Human Trafficking - Modern Slavery
Definition
As defined in the international 1927 Slavery Convention signed by the League of Nations and carried on by the United Nations, “Slavery is the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of ownership are exercised”.
The United Nations Trafficking Protocol of 2003 defines trafficking as: ” ‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat of, 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 purposes of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
There is an inescapable overlap between the terms “slavery” and “human trafficking,” although the technical definitions are a bit different. For this article the terms will be used interchangeably, because all trafficked people live in slavery-like conditions.
Bible Reference
Acceptance of the institution of slavery appears throughout the books of the Old and New Testaments. However, the teachings of the New Testament about human worth and dignity were behind the Abolitionist Movement that eliminated the African slave trade throughout the western world in the 1800’s. There is nothing written in the New Testament specifically opposing slavery, and literalists would, therefore, have to sanction it.
Acts 16:16-19 has the following anecdote revealing an incident of New Testament era slavery, where the action of Paul changed the relationship of the slave girl to her owners:
16 “Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune telling. 17 This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.’ 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally, Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, ‘In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her. 19 When the owners of the slave girl realised that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.”
Facts
Human trafficking is the modern form of slavery. It happens when people are recruited, transported, or received through deception, threat or force. Once trapped, they are exploited using threats, physical force, emotional abuse, or told they must pay off a large debt to their captors. They may be enslaved for years, or their entire lives.
The problem is of global proportion. Almost every country, including Australia, is implicated in this shocking trade in human lives – either as a place of recruitment, transit through to other countries, or the final destination for trafficked people.
The numbers are vast but unknown, as there are difficulties in identifying victims. In most cases the crime is kept hidden, and the definitions are not standard across cultures or law enforcement agencies. According to the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UNGIFT) the estimated number is thought to exceed 27 million. However, this is a conservative figure, with the majority being adult women exploited in the sex trade and children trapped into forced labour. The number seems overwhelming, but we agree with World Vison that even one person being captured and sold is one person too many.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimates that human trafficking generates $7 billion every year, and is the third largest criminal activity in the world after the arems and drug trades. Human trafficking exists becasue it is based on supply and demand. Using slaves means no labour costs, so manufacturers can undersell their competition. It also means the complete disregard and lack of respect for individual human beings. Research shows that victims are often recruited by a relative, a ‘supposed’ friend, or someone they trusted. Traffickers and victims often share the same nationality, and female traffickers are often used to recruit women. Homelessness, economic downturn and social instability as a result of national disaster or war are also factors, with women and children always being the most desperate and vulnerable.
Poverty, lack of access to education and employment, and domestic violence create a supply of ‘surplus’ children and vulnerable adults who can be easily manipulated and tricked by traffickers. The desire for cheap labour combined with weak law enforcement of labour standards in the workplace make trafficking a high profit, low-risk business for the world’s criminal elements. Added to that is the community confusion over whether this is the responsibility of Interpol, the Federal, State or local police, the Australian Immigration Dept or the Industrial Relations Dept, which means that people don’t know where to turn for help.
Traffickers use a variety of methods to recruit their victims. They commonly target vulnerable individuals by placing advertisements for comparatively well-paid employment positions in destination countries – for example, as dancers, waitresses, or domestic workers. Once the individuals arrive, they find they have been deceived about the nature or conditions of the work they are to do.http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/australia
Traffickers also have a number of ways of preventing their victims from escaping, among them debt bondage, threats and violence, detention, and witholding of personal legal documents such as passports and visas. They often threaten to hurt or kill a victim’s children or family in their home country. Further, uncertainty about their migration status, and fear of being detained or deported makes victims afraid to seek help.
Women who are trafficked into Australia might know they will be working in the sex industry. What they do not know is that they will be held in captivity, be subject to violence and intimidation, forced to engage in unsafe sex, unable to refuse clients, and obliged to pay off huge ‘debts’ to their traffickers. These women are still victims of trafficking, even if they consented to work in the sex industry; they still deserve protection.
Federal Policy
In 2004, the Australian Federal Government published its Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons. It stated that “Trafficking in persons is a complex crime, and no single organisation, level of government or county canfight it alone. The Australian Government is doing its utmost to fight this crime through concerted domestic, bilateral, regional and international efforts. In particular, it is taking a strong leadership role in encouraging domestic cooperation between the states and territories, local governments, non-governmental organisations, and the community sector.”
The Government’s Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons involves: prevention, detection, investigation, criminal prosecution, victim support and rehabilitation. It has aso committed over $20 million which has established an Australian Federal Police Strike Team, a senior migration officer position based in Thailand, comprehensive victim support measures, reintegration assistance for victims who return to SE Asian countries, and a domestic community awareness strategy.
The Australian Government is committed to be at the forefront of regional efforts to combat people smuggling and trafficking. Australia and Indonesia have co-chaired two regional ministerial conferences on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Crime.
The Government has also been using the networks developed through the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime to encourage regional cooperation in combating trafficking in persons. Work has focused on capacity building, legislative reform, border management, public awareness and information sharing.
The Government has also introduced new visa arrangements for victims and has moved to strengthen existing legislation to comprehensively criminalise trafficking. As of 2004, the total number of people trafficked into Australia was thought to be below 100. However, the Australian non-governmental organisation Project Respect estimates up to 1,000 victims are currently held under debt bondage. http://www.projectrespect.org.au/And anti-slavery expert and author, Dr David Batstone, an Ethics Professor from the University of San Francisco, believes there are 1,000-2,000 people being held in forced labour conditions in Australia as of April 2008.
The maximum penalty for people trafficking is 15 years. In 2002 the Government introduced a further offence that criminalised facilitating the illegal entry of a person into a foreign county for the purposes of exploitation. This offence carries a maximum penalty of 20 years’ imprisonment.
Australia’s participation in th worldwide effort is strengthened by the Australian Institue of Criminology’s participation in the research component of the Global Program Against Trafficking in Humans, which was launched by the United Nations in March 1999.
Australia is also a signatory to the Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime, and has ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, both of which are significant practical and symbolic steps forward.
What can we do?
Reverend the Hon. Dr Moyes points out that Australians have traditionally supported the underdog, and that we must now determinedly oppose forced child labour, sex trafficking, and all forms of modern day slavery.
Find and watch the film The Jammed, a critically acclaimed but harrowing film available now on DVD, about the actual human trafficking and sexual slavery happening right now all over Australia. Film director Dee McLachlan was amazed to learn about the Australian connection to human trafficking when she moved here ten years ago from South Africa.
Educate yourself about the issue. Learn with your church or prayer group, by looking at the issue from a biblical perspective. Use some of the resources available on the websites below, or read and discuss the recommended books.
Join Don’t Trade Lives, or read all of their excellen materials on their website at http://www.donttradelives.com.au . You can also sign up for updates on the issue from World Vision at their website http://www.worldvision.com.au, a Christian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.
Concerned individuals can also pray for the abolition of human trafficking and exert their influence to that end by helping support organisations such as the Salvation Army which is opening the first of its kind in Australia shelter for women rescued from trafficking, and also offer counselling services and rehabilitiation for victims. Read about their efforts at http://www.salvos.org.au
Anyone with any information or suspicions about possible human trafficking in their community should contact the Australian Federal Police on 1800 813 784 and report it.
Resources
Not for Sale: The Return of the Global Slave Trade – and How We Can Fight It
Harper San Francisco, 2007 David Batstone
Ending Slavery: How We Free Today’s Slave
University of California, 2007 Kevin Bales
Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy
University of California Press, 2000 Kevin Bales
