Does the Trafficking Victimss Protection Act of 2000 Have an Impact on the Anti-Trafficking Legislation in the Philippines?

Abstract

Carla’s Story: Carla was 9 years old when she became a victim of human trafficking. She was asked to take off her clothes in front of a camera. Carla’s family was struggling. Carla’s neighbor in Cebu (her hometown in the Philippines), asked her whether she was interested in earning some money, she jumped at the opportunity. Unfortunately, little did poor Carla know that she would end up working in conditions that took sexual advantage of her and stripped her off her innocence. A Waitress’s Story: A friend of a friend promises a well-paid waitressing job abroad to a young girl from a poor Filipino family. Of course, the girl accepts this offer because she wants to help her family. The paperwork for her to work in the Middle East is completed in record time. However, the young girl must get through Malaysia illegally. As the sun sets, she gets on a banca (traditional Filipino boat) from Tawi-tawi (southern part in the Philippines) to Sabah, Malaysia. The poor girl finds herself in a dark, cramped space, where her wrists are covered in metal. A box of condoms is handed to her and she is informed that if she wants to eat she will have to engage in sexual activity. To her greatest dismay, the poor, young girl who hoped to assist her family’s household income has now fallen into the nasty hands of human trafficking.While these stories are horrifying, they are not rare. Globally, human traffickers steal the hopes and dreams of millions of innocent lives by trading them for money, and strong-armed them into the most treacherous circumstances. Human trafficking is a cruel and heartless violation of human rights, and a form of international organized crime worth billions of dollars. According to the 2012 International Labour Organization (ILO) Global Estimate of Forced Labour, there were an estimated 232 million international migrants and 740 million internal migrants in search of decent work. 21 million people are in forced labour and trafficked globally. 44% (9.1 million) of the total (20.9 million victims) moved either internally or internationally for work. US $150 billion per year in illegal profits is generated by forced labour in the private economy. In the Philippines, there is a huge problem with sex trafficking and forced labor. This paper will focus on the impact of the Trafficking Victims Protections Act of 2000 (TVPA) on efforts in the Philippines to combat human trafficking, including the passage and implementation of anti-trafficking legislation as well as government efforts to prevent human trafficking and protect trafficking victims and survivors. To assess the degree to which the TVPA influences the Government of the Philippines, the paper will examine the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) reports for the Philippines, mandated for every country by the TVPA, from 2001 to 2015, and the official response of the Filipino government to the TIP reports. It will also examine the efficacy of the TVPA in the Philippines from the perspective of organizations working to combat human trafficking on the ground in the Philippines.Section I provides examples of trafficked victims stories and gives an overview of human trafficking in the Philippines. Section II discusses domestic and international trafficking, the root causes of trafficking, the legal framework, and challenges of implementing the legal framework.Section III discusses the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).Section IV discusses the impact of the TVPA in the Philippines, and tier rankings.Section V discusses the Analysis portion of the paper by categorizing it into 4 Ps.