The role of the transport sector in facilitating and preventing trafficking in persons along high volume transport corridors in sub-Saharan Africa

The purpose of the Study is to measure the cost of trafficking in human beings in the European Union. Trafficking in human beings is a particularly serious crime, driven by profits and involves a chain of actors who are knowingly or unknowingly involved. “It brings high profits to the perpetrators, who abuse people’s vulnerabilities and exploit the demand for the services provided by the victims. It results in long-term harm to its victims, our societies and economies.” It is a violation of fundamental rights that causes immense harm to the victims. It has economic, social and human costs. The existence of trafficking in human beings is a cost to the wider economy and society by creating need for public services, in diverting resources away from the legal economy, and in its effects on the quality of life. Measuring the cost of trafficking in human beings in a monetary form is done in order to improve the quality of decision-making where cost-benefit analysis is relevant to decisions over the allocation of public resources. Translating trafficking in human beings into a cost is relevant to public policy concerning developing the European area of freedom, security and justice, and the Single European Market. This Study is a key Commission action to build a sound knowledge base for the 2017 Commission Communication “Reporting on the follow up to the EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings and identifying further concrete actions” and the EU Anti-trafficking Directive.

Trafficking in women for sexual exploitation is an economic activity motivated by profit taking, and it has gained notoriety in Nigeria, particularly Rivers State where many families today are selling their daughters into international prostitution as the most lucrative alternative to escape extreme poverty. As a result, the number of young women offering themselves to be trafficked is shocking; they are no more being forced, tricked or threatened into selling sex. Empirically it seems better-paid than other low-skill, labour-intensive professions. A number of questions begging for answers have been raised. Among the questions: What are the causes and consequences of trafficking in women? How can the problem of trafficking in women for profit motives be halted in Nigeria? Why has there been this boom in Nigeria despite being a signatory to the abolition of this menace? Furthermore, what does trafficking in women portend for the socio-economic development and survival of the Nigerian state and citizens? It is in view of these glaring questions that this study intends to proffer solutions. From the findings, the study reveals that aside being an economic activity for profit motives; trafficking in women dehumanizes the dignity of womanhood, and that reinforces the stereotypical views about women as sex objects which can be used and abused by men, and by implication, further entrenching the existing patriarchal societal order. Secondly, there is a significant relationship between trafficking in women and health risks such as infection of HIV/AIDS and psychological trauma. In other words, some of victims contract HIV/AID and ever remain psychologically traumatized and mentally enslaved. Also, the study shows that trafficking in women violates human rights. Victims are not only subjected to violence, threats and other forms of physical and mental abuse, but pathetic and dehumanizing. Based on this, the study concludes that since poverty is often the reason for trafficking in women, economic empowerment programmes via job creations, skills acquisitions and loans without collateral and interest should be a core necessity to free all trapped victims. Finally, the study recommends that poverty, ignorance and unemployment must be addressed by the government to stop people being lured into trafficking. Furthermore, public awareness should be organized with hand bills, pamphlets and other educative materials against trafficking in women and the evils inherent in its activities. The agency responsible for the eradicating the problem of human trafficking must be adequately and promptly funded and logistic support must be given to this agency from the government, non-governmental organizations and the entire local and international communities. In addition, government, NGOs and other wealthy cheerful givers should be encouraged to assist to re-integrate, rehabilitate and counsel victims. What is more, the judiciary must ensure that offenders of this heinous crime against women are apprehended, prosecuted and punished Keywords: Trafficking in women; NAPTIP; Sexual exploitation, Sex slavery, Degradation and Dehumanization of women DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-4-15 Publication date: February 29 th 2020

<p><strong>In 2016 and 2020, two separate prosecutions of human trafficking in Aotearoa New Zealand drew attention to the fact that human trafficking exists within the country. As local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and news media organisations (NMOs) play an essential role in raising awareness of human trafficking in Aotearoa New Zealand, it is critical to analyse the spatiotemporal contexts and power structures that underpin their narratives to question whether these organisations may be perpetuating norms that negatively impact how human trafficking is understood. Currently, research into human trafficking discourses promoted by NGOs and NMOs is limited. Utilising a post-development lens and a human rights-based approach (HRBA), this thesis deploys a discourse analysis of publicly available website material from six Aotearoa New Zealand-based NGOs and NMOs, published between 2016 and 2022. Specifically, it analyses material related to four key events connected to human trafficking in Aotearoa New Zealand: the convictions of Faroz Ali in 2016 and Joseph Matamata in 2020; the petition for modern slavery legislation in 2020; and the public consultation on modern slavery legislation in 2022. The research identifies prevailing human trafficking discourses from local NGOs and NMOs and examines how these discourses are interwoven within broader national and international narratives and contexts. The findings of this research outline dominant representations across three areas: firstly, the framing of human trafficking as modern slavery and potential implications thereof; secondly, the ways that gendered representations can impact perceptions of people who are trafficked; and finally, how framings of Aotearoa New Zealand’s reputation drive the narrative of human trafficking as a foreign issue. Based on these findings, this research proposes how an HRBA could guide organisations, especially to increase narratives that promote empowerment, non-discrimination, and equality.</strong></p>

The article is devoted to one of the actual topics of the day – trafficking in human beings, which violates almost all the rights and freedoms of persons who are victims of this crime. According to the Constitution of Ukraine, human rights and freedoms and their guarantees determine the content and direction of the state's activities. It is the provision of a set of constitutional, legal, socio-economic, political, cultural and other conditions for the life of a person to the state authorities to eliminate the causes that contribute to the crime of trafficking in human beings and violate the rights of victims. Based on a comprehensive analysis of the origin and stages of the crime of trafficking in human beings, international and national legislation, the activities of public authorities, public organizations, a mechanism for ensuring the rights and freedoms of persons affected by human trafficking is defined as a set of state measures of legal, institutional, organizational, of a psychological nature, should be aimed at eliminating the factors that contribute to the emergence and spread crime. The components of this mechanism should be: – organizational and legal (which includes an array of legal norms and organizational methods); – Institutional (President, Verkhovna Rada, Cabinet of Ministers, law enforcement bodies, local self-government bodies, international partners, public and non-governmental organizations); – Control (courts, Ombudsman, non-governmental and public organizations, citizens); – Coordination (taking into account the complexity and multifaceted nature of the crime, a large number of subjects of counteraction to human trafficking).

Trafficking in human beings (THB) has been described as modern slavery. It is a serious criminal activity that has significant ramifications for the human rights of the victims. It poses major challenges to the state, society and individual victims. THB is not a static given but a constantly changing concept depending on societal changes and opinions, economic situations and legal developments. THB occurs both transnationally and within countries. The complexity of THB is such that it requires a wide range of expertise fully to address the phenomenon. Edited by a team of leading international academics, The Routledge Handbook of Human Trafficking will provide an interdisciplinary introduction to THB. It is aimed at academics, students, research universities and non-governmental organisations, as well as policy makers. It will review THB through the lenses of law, anthropology and social and political science and will address statistical, data protection issues and showcase the most effective research methods, analyse the various actors and stakeholders and the different types of exploitation of trafficked persons. It will critically highlight and analyse the most pressing current challenges posed by THB.

“Human trafficking” is a problem of which the Thai society has very little understanding. While it is largely a domestic problem, it is often necessary, in an attempt to understand the problem, to rely on foreign research works that collect raw data and information from Thai government officials, Thai academics, officers of international organizations based in Thailand, and local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “Human Trafficking in Thailand: Current Issues, Trends, and the Role of the Thai Government” is another piece that has been worked on from outside of the country. Even though the author, Siroj Sorajjakool, may call Thailand his motherland, presently he is a professor of religion and of counseling and family science at Loma Linda University, USA, whose Center for Spiritual Life and Wholeness funds this research. In this book, Sorajjakool attempts to find answers with regards to (1) the format of human trafficking in Thailand, (2) the efforts by the government to solve the problem, and (3) the areas and the factors involved in human trafficking in Thailand, by interviewing 25 key informants from Thai government agencies, academic institutions, the United Nations, Thailand, non-governmental organizations, and some of the human trafficking victims themselves. The structure of “Human Trafficking in Thailand” consists of three parts. First, in “Understanding the Current Situation”, which encompasses Chapters 1 and 2 of the book, an overall picture of the human trafficking problem in Thailand is painted by synthesizing information from three reports, including the reports of the U.S. Department of State, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and the website Humantraffickinf.org. This part also addresses the issue where Thailand is both at the sending and the receiving ends of the migration flow, a labor issue that also leads to the human trafficking problem. Second, “Exploring Types of Trafficking”, Chapters 3 to 7 explains the forms of human trafficking in Thailand, which include labors in the fishery and related industries, labors in the agricultural sector, domestic workers, sex workers, child labors, and children trafficking. Third, issues with regards to “Combating Human Trafficking” are covered in Chapters 8 and 9. Here, the role of the government in solving the human trafficking problem is touched upon, and the conclusion of the research as to the theoretical reasoning of the existing problem is explored. In my opinion, as the head of the research project “Modern Slavery: Inside the Business of Sex Trade of GMS Women Entering into Thailand”, which has received funding from Thailand Institute of Justice (Public Organization), this book has synthesized the issues of human trafficking in Thailand and should not be missed by those who are interested in the issues. The author is able to put together the current situations of the problem and the efforts by the government agencies to confront them. These are interestingly and systematically composed in ways that enable readers to understand the human trafficking issues in Thailand. However, drawn by the author are a conclusion that links human trafficking to greed as well as a suggestion that “consumerism” and “materialism” are the factors leading to human trafficking, and, therefore, “sufficiency economy” is an economic philosophy that should be able to solve the problem for the Thai society. These suggestions remain arguable, as the research results derived from the “Modern Slavery” project suggest that some women who are willing to sell their body in exchange for money do so out of necessity, not for extravagant desires. Not only, as commonly understood, are many of them financially poor, but they lack the opportunities to progress in life as well.

The European Union has developed since the mid-1990's its own policy to prevent and fight against trafficking in human beings (THB). This phenomenon constitutes a threat to the internal security of the European Union, and it also entails severe violations of fundamental rights of its victims. While taking into account the evolution of the definition of THB, as well as the development of a EU multidisciplinary, integrated and holistic approach to THB, this doctoral research focuses on the external dimension of this policy. Firstly the analysis of the EU acquis in this field allows to determine the external competences at its disposal to promote the transposition of its standards beyond its borders. The second part focuses on the interactions between the European Union and the other actors active in this field. The objective is here to demonstrate that their interactions lead to the emergence of harmonized objectives and measures to combat THB in a comprehensive way. Finally the third part aims at assessing the implementation of European and international standards in national legal orders. Two case studies have been selected here: Belgium and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

This study is on the influence of mass communication on social change: a study of press reports on child labour and women trafficking. The study is aimed at addressing the problem of child labour and women trafficking in Rivers State. A total of 16 press reports were collected through purposive sampling from Rivers State University of Science and Technology Library and Newspaper morgues. These press reports on child labour and women trafficking were studied for 10 months at an interval of 2 months from September 2003 – June 2004. The press reports collected was content analyzed to determine their nature of report. All the press reports analyzed were favourable, they were in support of the fight against child labour and women trafficking; that government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the media have a role to play in putting an end to child labour and women trafficking; that child labour and women trafficking persist because parents and children are not adequately educated on the dangers of child labour and women trafficking;. From the summary of the finding, it was discovered that, some parents see their children as source of income because of poverty and ignorance, that majority of victims of child labour and women trafficking are born to parents of lower class. The researcher then recommends that the government agencies, non-governmental organizations and the media should join forces to educate the masses on the dangers of engaging in child labour and women trafficking and the suffering of trafficked children.

This chapter presents the national case studies on trafficking of human beings in Thailand Poland and the United Kingdom. It begins by illustrating the scale of trafficking of human beings in Thailand, Poland, and the United Kingdom, with particular reference to the major causes of the phenomenon and the profiles of traffickers. The chapter presents a detailed analysis of national laws and polices and their enforcement. It contains an analysis of victim protection measures. This is relevant as victim protection is one way of implementing a human rights framework to address the practice at the national level. The chapter examines the role played by key non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Similar to Thailand, trafficking of human beings is dealt with by criminal and immigration laws in Poland. The key legislation in this regard is the Polish Penal Code 1997.Keywords: immigration laws; national laws; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); Poland; Polish Penal Code; Thailand; trafficking; United Kingdom; victim protection measures

Human trafficking is an urgent contemporary human and labor rights issue. It is prevalent in a wide range of sectors, from the commercial sex sector to the construction industry to begging. Human trafficking also (increasingly) occurs in situations where the body is rendered ‘divisible,’ such as in cases of organ trafficking. The ratification of the United Nations Protocol on Human Trafficking (formally known as the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children) in December 2003 has led to a proliferation of legislative and policy responses by states, interventions by international and nongovernmental organizations, and scholarly and third-sector research on the subject. International organizations, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM), have also become important players in the field of counter-trafficking, including through the publication of numerous guidelines and manuals, research publications, and other resources. With ‘human trafficking’ defined by the UN Protocol as involving the three linked elements of recruitment, movement, and exploitation, responses have centered on what are commonly labeled the ‘3 Ps’; prevention of trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of offenders. By nature a clandestine and illicit activity, human trafficking has proven both challenging to study and, as a transnational crime, difficult to investigate and prosecute. Research with victims and survivors is often not undertaken well because trafficked persons are viewed as a ‘hidden population’ and because of a range of ethical challenges. As a result, published research on human trafficking is often largely bereft of victims’ voices; is overly reliant on information provided primarily by key stakeholders; and exhibits a bias toward estimates, mapping the problem, and criminal justice responses. In 2022, almost twenty years after the Trafficking Protocol came into international force, critical scholarly work evaluating the achievements, shortcomings, and effects of the UN Protocol has produced a robust engagement not only with human trafficking as an important subject, but also with counter-trafficking responses as a corpus of knowledge and practice, with its own attendant institutional and political infrastructures. Geographical scholarship on the subject is, in large part, motivated by these concerns for critical and progressive engagements with the ways human trafficking and counter-trafficking responses impact the rights and dignity of victims. This focus has directed much scholarly engagement by both geographers and those in cognate disciplines, such as anthropology and gender studies, to interrelated modes of human exploitation through modern-day slavery, forced labor, and precarious work.

This study aims to analyze implementation of human rights in economic field and role of the Government, Educational Institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations in the prevention and control of trafficking in women. How to achieve the goal, is done by empirical studies and documentation studies, to obtain primary and secondary data. This research is descriptive analytical. The approach method used is empirical juridical. Data analysis was carried out in a qualitative descriptive manner. Factors that cause the implementation of human rights in the economic field have not been fully realized because between legal policies and legal implementation have not been running consistently and simultaneously. The realization of human rights in the economic field is still only limited to issues and has not become a concrete implementation. The role of the Government in the prevention and overcoming of trafficking in women is still limited to political will by the issuance of a law that ratifies the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, then followed by Institutional Infrastructure Compilation. The role of Educational Institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations in the prevention and prevention of trafficking in women, has responded with action, prevention and handling of trafficking in women, through the socio-economic empowerment of families and advocacy in handling cases of trafficking in women. The struggle and movement for the achievement of feminism justice, in the economic field is carried out by empowering the family economy, improving education and expanding access to job search for women by utilizing information technology.

The purpose of this study is to better understand how the complex problem of human trafficking is addressed in international debates. How the discussion about human trafficking develops and how it is debated ultimately influences how the decision-making process unfolds. In order to understand the formation of public policy and laws, therefore, it is important to study the debate that occurs prior to decision making. This analysis focuses on the narratives used by major, well-established human rights and political actors that argue for necessary actions to be undertaken—such as the formation of new policies and laws in the European Union—as an attempt to protect citizens of the EU and other regions in the world from becoming victims of trafficking networks. Our research examines how the topic of human trafficking is framed and how this framework is intertwined in the debate with other social problems. We focus on how human trafficking is discussed by two well-established human rights Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Amnesty International (Amnesty) and Human Rights Watch (HRW), in addition to the European Parliament (EP). The research questions for this study include: (1) In what context is human trafficking discussed by the three actors? (2) How do these actors frame the definition of human trafficking in their presentations? To answer these questions, we have conducted a systematic content analysis of documents that include official statements and research reports of the NGOs, as well as resolutions and recommendations of the EP. Altogether, 240 documents were analyzed in detail. These findings indicate that the two human rights organizations, Amnesty and Human Rights Watch, along with the European Parliament, all address human trafficking as an important social problem, albeit to varying degrees. Each actor has a different method of correlating human trafficking with many other social problems, thereby emphasizing different causes and effects. In our analysis, we examine the concept of framing and, in particular, responsibility framing in order to understand the causal relationships between actors and events. The findings of this study suggest that the formation of various social policies and laws in the international political forum are deeply affected by the dynamic interrelatedness between the political issues, actors, and form and content of the debates about human trafficking that precede the formation or revision of a policy and law.

Trafficking in persons is a serious threat to human rights that requires effective preventive measures. This study applies the observation method to explore efforts to prevent trafficking in persons at the Immigration Office Class I Non TPI Bekasi. Observations were made to reveal prevention practices in real contexts, interactions between officers and the public, as well as the impact of prevention programs.
 
 The observation results indicate that the Immigration Office has adopted various strategies to prevent trafficking in persons. Through the document inspection process, officers carefully identify potential falsification of identity and travel documentation. Outreach programs play an important role in increasing the awareness and understanding of the public and officials about trafficking in persons.
 The interaction between officers and the community seems to be going well, with the community responding positively to prevention efforts. Observations also reveal that cooperation with external agencies, such as the police and non-governmental organizations, plays a role in sharing information and handling cases.
 However, the observations also identified challenges, such as the existence of complex situations and the dynamics of cross-border corridors. Observations indicate that policy adaptation and improvement of prevention practices can contribute to overcoming this challenge.
 Taking into account the results of observations, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the prevention of trafficking in persons at the Immigration Office Class I Non TPI Bekasi. The practical implications of this research involve improving prevention processes, increasing the effectiveness of outreach programs, and developing cross-sectoral collaboration. As such, observation emerges as an important method of understanding and strengthening efforts to prevent trafficking in persons in this environment.

Human trafficking is not a recent phenomenon. Acts of human abduction for illicit intentions are believed to have been occurring since time immemorial. In South Africa, human trafficking remains a huge threat to peace and security and violates the human rights of all affected individuals. The South African Police Service (SAPS) and relevant non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are two of the systems that should not stint their efforts in addressing this crime. In light of the aforementioned, this study explored i) the frequency of human trafficking occurrences in a month, ii) the effectiveness of the legislature in addressing human trafficking, iii) challenges faced by SAPS in addressing human trafficking, and iv) lastly, the strategies for curbing human trafficking in the city of Durban. The study adopted a qualitative research design with semi-structured one-on-one interviews used for data collection. Purposive sampling was used to select the nine (9) participants drawn from the SAPS and NGOs. The collected data were analysed using the inductive thematic analysis. It is envisaged that this study will be significant in assisting relevant structures such as the SAPS and NGOs in devising new and effective strategies to respond to human trafficking in Durban.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of child labour in the world. An estimated one third of the region’s boys and girls aged 5-17 are believed to be ‘economically active’. These staggering figures have led to an international crusade to eliminate child labour globally, focusing on hazardous work because there is shared consensus among policymakers that it is a violation of human rights and a major impediment to human capital accumulation and therefore, stands in the way of sustainable economic growth in countries where it is found. One country in the region where this problem is particularly visible, and which has been heavily scrutinised by the ILO and implementation partners in particular for having high concentrations of what is referred to in the donor lexicon as Worst Forms of Child Labour (WFCL) is Ghana. A major focus of these assessments is artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), low-tech, labour-intensive mineral extraction and processing which, throughout Ghana and most other areas in sub-Saharan Africa, is mostly poverty-driven, providing employment to otherwise incomeless families. The campaign spearheaded by the ILO under the auspices of the WFCL agenda to eliminate child labour from ASM in Ghana and the wider sub-region builds a case around how young boys and girls carry out arduous work and are generally being exploited at sites. Recent research, however, has revealed that the child labour ‘problem’ in Ghana and rural sub-Saharan Africa more broadly is far more nuanced than has been diagnosed by donors. The ASM sector is no exception: research undertaken over the past decade has shown that the growth of its activities linked to a wider de-agrarianisation process – specifically the movement of rural families into the nonfarm economy, in response to the inability of agriculture to sustain, fully, their economic needs – to which the child labour ‘problem’ diagnosed is inextricably linked. Specifically, the ASM sector, being the region’s most important rural nonfarm activity, has become a popular ‘off farm’ destination for hundreds of thousands of families and other jobless masses. This movement has naturally contributed to the increased ‘presence’ of children at artisanal mines, where, contrary to the position of donors, work undertaken rarely extends beyond tasks similar to those carried out on family farms. The case of Ghana, the location of one of the largest and more dynamic ASM economies in sub-Saharan Africa, illustrates this very clearly. The aim of this thesis is to build on these observations by engaging more critically with the main debates on child labour with a view to articulating more comprehensively why children are pursuing ‘hazardous’ work in ASM camps across the region. It does this by analysing key policy documents, conducting observations and semi-structured interviews with policymakers, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), community leaders, educators, parents and children. Together, these sources of information broach a rich range of issues for analysis and allow for the exploration and construction of broader discourses in connection with the main themes and theories of this research study. This thesis provides a more comprehensive picture of the child labour phenomenon in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Findings suggest that many of the so-called ‘exploited’ children in ASM are engaging in what ILO officials themselves would consider light work akin to the chores countless young African girls and boys perform on family farms; that children’s earnings are being used to alleviate the economic hardships of their households but that work is generally taking place outside of school hours and during school vacations; and that for some children, the sole motivation for working at mines is to generate sufficient money to pay for school fees. Overall, the research study informs debates on child labour, education and family hardship in the region, and arms policymakers with information to assist in their quests to tackle child labour and associated rural poverty – two priority issues identified in most of the region’s Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP) and two central themes of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), namely Target 4.1 (‘By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes’) and Target 8.7 (‘Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms’).