraged to learn Mandarin Chinese and forego the traditional mother tongue of the culture. The teaching of traditional cultural music forms and art were tamped down in educational facilities. Indeed, the PRC is a sovereign nation and has the right to protect its territorial integrity; however, when a cultural group within the state’s borders becomes a target to justify a perceived threat to the national security of the state, then this is viewed as a “clash of civilizations.” Additionally, when a long-standing cultural group has occupied a region that later becomes part of a sovereign nation-state, that group’s ability to retain its culture and customs should not be infringed upon by the state. Some think tanks and international human and civil rights groups have gone as far as calling this a state-sanctioned genocide. The events in Xinjiang are receiving increased international focus and scrutiny. The U.S. Congress has recently considered a bill, and this legislation is now in the purview of the U.S. Senate. The Pope of the Catholic Church has weighed in on the issue and compared it to other marginalized groups’ plights throughout history. International governing organizations (IGOs) such as the United Nations have noticed the XUAR region and the PRCs’ harsh tactics in the area. And lastly, think tanks and human rights organizations have consistently clamored for something to be done. ELEMENT THREE: THE IMPORTANCE OF RELIGION, STATE INTRUSION, AND SINICIZATION Huntington notes that the third element of conflict is that the nation-state is no longer the source of identity, but religion would begin to replace the nation-state ethos. Although this element may not be entirely plausible for

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 253

08-10-2021 11:27:50

254

Alecia D. Hoffman

all societies, it is a bit more nuanced for the Uyghur population. The Uyghur population maintained their culture for centuries and can be considered the original inhabitants of this area of Northwest China. Furthermore, Islam is the dominant religion in the lives of the Uyghurs and has been so since 960 CE, when the Uyghur culture was at its zenith. Coupled with the degradation of the practice of Sunni Islam, the rituals of the religion, such as adhering to a halal diet, abiding by a particular dress code, and maintaining prayer rituals, are hampered by the Sinicization efforts of the CCP. The tactics utilized by the state include the movement of Han Chinese officials into the homes of Uyghurs to watch their daily habits and ensure that individuals are conforming to traditional Han practices, many of which are not religious. This may entail interfering with diets by encouraging the eating of pork or non-halal foods, encouraging dress and attire that does not adhere to religious standards or beliefs, and tracking and reporting those who do not abide by the rules or steps taken by the state to foster a more “cohesive Chinese society.” Huntington states that religion transcends state lines and unites people. However, one would argue that due to the fear of the growing tide of Islam post 9/11, the PRC began to keep a more watchful eye on the Uyghurs’ religious practices. This scrutiny was not just a practice post 9/11; it was always there. Bovington speaks of the period post-1958 to 1977 when the PRC shifted from allowing religious and cultural freedom to Uyghur assimilation into traditional Han culture.30 This freedom versus intolerance practice waxed and waned throughout much of the 1980s, with more repressive measures beginning in the 1990s. The minority group did not accept these harsh policies lightly, as they were and still are considered a direct violation of their human rights. As a result, several uprisings occurred in the XUAR region of the PRC, some of them violent in nature and some resulting in Han Chinese and Uyghurs’ deaths. Post 9/11 seemed to offer few incidents of Uyghurs becoming involved in the jihadist movements or extreme activities that were attempted by terrorist groups under the watchful eye of the international community. Some argue that the PRC utilized this very issue to consolidate power and exert more control in its far western region. Additionally, the strategic location of the XUAR province only heightened the anxieties of the CCP and hence added support for the hardline policies implemented in the area. One such example is the designation of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) as a terrorist organization. As previously stated, the strategic location of XUAR Province places it in the region that was rife with terrorist activity, particularly Afghanistan. As a result, some Uyghurs “were captured by coalition forces and held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”31 However, the repressive policies of the PRC were met with outrage and disdain by the Uyghur population. Just as the minority population had taken more hardline measures before, they again

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 254

08-10-2021 11:27:51

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

255

were taken during the early part of the twenty-first century to assert that they too had fundamental human rights that were not going to be discarded by the state. Those who disobeyed state orders and chose not to conform to the policies put forth by the CCP face the consequences of going through the Sinicization programs. It is this point that is the crux of this chapter. The Sinicization programs carried out by the CCP called for the Uyghurs’ separation from their families to reeducation camps for the good of the state, their families, and themselves. The Sinicization programs are alleged to entail forced movement to work facilities, forced activities to learn about the Chinese culture, and Mandarin Chinese education. Additionally, there are reports of torture and even rape.32 ELEMENT FOUR: DE-WESTERNIZATION OF ELITES, STATE NATIONAL SECURITY, AND MONITORING One of Huntington’s interesting elements is that as the masses begin to take on more Western characteristics, the elites become de-Westernized. In the twenty-first century, discussions regarding Sino-U.S. relations abound. Whether those conversations center on fair trade, devaluation of currency, intellectual property rights, international regimes’ development, or even Chinese nationals and foreigners’ treatment within the PRC. However, when examining the Uyghur population, this is somewhat different from what Huntington was conveying. From the Uyghur perspective, there is a cultural battle in the XUAR. The minority population seeks to keep its cultural aspects and heritage intact. However, the CCP is imposing its will upon the Uyghur people and forcing them to adopt Chinese culture and characteristics along with more modernized ways of the world. All of this takes place as China becomes more modernized in its global competition with the West. Huntington’s approach was a bit different in 1993 when this thesis was first published. Huntington espoused that most non-Western elites were educated in the Western institutions and therefore sought to keep up with the West, while the masses were holding on to their traditions and culture. However, the dynamic changed, and more elites adopted the “back to the source” approach while the masses became more enthralled and accommodating of Western culture. When examining the de-Westernization element, one would argue that under the guise of State security, the CCP and PRC are forcing the Uyghur population to take on more Western characteristics by denouncing their cultural heritage, religion, and language. To qualify this statement, Reza Hasmath discussed this aptly. For the Uyghur to receive acceptance into

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 255

08-10-2021 11:27:51

256

Alecia D. Hoffman

Chinese society, that is, jobs, schools, various urban settings, the “old ways” must be eliminated for the “new ways.” Hasmath discusses this ethnocultural and ethnoreligious dynamic operating in the XUAR Province, and it is this similar point that Huntington was alluding to in 1993.33 As aptly put by Huntington, “the interactions among peoples of different civilizations enhance the civilization-consciousness of people that, in turn, invigorates differences and animosities stretching or thought to stretch back deep into history.”34 ELEMENT FIVE: THE CONSTANT OF CULTURE, FLUID POLITICS-ECONOMICS, AND FORCED RELOCATION The forced relocation of Uyghurs for Sinicization is succinctly addressed in the analyses of the above elements. Additionally, the intersection of Sinicization and its disregard for the Uyghur’s rights and culture is scrutinized. However, Huntington’s point of the fluidity of politics and economics does deserve a bit more attention. Huntington notes that “cultural characteristics and differences are less mutable and hence less easily compromised and resolved than political and economic ones.”35 On this point, Huntington’s argument is at least partially valid concerning the Uyghurs. It is evident that the retention of culture is paramount to the Uyghurs, and the attempts made by the Han Chinese to reform or bring the Uyghurs into “Chinese Modernity” are taken seriously by the CCP and also by the minority population. There is a battle of wills on this point. However, Huntington’s idea of a specific group’s ability to seamlessly move within economic and political positions offers a slightly different narrative, especially for the Uyghurs. From the PRCs Foundations in 1949, the people inhabiting the East Turkestan area were informed they would be autonomous. The Uyghurs were guaranteed they would freely govern themselves and practice their own culture, customs, and religion. In 1955, when the XUAR was created, the CCP devised an intricate region planned of thirteen different minzus or ethnic nations. However, as Bovington notes, the regions were designed to give the Uyghurs the overwhelming weight both demographically and politically. However, the other minzus were closely aligned with the central government, thus weakening Uyghur power and political control in the region. Furthermore, the plan devised by the CCP was to keep the Uyghurs “in the house” rather than letting them have “control over their own house.” This plan was also instituted to ensure that the CCP could consolidate control over the PRC’s whole.36 In addition to the early prefectures developed by the CCP, various articles were devised as part of the Autonomy Law. Of particular interest are

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 256

08-10-2021 11:27:51

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

257

Articles 15 and 19, and 20. These articles systematically ensured that the Uyghurs did not hold any real autonomy in the XUAR region. According to Bovington: The articles of the Autonomy Law reveal the limitations built into the system. Article 15 indicates that all autonomous government organs are under the leadership of the State Council, and all must “obey the state council.” Article 20 grants organs of autonomy the right to “alter or suspend” policies or orders promulgated by higher-level government units, yet makes such actions subject to approval by those superior units. And while it acknowledges the right of autonomous regional governments to draw up locally appropriate “statutes on autonomy and specific regulations,” Article 19 also grants the National People’s Congress the authority to approve or reject such statutes.37

From this statement above, it was quite clear that Uyghurs did not possess the power to freely move in political circles or move into some of the higherlevel cadres of the CCP. Power-sharing or autonomy was not the intent of the PRC or the leadership. The next point of element five discussed by Huntington is economic fluidity. Just as political fluidity was not the intent of the CCP for the XUAR, economic fluidity is not entirely true either. Reza Hasmath has discussed this point thoroughly in his publications about the XUAR region. First, there is a division of labor that exists in the XUAR. Most of the high-paying jobs are reserved for the Han Chinese. He indicates three tiers of employment in the region; first, secondary, and tertiary tiers. In the primary tier, these are the jobs that are occupied by most of the Uyghurs. Hasmath indicates that approximately 80.6 percent of Uyghurs work in the lowest-paying farming, forestry, and animal work jobs.38 However, the secondary and tertiary tiers of employment have a higher level of Han Chinese working in those industries such as banking, research, mining, health, restaurant, and retail trade jobs. Even in some lower-paying jobs such as real estate, transport, manufacturing, and construction, many of these jobs are still overwhelmingly dominated by Han Chinese.39 There is stratification within the XUAR region, which places the Uyghur at a disadvantage both politically and economically. State-sanctioned relocation programs fuel divisiveness. And the settlement or colonization of Han Chinese into the XUAR has exacerbated tensions and revived the sentiment of maintaining culture in the region. With more adamant practices taken by the Uyghur population, the CCP counters these actions through an increased Han Chinese settlement, more surveillance of Uyghur movements, and an increase of relocation and Sinicization to ensure that the dominant Chinese values of the state prevail to bring about a more homogenous country.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 257

08-10-2021 11:27:51

258

Alecia D. Hoffman

CONCLUSIONS The movement of Uyghur persons throughout the XUAR region and beyond has piqued the concern of governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), think tanks, international governmental organizations (IGOs), and Uyghur human rights groups in various parts of the globe. When countries partake in practices that are deemed to be against the international norms and standards that value the essential sanctity of human rights and life, one begins to question the level to which countries can utilize the national security nexus argument to buttress their actions. To date, there are reports that over one million Uyghurs have been displaced through forced internment in reeducation camps and relocated to work in factories as part of becoming homogenized with the rest of Chinese society. Although this issue has previously received little attention in international circles, major global powers are now instituting their own policies to ensure that they are not complicit in the XUAR region’s practices and surrounding provinces of China. Huntington’s seminal thesis “A Clash of Civilizations?” is relevant to the Uyghur crisis study. Although this theoretical paradigm has been used to study the interactions between nations, it is applicable in examining intrastate affairs. In the Uyghurs case, the fault lines are indeed cultural, but they also have an economic and political component. And all is unfolding in a strategic geopolitical location for the world to see.

NOTES 1. “What is Human Trafficking?” United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Accessed August 30, 2020. Available from: unodc​​.org/​​unodc​​/en​/h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​/ wha​​t​-is-​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​.ht​​m​l​?re​​f​=men​​uside​. 2. Stanley Hoffman, “The Uses and Limits of International Law,” in International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues 12th Edition, eds. Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, 130–133. Boston: Pearson Publishers, 2015. 3. NedZad Basic, “International Law and Security Dilemmas in Multiethnic States.” Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law 8, no. 1, Art. 2 (2002): 1–32. Available from: https​:/​/di​​gital​​commo​​ns​.la​​w​.ggu​​.edu/​​annls​​urvey​​/vol​8​​/iss1​​/2. 4. Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72, no. 3 (Summer 1993): 22–49, 22. 5. Ibid., 25–28. 6. Paul Musgrave, “John Bolton is Warning of a ‘Clash of Civilizations’ with China. Here are the Five Things you Need to Know.” Washington Post, July 18, 2019. Accessed November 14, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.was​​hingt​​onpos​​t​.com​​/ poli​​tics/​​2019/​​07​/18​​/john​​-bolt​​on​-is​​-warn​​ing​-c​​lash-​​civil​​izati​​ons​-w​​ith​-c​​hina-​​here-​​are​-f​​​ ive​-t​​hings​​-you-​​need-​​know/​.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 258

08-10-2021 11:27:52

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

259

7. Peter A. Osborne, “Do Not Weep for Bernard Lewis, High Priest of War in the Middle East.” Middle East Eye, May 22, 2018. Accessed November 14, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.mid​​dleea​​steye​​.net/​​opini​​on​/do​​-not-​​weep-​​berna​​rd​-le​​wis​ -h​​igh​-p​​riest​​​-war-​​middl​​e​-eas​​t. 8. Dolkun Kamberi, “Uyghurs and Uyghur Identity.” Radio Free Asia (2015): 1–41. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: rfa​.o​​rg​/En​​glish​​/book​​shelf​​/Uygh​​ urIde​​n​tity​​.pdf.​ 9. Ibid., ii. 10. Ibid., 5. 11. Ibid, 15–17. 12. Ibid., i; “Who are the Uyghurs of East Turkestan?” International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation, Accessed December 10, 2020. Available from: www​.iuhrdf​.org​/uyghur; “About Us” Uyghur Human Rights Project, Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https://uhrp​.org​.about. 13. Justin Hastings, “Charting the Course of Uyghur Unrest,” The China Quarterly, no. 208 (December 2011): 893–912. 14. Patrick Meyer, “Eternizing Uyghurs’ National Identity and Islamic Practices: China’s De-Extremization of Uyghurs in Xinjiang,” New America (2016): 4–6. 15. Ibid., 5. 16. Gerry Groot, “Internment and Indoctrination-Xi’s New Era in Xinjiang,” in Power, eds. Jane Golley, Linda Jaivin, Paul J. Farrelly, and Sharon Strange (Canberra: Anu Press, 2019), 98–116. Available from JSTORj.etvfrxqkv.14. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid. 19. Elena Caprioni, “Daily Encounters Between Hans and Uyghur in Xinjiang: Sinicization, Integration or Segregation?,” Pacific Affairs 84, no. 2 (June 2011): 267–287. 20. Ibid., 277. 21. Ibid., 285. 22. Chin Mun Rosalyn Lim, “Religion, Ethnicity, and Economic Marginalization as Drivers of Conflict in Xinjiang” (Master’s Thesis, Georgetown University, 2011), ii–iii. 23. Ibid., ii–iii. 24. Reza Hasmath, “Managing China’s Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor, and the Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness Among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang,” in Religion in the State: A Comparative Sociology, eds. Jack Barbalet, Adam Possamai and Bryan S. Turner (London: Anthem Press, 2013), 121–137. 25. Reza Hasmath, “What Explains the Rise of Majority-Minority Tensions and Conflict in Xinjiang?” Central Asian Survey 38, no. 1 (2019): 46–60. 26. Vicky Xiuzhong Xu, Danielle Cave, James Leibold, Kelsey Munro, and Nathan Ruser, “Forced Uyghur Labor, Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-Education’, Forced Labour and Surveillance Beyond Xinjiang,” Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2020): 6–7. JSTORresrep23090.6. 27. Fergus Shiel and Sasha Chavkin, “China Cables: Who Are the Uighurs and Why Mass Detention?” International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, November 24,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 259

08-10-2021 11:27:52

260

Alecia D. Hoffman

2019. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.ici​​j​.org​​/inve​​stiga​​ tions​​/chin​​a​-cab​​les​/c​​hina-​​cable​​s​-who​​-are-​​the​-u​​ighur​​s​-and​​-​why-​​mass-​​deten​​tion/​. 28. “Recent Actions Taken to Address Reports of Labor Trafficking in Xinjiang and Beyond” Lexology, December 11, 2020. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.lex​​ology​​.com/​​libra​​ry​/de​​t​ail.​​aspx?​ g=d8ba5687-9248-44d7-b660-422253289190. 29. Gardner Bovington, “Autonomy in Xinjiang: Han Nationalist Imperatives and Uyghur Discontent,” East-West Center Washington, 2004: 1–97, 15. 30. Ibid., 5. 31. Ishan Tharoor, “A Brief History of the Uighurs,” Time Magazine July 9, 2009. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: conte​​nt​.ti​​me​.co​​m​/tim​​e​/wor​​ld​/ar​​ticle​​/0​ .85​​99​,19​​​09416​​,00​.h​​tml. 32. Fergus Shiel and Sasha Chavkin, “China Cables: Who are the Uighurs and Why Mass Detention?,” 3. 33. Reza Hasmath, “Managing China’s Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor, and the Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness Among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang,” 123–134. 34. Samuel P. Huntington, “The Clash of Civilizations?”, 26. 35. Ibid., 27. 36. Gardner Bovington, “Autonomy in Xinjiang: Han Nationalist Imperatives and Uyghur Discontent,” 13–14. 37. Ibid., 15–16. 38. Reza Hasmath, “What Explains the Rise of Majority-Minority Tensions and Conflict in Xinjiang?,” 53; Reza Hasmath, “Managing China’s Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor, and The Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness Among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang,” 130. 39. Ibid., 130.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “About Us.” Uyghur Human Rights Project. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https://uhrp​.org​.about. Basic, NedZad. “International Law and Security Dilemmas in Multiethnic States.” Annual Survey of International and Comparative Law 8, no. 1, Art. 2 (2002): 1–32. Available from: https​:/​/di​​gital​​commo​​ns​.la​​w​.ggu​​.edu/​​annls​​urvey​​/vol​8​​/iss1​​/2. Bovington, Gardner. “Autonomy in Xinjiang: Han Nationalist Imperatives and Uyghur Discontent.” East-West Center Washington, 2004: 1–97. Caprioni, Elena. “Daily Encounters Between Hans and Uyghur in Xinjiang: Sinicization, Integration or Segregation?” Pacific Affairs 84, no. 2 (June 2011): 267–287. Groot, Gerry. “Internment and Indoctrination-Xi’s New Era in Xinjiang.” In Power, eds. Jane Golley, Linda Jaivin, Paul J. Farrelly, and Sharon Strange, 98–116. Canberra: Anu Press, 2019. Available from JSTORj.etvfrxqkv.14.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 260

08-10-2021 11:27:52

The Intersection of Nation-State Sovereignty

261

Hasmath, Reza. “Managing China’s Muslim Minorities: Migration, Labor, and the Rise of Ethnoreligious Consciousness Among Uyghurs in Urban Xinjiang.” In Religion in the State: A Comparative Sociology, eds. Jack Barbalet, Adam Possamai, and Bryan S. Turner, 121–137. London: Anthem Press, 2013. ———. “What Explains the Rise of Majority-Minority Tensions and Conflict in Xinjiang?” Central Asian Survey 38, no. 1 (2019): 46–60. Hastings, Justin. “Charting the Course of Uyghur Unrest.” The China Quarterly, no. 208 (December 2011): 893–912. Hoffman, Stanley. “The Uses and Limits of International Law.” In International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues 12th Edition, eds. Robert J. Art and Robert Jervis, 130–133. Boston: Pearson Publishers, 2015. Huntington, Samuel P. “The Clash of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72, no. 3 (Summer 1993): 22–49. Kamberi, Dolkun. “Uyghurs and Uyghur Identity.” Radio Free Asia (2015): 1–41. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: rfa​.o​​rg​/En​​glish​​/book​​shelf​​/Uygh​​ urIde​​n​tity​​.pdf.​ Lim, Chin Mun Rosalyn. “Religion, Ethnicity, and Economic Marginalization as Drivers of Conflict in Xinjiang.” Master’s Thesis, Georgetown University, 2011. Meyer, Patrick. “Extremizing Uyghurs’ National Identity and Islamic Practices: China’s De-Extremization of Uyghurs in Xinjiang.” New America (2016): 4–6. Musgrave, Paul Musgrave. “John Bolton is Warning of a ‘Clash of Civilizations’ with China. Here are the Five Things you Need to Know.” Washington Post, July 18, 2019. Accessed November 14, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.was​​hingt​​onpos​​ t​.com​​/poli​​tics/​​2019/​​07​/18​​/john​​-bolt​​on​-is​​-warn​​ing​-c​​lash-​​ivili​​zatio​​ns​-wi​​th​-ch​​ina​-h​​ ere​-a​​re​-​fi​​ve​-th​​ings-​​you​-n​​eed​-k​​now/. Osborne, Peter A. “Do Not Weep for Bernard Lewis, High Priest of War in the Middle East.” Middle East Eye, May 22, 2018. Accessed November 14, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.mid​​dleea​​steye​​.net/​​opini​​on​/do​​-not-​​weep-​​berna​​rd​-le​​ wis​-h​​igh​-p​​riest​​​-war-​​middl​​e​-eas​​t. Ranz, David J. “Confronting Atrocities in China: The Global Response to the Uyghur Crisis.” US Department of State. June 6, 2019. Available from: https​:/​ /ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/con​​front​​ing​-a​​troci​​ties-​​in​-ch​​ina​-t​​he​-gl​​obal-​​respo​​nse​-t​​o​​-the​​-uygh​​ ur​-cr​​isis/​. “Recent Actions Taken to Address Reports of Labor Trafficking in Xinjiang and Beyond.” Lexology, December 11, 2020. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​.lex​​ology​​.com/​​libra​​ry​/de​​t​ail.​​aspx?​ g=d8ba5687-9248-44d7-b660-422253289190. Shiel, Fergus Shiel and Sasha Chavkin. “China Cables: Who Are the Uighurs and Why Mass Detention?” International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, November 24, 2019. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​ w​.ici​​j​.org​​/inve​​stiga​​tions​​/chin​​a​-cab​​les​/c​​hina-​​cable​​s​-who​​-are-​​the​-u​​ighur​​s​-and​​-​why-​​ mass-​​deten​​tion/​. Tharoor, Ishan. “A Brief History of the Uighurs.” Time Magazine, July 9, 2009. Accessed December 11, 2020. Available from: conte​​nt​.ti​​me​.co​​m​/tim​​e​/wor​​ld​/ar​​ ticle​​/0​.85​​99​,19​​​09416​​,00​.h​​tml.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 261

08-10-2021 11:27:53

262

Alecia D. Hoffman

“What is Human Trafficking?” United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime. Accessed August 30, 2020. Available from: unodc​​.org/​​unodc​​/en​/h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​/wha​​t​-is-​​ human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​.ht​​m​l​?re​​f​=men​​uside​. “Who are the Uyghurs of East Turkestan?” International Uyghur Human Rights and Democracy Foundation. Accessed December 10, 2020. Available from: www​ .iuhrdf​.org​/uyghur. Xu, Vicky XiuZhong, Danielle Cave, James Leibold, Munro Kelsey, and Nathan Ruser. “Implications for the Global Supply Chain, Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-Education,’ Forced Labor and Surveillance Beyond Xinjiang.” Australian Strategic Policy Institute (March 1, 2020). Accessed July 29, 2020. Available from: https​:/​/ww​​w​ .asp​​i​.org​​.au​/r​​eport​​/uygh​​​urs​-s​​ale. ———. “Forced Uyghur Labor, Uyghurs for Sale: ‘Re-Education,’ Forced Labour and Surveillance Beyond Xinjiang.” Australian Strategic Policy Institute (2020): 6–7. JSTORresrep23090.6.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 262

08-10-2021 11:27:53

Chapter 11

Voiceless Rohingyas From Refugee to Modern Slaves Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

Every day, in every country in the world, human traffickers exploit people for profit. The poor and the vulnerable are most at risk. Over 70 percent of detected trafficking victims are women and girls, while nearly one-third are children. The crisis has overwhelmed social and public services, impacted law enforcement and criminal justice systems, and made it harder for victims to seek help.1

As per the International Labor Organization (ILO) and Walk Free Foundation’s estimation in 2017, human trafficking, sometimes called “modern-day slavery,” affects approximately forty million men, women, and children trapped in a horrendous web of forced labor, sexual exploitation, and forced marriage.2 Women and girls are disproportionately affected by trafficking, accounting for 28.7 million, or 71 percent of the overall total. More precisely, women and girls represent around 99 percent of victims of forced labor in the commercial sex industry and 58 percent in other sectors, 40 percent of victims of forced labor imposed by state authorities, and 84 percent of victims of forced marriages.3 Indeed, this alarming figure is a monumental challenge or a wake-up call to the global community, which has committed to ending human trafficking and modern-day slavery in the upcoming decades. Today, human trafficking, which is essentially a euphemism for slavery, controls more victims, in short, the highest number of slavers in human history.4 On the other hand, the human trafficking network in South/South East Asia has proven to be a lucrative business, where military crackdown and poverty are, by far, some of the most significant factors causing the prevalence of human trafficking.5 Equally, the world has reluctantly watched how the violence caused a mass exodus of the Rohingyas, where more than three-quarters of a million of them fled due to an ethnic cleansing campaign led by the Myanmar government. The 263

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 263

08-10-2021 11:27:53

264

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

extensive explanation from the Global Trends reports highlights that the “exceptional” Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and Myanmar, both its displacement and statelessness, was because of the massive forced displacement of their population during the 2017 “ethnic cleansing camping.”6 In a global scenario, they are considered one of the most “persecuted ethnic minorities,” who are typically stateless and traumatized by decades-long oppression by the Myanmar government.7 To indicate the intensity of the humanitarian crisis, Rakhine State’s IOM’s emergency coordinator, Manuel Marques Pereira, warned that “the horrific prospect that thousands of people affected by the Rohingya crisis will end up in the hands of a trafficker, is a risk that must not be underestimated.”8 Through the analytical perspective, the contemporary chapter briefly illustrates how the human trafficking issues in South/South East Asia is a transnational issue where the global trafficking reports have constantly indicated that more than 85 percent of victims were trafficked across the region. Furthermore, it argues that human trafficking has been among the fastestgrowing forms of transnational crime because globalization has created an increasing platform for its demand and supply.9 As preliminary research traditionally interpenetrates globalization as a phenomenon, it occurs at the macro level and is determined by states’ economic activities and marketing policies. However, this chapter takes a different approach to understanding globalization by first showing how the trafficking network and globalization are embodied and enacted by individuals. Second, it attempts to scrutinize the complex nature of trafficking channels as the United States Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report listed most Southeast Asian countries in either tier 2 or tier 3 of its watch list.10 These two most concerning categories indicate that human trafficking is still a massive problem in these regions. It connects with different types of crime, such as forced labor (construction, fishing, agriculture, mining, logging, and manufacturing sectors), sex trafficking (fraud, commercial sex acts, and coerced marriage), child labor, and even organ trafficking. Correspondingly, the chapter analyzes why human trafficking had been underreported, under-detected, and under-prosecuted, where the crimes remained hidden, and the fear of intimidation and reprisals oppressed the victims. The chapter also briefly touches upon the gendered dimension of contemporary servitude as human trafficking is the only area of transnational crime in which women are significantly represented—victims, perpetrators, and activists seeking to combat this crime. Women are disproportionately affected by human trafficking, particularly trafficking for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced marriage.11 The central attention of the chapter is to provide the readers with a comprehensive overview of the voiceless Rohingyas whose future is uncertain as they gradually become the majority victims of human trafficking.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 264

08-10-2021 11:27:53

Voiceless Rohingyas

265

ROHINGYA REFUGEE CRISIS: A LEGACY OF FORCIBLE DISPLACEMENT AND STATELESSNESS The mass influx of several hundred thousand Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh, which began in 2017, was shocking and dramatic, but not unprecedented. The Rohingyas suffer severe limitations on their fundamental human rights in their country of origin, depriving them of opportunities to lead decent lives and dimming their hopes for a secure future.12 Also, the plight of the Rohingya—“stateless”—people are not recognized as nationals by any state, albeit the state in various forms, regulates their everyday life, committing severe injustice and practicing various inequalities by producing ineligibility in the state structure.13 The Rohingya of Myanmar who lost their citizenship when their rights were revoked by law in the 1980s are excluded from the national homogenization of ethnic membership, often associated with loyalty, which had been a significant factor in denying and granting citizenship.14 As Brad Blitz argued in 1983, the Burmese government completed a nationwide census in which the Rohingya were not counted, rendering them stateless through exclusion.15 Similarly, Berlie Jean explained that the 1982 Citizenship Act legalized this exclusion, creating two categories of people, full citizens of Burma, including most ethnic groups, and then “associate” citizens, such as the South Asian and Chinese minorities. The government disqualified the Rohingya from both groups because they could not prove their lineage as “associates” before 1948.16 Consequently, the Rohingya became the victims of statelessness, vulnerable to discrimination, exploitation, and forced displacement in Southeast Asia.17 August 2017 marked by far the largest and fastest Rohingya refugee influx into South Asian countries, including Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. Since then, an estimated 745,000 Rohingyas, including more than 400,000 children, have fled into Cox’s Bazar. As of March 2019, over 909,000 stateless Rohingya refugees reside in Ukhiya and Tenknaf Upazilas of Bangladesh.18 The 2017 Rohingya humanitarian crisis caused by Myanmar is affecting Bangladesh and causing strife in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. As Brad Adams argued, Thailand and Indonesia have become wayward stations for Rohingya refugees, where they fall into the hands of traffickers and extortionists, in many cases witnessing death and suffering abuse and hunger.19 Also, Bemma Adam claims that these brutal networks, with the complicity of government officials in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Malaysia, profit from the desperation and the misery of some of the world’s most persecuted and neglected people.20 The Human Right Watch has constantly warned that “Burma and Bangladesh need to stop persecuting the Rohingyas, while Thailand and Malaysia urgently need to shut down camps

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 265

08-10-2021 11:27:54

266

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

where boat people are held to end abuses and ensure that no more mass graves are created on their soil.”21 GLOBALIZATION, LUCRATIVE TRADE, AND TRAFFICKING Human trafficking is now one of the world’s most lucrative organized crimes, generating more than $150 billion a year. The Rohingya have been vulnerable to human trafficking for years. Between 2012 and 2015, the human trafficking trade involving the Rohingya is estimated to have generated between $50 million and $100 million a year.22 These profits rival those of the illegal sale and trade of drugs and weapons. Some experts point to human trafficking as the fastest growing of these underground industries. The growth of and profits from human trafficking are related to fierce competition in the global economy, where a company or an industry’s access to cheap labor is key to gaining an economic advantage over competitors. When cheap labor is difficult to obtain, some people and industries are willing to turn to human trafficking. As the world’s economies grow increasingly interdependent, the opportunity gap between nations and peoples grows wider. Residents of developing countries are often desperate, and they are willing to migrate to find work. They are prepared to endure separation from their families, harsh working conditions, and uncertain futures, all of which put them at risk of exploitation by traffickers. Individual traffickers, on the other hand, are willing to risk their capture and imprisonment to make a living, sometimes a very profitable one, in developing countries.23 The profits from such activities are significant and rising. Current estimates by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime place human trafficking as the second most profitable form of transnational crime after the sale of drugs and rank it more profitable than selling arms.24 Correspondingly, globalization helped make the present-day slaves easy to procure, easy to transport, and easy to exploit to increase the number of industries. The global sex industry makes its business and profit from these constructed positions of masculinity, femininity, and ethnicity, leading to the conditioning and contributing to establishing the domain of subjectivity and the abject zone in the globalized world’s states’ immigration politics.25 As Naim Moises has argued, transnational criminals have been significant beneficiaries of globalization. Human smuggling and trafficking have been among the fastest-growing forms of transnational crime because current world conditions have created increased demand and supply.26 Likewise, Shelly Louie explained the supply exists because globalization has caused increasing economic and demographic disparities between the developing

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 266

08-10-2021 11:27:54

Voiceless Rohingyas

267

and developed world, where poverty is by far one of the largest factors causing the prevalence of human trafficking. Poor living conditions combined with the lack of infrastructure make citizens vulnerable targets. In villages across Southeast Asia, desperate individuals are deceived into slavery with false promises of work.27 Victims are typically sold to various businesses and are kept in camps where many are murdered. In Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, and throughout Southeast Asia, mass graves reminiscent of the Holocaust can be found in many rural areas where poverty is intentionally caused by faulty government policy. This strategy has caused an increase of migrant workers pouring into the developed areas where they are often forced into slavery.28 In all these cases, poor living conditions and rampant poverty has led people to fall victim to human trafficking. Difficult financial situations have led people to sell themselves in the hand of traffickers or false opportunities for work. For both sex slavery and forced labor, poverty is at the root of the issue.29 According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), many Southeast Asian victims migrate in search of paid jobs but wind up forced to labor in fishing, agriculture, construction, and domestic work, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).30 Siddharth Kara has argued that demand has also increased as producers depend more on trafficked and exploited labor to stay competitive in a global economy where consumers seek cheap goods and services, including readily available and accessible sexual services. Supply and demand have created a flourishing business for traffickers.31 Women and female children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking because of their low social status and the lack of investment in girls. The gender dimension study also explained how the male victims who were unable to repay exorbitant fees charged by unauthorized brokers and recruiters became vulnerable to debt bondage and other forms of exploitation.32 Consequently, the Asia-Pacific region is the world’s most lucrative in sex trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage. Bodies for Sale: An Assessment of Sex Trafficking in Southeast Asia The section, as mentioned earlier, clearly identifies the demand and supply side of the human trafficking network, which cannot be overlooked. However, the theoretical framework also wants to situate or add the trafficked Rohingya to the anthropological aspects of “ethnoscpaes.”33 By “ethnoscapes,” Appadurai means “the landscape of persons who constitute the shifting world we live in: tourists, immigrants, refugees, exiles, guest workers, and other moving groups and individuals.”34Although, we are implying in this chapter that the movement of these groups shapes the globalized world, as we see how the global economic flourish as human trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 267

08-10-2021 11:27:54

268

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

a lucrative trade. In this way, even those who have not been so affected by globalization do not have a compulsion to move, become involved in complex ethnoscapes that form around their communities and disturb their stability. Due to the historical factors, geographical proximity helped to promote and operate the trafficking network in Southeast Asia. As per the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Fortify Rights, more than a million Rohingya from Bangladesh and Myanmar have been the victims of “murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation or forcible transfer, imprisonment, torture, and rape, as part of a widespread and the systematic attack directed against Rohingya civilians,” making them prime subjects of human trafficking.35 As the ILO data has indicated, women are disproportionately the victims of human trafficking, particularly trafficking for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and marriage. Walk Free foundation36 reports that women and girls accounted for more than 99 percent of all victims of forced sexual exploitation. More than 70 percent of victims of forced sexual exploitation were concentrated in the Asia and Pacific region. According to the US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2019, “Traffickers exploit Rohingya men, women, and children from refugee camps for both sex and labor trafficking, including domestic servitude, although the scale is unknown, including in comparison to the local host community.”37 The U.S. Department of state puts it more succinctly: Traffickers sometimes transport Rohingya girls within Bangladesh to Chittagong and Dhaka and transnationally to Kathmandu and Kolkata for sex trafficking; some traffickers “trade” these girls over the internet. Some Rohingya traffickers defraud and coerce Rohingya women and girls from refugee camps into sex trafficking through fraudulent job or marriage proposals and abduction. Local criminal networks take Rohingya women from refugee camps at night, exploit them in sex trafficking, and bring them back to the camps during the day. International organizations allege some Bangladeshi border guards, military, and police officials facilitate the trafficking of Rohingya, including accepting bribes from traffickers to access camps. Rohingya girls and boys are recruited from refugee camps to work as shop hands, fishers, rickshaw pullers, and domestic workers in Bangladesh. Some Bangladeshi fishermen use debtbased coercion to exploit Rohingya men when their shelters are placed on the fishermen’s land. Some Rohingya men who fled to Bangladesh from Burma decades ago have been trapped in forced labor through debt-based coercion to Bangladeshi fishers for 20 years. Some traffickers sold into forced labor Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants, who traveled by boat to Southeast Asia and could not pay ransoms in the recent past.38

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 268

08-10-2021 11:27:54

Voiceless Rohingyas

269

The Daily Star reported that taking advantage of the desperation of these displaced people, the traffickers trick the more vulnerable ones into sex slavery, domestic servitude, and forced labor. First of all, these women are deprived of their dignity and pay. While the traffickers and sex traders take more significant cuts of the money earned through this trade, the women are given a paltry amount to live on.39 Witness accounts, testimonials of the victims, and various reports by the media and humanitarian agencies suggest that many Rohingya women have been pushed into forced prostitution and domestic slavery. Being sold into domestic slavery is another major problem faced by Rohingya women and girls. Small girls especially are more vulnerable to this problem. “He told me my trip would be smooth, and no harm would happen to me. The broker who smuggled me said I would be safely delivered to my fiancée, who is living in another country. We were crammed into cars and trucks; it was sweltering inside, and sometimes I could hardly breathe. I felt dizzy and vomited many times. We were fed when the vehicles stopped, but sometimes we traveled for one or two days straight without food and not enough water. My journey ended when I was arrested before I reached my destination. I was brought to a government facility and am kept here. I am no longer free. I cannot talk to my parents or fiancée. In Myanmar, we could not leave the village because of the security situation, but at least I could walk around and talk to people. Now I can’t go anywhere. All I want now is a solution that can give me just a bit of hope. The broker who smuggled me broke their promise. I would say to him, ‘Look at what you have done! Look at where I have ended up now’ ” (a Rohingya girl facing an uncertain future in a refugee camp).40 In the same way, Raham, a Rohingya victim in Malaysia, said, “I was trafficked four times. They forced me to call my mother and demand 7,000 (Malaysia) ringgit (US$1,684). I told them we did not have any money, so they handed us over to uniformed border guards.” Rahman landed in Malaysia. From a safe house in Penang for human trafficking victims, she was able to make her way with a friend’s help to Kuala Lumpur. Here, there is a sizeable Rohingya community living in Ampang.41 Looking at the intense brutality and the humanitarian crisis of the Rohingyas, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Fillino Grandi, said, “I am worried about two sets of risk. One is exploitation, including sexual exploitation, when people come with nothing.” They are extremely vulnerable to this. “The other feature of this particular crisis is trauma that people carry with them.”42 Members of a transnational criminal syndicate trafficked Rohingya women and girls from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia via Thailand for forced marriages and domestic servitude. Fortify Rights interviewed Rohingya women and girls sold into forced marriages, men who purchased women and girls, and eyewitnesses to the trafficking of Rohingya women and girls.43

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 269

08-10-2021 11:27:55

270

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

Multiple NGOs and humanitarian officials assess these restrictions have increased forced labor and sex trafficking of Rohingya over the past year. Bangladeshis and foreigners create demand for child sex tourism, including the exploitation of Rohingya girls near Cox’s Bazar. The trafficked woman struggles in the shadow “sexscape”44 of the “ethnoscape” in these ways: she has moved, but illegally; she has entered the country, but she should not be seen; she needs her invisibility and silence as a guarantee for her safety in the hands of traffickers; and, even if she may have some rights in the receiving country, the control of the pimps and traffickers can prevent her from seeking help. This argument has revealed the workings of bio-power45 in the globalized world economy, showing how distinct bodies are produced and required, and specially made, for trading and making profit by both formal and informal global economic actors. In other words, this masculine desire for the feminine and ethnic forms constitutive moment establishes the domain of subjectivity in the globalized sex trade, in conjunction with the globalized world economy.46 Taking advantage of the desperation of these displaced people, the traffickers trick the more vulnerable ones into sex slavery, domestic servitude, and forced labor. Moreover, although men and young boys also fall victim to the lure of the traffickers, who give them false hopes of better lives abroad, the women and girls are more specific targets and the more lucrative ones. We argue that statelessness and human trafficking are grave and widespread human rights problems that the international community is committed to tackling. The stateless status and inability of Rohingya to receive a permit to work legally increase their vulnerability to human trafficking.47 SOUTH/SOUTHEAST ASIAN’S ANTI-TRAFFICKING STRATEGIC POLICIES AND DISCOURSES The section mentioned above has elucidated that the stateless Rohingyas are vulnerable to sex trafficking, bondage, and exploitation in South/South East Asia. Both the regional and international actors are slow to recognize these issues. Similarly, the Trafficking in Persons Report advocated that the Asia and Pacific region is one of the most vulnerable to human trafficking due to its inefficient strategic policies and implications. As Bangladesh is the most prominent hosting nation, it does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. The Trafficking in Persons Report has stated that the government identified significantly fewer trafficking victims and did not consistently refer victims to care. Reports of it doing

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 270

08-10-2021 11:27:55

Voiceless Rohingyas

271

so were far fewer than the number of victims it identified. Victim care remained insufficient, where Rohingya and foreign trafficking victims could not even access protective services, and the government did not have shelter for the adult male victims. Another Rohingya hosting nation, Thailand, did not even establish precise legal reporting mechanisms within the camps, impeding Rohingyas’ access to justice and increased impunity for offenders.48 Even though approximately 100 credible reports of forced labor and sex trafficking of the Rohingyas occurred within Bangladesh, the government did not report investigating or prosecuting these potential crimes. The Bangladesh High Court did not entertain anti-trafficking cases Rohingyas filed. Therefore, Bangladesh and Thailand remained on tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year. Similarly, the Malaysian and Indonesian administration does not fulfill the anti-trafficking mandate, also fall under the tier 2 category.49 To eliminate human trafficking, both the state and the international communities should address the root causes that make the Rohingya vulnerable to traffickers, including economic hardships, lack of education, lack of livelihood generation opportunities, and lack of access to basic necessities. Also, establish clear procedures for Rohingya to file complaints in the legal systems and train law enforcement and camp management on the procedures. It is a collective responsibility for both the host country and the humanitarian agencies working with the Rohingya population, who need to take a more thorough and comprehensive approach covering all aspects of human trafficking to address and eliminate this difficulty. Simultaneously, the Southeast Asian leaders should urgently adopt concrete plans for addressing the crisis faced by the ethnic Rohingya minority. “It has been constantly reported that the ASEAN leaders have done almost nothing for years and should dramatically rethink their approach to the Rohingya crisis.” A coordinated regional response is desperately needed to protect Rohingya in Myanmar, in refugee camps abroad, and at sea, while pressing Myanmar to take the steps necessary for them to return home safely. The “ASEAN member states should drop their harmful non-interference mantra and express their readiness to respond to Myanmar’s abuses and lack of cooperation with international agencies.”50 To fight human trafficking, a better national criminal justice system that effectively enforces the anti-trafficking laws and efforts must be part of a broader, multitask approach that addresses the socioeconomic and political dynamics of trafficking.51 The complexity of the challenge means it cannot be tackled by any one actor, such as the state, or by focusing only on one aspect of the issue. A more comprehensive, more human-centered approach compels us to investigate deeper into the other drivers of human trafficking, including poverty, severe exploitation, and political repression. It requires active

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 271

08-10-2021 11:27:55

272

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

participation and partnership between government and civil society groups, the private sector, and international foundations.52 CONCLUSION For decades, forcible displaced and stateless Rohingyas were subjected to persecution and discrimination in Myanmar, with hundreds of thousands forced to flee their homes because of crimes against humanity committed against them.53 As noted, the trafficking networks in South/Southeast Asia have flourished and existed for as long as there has been a demand for them. Human trafficking in Asia and the Pacific regions have proven to be a lucrative business, with hundreds of millions of dollars being made, where poverty is by far one of the most significant factors causing the prevalence of human trafficking. Moreover, the chapter explored the disturbed political condition, poor living conditions, and lack of infrastructure, making the Rohingyas vulnerable to trafficking. Also examined was how the journey for safety and “means of survival,” which was neither provided in their homeland nor the host countries, in many ways, terminated in exploitations, manipulation, and destitution for the Rohingya refugees. The chapter also argued that women and girls are at particular risk of trafficking into the sex trade and associated gender-based violence. Explicitly, the Rohingya women and children, who represent more than half of the refugees in Cox’s Bazar, are at a greater risk of many forms of harassment and discrimination. Furthermore, the chapter demonstrated how globalization operates as a system of power that produces subjects of globalization through adjustment and adaptation. To theorize the concept of sexual servitude, Elaina’s54 framework of the sexscapes of globalization was explored, followed by Appadurai’s framework of globalization as a system of complex flows of people, money, information, and images forming the landscapes of globalization.55 Finally, an analysis of how both the regional and international actors are slow in recognizing the Rohingya refugee crisis was presented. The U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons listed most Southeast Asian countries in tier 2 or tier 3 of its watch list. It shows that the government’s acknowledged investigations, prosecutions, and convictions for trafficking remained inadequate compared to the scale of the problem reported by the Rohingya victims. The chapter identified that the Rohingyas suffered decadeslong exploitation and oppression in their native land. Simultaneously, they have become the majority victims for traffickers in the host nation, within the framework of the humanitarian crisis in South/Southeast Asia. The study concludes that, for the Rohingyas, there are no strong lights of hope in their present struggle, with no future.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 272

08-10-2021 11:27:55

Voiceless Rohingyas

273

NOTES 1. UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Message, UNODC Executive Director on World Day against Trafficking in Persons,2020. Accessed: August 17, 2020. https​:/​/ ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/end​​ht​/en​​/stat​​eme​nt​​s​.htm​​l. 2. International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. Global Estimated of Modern Slavery: Forced Labor and Forced Marriage. Geneva, Switzerland, 2017. 3. International Organization on Migration. World Migration Report 2020. Geneva, Switzerland, 2020. 4. Yang, Ethan. “Human Trafficking in South East Asia and Economic Empowerment.” Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford, CT. 2016. https​:/​/di​​ gital​​repos​​itory​​.trin​​coll.​​edu​/f​​ypap​e​​rs​/69​. 5. Anthony, Caballero-Mely. A Hidden Scourge: Southeast Asia’s Refugees and Displaced People Are Victimized by Human Traffickers, but the Crime Usually Goes Unreported. Singapore: Nanyan Technological University, 2018. 6. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion Analysis. Statelessness in Numbers: An Overview and Analysis of Global Statistics. Netherlands: Tilburg University, 2018. 7. Naik, Sagarika. “Forced Displacement, Modern Slavery, and Human Right Challenges in South East Asia: A Revisit on Rohingya Refugee Crisis in the Changing World.” Journal of Modern Slavery (upcoming, 2021). 8. International Organization on Migration. Thousands at Risk of Trafficking Amid Rohingya Refugee Crisis. Geneva, Switzerland, 2018. https​:/​/ww​​w​.iom​​.int/​​ news/​​thous​​ands-​​risk-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-ami​​d​-roh​​ingya​​-refu​​​gee​-c​​risis​​-iom. 9. US Department of State. Trafficking in Person Report: 2020. Accessed: September 25, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 10. US Department of State. Trafficking in Person Report: 2020. Accessed: September 25, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​ port/​. See also; US State Department. 2019. Trafficking in Person Report: 2019. September 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​ port/​. 11. Shelley, Louise. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. See also; Lainez, Nicolas. “Representation Sex Trafficking in South East Asia: The Victim Staged.” In Sex Trafficking, Human Rights and Social Justice, edited by Tiantian Zheng, 134–150. New York: Rutledge, 2010. 12. Gorlick, Brian. “The Rohingya Refugee Crisis: Rethinking Solutions and Accountability.” In Refugee Studies Centre Oxford Department of International Development. University of Oxford, 2019. 13. Uddin, Nasir. “The State, Transborder Movements, and Deterritorialised identity in South Asia.” In Deterritorialised Identity and Transborder Movement in South Asia, edited by Nasir Uddin and Nasrin Chowdhury, 1–20. Singapore: Springer, 2019. 14. Blitz, Brad K. “Forced Migration Policy Briefing 3: Statelessness, Protection, and Equality.” Refugee Studies Center, University of Oxford, 2009. 15. Blitz, Brad K. “Kashmiris in the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Banyamulenge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.” In

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 273

08-10-2021 11:27:56

274

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

Children Without a State: A Global Human Rights Challenge, edited by Jacqueline Bhabha, 43–67. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. 16. Berlie, Jean A. Burmanization of Myanmar’s Muslims. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2008. 17. Walk Free Foundation. Global Slavery Index 2018. Accessed: August 18, 2020. https://www​.globalslaveryindex​.org/ and US State Department. 2018. Trafficking in Person, September 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2018-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ ns​-re​​port/​. 18. The vast majority live in 34 extremely congested camps, including the largest single site, the Kutupalong- Balukhali Expansion Site, host to approximately 626,500 Rohingya refugees. See also; United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. 2017. “Rohingya Refugee Crisis.” August 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.uno​​cha​.o​​rg​/ro​​hingy​​a​-ref​​uge​e-​​crisi​​s. 19. Human Rights Watch. Southeast Asia: Accounts from Rohingya Boat People: Denial of Rights in Burma, Bangladesh Lead to Trafficking and Dangerous Sea Voyages. 2015. Accessed: August 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2015/​​05​/27​​/ sout​​heast​​-asia​​-acco​​unts-​​rohin​​gya​​-b​​oat​-p​​eople​. 20. Bemma, Adam. “Rohingya refugee voices amplify across Southeast Asia.” The Jakarta Post,2019. Accessed: October 2, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​jakar​​tapos​​t​.com​​/ life​​/2019​​/07​/0​​8​/roh​​ingya​​-refu​​gee​-v​​oices​​-ampl​​ify​-a​​cross​​-s​out​​heast​​-asia​​.html​. 21. Human Rights Watch. “Southeast Asia: Accounts from Rohingya Boat people: Denial of Rights in Burma, Bangladesh Lead to Trafficking and Dangerous Sea Voyages.” 2015. Accessed: August 16, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2015/​​05​ /27​​/sout​​heast​​-asia​​-acco​​unts-​​rohin​​gya​​-b​​oat​-p​​eople​. See also; Human Right Watch. “ASEAN: Overhaul Regional Response to Rohingya Crisis Protect Asylum Seekers, Press Myanmar to End Persecution.” 2020. Accessed: August 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2020/​​06​/26​​/asea​​n​-ove​​rhaul​​-regi​​onal-​​respo​​nse​-r​​​ohing​​ya​-cr​​isis. 22. US Department of State. 2016. Atrocities Prevention Report, Targeting of and Attacks on Members of Religious Groups in the Middle East and Burma. 2016. See also; Amnesty International. “Southeast Asia: Persecuted Rohingya Refugees From Myanmar Suffer Horrific Abuses at Sea.” 2015. Accessed: August 5, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.amn​​esty.​​org​/e​​n​/pre​​ss​-re​​lease​​s​/201​​5​/10/​​south​​east-​​asia-​​perse​​cuted​​-rohi​​ngya-​​ refug​​ees​-f​​rom​-m​​yanma​​r​-suf​​fe​r​-h​​orrif​​i c​-ab​​uses-​​at​-se​​a/. 23. Behnke, Alison Marie. Up for Sale: Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2015. 24. UN World Drug Report, 2007. Accessed: August 9, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.unod​​c​ .org​​/pdf/​​resea​​rch​/w​​dr07/​​​WDR​_2​​007. 25. Suchland, Jennifer. Economics of Violence: Transnational Feminism, Postsocialism, and The politics of Sex Trafficking. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015. 26. Naim, Moises. Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers, and Copycats Are Hijacking the Global Economy. New York: Anchor Book, 2006. 27. Yang, Ethan. “Human Trafficking in South East Asia and Economic Empowerment.” Trinity College Digital Repository: Hartford, 2016. Accessed: October 2, 2020. https​:/​/di​​gital​​repos​​itory​​.trin​​coll.​​edu​/f​​ypap​e​​rs​/69​.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 274

08-10-2021 11:27:56

Voiceless Rohingyas

275

28. Shelley, Louise. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge University Press, 2010. 29. Aronowitz, Alexis. R. Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Beings. United States of America: Praeger Publishing, 2009. 30. David, Fiona, Katharine Bryant, and Jacquline Joudo Laesen. Migrants and their Vulnerability: To Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labor. International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. Accessed: October 13, 2020. https​:/​/pu​​blica​​tions​​.iom.​​int​/b​​ooks/​​migra​​nts​-a​​nd​-th​​eir​-v​​ulner​​abili​​ty​ -hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-mode​​rn​-sl​​a​very​​-and-​​force​​d​-Lab​​or. 31. Kara, Siddharth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. 32. US Department of States. Trafficking in Persons Report: 2018. Accessed: October 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2018-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 33. Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Minneapolis. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1996. 34. Appadurai, Arjun. “Grassroots Globalization and the Research Imagination.” In Globalization, edited by Arjun Appadurai, 1–21. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001. 35. Human Right Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Fortify Rights. Sold like Fish: Crime against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012-2015.2019. Accessed: October 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.for​​tifyr​​ights​​.org/​​mly​-i​​nv​-20​​​19​-03​​-27/. 36. International Labor Office and Walk Free Foundation. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labor and Forced Marriage, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017. More than70 percent of victims of forced sexual exploitation were in Asia and the Pacific region, followed by Europe and Central Asia (14 percent), Africa (8 percent), the Americas (4 percent), and the Arab States (1 percent). 32 Information from the IOM database suggested that the duration of exploitation was typically protracted; victims were exploited for an average of about two years (23.1 months) before being freed or managing to escape. 37. US Department of State. Trafficking in person Report: 2019. Accessed: August 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 38. US Department of State. Trafficking in person Report: 2019. Accessed: August 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 39. Tasneem Tayeb. “Trafficking in Rohingya: Exploitation the Desperate.” The Daily Star, 2019. Accessed: October 14, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​daily​​star.​​net​/o​​pinio​​n​/ clo​​ser​-l​​ook​/n​​ews​/t​​raffi​​cking​​-rohi​​ngya-​​explo​​iting​​-the​-​​despe​​rate-​​18367​​72. 40. UNHCR. Refugee Movements in South-East Asia: Searching for safety, UNHCR Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific, 2019. http://www​.unhcr​.org. 41. Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Fortify Rights. Sold like Fish: Crime against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012-2015.2019. Accessed: August 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.for​​tifyr​​ights​​.org/​​mly​-i​​nv​-20​​19​-03​​-27​/.​​Malay​​sia. 42. UNHCR. The world must not turn away from the Rohingya crisis, says UN chiefs, by Don Murray, 2019. Accessed: September 28, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.unh​​cr​.or​​g​ /new​​s​/sto​​ries/​​2019/​​4​/5cc​​322a3​​4​/wor​​ld​-mu​​st​-tu​​rn​-ro​​hingy​​a​-cri​​s​is​-s​​ay​-un​​-chie​​fs​.ht​​ml.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 275

08-10-2021 11:27:56

276

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

43. Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Fortify Rights. Sold like Fish: Crime against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012-2015. 2019. Accessed: August 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.for​​tifyr​​ights​​.org/​​mly​-i​​nv​-20​​19​-03​​-27​/.​​Malay​​sia. 44. Penttinen, Eline. Globalization, Prostitution, and Ex-Trafficking: Corporeal Politics. New York: Routledge, 2008. 45. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Vintage Books, 1976. See also; Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, 1995. 46. Appadurai, Arjun. “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.” In Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory: A Reader, edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Crisham, 324–339. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994. 47. Naik, Sagarika. “Statelessness, Displacement, and Transnational Crime: A critical assessment on Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Human right violation in South/South East Asia." In Living with Uncertainties: The Rohingya in the Place of Migration and beyond, edited by Nasir Uddin. Sage Publications, 2021. 48. US Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report: 2020. Accessed: July 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 49. US Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report. July 18, 2020, https​:/​/ ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. 50. Human Right Watch. “ASEAN: Overhaul Regional Response to Rohingya Crisis: Protect Asylum Seekers, Press Myanmar to End Persecution.” July 27, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2020/​​06​/26​​/asea​​n​-ove​​rhaul​​-regi​​onal-​​respo​​nse​-r​​​ohing​​ya​ -cr​​isis. 51. Aronowitz, Alexix. Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Being’s. United States of America: Praeger Publishers, 2009. 52. David, Fiona, Katharine Bryant, and Jacqueline Joudo Larsen. Migrants and their Vulnerability: To Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labor, International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. See also; Anthony, Mely Caballero. A Hidden Scourge: South East Asia’s Refugees and Displaced People Are Victimized by Human Traffickers, but the Crime Usually Goes Unreported. Singapore: Nanyang Technological University, 2019. 53. Naik, Sagarika. “Statelessness, Displacement, and Transnational Crime: A Critical Assessment on Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Human Right Violation in South/South East Asia.” In Living with Uncertainties: The Rohingya in the Place of Migration and beyond, edited by Nasir Uddin. Sage Publications, 2019. 54. Penttinen, Eline. Globalization, Prostitution and Ex-Trafficking: Corporeal Politics. New York: Routledge, 2008. 55. Appadurai, Arjun. “Disjuncture and Difference in the Global Cultural Economy.” In Colonial Discourse and Post-colonial Theory: A Reader, edited by Patrick Williams and Laura Crisham, 324–339. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 276

08-10-2021 11:27:56

Voiceless Rohingyas

277

BIBLIOGRAPHY Amnesty International. South East Asia: Persecuted Rohingya Refugees From Myanmar Suffer Horrific Abuses at Sea. 2015. https://www​.amnesty​.org​/en​/pressrelea​ses/2​015/1​0/sou​theas​t-asi​a-per​secut​ed-ro​hingy​a-ref​ugees​-from​-myan​mar-s​ uffer​- horrific-abuses-at-sea/. Anthony, Caballero-Mely. A Hidden Scourge: Southeast Asia’s Refugees and Displaced People Are Victimized by Human Traffickers, but the Crime Usually Goes Unreported. Singapore: Nanyan Technological University, 2018. Appadurai, Arjun. Modernity at Large: Cultural Dimensions of Globalization, Minneapolis. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press 1996. Appadurai, Arjun. “Grassroots Globalization and the Research Imagination.” In Globalization edited by Arjun Appadurai, 1–21. Durham: Duke University Press, 2001. Aronowitz, Alexis. R. Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Beings. United States of America: Praeger Publishing, 2009. Behnke, Alison Marie. Up for Sale: Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century Books, 2015. Bemma, Adam. “Rohingya refugee voices amplify across Southeast Asia.” In The Jakarta Post, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​jakar​​tapos​​t​.com​​/life​​/2019​​/07​/0​​8​/roh​​i​ngya​​-refu​​ gee- voice​​s​-amp​​lify-​​acros​​s​-sou​​theas​​t​-as​i​​a​.htm​​l. Berlie, Jean A. Burmanization of Myanmar’s Muslims. Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2008. Blitz, Brad K. “Kashmiris in the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Banyamulenge in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh.” In Children Without a State: A Global Human Rights Challenge, edited by Jacqueline Bhabha, 43–67. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2011. Blitz, Brad K. “Forced Migration Policy Briefing 3: Statelessness, Protection and Equality.” Refugee Studies Center. Oxford: University of Oxford, 2009. David, Fiona, Kathararine Bryant, and Jacquline Joudo Laesen. Migrants and their Vulnerability: To Human Trafficking, Modern Slavery and Forced Labor. International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland, 2019. https​ :/​ /pu​​blica​​tions​​.iom.​​int​/b​​ooks/​​migra​​nts​-a​​nd​-th​​eir​-v​​ulner​​abili​​ty​-hu​​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​ - modern-slavery-and-forced-Labor. Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality: An Introduction. Vintage Books, 1995. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punishment: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage Books, 1995. Gorlick, Brian. “The Rohingya Refugee Crisis: Rethinking Solutions and Accountability.” In Refugee Studies Centre Oxford Department of International Development. Oxford: University of Oxford, 2019. Human Right Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) and Fortify Rights. Sold like Fish: Crime against Humanity, Mass Graves, and Human Trafficking from Myanmar and Bangladesh to Malaysia from 2012-2015, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.for​​tifyr​​ights​​.org/​​mly​-i​​nv​-20​​​19​-03​​-27/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 277

08-10-2021 11:27:57

278

Sagarika Naik and Yasser Arafath

Human Right Watch. Southeast Asia: Accounts from Rohingya Boat people: Denial of Rights in Burma, Bangladesh Lead to Trafficking and Dangerous Sea Voyages.2015. Retrieved August 16, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2015/​​05​/27​​ /sout​​heast​​-asia​​-acco​​unts-​​r​ohin​​gya​-b​​oat- people. Human Right Watch. ASEAN: Overhaul Regional Response to Rohingya Crisis Protect Asylum Seekers, Press Myanmar to End Persecution. August 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2020/​​06​/26​​/asea​​n​-ove​​rhaul​​-regi​​o​nal-​​respo​​nse- rohingya-crisis. Human Right Watch. 2015. Southeast Asia: Accounts from Rohingya Boat People: Denial of Rights in Burma, Bangladesh Lead to Trafficking and Dangerous Sea Voyages, 2015. Retrieved August 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.hrw​​.org/​​news/​​2015/​​05​/27​​ /sout​​heast​​-asia​​-acco​​unts-​​r​ohin​​gya​-b​​oat- people. Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion Analysis. Statelessness in Numbers: An Overview and Analysis of Global Statistics. Netherlands: Tilburg University, 2018. International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. Global Estimated of Modern Slavery: Forced Labor and Forced Marriage. Geneva, Switzerland, 2017. International Labor Organization. Profit and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labor. Geneva: Switzerland, 2015. International Organization on Migration. 2018. Thousands at Risk of Trafficking Amid Rohingya Refugee Crisis, September 17, 2020. Geneva, Switzerland. https​:/​/ww​​w​ .iom​​.int/​​news/​​thous​​ands-​​risk-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-ami​​d​-roh​​ingya​​-refu​​​gee​-c​​risis​​-iom. International Organization on Migration. World Migration Report 2020. Geneva, Switzerland, 2020. Kara, Siddharth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia University Press, 2017. Naik, Sagarika. “Statelessness, Displacement, and Transnational Crime: A critical assessment on Rohingya Refugee Crisis and Human right violation in South/South East Asia”. In Living with Uncertainties: The Rohingya in the Place of Migration and beyond, edited by Nasir Uddin. Sage Publication, 2021. Naik, Sagarika. “Forced Displacement, Modern Slavery, and Human Right Challenges in South East Asia: A Revisit on Rohingya Refugee Crisis in the Changing World.” Journal of Modern Slavery (upcoming, Manuscript ID: 1227892, 2021). Naim, Moises. Illicit: How Smugglers, Traffickers and Copycats Are Hijacking the Global Economy. New York: Anchor Book, 2006. Penttinen, Eline. Globalization, Prostitution and Ex-Trafficking: Corporeal Politics. New York: Rutledge, 2008. Shelley, Louise. Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Lainez, Nicolas. “Representation Sex Trafficking in South East Asia: The Victim Staged.” In Sex Trafficking, Human Rights and Social Justice, edited by Tiantian Zheng, 134–150. New York: Rutledge, 2010. Suchland, Jennifer. Economics of Violence: Transnational Feminism, Post Socialism, and the Politics of Sex Trafficking. Durham: Duke University Press, 2015. Tasneem Tayeb. “Trafficking in Rohingya: Exploitation the Desperate.” The Daily Star, 2019. Accessed October 14, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​daily​​star.​​net​/o​​pinio​​n​/clo​​ ser​-l​​ook​/n​​ews​​/t​​raffi​​cking​- rohin​gya-e​xploi​ting-​the-d​esper​ate-1​83677​2.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 278

08-10-2021 11:27:57

Voiceless Rohingyas

279

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. “Rohingya Refugee Crisis.” 2017. Accessed August 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​cha​.o​​rg​/ro​​ hingy​​a​-ref​​uge​e-​​crisi​​s. Uddin, Nasir. “The State, Trans border Movements, and Deterritorialised identity in South Asia.” In Deterritorialised Identity and Transborder Movement in South Asia, edited by Nasir Uddin and Nasrin Chowdhory, 1–20. Singapore: Springer, 2019. UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Message, UNODC Executive Director on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, August 17, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/end​​ht​/en​​ /stat​​eme​nt​​s​.htm​​l. UN World Drug Report, 2007, August 9, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.unod​​c​.org​​/pdf/​​resea​​rch​/ w​​dr07/​​​WDR​_2​​007. UNHCR. Refugee Movements in South-East Asia: Searching for Safety, 2019. http:// www​.unhcr​.org. UNHCR. World must not turn away from Rohingya crisis, says UN chiefs, by Don Murray, 2019. Accessed: September 28, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.unh​​cr​.or​​g​/new​​s​/sto​​ ries/​​2019/​​4​/5cc​​322a3​​4​/wor​​ld​-mu​​st​-tu​​​rn​-ro​​hingy​​a​-cri​​sis- say​-un​-chiefs​.h​tml. US Department of State. Trafficking in person Report: 2019. Accessed: August 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. US Department of State. Trafficking in Person Report: 2020. Accessed: September 25, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. US State Department. Trafficking in Person Report: 2019. Accessed: September 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. US Department of State. Atrocities Prevention Report, Targeting of and Attacks on Members of Religious Groups in the Middle East and Burma. 2016. US Department of States. Trafficking in Persons Report: 2018. Accessed: October 15, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2018-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. Walk Free Foundation. Global Slavery Index 2018. Accessed: August 18, 2020. https://www​.globalslaveryindex​.org/. Walk Free Foundation. The Global Slavery Index, 2017. Accessed: July 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.glo​​balsl​​avery​​index​​.org/​​2018/​​findi​​ngs​/g​​lobal​​​-find​​ings/​. Yang, Ethan. “Human Trafficking in South East Asia and Economic Empowerment.” Trinity College Digital Repository, Hartford, CT. 2016. Accessed: October 2, 2020. ahttp​​s:/​/d​​igita​​lrepo​​sitor​​y​.tri​​ncoll​​.edu/​​fypa​p​​ers​/6​​9.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 279

08-10-2021 11:27:57

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 280

08-10-2021 11:27:57

Chapter 12

Sex Trafficking of Girls Focus on Latin America and the Caribbean Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

This chapter recognizes that trafficking in persons is not a new phenomenon. Though recognized and often debated for about a century as a problem that needed to be abolished, sex trafficking remained for a long time mostly undefined. This undefined state allowed for trafficking in persons for profit that may be traced back to before the modern human rights system was acknowledged. Trafficking received no major focus globally until about two decades ago. It was toward the end of the year 2000, November 15, to be exact, that a concerted determination was made to define trafficking. It was then that human trafficking received its present international definition as well as its legal framework to address the issues related to trafficking.1 The growth of tourism, especially child sex tourism as a lucrative business throughout the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region helps to fuel this phenomenon. The importance of examining the sex trafficking of girls is underscored by the United Nations finding that the majority of trafficked victims are women and girls. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) details that one-third of all trafficked victims are children. Girls account for 80 percent of all persons trafficked in the subregion. One prominent reason for the trafficking of girls is sexual exploitation. This is borne out by the UN’s findings that for 2016, about 55 percent of the victims identified in eleven Central American and Caribbean countries were girls.2 The authors utilize two sociological theories to help provide an understanding of the human trafficking of girls in the LAC area. These theories also highlight the relationship between socioeconomic inequality between classes, the developed and underdeveloped nature of nations, power imbalances, oppression, sexism, racism, and classism, and the sex trafficking of girls from, to, and within the LAC region. 281

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 281

08-10-2021 11:27:57

282

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

The chapter next examines the laws and policies that exist in the region using the U.S. Trafficking in Persons Tier (henceforth TIP) assessment as a guide. The chapter concludes by first highlighting and later suggesting ways in which families and the wider society can help the region realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 5, with particular concentration on gender equality. The motivation for writing this chapter is bolstered by the fact that many of the reported numbers for sex trafficking of girls are underestimations of the problem. Regional laws will be evaluated to ascertain their success with implementation so that workable prevention and intervention policies may be suggested. For this chapter, girls are female children, under 18 years of age as set out in Article 3 (d) of the Palermo Protocol which states that a “child” “shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.”3 The definition of human trafficking was determined via the adoption and ratification of the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (hereafter the Palermo Protocol), that supplemented the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficked Victims Protection Act (hereafter TVPA). The Palmero Protocol suggests that while three key elements must exist for a situation to be defined as trafficking in (adult) persons namely: (i) action (recruitment, . . .); (ii) means (threat, . . .); and (iii) purpose (exploitation). This requirement is not the same for trafficking that involves children. International law provides that in the case of children (i.e., persons under 18 years of age), the “means” element is not required. It is necessary to show only: (i) an “action” such as recruitment, buying, and selling; and (ii) that this action was for the specific purpose of exploitation. Therefore, trafficking of children is any act in which a person is recruited, transported, transferred, [sic harbored], or received for the purpose of exploitation.4 In the case of trafficking for sex purposes, child sex trafficking includes “obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a minor for the purpose of a commercial sex act.”5 This suggests that once a child was subjected to some act, such as recruitment or transport, the purpose of which was to exploit that child, then that child was trafficked.6 Bearing the aforementioned definitions and explanations in mind then, sex trafficking is “a commercial sex act [that is] induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.”7 Although the word “trafficking” usually connotes some form of movement, this is only one aspect of trafficking. Movement may be across international borders or within the victim’s own home country. Trafficking may occur when a trafficked person is “received” and/or “harbored.” Thus, in the case of sex trafficking of girls, the victim may be maintained in exploitative situations

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 282

08-10-2021 11:27:58

Sex Trafficking of Girls

283

such as forced marriages, child marriages, servile forms of marriage, and child sexual exploitation. For this chapter, LAC region is the block of thirty-three member states of which most (13) countries are in the Caribbean: Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Barbados, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis. Twelve are South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela. The remaining eight countries are in Central America: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Panama.8 The subregional divisions are used to discuss trafficking trends. THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS Though many different theories may be used to understand and make sense of the persistence and experiences with sex trafficking of girls in the LAC region, two are used here—Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory and Karl Marx’s conflict perspective. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory rationalizes the relationship between a child’s environment on his/her behavior. Bronfenbrenner claims that children’s behavior develops within what he terms five “systems” of influence. These societal levels of influence are the microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, macrosystem, and the chronosystem. The focus of this theory is on the individual and the influence of the five systems on a person’s behavior.9 This theory adequately allows for examining the interplay of policy at varying institutional levels on individuals’ life experiences. It allows one to explain how based on the varying levels of constraints that a person must interact with and navigate continuously, he or she may fare in the long run. Noteworthy, in the model proposed by Bronfenbrenner, are “smaller systems” located within larger systems that individuals must navigate. This theory is useful for examining an individual’s access [or lack thereof] to resources, human capital, positive family experiences, educational attainment, experiences with discrimination, violence, globalization, marginalization, and other risk factors that are linked to the enhanced possibility that a person may or may not be trafficked.10 In the final analysis, it is the individual who is at the center of the system and who must be able to successfully navigate at varying levels. The discussion above is easily linked to the identification of some of these “smaller systems” which the authors argue may serve as push and pull factors. These “push” and “pull” factors often impact the incidents of sex

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 283

08-10-2021 11:27:58

284

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

trafficking of girls for sexual exploitation in the LAC region.11 Nonetheless, how can we explain why this phenomenon pervades the region? Why are these push and pull factors so effective? The next theory, the conflict perspective, addresses this. This theory developed out of the work of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels during the late nineteenth century.12 Conflict theory explores the relationship between power and social inequality.13 Conflict operates on the premise that people are self-centered and competitive and are forced into conflicts over resources like wealth and other scarce resources.14 The theory examines the conflict that arises between the “haves” and the “have-nots” in society. In some cases, girls in the LAC region are “have-nots.” They most often tend to come from poor, rural families, third world countries where policies, protections, and opportunities may all be limited. Some of these girls lack education, might be homeless, have very few, if any, social networks, and other life deficiencies. Based on conflict theory, the wealthy classes can maintain power by allowing oppressed groups to believe that reasons for oppression are due to the advancement of another closely aligned group. These groups work to suppress the other group to their advancement. The study of the oppression of immigrants, women, adjusting social policies to suit certain classes and classification of persons, and expectations of different groups in society are all the subject matter of the conflict theory. This theory offers a broad explanation of how social inequality, power structures, power imbalance, the existence of class structures, and oppression, may all lead singly or in combination to the sex trafficking of girls.15 SEX TRAFFICKING OF LAC GIRLS: REGIONAL EXPERIENCES The trafficking profile of persons most trafficked in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean shows disquieting trends. Of the 2.5 million people trafficked worldwide (including sexual exploitation), and the resultant U.S. $31.6 billion profit, Latin America and the Caribbean countries accounted for 10 percent (250,000) trafficked persons. This exploitative venture earned the LAC region U.S.$1.3 billion; 4.1 percent of all global profits made.16 An examination of the LAC trends in sex trafficking of girls divulges that LAC countries regularly serve as the source, transit, and destination countries for sex-trafficked girls. Sex trafficking of girls is a widespread problem that is not always limited to prostitution. Girls who are trafficked in the LAC region may first be exploited. Sex trafficking is perceived by some authorities as a canopy for the wide-ranging categories of work performed

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 284

08-10-2021 11:27:58

Sex Trafficking of Girls

285

by victims of sex trafficking. In some instances, sex-trafficked girls may be subjected to several forms of involuntary or intimidatory sexual exploitation. In some instances, these job classifications may include commercial sex work such as prostitution, pornography, exotic dancing, stripping, live sex shows, mail-order brides, military prostitution, and sexual tourism.17 Most of the data on trafficking remain elusive. Mostly, data are broad estimates or based on the cases that have become known through diverse means. Despite these data restrictions, however, there is some agreement that the trafficking of girls in LAC countries occurs regularly and under varying circumstances. An elaborate perusal of the data for Central America and the Caribbean, divulge some disturbing happenings. We report on some of the trends for the LAC region. First, we discuss the trends extant in Central America, the Caribbean, and then South America. Central America Research indicates that sex trafficking of underage girls is rampant and has gained the spotlight since the late 1990s with the advent of trafficking legislation from the United States and the United Nations. In the case of Central America, this region is described as being “fertile ground for human trafficking.”18 Trafficking is said to operate via “supplier,” “transit,” and “receiving” states.19 Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Guatemala are considered the main “suppliers” or originating states for most of the trafficked girls in Central America. In the case of transit points, all states in Central America serve as transit points for the sex trafficking of girls though some may be more active than others.20 An examination of the phenomenon for Central America reveals that Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico are the major transit locations in that region and are considered to have the heaviest flows of trafficked girls and are deemed the so-called Northern Central American Triangle.21 Heavy flows of undocumented migrants who seek passage mainly to the United States and Panama pass through these countries. This flood of migrants, boosts the probability of trafficking, especially for girls, many of whom tend to travel as unaccompanied minors hoping to enter the United States. It is at these borders, and in tourism areas that much of the sex trafficking of these girls transpires. In addition to transit states, there are also “receiving” states for trafficked girls. Some of the richer states such as Costa Rica and Belize serve in this capacity. Though girls may initially be sextrafficked within their own country of citizenship, they may eventually be transferred to another country. In some of the richer countries, poorer girls may be trafficked internally to richer persons, and in other instances, some may be trafficked from other poorer countries.22

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 285

08-10-2021 11:27:58

286

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

In this region, several children are identified as victims of trafficking. Hence, while females account for 80 percent of all trafficked persons, UNODC reports that girls comprised 55 percent of those trafficked in Central America and the Caribbean with Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala seeing such patterns.23 For Honduras, women and girls comprised 80 percent of all its trafficked victims. El Salvador and Guatemala reported similar trends with 90 percent of those trafficked from El Salvador being those trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation.24 Using the UNODC’s figures as a guide, it may be extrapolated that among those trafficked in Central America are several underage girls. Supporting this view is Sadulski who reports about the vulnerability of children in Central America for becoming victims of trafficking.25 He references the tens of thousands of migrant children from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala who make the journey through Mexico either with family members or unaccompanied in the hope of reaching the United States. The magnitude of movement of children from the region is captured efficiently by UNICEF which details that while the percentage of international migrants under the age of 20 is low globally (13 percent), the Latin American region has the second-highest number of international migrants under the age of 20 (18 percent).26 Though some evaluations indicate that one in every five migrants from the region is a child or adolescent, the scale at which internal and intra-regional child migration occurs is unavailable.27 Though scant data are available on the real numbers of girls trafficked from Central America, available data show a trend of girls being trafficked. UNODC data for 2010–2013 for Central America reveal that for El Salvador, for example, most of the victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation. When examined, thirty-nine girls were trafficked in 2010, thirty-seven in 2011, thirty-one in 2012, and thirty-nine in 2013. For 2012, Guatemala reported that while nine women were trafficked, girls (n = 45), were five times more likely to be the ones sex-trafficked. All the women and girls who were trafficked in Guatemala for 2012 were trafficked solely for sexual exploitation. Most of the women and girls trafficked in Guatemala were from Mexico. Others were from Middle Eastern countries and other Central and South American countries. Similarly, Mexico reported that more than half of all trafficked persons were sex-trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation. The data reveal that for the period 2010–2013, Mexico had uncovered 694 trafficked victims. Of these victims, more than half (402; 58 percent), were primarily trafficked for sexual exploitation. Of those trafficked for the period under consideration here, more women than girls were trafficked. There were 51 women and 54 girls trafficked for 2010; 45 women and 36 girls for 2011; 63 women and 46 girls for 2012; and 141 women and 58 girls for 2013. Interestingly, most of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 286

08-10-2021 11:27:59

Sex Trafficking of Girls

287

these women were derived from Mexico itself. Others were from Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, and Guatemala. Other countries in the region also reported likewise. For instance, Honduras reported fifty-eight and forty-four victims of trafficking cases respectively for the years 2010 and 2011. All of those victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation. Though the purpose for trafficking was not explicitly linked only to sexual exploitation, for 2011 Nicaragua reported eighty-six victims of trafficking, seven of which were children. Origin and destination countries for girls trafficked from Central American countries are mostly restricted [but not limited] to the Americas for both destination and origin flows. Trafficking seems to move predominantly from poorer to richer countries. In some instances, south to north trafficking flows is the most reported flows. Largely, girls from the northern part of Central America are trafficked to Mexico en route to the United States and Panama. Sometimes, victims are discovered in other islands and territories including Panama, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Costa Rico. The Caribbean region also presents some interesting trends in sex trafficking and is outlined next. The Caribbean Similar to Central and South American countries, most Caribbean countries are both destination and transit countries for child sex trafficking. For most of these countries, victims are recruited under varied circumstances including, but not limited to, solicitations on streets, nightclubs, bars, private homes, resorts, and more recently via social media. All the Caribbean countries have sex-trafficking problems. Recognized by the government as a problem that affects children often, the prevalence of the problem in Cuba includes sex tourism and sex trafficking with young women deemed vulnerable. Sex-trafficked Cubans are sometimes trafficked to South American, other Caribbean countries, Asia, Africa, the Mediterranean region, and the United States. Though Cuban nationals may often be the ones trafficked for sexual exploitation, at times foreign nationals from African and Asian countries may also be trafficked. During 2011 and 2013, 85 percent of all trafficked persons (182) in the Dominican Republic were children (155). Mostly the victims were local nationals, while others were nationals from Haiti. Just one East Asian victim was reported for 2013. Like Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries, the Dominican Republic has also experienced an increase in the number of Venezuelans trafficked there. This is compounded by the sex tourism industry that caters primarily to visitors from North America, Europe whose main interest is in child sex trafficking. Girls aged 15 to 17 years are often the target and initially, they may be solicited (especially via social media) to become dancers

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 287

08-10-2021 11:27:59

288

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

in strip clubs. Some of these girls may be trafficked internationally to work in nightclubs in Middle Eastern, African, Latin American, and other Caribbean countries. Oftentimes, they may instead be sexually exploited. For Jamaica, girls are sometimes solicited and then trafficked especially from poor rural families to other locations within Jamaica or international locations. Homeless girls who must beg and those who are coerced by family members are often the ones targetted for sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. Frequently, Jamaican girls may be trafficked both internally and externally to other Caribbean countries, to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. As a main tourist destination in the world, child sex tourism is a great problem affecting Jamaica. To address this, in some cases, foreign nationals from South and East Asia may also be trafficked in Jamaica. In other instances, victims may be trafficked from the other Caribbean and South American countries into Jamaica where they may be sexually exploited. Among the victims of sex trafficking identified by Jamaican authorities are girls, some of whom were trafficked from Central America and other Caribbean countries.28 The influx of Venezuelan refugees into Trinidad and Tobago has also increased sex trafficking in that country. Using social media and some of the methods outlined previously, some young women and girls are lured with the promise of employment. Instead, many of these are sex trafficked into brothels and work in clubs. Sex trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago affects nationals as well as migrant girls. Due to negligent and corrupt law enforcement and immigration services, sex trafficking flourishes. At times, some girls from Colombia, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Asian, and other Caribbean countries are targetted by traffickers. They are lured in with juicy promises, and eventually, some are often forced and/or enticed and end up being sexually exploited. For all the countries in the Caribbean, undocumented migrants stand a higher risk of being sex-trafficked. In other cases, some countries see more incidents in which parents and caregivers are the ones that exploit children into sex trafficking. This is the scene in Haiti, for instance, where child abductions are common and the practice of parents trafficking their children into the domestic industry is rife. For March–August 2012, five cases of child trafficking and six cases of child abduction had occurred in Haiti. Additionally, for the period of August 2012–March 2013, Haiti reported that twenty-eight children were abducted. The authors contend that girls who are trafficked to perform domestic and other duties are also more likely to become victims of sex trafficking and exposure to sexual exploitation. While sex trafficking in Central America and the Caribbean do indicate that the phenomenon of sex trafficking of girls is significant and worthy of further investigation, South America must not be overlooked.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 288

08-10-2021 11:27:59

Sex Trafficking of Girls

289

South America UNODC describes South America as a region in which females comprise more than 80 percent of all trafficked victims.29 For South America, though children represent about 37 percent of trafficked persons, data for 2016 reveal that more girls (31 percent) than boys (6 percent) were trafficked for sex purposes.30 Mostly, the trend is that girls are more likely to be sex trafficked within their own countries. In other cases, girls who are trafficked outside of their home countries, oftentimes end up in neighboring countries; particularly those traversable by land.31 Aggregate data specific to trafficking for sexual exploitation by age and gender is sparse for the region. Despite this shortcoming, research suggests that for South America, women are more likely to be trafficked compared to girls. In Guyana, though more women compared to children are victims of sex trafficking, the U.S. Department of State suggests that children in Guyana are exceptionally susceptible to sex and labor trafficking.32 In several occurrences, this is due to them being trafficked for labor and sexual exploitation in the extractive service industries. Oftentimes these activities are situated in remote interior locations. Additionally, as a neighbor to Venezuela, increased numbers of trafficked persons from Venezuela are noted as several Venezuelans flee to Guyana to escape the political, economic, and social issues back home. Some of these trafficked children while in Guyana may be sexually exploited. Further, though some Guyanese girls may be trafficked nationally, some of them also become victims of sexual exploitation as they try to settle in other South American and Caribbean countries such as Jamaica, Suriname, French Guyana, and some Caribbean countries.33 This trend of girls from South America becoming victims of sexual exploitation is borne out in the UNODC report when South American data for the period 2014 to September 2017 are examined.34 These data show, for example, that for Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, and Venezuela, more women were reportedly trafficked than girls. For the same period, Uruguay reported that all the victims of trafficking in persons were women. No girls were reportedly trafficked for sexual exploitation (see table 1). Contrarywise, however, for Ecuador and Peru, we note a somewhat different direction. Though generally more women were reportedly trafficked from Ecuador for years 2014–2016, an examination of the data shows a narrowing of the gap between the number of women trafficked and the number of girls trafficked. While for 2014, ten more women (thirty-seven) than girls (twentyseven) were trafficked, by 2015 this gap was reduced to a point where more girls (eighteen) compared to women (thirteen) were reportedly trafficked. By 2016, the number of women trafficked (twenty-six) was just two more than the number of girls trafficked (twenty-four). This growth in girls being

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 289

08-10-2021 11:27:59

290

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

trafficked is noted between January and September 2017 at which time the number of girls trafficked (47) was about four times that reported for trafficked women (eleven) (see table 1). Similar to Ecuador, the numbers of trafficked women and girls for Peru also show a tendency for more girls to be reported as victims of trafficking compared to women. In fact, for the South American countries for the period presented in table 1, Peru reported the highest number of trafficked girls overall. Except for 2015 when women (159) outnumbered the number of trafficked girls (150) by 9, mostly more girls in Peru are reported to be victims of trafficking than women. In some instances, as many as 155 (for 2016) and 109 (for 2017) more trafficked girls than women have been reported, with as many as 379 girls and 249 girls respectively reported for 2016 and 2017. While we note that most South American countries tend to report larger numbers of women than girls are trafficked, it is unclear exactly how many girls are sex trafficked from each of these countries. Nevertheless, the authors recognize that trafficking for sexual exploitation accounts for about 58 percent of all trafficked persons and that sex trafficking is deemed the most commonly reported form of trafficking in the region.35 These data for South America as shown in figure 12.1 bear this out. Nine countries reported

Figure 12.1  Number of Victims from South American Countries Trafficked for Sexual Exploitation: 2014 to September 2017.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 290

08-10-2021 11:28:00

291

Sex Trafficking of Girls

Table 12.1  Number of Female Victims of Trafficking in Persons Detected for South American Countries: 2014 to September 2017 Years 2014 Countries Argentina Bolivia Brazil* Chile Columbia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela

Women

2015 Girls

203 252 26 6 37 50 98 138 1

18 1 18 0 27 44 130 3

2016

Jan-Sept 2017

Women

Girls

Women

Girls

Women

Girls

188 207 51 3 13 87 159 95 1

20 4 50 4 18 23 150 5

279 488 33 8 63 26 49 224 91 29

23 4 42 3 2 24 14 379 7

62 347 44 11 13 140 73 7

3 4 4 47 7 249 5

*Number of women and girls Sex-trafficked. Source. Gill and McKennon. Compiled from UNODC. “South America.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed October 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​gloti​​p​/201​​ 8​/GLO​​TIP​_2​​018​​_S​​OUTH_​​AMERI​​CA​.pd​​f.

that victims from their countries were trafficked intentionally for sexual exploitation. The authors extrapolate that in several instances many of the girls trafficked from South America may also be trafficked for sexual exploitation. This conclusion is supported partly by data for Brazil from 2014 to September 2017 (table 12.1). These data specifically show the number of women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. The data reveal that while for 2014, eighteen girls were trafficked for sexual exploitation, this number increased by thirty-two for 2015 to fifty girls. A slight drop of eight was noted for 2016 to forty-two girls. PATTERN OF TRAFFICKING So from and to where do these movements occur? For Argentina, most of the trafficked girls identified by state authorities in Argentina were from Argentina. A sizeable number of trafficked girls were from Bolivia, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic. A lesser number was from Peru, Asia, and other South American countries. Unlike Argentina where most of the trafficked girls were local, in the case of Bolivia, several trafficked Bolivian girls may have originated internationally. Mostly these trafficked girls were from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, the United States of America, and other North American countries. A comparable trend of the majority of trafficked victims

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 291

08-10-2021 11:28:00

292

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

of Chile being of foreign descent was reported by the Ministry of the Public, Investigation Police of Chile, and the Carabineros of Chile. Some victims were from other South American countries, some from sub-Sahara Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe. For Colombia, victims of trafficking originated mainly from China. Others were from the Republic of Korea, Spain, the Middle East, Western Europe, Mexico, and some Central American, and South American countries including Argentina, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic. Unlike Colombia, where most of its trafficked victims were external to Colombia, Ecuador identified persons as victims of trafficking in person mainly from within Ecuador. Other victims were from Colombia. Large numbers derived from other South American countries including Venezuela and Cuba. A similar trend is noted for Paraguay. Mostly all the identified trafficked persons were from Paraguay. Others originated from South Korea, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, and Sweden. Peru reported that most of its trafficked victims were citizens who were trafficked domestically. In some cases, victims of trafficking in Peru emanated from other regional neighbors including, but not limited to Ecuador, Colombia, and Argentina. A few others were from further afield such as Asia. Reporting likewise, Uruguay recognized that all of its trafficked persons were women and most were Uruguayan citizens. Other countries from which trafficked women in Uruguay originated were Central American, South American, and Caribbean countries. A significantly large number were from the Dominican Republic, while to a lesser degree some of these women were from the Republic of Korea. Venezuela reported that for 2014–September 2017 most of the trafficked victims were Venezuelans. Mostly they were trafficked domestically. Other victims were categorized as citizens of sub-Saharan countries. More recently, however, as a consequence of the countries economic and political collapse that fuelled unrest, millions of Venezuelans are fleeing to neighboring countries. Their desperate need to flee and seek asylum in other societies has led to the sexualization of the social problem. It has negatively bolstered the trafficking in person problem. In some cases, some of their girls even go missing.36 Often Venezuelan girls are targetted and sex-trafficked within their home as well as in the new countries where they seek asylum. Some Venezuelan girls are trafficked into sexual slavery, forced prostitution, and other forms of sex work.37 Some countries in which Venezuelan girls are self-trafficked and exploited sexually are neighboring countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. Other South American, Caribbean, and Central American countries also report similar exploitation of Venezuelan nationals.38 Some girls who originate from the northern parts of South America may often be taken to the Caribbean and southern countries of Central America

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 292

08-10-2021 11:28:00

Sex Trafficking of Girls

293

and other proximal countries such as the Dominican Republic and Panama. Sometimes, as Venezuelan girls try to flee their fate in their home country, some are increasingly targetted by Colombian sex trafficking rings and trafficked to Colombia.39 Some Colombian and Venezuelan girls are trafficked to Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana. These instances of sex trafficking of girls in South America are further exacerbated in areas with tourism, especially sex tourism, inhumane country conditions, shortages of food, economic collapse, medicine shortages, and other factors. The need for better lives contributes to some underage girls from Colombia and Venezuela prostituting themselves along motorways. To a lesser extent, some South American girls may be trafficked to European, North American, and East Asian countries.40 Noteworthy is the interconnectedness of the trafficking networks that facilitate the sex trafficking of girls across and between neighboring countries. Generally, the data suggest that a similar trend of girls being trafficked for sexual exploitation exists for the years 2012 to 2016. For these countries, the number of girls trafficked was equal to that of women and constituted the largest gender category who were trafficked primarily for sexual exploitation.41 Domestic and subregional trafficking is the most frequently reported occurrences. Sex trafficking in LAC countries may be domestic (in the country of citizenship), subregional (within a particular geographic location), and international (across international borders).42 CONTROLLING HUMAN TRAFFICKING: SOME LAC POLICIES AND LAWS The foregoing has outlined the scope and movement of sex trafficking across the LAC region, and the impact this has on the lives of girls. No longer can the region treat this problem as though it was everyone else’s problem, but not theirs. The LAC region has been forced to take note of and address the issue of sex trafficking in some form since the introduction in 2003 of the Palermo Protocol and the introduction of the TIP report. The TIP report, is debatably, the most dynamic force that has elevated interest in this phenomenon in the LAC region based on the fear of possible sanctions from the United States for failing to meet the minimum standards used to measure efficient confrontation of trafficking. These standards are used to rank governments’ which are then placed in one of five tiers: tier 1, tier 2, tier 2 watch list, tier 3, and special tier.43 The tiers represent the level to which countries comply with the U.S. “3Ps” namely, the standards of prevention of trafficking, the prosecution of traffickers, and the protection and assistance of victims. Countries on tier 1 are rewarded positively for meeting minimum standards related to laws and

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 293

08-10-2021 11:28:01

294

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

policies of trafficking.44 For countries on tiers 2, tier 2 watch, and tier 3, there may be negative sanctions imposed by the United States to force compliance with the laws and policies related to trafficking. For the last category, special tier, no threat of economic sanctions exist.45 To demonstrate that they are performing, most of the LAC countries have enacted some form of anti-trafficking legislation even though these pieces of legislation are often at odds with the global guidelines set out for human trafficking. Often, the political, financial, and technical resources to study and manage the problem are difficult to secure. In other instances, some of these countries lack adequate knowledge of the scope and sociopolitical trends of the phenomenon. The mechanisms to adequately study and gather data on the issue are elusive. These shortcomings negatively impact the implementation of effective anti-trafficking laws and state practices. Recognizing the crucial role that TIP sanctions can have on these mostly poorer countries, we examine the LAC’s regional response to trafficking laws by examining their placement on the U.S. TIP tiers along with what they are doing to comply and remain in “good” standing. According to the latest TIP report, only five LAC countries made the tier 1 rank: Argentina, the Bahamas, Chile, Colombia, and Guyana. These are the countries that met the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Serious and sustained efforts are being made by these governments to fight human trafficking. Some of the efforts made by the countries included new trafficking awareness campaigns at the federal, provincial, and municipal levels. In some cases, increased identification of victims as in the case of the Bahamas where a World Anti-Trafficking Day was held in July. Other measures employed were the enactment of national plans, increased antitrafficking training of key personnel. These campaigns were shared through varying channels and specialized workshops. Nineteen LAC countries have been allocated tier 2 status: Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. Generally, though these countries are trying, they are considered to have not met the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Depending on their performance they may be downgraded to tier 2 watch for one year or promoted to tier 1 if they provide proof of making significant efforts in their compliance with trafficking regulations.46 Of these LAC countries on tier 2 El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras are singled out since they reported higher amounts of sex trafficking. There are several laws and agencies extant in El Salvador to help alleviate the scourge of trafficking. In 2014, El Salvador passed the Special Law Against Trafficking in Persons that criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of ten to fourteen years’ imprisonment. The law,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 294

08-10-2021 11:28:01

Sex Trafficking of Girls

295

however, does not recognize the use of force, fraud, and coercion as essential elements as international law defines. Instead, these are viewed as aggravating factors, which when present, result in increased penalties of sixteen to twenty years imprisonment. To help reduce trafficking and reliance on others, the new law geared toward migrants and foreigners allows them multiple permissions to enter and exit the country along with two years’ residency. Despite this, it is reported that judges still require training to allow them to more adequately comprehend the anti-trafficking laws, and learn how to better gather evidence in trafficking cases. The 2018 government’s Inter-Institutional Action Protocol for the Immediate Comprehensive Care of Trafficking Victims is another enacted law. The Law for the Protection of Children and Adolescents established a comprehensive legal framework for the protection of children’s rights. The Salvadoran Institute for the Complete Childhood and Adolescent Development (ISNA) that maintains the only trafficking victims’ shelter in the country also helps. There is a law of restitution that allows judges to order compensation from convicted traffickers. In April 2019, the Special Law on Migration and Foreigners was passed in April 2019 by the legislative assembly. As regards sex tourism, the Salvadoran law criminalizes this and imposes four to ten years of imprisonment sentences.47 Similar to El Salvador, Guatemala has also experienced high levels of trafficking, including sex-trafficking, and is considered to be making a significant effort to eliminate trafficking. Guatemala has been able to investigate, prosecute, convict, and offer some amount of resources to trafficked victims. Guatemala also has several laws, policies, and organizations that work together to alleviate trafficking. There is the 2009 anti-trafficking law that criminalizes sex trafficking and labor trafficking and carries imprisonment times from eight to eighteen years of imprisonment along with a fine. There is the much-criticized National Civil Police who maintains the Special Directorate for Criminal Investigation (DEIC).48 Bimonthly, the Secretariat against Sexual Violence, Exploitation, and Trafficking in Persons (SVET) held meetings to facilitate discussions among various law enforcement and judicial personnel on prosecutions and sanctions of trafficking cases to ensure Guatemalan law was upheld. A regional prosecutor’s office on antitrafficking was launched in Quetzaltenango in June 2019 along with special courts including the Integrated Attention Model for Children and Adolescents (MAINA) court that was set up in June 2019. This specialized court, comprised of 11 government institutions is tasked with providing 24-hour hearings, to reduce processing time for child trafficking cases. Similar to that of El Salvador, Guatemala also had to train its judges and magistrates on identifying and dealing with trafficking cases and have signed memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with various international organizations to facilitate

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 295

08-10-2021 11:28:01

296

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

such training. Additionally, in close coordination with members of the Inter-institutional Commission Against Trafficking-in-Persons (CIT), SVET developed the first interinstitutional database for detailed trafficking victim information—the National Database of Trafficking in Persons Victims.49 Honduras’ fate is similar to that of El Salvador and Guatemala as it relates to being in tier 2. Honduras has also failed to meet the minimum standards but has also taken some steps to address trafficking via its laws and policies. Some of these laws and policies include the First Lady Ana Garcia de Hernandez’s Migration Task Force that marshals several executive branch agencies to synchronize events intended to stop irregular migration and the accompanying risks.50 Next was the enactment in 2012 of the Honduran antitrafficking law that criminalizes sex and labor trafficking and imposes prison sentences that vary from ten to fifteen years. In June 2020, a new penal code was ratified by the Honduran National Congress to amend anti-trafficking provisions. It allowed Honduras to align its definition of trafficking with that of international law by including force, fraud, or coercion as an essential element of the crime. This was a very controversial law that significantly slashed the penalties for trafficking offenses to five to eight years’ imprisonment and caused disparity in the penalties for sex trafficking compared to those imposed for other grave crimes. Other policies included the Inter-institutional Commission to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking in Persons (CICESCT) which provides immediate response for identifying, referring, and linking sex trafficking victims to services. CICESCT is comprised of thirty-two governmental and nongovernmental units that work collaboratively to address victims’ needs.51 The countries that did not make it on tier 1 or tier 2 list were relegated to the tier 2 watch list. TIER 2 WATCH LIST Of the thirty-three LAC countries, three are on the tier 2 watch list: Barbados, Belize, and Bolivia. These countries are considered to be sites for origin, transit, or destination for severe forms of trafficking. Barbados, Bolivia, and Belize are all considered to be destination sites for persons trafficked, especially those trafficked for sex. Belize and Bolivia also serve as transit sites. These three countries are trying to tackle the problem via new prevention measures. These countries’ governments do not fully meet the TVPA’s minimum standards. However, they are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. This determination is made based on these countries’ governments’ ability to meet the minimum standards set out by the TVPA; whether or not government employees and officials are complacent as it relates to reports of severe trafficking; the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 296

08-10-2021 11:28:01

Sex Trafficking of Girls

297

budget allocated for investigating, prosecuting, convicting, and sentencing traffickers and the governments’ allocation of sufficient finances to protect and prevent trafficking crimes from occurring.52 Countries on the tier 2 watch list can be moved up to tier 2, left on the tier 2 watch list, or reduced to tier 3 status depending on several factors.53 For Barbados, some of these efforts include updated standard operating procedures (SOPs) for interviewing potential victims; ongoing monitoring of international airport for vulnerable individuals; a formal referral process for government authorities and NGOs exist for victim care; courts are allowed to order restitution from a trafficker; sensitization training for child care officers was conducted by the Crimes and Trafficking Unit. Generally, based on financial restrictions, it seems as though Barbados experienced some difficulty with its trafficking prevention efforts. Bolivia, for example, has also implemented several laws and policies to this end. Some of these are the Law 263 of 2012—the Comprehensive Law against Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons which outlawed sex trafficking and labor trafficking and imposed prison sentences of ten to fifteen years for adult trafficking, and fifteen to twenty years’ imprisonment for child trafficking. The country introduced several articles of the law that addressed varying contributory elements of trafficking such as Article 322 that criminalizes all commercial acts involving children. The penalty for such trafficking as outlined in this article is eight to twelve years of imprisonment. Article 321 of Law 2033, criminalizes all commercial sex acts involving children and fills all loopholes in Article 322.54 Similar to Barbados and Bolivia, Belize’s government did not do enough to implemented sufficient laws and policies to adequately minimize trafficking. The country is making some effort to comply. For instance, the 2012–2014 anti-trafficking national strategic plan remain unimplemented.55 Nonetheless, as a source, destination, and transit country, the measures were inadequate as determined by the U.S. government. It is acknowledged that the growth of child sex tourism involving mainly U.S. citizens is on the rise in Belize. To this end, Belize has successfully investigated, prosecuted, and convicted about two traffickers so far.56 Additionally, government officials are perceived as better understanding the investigation process, and a specific Supreme Court Justice and a magistrate have been appointed to attend to trafficking cases. Despite these positive efforts, it is also noted that the procedures for referring victims for required services remain in draft form, and instead trafficked victims were more likely to be arrested, detained, and/or deported on immigration-related charges rather than helped. The legal system itself is perceived by some as cumbersome, lacking sufficient police which reduces response and investigation rates.57 The next tier to which a country can be assigned is that of tier 3. Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua occupy this

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 297

08-10-2021 11:28:02

298

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

level and have not met the standards set by the United Nations. These countries must do more to meet the minimum standards or experience negative sanctions from the United States. CONCLUSION Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry globally.58 Despite this fact, quantifying the number of persons trafficked, especially girls, is often impossible given the concealed manner in which it occurs. The plight of girls in the LAC region is surely highlighted when we note that annually at least two million children worldwide are affected by sexual exploitation.59 Sex tourism and child sex tourism are new phenomena that were founded to satiate the yearnings of persons mainly from the Global North whose desire is to travel to the exotic lands of the Global South to make their fantasies realities. These offenders travel with the intent of engaging in sexual activities such as pornography, prostitution, and child sex trafficking. The intent is to sexually exploit these children. This chapter has shown quite clearly that though several children are exposed to this problem in the LAC countries, girls disproportionately suffer this abuse. The UN projects that international tourists will reach 1.8 billion by 2030. Nonetheless, when one stops and thinks about it, several questions come to mind: With whom are these tourists having sex? From where do their clients come? How are the clients recruited? What are the clients’ experiences? The authors contend that sex tourism and child sex tourism may be easily linked to the history of the LAC region in which Westerners’ interaction with others often led to gender, sex, and racial exploitation and inequality. During sex tourism, organized tours are established with the sole purpose of fulfilling tourists’ desires to have sex with prostitutes. In other cases, some may travel for other purposes and then hire prostitutes during their trip.60 The ominous segment of sex trafficking, though, is child sex tourism, referred to as exploitation of children for sexual purposes by those who travel to engage in sexual activities with children. The dependency of most LAC countries on the Western World to fund and support their tourism industries helps fuel the sex trafficking of girls. Some of the girls from the LAC region hail from such countries that are very economically dependent on first world countries for the survival of their economies. Shortages of jobs and other social ills also encourage some to pursue sex trafficking as a source of income. The authors acknowledge that though the international community, especially the Western World has established several policies to combat sex trafficking, these are not always well aligned with the needs, culture, politics, economics, and social life in the LAC region. Several of these countries are

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 298

08-10-2021 11:28:02

Sex Trafficking of Girls

299

dependencies and fall within Karl Marx’s description of the “Have Nots.” The demand by Westerners for child sex tourism often fuels the human trafficking industry and places these girls at risk of sexual exploitation and underscores the need for LAC countries to earnestly support and enforce measures to realize the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #5: “ Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”61 Gender inequality is very alive in LAC countries and this places girls at greater risk of experiencing social, economic, and political inequalities. The role of money in the growth of sex trafficking cannot be overstated. Girls are compelled into the sex industry through several sources, though the main one may be to satisfy their economic needs. In several of these LAC countries, girls are disproportionately denied access to basic education. This results in them being unable to find decent work, and hence they often are paid less. These circumstances also contribute to their inability to access proper health care. In some cases, cultural expectations force them into early marriages that may cause them to endure sexual exploitation. As females, it is easier to be discriminated against in societies that are mostly male-dominated. LAC nation-states must work harder to ensure that girls have ready access to education, employment, political and economic offices, and decision making. UNICEF reports that around the world, there are more than a billion girls under age 18. It is projected that if allowed, these girls could become the next generation of female leaders.62 Researching and spotlighting the sex trafficking of girls is pertinent for raising awareness and hopefully stymieing sex-trafficking trends. This will allow these girls to reach maturity in safe environments. Everyone involved must work together so that we can fulfill the expectation of the goal: “ Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”

NOTES 1. United Nations. “Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Fact Sheet No. 36.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, New York and Geneva, June, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/Doc​​ument​​s​/ Pub​​licat​​ions/​​F​S36_​​en​.pd​​f. 2. UNODC, “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, p. 27. Accessed October 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​ g​/doc​​ument​​s​/dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​gloti​​p​/201​​8​/GLO​​TiP​_2​​018​_​B​​OOK​_w​​eb​_sm​​all​.p​​df. 3. United Nations. “Protocol to Prevent. 4. United Nations. Human Rights and Human Trafficking. 5. The United States Department of Justice. “Child Sex Trafficking.” Accessed May 31, 2020. November 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/c​​rimin​​al​-ce​​os​/ch​​ild​-s​​ex​​ -tr​​affic​​king.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 299

08-10-2021 11:28:02

300

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

6. United Nations. Human Rights and Human Trafficking. 7. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.” http:​/​/www​​.unod​​c​.org​​/unod​​c​/en/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/in​​dex​.h​​tml​?​r​​ef​=me​​ nusid​​e. Accessed October 25, 2020; Neha A. Deshpande and Nawal M. Nour. “Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls.” Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology 61, no. 1 (2013): e22–e27. doi: 10.3909/riog0214, pp. e21–e23. 8. Nuclear Threat Initiative. “Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC).” Retrieved October 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.nti​​.org/​​learn​​/trea​​ties-​​and​-r​​egime​​ s​/com​​munit​​y​-lat​​in​-am​​erica​​n​-and​​-cari​​​bbean​​-stat​​es​-ce​​lac/;​ Worldometers, “Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Worldometers. Retrieved October 10, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.worl​​domet​​ers​.i​​nfo​/g​​eogra​​phy​/h​​ow​-ma​​ny​-co​​untri​​es​-in​​-​lati​​n​-ame​​rica/​. 9. Mary Ellen Kondrat, “Person-in-environment.”  Encyclopedia of Social Work (2013). DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.285; Urie Bronfenbrenner. “Ecological Models of Human Development." International Encyclopedia of Education (2nd ed.), Volume 3. Oxford: Elsevier. Accessed October 29, 2020. https​ :/​/as​​sets.​​ncj​.n​​l​/doc​​s​/6a4​​5c1a4​​-82ad​​-4f69​​-957e​​-1c76​​9​6667​​8e2​.p​​df. 10. James F. Sallis, Neville Owen, and Edwin B. Fisher, “Chapter 3: Ecological Models of Health Behavior.” In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, and K. Viswanath (eds.), Health Behavior: Theory, Research, and Practice (5th ed.), 43–65. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2015. 11. To read about some push and pull factors see ECPAT International. “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Latin America. Developments, Progress, Challenges and Recommended Strategies for Civil Society.” ECPAT International. November 2014. Accessed September 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​at​.or​​ g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2016​​/04​/R​​egion​​al​%20​​CSEC%​​20Ove​​rview​​​_Lati​​n​%20A​​meric​​ a​%20(English).pdf; Clare Ribando Seelke. “Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean. Congressional Research Service Report, 2016.” pp. 3–5. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://fas​.org​/sgp​/crs​/row​/RL33200​.pdf. 12. Elizabeth Hutchison, “Social Work Education: Human Behavior and Social Environment.” Encyclopedia of Social Work (2013). DOI:10, 1093?? 13. Vincent Parillo, Strangers to These Shores (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc., 2012 ; Jorge Rossel, “Conflict Theory.” Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology (2013). DOI: 10.1093/OBO/97801997756384-0035. 14. Joe Shriver, Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Shifting Paradigms in Essential Knowledge for Social Work Practice (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Needham Press, 1998. 15. Parillo, 2012. 16. UN.GIFT. “UN Global Initiative to Fight Human trafficking. Human Trafficking: The Facts.” UN.GIFT. Accessed October 5, 2020. https​:/​/d3​​06pr3​​pise0​​ 4h​.cl​​oudfr​​ont​.n​​et​/do​​cs​/is​​sues_​​doc​%2​​Flabo​​ur​%2F​​Force​​d​_lab​​our​%2​​FHUMA​​N​_TRA​​ FFICK​​ING_-​​​_THE_​​FACTS​_-​_fi​​nal​.p​​df. 17. UN.GIFT. 18. Edgardo Ayala. “Crime & Justice. Central America – Fertile Ground For Human Trafficking.” IPS Inter Press Service News Agency. November 18, 2020.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 300

08-10-2021 11:28:02

Sex Trafficking of Girls

301

Accessed November 20, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.ipsn​​ews​.n​​et​/20​​19​/11​​/cent​​ral​-a​​meric​​a​-fer​​ tile-​​groun​​d​-hum​​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​. 19. Kate Zdrojewski. “The Development of Sex Trafficking in Central America.” Topical Research Digest:Human Rights & Human Welfare. Accessed September 7, 2020, p. 17. https​:/​/ww​​w​.du.​​edu​/k​​orbel​​/hrhw​​/rese​​archd​​igest​​/traf​​ficki​​ng​/Ce​​ntral​​​ Ameri​​ca​.pd​​f. 20. Ibid. 21. Ibid, Edgardo Ayala. “Crime & Justice. Central America.” 22. David E. Guinn and Elissa Steglich (Eds.). In Modern Bondage: Sex Trafficking in the Americas. Chicago: International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law, 2002, pp. 8–9. 23. UNODC, Global Report 2018. 24. Edgardo Ayala. 25. Jarrod Sadulski, “Human Trafficking and the Children of Central America. In Public Safety,” American Military University. Accessed October 9, 2020. https​:/​/in​​publi​​csafe​​ty​.co​​m​/201​​9​/08/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-an​​d​-the​​-chil​​dren-​​of​-​ce​​ntral​​ -amer​​ica/. 26. UNICEF. “Children, Adolescents and Migration: Filliing the Evidence Gap. “ Accessed September 22, 2020. www​.u​​nicef​​.org/​​socia​​lpoli​​cy​/fi​​les​/U​​NICEF​​ _Data​​_on​_m​​igran​​t​_chi​​ldren​​_and_​​adole​​scent​​s​_Han​​dout_​​versi​​on_ Update​_June​ _2010​.​pdf. 27. Anastasia Moloney, “Central American Child Migrants Move In ‘Shadows’, at Risk From Traffickers,” U.N. Thomson Reuters Foundation. August 16, 2018. Accessed September 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.reu​​ters.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/us-​​centr​​alame​​rica-​​ youth​​-migr​​ants/​​centr​​al​-am​​erica​​n​-chi​​ld​-mi​​grant​​s​-mov​​e​-in-​​shado​​ws​-at​​-risk​​-from​​-tr​af​​ ficke​​rs​-u-​​n​-idU​​SKBN1​​L10YD​. 28. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Jamaica.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Retrieved https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​port/​​jamai​​ca/; UNODC. North America, Central America and the Caribbean. 29. UNODC Global Report 2018, p. 76. 30. Ibid. 31. Anastasia Moloney. “Sex Trafficking that Starts in South America Largely Stays There.” Reuters. January 15, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​ w​.reu​​ters.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/us-​​latam​​-huma​​ntraf​​ficki​​ng​/se​​x​-tra​​ffick​​ing​-t​​hat​-s​​tarts​​-in​-s​​outh-​​ ameri​​ca​-la​​rgely​​-​stay​​s​-the​​re​-id​​USKCN​​1P92U​​1. 32. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Guyana.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Accessed October 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​port/​​ guyan​​a/. 33. U.S. Department of State. 2020: Guyana. 34. UNODC. “South America,” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. 2018. Accessed October 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​ gloti​​p​/201​​8​/GLO​​TIP​_2​​018​​_S​​OUTH_​​AMERI​​CA​.pd​​f. 35. Ibid. p. 76.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 301

08-10-2021 11:28:03

302

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

36. UNODC. “UNODC Strengthens Response to Trafficking of Venezuelan Migrants.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed November 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/fr​​ontpa​​ge​/20​​20​/Ju​​ne​/un​​odc​-s​​treng​​thens​​-resp​​ onse-​​to​-tr​​affic​​king-​​of​-ve​​​nezue​​lan​-m​​igran​​ts​.ht​​ml. 37. Open Democracy. “The ‘Fallen’ Miss Venezuela: A Tragedy of Sexual Slavery and Trafficking.” Open Democracy, 2019, August 14. Accessed November 3, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ope​​ndemo​​cracy​​.net/​​en​/de​​mocra​​ciaab​​ierta​​/la​-c​​a​%C3%​​ADda-​​de​ -mi​​ss​-ve​​nezue​​la​-un​​a​-tra​​gedia​​-de​-t​​r​%C3%​​A1fic​​​o​-y​-e​​sclav​​itud-​​sexua​​l​-en/​. 38. Venezuela Investigative Unit. “The Onging Trafficking and Killing of Venezuelan Women in Mexico.” Insight Crime, June 16 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ins​​ightc​​rime.​​org​/n​​ews​/a​​nalys​​is​/tr​​affic​​king-​​venez​​uelan​​​-wome​​n​ -mex​​ ico/;​The Guardian. A Dollar For Sex: Venezuela's Women Tricked and Trafficked. The Guardian 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ ian​.c​​om​/gl​​obal-​​devel​​opmen​​t​/202​​0​/jul​​/30​/a​​-doll​​ar​-fo​​r​-sex​​-vene​​zuela​​s​-wom​​en​-​tr​​icked​​ -and-​​traff​​i cked​. 39. UNODC. UNODC Strengthens Response. 40. UNODC Global Report 2018, pp. 78–79. 41. UNODC, “Global Report 2018.” 42. Ibid. 43. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. Accessed September 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2020​​ /06​/2​​020​-T​​IP​-Re​​port-​​Compl​​ete​​-0​​62420​​-FINA​​L​.pdf​, p. 48. 44. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. Accessed September 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2020​​ /06​/2​​020​-T​​IP​-Re​​port-​​Compl​​e​te​-0​​62420​​-FINA​​L​.pdf​ p. 48. 45. Ibid. 46. Ibid. p. 7. 47. U.S. Department of State, “El Salvador:Tier 2,” Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition. U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​ g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​por​t/​​el​-sa​​lvado​​r. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid. 50. U.S. Department of State, “Honduras:Tier 2,” Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition. U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​ g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​port/​​hondu​​ras/. 51. Marlon Gonzalez, “Honduras’ New Penal Code Lightens Sentences For Corruption,” Federal News Network, June 25, 2000. Accessed September 30, 2020. https​:/​/fe​​deral​​newsn​​etwor​​k​.com​​/gove​​rnmen​​t​-new​​s​/202​​0​/06/​​hondu​​ras​-n​​ew​-pe​​nal​-c​​ ode​-l​​ighte​​ns​-se​​n​tenc​​es​-fo​​r​-cor​​rupti​​on/. 52. U.S. Department of State, p. 41. 53. Ibid. pp. 41–42.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 302

08-10-2021 11:28:03

Sex Trafficking of Girls

303

54. Ibid. 55. CIA The World Fact Book, “Central America: Belize.” Accessed December 12, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cia​​.gov/​​libra​​ry​/pu​​blica​​tions​​/the-​​world​​-fact​​book/​​geos/​​p​rint​​_bh​.h​​tml. 56. U.S. Department of State, pp. 103. 57. Ibid. pp. 103–104. 58. Hannah E Fraley, Teri Aronowitz, and Hanni M. Stoklosa, “Systematic Review of Human Trafficking Educational Interventions for Health Care Providers,”  West Journal of Nursing Research 42, no. 2 (2020):131–142. 59. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, “Combating Child Sex Tourism.” Accessed November 5, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/en/​​newse​​ vents​​/page​​s​/chi​​ldsex​​t​ouri​​sm​.as​​px. 60. Arielle K Eirienne,“Child Sex Tourism: ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ in a Globalized World.”  Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 1, no. 11 (2009). Accessed December 11, 2020 http://www​.inquiriesjournal​.com​/a​?id​=34. 61. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “Goals 5. Achieve Gender Equality and Emower All wormen and Girls.” Accessed October 31, 2020. https://sdgs​.un​.org​/goals​/goal5. 62. UNICEF. “A New Era for Girls. Taking stock of 23 Years of Progress.” Gender Section, Programme Division, UNICEF. Accessed December 9, 2020. https​:/​ /da​​ta​.un​​icef.​​org​/r​​esour​​ces​/a​​-new-​​era​-f​​or​-gi​​rls​-t​​aking​​-stoc​​k​-of-​​25​-y​e​​ars​-o​​f​-pro​​gress​/.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayala, Edgardo. “Crime & Justice. Central America – Fertile Ground For Human Trafficking.” IPS Inter Press Service News Agency. November 18, 2020. Accessed November 20, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.ipsn​​ews​.n​​et​/20​​19​/11​​/cent​​ral​-a​​meric​​a​-fer​​tile-​​ groun​​d​-hum​​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​. Berg-Weger, M. Social Work and Social Welfare: An Invitation. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Bronfenbrenner, Urie. “Ecological Models of Human Development.”  International Encyclopedia of Education. Second Edition, Volume. 3. Oxford: Elsevier. 1994. Accessed October 29, 2020. https​:/​/as​​sets.​​ncj​.n​​l​/doc​​s​/6a4​​5c1a4​​-82ad​​-4f69​​-957e​​ -1c76​​9​6667​​8e2​.p​​df. CIA the World Fact Book. “Central America: Belize.” Accessed December 12, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cia​​.gov/​​libra​​ry​/pu​​blica​​tions​​/the-​​world​​-fact​​book/​​geos/​​p​rint​​_bh​.h​​tml. Deshpande, Neha A. and Nour, Nawal M. “Sex Trafficking of Women and Girls.” Reviews in Obstetrics & Gynecology 61, no. 1 (2013): e22–e27. doi: 10.3909/ riog0214. pp. e21–e23. ECPAT International. “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Latin America. Developments, Progress, Challenges, and Recommended Strategies for Civil Society.” ECPAT International. November 2014. Accessed September 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2016​​/04​/R​​egion​​al​%20​​CSEC%​​ 20Ove​​rview​​​_Lati​​n​%20A​​meric​​a​%20(English).pdf.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 303

08-10-2021 11:28:03

304

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

Eirienne, Arielle K. “Child Sex Tourism: ‘Us’ and ‘Them’ in a Globalized World.” Inquiries Journal/Student Pulse 1, no. 11 (2009). Accessed December 11, 2020, http://www​.inquiriesjournal​.com​/a​?id​=34. Fraley, Hannah E., Aronowitz, Teri, and Stoklosa, Hanni M. “Systematic Review of Human Trafficking Educational Interventions for Health Care Providers.”  West Journal of Nursing Research 42, no. 2 (2020): 131–142. Guinn, David E., and Steglich, Elissa (Eds.). In Modern Bondage: Sex Trafficking in the Americas. Chicago: International Human Rights Law Institute, DePaul University College of Law, 2002. Gonzalez, Marlon. “Honduras’ New Penal Code Lightens Sentences For Corruption.” Federal News Network, June 25, 2000. Accessed September 30, 2020. https​:/​/ fe​​deral​​newsn​​etwor​​k​.com​​/gove​​rnmen​​t​-new​​s​/202​​0​/06/​​hondu​​ras​-n​​ew​-pe​​nal​-c​​ode​-l​​ ighte​​ns​-se​​n​tenc​​es​-fo​​r​-cor​​rupti​​on/. Hodge, David R. “Sexual Trafficking in the United States: A Domestic Problem with Transnational Dimensions.” Social Work 54 (2008): 143–152. DOI: 10.1093/ sw/53.2.143. Hutchison, Elizabeth. “Social Work Education: Human Behavior and Social Environment.” Encyclopedia of Social Work (2013). DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/ acrefore/9780199975839.013.616. Kondrat, Mary Ellen. “Person-in-environment.”  Encyclopedia of Social Work (2013). DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.285. Moloney, Anastasia. “Sex Trafficking That Starts In South America Largely Stays :/​ /ww​​ w​ There.” Reuters. January 15, 2019. Accessed October 10, 2020. https​ .reu​​ters.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/us-​​latam​​-huma​​ntraf​​ficki​​ng​/se​​x​-tra​​ffick​​ing​-t​​hat​-s​​tarts​​-in​-s​​outh-​​ ameri​​ca​-la​​rgely​​-​stay​​s​-the​​re​-id​​USKCN​​1P92U​​1. Moloney, Anastasia. “Central American Child Migrants Move In 'Shadows', at Risk From Traffickers.” U.N. Thomson Reuters Foundation. August 16, 2018. Accessed September 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.reu​​ters.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/us-​​centr​​alame​​rica-​​youth​​-migr​​ ants/​​centr​​al​-am​​erica​​n​-chi​​ld​-mi​​grant​​s​-mov​​e​-in-​​shado​​ws​-at​​-risk​​-from​​-tr​af​​ficke​​rs​-u-​​ n​-idU​​SKBN1​​L10YD​. Nuclear Threat Initiative. “Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC).” Retrieved October 23, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.nti​​.org/​​learn​​/trea​​ties-​​and​-r​​ egime​​s​/com​​munit​​y​-lat​​in​-am​​erica​​n​-and​​-cari​​b​bean​​-stat​​es​-ce​​lac/. Open Democracy. “The ‘Fallen’ Miss Venezuela: A Tragedy of Sexual Slavery and Trafficking.” Open Democracy, 2019, August 14. Accessed November 3, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ope​​ndemo​​cracy​​.net/​​en​/de​​mocra​​ciaab​​ierta​​/la​-c​​a​%C3%​​ADda-​​de​-mi​​ss​ -ve​​nezue​​la​-un​​a​-tra​​gedia​​-de​-t​​r​%C3%​​A1fic​​​o​-y​-e​​sclav​​itud-​​sexua​​l​-en/​. Parillo, Vincent. Strangers to These Shores (10th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education, Inc. Rossel, Jorge. “Conflict Theory.” Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology (2013). DOI: 10.1093/OBO/97801997756384-0035. Sadulski, Jarrod. “Human Trafficking and the Children of Central America.” In Public Safety, American Military University. Accessed October 9, 2020. https​:/​/in​​ publi​​csafe​​ty​.co​​m​/201​​9​/08/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​-an​​d​-the​​-chil​​dren-​​of​-​ce​​ntral​​-amer​​ica/. Sallis, James. F., Owen, Neville, and Fisher, Edwin B. “Chapter 3: Ecological Models of Health Behavior.” In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, and K. Viswanath (eds.), Health

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 304

08-10-2021 11:28:04

Sex Trafficking of Girls

305

Behavior: Theory, Research, and Practice (5th ed.), 43–65. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2015. Seelke, Clare Ribando. “Trafficking in Persons in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Congressional Research Service Report, 2016, pp. 3–5. Accessed December 2, 2020. https://fas​.org​/sgp​/crs​/row​/RL33200​.pdf. Shriver, Joe. Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Shifting Paradigms in Essential Knowledge for Social Work Practice (2nd ed.). Allyn & Bacon Needham Press, 1998. The Guardian. “A Dollar For Sex: Venezuela's Women Tricked and Trafficked.” The Guardian 2020. Accessed December 14, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​.c​​om​/gl​​obal-​​ devel​​opmen​​t​/202​​0​/jul​​/30​/a​​-doll​​ar​-fo​​r​-sex​​-vene​​zuela​​s​-wom​​en​-​tr​​icked​​-and-​​traff​​i cked​. The United States Department of Justice. “Child Sex Trafficking.” Accessed May 31, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/c​​rimin​​al​-ce​​os​/ch​​ild​-s​​ex​​-tr​​affic​​king. UN.GIFT. “UN Global Initiative to Fight Human trafficking. Human Trafficking: The Facts.” UN.GIFT. Accessed October 5, 2020. https​:/​/d3​​06pr3​​pise0​​4h​.cl​​oudfr​​ ont​.n​​et​/do​​cs​/is​​sues_​​doc​%2​​Flabo​​ur​%2F​​Force​​d​_lab​​our​%2​​FHUMA​​N​_TRA​​FFICK​​ ING_-​​​_THE_​​FACTS​_-​_fi​​nal​.p​​df. UNICEF. “A New Era for Girls. Taking stock of 23 Years of Progress.” Gender Section, Programme Division, UNICEF. Accessed December 9, 2020. https​:/​/da​​ ta​.un​​icef.​​org​/r​​esour​​ces​/a​​-new-​​era​-f​​or​-gi​​rls​-t​​aking​​-stoc​​k​-of-​​25​-y​e​​ars​-o​​f​-pro​​gress​/. UNICEF. “Children, Adolescents, and Migration: Filling the Evidence Gap.” Accessed September 22, 2020. www​.u​​nicef​​.org/​​socia​​lpoli​​cy​/fi​​les​/U​​NICEF​​_Data​​_ on​_m​​igran​​t​_chi​​ldren​​_and_​​adole​​scent​​s​_Han​​dout_​​versi​​on_ Update​_June​_2010​.​pdf. United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs. “Goals 5. Achieve Gender Equality and Empowering All women and Girls.” Accessed October 31, 2020. https://sdgs​.un​.org​/goals​/goal5. United Nations. “Human Rights and Human Trafficking. Fact Sheet No. 36.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, New York and Geneva, June, 2014. Accessed October 10, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/Doc​​ument​​s​/Pub​​ licat​​ions/​​F​S36_​​en​.pd​​f. United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. “Combating Child Sex Tourism.” Accessed November 5, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/en/​​newse​​vents​​ /page​​s​/chi​​ldsex​​t​ouri​​sm​.as​​px. United Nations. “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.” United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. Accessed October 2, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/en/​​ profe​​ssion​​alint​​erest​​/page​​s​/pro​​tocol​​traff​​i ckin​​g​inpe​​rsons​​.aspx​. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.” http:​/​/www​​.unod​​c​.org​​/unod​​c​/en/​​human​​-traf​​ficki​​ng​/in​​dex​.h​​tml​?​r​​ef​ =me​​nusid​​e. Accessed October 25, 2020.The United States Department of Justice. Child Sex Trafficking. Accessed November 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​tice.​​gov​/c​​rimin​​al​-ce​​os​ /ch​​ild​-s​​ex​​-tr​​affic​​king.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 305

08-10-2021 11:28:04

306

Brenda I. Gill and Jesse McKinnon

UNODC. “UNODC Strengthens Response to Trafficking of Venezuelan Migrants.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed November 13, 2020. https​:/​/ ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/fr​​ontpa​​ge​/20​​20​/Ju​​ne​/un​​odc​-s​​treng​​thens​​-resp​​onse-​​to​-tr​​affic​​ king-​​of​-ve​​​nezue​​lan​-m​​igran​​ts​.ht​​ml. UNODC. “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed October 13, 2020.​https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/ dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​gloti​​p​/201​​8​/GLO​​TiP​_2​​018​​_B​​OOK​_w​​eb​_sm​​all​.p​​df. UNODC. “South America.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Accessed October 13, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​gloti​​p​/201​​ 8​/GLO​​TIP​_2​​018​​_S​​OUTH_​​AMERI​​CA​.pd​​f. UNODC. “North America, Central America and the Caribbean.” Accessed December 9, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/dat​​a​-and​​-anal​​ysis/​​gloti​​p​/GLO​​TIP14​​ _Coun​​try​_p​​rofil​​es​_NA​​meric​​a​_​CAm​​erica​​_Cari​​bbean​​.pdf. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. Accessed September 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​ /2020​​/06​/2​​020​-T​​IP​-Re​​port-​​Compl​​ete​​-0​​62420​​-FINA​​L​.pdf​. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Jamaica.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​ port/​​jamai​​ca/. U.S. Department of State. “2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Guyana.” U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​port/​​guyan​​a/. U.S. Department of State, “El Salvador:Tier 2.” Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition. U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. Accessed December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​ 2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​por​t/​​el​-sa​​lvado​​r. U.S. Department of State. “Guatemala:Tier 2.” Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition. U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​ ickin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​po​rt/​​guate​​mala/​. U.S. Department of State. “Honduras: Tier 2.” Trafficking in Persons Report 20th Edition. U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2020. December 7, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​ ickin​​g​-in-​​perso​​ns​-re​​​port/​​hondu​​ras/. Venezuela Investigative Unit. “The On ging Trafficking and Killing of Venezuelan Women in Mexico.” Insight Crime, June 16 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.ins​​ightc​​rime.​​org​/n​​ews​/a​​nalys​​is​/tr​​affic​​king-​​venez​​uelan​​​-wome​​n​-mex​​ico/. Worldometers. “Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Worldometers. Accessed October 10, 2020. http:​/​/www​​.worl​​domet​​ers​.i​​nfo​/g​​eogra​​phy​/h​​ow​-ma​​ny​ -co​​untri​​es​-in​​-​lati​​n​-ame​​rica/​. Zdrojewski, Kate. “The Development of Sex Trafficking in Central America.” Topical Research Digest: Human Rights & Human Welfare. Accessed September 7, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.du.​​edu​/k​​orbel​​/hrhw​​/rese​​archd​​igest​​/traf​​ficki​​ng​/Ce​​ntral​​​Ameri​​ca​.pd​​f.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 306

08-10-2021 11:28:04

Chapter 13

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions to Their Latin America and Caribbean Victims Ivon Alcime

Human Trafficking is a grievous setback and an encroachment on human rights. According to the UN Office of Drug and Crime, “Trafficking in persons is the acquisition of people by improper means such as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them.”1 In the Trafficking in Persons Report June 2019, by the Department of State of the United States of America, it is estimated that 24.9 million people worldwide have fallen prey to traffickers, and 77 percent of the victims are exploited in their own countries.2 In Latin America and the Caribbean, human trafficking is an emergent problem. The Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) of the United Nations declared that the number of trafficking victims is 44 percent higher in Latin America than in Europe and Central Asia outside of the commercial sex industry. The Republic of Haiti and the Dominican Republic are the highest in the Caribbean.3 Although there is extensive research done on human trafficking, there is a dearth of information on the communications of the traffickers in Latin America and the Caribbean. This chapter documents and examines the following themes: the various forms of human trafficking over time; the structures of the human trafficking organizations, human trafficking diversification, and specialization; the communication strategies of the human traffickers to lure their victims; and the communication of the traffickers that reveal their deceptions to their victims in captivity in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and globally.

307

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 307

08-10-2021 11:28:04

308

Ivon Alcime

THE VARIOUS FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING OVER TIME Human trafficking can be traced to ancient history and slavery. Over time, it has taken many different forms. While sex trafficking is the most documented form of human trafficking, other apparent and hidden forms have also been detailed. Below are the most common forms of human trafficking that exist in modern times. Sexual Exploitation Sexual exploitation occurs when a person is deceived, coerced, or forced to engage in sexual activity. Commercial sex practices are as follows: prostitution, brothels (massage and sauna), escort agencies, pole, and lap dancing, forced marriage, stripping on a webcam, phone sex lines, internet chat rooms, pornography, and mail order brides. Sex trafficking is a large segment of all human trafficking. It flourishes because of the demand for commercial sex.4 Every year, more than two million children are exploited in the commercial sex trade. Child sex tourism (CST) is a broad problem. CST tourists generally travel to developing countries to participate in commercial sex acts with children. The availability of children in prostitution and the anonymity afforded to clients make those countries very appealing. The developing countries are usually afflicted with ineffective law enforcement, corruption, or poverty. Sex offenders come from different economic backgrounds. For example, a pediatrician, an army sergeant, a dentist, and a university professor of the United States were involved in cases of child sex tourism.5 Labor Exploitation/Forced Labor Labor exploitation involves coercing people to work for little or no compensation. Individuals can be coerced by violence or intimidation, accumulated debt, retention of identity papers, and the threat of exposure to immigration authorities. Sectors and industries vulnerable to labor exploitation are as follows: manufacturing, factory work, hospitality, construction, agriculture, fishing, car washes, and nail bars.6 Unscrupulous employers benefit from gaps in law enforcement domestically and abroad to exploit defenseless trafficked workers. These workers are susceptible to forced labor or exploitation because of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, and cultural acceptance of the exploitation. Immigrants are often the most vulnerable. Labor exploitation or forced labor is a very difficult form of human trafficking to identify.7

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 308

08-10-2021 11:28:04

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

309

Domestic Servitude A domestic worker is an individual who works in the home of his or her employer through force or coercion. They are often physically, sexually, and emotionally abused. A domestic worker is exploited when an employer limits the worker’s movement or forces the worker to work long hours with little or no pay.8 Domestic workers are exploited in private homes and in a community such as a commune. Children are a significant portion of the domestic workers. Like exploitation, domestic servitude is difficult to detect because it is unregulated by most governments. There is a great demand for domestic workers in some wealthy countries in Asia and the Middle East.9 Forced Marriage Forced marriage occurs when an individual is pressured to marry someone. The forced person may be physically and sexually threatened. The individual is also subjected to emotional or psychological distress to get married. Individuals are forced to marry because they are trying to enter a country and access benefits.10 Forced Criminality Force criminality occurs when a person is forced to engage in criminal activities through coercion or deception. Forced criminality involves the drug trade (e.g., cannabis cultivation, drug distribution), begging, pickpocketing, bag snatching, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) theft, or selling counterfeit goods. Social welfare fraud is also part of forced criminality. Social welfare fraud transpires when exploiters use their victims’ personal information to apply for tax credits and other welfare benefits falsely. Often, the victims are physically abused to coerce them to comply.11 Child Soldiers Child soldiers range from 4 to 18-year-old males and females exploited for military purposes. They are unlawfully recruited through force, fraud, or coercion by government forces, paramilitary organizations, or rebel groups. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) estimates that 300,000 children are currently exploited in armed conflicts. Some are forced to commit a crime against their families and communities. Others are used as porters, cooks, guards, servants, messengers, or spies. Many girls are forced to marry or have sex with male soldiers. The places that are most likely to have child soldiers are Africa and Asia. Armed groups in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 309

08-10-2021 11:28:05

310

Ivon Alcime

the Americas and the Middle East are engaging in the unlawful practice as well.12 Organ Harvesting Organ harvesting involves removing a body part, such as kidneys and liver, to sell illegally. The removal of organs can be done in several ways: trade, ailments, or extortion. The trade involves a victim formally or informally agreeing to sell his or her organ. The victim is, however, either not compensated or gets paid less for what was agreed upon. A victim may seek treatment for an illness. However, this victim’s organ is removed without his or her knowledge. Extortion involves a victim kidnapped from his or her family. His or her organs are removed without consent.13 In conclusion, human trafficking is a growing complicated problem. It takes many different forms over the years. It is hidden and easily misidentified. Although some of the forms have been identified, there is a stumbling block in determining the different forms because of voluntary and involuntary slavery. Different organizations or scholars have identified different sets of forms. However, the most recognized forms are sex and labor exploitations. Despite our efforts to understand the nature and processes of human trafficking, little is known about it, the victims, or the domestic and transnational criminal groups that are involved. Knowing the structures of the human trafficking organizations and their diversification and specialization will help decipher the exploitation concepts. THE STRUCTURES OF THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING ORGANIZATION The structure of human trafficking can range from a single individual or small and large networks to organized and hierarchically structured transnational criminal groups. Either the entire or central staff of the criminal groups is of the same ethnic origin. Most groups are structured horizontally.14 HUMAN TRAFFICKING DIVERSIFICATION AND SPECIALIZATION Most human trafficking organizations are comprised of different units with diversified tasks. The units independently execute “their particular criminal sequences”15 with little knowledge of each other. Each unit has either one or

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 310

08-10-2021 11:28:05

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

311

more people who are highly specialized in their respective duties. Generally, individuals in each unit know only of their direct supervisor.16 Following is a brief synopsis of the structural breakdown of the units. The recruitment unit advertises the organization and recruits new customers. It uses an informal exchange of information, such as locals, friends, relatives, and compatriots. It makes announcements in the press, the internet, and various legal agencies such as travel agencies and summer schools.17 The escort unit transports migrants by land, air, or water. It takes care of every stage of the transport in the sending country, throughout the transiting country, and to the destination (the host country). This unit is often divided into subunits that specialize in particular territory and transportation methods.18 The corrupted officials are not interconnected. They are, however, acting as an integral unit of the criminal organization. The cooperation of local officials plays a substantial role in setting up and maintaining an organization’s permanent structure. Officials in the sending, the transiting, or the host countries are bribed for the safe transfer of illegal migrants.19 The guiding and navigation unit consists of local agents and informants. The agents and the informants are less informed about the organization. The informant’s ignorance of their organization has several benefits. First, it minimizes the risk of interference by law enforcement. Second, it makes damage control of the organization very effective against any penetration.20 The supporting and logistics unit is responsible for providing all the supporting services, such as safe shelter, accommodation, and food. The purpose is to prevent illegal migrants from having any contact with the public. It gives the traffickers total control of the migrants, putting the migrants at the mercy of the traffickers. The fact that the migrants are sheltered by and at the mercy of the traffickers serves two functions. First, the operation is protected from information leakage. Second, dependencies between the trafficked and the traffickers are created in the early stages, permitting long-term exploitation.21 The debt-collecting unit is responsible for keeping illegal migrants in safe houses and collecting transportation fees. The unit also collects from illegal businesses that recruited the trafficked migrants. “Usually, the debt rate is purposely made high which then transforms into a debt-bondage that proves to be the most effective control mechanism (creating an additionally strong dependency between trafficked and traffickers).”22 The exploiting unit(s): “Number of units or sub-units depends on number of activities that any organization is involved in (such as exploitation of prostitution, drugs, begging, car theft, etc.). Naturally, this unit entirely operates within the host country.”23 The re-escort unit is responsible for re-escorting the trafficking victims to other countries without regard to the victims’ will. This is more apparent in the exploitation of prostitution.24

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 311

08-10-2021 11:28:05

312

Ivon Alcime

The management and the supervising unit is essential for traffickers. “This unit drafts, plans, finances, manages, chains, and supervises the whole operation and keeps up a criminal structure operable and profitable.”25 This unit is the only vertical unit in the structure of the organization. It is rarely known to the horizontal units. It is also hardly visible to or penetrable from the outside world. It is, however, covered by the established legal business.26 In conclusion, most human trafficking organizations are well organized. They are comprised of different units with diversified tasks. Each unit has either one or more highly specialized individuals to perform their specific duties. The units operate independently with little knowledge of each other. Workers in each unit know of only their direct supervisor. Not all trafficking organizations are highly structured. Some organizations operate loosely with only a few traffickers. Understanding these organizations will help to identify the communication strategies the traffickers use to lure their victims. THE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKERS TO LURE THEIR VICTIMS Human trafficking is profitable, difficult to detect, and very hard to punish. As a result, traffickers have always found creative ways to exploit and lure their victims. The most common communication strategies traffickers use to lure their victims are as follows: seduction and romance, false job advertisements, lies about educational and travel opportunities, abduction, and recruitment through family members and friends. The traffickers’ communications that revealed their lies to their victims are highlighted in the victims’ stories in the next section. The traffickers’ strategies are also emphasized. TRAFFICKERS STRATEGIES TO LURE VICTIMS AND THE COMMUNICATIONS THAT REVEAL THEIR DECEPTIONS In captivity or in the process of being transported, the victims might have recognized the traffickers’ lies. In this section of the chapter, the focus is on two themes: the Caribbean and Latin America victims’ stories that highlight the communication of the traffickers that reveal their lies and trickeries and the traffickers’ strategies to lure future victims. “A Little Thief” Guerda’s father remarried, and his new wife would not allow Guerda to live in the same house with her. As a result, he sent Guerda to live with his brother

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 312

08-10-2021 11:28:05

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

313

in a rural community. The uncle prohibited Guerda from using her surname. He did not want the community to know that she was his niece. Guerda felt humiliated that her uncle did not recognize her as his niece. The uncle treated Guerda like a restavek in the house. She did all the household chores and cared for the other children. Furthermore, the uncle did not allow Guerda to enroll in a private school that he owned. He told her that she would only be a “little thief.” He said that her mother was of bad blood. He made her feel inferior to the rest of the family.27 Guerda’s story reveals several communication cues from her uncle. First, the uncle denied her using her last name. Second, he was ashamed of her. Third, he did not allow her to attend his school. Lastly, he made her feel inferior to the rest of the family. Those factors were indicators that Guerda was in forced labor in domestic services in her own country and her own family’s house. “I was never there when they weighted the sugar.” At 13 years old, Jesus Nord paid a Haitian scout 50 gourdes (Haitian currency) to smuggle him to the Dominican Republic. He worked in the sugar fields for a year. “I was never there when they weighted the sugar, so they would give me less than they owed,”28 Jesus recalled. They also used to beat me to make me work faster. It was obvious to Jesus that he was cheated out of his pay. That was the clue he needed from the traffickers that something was wrong. Although he volunteered to work in the sugar fields, Jesus did not volunteer for cheap labor. “If you want to be a prostitute like the others, that is fine.” Flor Turcio felt love for the first time at 17 years old. She met a man who pretended to love her and spoke love to her. “I was vulnerable. I wanted a home and children. I wanted someone to take care of me and protect me. I believed him. He won my love and trust,”29 Flor revealed. That man was a trafficker. It was easy for him to win Flor’s heart because of her past. In 1979, Flor was molested at nine years old. She was verbally and physically abused. She lived in abject poverty in a small rural Central American mountain town. Eventually, Flor fled her home. She lived with friends and in the homes where she worked.30 Soon after, Flor met a trafficker, and they moved more than 30 hours away in a small border town with the promise of marriage. Upon arrival, Flor’s fiancé became abusive and prevented her from communicating with other women. He introduced her to local bars and alcohol. One night, he laced her

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 313

08-10-2021 11:28:05

314

Ivon Alcime

drinks, got her intoxicated, and allowed other men to rape her. The next day, Flor’s fiancé accused her of having sex with his brothers. The fiancé said to her, “If you want to be a prostitute like the others, that is fine.”31 The same day, her fiancé purchased new clothes, make-up, and a handbag for her to engage in prostitution. It was then that she learned she would be a sex slave along with four other women.32 “They Are Pimps.” When Karla Jacinto was 12 years old, she was waiting for her friends near a subway station in Mexico City, Mexico. A boy selling sweets approached her. He told her that someone was sending her a piece of candy as a gift. Five minutes later, a 22-year older adult was talking to her. He told her that he was a car salesman. He was very affectionate and a gentleman. They exchanged phone numbers. A week later, he asked her to go on a trip, riding in his bright red Firebird Trans Am. She was very impressed by the big car. When Karla’s mother did not open the door for her after a night out with the 22-year older man, she took off with him.33 Karla stated, “The following day, I left with him. I lived with him for three months, during which he treated me very well. He loved on me, he bought me clothes, gave me attention, bought me shoes, flowers, chocolates, everything was beautiful.”34 Karla recalled that her boyfriend would leave her alone for a week in the apartment. His cousin would come to the apartment with new girls every week. When she finally asked the boyfriend what business they were, he said, “They are pimps.”35 Karla stated, “A few days later he started telling me everything I had to do: the positions, how much I need to charge, things I had to do with the client and for how long, how I was to treat them and how I had to talk to them so that they would give me more money.”36 Karla worked at 10:00 am and finished at midnight. He sent her to brothels, roadside motels, homes, and streets known for prostitution.37 The cues were very visible to Karla. First, she witnessed new girls coming to the apartment every week. Second, the boyfriend told her that he and his cousin were pimps. Her misery ended at 16 years old. She was captured in 2008 during an anti-trafficking operation in Mexico City. Karla became an advocate against human trafficking. She told her stories at conferences and public events. VICTIMS’ STORIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD The human trafficking victims’ stories from the Caribbean and Latin America are not isolated stories. Victims from around the world have shared similar

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 314

08-10-2021 11:28:06

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

315

stories to LAC victims. Below are more victims’ stories from around the world. “Great, fresh arrivals, we will work much less now.” At 22 years old, Luiza Karimova, a single mother, journeyed from Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to Osh, Kyrgyzstan, searching for work. She left behind a son with family members. Lacking the appropriate Kyrgyzstan identification or a university degree, Luiza struggled to find work in Osh. When she was offered a waitressing job in Bishkek Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyzstan’s capital, and largest city, Luiza relocated again.38 From the actions and conversations of sex traffickers, Luiza immediately realized that “it was not as it seemed”39 when she arrived in Bishkek. “They held us in an apartment and took away our passports. They told us that we would be photographed again for our new employment documents, to be registered as waitresses. It felt strange, but we believed them,”40 Luiza remembered. She and other women were then put on a plane to Dubai without their passports. They were told a pilot would return the passports to them. The returned passports were fake.41 After landing at the Dubai international airport, Luiza and other women were hauled away to an apartment already occupied by sex trafficking women. “Great, fresh arrivals, we will work much less now,”42 they said to Luiza and the other new women. For eighteen months, Luiza worked as a sex slave in a nightclub in Dubai. She allowed the police to capture her while she was leaving the club.43 On separate occasions, the actions, and communications of Luiza’s sex traffickers were indications of imminent danger. As Luiza recalled, she ignored the obvious: the traffickers took her passport; they took new pictures of her for new employment documents: they gave her a fake passport. Like the other sex trafficking women, Luiza entrusted her life to strangers, and the outcome was the same. “We had to swear to an old woman—a sorcerer—that we would not run.” Having no siblings, having no relationship with her father, and unable to attend school, Mary also became a sex trafficking target. A woman offered to send Mary to Europe. The woman then introduced Mary to Ben. Ben promised to finance Mary’s trip to Europe and connect her with restaurant owners he knew. Unaware of Ben’s deception, Mary met him at his house the next day.44 The signs were noticeable at Ben’s house. When Mary arrived at the house, many boys and girls were there. Ben took them to a juju place. They swore

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 315

08-10-2021 11:28:06

316

Ivon Alcime

to a sorcerer, an older woman, they would not run. On March 17, 2016, Mary left her hometown Benin City, Nigeria, for Libya at 17.45 The journey was traumatic, and Libya was a horror. Mary and others were told they would be treated well. They were not. Most girls were raped. “Ben took two of us girls one night. He gave the other girl to another man, and he said to me if I did not sleep with him, he would give me to another man and not bring me to Europe. He raped me.”46 Mary did not have a phone. She could not call home in Nigeria. She was not fed. Mary endured an agonizing stay of three months in Libya. On August 11, 2016, Mary and the other girls and boys sailed to Italy and were rescued by the Italian coast guard.47 During the perilous trip to Italy, a girl who had been deported and was making the trip for a second time forewarned Mary of the risk of sex trafficking. “She told me we were going to be used as prostitutes, and that I should not talk to the madams, and that I had to stay inside the camp the Italians would put us in.”48 Despite the endless suffering Mary underwent, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer for victims of sex trafficking.49 The communications and actions of the sex traffickers alarmed Mary. The swearing to the sorcerer not to run, not having access to call home, being raped, and forced to have sex with strangers, and not being fed are all the warnings of sex trafficking. Although Mary was not oblivious to those warning signs, extreme poverty prevented her from escaping. “When I arrived, no woman wanted to tell me what the job was.” Khawng Nu met Mun Pan at the baby factory. Mun Pan was 18 years old when a trafficker took her from her village of Naung Mun, Myanmar. She was promised a job as a butcher or in a phone factory in China. Mun Pan stated, “When I arrived, no woman wanted to tell me what the job was.” She continued, “They told me: ‘it is a good job; you do not have to do anything.’ They gave me various medicines and injections and did not explain why.”50 The women in Mun Pan’s room counseled her not to escape. She was told that the traffickers would murder her and not return her body to her family for essential Kachin cultural burial rites.51 “They were the first people to tell me, ‘He is a pimp.’” Not all traffickers are strangers to their victims. In some cases, the traffickers pretend to be lovers. Brittany, a sex trafficking victim, was hoodwinked into believing that she had a boyfriend. At 18 years old, Brittany met a man on a Greyhound bus in Louisiana. They immediately bonded. “He made me feel

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 316

08-10-2021 11:28:06

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

317

special. I never wanted to leave,”52 she explained. “I was in love with him. I thought I was going to be with him for the rest of my life.”53 Brittany and her boyfriend traveled to different cities and states, staying in different hotels to avoid law enforcement. One day, the boyfriend got angry and struck her. The altercation started over Brittany’s refusal to her boyfriend’s demand that she secures more girls. “I did not know what was going to happen. A guy had never hit me like that before,”54 Brittany revealed. “During all that, I heard a voice tell me, ‘It is about to get worse. It is about to get really bad.’ However, I was not going to go to the police, because he had made me think the police were against me.”55 When she was finally arrested during a sting operation in California, she discovered that her boyfriend had been manipulating and pimping her. “They were the first people to tell me, ‘He is a pimp. Do you know what you are doing? He does not love you, and he has brainwashed you,’ ”56 Brittany said the police told her. “I was like, ‘No, he is my boyfriend. I love him, and he loves me.”57 During the arrest, Brittany refused to disclose her boyfriend’s whereabouts. Brittany knew she was prostituting but did not believe a trafficker was pimping her. California police saw Brittany’s online ads and assumed she was an underage trafficking victim.58

“It was confusing. He was protecting me, but he was exploiting me.” “Not all victims are romantically linked to their traffickers.”59 As for Dee Dee, it was her biological father. At four years old, Dee Dee’s father permitted his male friends to lie in bed with her. The father would remain in the room to monitor his friends. Each time they were done, her father would put her to bed and would kiss her forehead. He would tell her of a good job she did and how proud he was of her.60 As Dee Dee aged, her father urged her to spend time with and accept gifts from specific older men. When her mother learned about the abuse, the mother called the police on a particular man. Dee Dee’s father alerted the man, and he fled. The encounters eventually turned into trafficking that lasted until she was 18 years old. Dee Dee asserted, “What I learned at an early age was that even if you tell, even if your mom does the right things, it does not stop.”61 Because Dee Dee started at an early age, she thought it was normal. “It never even dawned on me that I was a victim,”62 Dee Dee disclosed. “It was what I had always known.”63 Dee Dee was too young to understand the abuse. She, however, was not too young to be confused. She knew something was wrong. Her father failed her. Dee Dee and Brittany shared similar stories. They trusted their traffickers.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 317

08-10-2021 11:28:07

318

Ivon Alcime

One trafficker was a boyfriend, the other a father. Neither woman knew they were victims.64 “So, he looks up, and he said, ‘oh yeah, they are going to like you because you are a white girl.’ ” Like Dee Dee and Brittany, Karla Solomon initially trusted a man with whom she and her husband went to school. In 2016, Karla wanted to get away from her husband and three children, so she turned to the school friend. Like Dee Dee and Brittany, Karla was sold for sex. She explained how it all started: “which is selfish at the time, but it happened. Um, so I trusted this guy, that I knew, he knew my family, he knew my husband went to school with us, um, it started out that I was just driving him and this other lady around, and it did not take long for me to figure out what was going on, you know, he was basically selling her.”65 When another woman could not make the trafficker’s daily quota, Karla drove them on a swamp road. “He dragged her out of my car and pulled her to the back by the trunk, and he started beating her, and I watched from my rearview mirror. And he made me leave her there,”66 Karla remembered. After the beating, the trafficker took Karla to a hotel room. It was in that hotel room that Karla knew her fate. “He was doing something on his phone,”67 she said. “I was not sure what was happening; it turns out later I found out he was creating an ad on backpage​.co​m. But I am in the ad. So, he looks up, and he said, ‘oh yeah, they are going to like you because you are a white girl.’ At that point, it dawned on me what was going on. So, I made a run for the door, and he tackled me,”68 He then raped her. For fifty-four days, they moved every two or three days across Texas. Like the other girls, Karla had a $1,500 daily quota. He did not care how it was done. She was sold ten to fifteen times a day, seven days a week. To control Karla, the trafficker forced her to smoke meth. “I did not want to do it. Um, so he wrestled me down to the ground and pinned my arms down on the floor and sat on top of my chest,”69 she said. “And this is a really heavy man, and at the time I was probably like 110 pounds, you know, and so he ended up forcing me to smoke it and eventually I was, I mean, it did not take long before I was very addicted to it.”70 Additionally, Karla was told that her 5-year-old daughter would be kidnapped and trafficked for sex if she escaped. In the end, police electronically located Karla’s phone at a College Station hotel and arrested the trafficker. Like the other trafficking women, Karla did not believe a trusted friend would traffic her in time of need. In her own words, “So I trusted him, and he built up that trust to um, he did things like that to make me feel comfortable and make me feel like he really cared about me.”71 In reality, Karla saw all

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 318

08-10-2021 11:28:07

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

319

the signs. She witnessed the trafficker trafficking another woman before she became a victim. “I knew something was wrong after the first massage.” For Jose Alfaro, it started with a casual conversation online with Jason Gandy, a pedophile. It, then, turned into months of sex trafficking in Texas, USA. Alfaro’s calamity started at 15 years old. When Alfaro’s parents discovered that he was gay, they gave him an ultimatum: conversion therapy or leave the house. Alfaro convinced his parents to send him away to school in San Antonio, Texas, instead. As Alfaro was exploring his sexuality in San Antonio, he was also dating his 36-year-old teacher. When Alfaro returned home at 16 years old, his parents discovered the relationship and requested conversion therapy again. This time, Alfaro vacated his parent’s home and stayed with friends. When Alfaro’s friends could not accommodate him, he turned to gay​.c​ om for support and to connect with other gay men. He met Jason Gandy, a 20-year-old millionaire, through the website. Gandy inherited his fortune and had a massage business. According to Alfaro, “Jason showed me a ton of empathy. He told me he had friends who had gone through similar situations with their parents and felt bad for me and really wanted to help. He offered me a place to stay and told me that he owned a 10-bedroom home in Austin, Texas, which ended up being a lie.”72 Not long after their meeting online, Gandy drove from Houston to Navasota to pick up Alfaro. When Alfaro arrived at Gandy’s house, Gandy immediately started preparing Alfaro for a career in sexual massaging. For example, Alfaro’s diet was changed to eating lean and healthy dinners. Furthermore, he spent hours of training in the gym. Gandy promised Alfaro he would teach him everything about massages. However, Gandy had to say he was 18 years old if he was asked for his age. After some training, Gandy posted shirtless photos of Alfaro on Craigslist under the M4M category. Alfaro remembered seeing Gandy thoroughly examining responses to his ad, filtering for law enforcement.73 It was not until Alfaro participated in a massage with Gandy, he realized Gandy had a different plan for him. “I knew something was wrong after the first massage, but I continued the massages with the fear that if I said that I didn’t want to do them anymore, someone would harm me, or Jason wouldn’t help me anymore. I also began to realize that things were really terrible when I noticed his infatuation with even younger boys and also finding the child pornography on his laptop. I could not handle Jason harming other people, but for some reason, when it came to myself, I felt it was my only option, and I needed to survive.”74

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 319

08-10-2021 11:28:07

320

Ivon Alcime

There was another sign of sex trafficking that became apparent to Alfaro. Gandy stopped paying him for his massage services. Gandy lied to Alfaro and told him that he was saving Alfaro’s money for when he was ready to start his own business. Alfaro started discovering all the lies Gandy told him.75 “After finding the child pornography, being raped, and noticing his infatuation with younger boys, I decided it was time to plan my escape. I called my ex, a 36-year-old second-grade teacher and ex-marine and asked him to pick me up because I had no one else to turn to. He always feared that I was going to tell law enforcement about our relationship, so he would do anything I asked of him until I turned eighteen,”76 Alfaro stated. That was the last time Alfaro saw Gandy.77 CONCLUSION Human trafficking is both a hidden and in-your-face type of crime. Most people are either unaware of trafficking or inattentive to the signs. Traffickers work diligently, legally, and illegally, to hide their victims and their criminal organizations. The victims are made to feel less human. For example, they are deprived of their fundamental human rights, freedom, and security. A victim could be anyone: a young girl sold by her parents, trapped as a domestic servant for years; a man lured with the prospect of a promising future in a developing country but ending up in forced labor; a runaway teenage girl exploited for sex by trusted friends and lovers, or a child kidnapped for combat. The nature of human trafficking is complex and difficult to eradicate. In this chapter, the stories of human trafficking victims were documented and examined in the LAC region. Those stories were then compared with other victims’ stories from around the world. The objective of this chapter was to determine if the victims had any ideas that the traffickers lied to them before and during the trafficking. To capture the magnitude of the danger of human trafficking, I also drew attention to the following: the various forms of human trafficking, the structures of the human trafficking organizations, and human trafficking diversification and specialization. Similar to other human trafficking research, writing about human trafficking is a challenging task for several reasons. First, there are many different forms of human trafficking. Depending on which articles a person reads, the forms are different. Second, there are many different and inconsistent definitions of human trafficking within or across government agencies and NGOs. One of the problems might stem from the confusion between voluntary and involuntary trafficking. This chapter shows that the communication strategies traffickers use to lure their victims are very effective. Also, when analyzing the victims’

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 320

08-10-2021 11:28:07

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

321

stories, it is apparent that they eventually knew or were suspicious of the traffickers’ intentions. These are the statements that forewarned the victims: “A Little Thief”; “I was never there when they weighted the sugar”; “If you want to be a prostitute like the others, that’s fine”; “They’re Pimps”; “Great, fresh arrivals, we'll work much less now”; “We had to swear to an old woman—a sorcerer—that we wouldn't run”; “When I arrived, no woman wanted to tell me what the job was”; “They were the first people to tell me, ‘He’s a pimp’ ”; “It was confusing. He was protecting me, but he was exploiting me”; “So he looks up, and he said, ‘oh yeah, they’re going to like you because you're a white girl”; and “I knew something was wrong after the first massage.” Now, the issues the victims faced were what to do with the information and how soon to act. In victims’ stories, it was revealed that they ignored the warning signs for their own and their family’s safety. Furthermore, they did not know what to make of their experiences. Some victims thought their conditions would get better when they reach their destination. Others fled. These insights provide evidence that human trafficking victims should be a policy focus in every country. As a short-term focus, awareness must be made among the general public about the forewarning statements from the traffickers and the traffickers’ recruiting strategies. It is also necessary that schools, churches, and community organizations establish platforms for the victims to share their experiences. However, short-term solutions are not sufficient. To minimize human trafficking, long-term remedies need to be implemented, such as more employment opportunities, strong law enforcement without corruption, increased awareness of the danger at an early age, and businesses renouncing forced labor and refusing to hire trafficked victims.

NOTES 1. “UNODC on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants,” unodc​.or​g, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, access October 18, 2020, https​:/​/ww​​w​ .uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/hu​​man​-t​​ra​ffi​​cking​/. 2. “2019 Trafficking in Persons Report,” state​.go​v, U.S. Department of State, access October 19, 2020, https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​ -re​​port/​. 3. Clare Ribando Seelke, “Trafficking in Person in Latin America and the Caribbean,” fas​.or​g, Congressional Research Service, October 13, 2016, https://fas​ .org​/sgp​/crs​/row​/RL33200​.pdf. 4. “Types of Exploration: Defining the most common types of exploitation and human trafficking,” stopthetraffik​.org​., Stop The Traffik, accessed 18, 2020, https​:/​/ ww​​w​.sto​​pthet​​raffi​​k​.org​​/abou​​t​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​types​​-of​-​e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 321

08-10-2021 11:28:08

322

Ivon Alcime

5. “Major Forms of Trafficking in Persons,” 2009​-2017​.state​.​gov, U.S. Department of State, June 4, 2008, https​:/​/20​​09​-20​​17​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/j/​​tip​/r​​ls​/ti​​prpt/​​2008​/​​ 10537​​7​.htm​. 6. “Types of Exploration: Defining the most common types of exploitation and human trafficking,” stopthetraffik​.org​., Stop The Traffik, accessed 18, 2020, https​:/​/ ww​​w​.sto​​pthet​​raffi​​k​.org​​/abou​​t​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​types​​-of​-​e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/. 7. “Major Forms of Trafficking in Persons,” 2009​-2017​.state​.​gov, U.S. Department of State, June 4, 2008, https​:/​/20​​09​-20​​17​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/j/​​tip​/r​​ls​/ti​​prpt/​​2008​/​​ 10537​​7​.htm​. 8. “Types of Exploration: Defining the most common types of exploitation and human trafficking,” stopthetraffik​.org​., Stop The Traffik, accessed 18, 2020, https​:/​/ ww​​w​.sto​​pthet​​raffi​​k​.org​​/abou​​t​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​types​​-of​-​e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/. 9. “Major Forms of Trafficking in Persons,” 2009​-2017​.state​.​gov, U.S. Department of State, June 4, 2008, https​:/​/20​​09​-20​​17​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/j/​​tip​/r​​ls​/ti​​prpt/​​2008​/​​ 10537​​7​.htm​. 10. “Types of Exploration: Defining the most common types of exploitation and human trafficking,” stopthetraffik​.org​., Stop The Traffik, accessed 18, 2020, https​:/​/ ww​​w​.sto​​pthet​​raffi​​k​.org​​/abou​​t​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​types​​-of​-​e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/. 11. Ibid. 12. Ibid. 13. Ibid. 14. Anis H. Bajrektarevic, “Trafficking in and Smuggling of Human Beings— Linkages to Organized Crime—International Legal Measures,” Kriminologija i socijalna integracija 8, br. 1–2 (2000): 57. 15. Ibid. 16. Ibid. 17. Ibid. 18. Ibid. 19. Ibid. 20. Ibid. 21. Ibid. 22. Ibid, p. 68. 23. Ibid, p. 68. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid, p. 68. 26. Ibid. 27. “Restavek: The Persistence of Child Labor and Slavery,” lib​.ohchr​.o​rg, Restavek Freedom, accessed October 19, 2020. https​:/​/li​​b​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/HRB​​odies​​/UPR/​​ Docum​​ents/​​sessi​​on12/​​​HT​/RF​​-Rest​​avèkF​​reedo​​m​-eng​​.​pdf. 28. Ibid. 29. Glenda Meekins, “Human trafficking survivor shares her story,” cat​holi​ccha​ ritiesusa​​.org, Catholic Charities USA, July 26, 2019, https​:/​/ww​​w​.cat​​holic​​chari​​tiesu​​ sa​.or​​g​/sto​​ry​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-surv​​ivor-​​sh​are​​s​-her​​-stor​​y/. 30. Ibid. 31. Ibid.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 322

08-10-2021 11:28:08

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

323

32. Ibid. 33. Rafael Romo, “Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times,” CNN​ .co​m, CNN, September 20, 2017, https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2015/​​11​/10​​/amer​​icas/​​freed​​ om​-pr​​oject​​-mexi​​co​-tr​​affic​​king-​​surv​i​​vor​/i​​ndex.​​html. 34. Ibid. 35. Ibid. 36. Ibid. 37. Ibid. 38. —, “In the words of Luiza Karimova,” unwomen​.or​g, UN Women, Friday, February 17, 2017, https​:/​/ww​​w​.unw​​omen.​​org​/e​​n​/new​​s​/sto​​ries/​​2017/​​2​/in-​​the​-w​​ords-​​ of​-lu​​iza​-w​​​e​-wer​​e​-sex​​-slav​​es. 39. Ibid. 40. Ibid. 41. Ibid. 42. Ibid. 43. Ibid. 44. Sarah Ferguson, "Fleeing Boko Haram, and Tricked into Sexual Exploitation," unicefusa​.or​g, Unicef USA, January 3, 2020, https​:/​/ww​​w​.uni​​cefus​​a​.org​​/stor​​ies​/f​​l eein​​ g​-bok​​o​-har​​am​-an​​d​-tri​​cked-​​sexua​​l​-e​xp​​loita​​tion/​​32525​. 45. Ibid. 46. Ibid. 47. Ibid. 48. Ibid. 49. Ibid. 50. Ibid. 51. Ibid. 52. Lex Talamo, "Victim: I was four when my dad trafficking me," shreveporttimes​.co​m, Shreveport Times, May 23, 2016, updated May 24, 2016, https​:/​/ww​​w​ .shr​​evepo​​rttim​​es​.co​​m​/sto​​ry​/ne​​ws​/wa​​tchdo​​g​/201​​6​/05/​​23​/vi​​ctims​​-sex-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-sha​​re​ -t​h​​eir​-s​​torie​​s​/835​​38332​/. 53. Ibid. 54. Ibid. 55. Ibid. 56. Ibid. 57. Ibid. 58. Ibid. 59. Ibid. 60. Ibid. 61. Ibid. 62. Ibid. 63. Ibid. 64. Ibid. 65. David Martin Davies, “A Sex Trafficking Survivor Tells Her Story,” texasstanderd​.or​g, Texas Standard, January 8, 2019, https​:/​/ww​​w​.tex​​assta​​ndard​​.org/​​stori​​es​ /a-​​sex​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-surv​​ivor-​​tell​s​​-her-​​story​/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 323

08-10-2021 11:28:08

324

Ivon Alcime

66. Ibid. 67. Ibid. 68. Ibid. 69. Ibid. 70. Ibid. 71. Ibid. 72. David Lopez, "Sex Trafficking Survivor Shares Haunting Story of Exploitation," instinctmagazine​.co​m, instinct, May 15, 2019, https​:/​/in​​stinc​​tmaga​​zine.​​com​/s​​ex​-tr​​ affic​​king-​​survi​​vor​-s​​hares​​-haun​​ting-​​story​​-of​​-e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/. 73. Ibid. 74. Ibid. 75. Ibid. 76. Ibid. 77. Ibid.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “A fresh look and a fresh start for survivors of human trafficking in Cambodia.” unwomen​.or​g. UN Women. January 14, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.unw​​omen.​​org​/e​​n​/new​​s​/ sto​​ries/​​2019/​​1​/fea​​ture-​​fresh​​-star​​t​-​for​​-surv​​ivors​​-of- human-trafficking-in-cambodia. Anis H. Bajrektarevic. “Trafficking in and Smuggling of Human Beings—Linkages to Organized Crime—International Legal Measures.” Kriminologija i socijalna integracija 8, br. 1–2 (2000): 57. Davies, David M. “A Sex Trafficking Survivor Tells Her Story.” texasstanderd​.or​ g. Texas Standard. January 8, 2019, https​:/​/ww​​w​.tex​​assta​​ndard​​.org/​​stori​​es​/a-​​sex​-t​​ raffi​​cking​​-surv​​ivor-​​tell​s​​-her-​​story​/. Ferguson, Sarah. “Fleeing Boko Haram, and Tricked into Sexual Exploitation.” unicefusa​.or​g. Unicef usa. January 3, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uni​​cefus​​a​.org​​/stor​​ies​/f​​ leein​​g​-bok​​​o​-har​​am​-an​​d- tricked-sexual-exploitation/32525. “In the words of Luiza Karimova.” unwomen​.or​g. UN Women. Friday, February 17, 2017. https​:/​/ww​​w​.unw​​omen.​​org​/e​​n​/new​​s​/sto​​ries/​​2017/​​2​/in-​​the​-w​​ords-​​of​-lu​​​iza​-w​​e​ -wer​​e​-sex​- slaves. Joarder, Mohammad Abdul Munim and Miller, Paul W. “A Theoretical Perspective on Human Trafficking and Migration-Debt Contracts.” The Journal of Development Studies 49, no. 10 (2013): 1332. Lopez, David. “Sex Trafficking Survivor Shares Haunting Story of Exploitation,” instinctmagazine​.co​m. Instinct. May 15, 2019. https://instinctmagazine​.com​/sextraff​i ckin​g-sur​vivor​-shar​es-ha​untin​g-sto​ry-of​-expl​oitat​ion/.​ “Major Forms of Trafficking in Persons.” 2009​-2017​.state​.​gov. U.S. Department of State. June 4, 2008. https​:/​/20​​09​-20​​17​.st​​ate​.g​​ov​/j/​​tip​/r​​ls​/ti​​prpt/​​2008​/​​10537​​7​.htm​. Meekins, Glenda. “Human trafficking Survivor shares her story.” cat​holi​ccha​ritiesusa​​ .org, Catholic Charities USA. July 26, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cat​​holic​​chari​​tiesu​​sa​.or​​g​/ sto​​ry​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-surv​​ivor-​​sh​are​​s​-her​​-stor​​y/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 324

08-10-2021 11:28:09

Communication Factors That Reveal Human Traffickers’ Deceptions

325

“Restavek: The Persistence of Child Labor and Slavery.” lib​.ohchr​.o​rg. Restavek Freedom. Accessed 19, 2020. https​:/​/li​​b​.ohc​​hr​.or​​g​/HRB​​odies​​/UPR/​​Docum​​ents/​​ sessi​​​on12/​​HT​/RF​- RestavèkFreedom​-eng​.p​df. Romo, Rafael. “Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times.” CNN​.co​m. CNN. September 20, 2017. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2015/​​11​/10​​/amer​​icas/​​freed​​o​m​-pr​​ oject​- mexico-trafficking-survivor/index​.htm​l. Seelke, Clare Ribando. “Trafficking in Person in Latin America and the Caribbean. fas​.or​g. Congressional Research Service. October 13, 2016. https://fas​.org​/sgp​/crs​ /row​/RL33200​.pdf. Talamo, Lex. “Victim: I was 4 when my dad trafficking me.” shreveporttimes​.co​ m. Shreveport Times. May 23, 2016. Updated May 24, 2016, https​:/​/ww​​w​.shr​​ evepo​​rttim​​es​.co​​m​/sto​​ry​/ne​​ws​/wa​​tchdo​​g​/201​​6​/05​/​​23​/vi​​ctims​​-sex-​ traff​i ckin​g-sha​ re-th​eir-s​torie​s/835​38332​/. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” state​.go​v. U.S. Department of State. Access October 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2019-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​perso​​​ns​-re​​port/​. “Trafficking in Persons Report: Domincan Republic.” state​.go​v. U.S. Department of State. Access October 19, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/rep​​orts/​​2020-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​​ perso​​ns​-re​​port/​​domin​​​ican-​​repub​​lic/. “Trackling Human Trafficking in Myanmar.” unwomen​.or​g. UN Women. January 3, 2019, https​:/​/ww​​w​.unw​​omen.​​org​/e​​n​/new​​s​/sto​​ries/​​2019/​​1​/fea​​ture-​​tackl​​ing​-h​​uma​ n-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​-in-​ myanmar. “Types of Exploration: Defining the most common types of exploitation and human trafficking.” stopthetraffik​.or​g. Stop The Traffik. Accessed October 18, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.sto​​pthet​​raffi​​k​.org​​/abou​​t​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​types​​-of​-​e​​xploi​​tatio​​n/. “UNODC on trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants.” unodc​.or​g. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Access October 18, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​ .or​​g​/uno​​dc​/hu​​man​-t​​ra​ffi​​cking​/.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 325

08-10-2021 11:28:09

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 326

08-10-2021 11:28:09

Part 4

THE GEOGRAPHICAL PATTERNS, COSTS, AND CONSEQUENCES

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 327

08-10-2021 11:28:09

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 328

08-10-2021 11:28:09

Chapter 14

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking A Global Analysis Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that has attracted the attention of academia, politicians, policymakers, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Although the trafficking of humans, which involves the movement of people within and across national boundaries without their consent, is rooted in the human history of migration, the modern phenomenon of human trafficking is manifested in complex multi-level national and international formal and informal interactions. This complexity poses significant challenges to identifying and appreciating the magnitude of the problem of human trafficking within the political, governmental, and public domains.1 Amplifying this problem is the lack of systematic, consistent, available, and accessible data on the problem of human trafficking.2 In contrast to other major global problems involving voluntary and involuntary movement of people, such as migration, refugees, and Internally Displaced persons (IDPs), data on the metrics of human trafficking are sparse, often embedded in desperate reports, publications, and published personal stories and accounts. This chapter provides a global snapshot of the phenomenon of human trafficking. Global data and information on human trafficking were compiled from various sources, including U.S. Department of State (U.S. DoS), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Federal Trafficking report, U.S. Department of Justice (U.S. DoJ), Human rights First, United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), analyzed and visualized to show the spatial distribution of the global pattern of human trafficking. The chapter is divided into three major sections. First, we explore the phenomenon of human trafficking from a theoretical perspective. Second, we map and visualize the global spatial pattern of human trafficking. In the final section, 329

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 329

08-10-2021 11:28:09

330

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

we explain the observed global pattern, focusing on spatial and temporal trends. The implications of the findings of this study for the formulation of national and global policies and strategies to combat the problem of human trafficking are discussed in the concluding section. THEORIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKING Human trafficking is a challenging problem that has been likened to modernday slavery. How can the global community tolerate modern-day slavery in the twenty-first century? The answer lies partially in the complexity of the phenomenon of human trafficking, which involves actors, agents, agencies, and a complex web of social, cultural, political, and economic conditions.3 Understanding the phenomenon of human trafficking requires simultaneous consideration of these individual conditions and their complex interactions at multiple spatial and temporal scales. It is apparent that no one would like to be a slave subjected to all sorts of inhumane abuse or condition. Similarly, no modern-day government would tolerate human slavery within their border. However, there is no doubt that the incidence of human trafficking has been on an upward trajectory globally.4 From the victim’s perspective, a variety of factors make them vulnerable to trafficking. Studies indicate that low economic, social, and political status are implicated in the current rise in the global number of trafficked victims.5 From an economic perspective, the global flow of victims of human trafficking is mainly from developing countries with weak economic conditions to advanced industrialized countries. Many of the victims of human trafficking from developing countries often fall prey to trafficking syndicates because of complex interacting local conditions that may affect their perception of the risk involved in moving to other countries. In some communities, remittances from citizens in the diaspora contribute significantly to the people’s social and economic wellbeing. This condition makes it easy for unsuspecting and less sophisticated citizens to fall victims to human trafficking rings who use this to convince the local population of opportunities that exist outside their local environments. Their traffickers often lure victims of human trafficking with the promise of economic opportunities such as employment that will improve their economic status through an increase in income. The victims themselves may conflate the promise of economic opportunity with the impact that their diaspora citizens are having in their communities. Thus, they may not realize the danger of embarking on dangerous journeys to their destinations. In some cases, trafficking can also occur between countries of similar economic status. For example, in countries where there is political instability, and civil unrest, people can easily be trafficked to neighboring countries where

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 330

08-10-2021 11:28:09

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

331

there is relative stability even if the economic conditions are not significantly different from the country of origin of the person trafficked.6 The case of the Yazidi women in Iraq who have been reportedly sold and trafficked into slavery in the surrounding countries is an example of the role it plays in exacerbating human trafficking.7 In the same vein, the massive displacement of the Rohingyas from Myanmar has made them vulnerable to trafficking within the surrounding countries of Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, and Malaysia, to mention a few.8 In these two examples, the driver of the human trafficking flow is not primarily economic but political. Sociocultural factors also play important roles in the problem of human trafficking. In many developing countries, women and girls have a comparatively lower sociocultural status compared to men. In Nigeria, for example, most societies are patrilineal. Cultural practices involving landed property inheritance and family decision-making processes are male-dominated. These practices systematically put the girl-child at a disadvantage right from birth. For instance, in a situation where parents must make a difficult choice of sending their children to school amid limited resources, the boy-child will have preference over the girl-child. This and other cultural practices lead to low esteem among women and girls and make them more vulnerable to sex trafficking later in life. MEASURING HUMAN TRAFFICKING— CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Although human trafficking is well acknowledged as a global problem, exact data on the number of victims, the perpetrators, and illicit income generated from the activity is not widely and readily available.9 This situation is due to a combination of factors. First, due to the complexity of the human trafficking process, it is often difficult to distinguish, for example, between an illegal migrant and a trafficked victim. Second, since human trafficking involves a clandestine process, it is challenging to gather official data on the magnitude of the problem, unlike other forms of human movements. Third, it is well documented that human trafficking victims often do not seek help from authorities because of the fear of reprisal from their traffickers and possible deportation from the authorities. Indeed, victims may not readily cooperate and volunteer information even in cases where the authorities decide to prosecute entities that illegally employ the victims of human trafficking. Fourth, there seems to be a lack of internationally agreed metrics developed for consistently reporting and documenting the phenomenon of human trafficking.10 In short, in many countries, human trafficking is either downplayed or considered part of the normal social problems.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 331

08-10-2021 11:28:09

332

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Consequently, the problem of human trafficking, which has been compared to modern-day slavery, has not received elevated attention in many countries. This is reflected in the lack of domestic laws that have been designed specifically to tackle the problem of human trafficking. All these factors have contributed to the state of inadequate data on human trafficking. These limitations, nevertheless, available data suggest that the solution to the problem of human trafficking is a global phenomenon that requires an international effort. The data used in this chapter were obtained from reports published by the U.S. DoS, UNODC, Federal Trafficking report, U.S. DoJ, Human rights First, UNITAR. Unfortunately, the data from these organizations are not consistent in terms of the metrics and information on human trafficking. For example, the U.S. DoS collect global law enforcement data from various state governments that contain information on the number of prosecutions and convictions, victims identified, and new or amended legislation aimed at combating human trafficking. The new and amended legislation is used to classify countries into a tier placement system that shows efforts by governments to enact comprehensive laws to combat human trafficking. The classification developed from these laws, places countries into the following tiers, tier 1, consisting of countries that are actively fighting human trafficking and whose governments are in full compliance with Trafficking Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards. Tier 2 consists of countries that are not fully complying with the minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance. Tier 2 watch list is for countries with severe forms of trafficking or where trafficking is significantly increasing, or there is a failure to provide evidence of efforts to eliminate trafficking, or there are additional steps in the future by the country to bring itself into compliance. Tier 3 are countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and do not make significant efforts to comply. Finally, special case involves countries that continue to face protracted conflict, insecurity, and ongoing humanitarian crises during the reporting period.11 Overall, this information provides insight into human trafficking trends and is used to prepare the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. The TIP report is a major source of information for researchers interested in human trafficking.12 An additional source of data from the U.S. government is the DOJ Federal Prosecution of Human Trafficking Cases Report that contains data on suspects referred and prosecuted by U.S. attorneys for the crime of human trafficking. The DOJ, for prosecution purposes, defines human trafficking offenses to include peonage, slavery, forced labor, sex trafficking, involuntary servitude, production of child pornography, and transportation for illegal sexual activity. Lastly, the U.S. Federal Human Trafficking Report, produced by the Human Trafficking Institute, contains some data on

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 332

08-10-2021 11:28:10

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

333

criminal human trafficking cases and civil human trafficking cases in terms of convictions, sentences, restitution, length of the resolution, location of criminal cases, and methods of coercion. At the international level, the United Nation, as expected, provides some data on human trafficking through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Report. The data in this report contain country profiles in terms of the detected victims by sex, age, citizenship, and forms of exploitation, and summaries of court cases. Other information is found in reports by NGOs such as Human Rights First, a private advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals. This organization provides data on human trafficking survivors. Despite any limitations that might be associated with these data sources, they remain the main sources of publicly available information. This information has been used in many analyses by academia, NGOs, think tanks, and national governments to devise policy agendas for combating human trafficking. In the section that follows, data from the TIP and UNODC was used to analyze the global spatial and temporal patterns of human trafficking. SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL PATTERNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING Figure 14.1 clearly shows an upward trend in the temporal pattern of global trafficking victims. This trend is consistent with the observations in the literature.13 Using 2008 as a base year, human trafficking victims increased by 84 percent in 2011, it went up to 197 percent in 2015, and a remarkable 329 percent in 2019. The smallest trafficking increase of 5.7 percent occurred only in 2010. This temporal pattern clearly shows the ineffectiveness of previous and current measures to combat global human trafficking. The regional pattern, nevertheless, shows some interesting variations (figure 14.2). In general, most regions exhibited a steady number of human trafficked victims between 2008 and 2013. However, Europe, Africa, south of the Sahara, and the Western Hemisphere had a relatively higher number in terms of the trend of trafficking victims compared to the near East, East Asia, and the Pacific. Starting from 2004, a remarkable increase in the number of trafficked victims is noticeable. In this regard, South and Central Asia and Africa south of the Sahara exhibited a surge and persistent upward trend, with 2017 being exceptionally high for South and Central Asia.  By comparison, the near East, Europe, and Western Hemisphere exhibited a steady number of persons identified as victims of human trafficking. This pattern may indicate the adverse effect of globalization which has not benefited most countries in Africa south of the Sahara and South/Central Asia.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 333

08-10-2021 11:28:10

334

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Figure 14.1  Global Human Trafficking Victims Identified: 2008–2019. Source: Created by the Authors: Dung & Avwunudiogba, 2021.

Figure 14.2  Regional Trafficking Victims: 2008–2019. Source: Created by the Authors: Dung & Avwunudiogba, 2021.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 334

08-10-2021 11:28:10

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

335

This effect of globalization, coupled with the existing political and social instabilities and unrest in these regions, leads to a large population of IDPs and refugees who become victims of human trafficking. For example, the plight of the “stateless” Rohingyas who have been displaced and are now refugees in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and the surrounding countries, is a significant contributor to the spike of victims of human trafficking noticed in this region in figure 14.2. In figure 14.3, a breakdown of the regional total of trafficking victims in the past eleven years (2008–2019) shows that Africa South of the Sahara had the highest share of the trafficking victims accounting for 26 percent (233,184) of the global total. South and Central Asia closely follow Africa with 22 percent (104,535), Europe 20 percent (171,875), and East Asia and Pacific 14 percent (120,564), and Western Hemisphere 14 percent (126,688). The Near East, comprising North Africa and the Middle East, has the lowest incidence with only 4 percent (36,536) of the global total (883,372) within this period. Global human trafficking often involves originating countries, transit countries, and destination countries of the trafficked persons. Understanding the problem of human trafficking requires a spatial appreciation of this flow across space. Figure 14.4 shows the global pattern of the origin countries of trafficking in persons, which confirms the general reports of human flow from developing countries of the global south to the economically advanced countries of the global north. However, a closer examination of figure 14.4 reveals

Figure 14.3  Trafficking Victims Regional Totals: 2008–2019. Source: Created by the Authors: Dung & Avwunudiogba, 2021.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 335

08-10-2021 11:28:11

336

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Figure 14.4  Origin Countries of Trafficking in Persons. Source: Modified and Redrawn from UNODC Human Trafficking database, 2006. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns Kristiina Kangaspunta International Symposium on International Migration and Development Turin, 28-30 June 2006 Anti-human Trafficking Unit. Accessed March 29, 2021.​ https​:/​/ww​​w​.un.​​org​/e​​n​/dev​​ elopm​​ent​/d​​esa​/p​​opula​​tion/​​event​​s​/pdf​​/othe​​r​/tur​​​in​/KA​​NGASP​​UNTA.​​pdf.

that not all developing countries have the same intensity in contributing to the global numbers of trafficked persons. For example, on the African continent, three broad patterns can be observed, including a cluster of countries centered on the West African subregion, Central Africa, and East/South African cluster. Most of the West African cluster countries, including Benin, Togo, Côte D’Ivore, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger, are ranked as having a medium rate of trafficking in persons. Nigeria is notable for its very high rate of trafficking in persons in this cluster. Similarly, most countries in the East/South African cluster, including South Africa, Kenya, Angola, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Mozambique, are classified as having medium rates of trafficking in persons. In contrast to the West African and East/South African clusters, most of the countries in the Central African cluster are classified as having low rates of trafficking in persons. Countries in this cluster include the Central African Republic, Gabon, and Congo DRC. On the South American continent, two major clusters (figure 14.4) of countries of origin of trafficking in persons

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 336

08-10-2021 11:28:11

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

337

can be observed. The first cluster with low classification includes Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. The second cluster, including Brazil, and Columbia are classified as having high rates of trafficking in persons. In contrast, on the North American continent, except for Mexico, most countries are classified as low in the rate of trafficking in persons. Two other global clusters, include Eastern Europe/East Asia and South Asia/Southeast Asia, are apparent in figure 14.4. In the Eastern Europe/East Asian cluster, most of the countries are classified as having a very high rate of trafficking in persons. In contrast, in the South Asia/Southeast Asian cluster, most countries are classified as having a high rate of trafficking in persons. This pattern may be partly explained by geographical proximity and the land connection between these clusters and Western Europe, a major destination for trafficking in persons. Although most trafficked victims are destined for North America and Western Europe, there is often trafficking within countries in the developing world. Thus, some countries may serve as transit points for trafficked persons because of the intervening opportunities available in those countries. Trafficked victims who cannot get to their final destination in Western Europe or North America may end up staying put in these transit countries. This is where their traffickers exploit them for various activities, including prostitution, forced marriages, forced labor, domestic servants, and workers in the agricultural sector. Figure 14.5 shows the destination countries of trafficking in persons. As expected, the majority of the countries classified as having high to very high rates of human trafficking are found in Western Europe, North America, the Arabian Peninsula, South and Central Asia. This includes countries such as the USA, Canada, UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, France, Australia, China, India, Japan, Saudi Arabia, UAE, to mention a few. Not surprisingly, most of these countries classified as very low to low are located in the developing countries of Africa, Latin America, and Asia, except a few countries that fall into the medium category. For example, on the African continent, apart from a group of countries within the West African subregion and the Republic of South Africa, South Sudan, and Kenya, every other country is classified as very low to low as destinations for trafficking in persons. Similarly, other than Argentina and Venezuela, all the other countries in South America are classified as very low to low in terms of the final destination of trafficking in persons. The analysis of the destination pattern clearly shows the effects of the economic gradient between the origin and destination regions. This gradient acts as a gravitational pool for the constant flow of victims of human trafficking from the economically less developed countries to the economically developed countries of North America, Western Europe, and Asia.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 337

08-10-2021 11:28:11

338

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Figure 14.5  Destination Countries of Trafficking in Persons. Source: Modified and Redrawn from UNODC Human Trafficking database, 2006. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns Kristiina Kangaspunta International Symposium on International Migration and Development Turin, 28-30 June 2006 Anti-human Trafficking Unit. Accessed March 29, 2021.​ https​:/​/ww​​w​.un.​​org​/e​​n​/dev​​ elopm​​ent​/d​​esa​/p​​opula​​tion/​​event​​s​/pdf​​/othe​​r​/tur​​​in​/KA​​NGASP​​UNTA.​​pdf.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL AND GLOBAL POLICIES ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING The foregone analysis of the global pattern of human trafficking using various metrics suggests that despite heightened awareness and the national, regional, and international efforts to combat the scourge of human trafficking, the incidence of human trafficking and the war against the crime of trafficking in persons, has yet to achieve the desired results. Indeed, global human trafficking seems to be an intractable problem. This state of affairs has multidimensional, national, regional, and global economic, political, sociocultural, and security implications.

Governance/Political It is generally accepted that human trafficking is a global problem that is executed within the network of internal criminal organizations that rival

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 338

08-10-2021 11:28:12

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

339

that of global traditional narcotic and more recent illegal synthetic drug distribution. In short, several studies suggest that traditional narcotic smuggling organizations are now involved in the global human trafficking crime because of the enormous amount of illicit income generated, which in some instances rival the returns of the profits from illegal and narcotic drug sales. The fact that traditional drug trafficking cartels are now controlling global human trafficking is a serious challenge to the stability of national governments and international security. For example, the lesson from decades of efforts to combat narcotics trafficking organizations in many regions of the world shows that governments in many poor developing countries lack the ability to stamp out the problem. Instead, the war on drug trafficking has created political instability, chaos, and insecurity in most of these countries. For example, in some Latin American countries, drug and human trafficking organizations often take over municipal governments and other state agencies through a combination of corruption and participation in the political process. In some instances, criminal organizations run the day-to-day administration of the territory. The struggle between rival criminal organizations for territorial dominance often results in abductions, assassinations, and drive-by shootings. Given the difficulties of dealing with human trafficking, considering the participation of these global narcotics trafficking networks, it is plausible to argue that these struggles for the control of the global trade will continue to exacerbate an already precarious condition. Thus, the global human trafficking problem will likely continue to contribute to the myriad of national and international security issues. Economic It has been estimated that global human trafficking generates 200 billion in revenue.14 This represents the chunk of the national budgets of many countries. Unfortunately, this income falls in the hands of criminal organizations that control human trafficking, which use the profits from human trafficking to finance other criminal enterprises. Therefore, it does not contribute in any way to the economic development of the affected countries. However, this is a rather complex issue to navigate because victims of human trafficking may be exploited for various activities, including forced labor in reputable organizations in their destination countries. For example, victims might be forced to work in the agricultural sector of crop harvesting, food processing, hospitality, construction, mining for minimal wages under conditions below accepted international labor organization standards. Therefore, for the destination countries, victims of human trafficking can generate enormous revenue, thus complicating the efforts to fight this global human trafficking cancer.15 As already suggested, human trafficking has a demand and a supply

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 339

08-10-2021 11:28:12

340

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

component. Obviously, if there is no demand for the victims of human trafficking, there will be no supply. This is one reason why human trafficking is likely to remain a complex problem to resolve if destination countries do not have the political will, ability, and capacity to identify, criminalize and prosecute organizations and enterprises benefitting from human trafficking. Sociocultural The problem of human trafficking creates sociocultural problems. On the one hand, people in the origin country of the trafficked victims are often lured by the false promise of better economic fortunes, which often do not materialize. On the other hand, trafficked victims often face discrimination, persecution, and harassment in communities in their destination countries. Indeed, in some countries, sociocultural practices make it easier for the victims of human trafficking to be considered as commodified objects with no clear distinction between their service and their person. This makes it easier for the traffickers to move victims from one enterprise to another. As a result of differences in language, cultural shock makes it difficult for the trafficked victims to adjust to their new destinations. In the destination countries, local populations often take it out on victims of human trafficking, especially those used in forced labor because they work for a lower wage compared to what is charged by local citizens. In other words, victims of human trafficking are viewed as taking the jobs and the source of income of local citizens. This situation creates conflict and social tension between human trafficking victims and their “host” communities, further degrading empathy, which is a necessary ingredient for rehabilitating the victims of human trafficking and the search for an alternate solution for this global problem. CONCLUSION The foregone analyses indicate that human trafficking will continue to be a global problem in the foreseeable future. The world is undergoing social, economic, political, and natural transformations such as global climate change. These forces are likely to cause more disruptions in communities, countries, regions, and continents, leading to the dislocation of people from one location to another. This condition will further provide opportunities for human traffickers who might capitalize on the need for people to migrate from one heavily impacted region to another. Thus, a concerted global effort is needed to reduce the economic disparity between the Global North and the majority South through appropriate economic development strategies that will elevate chronically developing countries to some level where the basic human needs

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 340

08-10-2021 11:28:12

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

341

are met. Closely related to this is the need for capacity building to enable countries to adapt to major natural transformations such as global climate change to limit the dislocation of local populations. International laws and conventions such as the U.N. convention on human trafficking will be more effective if there is a corresponding global effort to address the root cause of human trafficking. One other major challenge that needs to be addressed is the generation of international data on human trafficking. This is a very challenging area that requires a comprehensive and wholistic international effort. Nevertheless, there is the need for standardized metrics for collecting data and making it widely accessible to the general public. This will make it easier for researchers, think tanks, and policymakers to develop region-specific programs and resources to combat the problem of human trafficking. Whatever the case and whatever the challenges, the war on human trafficking is a war that must be won. The global community cannot allow human trafficking that has been likened to modern slavery, to exist in the twenty-first century. NOTES 1. Farrell, A. and Fahy, S. “The problem of human trafficking in the U.S.: Public frames and policy responses.” Journal of Criminal Justice, 37, no. 6 (2009): 617–626. See also; Musto, J.L. “What’s in a name?: Conflations and contradictions in contemporary U.S. discourses of human trafficking.” In Women’s Studies International Forum, 32, no. 4 (2009): 281–287. Pergamon. 2. Farrell, A. and de Vries, I. “Measuring the nature and prevalence of human trafficking.” The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking (2020): 147–162. 3. Kassab, H.S. and Rosen, J.D. “Human and Organ Trafficking.” In Illicit Markets, Organized Crime, and Global Security, pp.111–135. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. See also; Onuoha, B. “The state human trafficking and human rights issues in Africa.” Contemporary Justice Review, 14, no. 2 (2011): 149–166. See also; Wheaton, E.M., Schauer, E.J. and Galli, T.V. “Economics of human trafficking.” International Migration, 48, no. 4 (2010): 114–141, and Chuang, J. “Beyond a snapshot: Preventing human trafficking in the global economy.” Global Legal Studies, 13, no. 1 (2006): 137–163. 4. Brière, C. The External Dimension of the E.U.’s Policy against Trafficking in Human Beings. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. See also; Gibbons, P., Chisolm-Straker, M. and Stoklosa, H. “Human trafficking: Definitions, epidemiology, and shifting ground.” Medical Perspectives on Human Trafficking in Adolescents (2020): 1–12. 5. Dunmoye, A., Abdullahi, H.A. and Moveh, D. “Assessment of the relationship between women trafficking and poverty in Edo state of Nigeria from 1990-2018.” Fudma Journal of Politics and International Affairs, 2, no. 1 (2019): 69–92. See also; Truong, T.D. Poverty, Gender and Human Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa:

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 341

08-10-2021 11:28:13

342

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Rethinking Best Practices in Migration Management. UNESCO, 2005. See also; Chong, N.G. “Human trafficking and sex industry: Does ethnicity and race matter?” Journal of Intercultural Studies, 35, no. 2 (2014): 196–213. See also; Sikka, A. Trafficking of Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Institute on Governance, 2009. See also; Sawadogo, W.R. “The challenges of transnational human trafficking in West Africa.” African Studies Quarterly, 13 (2012): 95–115. See also; Fayomi, O. O. “Women, poverty, and trafficking: A contextual exposition of the Nigerian situation.” Journal of’Management and Social Sciences, 5, no. 1 (2009): 65–79. 6. Bowersox, Z. “Does human trafficking extend conflict duration?” Journal of Human Trafficking, 5, no. 4 (2019): 267–280. See also; Van Reisen, M. and Estefanos, M. “Human trafficking connecting to terrorism and organ trafficking: Libya and Egypt.” Human Trafficking and Trauma in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Trade in Refugees from Eritrea (2017): 159–192. See also; Mandic, Danilo. “Trafficking and Syrian refugee smuggling: Evidence from the balkan route.” Social Inclusion, 5, no. 2 (2017): 28–38. 7. Hosseini, S. B. Trauma and the Rehabilitation of Trafficked Women: The Experiences of Yazidi Survivors. London: Routledge, 2020. 8. McCaffrie, C. “Displaced Rohingya children and the risk of human trafficking.” Journal of Human Rights and Peace Studies, 5, no. 1 (2019): 47–47. 9. Villacampa, C., Gómez, M.J. and Torres, C., 2021. “Trafficking in human beings in Spain: What do the data on detected victims tell us?” European Journal .org​ /10​ .1177​ of Criminology (2021): 1–24. Accessed April 4, 2021. https://doi​ /1477370821997334. See also; Adepoju, A. “Review of research and data on human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa.” International Migration, 43, no. 1–2 (2005): 75–98. 10. Ibid, Ferrell & de Vries, 2020. 11. U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2020” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. Available at: 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report (state​.g​ov). 12. van der Vink, G.E., Carlson, K.N., Park, J., Szeto, S.H., Zhang, X., Jackson, M.E. and Phillips, E. “Empirical analysis of the US state department’s annual trafficking in persons report–Insights for policy-makers.” Journal of Human Trafficking (2021): 1–20.​  DOI:​  10.1​080/2​33227​05.20​21.18​97759​. See also; Sasaki, A. “Are ‘Trained’ migrants and ‘Educated’ international students at risk? Understanding human trafficking in Japan.”  Journal of Human Trafficking, 6, no. 2 (2020): 244– 254. See also; Vijayan, J. and Rubasundram, G.A. “Human trafficking: An Asian perspective.” International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24, no. 2 (2020): 1227–1236. See also; Harmon, R., Arnon, D. and Park, B. “TIP for tat: Political bias in human trafficking reporting.”  British Journal of Political Science (2020): 1–11, Cambridge University Press. See also; Chirawut, Y. “Anti-trafficking through reporting: The case of the TIP report and Thailand.”  Burapha Journal of Political Economy, 5, no. 1 (2017): 90–125. See also; Taylor, J.L. and Isgro, K.L. “TIP reports as policy and narrative: Exploring the communicative framework for policy enactment.” Journal of Human Trafficking, 4, no. 1 (2018): 48–60. 

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 342

08-10-2021 11:28:13

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

343

13. Bales, K. O., Murphy, L. T., Silverman, B. W. “How many trafficked people are there in greater New Orleans: Lessons in measurement.” Journal of Human Trafficking, 6, no. 4 (2020): 375–385. See also; Cruyff, M., van Dijk, J. J. M., van der Heijden, P. “The challenge of counting victims of human trafficking, not on the record: A multiple systems estimation of the numbers of human trafficking victims in the Netherlands in 2010–2015 by year, age, gender, and type of exploitation.” Chance, 30, no. 3 (2017): 41–49. See also; UNODC. Global report on trafficking in persons 2019. Accessed May 4, 2021 at: www​.UNODC​.org. 14. International Labour Office (ILO). “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced labour and forced marriages.” ILO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017. Accessed April 12, 2021 at wcms​_575479​.​pdf (ilo​.o​rg). 15. Van Buren III, H.J., Schrempf-Stirling, J. and Westermann-Behaylo, M. “Business and human trafficking: A social connection and political responsibility model.” Business & Society, 60, no. 2 (2021): 341–375.

REFERENCES Adepoju, A. “Review of research and data on human trafficking in sub-Saharan Africa.” International Migration, 43, no. 1–2 (2005): 75–98. Bales, K. O., Murphy, L. T., Silverman, B. W. “How many trafficked people are there in greater New Orleans: Lessons in measurement.” Journal of Human Trafficking, 6, no. 4 (2020): 375–385. Bowersox, Z. “Does human trafficking extend conflict duration?” Journal of Human Trafficking, 5, no. 4 (2019): 267–280. Brière, C. The External Dimension of the E.U.’s Policy against Trafficking in Human Beings. New Delhi: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. Chirawut, Y. “Anti-trafficking through reporting: The case of the TIP report and Thailand.” Burapha Journal of Political Economy, 5, no. 1 (2017): 90–125. Chong, N.G. “Human trafficking and sex industry: Does ethnicity and race matter?” Journal of Intercultural Studies, 35, no. 2 (2014): 196–213. Chuang, J. “Beyond a snapshot: Preventing human trafficking in the global economy.” Global Legal Studies, 13, no. 1 (2006): 137–163. Cruyff, M., van Dijk, J. J. M., van der Heijden, P. “The challenge of counting victims of human trafficking, not on the record: A multiple systems estimation of the numbers of human trafficking victims in the Netherlands in 2010–2015 by year, age, gender, and type of exploitation.” CHANCE, 30, no. 3 (2017): 41–49. Dunmoye, A., Abdullahi, H.A. and Moveh, D. “Assessment of the relationship between women trafficking and poverty in Edo state of Nigeria from 1990-2018.” Fudma Journal of Politics and International Affairs, 2, no. 1 (2019): 69–92. Farrell, A. and de Vries, I. “Measuring the nature and prevalence of human trafficking.” In The Palgrave International Handbook of Human Trafficking. Edited by J. Winterdyk and J. Jones. 147–162. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 343

08-10-2021 11:28:14

344

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Farrell, A. and Fahy, S. “The problem of human trafficking in the U.S.: Public frames and policy responses.” Journal of Criminal Justice, 37, no. 6 (2009): 617–626. Fayomi, O. O. “Women, poverty, and trafficking: A contextual exposition of the Nigerian situation.” Journal of’Management and Social Sciences, 5, no. 1 (2009): 65–79. Gibbons, P., Chisolm-Straker, M. and Stoklosa, H. “Human trafficking: Definitions, epidemiology, and shifting ground.” In Medical Perspectives on Human Trafficking in Adolescents: A Case-Based Guide. Edited by Kanani E. Titchen and Elizabeth Miller, 1–12. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020. Harmon, R., Arnon, D. and Park, B. “TIP for tat: Political bias in human trafficking reporting.”  British Journal of Political Science (2020): 1–11. Cambridge University Press. International Labour Office (ILO). “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced labour and forced marriages.” ILO, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017. Accessed April 12, 2021 at wcms​_575479​.​pdf (ilo​.o​rg). Hosseini, S. B. Trauma and the Rehabilitation of Trafficked Women: The Experiences of Yazidi Survivors. London: Routledge, 2020. Kassab, H.S. and Rosen, J.D. “Human and organ trafficking.” In Illicit Markets, Organized Crime, and Global Security, pp. 111–135. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019. Mandic, Danilo. “Trafficking and Syrian refugee smuggling: evidence from the balkan route.” Social Inclusion, 5, no. 2 (2017): 28–38. McCaffrie, C. “Displaced Rohingya children and the risk of human trafficking.” Journal of Human Rights and Peace Studies, 5, no. 1 (2019): 47–47. Musto, J.L. “What’s in a name?: Conflations and contradictions in contemporary U.S. discourses of human trafficking.” In Women’s Studies International Forum, 32, no. 4 (2009): 281–287). Pergamon. Onuoha, B. “The state human trafficking and human rights issues in Africa.” Contemporary Justice Review, 14, no. 2 (2011): 149–166. Sasaki, A. “Are ‘Trained’ migrants and ‘Educated’ international students at risk? Understanding human trafficking in Japan.” Journal of Human Trafficking, 6, no. 2 (2020): 244–254. Sawadogo, W.R. “The challenges of transnational human trafficking in West Africa.” African Studies Quarterly, 13 (2012): 95–115. Sikka, A. Trafficking of Aboriginal Women and Girls in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Institute on Governance, 2009. Taylor, J.L. and Isgro, K.L. “TIP reports as policy and narrative: exploring the communicative framework for policy enactment.” Journal of Human Trafficking, 4, no. 1 (2018): 48–60. Truong, T.D. Poverty, Gender and Human Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa: Rethinking Best Practices in Migration Management. UNESCO, 2005. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns” Kristiina Kangaspunta International Symposium on International Migration and Development, Turin, 28–30 June 2006 Anti-human Trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 344

08-10-2021 11:28:14

The Spatial Distribution of Human Trafficking

345

Unit. Accessed March 29, 2021. https​:/​/ww​​w​.un.​​org​/e​​n​/dev​​elopm​​ent​/d​​esa​/p​​opula​​ tion/​​event​​s​/pdf​​/othe​​r​/tur​​i​n​/KA​​NGASP​​UNTA.​​pdf. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “Global report on trafficking in persons 2019.” Accessed May 4, 2021 at: www​.UNODC​.org. U.S. Department of State. “Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2020” Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2020. Accessed December 12, 2020. Available at: 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report (state​.g​ov). Van Buren III, H.J., Schrempf-Stirling, J. and Westermann-Behaylo, M. “Business and human trafficking: A social connection and political responsibility model.” Business & Society, 60, no. 2 (2021): 341–375. van der Vink, G.E., Carlson, K.N., Park, J., Szeto, S.H., Zhang, X., Jackson, M.E. and Phillips, E. “Empirical analysis of the US state department’s annual trafficking in persons report–Insights for policy-makers.” Journal of Human Trafficking (2021): 1–20.​  DOI:​  10.1​080/2​33227​05.20​21.18​97759​. Van Reisen, M. and Estefanos, M. “Human trafficking connecting to terrorism and organ trafficking: Libya and Egypt.” In Human Trafficking and Trauma in the Digital Era: The Ongoing Tragedy of the Trade in Refugees from Eritrea. Edited by M. Van Raisen and M. Mawere, 159–192. Laanga Research and Publishing CIG, 2017. Vijayan, J. and Rubasundram, G.A. “Human trafficking: An Asian perspective.”  International Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation, 24, no. 2 (2020): 1227–1236. Villacampa, C., Gómez, M.J. and Torres, C. “Trafficking in human beings in Spain: What do the data on detected victims tell us?” European Journal of Criminology (2021): 1–24. Accessed April 4, 2021. https://doi​.org​/10​.1177​/1477370821997334. Wheaton, E.M., Schauer, E.J. and Galli, T.V. “Economics of human trafficking.” International Migration, 48, no. 4 (2010): 114–141.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 345

08-10-2021 11:28:14

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 346

08-10-2021 11:28:14

Chapter 15

House Girls and House Boys Domestic Servitude in Southern Nigeria, 1940–2020 Robin P. Chapdelaine

From the mid-twentieth century to today, the process by which children engage in domestic labor as house girls and boys in Nigeria has depended on the family’s prevailing circumstances with poverty as the main reason to surrender children to domestic servanthood. Highlighting a perceived difference in past and present practices, Marie-Antoinette Sossou and Joseph A. Yogtiba claim that “children are no longer being fostered out to kinsmen as a gesture of family good will [as was done in the past], but it has become an economic venture in which children are traded as commodities for money through middlemen to faraway destinations unknown to both parents and children” where they suffer “multiple abuses and neglect.”1 Abosede Omowumi Babatunde asserts that when parents offer their children as domestic servants they are more likely to be trafficked today.2 In assessing the validity of these arguments, this chapter explores 1940s and 1950s newspaper reports, colonial archival materials, contemporary media reports of child domestic servant abuses, a dozen interviews conducted with Nigerian elders, men and women in Enugu, Owerri and Calabar, Nigeria, in 2012, wherein the respondents explained how custodians acquired and treated house girls and house boys. In this light, I offer a reexamination of the attention paid to child laborers in domestic spheres, historically and in the current era, with an emphasis on personal relationships, expectations between the parents and the recipient of the child, a house child’s ability to enact forms of agency, and offer a consideration of embedded subordinate class consciousness. Individuals who take children into their care for the purpose of performing housework and other duties act on their own inclinations and treat children however they please and this unchecked power has led to child abuse in the 347

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 347

08-10-2021 11:28:15

348

Robin P. Chapdelaine

domestic sphere. The Nigerian Child Rights Act of 2003 addressed prevailing criticisms of child abuse by stating, “A child shall be given such protection and care as is necessary for the well-being of the child, taking into account the rights and duties of the child’s parents, legal guardians, or other individuals, institutions, services, agencies, organizations or bodies legally responsible for the child.”3 The Act also made holding a child in servitude a crime. The Act, however, allowed for child labor employed “by a member of his family on light work of an agricultural, horticultural or domestic character.”4 The phrase “light work,” is open to interpretation and the manner by which children are informally transferred from one household to another, lacks oversight. Thus, the prevalence of forced child labor and abuse has drawn international attention globally. The United Nations International Labor Office (ILO) estimates that one in four modern-day slaves are children.5 The ILO describes modern-day slavery as an institution that “is not defined in law, [but] it is used as an umbrella term that focuses attention on commonalities across these legal concepts. Essentially, it refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, and/or abuse of power.”6 According to the parameters above, child domestic laborers who are disallowed from returning home fall in the modern-day slave category, especially when they suffer abuse and are not paid for their services. In 2017, the ILO reports that 71 percent of females are victimized compared to 29 percent of males and that girls are “disproportionately victimized above all for forced labor in the private economy (including domestic work and the sex industry) and forced marriage.”7 A domestic servant is defined as a person who “does domestic work in someone else’s house for pay or in-kind enumeration”; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child defines a child as “someone who is under the age of eighteen”; and the ILO defines child labor as “work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that is harmful to physical and mental development.”8 Anti-human trafficking activists seek an end to involuntary child domestic labor where a nonbiological child is placed in a home where mental and physical violence is prevalent and the child is prevented from attending school.9 Though there is abundant attention afforded to publicized child abuse cases, scholars have acknowledged that the prevalence of child domestic servitude is obscured due to the nature and location of the work performed.10 Moreover, when a child is placed in domestic servitude, it is not always a result of child trafficking or an instance modern-day slavery. Thus, negative claims about child domestic servants should be problematized. Human Rights specialist Annie Bunting and contemporary slavery expert Joel Quirk argue that “this global cause can best be understood as an unstable amalgamation of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 348

08-10-2021 11:28:15

House Girls and House Boys

349

a wide range of diverse practices that go well beyond the legal definitions and historical experiences of slavery.”11 As such, this study focuses on the historical trajectory of domestic servitude in Nigeria and seeks to answer the question, has child domestic servitude changed over time? Much of the current scholarship on domestic labor is focused on the expansion of capitalism, growing class divides, migrant labor, and sexual exploitation with some attention to parentless and/or indigent children in need of care.12 This examination is important because it challenges the assumption that there is a linear historical trajectory through which patterns of placing children into domestic servanthood has transformed from a safe practice during the 1940s and 1950s to a much more vulnerable process subjecting children in greater numbers to trafficking in the contemporary era. I argue that the quality of the interpersonal relationship between the parent and the receiving guardian dictate the treatment of the child. MEDIA ATTENTION AND ABUSE In 2020, State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department operatives arrested Franc Ifedili and Ifunnanya Ifedili after the police received a petition from the human rights organization, Paths of Peace Initiatives, about the inhumane treatment suffered by the victim. The organization charges that the couple were “in the habit of bringing minors from villages to act as house boys and girls, subjecting them to all sorts of child abuse including corporal punishments and others.” In reference to Nmesso, a 9-year-old whom they brought to live and work as a house girl, it became evident that “she was subjected to all sorts of inhuman maltreatment including daily flogging (by horsewhip).” When Nmesso fled, the Ifedilis brought another minor, Chidera, a 9-year-old boy whom they have subjected to flogging and other similar treatment suffered by Nmesso. As recent as June 2020, the Lagos State Police continued to investigate the couple for allegedly abusing Chidera.13 Stories such as this have prompted celebrities and others to publicly admonish those who employ child domestic servants. In 2017, Nigerian rapper, Lanre Dabiri petitioned Nigerians to discontinue using house children. He tweeted that, “Those house-helps from Benin/Togo whose masters get paid 10k every month to do chores from dusk till dawn. I’m talking about the ones you kick and scream at all day to do your house chores, watch your kids, do your laundry, dishes, cook, etc. The ones you pay less than $50 a month to the man/woman who brought him/her from Benin/ Calabar/Akwa Ibom/Togo. Yes, that is also #Slavery.”14 Dabiri is clearly addressing the delivery of house children who have arrived through child trafficking channels. His condemnation of the emotional and physical abuse

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 349

08-10-2021 11:28:15

350

Robin P. Chapdelaine

endured by children is directly related to the separation between the child and his or her biological parents. It is unmistakable that some trafficked children have no recourse and are not protected by their ability to return home. In the case of children whose parents or family members know their whereabouts, their family is complicit by accepting a one-time payment or installments for their service and are inclined to leave children in service. Unfortunately, the widely known mistreatment of some house children does not automatically persuade biological parents or other family members to redeem them. Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice, a novel about a house girl in Nigeria explains “A large proportion of these children are young girls, who work as ‘house girls’: domestic servants who are often underage and forced against their will into this kind of work. Many of them never see their ‘wages’, as they are paid directly to agents or family members.”15 Daré notes that “identifying a house girl is easy because many of them had unkempt hair and were dressed in tattered, dirty clothes. They would stand behind a family of well-dressed, well-fed, well-spoken children, their heads bent, silent.”16 Daré reminds her readers that “in Nigeria, many of these house girls have no power, no voice of their own. In their silence, many of them suffered horrific physical and sexual abuse. There have been numerous reports of house girls being routinely raped, starved, beaten and disfigured by the families that employ them.”17 Current day abuses and Daré’s description of the demeanor of house children speaks volumes about the child’s shame and what I describe as embedded subordinate class consciousness that is experienced as a result of mistreatment. The child is embedded in someone else’s family, generally a home that has more resources than the child’s parents, and through the abuse of the child, the child develops an awareness of his or her subordinate position within the family—the child is both remanded to the home physically yet excluded from the home emotionally. Hence, “house child” belonging to the home not the family. But the question remains: Are child domestic servants worse off now than in the colonial era? It is worth analyzing change over time and reform efforts that aimed to stop the exploitation of child servants. CHILD DOMESTIC SERVANTS DURING THE COLONIAL ERA On June 16, 1949, the British colonial government published a public notice in the Gazette Supplement that outlined the “conditions of employment for domestic servants.” The Labour Advisory Board crafted the notice as a guide but opted not to “enforce it by proper legislation.” The recommendation addressed matters relating to holidays, sick leave,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 350

08-10-2021 11:28:16

House Girls and House Boys

351

termination of service, and suitable working hours. They also suggested minimum monthly wages “where the employer provides neither lodging nor food.” Suggested Monthly Wages included, “Cook £3, Steward £3, Small Boy £2, Garden Boy £2, Nursemaid £2.10s,” and a “Car driver £3.15s.” If the child or adult lived with the employer, the Board suggested a £1 decrease of the monthly wages.18 In some instances “house boy” referred to an adult man who performed domestic duties, exposing a form of emasculation of African adults during the colonial era, but the examples in this study pertain to children.19 The notice defined a small boy as “a worker wholly or mainly engaged in cleaning of floors and windows, kitchens and pantries, the washing of dishes and kitchen utensils, or on duties ancillary to any of these duties, and is directly under the supervision of a steward, where on is employed.”20 Chief Ugwuefi Reuben explained that during the 1940s and 1950s house girls ran errands, cooked, cleaned, hawked items for sale, and worked on the farm.21 In some instances girls were also placed into sex work. Parents established various practices when releasing children into domestic service and it is well documented that some parents in southeastern Nigeria sent their children to Lagos (southwestern Nigeria) to work as servants after which the girls ended up as prostitutes.22 In 1945, The Nigerian Eastern Mail reported that “Still the number of very young girls engaged in prostitution is painfully large and most of them are being exploited by their mistresses. . . . Some mothers hawk their young daughters and others give them to mistresses on some arrangement for sharing the profits.”23 The Christian Lagosian community did not approve and reasoned that sex work was akin to domestic violence, and that kind of violence harmed the individual and was a scourge on society allowing some children who suffered abuse access to methods of redress, including reporting abuses to police and the Juvenile Court system and in such instances the Juvenile Court intervened.24 Children who sought intervention testified about the violence leveled against them. In 1952, Atie Bob Manual, a Lagos Social Welfare Officer, reported that two girls, Affiong Okon, age 8, and Ekanem Jonah, age 14, had suffered abuse at the hands of their mistress. [An] investigation revealed that Sarah Henshaw, clerk at P.W.D. brought them to Lagos and had employed them as maidservants without payment. In fact, she claims that they are her property as their mothers were bought by her own mother. Sarah had been extremely cruel to the girls; she cut them with matchet whenever they failed to give her satisfactory service. She was prosecuted for assaulting Affiong and wounding her head. Sara is a common prostitute and entertains several men in her home.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 351

08-10-2021 11:28:16

352

Robin P. Chapdelaine

There are two issues at play in the testimony above. The first involves the complicit actions by the children’s mother in giving out the children. The second has to do with the types of abuse suffered by the child, the social dynamic of “othering” that separates the child’s guardian from becoming emotionally attached to the child and permits the continuation of child abuse. Fred Powell and Margaret Scanlon assert that “ ‘othering’ follows the classic lines of class, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexuality and age. It places ‘us’ above ‘them’. In relation to children, age is of pivotal importance since it legitimates adult power over children’s lives, including the formation of identity, concept of self and social and economic opportunities.”25 Reinforcing the idea that mistresses “othered” child servants, she treated the children with no more care than an animal would receive. Violence against children became such a serious issue that newspapers began to print opinion pieces addressing abusive mistresses’ tendencies. Statements in The Nigerian Eastern Mail included, “Time and time again a poor father or mother has been seen in the Police Office with tears running down the cheeks narrating the sad story of the loss of his or her son or daughters,”26 and “Again, parents should have the sense not to give their sons or daughters to unknown people.”27 In another published statement in 1946, one author asked African ladies and housewives to treat “house boys not only as human beings but as they would like to be treated.” The author claimed that house boys preferred working for bachelors because as the “strictest disciplinarians,” women exploited them and abused them ruthlessly. He explained that, [m]ost often than not the poor feeding of the boys . . . has never been sanctioned by the breadwinner, but the trouble is that their wives will never tolerate their domestic business being interfered with. Half of the number of domestic squabbles resulting at times to some beautiful faces being bruised arises from divergence of opinion between husbands and wives regarding the well-being and welfare of house boys.28

The author goes on to lament that “the plight of house boys is more pitiable, especially in homes where there are children. The children are indulged in all sorts of luxuries, but the house boy whose main job is to take care of these children may receive no more than that of a serf.” A point of contention was that often families who employed house boys applied and received ration cards from the Government Food Registrar but failed to feed the house child sufficiently—another instance of “othering” at play. In addition to abuse inside of the home, women involved in petty trade activities forced children, mainly boys to guard their market stall goods overnight. As I have written elsewhere, this was a common occurrence that ended

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 352

08-10-2021 11:28:16

House Girls and House Boys

353

in mishap and death at times.29 Attention from the Social Welfare Office and the Calabar District Magistrate noticed the appearance of these poorly clothed and underfed house boys.30 In January 1945, The Nigerian Eastern Mail observed that “quite a number of young children were discovered in the market stalls at night locked in there all alone in the darkness by their masters with hardly sufficient sleeping space among their masters’ wares and the keys taken away till the next morning.”31 By November 1947, an address given by the Calabar Juvenile Welfare Committee denounced the practice of house boys who “slept in the market stalls of their trading mistresses where they had to steal eating from dust-bins.”32 In criticism of children roaming Calabar’s streets every night, Social Welfare Officer Mr. Skeates acknowledged that “all the children found wandering stated that they had been given to so-called relatives and so-called masters to train and educate.”33 However, evidence shows that most children “found wandering” did not received that which was promised. Attention to the exploitation and abuse of children sought to eliminate not only the abuse, but the activities deemed delinquent by society.34 It was the moral obligation of nonbiological guardians to train the child properly without putting the child into “moral danger” letting them out all hours of the night.35 If parents expected the guardian to care for the child properly by feeding them sufficiently, educating and protecting them child from delinquent behaviors, it is worth examining how and why parents placed children with other families. The Process of Placing House Children: Then and Now As an extremely personal act, the placement of children in homes as domestic servants, can generally be understood as a mutually beneficial act for the parents and the new guardians. It was common to place an ad in a local newspaper for those in need of domestic servants, especially when they did not have a family member who willing offered a child to work as a domestic servant.36 As previously mentioned, poverty remains the main reason children are handed over to nonbiological guardians. When asked how Nigerians acquired house children, respondents provided an assortment of examples from the past and present. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben, resident of Enugu, Nigeria, confirmed that the lack of money led to lending out one’s child, some of whom he has taken in over the years. He said, “Yes, they do it. It may be that the person’s husband is not alive. Secondly, it may be one of poverty that makes them send some of their children to me out of need to feed them or to educate them in school.”37 In another example, the HRH Igwe Dr. Titus Okolo JP King of Amorji-Nike describes the process in Enugu, one that has generally remained the same from the 1940s until the date of his interview in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 353

08-10-2021 11:28:17

354

Robin P. Chapdelaine

2012. He explained that indigent parents often approached wealthier members of their family or the community and offered their child to the person. In other instances, they might tell the parents of a child that they are looking for a house girl or house boy. Enacted as a measure of care, “some brothers and sisters who want to help their brothers and sisters,” by taking in poor children because “people are fighting over food.” In his experience, he told the parents “give me two of them and I will train them.”38 While some placed their children with strangers, many Nigerian parents refused to place their child with someone who was not a close friend or family member. Elder Abraham Okolo insisted that “They are always a relation. They bring a relation to live with you to help them. It wasn’t a stranger . . . it must be a relation.”39 An elder from Ibeagwa Nike, Enugu Chief Ugwu Nwangwo Ugwu, explained, “You call your relation [or] your relations call you and you will be serving them. To please your master you have to be holding the plates” and serving them.40 In the case of Ahanotu Marcellenus of Mbaitoli, Imo State, he claimed that the house boys are generally “the child of a family friend.”41 And in an instance where the mother needed assistance from a family member, Harrieth Isiokpe of Calabar explained that she “had no money to train a child and my uncle helped me out” by taking her child in.42 HRH Dr. Tony Ojukwu Igwe described the process of gaining a child when a family did not have any children or “enough” children to help out with household chores. The receiving guardian would “treat them as he treats his children” and that “everything is mutual agreement, relationship.” Describing the cultural process of the exchange, Igwe noted that if two people were especially good friends, the parent would instruct the daughter to fetch some water, and when the daughter returned with the water, the parent would say, “Take this girl, I give his daughter willingly, voluntarily. She will help you with hot water in the morning.”43 This description emphasizes the usefulness of child labor within a home where adults needed assistance and the emphasis on “willingly,” and “voluntarily” is significant because it underscores that the child is not being taken as a slave. Parents and custodians always came to an agreement before the child was transferred to ensure the safety of the child and in some agreements to decide on the enumeration for the child’s labor. Grace I. Obi of Owerri described the process of selecting a house: “If they agree, we will discuss terms. In some cases, they demand I should be paying them a specific amount monthly; while some parents will demand I should train their children in school while he/she lives with me. The agreement was never defaulted once reached.”44 In another arrangement, Chief Reuben stated: “I negotiated with the mother-with the parents of the person. Inviting them into my compound. It is the duty of my wife who has negotiated. After the negotiation, then I will agree with her. Inviting the maid will help her more in domestic work, washing clothes and tending to

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 354

08-10-2021 11:28:17

House Girls and House Boys

355

my farm. As we treat our own child is the way the maid is treated.”45 In the following cases, those seeking house help approached family members and there was no mention of payment during the exchange. The first example is that of Nelson Anyanele Ezeji of Owerri who said, “In my own case, the child I live with is my in-law, though a house girl, but we are related.”46 The second is that of Anthonia Nkechinyere Ibeawuchi of Owerri, where by taking the girl she was assisting her brother by providing for the child and explained that “She is my niece and she was asked to stay with me by my brother (the father).”47 Taking the children was an act of charity extended to family members. Renumeration, Treatment, and Expectations of House Children Interview respondents to this study had several examples of how they “paid” for a house child’s service and the treatment afforded to the child. Comments included: “I pay for their school fees”; “I will give her [the mother] money for transport”; and “I give them welfare for the child, but no money.”48 Ahanotu Marcellenus, “(Laughs) As a matter of fact, he is more like a grandson to me. Unless you are told, you won’t notice he is not my biological child. He goes to school. We hold education high in my family and that extends to everyone under my roof.”49 Nelson A. Ezeji, Anthonia N. Ibeawuchi, Grace I. Obi, and HRH Igwe Dr. Titus Okolo JP King of Amoriji also claimed that they sent their house children to school and that house girls are treated equally to their own children.50 Elder Chief Ugwu Nwangwo Ugwu made the distinction between decent guardians and those who would act otherwise, “A good person will treat the house girl or house boy equally. The child will be regarding them as their parents.”51 Parents had certain expectations as it is related to the treatment of a child placed in service, but contemporary accounts, historical newspaper reports, and archival materials show that children often suffered maltreatment. The treatment of house children depended on the on the master’s temperament. Tony Ojukwu Igwe explained that generally the guardian “was likely to treat the child like his own children but you cannot rule out discrimination. [You] approach the parent and tell him exactly what you want. You must make sure that you know the person so your child will be safe because others are rough handed with children and will do anything you can ever think of.” He went on to say that if you are the person who wants a child, “you must be able to convince the person that you will take care of the child.” In another example, Nelson A. Ezeji claimed that his house girl is treated similar to his biological children and goes to school.52 Receiving a house child meant introducing a new personality, temperament, and cultural practices. In some cases, house children “were climatized,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 355

08-10-2021 11:28:18

356

Robin P. Chapdelaine

[and] custodians assess [their] character before they can go outside compounds, to fetch water, before they can make friends. [There were] walls so high kids could not scale. No communication between children and parents. Parents lost control even before giving them out.”53 One cannot undervalue the importance of ensuring that house children behaved morally and respectfully. In reference to her work on the Tuareg, Susan Rasmussen explains that “constructing moral personhood” involved adults giving children and other adults in close proximity to the family “small moral tests” to ensure the virtuous character of the person.54 “If they are disobedient, you return him early. If he is stubborn, you will return him earlier.”55 Guardians did not want to risk the shame of housing an ill-tempered or troublesome child. However, the desire to have a well-mannered and obedient child did not mean the child was always treated with kindness or dignity. Concerns about misbehaving house children remained a constant from the 1950s to the contemporary period. The example given in a 1950s newspaper is one that highlights the physical abuse endured by house servants and the possible recourse for such actions. The article states that one Okomba Ikpe was “charged with assaulting one Ndukwe Aja, the accused’s house-boy,” in the Calabar Magistrate’s Court. The judge, Mr. S. O. Lambo, decided that as a consequence of inflicting a “serious” head wound on house boy, Okomba Ikpe, he would be “sentenced to a fine of £15” or two months in jail,” and “pay the sum of £5 to the complainant or in default serve [an] additional one month.”56 Chief Ugwuefi Reuben, an Enugu resident in the Southeast, explained that mistreating house servants was not unusual and that they “would be treated harshly,” and “would not be given a chance to move away” in the past.57 Determined to keep them in service, masters and mistresses prevented children from returning home. In other cases, acts of domestic violence occurred between fellow servants and assaults levied by servants upon masters. I ascribe the term deliberately because workplace abuse is “domesticized,” when it occurs in the privacy of the home.58 Domestic violence in this context can occur between the house servant and anyone else in the home. For example, in 1946, British Social Welfare Officer Mr. Skeates reported that “a fourteen-year-old who wounded a fellow servant under the same master on the left wrist with an axe while they struggled at night over a sleeping mat was found guilty and sentenced to 12 strokes of the cane with an order to be mandated to the reformatory here for two months.”59 When the living environment offered meager food and accommodations, it is not surprising that house boys fought over what few resources were available. In one attack, one “Okereke Utere was charged with assaulting a lady, Agnes Thomas and calling her a harlot.”60 Okereke’s attack upon his mistress likely stemmed from ongoing abuse and the inability to return home. In an effort to acquire money another 14-year-old boy servant stole “4 yards of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 356

08-10-2021 11:28:18

House Girls and House Boys

357

shirting, 1 bicycle bell, 1 bicycle lock, one pair of lady’s shoes, a fan . . .” and asked a friend to sell the items on his behalf. However, when he was caught, he was punished with twelve strokes.61 Some children experienced such severe abuse they exerted their final act of agency by running away as recalled in the example of one 7-year-old boy who “escaped from his master’s house when he was sent on an errand. The boy could not keep pace with the marketers whom he followed and was later left alone on the track at the mercy of wild beasts and highway men.62” A child who is not in a home of her/his own is exposed to an environment that lacks the assumed physical and mental protections of biological parents (of course there are exceptions). Jonathan Blagbrough highlights this point by claiming that “child domestic workers are vulnerable to abuse and exploitations not only because they are children and predominantly female but also because they are workers in people’s homes.”63 Abuse is likely to occur and go unabated in the private sphere of the household. In her early twentieth study on Chinese brokers who trafficked in women and children, Johanna Ransmeier explains that the market for people engendered “gradations of influence, intimate knowledge, and conspiracy,” which shapes the “transfer of people between domestic spheres.”64 Moreover, the domestic servant is often rendered invisible because of cultural norms that encourage biological children of the household to ignore the presence of the servants working for them.65 The distain for house servants also indicates the class consciousness developed by the biological children within the home. A 1951 newspaper story reported that “There are thousands of schoolboys and girls who are not willing to help their parents. These school children consider it too low for them to help in the kitchen, in the cleaning of the house, and in other duties in the house.” “Simply because they are able to read and write a little, they think they are to help those who feed, clothe and care for them. They wrongly think that it is the servants . . . that should do the work.”66 In addition to the prejudice held by biological children against the child servants, adults also participated in injurious actions against the nonbiological children. Taking into consideration sexual assault cases and other forms of abuse endured by boys and girls, it is essential that consideration is given to the current status of domestic servants in Nigeria. One of the most traumatic experiences for house girls is that of sexual abuse, especially when she is forced to remain with the abusive family. Numerous sexual assault cases go unreported globally, especially when the incident involves young children.67 A study that examined documented alleged sexual assault cases in Lagos, Nigeria, at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital underscored that of the 287 cases (out of 304) reported between 2008 and 2012, girls under the age of 19 years old made up 83.6 percent of all incidents reported, 4.2 percent of whom worked as domestic servants.68

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 357

08-10-2021 11:28:19

358

Robin P. Chapdelaine

House girls endured rape, forced sex trafficking, and marriage without the normative bride price payments owed to her parents when placed in service. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben described instances where the husband raped a house girl; some wives would retaliate by abandoning the husband and instructing him to marry the girl.69 However, sex between a master and young domestic servant is not always derided by certain societies as rape. In her study of child servants in the late Ottoman Empire, Nazan Maksudyan argues that the job description for beslemes, indigent girls informally adopted by others “included a de facto form of unregulated concubinage, since their dependent and vulnerable position made them easy prey for the molestations of their masters.”70 We see this to be true in the reported prevalence by other interview responses, which unveil current trends: “Children are used for rituals and those children never turn good, some do prostitution”;71 “It is an unpleasant shock to the community conscious to realize that sexual assaults upon children are becoming so prevalent in the community as to construe what amounts to be a social malady”; and “that a criminal who lusts after girl children of five and six years old is as dangerous to the community as a wild beast.”72 It is apparent that child trafficking, sexual assault and other abuses levied against children have prevailed over the past eighty years, but in most cases, regardless of the historical era the quality of the relationship between the parent and the recipient guardian determined the child’s treatment. CONCLUSION To describe adults, during the colonial era or those in contemporary society, who abuse child domestic servants as “wild beasts” may be appropriate, but such criticisms do not serve the needs of children suffering various forms of violence within domestic servitude. The negative treatment suffered by child domestic servants is not limited to those identified above. The lack of access to education, isolation, “lowering of self-esteem,” and “emotional stress” are also damaging outcomes.73 Combine these consequences with instances where a child has been trafficked away from biological parents or other kin members and is left largely to rely on him or herself. And for these reasons, Nigerians blame the government for not taking a more aggressive approach to end instances of child trafficking and involuntary domestic servitude today.74 Though the majority of the participants in this study indicated that house children during the contemporary era receive similar housing, education, and treatment as their own biological treatment, it is clear that the movement of children from one home to another increases their social and physical vulnerability. Therefore, it is understandable that this phenomenon coupled

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 358

08-10-2021 11:28:19

House Girls and House Boys

359

with the fact that many non-kin members are in receipt of such children, that children’s movement can then be deemed child trafficking. However, others take a more academic approach to child labor. Some believe that African children are uniquely “resilient and capable of overcoming the most difficult conditions to become successful.”75 Sociologist Michael Bourdillon argues that there are “fundamental benefits of work in child development—how it contributes to developing non-cognitive skills and to changing social relations as the young person becomes integrated into society.”76 This may be true, but it is critical that we recognize that some forms of trafficking and abuse should never be endured. As scholars, practitioners, and employers tout the efficacy and learning possibilities for children who work in various environments, let us remember the pitfalls that exist when children are used and abused in nefarious ways. Whether it be the child who in 1953 suffered a severe head wound by his master or the story of a 12-year-old boy, born in Benin, and trafficked to Nigeria where his mistress “inflicted series of injuries on him with a razor blade and poured hot water on him in 2014.”77 Methods of circulating children to alleviate poverty and the need for assistance within the home can result in some good for the child; however, the continued acceptability of abusive practices can hide the true nature of such arrangements across time, especially when the biological parents and receiving guardians lack a close interpersonal relationship.

NOTES 1. Marie-Antoinette Sossou and Joseph A. Yogtiba, “Abuse of Children in West Africa: Implications for SocialWork Education and Practice,” The British Journal of Social Work 39, no. 7 (2009): 1219–1223. 2. Babatunde, 69. 3. Nigeria Legislative Body, Child’s Rights Act 2003, no. 26, A459, https​:/​/ww​​w​ .ref​​world​​.org/​​docid​​/5568​​201f4​​​.html​. 4. Child’s Rights Act 2003, no. 26, A460; Child’s Rights Act 2003, 28 (b), A466. 5. Global Estimates of Modern Day Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, International Labour Office (ILO), “Geneva 2017, https​:/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​.org/​​ wcmsp​​5​/gro​​ups​/p​​ublic​/--​-d​​grepo​​rts/-​-​-dco​​mm​/do​​cumen​​ts​/pu​​blica​​tion​/​​wcms_​​57547​​9​ .pdf​,” accessed June 5, 2020. 6. Global Estimates of Modern Day Slavery, 10. 7. Global Estimates of Modern Day Slavery, 22. 8. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child, United Nations (Dublin, Ireland: Children’s Rights Alliance, 2010), 9; “What is Child Labour,” International Labour Organization, International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor, https​:/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​.org/​​ipec/​​facts​​/lang​-​-en/​​in​dex​​.htm, accessed June 9,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 359

08-10-2021 11:28:19

360

Robin P. Chapdelaine

2020; Deborah Levison and Anna Langer, “Counting Domestic Servants in Latin America,” Population and Development Review 36, no. 1 (March 2010): 125. 9. “Child Labor Trafficking,” National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments, https​:/​/sa​​fesup​​porti​​velea​​rning​​.ed​.g​​ov​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-amer​​icas-​​ schoo​​ls​/ch​​ild​-l​​​abor-​​traff​​i ckin​​g, accessed June 9, 2020. 10. Joseph Lah Lo-oh, “Child Domestic Work in Cameroon: An Exploratory Study of Perceptions by Working Children,” in The Place of Work in African Childhoods, eds. Michael Bourdillon and George M. Mutumba (Dakar, Senegal: Codesria, 2014), 94. 11. Annie Bunting and Joel Quirk, “Contemporary Slavery as More Than Rhetorical Strategy?: The New Politics and Ideology of a New Political Cause,” Contemporary Slavery: The Rhetoric of Human Rights Campaigns, eds. Annie Bunting and Joel Quirk (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017), 6. 12. Ruth Milkman, On Gender Labor, and Equality (Urbana, NY: University of Illinois Press, 2016); Elise van Nederveen Meerkerk, “Temporary Service?: A Global Perspective on Domestic Work and the Life Cycle from Pre-Industrial Times to the Present,” Geschichte und Gesellschaft April-June, 43 (2017): 217–239; Razy, Elodie, and Marie Rodet, eds. Children on the Move in Africa: Past and Present Experiences of Migration (Suffolk: James Currey, 2016); Muzhi Zhou and Man-Yee Kan, “A New Family Equilibrium?: Changing Dynamics between the Gender Division of Labor and Fertility in Great Britain, 1991-2017,” Demographic Research 40, article 50 (2019): 14555–1500; Bernice Young, In a Day’s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America’s Most Vulnerable Workers (New York: The New Press, 2020). 13. Esther Onyegbula, “Nigeria: Police Arrest Couple for Child Abuse in Lagos,” Vanguard, June 2, 2020, https​:/​/al​​lafri​​ca​.co​​m​/sto​​ries/​​20200​​60206​​​42​.ht​​ml, accessed, June 5, 2020. 14. Fikayo Olowolagba, “Libya slave trade: Payment for housmaids in Nigerian homes slavery,” Daily Post, November 29, 2017, https​:/​/da​​ilypo​​st​.ng​​/2017​​/11​/2​​9​/lib​​ ya​-sl​​ave​-t​​rade-​​payme​​nt​-ho​​usema​​ids​-n​​igeri​​an​-ho​​​mes​-s​​laver​​y​-eld​​ee/,” accessed June 5, 2020. 15. Abi Daré, “Beaten raped and forced to work: Why I’m exposing the scandal of Nigeria’s house girls,” The Guardian, March 17, 2020, https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​ .c​​om​/li​​feand​​style​​/2020​​/mar/​​17​/be​​aten-​​raped​​-and-​​force​​d​-to-​​work-​​why​-i​​m​-exp​​osing​​ -the-​​scand​​al​​-of​​-nige​​rias-​​house​​-girl​​s, accessed, June 5, 2020. 16. Daré. 17. Daré. 18. Public Notice, Domestic Servants in Nigeria, June 16, 1949, CADIST 3/3/845, Nigeria National Archive, Calabar (NNAC). 19. Rosemary Uwemedimo, “Women’s Vocations,” Daily Times, April 19, 1956, 6. 20. Private Domestic Servants, Report, Domestic Servants in Nigeria, October 6, 1948 (Nigeria Government Publication, 1948), 4, CADIST 3/3/845, NNAC. 21. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben, Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author, Nike, Enugu State, Nigeria, August 5, 2012.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 360

08-10-2021 11:28:20

House Girls and House Boys

361

22. Robin P. Chapdelaine. “Margaret Belcher and the Calabar Remand Home: ‘Saving’ Trafficked Children in Colonial Nigeria, 1950s.” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology 32. Fall 2020; Saheed Aderinto, When Sex Threatened the State, Illicit Sexuality: Nationalism, and Politics in Colonial Nigeria, 1900-1958 (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2015); Saheed Aderinto, “Journey to Work: Transnational Prostitution in Colonial British West Africa,” Journal of the History of Sexuality 24, no. 1 (January 2015); Emmanuel Akyeampong, “Sexuality and Prostitution among the Akan of the Gold Coast” Past & Present, no. 156 (August 1997): 156, 159, 160; Benedict B. B. Naanen, “Itinerant Gold Mines”: Prostitution in the Cross River Basin of Nigeria, 1930-1950,” African Studies Review 34, no. 2 (September, 1991): 57–79; and Jack Lord, “Child Labor in the Gold Coast: The Economics of Work, Education and the Family in Late Colonial Africa, c. 1940-57,” The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth 4, no. 1 (2011): 97. 23. “Juvenile Welfare in Calabar: A Social Responsibility,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, February 24, 1945, 17. 24. Elizabeth Pleck, “Criminal Approaches to Family Violence,” Crime and Justice 11, Family Violence (1989): 20. 25. Fred Powell and Margaret Scanlon, Angelmakers: The Hidden History of Child Abuse (Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2015), 229. 26. His Royal Highness Igwe Dr. Tony Ojukwu, J. P., Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author, Enugu, Nigeria, September 8, 2012. Dr. Tony Ojukwu is the traditional ruler of Ogui-Nike. 27. “Traffic in Children a Menace in Uyo Division: Inspector Okafor is Highly Congratulated,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, February 3, 1945, 7, NNAI. 28. Impetus, “Our Labour Front,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, June 22, 1946, 14, NNAI. 29. Ibid, Chapdelaine, 2020. “Margaret Belcher and the Calabar Remand Home: ‘Saving’ Trafficked Children in Colonial Nigeria, 1950s.” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology 32 (2020). 30. Impetus, “Our Labour Front,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, June 22, 1946, 14, NNAI. 31. Candidus, “Juvenile Welfare,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, January 13, 1945, 12, NNAI. 32. “Address Presented by the Secretary of the Calabar Juvenile Welfare Committee to Mr. J. L. Keith, Head of the Welfare Department, Nigeria,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, November 15, 1947, NNAI. 33. Mr. Skeates, “Welfare Officer Addresses Mass Meeting on Juvenile Welfare,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail,” March 3, 1945, NNAI. Page number is illegible. 34. Many children placed in the care of a non-biological adult were either made to hawk items in the streets or fled from abusive households and live on the streets. See Abosede A. George, Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor and Social Development in Colonial Lagos (Athens, OH: 2014), 177–178; W.R. Bett et al., “Abstracts and References,” The British Journal of Delinquency 5, no. 3 (January, 1955): 244–252; Adam Paddock, “A World of Good to Our Boys: Boys Scouts in Southern Nigeria, 1934-1951,” in Children and Childhood in Colonial Nigeria

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 361

08-10-2021 11:28:20

362

Robin P. Chapdelaine

Histories, ed. Saheed Aderinto (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), 126; Laurent Fourchard, “Lagos and the Invention of Juvenile Delinquency in Nigeria, 1920-60” Journal of African History 47, no. 1 (2006): 526; Simon Heap, “Processing Juvenile Delinquents at the Salvation Army’s Boys’ Industrial Home in Lagos,” in Children and Childhood in Nigerian Histories, ed. Saheed Aderinto (New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2010), 50–52; John Iliffe, The African Poor: A History (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987), 201–202. 35. “Children and Young Persons,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, December 14, 1946, 12, NNAI. 36. Mrs. Amelia Odujuwa, “Wanted Urgently: A House Boy or Girl: Reasonable Wages,” The African Echo, November 1, 1949, 3, Nigeria National Archives, Ibadan. 37. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben. 38. Okolo, HRH Igwe Dr. Titus. Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author. Amorji-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria, August 2, 2012. 39. Elder Abraham Oloko, Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of Author, Amorji-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria, August 2, 2012. 40. Elder Chief Ugwu Nwangwo Ugwu. 41. Ahanotu Marcellenus, Interview conducted by Augustine O. Onye, Imo State, August 23, 2012. 42. Harrieth Isiokpe, Interview conducted by Ifeoma Obijiaku on behalf of author, Ogwoyo, Calabar, August 20, 2012. 43. His Royal Highness Igwe Dr Tony Ojukwu. 44. Grace I. Obi, Interview by Augustine O. Onye on behalf of author, Mbaise, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, August 24, 2012. 45. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben. 46. Nelson Anyanele Ezeji, Interview on behalf of author by Ezeji Grace, Obazu, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, August 21, 2012. 47. Anthonia Nkechinyere Ibeawuchi, Interview on behalf of author by Augustine O. Onye, Iho, Ikerduru, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, August 25, 2012. 48. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben. 49. Ahanotu Marcellenus. 50. Nelson Anyanele Ezeji; Anthonia Nkechinyere Ibeawuchi; Grace I. Obi; HRH Igwe Dr. Titus Okolo JP King of Amoriji (Enugu). 51. Elder Chief Ugwu Nwangwo Ugwu. 52. His Royal Highness Igwe Dr Tony Ojukwu. 53. His Royal Highness Igwe Dr Tony Ojukwu. 54. Susan J. Rasmussen, “Constructing Moral Personhood: The Moral Test in Tuareg Sociability as a Commentary on Honor and Dishonor,” in Evil in Africa: Encounters with Everyday, eds. William C. Olsen and Walter E. A. Van Beek (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016), 230–231, 229–250. 55. HRH Igwe Dr. Titus Okolo JP King of Amoriji. 56. “£12 For Assaulting House-Boy,” The Eastern Outlook and Cameroons Star, July 2, 1953, 8. 57. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 362

08-10-2021 11:28:20

House Girls and House Boys

363

58. Kristi L. Graunke, ““Just Like One of the Family”: Domestic Violence Paradigms and Combating On-The-Job Violence Against Household Workers in the United States,” Michigan Journal of Law and Gender 9, no. 1 (2002): 133–134. 59. “Four Juveniles Appear Before the Magistrate on Different Charges,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, January 26, 1946, 24, Nigeria National Archive, Ibadan (NNAI). 60. “Boy Inflates Woman’s Eye with a Dirty Slap,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, January 18, 1941, 3, NNAC. 61. “A House Boy Robs Mistress of Articles Valued £3,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, August 4, 1945, 10, NNAI. 62. “Biakpan: A Boy of 7 Was Alleged Missing is Found,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, September 12, 1945, 18, NNAI. 63. Jonathan Blagbrough, “Child Domestic Labour: Work Like Any Other, Work Like No Other,” in Contemporary Slavery: The Rhetoric of Human Rights Campaigns, eds. Annie Bunting and Joel Quirk (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017), 302. 64. Johanna S. Ransmeier, Sold People: Traffickers and Family Life in North China (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017), 240. 65. Radhika Chopra, “Habitus of Trust: Servitude in Colonial India,” in Trusting and Its Tribulations: Interdisciplinary Engagements with Intimacy, Sociality and Trust, eds. Vigdis Broach-Due and Margit Ystances (New York: Berghan Books), 214. 66. “Do You Help Your Parents?,” Nigerian Children’s Own Paper, October 1951, 338. 67. Kimberly A. Lonsway and Joanne Archambault, “The "Justice Gap " for Sexual Assault Cases: Future Directions for Research and Reform,” Violence Against Women 18 (2012): 145, 157. 68. Fatimat M. Akinlusi, Kabiru A. Rabiu, Tawa A. Olawepo, Adeniyi A. Adewunmi, Tawaqualit A. Ottun and Oluwarotimi I Akinola, “Sexual Assault in Lagos, Nigeria: A Five Year Retrospective View,” BMC Women’s Health 14 (2014): 115, https​:/​/bm​​cwome​​nshea​​lth​.b​​iomed​​centr​​al​.co​​m​/art​​icles​​/10​.1​​186​/1​​47​2​-6​​874​-1​​4​ -115​, accessed September 3, 2020. 69. Chief Ugwuefi Reuben. 70. Nazan Maksudyan, Private Negotiation of Private Fosterage: Orphans and Destitute Children in the Late Ottoman Empire (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2014), 53. 71. Chief Francis U. Ujam, Interview on behalf of author by Anayo Enechukwu, Enugu, Nigeria, August 6, 2012. 72. “Sexual Assaults on Children,” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, May 29, 1937, 8, NNAI. 73. Nwamaka Ibeme, “Child Domestic Worker in Rural and Urban Areas of Nigeria: Implications for National Development,” International Journal of Emerging Knowledge (IJEK), Bloomfield Academy 1, no. 12 (2014): 223–224. 74. Babatunde, 61. 75. Joseph Lah Lo-oh, “Child Domestic Work in Cameroon,” 97.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 363

08-10-2021 11:28:21

364

Robin P. Chapdelaine

76. Michael Bourdillon, “Introduction,” in The Place of Work in African Childhoods, eds. Michael Bourdillon and George M. Mutumba (Dakar, Senegal: Codesria, 2014). 77. “£12 For Assaulting House-Boy,” 8; Peter Dada Akure, “Ondo woman bathes houseboy with hot water for stealing,” https​:/​/pu​​nchng​​.com/​​ondo-​​woman​​-bath​​es​-ho​​ usebo​​y​-wit​​h​-hot​​-wate​​r​-f​or​​-stea​​ling/​, accessed September 22, 2020.

BIBLIOGRAPHY “£12 For Assaulting House-Boy.” The Eastern Outlook and Cameroons Star. July 2, 1953, 8. “Address Presented by the Secretary of the Calabar Juvenile Welfare Committee to Mr. J. L. Keith, Head of the Welfare Department, Nigeria.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. November 15, 1947, NNAI. “A House Boy Robs Mistress of Articles Valued £3.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. August 4, 1945, 10, NNAI. Akinlusi, Fatimat M., Kabiru A. Rabiu, Tawa A. Olawepo, Adeniyi A. Adewunmi, Tawaqualit A. Ottun and Oluwarotimi I Akinola. “Sexual Assault in Lagos, Nigeria: A Five Year Retrospective View.” BMC Women’s Health 14 (2014): 1–7, https​:/​/bm​​cwome​​nshea​​lth​.b​​iomed​​centr​​al​.co​​m​/art​​icles​​/10​.1​​186​/1​​47​2​-6​​874​-1​​4​-115​, accessed September 3, 2020. Aderinto, Saheed. When Sex Threatened the State, Illicit Sexuality: Nationalism, and Politics in Colonial Nigeria, 1900-1958. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2015. Aderinto, Saheed. “Journey to Work: Transnational Prostitution in Colonial British West Africa.” Journal of the History of Sexuality 24, no. 1 (January 2015): 99–124. Akyeampong, Emmanuel. “Sexuality and Prostitution among the Akan of the Gold Coast.” Past & Present, no. 156 (August 1997): 144–173. Ally, Shireen. From Servants to Workers: South African Domestic Workers and the Democratic State. Cornell University Press, 2009. Babatunde, Abosede Omowumi. “Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime: Implications for Security in Nigeria.” The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies 46, no. 1 (2014): 61–84. Bett, W.R. et al., “Abstracts and References.” The British Journal of Delinquency 5, no. 3 (January 1955): 244–252. “Biakpan: A Boy of 7 Was Alleged Missing is Found.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. September12, 1945, 18, NNAI. Blagbrough, Jonathan. “Child Domestic Labour: Work Like Any Other, Work Like No Other.” In Contemporary Slavery: The Rhetoric of Human Rights Campaigns. Edited by Annie Bunting and Joel Quirk. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017. Bourdillon, Michael. “Introduction.” In The Place of Work in African Childhoods. Edited by Michael Bourdillon and George M. Mutumba. Dakar, Senegal: Codesria, 2014: 1–20.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 364

08-10-2021 11:28:21

House Girls and House Boys

365

“Boy Inflates Woman’s Eye with a Dirty Slap.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. January 18, 1941, 3, NNAC. Bunting, Annie and Joel Quirk. “Contemporary Slavery as More Than Rhetorical Strategy?: The New Politics and Ideology of a New Political Cause.” In Contemporary Slavery: The Rhetoric of Human Rights Campaigns. Edited by Annie Bunting and Joel Quirk, 5–35. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2017. Candidus. “Juvenile Welfare.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. January 13, 1945, 12, NNAI. Chapdelaine, Robin. “Margaret Belcher and the Calabar Remand Home: ‘Saving’ TraffickedChildren in Colonial Nigeria, 1950s.” Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology 30 (2020): 6–33. “Children and Young Persons.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. December 14, 1946, 12, NNAI. Chopra, Radhika. “Habitus of Trust: Servitude in Colonial India.” In Trusting and Its Tribulations: Interdisciplinary Engagements with Intimacy, Sociality and Trust. Edited by Vigdis Broach-Due and Margit Ystances. New York: Berghan Books. Daré, Abi. “Beaten raped and forced to work: Why I’m exposing the scandal of Nigeria’s house girls,” The Guardian, March 17, 2020, https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​.c​​ om​/li​​feand​​style​​/2020​​/mar/​​17​/be​​aten-​​raped​​-and-​​force​​d​-to-​​work-​​why​-i​​m​-exp​​osing​​ -the-​​scand​​al​​-of​​-nige​​rias-​​house​​-girl​​s, accessed, June 5, 2020. “Do You Help Your Parents?.” Nigerian Children’s Own Paper. October 1951, 338. Ezeji, Nelson Anyanele. Interview on behalf of author by Ezeji Grace, Obazu, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, August 21, 2012. “Four Juveniles Appear Before the Magistrate on Different Charges.” The Nigerian EasternMail. January 26, 1946, 24. Nigeria National Archive, Ibadan (NNAI). Fourchard, Laurent. “Lagos and the Invention of Juvenile Delinquency in Nigeria, 1920-60.” Journal of African History 47, no. 1 (2006): 115–137. George, Abosede A. Making Modern Girls: A History of Girlhood, Labor and SocialDevelopment in Colonial Lagos. Athens, OH: Ohio University Press, 2014. Graunke, Kristi L. ““Just Like One of the Family”: Domestic Violence Paradigms and Combating On-The-Job Violence Against Household Workers in the United States.” Michigan Journal of Law and Gender 9, no. 1 (2002): 133–205. Heap, Simon. “Processing Juvenile Delinquents at the Salvation Army’s Boys’ Industrial Homein Lagos.” In Children and Childhood in Nigerian Histories. Edited by Saheed Aderinto. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2010. Hepburn, Sacha. “‘Bring a Girl from the Village’: Gender, Child Migration and Domestic Service in Zambia.” In Children on the Move in Africa: Past and Present Experiences of Migration. Edited by Elody Razy and Marie Rodet, 69–84. Oxford: James Currey, 2016. Ibeme, Nwamaka. “Child Domestic Worker in Rural and Urban Areas of Nigeria: Implications for National Development.” International Journal of Emerging Knowledge (IJEK). Bloomfield Academy 1, no. 12 (2014): 219–231. Iliffe, John. The African Poor: A History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987. Impetus. “Our Labour Front.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail, June 22, 1946, 14, NNAI.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 365

08-10-2021 11:28:21

366

Robin P. Chapdelaine

International Labour Organization. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage, Regional Brief for Africa. International Labour Organization and Walk Free Foundation, Geneva, 2017. http:​/​/www​​.ilo.​​org​/w​​ cmsp5​​/grou​​ps​/pu​​blic/​​@dgre​​ports​/​@dco​​mm​/do​​cumen​​ts​/pu​​blica​​tion/​​​wcms_​​57547​​ 9​.pdf​. International Labour Organization. “What is Child Labour?” International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor, https​:/​/ww​​w​.ilo​​.org/​​ipec/​​facts​​/lang​-​-en/​​ind​ex​​ .htm. Isiokpe, Harrieth. Interview conducted by Ifeoma Obijiaku on behalf of author, Ogwoyo, Calabar, August 20, 2012. “Juvenile Welfare in Calabar: A Social Responsibility.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. February 24, 1945, 17. Lawrance, Benjamin N. “From Child Labor “Problem” to Human Trafficking Crisis”: Child Advocacy and Anti-Trafficking Legislation in Ghana.” International Labor and Working Class History, no. 78 (Fall 2010): 63–88. Levison, Deborah and Anna Langer. “Counting Domestic Servants in Latin America.” Population and Development Review 36, no. 1 (March 2010): 125–149. Lonsway, Kimberly A. and Joanne Archambault. “The “Justice Gap “for Sexual Assault Cases: Future Directions for Research and Reform.” Violence Against Women, 18, no. 2 (2012): 145–168. Lo-oh, Joseph Lah. “Child Domestic Work in Cameroon: An Exploratory Study of Perceptions by Working Children.” In The Place of Work in African Childhoods. Edited by Michael Bourdillon and George M. Dakar, 93–106. Senegal: Codesria, 2014. Lord, Jack. “Child Labor in the Gold Coast: The Economics of Work, Education and the Family in Late Colonial Africa, c. 1940-57.” The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth 4, no. 1 (2011): 88–115. Maksudyan, Nazan. Private Negotiation of Private Fosterage: Orphans and Destitute Children in the Late Ottoman Empire. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2014. Marcellenus, Ahanotu. Interview conducted by Augustine O. Onye, Imo State, August 23, 2012. Meerkerk, Elise van Nederveen. “Temporary Service?: A Global Perspective on Domestic Work and the Life Cycle from Pre-Industrial Times to the Present.” Geschichte und Gesellschaft April–June, 43 (2017): 217–239. Naanen, Benedict B. B. ““Itinerant Gold Mines”: Prostitution in the Cross River Basin of Nigeria, 1930-1950.” African Studies Review 34, no. 2 (September, 1991): 57–79. National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments. “Child Labor Trafficking.” https​:/​/sa​​fesup​​porti​​velea​​rning​​.ed​.g​​ov​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-amer​​icas-​​ schoo​​ls​/ch​​ild​-l​​​abor-​​traff​​i ckin​​g. Nigeria Legislative Body. Child’s Rights Act 2003, no. 26, A459. https​:/​/ww​​w​.ref​​ world​​.org/​​docid​​/5568​​201f4​​​.html​. Obi, Grace I. Interview by Augustine O. Onye on behalf of author, Mbaise, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, August 24, 2012.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 366

08-10-2021 11:28:21

House Girls and House Boys

367

Ojukwu, J. P. His Royal Highness Igwe Dr. Tony. Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author, Enugu, Nigeria, September 8, 2012. Okolo, HRH Igwe Dr. Titus. Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author. Amorji-Nike, Enugu, Nigeria, August 2, 2012. Olowolagba, Fikayo. “Libya slave trade: Payment for housmaids in Nigerian homes slavery,” Daily Post, November 29, 2017, https​:/​/da​​ilypo​​st​.ng​​/2017​​/11​/2​​9​/lib​​ya​-sl​​ ave​-t​​rade-​​payme​​nt​-ho​​usema​​ids​-n​​igeri​​an​-ho​​​mes​-s​​laver​​y​-eld​​ee/,” accessed June 5, 2020. Onyegbula, Esther. “Nigeria: Police Arrest Couple for Child Abuse in Lagos.” Vanguard, June 2, 2020. https​:/​/al​​lafri​​ca​.co​​m​/sto​​ries/​​20200​​60206​​​42​.ht​​ml, accessed, June 5, 2020. Public Notice, Domestic Servants in Nigeria, June 16, 1949, CADIST 3/3/845, Nigeria National Archive, Calabar (NNAC). Paddock, Adam. “A World of Good to Our Boys: Boys Scouts in Southern Nigeria, 1934 1951.” In Children and Childhood in Colonial Nigeria Histories. Edited by Saheed Aderinto. New York: Palgrave MacMillan. 2015. Pleck, Elizabeth. “Criminal Approaches to Family Violence.” Crime and Justice 11, Family Violence (1989): 19–57. Powell, Fred and Margaret Scanlon, Angelmakers: The Hidden History of Child Abuse. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2015. Private Domestic Servants, Report, Domestic Servants in Nigeria, October 6, 1948 (Nigeria Government Publication, 1948), 4, CADIST 3/3/845, NNAC. Ransmeier, Johanna S. Sold People: Traffickers and Family Life in North China. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2017. Rasmussen, Susan J. “Constructing Moral Personhood: The Moral Test in Tuareg Sociability as a Commentary on Honor and Dishonor.” In Evil in Africa: Encounters with Everyday. Edited by William C. Olsen and Walter E. A. Van Beek, 229–250. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 2016. Razy, Elodie, and Marie Rodet, eds. Children on the Move in Africa: Past and Present Experiences of Migration. Suffolk: James Currey, 2016. Reuben, Chief Ugwuefi. Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author, Nike, Enugu State, Nigeria, August 5, 2012. “Sexual Assaults on Children.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. May 29, 1937, 8, NNAI. Skeates. “Welfare Officer Addresses Mass Meeting on Juvenile Welfare.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail.” March 3, 1945, NNAI, #?. Sossou, Marie-Antoinette and Joseph A. Yogtiba, “Abuse of Children in West Africa: Implications for Social Work Education and Practice,” The British Journal of Social Work 39, no. 7 (2009): 1218–1234. Togunde, Dimeji R. and Emily Weber. “Parents’ Views, Children’s Analysis: Intergenerational Analysis of Child Labor Persistence in Urban Nigeria.” International Journal of Sociology of the Family 33, no. 2 (Autumn 2007): 285–301. “Traffic in Children a Menace in Uyo Division: Inspector Okafor is Highly Congratulated.” The Nigerian Eastern Mail. February 3, 1945, 7, NNAI. Ugwu, Ugwu Nwangwu, Elder Chief. Interview conducted by Anayo Enechukwu on behalf of author, Ibeagwa Nike, Enugu State, Nigeria, August 5, 2012.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 367

08-10-2021 11:28:22

368

Robin P. Chapdelaine

“Urgently Wanted.” The African Echo, November 1, 1949, 3. Uwemedimo, Rosemary. “Women’s Vocations.” Daily Times, April 19, 1956. United Nations. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child. Dublin Ireland: Children’s Rights Alliance, 2010. Ujam, Chief Francis U. Interview on behalf of author by Anayo Enechukwu. Enugu, Nigeria, August 6, 2012. Young, Bernice. In a Day’s Work: The Fight to End Sexual Violence Against America’s Most Vulnerable Workers. New York: The New Press, 2020. Zhou, Muzhi and Man-Yee Kan, “A New Family Equilibrium?: Changing Dynamics between the Gender Division of Labor and Fertility in Great Britain, 1991-2017.” Demographic Research 40, article 50 (2019): 14555–1500.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 368

08-10-2021 11:28:22

Chapter 16

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension, and Human Trafficking Abu K. Mboka

In the past three decades, the trafficking of humans from around the world into mainly Europe and the United States has gained attention in academic, social, and political circles. Meanwhile, several questions remain underdiscussed: why human-trafficking activism seems to have more traction in European and American societies than in sending countries, how the vice is illicitly exploited by people and businesses in the United States and Europe at the expense of those who are trafficked, and how cross-national human trafficking is impacted by socioeconomic perceptions of people in sending and destination countries. Sending countries include mainly cities in Africa, Asia and those south of American borders, and destination countries refer to mainly cities in Europe, the United States, and Canada. This chapter, therefore, focuses on factors that drive cross-national border or international human trafficking into destination territories, the actors and factors that facilitate the trafficking of humans from sending communities to destination cities, and the various entities that exploit the labor and services generated by human-trafficking activities. Discussions draw on how cross-border human trafficking is perceived as a source of economic and social superiority in sending countries, how it serves as a means of economic and social apprehension in destination countries, and how crossnational human trafficking informs sexual, economic, and criminal exploitation of trafficked persons and informs anti-human-trafficking activism. It is reasoned that beyond known sources of forced migration like violent conflict and natural and human-made disasters, the prospect of curbing cross-border human trafficking depends on understanding the effects of Cold War policies and propaganda on the obvious relationship between human trafficking and the demand for cheap and illicit labor and services and between anti-humantrafficking activism and anti-prostitution activism. 369

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 369

08-10-2021 11:28:22

370

Abu K. Mboka

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL INFERIORITY AND APPREHENSION It is important to premise the discussion of cross-national human trafficking on the recognition that the overwhelming majority of humans and indeed victims of cross-national human trafficking would be naturally nervous about migrating to a foreign country, especially when they face the risk of dying on desert paths, in cargo containers, or in semi-trucks or even the risk of arriving in their destination country with no lawful support system awaiting them. Hence, the obvious question is why people sacrifice their lives and those of their children, relatives, or other people by participating in the risky business of cross-border human trafficking. Obviously, the answers to these questions require at a minimum a discussion of cross-national human trafficking in the context of the factors in figure 16.1. (1) economic and social inferiority and apprehension, (2) increased appetites for cheap labor and services, (3) actors that facilitate cross-human trafficking, and (4) cross-national humantrafficking activism. Economic and social inferiority is a condition under which a person feels economically or socially inferior to others in a territory’s economy or social systems to a point where those feeling inferior feel compelled to maintain a physical presence in that territory with the hope of achieving economic and social equality. In other words, most people who risk their lives to reach American and European shores or destinations frequented by tourists from those regions do so with the conviction that their presence in any of those places will improve their economic and social status. The sense of economic and social inferiority is a condition that can be linked to decades of postcolonial and Cold War politics and policies, especially the propagation of notions Forces of Cross-national Human Trafficking

Source Social and economic hardship, inferiority, and apprehension

Labor and Service Sex, labor and domestic exploitation and abuse

Actors Sex trade, labor market, and domestic service

Activism Human trafficking activism

Figure 16.1  Forces of Cross-national Human Trafficking. Source: Author—Abu K. Mboka

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 370

08-10-2021 11:28:24

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

371

that portray individual survival as dependent on the degree of intimate experiences one encounters with American or European political, economic, and social institutions. Behind anti-immigrant or xenophobic activism is often a sense of anxiety or fear that the presence of a foreigner in one’s place of residence will threaten one’s way of life. Social and economic apprehension, therefore, refers to sentiments behind anti-human-trafficking activism motivated by fear of trafficked persons themselves and not necessarily an acknowledgment of the appalling conditions and treatment experienced by trafficked humans. Social and economic apprehension, in other words, is partially a consequence of the idea that success in life demands adaptation to American and European political and economic ways of life because such a mindset sparks the motivation to maintain physical presence in American and European societies in hope of enhancing economic and social standing. Common news reports about death-and-life journeys to the United States and Europe from mainly Africa, Asia, and countries south of U.S. borders illustrate the sacrifice and risk people undertake to reach American or European soil. For instance, according to reports generated by the International Organization for Migration, UK Aid or the government of the United Kingdom, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, and other nongovernmental organizations, between 2,705 and 5,003 migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, lost their lives in 2020 alone while attempting to enter destination countries. In 2018, more than 260 migrants died while trying to cross the U.S. southern border.1 In the previous year, thirty-nine people were found dead in the back of a truck while attempting to enter the United Kingdom.2 Indeed, the risk of dying in containers and semitrucks, under bushes, on desert lands and on high seas is undertaken with the belief that a physical presence in the United States or Europe will elevate one’s economic and social status; otherwise, few would risk their life across oceans and deserts to travel to foreign countries that are often thousands of miles away. The sense of socioeconomic inferiority in sending countries and the need for cheap or illicit labor and services in receiving countries means that an increase in the visible presence of so-called undocumented immigrants in destination cities can explain why people participate in cross-border human trafficking and why certain segments of American and European populations are more convinced than ever that the presence of the so-called undocumented persons in their communities threatens their socioeconomic resources and radically changes the face of their social institutions. Unfortunately, also, as increases in the number of undocumented cases in destination countries becomes visible, so does the rise in the level of economic and social apprehension and thus the rise in anti-immigration activism in destination countries. At the same time, anti-human-trafficking activism is expressed through

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 371

08-10-2021 11:28:24

372

Abu K. Mboka

prostitution and anti-immigration activism instead of focusing on demand for trafficked persons’ labor and services and the well-grounded belief among millions of economically underdeveloped persons in sending countries that the road to success hinges on one’s physical presence on destination soils. The role socioeconomic forces play in the commercial sexual and labor exploitation of children within the context of globalization, especially in terms of how advancements in communication technologies along with increased interaction with other people in distant lands create opportunities for illegal cross-border activities like the trafficking of children across national border. Certainly, virtual participation in and facilitation of crimes, as a subject of globalization, globalizing, and human trafficking is warranted by the fact that the internet and cell phone technologies provide jurisdictional limitations to people who actively participate in the core foundation of crossborder activities. Jurisdictional limitation is a condition under which a country is unable to prosecute a particular criminal behavior either because the offender is not physically located in the local jurisdiction or because the criminal act occurs in a different jurisdiction. In other words, modern communication technologies create virtual worlds that have no borders or jurisdictions and as a result, crimes can be aided, abetted, or directly carried out in any place and from anywhere around the globe in a manner that makes it impossible for both local and international law enforcement agencies to effectively respond. This limitation suggests that technologically aided global interconnectivity and interdependency aids activities like human trafficking because the technology allows actors or potential offenders to actively participate in and facilitate the movement and control of victims across national borders. ANTI-PROSTITUTION AND HUMAN ACTIVISM The connection between prostitution and human trafficking is a convenient one: prostitution invokes deviance, crime, drugs, and human trafficking; hence activists use the presence of trafficked persons in the sex industry to gain policy advancement. Indeed, while individual-driven, rather than government-sanctioned, cross-border human trafficking is relatively new, prostitution has existed throughout human history and is now a popular extension of anti-human-trafficking activism because contemporary antihuman-trafficking activists frequently draw on how prostitution supports cross-national human-trafficking activities. Alleged connections between cross-border human trafficking and prostitution, as typically presented, are somewhat similar to arguments presented by anti-prostitution activists a century ago. The difference, however, is

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 372

08-10-2021 11:28:24

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

373

that unlike prostitution and factors that informed the criminalization of the practice across the United States a century ago,3 cyber-mediated prostitution does not usually take place in rundown environments; rather, solicitation takes place online and often physical contact with clients takes place in wellregulated environments like hotels or private homes with the help of advancements in communication technology. The law in each state in the United States, except in two counties in the state of Nevada, prohibits the act of soliciting, patronizing, or offering money or something of value to another person for any sexual act. Laws, including the White Slave Traffic Act, were and are still informed by claims that prostitution aids the spread of sexually transmissible diseases and drug use and creates unsafe environments.4 Similarly, anti-human-trafficking activism is driven by the notion that prostitution relies on human trafficking and that human trafficking relies on the commercial sex industry both for clients and service providers.5 In the U.S. prostitution is now at the top of human trafficking-related concerns evidenced by crackdowns on websites that formerly hosted commercial sex-related advertisements like the “personals” ads on My Redbook, craigslist and Backpage. Of course, the crackdowns were informed by the stigmatization of prostitution using arguments employed at the end of the late nineteenth century by organizations who portrayed prostitution as morally reprehensible behavior that undermined public morality, threatened public safety, and increased public health risks. Thus, the genealogies of most street prostitution laws in the United States are traceable to the JudeoChristian moral crusade in the early twentieth century headed by clergymen, physicians, women groups, and businesspersons.6 These groups shared the common goal of eliminating prostitution as a means to cleansing society of sexually transmissible diseases and social evils.7 Their collective efforts led to the enactment of the first federal prostitution law in 1910, the White-Slave Traffic Act, also known as the Mann Act.8 The White Slave Traffic Act was intended to punish the transportation of women from one state’s jurisdiction to another’s for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery such as fornication or adultery. The U.S. Justice Department even prosecuted people under this law in cases involving boyfriends’ allegedly transporting girlfriends from one jurisdiction to another with the possibility of engaging in a sexual act.9 In one case, a defendant was charged with transporting a woman from the state of California to Nevada “for the purpose of debauchery, and for an immoral purpose” or “to wit, the aforesaid woman into becoming his mistress and concubine.”10 At appeal the U.S. Supreme Court held that the meaning of prostitution under the Mann Act included noncommercial and consensual sexual liaisons between two or more consenting adults.11 The Court further held that fornication, whether

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 373

08-10-2021 11:28:24

374

Abu K. Mboka

motivated by commercial interest or not, was an “immoral” act under the White Slave Traffic Act.12 Of course, the Mann Act did not address homosexual liaisons, which at the time was already criminalized. Clearly, discussions of street prostitution during the period revolved around how the vice disrupted neighborhood lifestyles, threatened public health, generated public order offenses that went against social and sexual norms and created “visible signs of disorder” in neighborhoods.13 For example, the grievances put forth by Judeo-Christian groups at the beginning of the century, and even now, were that street prostitution promoted immorality, created public health risks, and produced street crimes.14 These arguments informed the creation of the White Slave Traffic Act in the 1910, at a time when “nearly every large city in the United States had a red-light district.”15 The American Social Hygiene Association arose out of a merger between the American Federation for Sex Hygiene and the American Vigilance Association. The American Social Hygiene Association argued that the control of venereal disease was only possible through the suppression of prostitution.16 In 1939 alone, this association held 5,000 Social Hygiene Day meetings, published 20,000 articles and items in papers and magazines, sponsored and distributed films that were shown to over a million people, and distributed 1,245,000 pamphlets, 5,554 books, and 48,540 charts and posters on prostitution-related morality and sexually transmissible diseases.17 The American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis also fought to limit the spread of sexually transmissible diseases, which the organization argued had “their origin in the Social Evil.”18 The case against prostitution as a symbol of immorality and of threats to public safety, health, and quality of life was also made by religious entities like the American Vigilance Association, American Purity Alliance, American Social Hygiene Association, and the American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis.19 These organizations played crucial roles in the enactment of the White Slave Traffic Act and the subsequent prosecution of propositioning, soliciting, and pandering of prostitution.20 These agencies campaigned on the promise of promoting public morality and hygiene, protecting society against the spread of sexually transmissible diseases by prostitutes and their clients, preventing the sexual exploitation of women and children and reducing threats to public safety through the prevention of drug and property crime. The use of the terms morality, public safety, and health and hygiene as a vehicle for winning public support was evident in even the names under which many of the organizations operated. The American Vigilance Association was founded on the notion that street prostitution was evil and, therefore, a direct threat to public morality.21 The American Purity Alliance or the National Purity Congress also viewed prostitution as a social vice that defied divine law and thus was a “primary cause of

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 374

08-10-2021 11:28:25

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

375

national decay.”22 The American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis promoted knowledge about prostitution as a social evil and campaigned for the suppression and prevention of commercialized vice and for the promotion of “the highest standard of public and private morals” by striving “for the constant, persistent and absolute repression of prostitution” through the passage and enforcement of laws that protected girls and women from being trafficked across state borders for sexual exploitation.23 The issue of immorality made it into the names of prostitution-related laws and the language therein because public morality was used as a justification for such legislation. For instance, an 1870 prostitution law in the city of St. Louis was called the “Social Evil Ordinance.”24 The 1910 federal prostitution law was also named the “White Slavery Act,” while the act itself described prostitution as an “immoral practice” that satisfied “debauchery” or sinful desires.25 Today supporters of street prostitution laws still frame prostitution as a morally despicable and evil act.26 Some of the uncontested premises of street prostitution’s immorality are, therefore, based on the overt display of explicit bartering of sex in public, creation of the unappealing sight of prostitutes on street corners, and annoyance of pedestrians.27 Collectively, these visible signs of street prostitution’s “immorality” signify social disorder in neighborhoods.28 However, while these conclusions about street prostitutes were logical even a half-century ago, there is no evidence to suggest that these perceptions are applicable to what could be best described as cyber-mediated prostitution, which can be differentiated from street prostitution in several ways.29 Cyber-mediated prostitution refers to the use of the internet, cell phones, and other forms of modern communication technology to sell or purchase sexual services in violation of prostitution laws. Cyber-mediated prostitution is different from conventional street prostitution in terms of how and where the acts are committed and how they affect public morality, health, and safety in general. According to the 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, the internet also “provides a broad array of social media platforms, most of which facilitate the sharing of pictures, text and/or video.” Traffickers “take advantage of particular features of these platforms, such as encryption of messages, membership based on personalized profiles and hosting of groups of users with particular interests.”30 Traffickers also “use Internet-based services to carry out anonymous online payments or to distribute pornographic material” and additionally depend on the internet to facilitate contact with potential victims while avoiding detection and limiting physical interaction.31 Human trafficking-related prostitution takes place in a cyber-mediated world visible only to those who intentionally seek it out. That is, actual acts of solicitation and negotiation of sexual services take place partly online or

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 375

08-10-2021 11:28:25

376

Abu K. Mboka

via cell phone, while physical contact occurs discreetly in hotels or private homes. Cyber-mediated prostitution also minimizes the social impact of street prostitution, like propositions made to innocent women and the overt display or explicit bartering of sex in public. Definitions of moral and “immoral” sexual interactions are also changing from the traditional meanings that existed at the beginning of the twentieth century to a more liberal meaning. For instance, the definition of marriage in 1910, when the first federal prostitution law was created in the United States, was one that viewed marriage as constituting a legal bond between a wife (woman) and a husband (man). This narrow definition has changed. Public perception of sexual interactions outside the scope of marriage are also no longer frowned upon to the extent they once were, as immoral or deviant acts because such behaviors have become more acceptable in recent decades. A recent National Health Statistics Report, for example, shows an increase in the percentage of people who agreed with premarital cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing, same-sex sexual relations, and premarital sex.32 Studies and reports continue to present prostitution as a vehicle for spreading sexually transmissible disease and for promoting drug abuse.33 The most-cited venereal diseases tend to be syphilis, hepatitis, gonorrhea, and the immunodeficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome HIV/AIDS.34 These diseases, especially HIV/AIDS, have been repeatedly associated with prostitution as a public health hazard on the grounds that increased acts of prostitution increase the risk of unprotected sex and sharing of needles—of course based on the premise that a strong relationship exists between drug use and prostitution. In this case, prostitutes are viewed as primary carriers of diseases like HIV/AIDS that can be easily contracted through unprotected vaginal or anal penetration.35 Under natural conditions, more prostitutes, therefore, equal increased public exposure to sexually transmitted diseases, especially for innocent married women whose husbands patronize prostitutes. There is, however, evidence to suggest that most contemporary sex workers are as health conscious as those who are not sex workers. With regard to the public safety argument, criminal laws generally impose restrictions on behaviors that threaten, harm, and or endanger public welfare and most importantly public safety. In this regard, public safety grounds for policing prostitution would be the obligation of the state to control crime, which in this case would be based mainly on the assumption that prostitution increases disorderly conduct as pimps and prostitutes argue on street corners or roll clients.36 Another public safety argument would be the notion that prostitution puts prostitutes and their clients at risk of crimes like physical assault and robbery and also promotes illegal drug transactions and attracts criminals to a neighborhood.37

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 376

08-10-2021 11:28:25

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

377

Indeed, while evidence broadly supports many of these claims about the relationship between street prostitution and crime, human trafficking-related prostitution is unlikely to produce these types of crimes, at least to the level street prostitution does, since trafficked persons are usually held in controlled environments like brothels, factories, farms, domestic homes, and licensed business premises required by law to respect all penal laws in the course of their official operations, although some people are held captive and abused in other ways. Furthermore, communication technologies have reduced the impact of commercial sex on the issue of public health and safety, especially with regard to public nuisance crimes and criminal activities that were once attributable to the commercial sex industry. Consequently, since the late 1990s connections between prostitution and communication technologies have been making it difficult for states to enforce existing prostitution laws. In the era of internet and cell phone technologies, the claim that prostitution and indeed cross-national human trafficking is a serious public health and safety threat is now on shaky ground because these technologies have altered much of the documented impact of street prostitution on public safety, morality, health, and neighborhood quality of life; thus, they undermine the underlying motives of state laws that exist under the banner of public morality and health and safety concerns and suggest that the use of prostitution by anti-human-trafficking activists has brought us to a point where prostitution has become synonymous with human trafficking, and thus unnecessarily overshadows the contributions of privileged destination residents to the exploitation of trafficked persons. This weakness is also present regarding international response to cross-border human trafficking. INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO CROSSNATIONAL HUMAN TRAFFICKING The focus on the phrase “human trafficking” at the expense of factors that inform the activity is also evident in the international response to crossnational human trafficking. In this case, the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime remains the main international instrument on transnational organized criminal activities. The convention has three protocols; the Protocol against the Illicit Manufacturing of and Trafficking in Firearms; the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air; and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The protocol against trafficking in firearms deals broadly with the subject of organized cross-border crimes and international peace and security and thus aims to promote, facilitate, and strengthen cooperation among states in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 377

08-10-2021 11:28:26

378

Abu K. Mboka

order to prevent, combat, and eradicate the illicit manufacturing of and trafficking in firearms and related parts, components, and ammunition. The protocol against the smuggling of migrants deals with organized criminal groups who smuggle migrants and seeks to prevent and combat the smuggling of migrants and to protect the rights of smuggled migrants. The protocol on the prevention, suppression, and punishment of trafficking in persons aims to specially prevent and combat trafficking in persons with a particular focus on trafficked women and children. Article 3 of the protocol, which entered into force on December 25, 2003, defines human trafficking in persons and requires member nations to establish domestic mechanisms for investigating and prosecuting human-trafficking cases and broadly protects the rights of trafficked persons. Article 3 of the protocol defines human trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring 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 covers, 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.”

Article 3 prohibits the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and the use of threat or physical force, coercion, abduction, fraud, and deception in connection with human-trafficking activities. The article also prohibits third parties from exercising control over trafficked victims and trafficking of humans for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and similar acts of victimization. While these prohibitions are now common domestic law around the world, they fail to specifically address sex tourism as well as the service industry and manufacturing, agricultural and domestic labor, which are major contributors to the increase in cross-national human trafficking. Many sending and origination countries like Brazil, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Philippine, Kenya, Thailand, and Cambodia attract certain “tourists not only for their climate, nature and culture but also for their cheap and easy access to sex” especially sex involving children, a practice known as child sex tourism.38 In this respect, it is important to note that the most known destination for child sex tourism is Southeast Asia, especially Thailand and the Philippines. For example, in 2008, the Philippines alone had an estimated 100,000 child victims of prostitution in the country as a whole and nearly 20,000 child victims of prostitution in the metro Manila area.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 378

08-10-2021 11:28:26

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

379

Nongovernmental organizations, UNICEF and law enforcement agencies estimated that in 2008 that there were between 20,000 and 35,000 child victims of child sex tourism in Colombia. In Mexico there were more than 20,000; and in Kenya an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 underage girls were exploited by tourists. About 30,000 girls aged from 12 to 14 were sexually exploited in hotels and private villas around the country. In Cartagena alone, there were 1,500 boys and girls being exploited in the sex industry by foreign tourists chiefly from the United States and Europe.39 Although only one in five trafficked victims are sexually exploited, sexually trafficked and exploited victims generate 67 percent of the global profits generated by human trafficking. According to ILO estimates, Asia, and the Pacific, 3.5 million dollars (73 percent); Africa, 400,000 (8 percent); Arab states, (less than 1 percent); Europe and Central Asia, 700,000 (14 percent); the Americas, 200,000 (4 percent) (International Labor Organization).40 The practice of child “sex tourism is largely regionally based, with western Europeans travelling to exploit children in eastern European countries” principally in the form of sexual victimization, child trafficking across borders, child pornography production and distribution, and child marriage.41 According to UNICEF, 18 percent of such tourists are Italians, 14 percent are Germans, and 12 percent are Swiss. These data represent the most visible child sex tourists within Europe while African child sex tourists come from mainly Uganda and Tanzania. It is worth noting that studies conducted in 2012 show that the majority of those who exploited trafficked sex workers were privileged members of society and thus “were more likely to have attended college, and were just 15% less likely to be married, educated, employed, and married, and only a small number had extensive criminal histories.”42 A certain number of persons are trafficked mainly because of multinational companies’ insatiable quest for cheap labor, including child labor, outside their corporate borders. The headquarters of many of such businesses are located in the United States and Europe with production lines in mainly Asia and south of the U.S. border. According to Human Rights Watch and World Vision Australia, for example, “the Uzbek government forces 1.5 to 2 million school children as young as nine years old to miss school and help with the cotton harvest,” working every day from early morning until evening for at least three months each year and living under deplorable conditions in unheated and non-insulated field barracks. According to the U.S. 2020 list of goods produced by child labor, twentytwo countries deployed children in gold mines, seventeen in tobacco, fifteen in cotton, seventeen in coffee, seven countries in coca, seven countries in pornography, and in garment manufacturing. Indeed, the majority of products,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 379

08-10-2021 11:28:26

380

Abu K. Mboka

textiles, cotton, electronics, footwear and garment has a child labor print on it, and thus is increasing the chances of future trafficking.43 Similar activites are present in India where in 2007 “more than 400,000 children under the age of 18 were found to be employed in cotton seed farms in the Indian states of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. More than half of these children were younger than fourteen.” And despite coordinated effort in 2009–2010, there were still 381,500 children who were found working on cotton seed farms in the same states. Of these, 169,900 were below 14 years of age.44 While government-sponsored programs may not necessarily attract crossnational human trafficking at a recordable rate, the continuous demands for cotton, for example, in developed countries has the capacity to increase domestic human trafficking as people may flock to such areas in hope of gaining employment. Similar facts are associated with factory line production and domestic services. The actors that make possible the sexual, labor, and service exploitation of trafficked persons consist of mainly individual businesses, corrupt government employees, farmers, factory owners, and private citizens. Hence, labor and service exploitation is characterized by people making payments for human trafficking-related activities at various stages of the process.45

ANTI-IMMIGRATION AND ANTIHUMAN-TRAFFICKING ACTIVISM In the context of cross-border human trafficking, the primary focus of antiimmigration activism is to prohibit or restrict the admission of “aliens,” especially women and girls, based on the assumption that prostitution and those who patronize them are threats to public safety and health.46 Anti-immigrant activism, therefore, explains why particularly American and European societies are demanding aggressive border-control policies that specifically seek to restrict the movement of people from sending countries into the United States and Europe. Indeed, given the risk of xenophobic allegations, it is logical to use cross-national human trafficking as a basis for banning crossborder migration especially from sending countries where the majority of immigrants are economically distressed. In order to bolster anti-immigration stances, the primary focus of anti-immigrant-influenced human-trafficking campaign is, therefore, on the prohibition or the restriction of movement of “aliens,” especially women and girls, based on the assumption that they populate the sex industry and thus they and those who hire them are threats to public safety and health.47

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 380

08-10-2021 11:28:26

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

381

CONCLUSION At the core of most cross-national human-trafficking activities lies the participation of American and European businesses and individual national appetites for the services and labors provided by cross-national trafficked persons. In other words, contemporary international human trafficking is driven by the desire to acquire material benefit including illicit sexual activities. The acquisitive criminal behaviors include illegal transportation, harboring, abduction, and fraud. Lust-motivated criminal activities include sexual exploitation of minors, rape, and sexual assault.48 In this respect, human-trafficking activism stands to gain more when activists focus on contributing factors like demand for cheap labor: domestic, agricultural, sexual, and manufacturing as well as other services, all of which make cross-national human trafficking possible. As figure 16.1 illustrates, a meaningful effort to curb cross-border human trafficking and related activities, therefore, ought to focus on the main causes of cross-border human trafficking, a revisal of the notion that success in life can only be gained within American or European borders, meaningful attention to the contribution of sex tourism, not prostitution, and demand for cheap, farm and domestic labor and services that seem to keep cross-national human trafficking alive.

NOTES 1. Flaherty, A. “More than 260 migrants died trying to cross the US southern border.” Report. December 2018Available at: https​:/​/ab​​cnews​​.go​.c​​om​/In​​terna​​tiona​​l​ /260​​-migr​​ants-​​died-​​cross​​-us​-s​​outhe​​rn​-bo​​rder-​​repor​​t​​/sto​​ry​?id​​=5983​​2675. 2. Brown, L. “Human trafficking blamed for deaths of 39 people in back of truck in UK.” New York Post, 2019. See also; Missing Immigrants. Missing Immigrants, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/mi​​ssing​​migra​​nts​.i​​om​.in​​t​/reg​​ion​/m​​edi​te​​rrane​​an. 3. Scott, M. S. and K. Dedel. “Problem-Oriented Guides for Police ProblemSpecific” Guides Series Guide No. 2 (2006). 4. Casabona, J., E. Sánchez, et al. "Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for HIV Transmission among Female Prostitutes: A Community Survey." European Journal of Epidemiology 6 no. 3 (1990): 248–252. See also; Jenness, V. "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem.” Social Problem, 37 no. 3 (1990): 403–420; Kane, S. and T. Mason. "AIDS and Criminal Justice." Annual Review of Anthropology 30 no. 1 (2001): 457–479. 5. Jackson, Y. “This is no life for anyone.” The Guardian. London, 2006. See also; Harvey, R. “A Closer Look at Residential Treatment Programs for Women Exiting Prostitution.” Pepperdine University, 2008. 6. Weiner, E. "The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act." 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2016, 2016, from http:​/​/www​​.npr.​​org​/t​​empla​​tes​/s​​tory/​​story​​.php?​​story​​Id​​=88​​

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 381

08-10-2021 11:28:26

382

Abu K. Mboka

10430​​8. See also; Weitzer, R. "Prostitution Control in America: Rethinking Public Policy." Crime, Law and Social Change 32 no. 1 (1999): 83–102. 7. Muren, G. M. "The American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, Its Aims and Objects." The American Journal of Nursing 7 no. 4 (1907): 245–253. See also; Dale, G. P. "Moral Prophylaxis: Prostitutes and Prostitution (Continued)." The American Journal of Nursing 12 no. 1 (1911): 22–26; Clarke, C. W. "The American Social Hygiene Association." Public Health Reports 70 no. 4 (1955): 421–427.; Anderson, E. "Prostitution and Social Justice: Chicago, 1910-15." Social Service Review 48 no. 2 (1974): 203–228; Kemeny, P. C. ""Reviewed Work: Governing Morals: A Social History of Moral Regulation. by Alan Hunt"." Social Forces 78 no. 3 (2000): 1184–1186. 8. White-Slave Traffic Act (Mann Act). Ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825; codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421–2424. See also; Conant, M. "Federalism, the Mann Act, and the Imperative to Decriminalize Prostitution." Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 5 no. 2 (1996): 99–118; Farrell, A. and S. Cronin. "Policing Prostitution in an Era of Human Trafficking Enforcement." Crime, Law and Social Change 64 no. 4 (2015): 211–228. 9. Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, United States Supreme Court. See also, Scott, M. S. and K. Dedel. Problem-Oriented Guides for Police ProblemSpecific Guides Series Guide No. 2 (2006). 10. Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, United States Supreme Court, 1917. 11. Ibid. 12. Langum, D. J. Crossing over the Line: Legislating Morality and the Mann Act. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994. 13. Sanders, T., M. O’Neill, et al. Prostitution Sex Work, Policy and Politics. London: Sage Publishing, 2009. See also; Prakash, H. "Prostitution and Its Impact on Society-A Criminological Perspective." International Research Journal of Social Sciences 2 no. 3 (2013): 31–39; Farrell, A. and S. Cronin "Policing Prostitution in an Era of Human Trafficking Enforcement." Crime, Law and Social Change 64 no. 4 (2015): 211–228. 14. Dalla, R. L. "Exposing the "Pretty Woman" Myth: A Qualitative Examination of the Lives of Female Streetwalking Prostitutes." Journal of Sex Research 37 no. 4 (2000): 344–353. See also; Farley, M. "Prostitution Harms Women Even if Indoors: Reply to Weitzer." Violence Against Women 11 (2005): 950–964. 15. Ibid. Aderson, E. 1974. 16. Muren, G. M. "The American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, Its Aims and Objects." The American Journal of Nursing 7 no. 4 (1907): 245–253. 17. ASHA-1939 "The American Social Hygiene Association, 1939." Public Health Reports 55 no. 14 (1940): 604–605. 18. Ibid. Muren, G. M. 1907; See also Dale, G. P. "Moral Prophylaxis: Prostitutes and Prostitution (Continued)." The American Journal of Nursing 12 no. 1 (1911): 22–26. 19. Powell, A. M. The National Purity Congress, Its Papers, Addresses, Portraits. New York: National Purity Congress, 1896. See also; Roe, C. G. "The American Vigilance Association." Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law &

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 382

08-10-2021 11:28:27

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

383

Criminology 3 no. 5 (1913): 806–809; ASHA-1939 "The American Social Hygiene Association, 1939." Public Health Reports 55 no. 14 (1940): 604–605; Clarke, C. W. "The American Social Hygiene Association." Public Health Reports 70 no. 4 (1955): 421–427.; Kemeny, P. C. "Reviewed Work: Governing Morals: A Social History of Moral Regulation. by Alan Hunt." Social Forces 78 no. 3 (2000): 1184–1186. 20. Clarke, C. W. "The American Social Hygiene Association." Public Health Reports 70 no. 4 (1955): 421–427. 21. Ibd. Roe, C. G. 1913. 22. Powell, A. M. The National Purity Congress, Its Papers, Addresses, Portraits. New York: National Purity Congress, 1896. 23. Ibd. Roe, C. G. 1913. 24. Wunsch, J. "The Social Evil Ordinance." American Heritage 33 no. 2 (1982). 25. CHAP-395. The Mann Act. 1910. See also; ProCon​ .or​ g. "Prostitution, Historical Timeline." 2012. Available at: Site Map - ProCon​.or​g. Retrieved April 14, 2016, 2016. 26. Anderson, E. "Prostitution and Social Justice: Chicago, 1910-15." Social Service Review 48 no. 2 (1974): 203–228. See also; Raymond, J. G. "Prostitution as Violence against Women: Ngo Stonewalling in Beijing and Elsewhere." Women’s Studies International Forum 21 no. 1 (1998): 1–9; Raphael, J. and D. L. Shapiro. Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago, 2002; Raymond, J. G. "Prostitution on Demand Legalizing the Buyers as Sexual Consumers." Violence Against Women 10 no. 10 (2004); Weitzer, R. "Flawed Theory and Method in Studies of Prostitution." Violence Against Women 11 no. 7 (2005): 934–949; Scott, M. S. and K. Dedel. “Problem-Oriented Guides for Police ProblemSpecific.” Guides Series Guide No. 2 (2006). 27. Slater, S. " Lady Astor and the Ladies of the Night: The Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the Politics of the Street Offences Committee, 1927-28." Law and History Review 30 no. 2 (2012): 533–573. 28. Farrell, A. and S. Cronin "Policing prostitution in an era of human trafficking enforcement." Crime, Law and Social Change 64 no. 4 (2015): 211–228. 29. Kanaley, R. “Caught in the World Wide Web It’s an Exploding Part of The Internet. In Less Than Two Years, the Places that Millions Can Electronically Visit Have Shot From 50 to About 70,000.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1995; See also, Milrod, C. and M. A. Monto (2012). "The Hobbyist and the Girlfriend Experience: Behaviors and Preferences of Male Customers of Internet Sexual Service Providers." Deviant Behavior 33 (2012): 792–810; More bang for your buck: How new technology is shaking up the oldest business. The-Economist 412 (2014): 16–19. 30. UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.IV.2), 2018. 31. Ibd. 32. Daugherty, J. and C. Copen. “Trends in Attitudes About Marriage, Childbearing, and Sexual Behavior.” United States, 2002, 2006–2010, and 2011–2013. 92, 1–9. 2016. 33. Transportation for Illegal Sexual Activity and Related Crimes. Mann Act, 18, 1986. U.S.C. § 2421, p. 558. See also; Green, M. "Sex on the Internet: A

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 383

08-10-2021 11:28:27

384

Abu K. Mboka

Legal Click or an Illicit Trick?" California Western Law Review 38 no. 2 (2002): 527–546; Burnette, M. L., E. Lucas, et al. "Prevalence and Health Correlates of Prostitution Among Patients Entering Treatment for Substance Use Disorders." Archives of General Psychiatry 65 no. 3 (2008): 337–344; Oselin, S. S. "Weighing the Consequences of a Deviant Career: Factors Leading to an Exit from Prostitution." Sociological Perspectives 53 no. 4 (2010): 527–550; Roth, M. P. Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. 34. Clarke, C. W. "The American Social Hygiene Association." Public Health Reports 70 no. 4 (1955): 421–427. See also; Jenness, V. "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem.” Social Problem 37 no. 3 (1990): 403–420. 35. Jenness, V. "From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem.” Social Problem 37 no. 3 (1990): 403–420. Ibid, Jenness, V. 1990. 36. Marcus, A., J. Sanson, et al. "Pimping and Profitability: Testing the Economics of Trafficking in Street Sex Markets in Atlantic City, New Jersey." Sociological Perspectives 59 no. 1 (2016): 46–65. 37. Symanski, R. "Prostitution in Nevada." Annals of the Association of American Geographers 64 no. 3 (1974): 357–377. See also; Green, M. "Sex on the Internet: A Legal Click or an Illicit Trick?" California Western Law Review 38 no. 2 (2002): 527–546; Scott, M. S. and K. Dedel. “Problem-Oriented Guides for Police ProblemSpecific.” Guides Series Guide No. 2 (2006); Coy, M. "This Boy Which Is Not Mine: The Notion of the Habit Body, Prostitution and (Dis)embodiment." Feminist Theory 10 no. 1 (2009): 61–75. 38. Fernanda Felix de la Luz, M. “Child sex tourism and exploitation are on the rise.” Companies can help fight it. March 9, 2018. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.wef​​ orum.​​org​/a​​genda​​/2018​​/03​/c​​hangi​​ng​-co​​rpora​​te​-cu​​lture​​-can-​​help-​​fight​​-chil​​d​-sex​​​-tour​​ ism​-h​​eres-​​how/. 39. Sever, D. and Capaldi, M. “Combating Child Sex Tourism: Questions and Answers.” ECPAT International, 2008. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​ nt​/up​​loads​​/lega​​cy​/cs​​t​​_faq​​_eng.​​pdf. 40. Labor Organization Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labor and forced marriage, 2017. Available: Report: Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (ilo​.o​rg). 41. Sever, D. and Capaldi, M. “Combating Child Sex Tourism: Questions and Answers.” ECPAT International, 2008. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​ nt​/up​​loads​​/lega​​cy​/cs​​t​​_faq​​_eng.​​pdf. 42. Shively, M, Kiliorys, K, Wheeler, K, and Hunt, D. “A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts.” Final Report, 2012. The U.S. Department of Justice. 43. Uluca, C., Pedersen, A; Yang, F, and Peirce, J. U. “2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.” U.S. Department of Labor, 2020. 44. Overeem, P and Theuws, M. “Fact Sheet Child Labor in the textile & garment industry Focus on the role of buying companies.” 2014. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 384

08-10-2021 11:28:27

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

385

.som​​o​.nl/​​wp​-co​​ntent​​/uplo​​ads​/2​​014​/0​​3​/Fac​​t​-She​​et​-ch​​ild​-l​​abour​​-Focu​​s​-on-​​the​-r​​ole​-​o​​f​ -buy​​ing​-c​​ompan​​ies​.p​​df. 45. Shively, M, Kiliorys, K, Wheeler, K, and Hunt, D. “A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts.” Final Report. The U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. 46. Delgado, G. P. “Border Control and Sexual Policing: White Slavery and Prostitution along the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1903–1910.” Western Historical Quarterly 43 (2012): 157–178. 47. Ibid. 48. ECPAT International. “Summary Paper on Sexual Exploitation of Children in Prostitution.” Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​ at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2020​​/12​/E​​CPAT-​​Summa​​ry​-pa​​per​-o​​n​-Sex​​ual​-E​​xploi​​tatio​​n​ -of-​​Child​​ren​-​i​​n​-Pro​​stitu​​tion-​​2020.​​pdf.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Anderson, E. “Prostitution and Social Justice: Chicago, 1910-15.” Social Service Review 48 no. 2 (1974): 203–228. ASHA-1939 “The American Social Hygiene Association, 1939.” Public Health Reports 55 no. 14 (1940): 604–605. Brown, L. “Human trafficking blamed for deaths of 39 people in back of truck in UK.” New York Post, October 23, 2019. Burnette, M. L., E. Lucas, et al. “Prevalence and Health Correlates of Prostitution Among Patients Entering Treatment for Substance Use Disorders.” Archives of General Psychiatry 65 no. 3 (2008): 337–344. Caminetti v. United States, 242 U.S. 470, United States Supreme Court. (1917). Casabona, J., E. Sánchez, et al. “Seroprevalence and Risk Factors for HIV Transmission among Female Prostitutes: A Community Survey.” European Journal of Epidemiology 6 no.3 (1990): 248–252. CHAP-395. The Mann Act, 1910. Clarke, C. W. “The American Social Hygiene Association.” Public Health Reports 70 no. 4 (1955): 421–427. Conant, M. “Federalism, the Mann Act, and the Imperative to Decriminalize Prostitution.” Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy 5 no. 2 (1996): 99–118. Coy, M. “This Boy Which Is Not Mine: The Notion of the Habit Body, Prostitution and (Dis)embodiment.” Feminist Theory 10 no. 1 (2009): 61–75. Dale, G. P. “Moral Prophylaxis: Prostitutes and Prostitution (Continued).” The American Journal of Nursing 12 no. 1 (1911): 22–26. Dalla, R. L. “Exposing the “Pretty Woman” Myth: A Qualitative Examination of the Lives of Female Streetwalking Prostitutes.” Journal of Sex Research 37 no. 4 (2000): 344–353. Daugherty, J. and C. Copen. “Trends in Attitudes About Marriage, Childbearing, and Sexual Behavior: United States, 2002, 2006–2010, and 2011–2013.” National Health Statistics Reports 92 (2016): 1–9.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 385

08-10-2021 11:28:28

386

Abu K. Mboka

Delgado, G. P. “Border Control and Sexual Policing: White Slavery and Prostitution along the U.S.-Mexico Borderlands, 1903–1910.” Western Historical Quarterly 43 (2012): 157–178. ECPAT International. “Summary Paper on Sexual Exploitation of Children in :/​ /ww​​ Prostitution.” Bangkok: ECPAT International, 2010. Available at: https​ w​.ecp​​at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2020​​/12​/E​​CPAT-​​Summa​​ry​-pa​​per​-o​​n​-Sex​​ual​-E​​ xploi​​tatio​​n​-of-​​Child​​ren​​-i​​n​-Pro​​stitu​​tion-​​2020.​​pdf. Farley, M. “Prostitution Harms Women Even if Indoors: Reply to Weitzer.” Violence Against Women 11 (2005): 950–964. Farrell, A. and S. Cronin. “Policing Prostitution in an Era of Human Trafficking Enforcement.” Crime, Law and Social Change 64 no. 4 (2015): 211–228. Fernanda Felix de la Luz, M (Ma 09r, 2018). Child sex tourism and exploitation are on the rise. Companies can help fight it. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.wef​​orum.​​ org​/a​​genda​​/2018​​/03​/c​​hangi​​ng​-co​​rpora​​te​-cu​​lture​​-can-​​help-​​fight​​-chil​​d​-sex​​​-tour​​ism​ -h​​eres-​​how/. Flaherty, A. “More than 260 migrants died trying to cross the US southern border.” Report December 2018. Available at: https​:/​/ab​​cnews​​.go​.c​​om​/In​​terna​​tiona​​l​/260​​ -migr​​ants-​​died-​​cross​​-us​-s​​outhe​​rn​-bo​​rder-​​repor​​t​​/sto​​ry​?id​​=5983​​2675. Green, M. “Sex on the Internet: A Legal Click or an Illicit Trick?” California Western Law Review 38 no. 2 (2002): 527–546. Harvey, R. “A Closer Look at Residential Treatment Programs for Women Exiting Prostitution.” Pepperdine University, 2008. Labor Organization Global estimates of modern slavery: forced labor and forced marriage, 2017. Available: Report: Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage (ilo​.o​rg) Jackson, Y. “This is no life for anyone.” The Guardian. London, 2006. Jenness, V. “From Sex as Sin to Sex as Work: COYOTE and the Reorganization of Prostitution as a Social Problem.” Social Problem 37 no. 3 (1990): 403–420. Kanaley, R. “Caught in the World Wide Web It’s an Exploding Part of The Internet. In Less Than Two Years, the Places that Millions Can Electronically Visit Have Shot From 50 to About 70,000.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, 1995. Kane, S. and T. Mason “AIDS and Criminal Justice.” Annual Review of Anthropology 30 no. 1 (2001): 457–479. Kemeny, P. C. “Reviewed Work: Governing Morals: A Social History of Moral Regulation by Alan Hunt.” Social Forces 78 no. 3 (2000): 1184–1186. Langum, D. J. Crossing over the Line: Legislating Morality and the Mann Act Chicago. The University of Chicago Press, 1994. Marcus, A., J. Sanson, et al. “Pimping and Profitability: Testing the Economics of Trafficking in Street Sex Markets in Atlantic City, New Jersey.” Sociological Perspectives 59 no. 1 (2016): 46–65. Milrod, C. and M. A. Monto. “The Hobbyist and the Girlfriend Experience: Behaviors and Preferences of Male Customers of Internet Sexual Service Providers.” Deviant Behavior 33 (2012): 792–810. Missing Immigrants. Missing Immigrants, 2020. Available at: https​:/​/mi​​ssing​​migra​​ nts​.i​​om​.in​​t​/reg​​ion​/m​​edi​te​​rrane​​an.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 386

08-10-2021 11:28:28

Socioeconomic Hardship, Sociocultural Apprehension

387

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. “Prostitution of Children and Child-Sex Tourism: An Analysis of Domestic and International Responses (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes).” Available at: 189251NCJRS​.p​df (ojp​.g​ov). Muren, G. M. “The American Society of Sanitary and Moral Prophylaxis, Its Aims and Objects.” The American Journal of Nursing 7 no. 4 (1907): 245–253. Oselin, S. S. “Weighing the Consequences of a Deviant Career: Factors Leading to an Exit from Prostitution.” Sociological Perspectives 53 no. 4 (2010): 527–550. Overeem, P. and Theuws, M. “Fact Sheet Child Labor in the textile & garment industry Focus on the role of buying companies.” 2014. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.som​​o​ .nl/​​wp​-co​​ntent​​/uplo​​ads​/2​​014​/0​​3​/Fac​​t​-She​​et​-ch​​ild​-l​​abour​​-Focu​​s​-on-​​the​-r​​ole​-​o​​f​-buy​​ ing​-c​​ompan​​ies​.p​​df. Powell, A. M. The National Purity Congress, Its Papers, Addresses, Portraits. New York: National Purity Congress, 1896. Prakash, H. “Prostitution and Its Impact on Society-A Criminological Perspective.” International Research Journal of Social Sciences 2 no. 3 (2013): 31–39. ProCon​.o​rg “Prostitution, Historical Timeline.” 2012. Available at: Site Map ProCon​.or​g. Retrieved April 14, 2016. Raphael, J. and D. L. Shapiro. “Sisters Speak Out: The Lives and Needs of Prostituted Women in Chicago.” 2002. Retrieved from Impact Research - Our Research Which Impacts Your Search. Raymond, J. G. “Prostitution as Violence against Women: Ngo Stonewalling in Beijing and Elsewhere.” Women’s Studies International Forum 21 no. 1 (1998): 1–9. Raymond, J. G. “Prostitution on Demand Legalizing the Buyers as Sexual Consumers.” Violence Against Women 10 no. 10 (2004): 1156–1186. Roe, C. G. “The American Vigilance Association.” Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law & Criminology 3 no. 5 (1913): 806–809. Roth, M. P. Crime and Punishment: A History of the Criminal Justice System. Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2011. Sanders, T., M. O’Neill, et al. Prostitution Sex Work, Policy and Politics. London: Sage Publishing, 2009. Sever, D. and Capaldi, M. “Combating Child Sex Tourism: Questions and Answers.” ECPAT International, 2008. Available at: https​:/​/ww​​w​.ecp​​at​.or​​g​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​ loads​​/lega​​cy​/cs​​t​​_faq​​_eng.​​pdf. Scott, M. S. and K. Dedel. “Problem-Oriented Guides for Police Problem-Specific.” Guides Series Guide No. 2 (2006). Shively, M, Kiliorys, K, Wheeler, K, and Hunt, D. “A National Overview of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Demand Reduction Efforts.” Final Report. The U.S. Department of Justice, 2012. Slater, S. “ Lady Astor and the Ladies of the Night: The Home Office, the Metropolitan Police and the Politics of the Street Offences Committee, 1927-28.” Law and History Review 30 no. 2 (2012): 533–573. Symanski, R. “Prostitution in Nevada.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 64 no. 3 (1974): 357–377.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 387

08-10-2021 11:28:28

388

Abu K. Mboka

The-Economist. “More Bang for Your Buck: How New Technology is Shaking Up the Oldest Business.” Economist 412 (2014): 16–19. “Transportation for Illegal Sexual Activity and Related Crimes.” U.S. Code Title 18, Part I, Chapter 117, also see U.S.C. §§ 2421–2424, 1986. Uluca, C., Pedersen, A; Yang, F, and Peirce, J. U. “2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.” U.S. Department of Labor, 2020. Available at: 2020 List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor (dol​.g​ov). UNODC. “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.IV.2), 2018. Weiner, E. “The Long, Colorful History of the Mann Act.” 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2016, 2016, from http:​/​/www​​.npr.​​org​/t​​empla​​tes​/s​​tory/​​story​​.php?​​story​​Id​​=88​​10430​​8. Weitzer, R. “Prostitution Control in America: Rethinking Public Policy.” Crime, Law and Social Change 32 no. 1 (1999): 83–102. Weitzer, R. “Flawed Theory and Method in Studies of Prostitution.” Violence Against Women 11 no. 7 (2005): 934–949. White-Slave Traffic Act (Mann Act). Ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825; codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421–2424, 1910. Wunsch, J. “The Social Evil Ordinance.” American Heritage 33, no. 2 (1982).

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 388

08-10-2021 11:28:28

Chapter 17

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking Kizito N. C. Okeke

Human trafficking is a burgeoning industry with complex and sophisticated networks, making one wonder whether this can be curtailed or even reduced to the barest minimum. The reduction of human trafficking is possible with collective efforts and rugged determination by the governments of nations, leaders of countries at all levels, humane organizations, groups, and individuals who stand for human rights and justice, and the general common good. The rapid increase in human trafficking makes one ponder on the crime of slavery and its abolishment. Although slavery was abolished, the crime continued in human trafficking, and the latter is rapidly infesting many nations like an epidemic. These may explain why human trafficking is reckoned as modern slavery. We cannot boast of our civilization if this heinous crime continues to dehumanize and exploit about 24.9 million people.1 Economic factor seems to be the primary driving force in the world today. Since this global industry of human trafficking enjoys about 150 billion dollars in profit annually, with the exploitation of about 40 million people as the current estimate puts it, there is no doubt that the stake is very high. To successfully combat this crime, we all must fight to win as if we are fighting a war in defense of our territorial integrity.2 Nations must take all the necessary steps to combat the menaces of human trafficking at all levels. Recently, the Trump administration announced more than 35 million dollars in Justice Department grants to assist victims of human trafficking in the United States of America. This grant will be available to organizations that provide safe housing for the victims of human trafficking.3 There is no doubt that this crime has hit the United States very hard. An undercover operation in Phoenix, Arizona, resulted in the arrest of twenty-seven suspects;4 while Washington State sentenced a member of the human trafficking ring to thirty years in prison. In the same vein, German 389

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 389

08-10-2021 11:28:29

390

Kizito N. C. Okeke

police officers carried out two operations for reasons connected with human trafficking: they raided premises across western Germany with 180 police officers. With more than 700 police officers, they searched several homes focusing on 13 Vietnamese suspected of having trafficked about 155 of their people into Germany. These victims pay about 5,000 to 20,000 dollars to be smuggled into Germany. Other European countries have stepped up their fight against human trafficking: Belgium and U.K. police officers carried out special operations that arrested some suspected culprits for dismantling the cross-border trafficking network. Many of these victims are often taken to the Netherlands. In Italy, the Italian police had detained ten Nigerians, suspected of running a human trafficking ring. A more successful Spanish police operation allegedly dismantled a major human trafficking organization that is responsible for smuggling victims from Africa, South of the Sahara to Spain and then to Europe; their victims are spread between France, Germany, and Belgium.5 All these incidences are symptomatic of the kind of monster we combat in human trafficking. Another more disturbing development is the traffickers’ desperate measures to increase their crime by trafficking more Africans through a new but more treacherous route. Recently, more Africans were smuggled to Europe along a perilous route between West Africa to Spain’s archipelago in the Atlantic to evade detection. So, they avoided this usual and the less treacherous route across the Mediterranean to the southern coast of Spain’s mainland.6 This is a warning sign that traffickers can take maximum risks to continue this crime. Combating the evil of human trafficking calls for the collective efforts of all. The interesting development that calls everyone to do something in this human-trafficking epidemic is Renee Brinkerhoff’s praiseworthy effort. He drives across the globe from continent to continent and using racing to make his contribution against this global scourge.7 The crucial point is that all humans must be on board to fight this evil of human trafficking. Human trafficking thrives in Europe and America. Africa, the supply market to the demand in Europe and America will suffer catastrophic consequences if these countries cease to utilize them. The context of human trafficking is indeed complex, and complex, too, are the theories and paradigms used to study it. Amidst these complexities, we must understand the major motivational factor: economic interest or material reward or, simply put, money for both the traffickers and their victims. This perspective underscores the economic principle of demand and supply as a core element in successfully fighting human trafficking. This chapter reviews the theories and paradigms in the study of this multibillion dollar industry and the factors that have created the fertile conditions for human trafficking. Since it is a global problem of a higher magnitude, the chapter focuses on African and European countries, significant players in this crime. The economic interest plays a crucial role in

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 390

08-10-2021 11:28:29

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

391

this crime, and therefore, the principle of demand and supply is vital in the complex network and human trafficking excess income. Also, the chapter discusses the supply and demand aspects of human trafficking. When there is no supply, the demand will naturally die, or the market has nothing to trade on.8 Another aspect is the undeniable impact on the psychological well-being of both the traffickers and their victims, but most especially, the victims who are, in most cases, vulnerable. GLOBAL SCALE AND COST OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING Human trafficking is defined by the United Nations (U.N.) as the process through which individuals are placed or maintained in an exploitative situation for economic gains; or the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons by improper means, such as force, abduction, fraud, or coercion, for an improper purpose including labor or sexual exploitation.9 There are significant parts in the conceptualization of the crime of human trafficking: the act, the means, and the purpose. It is estimated that more than 40 million men, women, and children are bought and sold as objects and commodities and forced into prostitution and forced labor, globally.10 In 2015, the International Labor Office placed the illegal annual income of forced labor at $150 billion, while two-thirds of this amount, $99 billion, is generated from sexual exploitation.11 The United Nations study on modern slavery in 2016 revealed some alarming findings. This is contained in the International Labor Organization’s report, which stated that more than 40 million people were victims of modern slavery. This report shows that about 25 million people are in forced labor. The report was extended to girls and women who have not given any consent and are forced into marriage.12 More than 15 million people are forced into marriages, some of which are camouflaged as marriages but to provide labor to different parts of the world.13 Women and children constitute the largest number (71 percent) of these victims. More astonishing is that 99 percent of women and girls are victims of forced labor in the commercial sex industry and 58 percent in other sectors. Both the state and private sectors are tacitly involved in forced labor. While the state-imposed forced labor had an estimated 4.1 million people in 2016, the private sectors exploited about 16 million people in forced labor. Here, too, more women than men are exploited.14 From this study of modern slavery, we can understand some foundations and connections to the multibillion dollar human trafficking industry. Situations where human beings, men, women, and children are abused and forced into different kinds of labor exist with impunity in the society and are condoned by some states. Evil-minded individuals and groups will always exploit such situations to achieve their economic goals. Thus,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 391

08-10-2021 11:28:29

392

Kizito N. C. Okeke

this chapter explicitly shows the growth of this crime in both the private and public sectors. These sectors do much to incentivize human trafficking at the local, national, and international levels. They are foundational in the thriving business of human trafficking globally. It is a complex but successful network and the enticing multibillion dollars economic gains. A holistic attempt to stop human trafficking must begin at the grassroots, the point of supply. Sequel to the 2016 report, the 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released in January 2019 is much more troubling.15 This report contained data from 142 countries between 2014 and 2016 and described the worsening situation with three disastrous trends calling for urgent attention. The first is the increasing number of girls who are forced into trafficking for the sole purpose of sexual exploitation. The second is the growing increase of trafficking as a tool of war. The former is general knowledge in human trafficking, but the latter is a new trend that is terrible and optimally dangerous. The third is the harvesting of organs from victims for medical transplants. This unfortunate situation puts the increasing number of organs’ removal from victims at, between 5 percent and 10 percent, of all kidneys and liver transplants in use worldwide.16 This report shows a gradual increase in trafficking cases from 2013 to 2016. In 2013, 17,000 human trafficking victims were identified, while, in 2014, the number rose to 20,000, a 3,000 increase. A huge difference is also observed in the number of human trafficking cases in 2016, estimated at 25,000. It shows an increase of 5,000 cases between 2015 and 2016. Although all these are interpreted as increases, it may reflect a more outstanding reporting or more successful tracking or a combination of both factors. One consoling thing is that the world is more conscious about human trafficking and getting better at fighting human trafficking. Highly commendable are the contributions of the U.N. in combating the evils of human trafficking contained in the Palermo Conference and Palermo protocols. Here, a significant number of nations yielded to the call and joined this war against human trafficking. The U.N. provided the world with international tools in the war against transnational organized crime in the year 2000.17 AFRICAN COUNTRIES AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING There is no doubt that human trafficking is taking place across the globe. Africa, who bore the brunt of slavery, is again suffering this evil of human trafficking on a large scale. Reports have shown that most of the victims of human trafficking occur within the victims’ countries or regions. The U.N. report18 shows that one in ten victims are transported to another part of the world. This movement of victims from their own countries to other countries can easily be understood from the economic principle of demand and supply.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 392

08-10-2021 11:28:29

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

393

The victims are often transported from less economically developed countries to more economically advanced countries. This is partly the reason why Africa is the worst hit in human trafficking. There are many routes of human trafficking in Africa, South of the Sahara. Reports have shown that Southern, East, and West Africa, and then the Middle East countries have the greatest prevailing rates of forced labor, which is the second most prevalent form of trafficking globally. Statistics place it at 34 percent overall, and 82 percent for men.19 The types of forced labor include agriculture, domestic works, gold mining, diamond, and minerals, mainly in Africa, South of the Sahara. Like the rest of the world, human trafficking is a lucrative business in Africa and generates more than $13.1 billion annually. This is confirmed by both African Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) and the U.S. 2018 Trafficking Report.20 The ACSS decries the seemingly indifferent attitude or slow approach of the African governments to tackling this heinous crime against humanity as a boost to the already thriving industry. Although some African governments have woken up to the evils of human trafficking, their efforts are yet to reach commendable levels because most of the African countries are at tier 3 of the U.S. placement system. Each year, the U.S. TIP presents its report, a great tool by the U.S. government to combat human trafficking and diplomatically force foreign governments to fight it accordingly. Indeed, ILO (International Labor Organization) and UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) do give important reports on human trafficking. However, the U.S. TIP (Trafficking in Person) is rated most highly in the world. The TIP Report displays each country’s efforts to comply with the minimum standard for eliminating human trafficking. The history behind this noble venture is traceable to the Palermo Protocol, which was referenced earlier. The U.N. General Assembly adopted resolution 55/25 at Palermo Convention21 that legislated against Transnational Organized Crime. Sequel to this convention, the following three protocols were adopted to supplement the Palermo Convention: First, the protocol to prevent, suppress, and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. This was implemented on December 25, 2003. Second, the protocol against the smuggling of migrants by land, sea, and air. This became effective on January 28, 2004. Third, the protocol against the illicit manufacturing and trafficking in firearms, their parts and components, and ammunition. This resolution was effective on July 3, 2005.22 All these are within the jurisdiction of the UNODC. These are the first international instruments to provide insight into human trafficking and how to fight it. Three elements are needed to establish the crime, namely, the trafficker’s action; the means of force, fraud, or coercion; and the purpose of exploitation. These U.N. efforts showed some encouraging responses from a good number of countries. In 2017, 173 countries ratified the

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 393

08-10-2021 11:28:30

394

Kizito N. C. Okeke

Palermo Protocol, and even more encouraging is the fact that 168 countries have passed domestic laws that criminalize human trafficking following the Palermo Protocol.23 Therefore, based on these Protocols, all countries, including African countries, are judged, and rated in the fight against human trafficking. The report on the rankings of Trafficking in Person (TIP) is narrowed down to the West African countries. The TIP Report does not present West African countries in good standing because they failed to satisfy the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking under the TVPA (Trafficking Victims Protection Act). The ranking system falls into four categories: tier 1, tier 2, tier 2 watch list, and tier 3. Here is a guide to understanding the ranking of countries based on these four categories: Tier 1 represents the highest-ranking and indicates that a country’s government has acknowledged human trafficking, makes efforts to address the problem, and complies with the minimum standards of the TVPA. The second level, tier 2 ranking, refers to countries that have not fulfilled the minimum standard but have recognized the problems and made significant efforts to comply with the TVPA. The tier 2 watch list is like tier 2, but with specific conditions different from tier 2. Conditions for countries in the tier 2 watch list include: the government is seeing large numbers of victims of human trafficking. It lacks the evidence to demonstrate its efforts to improve its record on human trafficking, and the government commits to take future steps in improving its compliance. Lastly, tier 3 is used to describe countries whose governments have not fully complied with the TVPA minimum standards and are not taking the necessary steps toward compliance.24 Tier 3 can bring international disgrace to countries and with some economic consequences. Consequences, such as sanctions, can deter countries from lagging in the war against human trafficking. Based on these rankings, it is regrettable that Namibia is the only African country currently ranked in tier 1 in 2020. The good news for West African countries is that no country is currently ranked in tier 3, and the bad news is that while there are nine West African countries ranked at tier 2; seven West African countries are ranked in the tier 2 watch list.25 These do not present West Africa and Africa in good standing in the war against human trafficking. The following West African countries are currently ranked in Tier 2: Benin, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone, and Togo. While the following West African countries are ranked in the tier 2 watch list: The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria, and Senegal. Nigeria that enjoyed tier 1 ranking in 2009 has now degenerated to the tier 2 watch list in 2020.26 The situation is even worse when the government of Nigeria and Mali are identified among those implicated in the recruitment or use of child soldiers as defined in the CSPA

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 394

08-10-2021 11:28:30

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

395

(Child Soldiers Prevention Act). One can easily understand why human trafficking thrives in West Africa and the African continent. The demand and supply chains are crucial in the war against trafficking; therefore, the host countries where the victims are marketed and exploited will be the next focus of the chapter. EUROPE AS THE MARKET FOR AFRICAN VICTIMS The Western World started slavery on a global scale centuries ago and abolished it some years ago. It is still reaping the dividends of the new form of slavery in human trafficking. Europe is the modern market of this new slavery of human trafficking. Thousands of Africans are tricked, coerced, and enticed to travel to Europe only to be exploited, used, and thrashed. Although African leaders have not taken enough measures to combat the menaces of human trafficking, the most significant step must come from Europe because if there is no demand for it and no market for it, the supply will die a natural death. It is the best way to kill the crime of human trafficking. Nevertheless, in a world where everything is summarized in economic terms, human trafficking, a multibillion dollar industry, can hardly be stopped. It yields $13.1 billion annually.27 Countries like United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, and the Netherlands have provided economic incentives and markets for the lucrative industry of trafficking Africans. In 2018, no African country fully met the TVPA’s minimum standards, and in 2020, only one African country, Namibia, was entirely in compliance with the minimum standards for combating human trafficking. In that case, the second-largest continent is vulnerable to the evil swords of human traffickers and is at the mercy of Europe and America to combat them. With this vulnerability level and the fact that the traffickers have complex networks to evade detection, it is difficult to know the precise number of people lured into trafficking from Africa. Reports of 2018 showed that countries such as Egypt, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Niger served as smuggling hubs for human trafficking, while Libya is the most active and dangerous host of human trafficking with extreme exploitative practices.28 Some laws can favor the growth of human trafficking markets in Europe. Any country that legalizes prostitution will generally make it difficult to combat human trafficking because traffickers are given a considerable platform to camouflage, a shield to easily evade law enforcement agencies, or make law enforcement agents’ work more frustrating. In some European countries, it is the purchase of sex that is criminalized, while the sale of sex is not. This is seen to be a fashionable way to end the demand

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 395

08-10-2021 11:28:30

396

Kizito N. C. Okeke

for prostitution and tackle the problem of trafficking.29 Economic benefits mainly propel prostitution and targeting only the demand and not supply may leave enough room for traffickers to thrive. Surprisingly, Amnesty International promoted this approach of decriminalization of prostitution with the belief that it removes the stigma of prostitution and protects prostitutes.30 Amnesty International argued further that it empowers prostitutes to work out favorable and safe deals with clients. In some European countries, such as Austria, Germany, New Zealand, and the Netherlands, prostitution is legal and regulated. Other European countries sanction both the seller and the buyer, thereby targeting both the supply and demand sources. Three human trafficking models are in operation in Europe. (1) prohibitionist policy model, where both the prostitutes and customers are penalized; (2) an abolitionist model, where prostitution is legal but organized activities in the form of brothels are considered illegal; and (3) a regulationist model, where prostitution is legal and regulated. Most countries in Europe adopt the abolitionist model.31 Human traffickers would find some loopholes in the legal approaches on prostitution by European countries to easily navigate with their crime of human trafficking. However, some claim that the Nordic Model, which makes the purchase of sex acts illegal but regards the prostituted person as a victim and not a criminal, would help victims to get out of prostitution.32 Surprisingly, this approach is claimed to effectively reduce paid sexual services in some countries such as France, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Northern Ireland. None of these approaches is found in any African country, and none of them is likely to be accepted as the norm in most African countries because of cultural and religious beliefs. There are also reports that the legalization or decriminalization of prostitution in the Netherlands and Spain was a disaster.33 This approach created a dangerous situation for the exploitation of persons and created more victims. These countries became attractive to tourists who flocked to these countries for sex tourism. For example, in the Netherlands, brothels were made into a robust industry with minimal regulations. The 2014 report on human trafficking34 casts a dark shadow on the Netherlands and Spain. The Netherlands is described as a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. A 2010 report indicated more than 200,000 and 400,000 women who engaged in prostitution were in Spain. Furthermore, Spain had more than 3,000 entertainment centers dedicated to prostitution. This approach has benefited human traffickers because about 90 percent of those engaged in prostitution in Spain were forced into it and controlled through organized networks operating throughout the country. From all the discussions so far, the economic incentive is the motif that runs through as the main cause of human trafficking. Discussions of the causes of human trafficking

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 396

08-10-2021 11:28:31

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

397

and the paradigm in combating the crimes recognizes the economic factor as the primary motif. CAUSES AND THEORIES Many factors are known to have engendered human trafficking. Many theories from various disciplines have been applied in understanding human trafficking. This chapter discusses the following theories: Maslow’ hierarchy of needs, conflict theory, structural-functional theory, and demand and supply theory. These are significant in understanding why humans can become vulnerable to human trafficking and why traffickers use their vulnerabilities. After that, other theories that further elaborate on human trafficking are discussed. Firstly, Maslow’s35 hierarchy of needs is presented in the form of a pyramid to indicate the importance of specific needs to be met by humans to attain self-actualization. The highest levels of needs are psychological, safety and security; love and belongingness; self-esteem, and finally, selfactualization. Humans must meet the most basic physical and psychological needs first to enable humans to have the mind to focus on things of personal interest. Many of the victims of human trafficking can be located within the first two or three levels, explaining why they are often vulnerable and exploited by traffickers. These vulnerable individuals may lack housing, food, clothing, security, or adequate disposable income, and which point to the basic needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.36 These make them easy preys to traffickers who can offer these needs to their victims in certain ways. Some victims may have certain levels of intimate relationship with their traffickers, thereby making up for some of the psychological needs and the related bonding. Perhaps this is the case when children and adults are used as sex subjects, and they develop some levels of psychological dependence, which may serve for some psychological needs in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Traffickers conquer their victims by giving them the hope (unknown to the victims that it is a false hope) of fulfilling these needs leading to self-actualization. Even when the victims are partially or fully aware of the dangers, the desire to fulfill these basic needs may be overwhelming and predisposes them to such dangers. Maslow has been criticized for being too simplistic and failing to be cognizance of the cultural norms and human drives.37 However, from the human consciousness perspective and not the calculative-thinking perspective, Maslow’s approach is still very insightful because of its meaningfulness in human experience. Secondly, conflict theory is associated with Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.38 It explores power structures and power disparities and shows how

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 397

08-10-2021 11:28:31

398

Kizito N. C. Okeke

power differentials affect social inequality. It operates on the assumption that humans are self-interested and competitive when they are forced to fight over scarce resources and wealth. Usually, those with higher socioeconomic status maintain power over those with lower socioeconomic status. They achieve this role when they make the oppressed group believe that the advancement of another oppressed group will be to their detriment. This creates the situation where the oppressed groups fight each other and partake in the oppression of each other, with the deceptive hope of advancing to a better socioeconomic status. The primary beneficiary is the ruling class, who maintains order by coercing the oppressed and the less powerful groups. Therefore, conflict is used to ensure social change, which severely impacts human life’s economic, political, and sociocultural spheres. However, critics of conflict theory dwell on its extreme radical approach and its deficiency in accounting for social unity and shared values. It gives insight into what is happening to African countries which are endowed with vibrant mineral resources but have been engulfed in endless conflicts, wars, and at the same time selling their very much-needed mineral resources to more technologically advanced countries.39 The proceeds have continued to exacerbate these endless violent conflicts and wars. Countries such as The Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Sudan, and Mali have suffered from these violent conflicts and wars and have higher rates of human trafficking. Nigeria is a perfect example. Since the British colonial masters sowed the seeds of indirect rule system and interethnic conflicts, the ethnic groups in Nigeria have continued to fight each other. In contrast, the British government exploitatively enjoys the proceeds of neocolonialism. These have inflicted Nigeria with a very high rate of human traffickers and victims. These African countries have woefully failed to meet the minimum standards of combating human trafficking.40 Many military interventions in African democracy can be explained from conflict theory. The colonial masters put systems in place that are catalysts for unending conflicts that will legitimize their presence in Africa, to maintain power and control. All these lead to social inequality, power imbalance, oppression, and survival of the fittest, which creates fertile grounds for human trafficking. Thirdly, the structural-functional theory, or simply functional theory, views society from the perspective of social structure and social functions. It holds that society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability. Functionalists hold that humans are inherently cooperative and caring, and each plays a role in maintaining the harmony of the society.41 In an ideal situation, all things being equal, all the parts of society maintain equilibrium and a state of balance. When this equilibrium and balance are not achieved, a part or some parts of society

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 398

08-10-2021 11:28:31

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

399

have become dysfunctional because of some rapid changes, which have introduced a situation that the other parts of the system cannot adjust to and accommodate to maintain the equilibrium and balance. Society has two options: either to readjust and return to its pre-conflict state, where it enjoyed equilibrium and balance, or to make the necessary adjustments to create a new equilibrium and balance. Its solution to social problems through minor adjustments in the social systems looks too simplistic and does not account for the social inequalities and other issues of gender and racism. It is undeniable that the desire to keep a stable economy, keep the price of commodities down by employing cheap laborers has enormous impacts on human trafficking. Africa has always been the power source for both natural and human resources in keeping the larger society in a state of equilibrium and balance. This theory gives some clues to human trafficking in Africa. Fourthly, the demand-and-supply theory is implied in two previous theories but let us give it space it surely deserves in this discussion. We begin by considering how the industrial revolution, technological revolution, and the information technology revolution have transformed our world. We have succeeded in inundating our world with material goods and raising the consumerism of our world to the highest levels. The benefits are that more humans have a better standard of living, increased life expectancy, and better means of transportation and communication. Amidst these benefits, there are painful realities of wider economic inequalities, extreme insatiability and materialism, and the objectification of the human. These have made the demand and supply principle very powerful in our generation, and human dignity has been sacrificed at the wheels of capitalism. In relating it to human trafficking, we can understand the logic that for there to be a demand, there must be a supply, and vice versa. Because if supply is unavailable, demand cannot be available, and if demand is unavailable, supply is nonexistent. What then makes human trafficking to be demanded and supplied? In discussing the causes of human trafficking, let us retrospectively consider the causes of slavery. It unveils how the causes of human trafficking in the world today and slavery of centuries ago have some commonalities. Generally, industrialization, globalization, capitalist-economic principles, free market economy, and the foreign policies of the governments of nations, especially Europe and America, are factors to be considered. The forces that made slavery a considerable success can be associated with the success of human trafficking, perhaps, in more clandestine and subtle ways in the modern world. A look at globalization will reveal how it quickly transformed the world, though with some benefits, but not without serious negative consequences. Globalization transformed specific cultural values by introducing neoliberal ideologies that made inroads into the cultural fabrics

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 399

08-10-2021 11:28:31

400

Kizito N. C. Okeke

of ethnic groups and societies at large. It emphasized individualism, competitiveness, private ownership of properties, accumulation of wealth, and the objectification of human beings and values. These have huge impacts on cultures founded on cooperative principles, and corporate and collectivistic approaches to life. Slavery laid the foundation for modern human trafficking because once it was tasted, it could not be completely abolished, and globalization may have paved the way for slave mentality to thrive. Globalization introduced the market forces that encouraged the race toward the excessive accumulation of wealth and created high inequalities, poverty, and exploitation of the working class. These two forces pushed the world into a quick transformation: neoliberalism and globalization. While neoliberalism presented competition as the defining feature of human relations and succeeded in keeping the political, and economic practices in place to maintain the attractiveness of globalization, globalization succeeded in guaranteeing the flow of both goods and humans across national and international boundaries. These created situations or paradigm shifts that engendered exploitations and human trafficking. Globalization took migration to the highest levels for both legal migrants and those referred to as illegal migrants. The saying that the world is a global village is a testament to how globalization has overwhelmed the previous traditional economies and shifted cultural paradigms to meet its goals. There are instances where local industries collapsed, such as some of the textile industries in Africa because they could not compete with the textile industries of more technologically advanced countries. Some Africans abandoned local materials for cheaper materials from more technologically advanced countries. These increased the level of unemployment for the African populations. Corruption is another factor in human trafficking. Corruption has led to increased migration within and outside African countries, a complex combination of colonialism, neocolonialism, and the foreign policies of Western Europe and North America. This is because colonialism, like other factors, created a paradigm shift that distorted African society. In fact, the end of colonialism was, ironically, the beginning of neocolonialism with foreign policies that decided the destiny of Africa. Therefore, the kind of corruption that has torn Africa apart is a conglomeration of the corruption of the oppressive colonial masters, the corruption of African leaders, and the corruption of the neocolonial masters with their foreign policies. Africa has the largest deposits of the world’s raw material, but according to the Economic Commission of Africa,42 raw material is not the highest export in Africa, but stolen money more than $60 billion, annually. Therefore, Africa has been a breeding ground for human trafficking, and just waiting for the trigger to make it thrive.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 400

08-10-2021 11:28:32

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

401

THE PHYSICAL, MENTAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES There is no doubt that victims of human trafficking are exposed to traumatic experiences that can develop into Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). For the simple reasons that they have been subjected to extreme insecurity, a threat to their lives or the lives of their loved ones, or the experience of the death of other victims. The report of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has disclosed the emotionally very troubling experiences of these victims.43 They are more likely to develop intense fear, feeling of helplessness, and hopelessness. PTSD is generally marked by frequent experiencing a traumatic event through memories, images, nightmares, and other ways that remind victims about the event.44 Victims of human trafficking cannot live without the painful experience of their new, detested world. Before such painful experience develops into PTSD, these victims may have suffered from Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) which involves distressing memories, dreams, and negative mood. Other symptoms include dissociation when victims have feelings of detachment from reality or no longer feel the usual connectedness to others and avoid people. These symptoms associated with ASD usually occur immediately following the traumatic event and may last between three days and up to a month.45 In commercial sex victims, the traumatic experience is much more complex because the victims suffer enormous physical and psychological harm. Therefore, the victims of human trafficking are indubitably exposed to significant levels of traumatic events that develop into PTSD, which have severe physical and mental health issues.46 All the physical abuse that victims are subjected to has greater psychological consequences. Violence of various kinds is applied to dominate the victims, and they have common injuries of broken bones, concussions, burns, and brain trauma. Commercial sex victims may suffer from different kinds of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual dysfunctions, miscarriages, forced abortions, and other problems during the torturous ordeals. PTSD will further expose these victims to depressive disorders, anxiety-related disorders, suicidal ideation, and behavior, and may take false refuge in substance use. They may become addicted to the use of substances, which may lead to substance use disorder. Mental disorders, such as anxiety-related disorders, are highly comorbid; they are associated with other mental disorders in a person. Anxiety-related disorders and depression are often comorbid, while anxiety-related disorders and substance use disorders may also be comorbid. The former, anxiety-related and depression, share symptoms of mania, irritability, restlessness, and withdrawal. This comorbidity is sometimes referred to as negative affectivity.47 Unfortunately, people who suffer from anxiety-related disorders are at risk for suicide.48

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 401

08-10-2021 11:28:32

402

Kizito N. C. Okeke

When the victims’ depression and mania become so severe and interfere with their daily functioning, they may have a depressive disorder or bipolar disorder, collectively referred to as mood disorders.49 These troubling experiences can result in cognitive distortions or negative thought patterns. Thus, victims begin to develop a negative cognitive triad: first, overly distorted, pessimistic views about themselves; second, overly distorted, pessimistic views about the surrounding world; and third, overly distorted, pessimistic views about their future. It is more likely that victims of human trafficking will view their events in negative ways and have catastrophic thoughts and interpretations about themselves. In many cases, these are automatic thoughts because they are constantly repeated over the course of a day.50 These may explain the hopelessness and learned helplessness of these victims. Under the hopelessness theory, victims of human trafficking may likely believe that the traumatic event will last a long time and affect most areas of their lives. Victims develop a feeling of hopelessness because of the abuse and exploitation they have suffered and may further engender low self-esteem. The psychological harm is further worsened through learned helplessness when the victims believe that their efforts cannot change the situation no matter what they do. PTSD is the highest level of comorbidity of mental disorders among victims of human trafficking. It is the externalization of the associated symptoms that will require an integrated approach of treatment that considers all segments of the lives of the victims. This trauma-informed approach is critical in enhancing a holistic process of recovery because it systematically involves significant areas of the victims’ life, which includes and not limited to judicial, law enforcement, healthcare, education, family, culture, and post-trafficking experience.51 Both the group and individual counseling must be sensitive to the cultural backgrounds and beliefs of the victims. Since anxiety-related and depressive disorders make the victims vulnerable to low self-esteem and suicide, therapies should be geared toward restoring self-esteem, empowerment, and a proper reconnection of the victims, society, and the world. PARADIGM SHIFTS AND PREVENTIONS All the causes of human trafficking discussed created certain paradigm shifts in the African people’s social, economic, and political lives. For example, the American, Belgium, and British governments’ foreign policies on DRC, and the foreign policies of America, France, and others on Libya created such paradigm shifts that are obvious to all and have served the goals of human traffickers. Africa has not recovered, and recovery

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 402

08-10-2021 11:28:32

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

403

may not be soon except with collective efforts from all key players both from the Western countries and Africa. However, the focus here is on another paradigm shift that is crucial in combating human trafficking in Africa. This paradigm shift begins with the understanding that people from certain backgrounds are much more vulnerable to be preyed upon by traffickers who use force, fraud, or coercion to recruit, obtain, and provide a person for sexual exploitation. Victims find themselves in compromising situations. This understanding should transform our perception of the traditional approach of law enforcement agencies52 where the response to street prostitution has always been to arrest hookers, while the pimps are often not arrested. This method left key players to remain in clandestine operations by simply replacing hookers and changing tactics and locations. The paradigm shift is contrary to this traditional approach. First, to see the hookers or individuals of human trafficking as potential victims, and the goal is to rescue them and not to punish them. Second, while they are perceived as potential victims, the pimps or traffickers are perceived as suspects of human trafficking. Third, the victims will understand that the law enforcement agents are on their side to rescue them and protect them, and they can become collaborators in fighting the crime. These will lead to successful prosecution of the traffickers and most likely lead to a decline in the trafficking business. The victims of human trafficking have been subjected to various levels of troublesome feelings, thoughts, and behavior that developed into mental disorders, such as, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The rehabilitation of these victims is crucial, and one giant step is financial security since most of them share common background of poverty and financial insecurity. Most African victims are in dire need of financial security, and supporting them to achieve this goal, prior to repatriation, will go a long way to helping their recovery. When these victims are assisted to learn skilled works or life-sustaining businesses and given money to embark on these businesses, their countries of origin could be mandated to pay the cost for their citizens or to make a reasonable share of the burden. This approach will serve three purposes: deterrent measure, where countries will be more vigilant and take all precautionary measures to stop human trafficking because they are made to pay something for the cost of rehabilitation of their citizens who are victims. Skill training, where victims are trained and financially supported to be self-employed, or employed in the private or public sector, to overcome a relapse to former ways of life. Significant therapeutic process, where victims can recover with better self-esteem because of the support they have received from the society for physical and psychological well-being and financial security. They can support the society too, by giving back to the society in different ways.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 403

08-10-2021 11:28:32

404

Kizito N. C. Okeke

CONCLUSION Africa suffered from slavery, the worst crime in human history, and is again plagued by human trafficking, the worst crime of our generation. Discussions of the factors responsible for the high rate of human trafficking in many African countries are tantamount to discussions of the history of slavery in Africa, the evils of colonialism, neocolonialism, and the neocolonialistic foreign policies of the Western World. These have undermined, in some ways, the economic and technological advancement of African countries. Since Africa is the source of the world’s most precious raw materials, violent conflicts, wars, proxy wars, “cold wars,” and corruption will continue to induce the most fertile conditions for neo-slavery and all kinds of human trafficking. All these have created significant paradigm shifts in African social, economic, and political life, thus, making it difficult for Africans to own their destiny. It is true that African leaders must rise and own their responsibilities, but it is also true that some who rose to that level of responsibilities to own the destiny of their own people were summarily assassinated, at times, in fulfillment of the foreign policies of the neocolonial masters. And in line with the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Africans who are in pursuit of their basic needs, who want to satisfy their physical and psychological needs through migrations within and beyond the borders of Africa will remain vulnerable to human traffickers.

NOTES 1. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report, U.S. Department State, June 20, 2019. 2. Ibid. 3. Department of Justice Awards Over $35 Million to Provide Housing to Victims of Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of Justice, August 4, 2020. 4. Darlene Superville, “Trump gives $35 Million to Aid Human Trafficking Victims.” A.P. News, August 4, 2020. 5. Ibid. 6. Graham Keeley, “In COVID-19 Migration Surge, Africans Take a More Dangerous Route.” VOA News, September 2, 2020. 7. Gary Gastelu, “Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking.” Fox News, August 28, 2020. 8. Jonathan Hargreaves and Ruth Dearnley, “How Harnessing Big Data Can Combat Human Traffickers.” CNN News, January 30, 2020. 9. United Nations, "Human Trafficking." U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. 10. Jonathan Hargreaves and Ruth Dearnley. CNN News, January 30, 2020. 11. United Nations, Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2017. 12. Human trafficking: The lives bought and sold, BBC News, July 28, 2015. 13. United Nations, Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2020.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 404

08-10-2021 11:28:32

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

405

14. United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018. 15. United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Person 2019. 16. Diane Cole, “Human Trafficking Reaches 'Horrific' New Heights, Declares U.N. Report.” NPR News, January 14, 2019. 17. United Nations, "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto," U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, November 15, 2000. 18. United Nations Global Report on Trafficking in Person 2019. 19. Diane Cole, “Human Trafficking Reaches 'Horrific' New Heights, Declares U.N. Report.” NPR News, January 14, 2019. 20. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, "Africa Lags in Protections against Human Trafficking," July 27, 2018. See also, U.S. Trafficking in Person Report, U.S. Department of State, 2018 and 2020. 21. United Nations, "United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto," U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, November 15, 2000. 22. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report, U.S. Department State, June 20, 2019. 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. African Center for Strategic Studies, July 27, 2018.; See also, U.S. Trafficking in Person, 2020. 28. Ibid. 29. Alexandra Tropping, "Selling sex should be decriminalized, but buying it should be illegal, say M.P.s." The Guardian News, March 3, 2014. 30. Naomi Grimley, “Amnesty International Row: Should Prostitution be Decriminalised?” BBC News, August 10, 2015. 31. Ibid. 32. Holly Yan, “France: Prostitution Now Legal, Paying For Sex Illegal,” CNN News, April 7, 2016. 33. Ibid. 34. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report, 2014. 35. Abraham H. Maslow, “A Theory of Human Motivation.”  Psychological Review 50, no. 4 (1943): 370–396. 36. Karen Huffman, Psychology in Action, 10th edition, pp. 426–427. Wiley, 2012. 37. R. Cianci, and P.A. Gambrel, “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Does It Apply in a Collectivist Culture.” Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 8 (2003): 143–161. 38. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, The Communist Manifesto, Introduction by Martin Malia. New York: Penguin group, 1998, p. 35.  39. Jorg Rossel, “Conflict Theory.” Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology, 2013. 40. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report, 2020. 41. Herbert Spencer, The Principles of Sociology, in Three Volumes. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 405

08-10-2021 11:28:33

406

Kizito N. C. Okeke

42. Economic Commission for Africa, “Tracking Africa’s Stolen Billions.” United Nations, October 14, 2014. 43. United Nations, World Migration Report, 2020, International Organization for Migration. 44. Christopher Kearney and Timothy Trull, Abnormal Psychology: A Dimensional Approach, 3r ed., Cengage, 2018. 45. Ibid. 46. American Psychological Association. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in Adults. Washington, DC., 2017. 47. Christopher Kearney and Timothy Trull, Abnormal Psychology, 3r ed. Cengage, 2018. 48. Bentley et al., “Anxiety, and its Disorders as Risk Factors for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review,” Clinical Psychology Review 43 (2016): 30–46. 49. Christopher Kearney and Timothy Trull, Abnormal Psychology, 3r ed. Cengage, 2018. 50. Aaron T. Beck and David J. A. Dozois, “Cognitive Theory and Therapy: Past, Present, and Future.” In S. Bloch, S. A. Green, and J. Holmes (Eds.), Psychiatry: Past, Present, and Prospect (pp. 366–382). 51. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report June 2019. 52. Steve Marcin, “Prostitution and Human Trafficking: A Paradigm Shift,” Law Enforcement Bulletin, March 5, 2013. Bonnie Bullough and Vern Bullough, “Female Prostitution: Current Research and Changing Interpretations.” Annual Review of Sex Research, no. 7 (1996): 158–180.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Adebayo, Bukola, “A.U. faces backlash after terminating ambassador’s appointment.” CNN News, October 16, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2019/​​10​/16​​/afri​​ca​/pe​​ titio​​n​-ove​​r​-sac​​king-​​of​-au​​-amba​​s​sado​​r​/ind​​ex​.ht​​ml. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, “Africa Lags in Protections Against Human Trafficking,” July 27, 2018. https​:/​/af​​ricac​​enter​​.org/​​spotl​​ight/​​afric​​a​-lag​​s​-in-​​prote​​ ction​​s​-aga​​inst-​​human​​​-traf​​ficki​​ng/. American Psychological Association. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adults. Washington, DC, 2017. Arikana Chihombori-Quao, “France Steals $500Billion From Africa Via “Pact for the Continuation of Colonisation.” YouTube Africa-Web Tv, June 18, 2020. https​ :/​/ww​​w​.you​​tube.​​com​/w​​atch?​​v​=zFX​​​MEup-​​UKw. Bentley, K. H., J. C. Franklin, J. D. Ribeiro, E. M. Kleiman, K. R. Fox, and M. R. Nock, “Anxiety and its Disorders as Risk Factors for Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors: A Meta-Analytic Review.” Clinical Psychology Review 43 (2016): 30–46. Brito, Renata, “Migrants Trying to Reach Europe Pushed to Deadly Atlantic.” https​:/​ /ap​​news.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/9f2​​96250​​d4176​​d0c12​​52183​​​eddba​​fa51.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 406

08-10-2021 11:28:33

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

407

Bullough, Bonnie, and Vern Bullough, “Female Prostitution: Current Research and Changing Interpretations.” Annual Review of Sex Research, no. 7 (1996): 158–180, DOI: 10.1080/10532528.1996.10559912. Busari, Stephanie, Nigeria’s Youth Finds its Voice with the End SARS Protest Movement. CNN News, October 25, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2020/​​10​/25​​/afri​​ ca​/ni​​geria​​-end-​​sarsp​​rotes​​ts​-an​​alysi​​s​-​int​​l​/ind​​ex​.ht​​ml. Cianci, R. and P.A. Gambrel, “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs: Does It Apply in a Collectivist Culture.” Journal of Applied Management and Entrepreneurship 8 (2003): 143–161. Cole, Diane, “Human Trafficking Reaches ‘Horrific’ New Heights, Declares U.N. Report.” NPR News, January 14, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.npr​​.org/​​secti​​ons​/g​​oatsa​​ndsod​​ a​/201​​9​/01/​​14​/68​​44141​​87​/hu​​man​-t​​raffi​​cking​​-reac​​hes​-h​​orrif​​i c​-ne​​w​-hei​​​ghts-​​decla​​res​ -u​​-n​-re​​port. David O. Sears, “Symbolic Racism.” In P. A. Katz and D. A. Taylor (Eds.), Perspectives in Social Psychology. Eliminating Racism: Profiles in Controversy (pp. 53–84). Plenum Press, 1988. Department of Justice Awards Over $35 Million to Provide Housing to Victims of Human Trafficking, U.S. Department of Justice, August 4, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.jus​​ tice.​​gov​/o​​pa​/pr​​/depa​​rtmen​​t​-jus​​tice-​​award​​s​-ove​​r​-35-​​milli​​on​-pr​​ovide​​-hous​​ing​-v​​ict​ im​​s​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king. Economic Commission for Africa, “Tracking Africa’s Stolen Billions.” United Nations, October 14, 2014. Gastelu, Gary, “Denver woman, 64, taking 1956 Porsche 356A to Antarctica to raise awareness about child trafficking.” Fox News, August 28, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.fox​​ news.​​com​/a​​uto​/d​​enver​​-woma​​n​-cla​​ssic-​​porsc​​he​-35​​6a​-an​​tarct​​ica​-c​​​hild-​​traff​​i ckin​​g. George Nzongola-Ntalaja, “Patrice Lumumba: The Most Important Assassination of the 20th Century.” The Guardian News, January 17, 2011. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ ian​.c​​om​/gl​​obal-​​devel​​opmen​​t​/pov​​erty-​​matte​​rs​/20​​11​/ja​​n​/17/​​patri​​ce​-lu​​mumba​​-50th​​ -anni​​​versa​​ry​-as​​sassi​​natio​​n. Corera, Gordon, “MI6 and the death of Patrice Lumumba.” BBC News, April 2, 2013. https​:/​/ww​​w​.bbc​​.com/​​news/​​world​​-afri​​ca​-22​​​00644​​6. Grimley, Naomi, “Amnesty International row: Should prostitution be decriminalised?” BBC News, August 10, 2015. https://www​.bbc​.com​/news​/world​-33850749. Hargreaves, Jonathan and Ruth Dearnley, “How Harnessing Big Data Can Combat Human Traffickers.” CNN News, January 30, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2020/​​01​ /30​​/opin​​ions/​​big​-d​​ata​-h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​​g​/ind​​ex​.ht​​ml. Herbert Spencer. The Principles of Sociology, in Three Volumes. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1898. 10/31/2020. https://oll​.libertyfund​.org​/titles​/2634. “Human trafficking: The lives bought and sold.” BBC News, July 28, 2015. https:// www​.bbc​.com​/news​/world​-33592634. Keeley, Graham, “In COVID-19 Migration Surge, Africans Take a More Dangerous Route.” VOA News, September 2, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.voa​​news.​​com​/a​​frica​​/covi​​d​ -19-​​migra​​tion-​​surge​​-afri​​cans-​​take-​​more-​​d​ange​​rous-​​route​. Huffman, Karen, Psychology in Action, 10th edition, pp. 426–427. John Wiley, 2012.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 407

08-10-2021 11:28:33

408

Kizito N. C. Okeke

Maslow, A. H. “A Theory of Human Motivation.” Psychological Review 50, no. 4 (1943): 370–396. https://doi​.org​/10​.1037​/h0054346. Marcin, Steve, “Prostitution and Human Trafficking: A Paradigm Shift.” Law Enforcement Bulletin, March 5, 2013. https​:/​/le​​b​.fbi​​.gov/​​artic​​les​/f​​eatur​​ed​-ar​​ticle​​s​/ pro​​stitu​​tion-​​and​-h​​uman-​​traff​​i ckin​​g​​-a​-p​​aradi​​gm​-sh​​ift. Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto, Introduction by Martin Malia. New York: Penguin group, 1998, p. 35. ISBN 0-451-52710-0. Nick Dearden, “Africa is Not Poor, We Are Stealing Its Wealth.” Aljazeera News, February 01, 2015. https​:/​/ww​​w​.alj​​azeer​​a​.com​​/opin​​ions/​​2017/​​5​/24/​​afric​​a​-is-​​not​-p​​ oor​-w​​e​-are​​-stea​​​ling-​​its​-w​​ealth​/. Nuhu Ribadu, “When you fight corruption, it fights back.” TEDxBerlinSalon, December 2, 2015. https​:/​/ww​​w​.you​​tube.​​com​/w​​atch?​​v​=l2X​​​xuOY6​​zp0. Post, Che; Jan G. Brouwer, Michel Vols, “Regulation of Prostitution in the Netherlands: Liberal Dream or Growing Repression?” European Journal on Criminal Policy & Research 25, no. 2 (2019): 99–118. Rossel, Jorg. “Conflict Theory.”  Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology, 2013. DOI: 10.1093/OBO/9780199756384-0035. Superville, Darlene, “Trump gives $35 Million to Aid Human Trafficking Victims.” A.P. News, August 4, 2020. https​:/​/ap​​news.​​com​/a​​rticl​​e​/iva​​nka​-t​​rump-​​polit​​ics​-w​​illia​​ m​-bar​​r​-hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king-​​virus​​-outb​​reak-​​89347​​d1b61​​​8ab52​​2ec6d​​13aa1​​14f4e​​92. Turner, John. C., “Explaining the Nature of Power: A Three-Process Theory.” European Journal of Social Psychology 35, no. 1 (2005): 1–22.  https://doi​.org​/10​.1002​/ejsp​.244. Trafficking in Person Report. “Trafficking in Person.” U.S. State Department, 2019. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/2020​​/06​/2​​020​-T​​IP​-Re​​port-​​Compl​​ete​​-0​​ 62420​​-FINA​​L​.pdf​. Trafficking in Person Report. “Trafficking in Persons Report.” State Department, U.S. State Department, June 20, 2014. https​:/​/20​​09201​​7​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/j​/t​​ip​/rl​​s​/tip​​rpt​/2​​0​14//​​ index​​.htm. Trafficking in Person Report 20th edition. “Trafficking in Person.” U.S. State Department, June 20, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.sta​​te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/pl​​oads/​​2020/​​06​/20​​ 20​-TI​​P​-Rep​​ort​-C​​omple​​t​e​-06​​2420-​​FINAL​​.pdf. Tropping, Alexandra, “Selling sex should be decriminalised but buying it should be illegal, say M.P.s.” The Guardian News, March 3, 2014. https​:/​/ww​​w​.the​​guard​​ian​ .c​​om​/so​​ciety​​/2014​​/mar/​​03​/se​​lling​​-sex-​​decri​​minal​​ised-​​buy​in​​g​-ill​​egal-​​mps. United Nations, “Human Trafficking,” U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, https​:/​/ww​​w​ .uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/en​​/huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing​/w​​hat​-i​​s​-hum​​an​​-tr​​affic​​king.​​html. United Nations, U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2018 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.19.IV.2). United Nations, “Human Trafficking.” U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, August 8, 2020. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/en​​/huma​​n​-tra​​ffick​​ing​/w​​hat​-i​​s​-hum​​an​​-tr​​affic​​ king.​​html. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, World Drug Report 2017 (ISBN: 97892-1-148291-1, eISBN: 978-92-1-060623-3, United Nations publication, Sales No. E.17.XI.6).

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 408

08-10-2021 11:28:34

The Trauma and Consequences of Human Trafficking

409

United Nations, “United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto,” U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, November 15, 2000. https​:/​/ww​​w​.uno​​dc​.or​​g​/uno​​dc​/en​​/orga​​nized​​-crim​​e​/int​​ro​​/UN​​TOC​.h​​tml. U.S. Trafficking in Person Report 2014, U.S. Department of State. https​:/​/20​​09​-20​​17​ .st​​ate​.g​​ov​/do​​cumen​​ts​/or​​ganiz​​ation​​​/2268​​44​.pd​​f. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Litigation Release No. 20897, February 11, 2009. United Nations. World Migration Report, 2020, International Organization for Migration. https​:/​/ww​​w​.un.​​org​/s​​ites/​​un2​.u​​n​.org​​/file​​s​/wm​r​​_2020​​.pdf. United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2019). International Migration 2019: Report (ST/ESA/SER.A/438). https​:/​/ww​​w​ .un.​​org​/e​​n​/dev​​elopm​​ent​/d​​esa​/p​​opula​​tion/​​migra​​tion/​​publi​​catio​​ns​/mi​​grati​​onrep​​ort​/d​​ ocs​/I​​ntern​​ation​​alM​ig​​ratio​​n2019​​_Repo​​rt​.pd​​f. World Health Organization, “Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Women. https​:/​/ap​​ps​.wh​​o​.int​​/iris​​/bits​​tream​​/hand​​le​/10​​665​/7​​7394/​​WHO​_R​​HR​_12​​ .42​_e​​ng​.pd​​f​;jse​​ssion​​id​=72​​08C0F​​CAC06​​3B354​​​F2C24​​E7A3D​​4293F​​?sequence​=1. Yan, Holly, “France: Prostitution now legal, paying for sex illegal,” CNN News, April 7, 2016. https​:/​/ww​​w​.cnn​​.com/​​2016/​​04​/07​​/euro​​pe​/fr​​ance-​​prost​​ituti​​on​​/in​​dex​ .h​​tml.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 409

08-10-2021 11:28:34

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 410

08-10-2021 11:28:34

Chapter 18

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa Leonard S. Bombom, Ibrahim Abdullahi, and Chinedu J. Anyamele

Trafficking in Persons (TIP), also commonly referred to as human trafficking, is a complex global phenomenon with diverse forms and economies and afflicts all world countries at different levels of severity. It is simply the exploitation of humans for economic benefits. Consequently, it has been described as “modern slavery.” Human trafficking is the “forceful” recruitment of persons through several means, including coercion, deception, and guile to engage in activities, which the victim would rather not undertake under different circumstances, but from which the recruiter gains undue influence over the victim and derives economic, social, and cultural benefits from their activities. It takes on particularly abhorrent dimensions during and after conflicts1 due to the extreme vulnerable statuses of (potential) victims whose resilience and livelihoods have been destroyed by the conflicts. However, it is important to state that it occurs almost in equal dimensions, in peaceful climes and seasons, and in areas and periods of human conflicts. Human trafficking has been defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons as: the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of people through the threat or use of abduction, abuse of power or vulnerability, deception, coercion, fraud, force, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation . . . shall be 411

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 411

08-10-2021 11:28:34

412

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

irrelevant where any of the . . . [fore-mentioned] means . . . have been used. The recruitment, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in persons, even if it does not involve . . . [any of the above-listed means].2

Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights that affects populations across regional, ethnic, and religious lines and is usually, but not only perpetrated by criminal syndicates. It includes but is not restricted to a range of illicit activities such as sexual exploitation, forced labor, organ removal, and forcible recruitment into an armed group or military service. The victims are usually very vulnerable populations based on their gender, economic or social statuses. UNODC3 reported that, generally, more than 72 percent of detected victims are women and girls, especially in Western and Central Europe, North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. In 2016 alone, the United Nations detected close to 25,000 victims of human trafficking, with several other cases unknown and unreported.4 ILO and Walk Free Foundation5 painted a rather gloomier picture. They asserted that globally, an estimated 40.3 million people in 2016 were entangled in one kind of “modern slavery” and exploitative situations where they could not escape from and were being forced to remain in slavery conditions by coercion, deception, threats, or even violence. While many victims of human trafficking are exploited within their countries of residence, other victims are trafficked across regions. According to the International Labor Organization (ILO) Forced Labor Statistics,6 an estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labor (including sexual exploitation) at any given time because of trafficking. Of this number, about 1.4 million (56 percent) of the estimates are in Asia and the Pacific, 250,000 (10 percent) are in Latin America and the Caribbean, 230,000 (9.2 percent) are in the Middle East and Northern Africa, 130,000 (5.2 percent) are in sub-Saharan countries, 270,000 (10.8 percent) are in industrialized countries, and 200,000 (8 percent) are in countries in transition. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) CounterTrafficking Database shows that majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age.7 Especially worrisome is the fact that about 1.2 million children fall victims to human trafficking every year.8 THE NATURE AND IMPACTS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine9 estimated that about 95 percent of victims experienced physical or sexual violence during trafficking. Available data also shows that 43 percent of victims are used for forced

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 412

08-10-2021 11:28:34

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

413

commercial sexual exploitation, where 98 percent of them are majorly women and girls; 32 percent of victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of which 56 percent are women and girls.10 Estimates show that forced labor produces an estimated $150 billion annually, making it one of the world’s most profitable crimes.11 Consequently, it has become a funding mechanism for many extremist groups12 who enslave and exploit women and girls to generate revenue through sex trafficking or force children into their causes as child soldiers. The complexity of the human trafficking situation is more explicit, considering that even self-styled accepted governments may become involved in state-sponsored human trafficking and profit from such exploitations. It is especially so for some corrupt government regimes, which use human trafficking as a source of income to boost their military capabilities and stranglehold on power.13 Experts have described human trafficking as a “growing” phenomenon because various categories of trafficking such as labor and organ trafficking, trafficking for sexual exploitation are on the increase almost unabated. The number of men, women, and children rescued in brothels and sweatshop raids; individuals in possession of fraudulent travel documents deported as illegal migrants; and the number of individuals identified as victims of trafficking according to the laws and practices of various countries are on the rise. Unfortunately, it is difficult to assess the rate of increase in human trafficking due to data shortage and concealment. Human trafficking is known to be a shadow business secretly transacted and, therefore, concealed from the open. It is a clandestine activity with hidden economies and generally operated by highly sophisticated syndicates of criminals with international connections and a complex network of interactions and interrelationships, whose working mechanisms are settled in the dark. Generally, only victims already detected are known and captured in databases. Even then, the true extent of the crime may not be appreciated because of differences in national definitions of human trafficking and reporting guidelines and who constitutes a victim of trafficking. It results in a lack of consistent, reliable, and comparable data. In November 2000, a Trafficking Protocol, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol), was adopted. On December 4, 2007, 116 countries had ratified it.14 Since the adoption of the protocol, the international community has witnessed an explosion of widespread and political interest in combating trafficking in human beings, reflected in an influx of funds, widespread awareness-raising campaigns, feature films, and numerous books, the enactment of anti-trafficking legislation around the world, law enforcement human trafficking-centered training and the rapid proliferation of victim support services provided by nongovernmental, international or regional organizations. These measures are being implemented within the framework established in the Trafficking Protocol, now known as the “3P”

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 413

08-10-2021 11:28:34

414

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

approach: prevention of the crime, prosecution of offenders, and protection of victims. Despite the strides made in global focus on human trafficking, a lack of political will, inexperience in dealing with the issue of corruption, victims’ inability, or unwillingness to cooperate with law enforcement make it difficult to determine the scale and impact.15 There is a seeming consensus that these impacts are meaningful and wide-ranging. For example, studies have shown that victims of human trafficking, especially those for sexual exploitation, are vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV/AIDS.16 Most of the victims in this category are women and children. Issues of mental health are also commonplace among victims.17 Even the often-tedious transportation of some of the victims is riled with infections from contagious diseases, injury, and death.18 The economic costs are also consequential. According to the U.S. State Department,19 the damage caused by coercion and exploitation of individuals may not be measured using any indices, but child labor and trafficking represent a loss in the productive capacity of a generation of people who would have otherwise gained from increased education and improved health. Another report of the same department showed that trafficking creates lost opportunities domestically, including an irretrievable loss of human resources and future productivity.20 The 2008 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report of the U.S. Department of State21 indicated that human trafficking could result in an unprecedented loss of remittances to the origin countries, especially the developing countries because trafficked persons often have to pay off the “debt” they incurred for being trafficked, payments which they may never ultimately pay off. It has been estimated that the annual level of remittances to developing countries is about US$325 billion.22 Danailova-Trainor and Laczko23 approximated that a loss of about US$60 billion is incurred from lost remittances from victims, which is a loss to development in origin countries. Such a loss would be incredibly impactful in Africa where some of the world’s most economically and socially vulnerable population lives. Africa is also becoming a force majeure in the global human trafficking trade as more African victims are increasingly detected. BACKGROUND, CAUSES, AND MAGNITUDE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN AFRICA The root causes of trafficking are complex and often interrelated, and these may include poverty, weak governance, armed conflict, or lack of adequate protection against discrimination and exploitation.24 However, it is

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 414

08-10-2021 11:28:35

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

415

acknowledged that each country presents specific factors or combinations of unique or at least peculiar factors to each situation. According to a UNICEF report: an analysis of and reports on trafficking in human beings in Africa typically recognize poverty as the most visible cause for trafficking in human beings. However, poverty is only one part of the picture. Another strong determinant is the particular vulnerability of women and children, which makes them an easy target for traffickers. In particular, patterns of instability, oppression, and discrimination may place women and children at greater risk, with social and cultural prejudices and the prevalence of gender violence presenting additional challenges to their effective protection from trafficking. At the local level, deeprooted practices of gender discrimination lead to a cultural climate where the practice of trafficking is perceived as morally acceptable. When these cultural attitudes and practices go hand in hand with poverty-stricken living conditions, trafficking in women and children is likely to flourish. Trafficking of girls and women is very often under conditions of violence that can be connected to the high prevalence of widespread violence in public and private spheres against women. In some parts of the world, nearly 50 percent of women interviewed indicate that they are regularly physically abused. In all three African countries (Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe) surveyed for a previous Innocent study in 2000, the numbers are between 32 and 42 percent. 25

The African Economic Summit26 also associated the use of migrant labor as another factor that renders women more vulnerable, especially in families separated for large parts of the year. The tradition and culture of early or forced marriages submit young girls to exploitation. Early marriage is prevalent in Central and Western Africa affecting 40 percent and 49 percent, respectively, of girls under 19. In East Africa and North and Southern Africa, it is 27 percent and 20 percent, respectively.27 According to a population survey, “The World’s Youth 2000,” the average age at first marriage in Africa was 15 years in Niger, 16 years in Mali and Chad, and 17 years in Nigeria, Eritrea, Mozambique, and the Central African Republic.28 A civil conflict and economic hardship situation can reinforce the practices of early marriage and the risk of trafficking. For example, in refugee camps in Burundi, families protect their honor by marrying their daughters off as early as possible.29 In some cases, poverty and religious beliefs are the culprits in early marriages. The links between poverty, violence, and trafficking have been exacerbated by the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, especially HIV/ AIDS. Women and girls trafficked for prostitution, and sexual gratifications are among the most vulnerable groups exposed to HIV infection. Children orphaned by AIDS can be more vulnerable to trafficking due to the increasing

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 415

08-10-2021 11:28:35

416

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

poverty of their households and communities, the death of their parents, and the stigmatization, rejection, or marginalization to which their communities expose them.30 Hidden from view and often from legal protection, children are lured by promises of a good education or a “better job” and smuggled across borders. Far from home or in a foreign country, trafficked children become easily disoriented, without papers, and excluded from any protective environment. They, therefore, become susceptible to forced prostitution, domestic servitude, early and involuntary marriage, or hazardous and punishing labor.31

TRENDS AND PATTERNS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN AND FROM AFRICA The subregional patterns of Africa can be conceived based on geographical proximity, ease of movement, linguistic patterns such as differences between Francophone Africa and Anglophone Africa. North Africa represents a special case where despite the presence of a substantial geographical obstacle, such as the Sahara Desert, there are reported cases of trafficking from other regions to the North, which serves largely as a transit camp for intending migrants to Europe. Generally, however, many African countries are the source (origin), transit, and destination countries at the same time.32 It is possible to underline differences and patterns of flow within and between the subregions through mapping along the frequently used routes. In Eastern and Southern Africa, the predominant trafficking flow is often directed toward South Africa. In West Africa, Nigeria is a hub of human trafficking activities.33 A closer examination of data suggests that the human trafficking situation in Africa is becoming more noticeable as more victims of human trafficking of African citizenry are detected in many more countries of the world. It is becoming obvious that there is more diverse and widespread participation of Africans as victims of human trafficking worldwide than probably earlier perceived. GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS: 2007–2017 UNODC34 has gathered data on victims of trafficking in persons detected since 2003, the year that the United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol (supplementing the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime)

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 416

08-10-2021 11:28:35

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

417

Figure 18.1  Global Distribution of Human Trafficking Victims: 2007-2017.

took effect. Over this period, UNODC has collected information on about 225,000 victims of trafficking detected worldwide. In 2016, a peak of more than 24,000 detected victims was recorded. The data available contained data from 2005 to 2017 (only partial data available for 2017). However, only the years between 2007 and 2017 contained substantial data pertaining to African countries. Figure 18.1 presents data on the number of global human trafficked victims by countries. These refer to the number of persons in countries where data were available for the period 2007–2017 as reported by the UNODC since apparently, not all countries have ratified the protocol.35 The database contained data for 126 countries, 47 from Africa. No data is available for India, Russia, China, and many others except where their citizens are identified as victims in other countries. In the global distribution of human trafficking, the United States and the Netherlands stand out. Between 2007 and 2017, 15,724 and 10,901 victims were detected in these countries, respectively. Nigeria, Germany, and France recorded 6217, 5790, and 4858, respectively. The United Kingdom, Thailand, Italy, Spain, and the Philippines all recorded more than 3,000 cases each. Only two (2) African countries, Nigeria (6217) and Burkina Faso (2807), are

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 417

08-10-2021 11:28:36

418

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

among the 22 countries that recorded more than 1,000 victims each. They are also the only two African countries in the top thirty-five countries regarding a high number of detected victims. However, as a continent, Africa contributed 18.68 percent (20,035 victims) of the global trade in human persons. Nigeria (9,832 persons) and Burkina Faso (2,856 persons) contributed the most significant number of trafficked persons. Sources of Human Trafficked Persons from Africa Figure 18.2 presents the source regions of victims of human trafficking in Africa. Nigeria was by far the major source of human trafficking victims in Africa. Burkina Faso came a distant second. These two countries were the only ones in Africa with more than 1,000 citizens as detected victims of human trafficking. Incidentally, both are from the West African bloc. Other important contributors from this bloc include Togo (810), Ghana (618), Sierra Leone

Figure 18.2  Source Countries of Victims of Human Trafficking.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 418

08-10-2021 11:28:36

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

419

Figure 18.3  Number of countries where victims have been identified.

(463), Benin (413), and Guinea (409). Morocco (858) and Egypt (458) in North Africa may also be considered important source countries. An often overlooked but essential aspect of source regions is the spread of human trafficked persons across the globe. Figure 18.3 presents data on the number of countries where victims from source countries have been identified. Apart from Nigeria, whose citizens have been identified in 38 countries as victims of human trafficking, Morocco (26), Ghana (23), Congo (21), Cameroon (20), and Kenya (20) have a widespread of victim-citizens globally. The other countries in the top ten are Ethiopia (17), Cote d’Ivoire (16), Senegal (16), and Togo (14). Except for Nigeria, Morocco, Ghana, and Togo, the remaining six (6) countries did not make the list of the top ten largest source countries in Africa regarding the number of victim-citizens. Fourteen other countries have had citizens identified as victims in at least ten different countries. It points to the prevalence, around the world, of human trafficking victims of African origin. Interestingly, many African countries are their victim-citizens’ most important destination, with more than 50 percent of reported cases recorded

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 419

08-10-2021 11:28:36

420

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

Figure 18.4  Domestic Human Trafficking.

within their borders. Figure 18.4 presents data on the percentage of domestic human trafficking in Africa. Twenty-six countries in Africa have recorded cases of domestic human trafficking. Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Morocco, and Egypt are probably worth close examination. Of the 9,832 victims identified as Nigerian citizens worldwide, 5,466, representing 55.60 percent, were trafficked within the country. Burkina Faso presents a more extreme case where 2,772 of its global 2,856 cases (representing 97.06 percent) were trafficked internally. It probably explains why it has a low footprint in other countries, with its victim-citizens spread across only eleven other countries other than itself. Other countries with a large percentage of its victim-citizens internally trafficked include Egypt (81.66 percent), Tunisia (79.36 percent), South Africa (74.29 percent), Togo (70.74 percent), Ghana (56.15 percent), and Rwanda (51.55 percent). Swaziland had 96.30 percent. However, the traffic was relatively low. Of the twenty-seven identified victim-citizens, twenty-six of them were trafficked internally. Mauritania had nine cases where five (55.56 percent) of them were domestic victims. Morocco represents the other end of the spectrum. With 858 victimcitizens, only eleven (1.28 percent) were trafficked internally. Morocco

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 420

08-10-2021 11:28:37

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

421

had a significant global footprint by Africa’s standards. Most of Morocco’s remaining 847 victim-citizens were spread across 26 different countries. Algeria had 192 victim-citizens, and only 4 (2.08%) were in the country. Uganda had 310 victim-citizens, and only 64 (20.65%) were trafficked within its borders. These scenarios illustrate the fact that Africa is not a preferred destination for human traffickers. Most of its victim-citizens are trafficked domestically, or most are spread to many different countries worldwide. Only a few nonAfrican victim-citizens were documented in African countries. Of the fortyseven African countries in the database, only twenty-three reported human trafficking victims from other African countries other than themselves, and only seven had cases of victim-citizens from countries outside of Africa. The situation with destinations for human trafficking victims of African extraction is somewhat more complex. DESTINATION OF VICTIMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FROM AFRICA Figure 18.5 presents the global destinations of human trafficking victims from African countries. The Netherlands is the most popular destination for victims of human trafficking from Africa. Between 2007 and 2017, 2,370 victims of African origin were identified in the country. Norway and France were second and third, with 1,050 and 1,010 identified victims, respectively. Interestingly, Nigeria (720) appeared as an important destination for victims trafficked from other African countries (other than Nigeria itself), ahead of Italy (697) and the United Kingdom (692) in fifth and sixth positions in that order. Denmark (408), Spain (344), Germany (338), and Qatar (292) made up the remaining top ten destinations for victims of human trafficking from Africa in that order. Nigeria was the major contributor of victims from Africa to the Netherlands (813), Norway (767), Italy (593), France (440), United Kingdom (424), Denmark (333), Spain (237), and Germany (233). By default, Nigeria was the primary source of human trafficking victims to all but one of the top ten destination countries for African victims. Morocco (219) was the main source of victims from Africa to Qatar. Nigeria, Sierra Leone (351), and Guinea (317) contributed 62.49 percent of the victims of human trafficking to the Netherlands. Citizens of Nigeria and Morocco (151) made up 58.52 percent of African victims in France. These countries were some of the most important sources of human trafficking victims around the world. Apparently, Norway, Denmark, and Finland have attracted large contingents of victims of human trafficking from Africa,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 421

08-10-2021 11:28:37

422

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

Figure 18.5  Global Distribution of African Victims of Human Trafficking, 2007-2017.

especially Nigeria. Norway, the second most popular destination for African victims, became a popular destination for Nigerian victims, especially since 2013. Between 2007 and 2017, Nigeria had contributed 106 victims (52.48 percent) to the total of 202 from the African continent. However, 83 (78.30 percent) of the victims were between 2013 and 2017. Similarly, 257 (77.18 percent) of the 333 victims Nigeria contributed to Denmark were between 2013 and 2017; and 448 (58.41 percent) of the 767 victims from Nigeria were between 2013 and 2016. The Scandinavian route appears to be becoming more popular in recent years. For Somalia, Finland, and Norway were its most popular destinations. In fact, thirty-five (75 percent) of the forty-eight victims trafficked from Somalia to Finland were between 2015 and 2017. Algeria (48) and Eritrea (38) were also major source countries for Norway. The Scandinavian countries are emerging as important destinations for African victims of human trafficking. For Sierra Leone, the Netherlands was the most common route of human traffickers. The 351 victims from the country are 75.81 percent of the total (463) victims of human trafficking sourced from Sierra Leone. Morocco contributed a total of 847 victims to the global destinations (other than

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 422

08-10-2021 11:28:38

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

423

itself), 58.61 percent of which were to Qatar (219), France (151), and the Netherlands (127). Morocco also had a relatively strong presence in Spain (84), Belgium (72), and Italy (70). Eritrea (139) and Ethiopia (87) were Africa’s most conspicuous source countries for Israel. Though the Human Rights Watch36 insinuated that there was a possible growing presence of victims of African origin in South and Southeast Asian countries. However, the data suggested that South and Southeast Asia and South and Central America, which are also important source regions to other countries, do not appear to be attractive destinations for human traffickers of African victims yet. Often, human traffickers seek new destinations, and this leads to a proliferation of destinations for victims. As old routes are closed or become tighter, new routes are sought and exploited by human traffickers. Figure 18.6 presents the information on the number of African source countries at each destination country. African victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands were sourced from thirty-six different countries. It is the most extensive collection of Africa source countries in one destination country. The remaining top ten countries were the United Kingdom (29), the United States (25), Finland (23), Germany

Figure 18.6  Global Spread of Human Trafficking victims from African Countries.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 423

08-10-2021 11:28:38

424

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

(22), Denmark (20), Spain (20), Belgium (20), France (19), and Nigeria (18). Ireland (16), Norway (15), and Switzerland (12) made up the remaining countries that had victims from more than ten different African source countries. The emerging attraction of the Scandinavian countries of Finland, Denmark, and Norway is further demonstrated by many African countries whose citizens have been recorded as victims of human trafficking in them. In the African context, Nigeria (18) and Cote d’Ivoire (8) are important destination places for other countries, especially in the West African subregion. South Africa (7) serves a similar purpose for southern African states.37 The data showed that Uganda (7) has emerged as an important destination country in the Eastern subregion, probably because of the influx of many refugees from neighboring countries. CONCLUSION Bigio and Vogelstein38 identified five different forms of exploitation that victims of human trafficking could be subjected to. These are sexual exploitation, forced labor, recruitment of children into armed and extremist groups, forced and early marriage, and organ trafficking. Sex trafficking, forced labor, early and forced marriages, and recruitment of children into armed struggles are common features of human trafficking in Africa.39 It is conceivable that the proliferation of human trafficking on the continent means that organ trafficking could find fertile ground among African victims as other forms of exploitation have, too. Though there is not much documentation in the literature specific to the Africa situation, mentions have been made of this growing dimension of human trafficking and its possible impacts. There is a growing sense that human trafficking in Africa may spiral out of control. The recent cases of illegal migration to Europe through North Africa by many Africans South of the Sahara signal a deterioration of conditions that have birthed the human trafficking trade in Africa in the first place. Poor economic conditions, political instability, insecurity, and corruption continue to conspire against citizens of African countries who then quickly fall prey to the lure of promises of luscious and luxuriating lifestyles away from the continent. The reality in destination countries, usually, is not as refreshing as the promise. In recent years, this was clearly exposed by planeloads of victims who voluntarily requested and presented themselves for repatriation from some destination and transit countries in Africa and around the world back to origin countries. The reality of the brutality of human trafficking is still lost on many potential victims in Africa as the trade appears to march on unperturbed. For Africa, the onus rests on the African Union and individual countries to examine and proffer solutions to the problem of human trafficking. A

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 424

08-10-2021 11:28:38

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

425

robust policy framework, designed by a diversity of stakeholders including professional researchers and scholars, reformed human traffickers and rehabilitated victims, educationists, parents, nongovernmental organizations, and appropriate governmental ministries, departments, and agencies, should be put in place to prevent human trafficking, prosecute human traffickers and those who aid and abet them and protect the victims. For example, a rewarding whistleblower policy may provide helpful information and insight into human trafficking syndicates, cells, and “warehouses” to enable disruption, arrest, and prosecution of the criminal operations, the prevention of criminal activity, and the protection of victims and potential victims. Unfortunately, this requires political will to succeed, an ingredient that has been lacking in African leadership. The education, sensitization, and creation of awareness of the general population on the true nature, impacts, and recruitment strategies of human trafficking and traffickers would go a long way to reduce and prevent trafficking in persons in Africa. All avenues of information dissemination and education should be mobilized on a continual citizen education program. New routes should be sought and targeted even as old ones are closed. A close international collaboration must be forged between countries that should actively and proactively advocate and pursue deliberate policies to contain the inhuman trade in persons. It must go beyond mere signing and ratification of protocols and agreements. Action must be demanded of all. African countries, however, need to embark on massive political reforms that guarantee transparency and inclusiveness, economic rehabilitation that results in economic empowerment of the general population and reduces poverty, and robust security transformation that guarantees the safety of lives and property of its people. These are some of the most critical root causes of human trafficking. Unless they are addressed in meaningful and fundamental ways, Africa will continue to be a significant source region and its people victims of human trafficking. As the trends in human trafficking in the continent go on an offensive upswing, there is a fierce urgency that requires that action to stem the tide of human trafficking in Africa began earlier.

NOTES 1. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC). Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. United Nations, New York, 2018. Accessed May 18, 2019. Available at: www​.unodc​.org​/glotip. 2. U.S. Department of State. Trafficking in Persons Report: June 2019 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2019. Accessed June 12, 2020. Available at: http:​/​/sta​​ te​.go​​v​/wp-​​conte​​nt​/up​​loads​​/201​9​​/06​/2​​019 ​-Trafficking​-in​-Persons​-Report​.pdf.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 425

08-10-2021 11:28:39

426

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

3. Ibid, United Nations Office on Drugs Crimes (UNODC), 2018. 4. Ibid. 5. International Labor Organization (ILO) & Walk Free Foundation. Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage. Geneva, 2017. 6. International Labor Organization (ILO). Forced Labor Statistics Fact Sheet, 2007. 7. International Organization for Migration. Counter-Trafficking Database, 78 Countries, (2007): 1999–2006. 8. UNICEF, U.K. Child Trafficking Information Sheet (January 2003). Available at: Unicef UK Child trafficking briefing - Unicef UK. 9. The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Stolen smiles: a summary report on the physical and psychological health consequences of women and adolescents trafficked in Europe (London, 2006). 10. Ibid, International Labor Organization (ILO), 2007. 11. International Labor Organization, Profits and Poverty: The Economics of Forced Labour (Geneva: International Labor Organization, 2014), 13 http://ilo​ .org​/wcmsp5​/groups /publ​ic/--​-ed_n​orm/-​--dec​larat​ion/d​ocume​nts/p​ublic​ation​/wcms​​ _2433​​91​.p​d​​f. 12. Nikita Malik, Trafficking Terror: How Modern Slavery and Sexual Violence Fund Terrorism (London: Henry Jackson Society, 2017), http:​/​/hen​​ryjac​​ksons​​ociet​​y​ .org​​/wp​-c​​onten​​t​/upl​​oads/​​2017/​​10​/HJ​​S​-Tra​​ffick​​ing​-T​​erro​r​​-Repo​​rt​-we​​b​.pdf​. 13. Sarah E. Mendelson, “Outsourcing Oppression: Trafficked Labor From North Korea,” Foreign Affairs, May 28, 2015, http:​/​/for​​eigna​​ffair​​s​.com​​/arti​​cles/​​north​​-kore​​​a​ /201​​5​-05 -28/outsourcing-oppression. 14. United Nations. “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime,” in United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto, UNODC, Vienna, 2004. www​.u​​nodc.​​org​/d​​ocume​​nts​/t​​reati​​es​/UN​​TOC​/P​​ublic​​ation​​s​/TOC​ Convention/ TOCebook​-e​.p​df. 2004 Available at: www​.unodc​.org​/glotip. 15. Aronowitz, A. Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Beings (Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2009). 16. Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Gupta, J., Maheshwari, A., Patel, V., Raj, A. ”HIV Prevalence and Predictors among Rescued Sex-trafficked Women and Girls in Mumbai, India.” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 43 (2006): 588–593. See also; Paul Williams, “Sex Work, the Palermo Protocol on HIV/AIDS.” Paper Presented by the HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor of UNODC to the Global, Consultation on HIV/AIDS & Sex Work, Rio de Janerio Brazil, 2006. 17. U.N.GIFT. “United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking.” Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2006 Available at: www​.unodc​.org​/glotip. See also; Freida M’Cormack, Helpdesk Research Report: The impact of human trafficking on people and countries, Governance and Development Research Center, 2011. http://gsdrc​.org​/docs​/open​/hd780​.pdf.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 426

08-10-2021 11:28:39

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

427

18. Todres, J., “Moving Upstream: The Merits of a Public Health Law Approach to Human Trafficking.” North Carolina Law Review 89, no. 2 (2011): 447–506. http://ssrn​.com​/abstract​=1742953. 19. U.S. State Department. Trafficking in Persons Report 2004, Washington, DC http:​/​/www​​.stat​​e​.gov​​/docu​​ments​​/orga​​nizat​​ion​/3​​​4158.​​pdf. 20. U.S. State Department. Trafficking in Persons Report 2011, Washington, DC http:​/​/www​​.stat​​e​.gov​​/g​/ti​​p​/rls​​/tipr​​pt​/20​​11​​/in​​dex​.h​​tm. 21. U.S. State Department. Trafficking in Persons Report 2008, Washington, DC http:​/​/www​​.stat​​e​.gov​​/docu​​ments​​/orga​​nizat​​ion​/1​​​05501​​.pdf. 22. Ibid, U.S. Department of State 2011. 23. Danailova-Trainor, G. and Laczko, F. “Trafficking in Persons and Development: Towards Greater Policy Coherence.” International Migration 48 (2010): 38–83 http:​/​/ onl​​ineli​​brary​​.wile​​y​.com​​/doi/​​10​.11​​11​/j.​​1468-​​2435.​​2010.​​​00625​​.x​/pd​​f. 24. Ibid, UNICEF, U.K. Child Trafficking Information Sheet (January 2003). 25. UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre. “Domestic Violence against Women and Girls.” Innocenti Digest 6, Florence, 2000. 26. The Africa Economic Summit. Empowerment of Women: How Can Women Turn the Tide against Aids? June 12, 2003. 27. UNICEF, Innocenti Research Centre. “Early Marriage. Child Spouses.” Innocenti Digest 7, Florence, 2001. 28. Population Reference Bureau (PRB). “The World’s Youth 2000.” Washington: PRB, 2000. 29. Ibid, UNICEF, 2001. 30. Adepoju, A. “Review of research and data on human trafficking in SubSaharan Africa.” International Migration 43, no. 1/2 (2005): 75–98. 31. Ibid, UNICEF, 2003. 32. Paul O. Bello and Adewale A. Olutola, “The Conundrum of Human Trafficking in Africa.” In Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. DOI: http:​/​/dx.​​doi​.o​​rg​/10​​.5772​​ /inte​​chope​​​n​.838​​20, 2020, IntechOpen. www​.intechopen​.com. 33. Ibid. 34. UNODC. “Trafficking in Persons, Detected Victims by Citizenship.” UNODC, 2017. Accessed March 18, 2017. https​:/​/da​​tauno​​dc​.un​​.org/​​data/​​TIP​/D​​etect​​ed​%20​​victi​​ ms​%20​​by​%20​​​citiz​​enshi​​p. 35. Ibid. 36. Human Rights Watch. “Borderline Slavery. Child Trafficking in Togo.” April 2003. 37. Ibid, UNICEF, 2003. 38. Jamille Bigio and Rachel Vogelstein. “The Security Implications of Human Trafficking.” Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Council on Foreign Relations, 58 East 68th Street, New York, NY 10065, Discussion Paper October 2019. Accessed July 8, 2020. https​:/​/cd​​n​.cfr​​.org/​​sites​​/defa​​ult​/f​​i les/​​repor​​t​_pdf​​/Disc​​ussio​​n​_Pap​​er​_Bi​​gio​_V​​ ogels​​tein_​​Secur​​ity​​_T​​raffi​​cking​​_OR​.p​​df. 39. Ibid, Paul O. Bello and Adewale A. Olutola, 2020.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 427

08-10-2021 11:28:39

428

Leonard S. Bombom et al.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Adepoju, A. “Review of Research and Data on Human Trafficking in Sub-Saharan Africa.” International Migration 43, no. 1/2 (2005): 75–98. Aronowitz, A., Human Trafficking, Human Misery: The Global Trade in Human Beings. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2009. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Assessment Toolkit – Trafficking in Persons for the Purpose of Organ Removal, 2015: 28. Bello, P. O. and Olutola, A. A. “The Conundrum of Human Trafficking in Africa.” In Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking, 2020. DOI: http:​/​/dx.​​doi​.o​​rg​/10​​.5772​​/ inte​​chope​​​n​.838​​20. “Children and Armed Conflict: Report of the Secretary-General,” U.N. General Assembly Security Council, A/70/836–S/2016/360 (April 20, 2016), http://reliefweb .int/​sites​/reli​​efweb​​.int/​​files​​/reso​​urces​​/N161​​11​19.​​pdf. Cockayne and Walker. “Fighting Human Trafficking in Conflict.” U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime, Countering Trafficking in Persons in Conflict Situations (Vienna: United Nations, 2018), http:​/​/uno​​dc​.or​​g​/doc​​ument​​s​/hum​​an​-tr​​affic​​king/​​ 2018/​​17​-08​​776​_e​​book-​​Count​​ering​​_Traf​​ficki​​ng​_in​​_Pers​​ons​_i​​n​_​Con​​flict​​_Situ​​ation ​​ s​.pdf​. Ekaterina V., S., “The Consequence of the Sexual Abuse in Human Trafficking,” Paper Presented at Human Trafficking Consequence Conference, 2004. IntechOpen. www​.intechopen​.com International Labour Organization, Forced Labour Statistics Factsheet (2007). Available at: Statistics on forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking (Forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking) (ilo​.o​rg). International Labor Organization. “Profits, and Poverty: The Economics of Forced .org​ Labour” (Geneva: International Labor Organization, 2014), 13, http://ilo​ /wcmsp5​/groups /publ​ic/--​-ed_n​orm/-​--dec​larat​ion/d​ocume​nts/p​ublic​ation​/wcms​​ _2433​​91​.p​d​​f. International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation. “Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage” (Geneva: International Labor Organization, 2017), 9, http:​/​/ilo​​.org/​​wcmsp​​5​/gro​​ups​/p​​ublic​/--​-d​​grepo​​rt​s/-​-​ -dco​​mm /documents/publication/wcms​_575479​.p​df. International Organization for Migration. “Counter-Trafficking Database, 78 Countries.” 2006. Nikita Malik. Trafficking Terror: How Modern Slavery and Sexual Violence Fund Terrorism. London: Henry Jackson Society, 2017, http://henryjacksonsociety​.org​/ wp - conte​nt/up​loads​/2017​/10/H​​JS​-Tr​​affic​​king-​​Terro​​r​-Rep​​ort​-​w​​eb​.pd​​f. Paul Williams, “Sex Work, the Palermo Protocol on HIV/AIDS.” Paper Presented by the HIV/AIDS Technical Advisor of UNODC to the Global Consultation on HIV/ AIDS & Sex Work, Rio de Janerio Brazil, 2006. Sarah E. Mendelson, “Outsourcing Oppression: Trafficked Labor from North Korea,” Foreign Affairs, May 28, 2015, http:​/​/for​​eigna​​ffair​​s​.com​​/arti​​cles/​​north​​-kore​​a​/201​​5​ -05-​​28​/ou​​tsour​​ci​ng-​​oppre​​ssion​.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 428

08-10-2021 11:28:39

Mapping the Patterns of Human Trafficking in and from Africa

429

Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Gupta, J., Maheshwari, A., Patel, V., Raj, A. ”HIV Prevalence and Predictors among Rescued Sex-trafficked Women and Girls in Mumbai, India.” Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome 43 (2006): 588–593. Todres, J., “Moving Upstream: The Merits of a Public Health Law Approach to Human Trafficking.” Review North Carolina Law 89, no. 2 (2011): 447–506. UNICEF, U.K. Child Trafficking Information Sheet (January 2003). Available at: Unicef UK Child trafficking briefing - Unicef UK. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). “Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns.” 2006. http:​/​/www​​.unod​​c​.org​​/pdf/​​traff​​i ckin​​ginpe​​rsons​​_repo​​rt​_20​​​ 06​-04​​.pdf. U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime. Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Vienna: United Nations, December 2018, 7, 10. http://unodc​.org​/documents​/data​-and analy​ sis/g​lotip​/2018​/GLOT​​iP​_20​​18​_BO​​OK​_we​​b​_sma​​​ll​.pd​​f. Zimmerman Cathy, “Stolen Smiles: A Summary Report on the Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Women and Adolescents Trafficked in Europe,” London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 2006.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 429

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 430

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Conclusion Human Trafficking: Global Problem, Local Solutions Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

Human trafficking, which has been compared to modern-day slavery, is undoubtedly one of the most challenging social problems that face humanity in the twenty-first century. The phenomenon of human trafficking is couched within the larger context of human migration. Unlike traditional human migration, human trafficking is an affront to the human condition. It is perplexing that modern-day slavery continues to afflict humankind despite the quantum leap in human social, cultural, political, technological, and economic progress. Remarkable improvements in the human condition, including eradicating major diseases through medical advances, reduction in the global poverty rate, and increasing global productivity, have been some of the hallmarks of this century. Complementing these developments are technological advances, especially the internet and information revolution, which further enabled globalization, resulting in the easy movement of capital across nations. Unfortunately, while improving the world gross domestic product (GDP) in aggregate terms, economic globalization also creates a pattern of uneven development and externalities that are often localized for which free market forces do not adequately address. Uneven economic development creates gradients at multiple spatial and temporal scales. This, in turn, creates conditions that accentuate the more significant migration phenomenon as people seek to move from areas of limited economic opportunity to places where they believe have more significant economic potential. This is the classical case of migration that is based on rational decision-making. Human trafficking, on the other hand, while still influenced by these gradients, is the forceful, illegal, and criminal movement of people against their will. In addition to the economic forces that trigger human trafficking, other causative factors, including political stability, civil war, religious and 431

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 431

08-10-2021 11:28:40

432

Augustine Avwunudiogba and Elisha J. Dung

cultural factors, and natural disasters such as earthquakes, hurricanes, flooding, drought, and climate-induced environmental changes have combined to create vulnerable populations in different parts of the world, especially in countries and regions that lack the capacity to adapt to these social and environmental challenges. The vulnerable populations are prime candidates that become victims of human trafficking. This, coupled with the billion dollars generated by this illicit business of human trafficking, continues to make it a global problem with complexity that makes the problem intractable. Although human trafficking is a global problem, the phenomenon is and primarily rooted in local conditions. Therefore, an integral part of the solution to the phenomenon of human trafficking lies in the identification and finding solutions to local economic, cultural, political, environmental, and social problems that create vulnerable populations for human trafficking. As the case studies presented by various contributors to this volume illustrate, there are both common and unique region-specific factors implicated in the phenomenon of human trafficking. Intractable as it may seem, the fight against human trafficking is a war that the world cannot afford to lose. In this regard, and drawing from the contributions in this volume, we offer the following suggestions. • There should be a concerted global effort to refine and enforce existing international laws and conventions against human trafficking. This effort is needed to keep pace with the ever-evolving complex technological and global economic forces that make it easy to traffick vulnerable populations. • There is a need for an effective and timely intervention mechanism designed to stabilize political conditions such as national, international, and regional wars and conflicts that create vulnerable populations for human traffickers. Displaced populations, particularly women and children, who are often trafficked and recruited as child soldiers during political conflicts, need priority protection. • Furthermore, countries need to build and increase their capacity to adapt to natural disasters and environmental conditions that lead to the displacement of populations that becomes vulnerable victims of human trafficking. This is particularly needed in countries where a large population of people lives in a marginal environment subject to natural disasters. • Lastly, there needs to be a conscious effort to address uneven economic development across multiple spatial scales. Extreme uneven development occasioned by globalization where transnational capital movement takes advantage of local resource base while neglecting to address the negative externalities creates a vulnerable population that becomes a prime target for human trafficking syndicates.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 432

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Human Trafficking: Global Problem, Local Solutions

433

Although the problem of global human trafficking appears to be insurmountable at present, we hope that the international community will continue to shed light on a phenomenon that is inhumane. Continued public discussion in academia, policy and political institutions, and international governmental and nongovernmental organizations and community activism will hopefully lead to the development and implementation of programs and policies that reduce, if not eliminate, the problem of human trafficking in the twenty-first century.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 433

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 434

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Appendices

435

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 435

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 436

08-10-2021 11:28:40

Appendix A

 

437

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 437

08-10-2021 11:28:40

001

#

AB

Province

Yes

Working in TIP Ten women trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation; we do not work with labor-trafficked persons.

Cases of TIP in the last 12 months Yes. There are six offences in our federal Criminal Code, plus 2 offences in our IRPA (see below). There are 9 other criminal offences that are often utilized depending upon the circumstances (e.g., kidnapping, forcible confinement, sexual assault, other).

Laws in Canada to address TIP? Canada passed legislation under the IRPA—Immigrant and Refugee Protection Act in 2002. I have limited knowledge of this legislation and its effectiveness. I do know that a positive element is that internationally trafficked persons can apply for a TRP—Temporary Residence Permit—and this is very helpful to cover basic income and health care needs. Canada passed legislation under our Criminal Code in 2005, with some later amendments as we learned more—for example, the term “fear” was in the original legislation— that is very hard to prove. Now the term “exploitation” is used, and that is easier to prove in court. There are mandatory minimum sentences that are set very high—e.g., 14 years—to send a strong message that these are heinous crimes. However, these mandatory minimums can also pose a barrier to prosecution and often the prosecution will choose other charges where there is a higher likelihood of conviction. Judges also often don’t like mandatory minimums because they feel this takes away their discretionary role of judges.

Are the laws helpful? It’s important to provide victims of trafficking with supports ranging from crisis shelters, safety plans, court supports, addictions treatment if that is an issue, physical health, mental health and trauma recovery, reintegration, further education or job training leading to employment. Being trafficked is only one part of the life journey.

Comments

Appendix A  Nonprofit organizations’ responses to incidence of TIP and the effectiveness of the law in human trafficking in Canada

438 Appendix A

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 438

08-10-2021 11:28:40

002

ON

No

N/A

No

The laws may well be effective in their pure form and in setting a vision and norms for our society. Challenges are experienced in victims of human trafficking being willing to testify. Often, they are very afraid, or there can be traumatic-bonding with the trafficker and they don’t want to testify and can be labeled as “hostile witnesses.” There are good reasons for fear, because who can truly protect them from the trafficker, the trafficker’s family, or, the trafficker’s gang? That is the big question. Even when the trafficker goes to prison, they can still extend influence beyond the prison walls. And, they eventually are released. If they are vindictive, they can still find the victim and threaten them in different ways. To be truly effective, laws must be accompanied by support. Governments must provide funding. No NA (Continued)

Appendix A

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 439

439

08-10-2021 11:28:40

AB

NL

ON

004

005

Province

003

#

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 440

Yes

No

Yes

Working in TIP

Unknown within the last 12 months however, to date we have supported 251 victims.

N/A

Seventeen clients served

Cases of TIP in the last 12 months

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes. We work collaboratively with law enforcement and government agencies to identify and response to human trafficking in Alberta.

Laws in Canada to address TIP? Are the laws helpful? Canada laws have been established to serve survivors of all forms of trafficking by empowering existing service systems, forming partnerships, and coordinating federal and local responses. Trough our assistance ACT Alberta clients have been able to contact to RCMP and Alberta Police, Alberta Government and IRCC if they need it; some have received open work permits and future permanent residency status in Canada, police investigation cases, and support from Alberta works and Alberta health. If time were on my side I would have added thoughts in the comment section as our organization have been working on the human trafficking topic for quite some time. We currently do not have provincial legislation in Newfoundland but hopeful we can change that with a submission and recommendations to government in the near future. In terms of laws being effective, officers attending an HT case can certainly lay charges in the very beginning but getting an actual conviction is difficult. Not to mention how re-traumatizing the criminal proceedings are for the victim and lack of trauma informed care during cross examination.

Comments

Appendix A  Nonprofit organizations’ responses to incidence of TIP and the effectiveness of the law in human trafficking in Canada—(Continued)

440 Appendix A

08-10-2021 11:28:41

006

ON

No. Our organization does not work directly with persons who are trafficked in Canada, although we always function—in our meetings, events, and other interactions—with the knowledge that anyone who participates in our events and activities could be a victim or survivor.

NA

Yes. Yes, there are laws in Canada that are aimed specifically at addressing the crime of trafficking in persons. There are also laws like the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA), which do not primarily use the language of human trafficking but still focus on combatting sexual exploitation by criminalizing the purchasers and exploiters themselves, rather than the men and women who are involved in sex work, often against their will.

Yes, these laws are effective. We have already seen them being put into practice in the courts, in the context of both combatting sex trafficking and labour trafficking. In particular, PCEPA does an excellent job by focusing on a root issue—one that many of our members have identified and raised concerns about— that fuels the demand for sexual exploitation: the purchasers of sex (sometimes referred to as “johns”). This asymmetrical criminalization model—colloquially known as the Nordic Model—has been remarkably successful in countries that have adopted and implemented it effectively. Currently, there are a number of municipalities that have refused to comply with PCEPA, which has understandably caused problems and undermines the effectiveness of PCEPA. However, the fact that PCEPA targets the traffickers and purchasers means that victims are now shielded from criminal sanction and will be able to receive necessary support from law enforcement and the justice system.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 441 (Continued)

There is always more work to be done, of course, and so there are certainly ways that the laws could be strengthened. The sentences, for example, could be increased to ensure that a trafficker does not get out of prison in a short time period, re-locate his or her previous victims, and then re-victimize them. Our Coalition has also identified that law enforcement officers, lawyers, and other players in the criminal justice system would benefit from training on the various forms of human trafficking, particularly sex trafficking and labour trafficking. One final area where the laws could be strengthened would be in preventing the demand for human trafficking and sexual exploitation, namely by regulating the pornography industry. Our members have identified that pornography plays a crucial role in fuelling the demand for sex trafficking—to the point where some hotels make pornography available for their patrons and then facilitate the hiring of a sex worker, despite the reality that hotels are completely ill-equipped and financially dis-incentivized to be concerned about the significant possibility that the sex worker is being trafficked. There is also research and first-hand testimony evidence from survivors that has established that the pornography industry itself uses human trafficking and sexual exploitation to create content. The GirlsDoPorn case in the United States is evidence of this fact. Therefore, it would behoove the federal and provincial governments to begin regulating the pornography industry, including by making it a crime to distribute and view pornography that was made non-consensually—just as distributing and viewing child pornography is already criminalized—and by empowering victims and survivors with legal mechanisms to facilitate the removal of pornography featuring their image or likeness from pornographic websites.

Appendix A 441

08-10-2021 11:28:41

007

#

ON

Province

Yes. We address international cases, focusing but not only in labour trafficking.

Working in TIP Ninety-seven cases on Human Trafficking for Labour Exploitation, three on sex trafficking, and several with possible both labour and sex intersectionality.

Cases of TIP in the last 12 months Yes

Laws in Canada to address TIP? Although we are talking about law enforcement which is not bad, there are gaps in the law that possibly facilitate labour exploitation and labour trafficking, such as the tied work permits to a single employer, and in different categories not pathways to permanent residence, which means increasing the precariousness and vulnerability for many. Additionally, Canada does not provide full coverage or full access to social services for underground (non-status migrants).

Are the laws helpful? We are part of several collective advocacy efforts for policy change, including CCR (Canadian Council of Refugees), MRN Migrant Rights Network, CNEE Collaborative Network to End Exploitation, MWAC Migrant Workers Alliance for Change

Comments

Appendix A  Nonprofit organizations’ responses to incidence of TIP and the effectiveness of the law in human trafficking in Canada—(Continued)

442 Appendix A

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 442

08-10-2021 11:28:41

Appendix B

 

443

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 443

08-10-2021 11:28:41

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 444

20,944

1970–2020

Alberta Court of Appeal

15, 21 Oct 2020 4

10,094

2000–2020

Provincial Court of British Columbia

3

67,022

British Columbia Supreme Court

2

1990–2020

Decisions 25,449

Year

1990–2020

Jurisdiction

British Columbia Court of Appeal

16 Aug 2020 1

Date

4

0

“Trafficking in persons”

4

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

4

7

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

2

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 12

5

Hits

“Human trafficking”

Keywords

Notes

4 Human trafficking*; 1 Alleged human *Some cases are trafficking investigation; 4 Sexual repetitive assault/sex trade; 1 human smuggling acquittal 2 Trafficking in persons; 1 Peonage; 1 Mischief of property; 1 Transferring prohibited weapons; 1 Drug trafficking; 1 Re: Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada; *Some repetitions from above 2 Human trafficking; 1 Break and enter, potential human trafficking; 1 sexual offence/potential human trafficking *Some 2 Trafficking in persons*; 1 Human cases are smuggling/trafficking*; 1 Hit and run repetitive offence 1 Allegations of human trafficking; 1 Ideas of human trafficking mentioned; 1 Possible interception of human trafficking; 1 Firearm

2 Human trafficking; 1 Human trafficking/smuggling; 1 Prostitution/ smuggling; 1 RCMP Refusal of production order 1 Sexual offence, 1 Human smuggling

Brief Case Description

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada

444 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:41

7,042

10,069

23,815

3,153

1998–2020

1979–2020

1981–2020

2001–2020

Alberta Provincial Court

Saskatchewan Court of Appeal

Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bence

Saskatchewan Provincial Court

15, 22 Oct 2020 7

8

9

6

29,237

1971–2020

Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench

5

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 445

“Trafficking in persons”

1

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

0

0

0

1

1

3

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

2

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 2

10

“Human trafficking”

1 Indecent assault

1 Human trafficking*

6 human trafficking; 1 Sexual assault; 1 Aggravated assault (ideals of human trafficking); 1 Child custody; 1 Securities 1 Mortgage foreclosure; 1 Sexual offence 1 Complainant involved in another human trafficking case; 1 Delusional obsession of human trafficking 1 trafficking in persons; 2 Assault with a weapon 1 Human trafficking

(Continued)

*The case is the same as that in the Court of Appeal

Appendix B 445

08-10-2021 11:28:42

Ontario Court of 1994–2020 Appeal

14, 15, 24 Oct 2020 13

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 446

31,496

1,072

2000–2020

Manitoba Provincial Court

12

13,064

2000–2020

Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench

11

9,585

Decisions

1998–2020

Year

Manitoba Court of Appeal

Jurisdiction

16, 22 Oct 2020 10

Date

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

0

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

20

0

2

1

1

1

Hits

“Human trafficking”

Keywords

17 Human/drug trafficking; 2 Prostitution/sexual offences; 1 Drug trafficking

1 Immigration fraud; 1 Sexual abuse

1 Drug trafficking

1 Child protection*

1 Child protection

Brief Case Description

Notes

*The case is the same as that in the Court of Appeal

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada (Continued)

446 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:42

13,891

55,725

145,060

Ontario Court of 2004–2020 Justice

1986–2020

2001–2020

Quebec Court of Appeal

Quebec Superior Court

15, 24 Oct 2020 16

17

6,862

15

2002–2020

Ontario Divisional Court

14

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 447

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

4

3

2 human trafficking; 1 murder associated with human trafficking allegation; 1 murder by a victim of trafficking

2 Trafficking in persons/substance/ sexual assault*; 1firearm trafficking**

1 Trafficking in persons/substance/ sexual assault

Not Reviewed

17 1

Not Reviewed

0

“Trafficking in person” “Human trafficking” “Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

1 Allegations of human trafficking; 1 Contract retainer relating to human trafficking allegations; 1 Ideas of human trafficking

3 trafficking in persons* 1 Sexual offence

50

3

4

“human trafficking”

“trafficking in persons”

(Continued)

*One of cases is the same as that in the Court of Appeal **In French

*Two cases are the same as that in the Court of Appeal

Appendix B 447

08-10-2021 11:28:42

397,088

6,914

10,865

656

1990–2020

1990–2020

2003–2020

New Brunswick Court of Appeal

New Brunswick Court of Queen’s Bench

New Brunswick Provincial Court

16, 22 Oct 2020 19

20

Decisions

2001–2020

Year

Court of Quebec

Jurisdiction

18

Date

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 448

“Trafficking in persons”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “human trafficking”

Keywords

0

0

1

0

0

0

2

4

0

Hits

1 Primary designated offence

1 Human trafficking/child protection; 1 Breach of trust mentions risk of human trafficking; 2 Prostitution and sexual exploitation of a minor** 1 Human trafficking and prostitution; 1 Sexual assault and exploitation**

Brief Case Description

Notes

**In French

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada (Continued)

448 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:43

Nova Scotia Court of Appeal

Nova Scotia Supreme Court

Nova Scotia Supreme Court-Family Division

Nova Scotia Provincial Court

16, 23 Oct 2020 21

22

23

24

6,144

11,200

304

1,290

1990–2020

1991–2020

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 449

2001–2020

2001–2020

“Trafficking in persons”

0

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 5

7

0

3

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

1

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 8

0

“Human trafficking”

3 Prostitution; 1 human trafficking; 1 Sex trade workers, human trafficking related; 1 Sex prosecution; 1 Contraband tobacco 1 Trafficking in persons*; 2 Sexual offence/exploitation; 1 Assault and damage of property; 1 Robbery

2 Trafficking in persons*; 1 Firearm

7 Human trafficking as a sexual assault offence; 1 Prostitution

1 Sexual offence

(Continued)

*The case is the same as that in the Provincial Court

*The case is the same as that in the Court of Appeal

Appendix B 449

08-10-2021 11:28:43

9 + 6 on official website

2,474

6,717

Last updated 2018

1985–2020

1987–2020

Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal

Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court

16, 23 Oct 2020 28

29

27

Prince Edward Island Provincial Court

Prince Edward Island Supreme Court

26

2,131

Decisions

1993–2020

Year 1,163

Jurisdiction

Prince Edward Island Court of Appeal

16, 23 Oct 2020 25

1993–2020

Date

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 450

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

0

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

2

0

0

2 Sexual assaults

1 Drug trafficking

1

0

1 Fraud

1 Large scale human trafficking and immigration

Brief Case Description

1

1

0

Hits

“Human trafficking”

Keywords

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada (Continued) Notes

450 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:43

2001–2020

1996–2020

2000–2020

2001–2020

Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Court

Yukon Supreme Court

Yukon Supreme Court

Territorial Court of Yukon

30

17, 23 Oct 2020 31

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 451

1,318

1,265

354

2,279

0

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” “Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 0

0

0

0

33

“Trafficking in persons”

“Human trafficking”

1

2

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

5 harassments; 1 Theft; 2 Fraud; 1 Illegal sale of moose meat; 1 Driving prohibition; 5 Breach of undertaking/ probation; 11 Sexual/Assault with weapon/threats prohibitions; 1 Mischief; 1 Obstruct the course of justice; 2 Driving prohibition; 1 Indecent phone call

1 Production order

2 Sexual assaults*

(Continued)

*The cases are the same as those in the Supreme Court

Appendix B 451

08-10-2021 11:28:43

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 452

105

2001–2020

Nunavut Court of Appeal

17 Oct 2020 35

394

2001–2020

34

Northwest Territories Territorial Court

Northwest Territories Supreme Court

33

1,941

Northwest Territories Court of Appeal

1996–2020

Decisions

283

Year

1996–2020

Jurisdiction

17, 23 Oct 2020 32

Date

2

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Hits

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

Keywords

1 Threats and breach of undertaking 1 Assault

1 Drug trafficking involving an investigation of a victim of trafficking

1 Drug trafficking involving an investigation of a victim of trafficking

Brief Case Description

Notes

*The case is the same as that in the Supreme Court

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada (Continued)

452 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:44

11,449

7,804

604

1876–2020

2015–2020

Last updated 2019-0425

Supreme Court of Canada

Supreme Court of CanadaApplication for Leave

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

23 Oct 2020 38

23 Oct 2020 39

23 Oct 2020 40

5

2011–2016

Nunavut Youth Justice Court

23 Oct 2020 37

491

1999–2020

Nunavut Court of Justice

36

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 453

“Trafficking in persons”

0

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” 0

0

0

2

4

0

2 Smuggling/migrants

2 Smuggling/migrants; 1 Sexual offence against children; 1 Drug trafficking

1 Sexual offence

1 0

1 Human trafficking; 1 Murder

2

0

“Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons”

“Trafficking in person” “Human trafficking”

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” “Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking”

(Continued)

*The case is the same as that in the Supreme Court

Appendix B 453

08-10-2021 11:28:44

Federal Court of Appeal of Canada

Federal Court of Canada

46

42

Total

Jurisdiction

23 Oct 2020 41

Date

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 454

1876–2020

1997–2020

1997–2020

Year

993,395

35,546

9,071

Decisions

186

106

73

6

“Trafficking in persons” “Human trafficking” “Trafficking in persons”

0

Hits

“Human trafficking”

Keywords

Not reviewed

2 People smuggling/trafficking; 1 People smuggling; 2 Immigration; 1 Drug trafficking Not reviewed

Brief Case Description

Appendix B  Showing Supreme, Federal, Provincial, Territorial Court Cases on Trafficking in Persons in Canada (Continued) Notes

454 Appendix B

08-10-2021 11:28:44

Index

abilitating, 87 abolishing, 163 abolishment, 181, 389 abolitionist, 23, 93, 167, 181, 396 abuse, 16, 53, 64, 70, 72, 73, 83, 90, 109, 112, 115, 116, 121, 143, 162, 179, 181, 184, 190, 191, 216, 219, 220, 224, 236, 237, 241, 265, 298, 317, 330, 347–53, 356–59, 370, 376, 378, 401, 402, 411 activists, 59, 71, 72, 91, 194, 264, 348, 372, 377 advocacy groups, 196, 213 agency, 24, 56, 70, 72, 73, 93, 172, 347, 357 Alberta, 116, 126, 127, 129, 131 Andhra Pradesh, 58, 70, 74, 75, 77, 380 anti-Semitism, 41 anti-trafficking, 24, 69, 70, 81, 82, 85, 86, 88, 89, 91–97, 99, 101, 103, 162, 166, 169, 179–81, 183, 188, 192, 193, 196–201, 203, 225, 226, 229, 271, 294–97, 314, 413 anxiety-related disorders, 401 Argentina, 32, 37, 41–43, 52, 195, 283, 289, 291, 292, 294, 337 Ashcroft, John, 181, 205, 206 assemblages, 83 Automated Teller Machine (ATM) theft, 309

Autonomy Law, 256, 257 banality of evil, 94 Bangladesh, 76, 77, 186, 193, 195, 218, 221, 264, 265, 268–71, 273–78, 331, 335 Barbery piracy, 160 Barren Campaign, 248 biolegitimacy, 93 biopower, 82, 83 bipolar disorder, 402 bonded labor, 57, 74, 179, 186 bottomless pit, 214 branded, 112 Brazil, 185–87, 193, 195, 283, 291, 292, 294, 337, 378, 426, 428 Britain, 26–28, 31, 33, 36, 40, 44, 47, 50, 185, 360, 368 British, 26–31, 39–42, 46–49, 116, 120, 122, 161, 185, 342, 344, 350, 356, 359, 361, 364, 367, 398, 402 brothel owners, 57, 62 brothels, 26, 39, 53, 57, 60, 70, 288, 308, 314, 377, 396, 413 Calabar, 347, 349, 353, 354, 356, 360– 62, 364–67 Canada, 107–22, 168, 195, 288, 337, 369 Canadian Charter of Rights, 115, 121 Canadian Criminal Code, 108

455

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 455

08-10-2021 11:28:44

456

Index

capitalism, 54, 83, 87, 90, 93, 96, 136, 139, 140, 143, 144, 147, 182, 213, 349, 399 Capitalist globalization, 55 Caribbean, 122, 128, 181, 186, 194, 281, 283–89, 292, 300, 301, 304–7, 312, 314, 321, 325, 412 celebritization, 93, 97, 102 celebrity activism and advocacy, 81, 91 celebrity awareness campaigns, 93 child, 3–8, 10–12, 15, 16, 28, 35, 45, 65, 69, 92, 93, 99, 102, 112, 115, 116, 139, 151, 157, 163, 173–76, 182, 186, 187, 191, 196, 200, 201, 208, 216, 219, 226, 229–32, 234–37, 242, 264, 270, 281–83, 286–88, 295, 297–99, 301, 304, 305, 308, 309, 319, 320, 331, 332, 347–60, 366, 378–80, 384–87, 394, 404, 407, 412–14, 432 children, 3–17, 29, 32, 33, 53, 54, 58, 60, 65, 66, 72, 76, 77, 92, 93, 99–103, 107–9, 112, 122, 147, 167, 171, 179, 181, 183, 184, 186, 187, 189, 192, 197, 203, 204, 213–15, 218, 219, 223–25, 227, 228, 230–32, 234–36, 239, 263, 265, 267, 268, 272, 281–83, 286–89, 295, 297, 298, 301, 304, 305, 308, 309, 313, 318, 331, 342, 344, 347–59, 361, 370, 372, 374, 378–80, 391, 393, 396, 397, 412–16, 424, 432 child sex tourism, 270, 281, 288, 297– 99, 308, 378, 379 Child Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking Act, 116 child soldiers, 309 child victims of prosti- tution, 378 China, 24, 136, 186, 187, 195, 204, 208, 241, 243, 245–48, 250, 254, 255, 258–61, 292, 316, 337, 363, 367, 417 Chinese Communist Party (CCP), 245 Chittagong, 268 choice, 9, 12, 24, 55, 66, 89, 127, 132, 331

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 456

Christian, 27, 31, 40, 351, 373, 374 Clash of Civilizations, 243, 258, 260, 261 class consciousness, 347, 357 coerced, 68, 109, 110, 179, 225, 233, 264, 288, 308, 395 Cold War, 24, 25, 183, 188, 202, 243, 369, 370 colonial, 14, 31, 34, 37, 40, 96, 110, 118, 122, 160, 168, 182, 252, 276, 347, 350, 351, 358, 398, 400 colonial imperialism, 160 colonies, 31 colorline, 159–62 commercial sex, 25, 35, 56, 57, 111, 164, 170, 174, 190, 263, 264, 282, 285, 297, 307, 308, 373, 377, 391, 401 commercial sex industry, 263, 307, 373, 377, 391 commodification, 55, 57, 142, 143, 147, 148, 215 commodity fetishism, 88, 89 communications of the traffickers, 307 comorbidity, 402 concept of, 7, 11, 23, 27, 31, 32, 35, 40, 82–85, 88, 90, 93, 94, 111, 135, 272, 352 conflict, 3–7, 9, 11, 12, 15–17, 25, 61, 112, 203, 217, 219, 224, 235, 243, 244, 249, 250, 252, 253, 283, 284, 308, 332, 340, 342, 343, 369, 397– 99, 414, 415 constitutional, 30, 118, 227 contagious diseases, 414 convention, 6, 11, 18, 19, 24, 25, 30, 32, 34, 35, 38, 43, 44, 48, 51, 100, 104, 109–14, 124, 151, 157, 162, 170, 175, 176, 182, 183, 203, 209, 214, 227, 282, 305, 348, 359, 368, 377, 393, 405, 409, 416, 426 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 110, 112, 124 court cases, 118, 120, 122, 333

08-10-2021 11:28:45

Index

Covid- 19, 24 Cox’s Bazar, 265, 270, 272 criminalized sex trafficking, 294 Critical Legal Studies, 133, 143–46, 148, 149, 153–57 cultural narrative, 23 cyber-mediated prostitution, 373, 375 dasi, 56 dasis, 56, 59 definition of, 7, 37, 88, 109, 113, 137, 182–84, 189, 214, 234, 282, 296, 376 depression, 62, 65, 72, 401, 402 desiring-machine, 83, 84 deterritorialization, 84 Devadasi system, 56 disciplinary power, 83 discourse, 26, 36, 69, 81–83, 86, 89–91, 93, 94, 96, 102, 111, 137, 144–46, 181 discrimination, 57, 96, 118, 122, 213, 217, 222, 223, 225, 226, 265, 272, 283, 308, 340, 355, 414, 415 dislocation, 340, 341 dissociation, 401 domestic servitude, 187, 264, 268–70, 309, 348, 349, 358, 416 Dominican Republic, 186, 283, 285, 287, 288, 291–94, 307, 313, 378 Eastern Europe, 28, 31, 75, 77, 94, 187, 292, 337 economic, 192, 330, 340, 369, 371, 431 education, 6, 55, 61, 62, 66, 73, 190, 192, 196, 217, 218, 229, 236, 246, 249, 250, 252, 255, 271, 299, 355, 358, 402, 414, 416, 425 Empire, 26, 28, 31, 41, 42, 48, 49, 358, 363, 366 end of, 14, 23–25, 39, 54, 89, 136, 171, 182, 183, 188, 202, 247, 248, 252, 281, 373, 400, 420 Enugu, 347, 353, 354, 356, 360–63, 367, 368 enunciative assemblage, 85

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 457

457

epistemological approach, 133, 144, 145 ethnic cleansing, 263, 264 ethnic groups, 164, 219, 243, 265, 398, 400 ethnic minority, 243, 246, 251 ethnoscapes, 268 exploitation, 3, 4, 6, 24, 25, 34, 35, 53, 56, 59, 72, 73, 81, 83, 85, 87–89, 91–94, 97, 103, 107, 109, 111–14, 116, 121, 139, 149, 156, 161–63, 166, 174, 179, 184, 187, 192, 198, 213–16, 218, 219, 222, 224, 233, 235, 241, 263–72, 275, 281–93, 298, 299, 308–11, 321–25, 343, 348, 350, 353, 370, 372, 374, 375, 377, 378, 380, 381, 384, 386, 389, 391–93, 396, 403, 411–15, 424 exploiters, 92, 185, 309 federal laws, 113 feminism, 55 forced labor, 25, 35, 53, 59, 96, 113, 179, 182, 184, 186–89, 213, 214, 219, 241, 242, 250, 251, 263, 264, 267–71, 308, 313, 320, 321, 332, 337, 339, 340, 348, 378, 384, 386, 391, 393, 396, 411–13, 424 foster, 117, 220, 248, 254 France, 29, 30, 162, 195, 337, 390, 395, 396, 402, 405, 406, 409, 417, 421, 423, 424 from climate change, 24 the game, 136, 145 gender, 24, 36, 40, 53, 73, 74, 97, 118, 181, 216, 217, 222, 224, 229, 232, 267, 272, 282, 289, 293, 298, 299, 343, 352, 399, 412, 415 genocide, 253 Global Alliance against Traffic in Women (GAATW), 34, 183 global economy, 54, 139, 184, 198, 266, 267, 341 globalization, 3, 4, 7, 23, 25, 36, 54, 55, 57, 137–43, 147, 148, 151, 152, 156,

08-10-2021 11:28:45

458

Index

157, 185, 200, 215, 228, 244, 253, 264, 266, 268, 272, 283, 333, 335, 372, 399, 400, 431, 432 Global North, 93, 298, 340 Global South, 93, 110, 213–15, 298 global trafficking, 264, 333 governance, 134, 252, 414 gradients, 431 Greater Toronto Area, 118 guardians, 12, 16, 348, 353, 355, 359 Haiti, 186, 195, 283, 287, 288, 294, 307 Han Chinese, 247–49, 251, 252, 254, 256, 257 history of, 25, 58, 97, 101, 110, 134, 135, 163, 246–49, 251, 298, 329, 404 HIV/AIDS, 376, 414, 426, 428 homo celeritas, 140 hopelessness theory, 402 housework, 347 human rights, 35, 37, 54, 70, 121, 138, 147, 150, 151, 156, 157, 166, 179, 181–83, 188, 201, 204, 208, 213, 214, 217, 220, 227, 229, 241, 242, 245–47, 251, 253–55, 258, 265, 270, 281, 307, 320, 341, 344, 349, 389, 412 human trafficking, 3, 4, 23–25, 35, 36, 53, 58, 68, 69, 72, 81, 83, 85–89, 91–97, 108–11, 113, 115–22, 133, 139, 142, 148, 160, 164, 165, 167, 180, 183, 185, 189, 192, 193, 197, 198, 200, 213–20, 223, 224, 226–30, 232, 241–43, 246, 263, 264, 266–72, 281, 282, 294, 307, 308, 310, 312, 314, 320, 325, 329–33, 335, 337–40, 369–73, 377–80, 389–400, 402, 403, 412–14, 416–21, 424, 431–33 human trafficking organizations, 307, 310, 312, 320, 339 immigration, 25, 57, 70, 114, 121, 127, 130, 181, 185, 190, 192, 193, 196, 197, 206, 213, 217, 233, 266, 288, 297, 308, 371, 372, 380

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 458

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, 108, 113, 127, 129 Indonesia, 103, 193, 195, 265, 331 Interdepartmental Working Group on Trafficking, 117 International Abolitionist Federation (IAF), 26, 39 International Bureau, 30, 204, 208 International Labor Organization (ILO), 53, 110, 112, 179, 182, 263, 412, 426 Islamic fundamentalism, 245 Jewish Association for the Protection of Women and Girls, 28 journalism, 27, 33, 40 jurisdiction, 14, 92, 113, 115, 162, 372, 373, 393 laborers, 16, 56, 63, 89, 92, 93, 96, 182, 221, 347, 348, 399 Lagos, 349, 351, 357, 360–65, 367 landlord, 59 Latin America, 186, 187, 194, 281, 284, 286, 300, 303–7, 312, 314, 321, 325, 337, 360, 366, 412 laws, 3, 6, 7, 13, 17, 29, 32, 58, 66, 70, 73, 84, 108, 110, 113, 116, 119, 120, 122, 159, 161, 162, 166, 169, 171, 183, 185, 188, 189, 192, 219, 228, 233, 250, 271, 282, 293–97, 332, 341, 373, 375–77, 394, 395, 413, 432 League of Nations, 6, 32, 33, 43, 46, 48, 50, 162, 170, 182 learned helplessness, 402 legislation, 31, 108, 112, 118, 119, 138, 161, 171, 183, 199, 228, 231, 233, 253, 294, 332, 350, 375, 413 liberalization, 54, 215 the life of, 186, 191 machinic assemblage, 85 machinic enslavement, 83, 84 Mann Act, 31, 42, 50, 162, 188, 373, 374, 381–83, 385, 386, 388 marginalized, 53, 55, 82, 110, 253

08-10-2021 11:28:45

Index

marriages, 33, 65, 74, 162, 216, 229–31, 242, 263, 269, 283, 299, 337, 343, 344, 391, 415, 424 massage parlors, 57, 165–67, 172, 175 master, 134, 354–56, 358, 359 meaning of, 12, 39, 373 media, 8, 25, 28, 33, 70, 82, 88, 89, 91, 92, 94, 99, 102, 138, 215, 223–25, 232, 269, 287, 288, 347, 375 medical, 26, 192, 250, 392, 431 mental disorders, 401–3 migrant children, 286 migration, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 35, 36, 38, 42, 52, 54, 57, 96, 109, 110, 139, 151, 156, 157, 181, 182, 215, 218–20, 222, 223, 227, 232, 233, 286, 296, 329, 369, 380, 400, 407, 409, 424, 431 minimum standards, 190, 191, 194, 270, 293, 294, 296, 298, 332, 394, 395, 398 minor, 69–71, 171, 282, 349, 399 minzus, 256 mistresses, 351–53, 356 modern-day slavery, 35, 109, 110, 179, 181, 214, 263, 330, 332, 348, 431 modernity, 27, 31, 40, 134–37, 141, 143, 144, 147–49, 151, 152, 155– 57, 225 modern slavery, 24, 36, 81, 86, 88, 92, 160, 166, 168, 173, 176, 180, 213, 214, 220, 233, 341, 384, 386, 389, 391, 411, 412, 428 mood disorders, 402 Myanmar, 263–65, 268, 269, 271–78, 316, 325, 331 Napoleonic system, 25 national action plan, 73 National Freedom Day, 163, 171, 172, 175–77 national homogenization, 265 National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 163, 168, 172, 173, 175–77

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 459

459

National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking, 108, 117 National Vigilance Association (NVA), 28 negative cognitive triad, 402 neoliberalism, 54, 90, 400 Nepal, 58, 76, 77, 186, 193, 195, 218, 221, 331 Network for Sex Workers Project (NSWP), 34 Nigeria, 16, 187, 194, 195, 316, 331, 336, 347, 349–51, 353, 357, 394, 398, 415–22, 424 The Nigerian Eastern Mail, 351–53, 361–67 nonbiological, 348, 353, 357 nongovernmental organization, 159 offenders, 108, 117, 162, 271, 298, 308, 372, 414 Ontario, 108, 126, 132 organ harvesting, 310 organized crime, 24, 38, 51, 112, 170, 175, 183, 203, 204, 208, 209, 214, 233, 238, 282, 305, 322, 324, 341, 344, 364, 377, 393, 405, 409, 416, 426 organ transplant, 186 othering, 27, 352 Owerri, 347, 354, 355, 362, 365, 366 Palermo protocols, 392 pandemic, 24, 25, 51, 84, 120, 216, 223, 225, 234, 236, 238, 239 parents, 4, 5, 9, 12, 16, 61, 65, 68, 186, 225, 269, 288, 319, 320, 331, 347, 348, 350–59, 416, 425 passports, 27, 33, 189, 315 patterns, 31, 58, 67, 74, 146, 286, 333, 336, 349, 402, 415, 416 Peel Regional Police, 118 philanthropic capitalism, 90 pimp, 60, 66, 164, 165, 316, 317, 321 the police, 28, 29, 59, 60, 67–70, 201, 208, 214, 226–28, 230, 232, 315, 317, 349

08-10-2021 11:28:45

460

Index

policing, 25, 28, 42, 183, 186, 249, 376 population, 25, 54, 57, 181, 185, 204, 215, 221, 223, 241, 242, 244, 248– 51, 254–57, 264, 271, 330, 335, 336, 338, 409, 414, 415, 425, 432 pornography, 110, 112, 124, 236, 238, 387 positivism, 144, 146 postmodernism, 149, 150, 153, 154, 156 Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 401, 403, 406 poverty, 57, 74, 77, 166, 278, 341, 344, 426, 428 prefectures, 256 prosecutions, 3, 4, 116, 183, 197, 198, 272, 295, 332 prostitutes, 187, 298, 316, 351, 374–76, 396 prostitution, 24–28, 30–36, 55–57, 74, 109–12, 115, 119, 121, 139, 166, 179, 182, 184, 187, 242, 269, 284, 285, 292, 298, 308, 311, 314, 351, 358, 369, 372–78, 380, 381, 383, 391, 395, 396, 403, 407–9, 411, 415, 416 Protect Act, 191 public health risks, 373, 374 punish, 64, 70, 97, 101, 111, 182, 189, 190, 192, 199, 312, 373, 393, 403, 416 quota, 318, 356 race, 32, 36, 97, 142, 159–61, 166, 342, 343, 400 racism, 118, 122, 281, 399 radical openness, 81 Rakhine State, 264 rape, 186, 191, 197, 255, 268, 314, 358, 381 refugees, 110, 113, 121, 122, 127, 130, 196, 219, 224, 264, 265, 267, 272, 274, 277, 288, 329, 335, 371, 424 registration, 7, 8, 15, 26 rescue industry, 81, 87, 91–94, 96, 99, 100, 103

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 460

resources, 9, 55, 73, 95, 147, 183, 194, 215, 219, 230, 247, 283, 284, 294, 295, 303, 305, 331, 341, 350, 356, 371, 398, 399, 414, 428 reterritorialization, 84 rhizome, 85, 98, 103 Rohingyas, 263–65, 267, 269–73, 275, 277, 279, 331, 335 Romania, 193, 195 Rome Treaty, 12 Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), 111 sending country, 311 servanthood, 347, 349, 358 sex industry, 25, 55, 57, 163, 185, 187, 266, 299, 342, 343, 348, 372, 379, 380 sex markets, 24 sexscapes, 272 sex slavery, 35, 36, 68, 163, 186, 267, 269, 270 sex tourism, 3, 34, 74, 151, 156, 287, 293, 295, 298, 308, 378, 379, 381, 384, 386, 396 sex trade, 55, 73, 102, 120, 159–61, 163, 164, 166–69, 187, 188, 227, 270, 272, 308 sex trafficking, 61, 62, 70, 74, 99–101, 109, 110, 121, 139, 140, 147, 148, 159–62, 164–67, 169, 170, 175, 180, 189, 190, 219, 230, 267, 268, 270, 271, 281–85, 287–90, 293–99, 308, 315, 316, 319, 320, 331, 358, 396, 413 sexual exploitation, 25, 56, 107, 184, 235, 268, 269, 286, 287, 289, 291, 378, 411 sexuality, 24, 36, 55–58, 101, 152, 155, 162, 319, 352 sexual violence, 219, 412 Sinicization, 243, 245, 246, 251, 252, 254–57, 259, 260 slavery, 23, 25–38, 40, 42, 45, 53, 56, 75, 77, 83, 86, 99–102, 107, 111,

08-10-2021 11:28:45

Index

112, 123, 130, 131, 160–63, 168, 170, 172, 173, 175–77, 182–90, 192, 196, 198, 199, 201, 202, 207, 214, 220, 241, 263, 267, 269, 275, 277, 292, 308, 310, 330–32, 348, 349, 360, 367, 378, 389, 391, 392, 395, 399, 404, 411, 412, 428, 431 slave trade, 17, 20, 30, 40–42, 45–47, 49, 122, 123, 128, 130, 131, 159, 162, 163, 182, 203, 209 smugglers, 57, 216, 224 social agents, 91 social machine, 83, 84 social subjection, 84 social welfare, 174, 231, 303, 351, 353 sociocultural, 331, 340, 369, 371, 373, 375, 377, 379, 381, 383, 385, 387 sociology of associations, 86 sociology of the social, 86 sources, 40, 43, 62, 95, 117, 159, 179, 182, 186, 225, 250, 299, 329, 333, 369, 396, 421 South Asia, 55, 57, 75, 77, 78, 186, 215, 233, 234, 236, 238, 273, 279, 337 Southeast Asia, 54, 75, 79, 94, 186, 234, 238, 265, 267, 268, 272–74, 277, 278, 331, 337, 378, 423 spatial distribution, 329 spectacle, 88, 89, 92, 94, 96, 98, 101 stable, 82, 148, 399 stateless, 218, 264, 265, 270, 272, 335 Statistics Canada (StatsCan), 120 Strike Hard Campaign of 1996, 248 Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), 282 temporal trends, 330 temporary resident permit, 118, 121 territorialization, 85 terrorism, 24, 150, 153–55, 235, 342, 345 threat of, 12, 82, 108, 114, 171, 184, 186, 294, 308 traffickers, 24, 27, 28, 30–32, 36, 40, 57, 58, 62, 67, 68, 71, 96, 111, 117, 118, 122, 139, 163, 164, 169, 180,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 461

461

183–89, 191–93, 196–98, 200, 214, 216, 218, 220, 223–27, 230–32, 263, 265–70, 272, 288, 293, 295, 297, 304, 307, 311–13, 315–17, 320, 321, 330, 337, 340, 390, 391, 395–98, 402–4, 415, 421–23, 425, 432 Trafficking in Persons (TIP), 24, 37, 38, 48, 51, 74, 79, 95, 100, 104, 108–10, 112, 113, 117, 123, 124, 127–29, 132, 166, 168–70, 172, 173, 175–77, 179–81, 183, 185, 187, 189, 191–93, 195–97, 199, 201–9, 214, 233–35, 239, 264, 268, 270, 272, 273, 275, 276, 279, 282, 291, 294–96, 299– 302, 305–7, 321, 322, 324, 325, 332, 336, 338, 342, 344, 345, 375, 377, 383, 388, 392, 405, 408, 411, 413, 414, 416, 425–29 trafficking of sex slaves, 162 The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), 168 transnational, 23–27, 29, 32, 92, 179, 181, 192, 213, 215, 217, 232, 264, 266, 269, 310, 342, 344, 377, 392, 432 transport, 27, 215, 257, 266, 268, 282, 311, 355 trends in, 74, 153–55, 284, 287, 425 U.N. convention on human trafficking, 341 underprivileged, 53, 63, 74 undocumented, 109, 110, 122, 182, 222, 285, 371 Uniform Crime Reporting Survey Manual, 120 United Nations (U.N.), 169, 391 United Nations Economic and Social Council, 186 United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), 309 United Nations Organization for Drugs and Crime (UNODC), 24 United States Department of State, 99, 103, 107, 123, 132, 264

08-10-2021 11:28:45

462

Index

UN Protocol to Prevent, 184, 192, 201 urbanization, 36, 57, 61 Uyghur, 241, 243–62 Vancouver, 119, 127, 130 Vetti system, 59 victim-citizens, 419–21 victimhood, 93 victimized, 348 victimology, 160, 166 victims, 3, 4, 36, 53–73, 92, 93, 107, 115–17, 119, 122, 133, 160–62, 164– 67, 169, 171, 172, 174, 175, 179–84, 186–92, 194, 196–98, 214, 216, 217, 220, 224–33, 241, 242, 263–65, 267– 72, 275, 281, 285–97, 307, 309–12, 314–18, 320, 321, 323, 325, 330–33, 335, 337, 339, 340, 342, 343, 345, 370, 372, 375, 378, 379, 389–98, 401–3, 411–14, 416–25, 432 victims of human trafficking, 3, 4, 72, 116, 264, 268, 330, 331, 333, 335, 337, 339, 340, 343, 389, 392, 394, 397, 401–3, 412, 414, 416, 418, 419, 421–25, 432 violence, 9, 13, 14, 68, 111, 121, 150, 151, 156, 157, 184, 185, 213, 216,

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 462

217, 219, 220, 222, 224, 248, 263, 272, 283, 308, 348, 351, 356, 358, 412, 415 West Bengal, 220, 224, 226, 228, 229, 231, 235, 236, 238 white slavery, 31, 37–42, 45–48, 375, 385, 386 wife, 65, 312, 354, 376 women, 24–29, 31–34, 36, 37, 41, 43, 53–61, 63, 66–70, 72–74, 76–78, 94, 100, 107–12, 119, 121, 122, 133, 139, 140, 147, 148, 151, 152, 156, 161, 162, 167, 170, 181, 183–89, 203, 204, 213–15, 217–19, 221, 223–28, 230, 231, 233–35, 239, 247, 263, 264, 268–70, 272, 281, 284, 286–93, 299, 302, 305, 306, 313–16, 318, 331, 341, 343, 347, 352, 357, 373–76, 378, 380, 391, 393, 396, 412–15, 426, 432 workplace, 356 World War II, 34, 166, 185 Xianjing, China, 241 Zygmunt Bauman, 134, 149–54

08-10-2021 11:28:45

About the Editors

Elisha J. Dung is an associate professor and coordinator of geography in the Department of Advancement Studies in the University College at Alabama State University. Dr. Dung is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Criminal Justice at Alabama State, where he teaches Computer Applications in the Social Sciences. Dr. Dung holds a PhD in geography from Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, and teaches courses in World Regional Geography, Cultural Geography, Regional Geography of North America, and the Geography of Africa. His most recent writings have been on African Diaspora, bilateral and multilateral cooperation between Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean; African migration, China in Africa, and African refugees and internally displaced persons. Dr. Dung is the author/ coauthor of several publications, including The Geographic Footprints of Castro’s Cuba in Africa (Lexington Books, 2020); The Human and Economic Cost of the African Liberation Struggle on Cuba (Lexington Books, 2020); The Human Cost of the Refugee Crisis in Africa (Springer, 2021); The Spatial Distribution of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa (Springer, 2021); and The Match of the Red Dragon: The Geographic Footprints of Chinese Presence in Africa (Lexington, 2021). Augustine Avwunudiogba is a professor of geography in the Department of Anthropology, Geography and Ethnic Studies, California State University Stanislaus. He holds a BSc (Hons) and MSc in geography from the University of Benin, Benin City, Nigeria, an MA in geographical studies from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Illinois. Dr. Avwunudiogba holds a PhD in geography from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas. He teaches courses in Geographic Problems of the Developing World, World Regional Geography, Regional Geography of Africa, and Regional Geography of 463

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 463

08-10-2021 11:28:45

464

About the Editors

Mexico and Central America. His current research focuses on the development issues and challenges in the Global South. His most recent publications include coauthored chapter/chapters in edited volumes: Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean: The Case for Bilateral and Multilateral Cooperation (Lexington Books, 2018), Fidel Castro and Africa’s Liberation Struggle (Lexington Books, 2020), China in Africa: Between Imperialism and Partnership in Humanitarian Development (Lexington Books, 2021), African Migrants and the Refugee Crisis (Springer, 2021), and The Challenges of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Africa (Springer, 2021).  Dr. Avwunudiogba is a member of the African Specialty, and Latin America Specialty group of the American Association of Geographers.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 464

08-10-2021 11:28:46

About the Contributors

Ibrahim Abdullahi is a lecturer in the Department of Geography, Taraba State University, Nigeria. He has a BSc (Geography) and MSc (Population and Manpower Planning) from the University of Jos, Nigeria. Dr. Abdullahi holds a PhD (Geography) from the International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan. His areas of specialization include human resources development, population movements, and medical geography. He has published articles in local and international journals. Ivon Alcime is an associate professor of Communication in the Department of Communications at Alabama State University. He was a member of the faculty at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Alabama. Dr. Alcime received his BA in philosophy in 1997, his MA in organizational communication in 2004, and his PhD in intercultural communication from Howard University in 2012. His published works include Fighting the Long War Against the Klan: The Black Panther as a Symbol of Self-Defense and Social Justice; and Nigeria’s Boko Haram, Narrative Ethics, and the War Against Terrorism. Dr. Alcime is a member of several scholarly organizations. Chinedu J. Anyamele is a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos. He has a BSc (Geography) and MSc (Population and Manpower Planning) from the University of Jos, Nigeria. His areas of specialization include population planning, human resources development, and medical geography. He has published articles in several journals. Yasser Arafath is an assistant professor at the University of Delhi since 2009 and was a visiting professor at IIT, Indore, from June to July 2014. His research focuses on the Indian Ocean, science and technology, absorbability, 465

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 465

08-10-2021 11:28:46

466

About the Contributors

Southeast Asia, and Islamic history. His publication includes “Literalization and Trans-Islamism: Life and After Life of Sayyed Sanaulla Makthi” (1848–1912) in Narendar Pani and Anshuman Behra (eds.), Reasoning Indian Politics: Philosopher Politicians to Politicians Seeking Philosophy. Routledge: London.2017. Leonard Sitji Bombom is a lecturer in the Department of Geography and Planning, University of Jos, Nigeria. He has an MSc (Environmental and Resources Planning; Jos, Nigeria); MA (Geography; UNI, Cedar Falls, Iowa, USA) and PhD (Geography; Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA). He has published extensively in many journals in the field of transportation, human activity analysis, environmental and resource management. Some of his recent publications are in African migration, African leaders and the Diaspora, and the human costs of the refugee crisis in Africa. His research interests include applications of GIS, time geography, and environmental security. Veronica Fynn Bruey is an award-winning scholar with an extensive interdisciplinary background, holding six academic degrees from world-class institutions across four continents. She is a module convenor at the University of London’s School of Advanced Study, the director of Flowers School of Global Health Science, a faculty affiliate at Seattle University School of Law, and a research affiliate with the University of London’s Refugee Law Initiative. She has authored three books, several book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles in reputable academic journals. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Internal Displacement; the co-founder and executive director of Tuki-Tumarankeh; the founder of the Law and Society’s Collaborative Research Network CRN 11: “Displaced Peoples”; and the founder of the Voice of West African Refugees (VOWAR), located at the Buduburam Refugee Settlement in Ghana. Veronica is a born and bred Liberian war survivor. Robin P. Chapdelaine is an assistant professor in the History Department at Duquesne University. Chapdelaine’s expertise is in child trafficking in southeastern Nigeria during the colonial era. She researches the history of child labor, specifically child pawning, child slavery, and child marriage and believes that scholars and policymakers can best understand the contemporary problems of child trafficking in West Africa by tracing its historical development from the precolonial era to today. Her book, The Persistence of Slavery: An Economic History of Child Trafficking in Nigeria (University of Massachusetts, Press January 2021) argues that despite efforts to abolish slavery throughout Africa in the nineteenth century, the coercive labor

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 466

08-10-2021 11:28:46

About the Contributors

467

systems that constitute “modern slavery” have continued to the present day. Slavery’s endurance can only be understood when we fully examine “the social economy of a child”—the broader commercial, domestic, and reproductive contexts in which children are economic vehicles. She also has forthcoming articles focused on Nigeria’s Calabar Remand Home (Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, Summer 2020), Adoption in Nigeria (Journal of West African History, Fall 2020), and Women Traders and Prostitutes in Colonial Fernando Pó (African Economic History, Fall 2020). Ruth Ennis is a doctoral candidate in Global History at the University of Leipzig, working under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Maren Möhring and Prof. Dr. Matthias Middell. Her research examines how the language of white slavery was employed in the latter half of the nineteenth century to frame narratives and arguments regarding young women’s engagement in sex work in the context of modernity, migration, and state regulation. Her thesis explores the contours and entanglements of these discourses and debates, thus mapping out how white slavery was made into a transnational problematique in the run-up to the signing of the first international agreement against the white slave trade in 1904. Between 2013 and 2015, Ruth Ennis worked as a student assistant at the University of Leipzig and thereafter as a research assistant (2015–2016) at the Collaborative Research Centre SFB 1199: “Processes of Spatialization under the Global Condition.” She has served on the Governing Council of the International Planned Parenthood Federation (2010–2013), and the Selection Committee of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (2019– 2020) where she is currently a scholarship holder for her PhD project. Ruth Ennis has an MA in Global Studies from the University of Leipzig and a BA in European Studies from the Technological University, Dublin. Brenda I. Gill received her PhD from Wayne State University, Detroit. She is a professor of Sociology, Department of Criminal Justice and Social Sciences at Alabama State University. Her more recent work includes a coauthored article, Counter-Discursive Practices of Vodou: Challenges to Haitian Imperialism in Ness, Z. Cope (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Imperialism and Anti-Imperialism 2020; and “Contemporary out-migration from CARICOM Countries: Its Impact and potential for growth of diaspora countries,” in Danns, George K., Yaw, Fitzgerald, and Griffith, Ivlaw (eds.), Dynamics of Caribbean Diaspora Engagement: People, Policy, Practice. Turkeyen, Guyana: University of Guyana Press. Alecia Dionne Hoffman is an associate professor of Political Science in the Department of History and Political Science at Alabama State University. She holds a BA from Alabama State University (1996), an MA from Auburn

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 467

08-10-2021 11:28:46

468

About the Contributors

University (1998), and a PhD from Clark Atlanta University (2015). Dr. Hoffman is the author, coauthor, editor, and coeditor of several publications. Some of her publications include: “Blacks in Asia: Identity and Belonging.” In Pan Africanism in Modern Times. Olayiwola Abegunrin and Sabella O. Abidde (eds.). Lanham: Lexington Publishers, 2016; “Trekking Across the Sahara: A Long History, Troubled Past, and Hopes for the Future.” In Africans and the Exiled Life: Migration, Culture, and Globalization. Sabella O. Abidde (ed.). Lanham: Lexington Publishers, 2018; and “Civil Rights in Other Countries.” In Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Ali Farazmand (ed.). New York: Springer Publications, 2016. Her areas of interest are South-South cooperation and development, international relations, international political economy, foreign policy, Asian-African relations, and Sino-African relations. She is involved with professional organizations such as the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS), the Chinese in Africa/Africans in China Research Initiative, and the Southern Political Science Association (SPSA). Áquila Mazzinghy holds a PhD in International Criminal Law from Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey (2021). He holds an LLM in Human Rights and Humanitarian Law from Washington College of Law, Washington-DC, US, 2009; and an LLB/Juris Doctor (United States), Federal University of Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil, 2008. Dr. Mazzinghy has worked as a lecturer and guest professor in several law schools since 2011 and is currently a guest lecturer of Public International Law at the Istanbul Center of International Law (ICIL). Dr. Mazzinghy teaches courses in Public International Law, International Criminal Law as well as International Human Rights Law. He has also spoken in many law conferences. Dr. Mazzinghy has also served as an intern in several capacities, such as the Mission Permanente du Brésil auprès de l’ONU à Genève and the War Crimes Research Office in Washington-DC. Dr. Mazzinghy’s academic work is focused on the intersection of war and the international protection of children. Dr. Mazzinghy’s research primarily focuses on the crimes committed by ISIL (Daesh) in Iraq. His most recent publications involve the protection of children’s rights under the InterAmerican and the European Courts of Human Rights. He has also been a licensed lawyer in Brazil since 2012. Abu K. Mboka is a professor of criminal justice at California State University, Stanislaus. Dr. Mboka holds a BSc, BA, MA, and PhD from Arizona State University. He teaches courses in constitutional rights of prisoners, critical examination of criminal law, international criminal justice systems, international and comparative criminal justice, criminal investigations, criminal

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 468

08-10-2021 11:28:47

About the Contributors

469

judicial process, advanced criminological theories, and social and legal rights of historically disenfranchised people. His research interests include international criminal justice systems and human rights matters. Dr. Mboka’s most recent book publications include Juvenile Delinquency in American Society: Race, Class, and Politics; Assessment and Classification of Juvenile Offenders: A Treatment Manual for Criminal Justice Practitioners; and Criminal Justice Assessment and Classification of Prisoners, Probationers, and Parolees. Jesse McKinnon is an assistant professor of Sociology in the Department of Criminal Justice & Social Sciences at Alabama State University. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Howard University, specializing in Demography and Medical Sociology. He teaches statistics for social scientists, introduction to sociology and social problems. He previously worked in the Racial Statistics unit at the Bureau of the Census, dealing with Current Population, National Crime Victimization, National Hospital Medical Use, and the National Ambulatory Medical Care Use Surveys. Sagarika Naik holds an MPhil and is a research fellow at the University of Delhi. She has previously worked as a research assistant at Confluence Media Pvt. Ltd., with the project title Integration of Indian Princely State. Currently, she is working as a research associate for the National Archive of Trinidad and Tobago, where she is constantly working with the archival records including Census Report, Immigration and Emigration Files. Her research interest focuses on Labor History, Migration Studies, and Gender and Sexuality. Also, her research explores the Rohingya refugee crisis; particularly, she examines the diverse issues about the practice of mobility and sex trafficking. Emmanuel Ezi Obuah is a professor of International Relations and Diplomacy in the Department of History and Diplomatic Studies, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, where he teaches History and International Relations. He was a former associate professor of Political Science and History Department at Alabama A&M University, USA (2004–2012) and Alabama State University, Montgomery, USA (2012–2014). He holds a doctorate in International Relations. He was a former Sir Adam Thomson fellow, 1987–1988, and Commonwealth fellow 1992–1996 University of Sussex, UK. He has published books and several articles in trail-blazing peerreviewed international journals including Understanding the dynamics of Sino—Africa Relations: Building communities of practice (2013); Glossary of key terms in International Relations (2016); Combating Global trafficking in Persons: The Role of the United States Post-September 2001, International

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 469

08-10-2021 11:28:47

470

About the Contributors

Politics, 42, 2006; and Outsourcing prosecution of the Somali pirates to Kenya, Africa Security Review, vol. 21 (13), 2012. Kizito N. C. Okeke is an assistant professor of Psychology at Alabama State University, Montgomery. He completed his graduate studies in psychology at the University of Georgia, and West Georgia University, where he earned an MA in Educational Psychology, and a PhD in Psychology, respectively. Previously, he studied philosophy and Theology in Nigeria and was awarded a BA in Philosophy and an MA in Theology, by Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome, Italy. His interest in psychology is in the philosophy and methodological foundations of psychology, and these have engendered a kind of epistemological dialogue with other branches of psychology. Dr. Okeke’s main research areas in psychology are on the phenomenon of authenticity and social justice. Dr. Okeke teaches courses in psychology in the Department of Psychology at Alabama State. Rekha Pande is the head of the Centre for Women’s Studies, and a professor of History at the University of Hyderabad, India. She has been the founding member of two Centers for Women’s Studies, one at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the other at the University of Hyderabad. In women’s studies, she has published in gerontology, socialization and family, girl child, child labor, women’s work, health, and violence against women, women’s movement, and the impact of globalization on women. She was the editor of International Feminist Journal of Politics (IFJP), Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, United Kingdom. She also edited Foreign Policy Analysis, which is published by Blackwell, United States. She has received the Visiting Fellowship, Birkbeck Institute of Humanities, University of London, International Visiting Fellowship in the School of Policy Studies, in the University of Bristol, U.K., Academic Fellow, University of Buffalo, United States, and International Visiting Scholar, at Maison De Research, Paris and Visiting Professorship at the University of Artois, Arras, France. Subir Rana is a research consultant with Orange Kite Productions, a U.S.based documentary filmmaking company engaged in female and humanistic issues. He holds a PhD in Sociology from the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a postdoc from the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India. Dr. Rana is a recipient of national and international fellowships including the Ford Foundation and the National Child Rights Research Fellowships. Dr. Rana has published widely in peer-reviewed journals as well as in edited books. Suchismita Roy is a visiting faculty in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Jammu, India. She obtained

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 470

08-10-2021 11:28:47

About the Contributors

471

a PhD in Sociology from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), Kolkata, and a postdoc from Humanities and Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai, India. Dr. Roy teaches courses in Sociological Theories and Research Methodology, Environment, Development and Society, and Social Responsibility. Her research interest focuses on health issues, stigma, social networks, migration, and sensitive research design. Bob Spires is an associate professor in Graduate Education at the University of Richmond where he teaches a variety of courses in teacher education. Dr. Spires obtained his BS, MA, and PhD from the University of Georgia. His dissertation was a comparative study of NGOs in Thailand that used education to address human trafficking, which was published as a book titled Preventing Human Trafficking. Dr. Spires has published widely and has presented at domestic, national, and international forums. He continues to conduct field work and publish research on nonformal education in Hong Kong, Cambodia, and Thailand. Robert O. White is an instructor of Humanities and Criminal Justice at Alabama State University. Dr. White obtained a BS in Criminal Justice from Auburn University at Montgomery and a Juris Doctorate degree (JD) from Jones School of Law. He served as academic a counselor, and an interim director of Federal Trio Programs. He also served as an in-house legal counsel for the Alabama Education Association and interim director of Elections and Voter Registration for the State of Alabama. Dr. White has also published several articles in various national, state, and local magazines and newspapers.

Dung and Avwunudiogba_9781793648792.indb 471

08-10-2021 11:28:48