Human Trafficking By Various Organizations

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

1) The first definition is by the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its Supplementary Protocols. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol) which defines human trafficking as:

3(a) Trafficking in persons shall 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. 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;

(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph(a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;

(c)The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;

(d) "Child" shall mean any person under.

2) The second definition of trafficking by the Europol Convention of 1995

"Subjection of a person to the real and illegal sway of other persons by using violence or menaces or by abuse of authority or intrigue with a view to exploitation of prostitution forms of sexual exploitation and assault of minors or trade in abandoned children".

3) The third definition of trafficking is defined by the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

- a migrant is illicitly engaged (recruited, kidnapped, sold, etc.) and/or moved, either within national or across international borders; Intermediaries (traffickers) during any part of this process obtain economic or other profit by means of deception, coercion and/or other forms of exploitation under conditions that violate the fundamental human rights of migrants.

4) The fourth definition of human trafficking is defined such as by the The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

"All acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport (within or across borders), safe, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons;

- By the threat or use of force, deception, coercion (including abuse of authority), or debt bondage;

- For the purpose of placing or holding such person, whether for pay or not, in involuntary servitude, forced or bonded labour, or in slavery-like conditions;

- In a community other than the one in which the person lived at the time of the original deception, coercion or debt bondage.

5) The Geneva Convention has laid down the human traffic in person definition as

"Trafficking is a practice which includes the act of capturing, acquisition or conferment of a person to reduce the same to slavery, as well as every act of acquisition or conferment by sale or exchange, and, in general, every act of trading or transport of slaves".

6) The sixth definition of how human trafficking is perceived by The Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women(GAATW), the International Human Rights Law Group and the Foundation Against Trafficking in Women (STV) in conjunction with similar NGOs as:

"Any act or attempt involving the recruitment, transport within or across national boundaries, exchange, sale, transfer, lodging or reception of a person by means of deception, constraint (including the use of force or the abuse of authority) or by means of debt bondage with a view of placing or maintaining the person in question, with or without financial consideration, in a position of servitude (domestic, sexual or reproductive) in forced labour or in conditions analogous of slavery, in a community other than that in which the person lived until the moment the deception, constraint or debt bondage was brought to bear."

7) The seventh definition of human trafficking is The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Child, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (2002) which defines Trafficking in Minors in Article 2(a):

"Any action or transaction that transfers a child from one person or group of persons to another for remuneration or for any other benefit’’.

2.1 Causes of Human Trafficking

The ground cause of human trafficking varies from one country to another. We cannot clearly distinguish the factors of why human trafficking takes place because human trafficking itself is a complex subject itself. Most the factors are derived from economic, cultural, social, political factors and etc. Following are the different root causes of human trafficking that tend to be in general or to be found in a wide range of different cases, regions or patterns:

The first cause that human trafficking is due to the lack of integration of social protection of networks.

The second cause is that we see people who are corrupted whom are responsible to combat trafficking in origin, transit and destination.

There is a lack of proper working mechanism legislation on anti-trafficking but the question is if such legislation existed.

Another cause of trafficking is due to less public awareness of what the danger lays behind the human trafficking.

There is greater limitation for a proper legal migration process that countries own with a stronger economies/ region.

Another cause that is known to be leading towards human trafficking is due to the lack of stability in the political, social, economic sector.

Oppression is another cause that leads to human trafficking.

Where there are situations of armed conflicts people fall to the prey of human trafficking.

Too much domestic violence also may lead to human trafficking.

In many countries we may find discrimination amongst the sex i.e. gender. For that women become the victims of sex trafficking.

Education leads to awareness but in many areas lack of education leads many to trafficking.

Lack of information may also be the reason of human trafficking

There is a demand of sex workers in the country of destination to globalize the sex trafficking industry.

Attitude of the civil society when a girl is raped or is an independent working lady can be very haunting for the girl herself. To avoid such attitude she flees and falls in the hands of traffickers.

Ever increasing demand for exploitation and cheap labour in the industrial, constructional and agricultural sectors

Rise of demand for cheap labour (domestically).

When we talk about international trafficking the cause for that might be also for poor border control where victims are crossed along the border line making them enter the destination country.

Lack of prevention of public officials who might be indulges in the same business of human trafficking themselves.

Another cause is due to the lack of social and economic development that reduces the options of vulnerability of potential victims.

Another root cause of trafficking n person is internet itself. Media/telecommunication enables people to want to have migration from their country (developing country) to the developed country in order to live a better life, this desire nurtures and increases the vulnerability of migrants to transform as to trafficking victims.

Handing over your poor children by entrusting them in the hands of friends and relatives is also another cause of human trafficking.

Another cause of trafficking is that most parents do not sell their children for need of money and for greediness. They sell them so they can see that the life they lived themselves in poverty are not lived by their children. So in order for a better future they sell their children.

Influence is also another root cause reason of human trafficking. When people hear from their own relatives living abroad they want to go to that country and hence they fall prey in the hands of traffickers.

Another reason of trafficking is of war that can lead to massive displacement of populations.

Human trafficking can be caused in the time of civil strife where street children and orphans can be the victims of child trafficking.

Another main important cause of trafficking in person is natural disasters. Natural disasters can lead to various damages that forces people to migrate for a better life and in that process they may fall in prey of trafficking.

Poverty is another cause of human trafficking.

Due to poor local conditions human trafficking takes place.

People want freedom they want rights. And where they are lack of human right the chances of human trafficking takes place.

Where there is militarism there might be trafficking.

The refugee status is a convincing factor and cause of human trafficking.

Where there are dangers of conflict human trafficking takes place.

Another reason is living in an area that is prone to trafficking.

When there is no support of family (i.e. orphans, runaway etc.) human trafficking preys such victims.

If someone is having a history of sexual abuse they can fall prey to human trafficking.

Human trafficking can also be caused due to urbanization. People from urban areas want to migrate to rural areas for better opportunities and for that they fall prey to human trafficking.

Indirect mode of exploitation can also be cause. When the capitalist are ready to give wages to the workers in order for them to accept whatever they ask to organize.

Due to lack of communication skills and language barriers people are misled and hence they become the victim of human trafficking.

Due to not having migratory documents it makes them to enter another country with illegal authorization and they hence end up being traffic.

2.2 Types of human trafficking

Following are the categories that will help us identify of what kind of human trafficking in present amongst us

Forced Labor

The first type is "Forced Labor". The victims who fall beneath this category belong from primarily from developing countries. They (victims) are traffic on the basis of lies, deception and coercion. They are held in slavery for a variety of jobs. They are the victims who are held against their will and are stopped to work under violence, threat or any other punishment. Restriction on their freedom is applied. The victims are forced to work for/till late hours often in the worst condition and at the end of the day they are forced to hand if not all but majority of their wages to their owner {traffickers}. Victims are subjects to threat/ violence to achieve their compliance. Forced labor is also known as involuntary servitude. Females are also sexually exploited in forced labour. In recent years, there has been an increase in reported numbers of the following that has been found to use this category by victims i.e. entertainment, farming, travel, industry, manufacturing.

Peonage/Bonded Labor

This type of human trafficking is also known as "bonded labor" or "debt labor". Although it is the most used method of capturing people into slavery it is the unaware form of labor trafficking. The word "peonage" is a Spanish word that has been derived from the practice of enslaving people (stated under the US law). Victims fall under this category of human trafficking when they are demanded to repay their loan through their labor whip is never a possibility since it is out of question comparing to the amount of wages through their loan. Hence they have no option but to be slaves to the traffickers.in some limited countries this category is found among millions of person who are slaves to pay the debt that jumps from one generation to another. This category can also make children and women to work in brothels as slaves which is prone to commercialize sex industry.

Child Labor

Most of the national laws and international organizations recognize and claim that children may engage and participate in different forms of work. Sale and trafficking of children are to be known as form of child labor where they are help to force to do labor. This is what we may say Forced Labor. In child labor following are the elements that are considered extremely hazardous to the children’s development:

Health

Physical

Moral

Spiritual

Social

A child who is prey to the forced labor includes those kinds of children who are in the hands and care of non-family members who makes that child work and that child supports and profits someone outside. He has no option of leaving.

Trafficking Organs

The next type of human trafficking is not the human itself but actually the trafficking of human organs from one destination to another. The rapidly growing industry of criminal activity in human trafficking is for the purpose of using one’s organ, in order to use those organs for the sake of transplantation. in many especially developing countries there are numerous waiting list for transplant that can be time taking time taking, in order exploitation of desperate patients and potential donors criminals have seized this whole opportunity. The lives of victims who are traffic are at risk when operated due to no proper medical check-up and their operation is carried out in the worst clandestine conditions. The most dominating organ in this whole procedure is the kidney due to its demand and it is the only major organ that can be transplanted as wholes. But with the upcoming increase in diabetes and ageing population in the developed country this will increase in the amount of requirement for this transplantation of organs making this crime even more lucrative.

Domestic Servitude

Another form human trafficking is involving the victim to work in private households by force. They will be paid less or perhaps none as compared of their chores and households such as taking care of child and housekeeping for long hours. Even if the victim is being paid it will cover up the expense of accommodation and food. The victims will be treated as animals by living life of isolation, no privacy, minimum comfort and no permission of having freedom. They often are forced to sleep on the floor or on a mattress.

Child Sex trafficking

According to UNICEF, it is estimated that 2 million children fall in the criminal activity such as prostitution in the global commercial exploitation of children. International protocols and covenants object and refute for the commercial exploitation of children. Any kind of use of children in the commercial sex trade is prohibited by legislation in many countries. there are many devastating consequences along with the long lasting psychological trauma as well as physical trauma drug addiction, disease ( HIV/AID) lack of nutrition, unwanted pregnancy even the risk of possibility of death. The sexual exploitation of children in pornography or prostitution is known to be serial sexual abuse of children.

Sexual trafficking

Hundreds of thousands of traffic victims are put to display in commercial sex trafficking activities and prostitution worldwide. Now to tell how a person is a victim of sex trafficking. We can easily describe it as when a person (adult) is forced, deceived or coerced into the prostitution sector or is kept through coercion that person is a victim of sex trafficking. Now who is the person behind this? The person who is transporting, obtaining or receiving as well as recruiting the person for that purpose is the person responsible of committing sex trafficking. We can relate this category with bonded labor since female (girl or women) who are forced to lived and continue under the shadow of prostitution to pay their debt before they can be free.

Victims of sex trafficking is used in the following form of sexual exploitation:

Massage parlors

Prostitution

Pornography

Modeling studios

Escort services

Child Soldier

Child soldier concept is derived or is a part of human trafficking. Child soldiers are known to be the use of children through coercion, force or fraud as combatants or for the uses of sexual exploitation by armed forces. Rebel groups, Gov. Forces or para-military organization can be named as perpetrators. Some children are abducted and put to the use as combatants while others are made to work as servants, guards, cooks, spies or messengers. Both male and female child soldiers are known to have sexually transmitted disease since both are sexually abused.

Other Forms of Labor trafficking

Many forms of labor trafficking is to be known, following are such examples:

Hotel/ Tourist industries

Nannies or house holding

Landscape

Construction

Janitorial services

Entertainment

Modeling

Restaurant/ cooks

Waiters or waitress

Agricultural labor

Plantation

Mine labor

Fishing fleet labour

Catering jockeys

Sweatshop labour

Domestic slaves

Street begging

Street selling

Illegal adoption

Marriage

2.3 Trafficking as a process

We can say that trafficking can be looked upon as a process rather than looking trafficking as phenomena of a single committed offense. The term "process" can involve different kind of stages in which victims have to go through, and on each level/ stage different persons are involved in the overall process of human trafficking. The overall process of human trafficking is not an easy crime to commitment. Hence, it will be displayed how the process of human trafficking takes places in the following phases. But these phases can overlap each other or they can be concurrent with each other.

The following phases are

1) Recruitment of Victim

2) Movement of Victim

3) Exploitation

These are the following three stages that are known to be the main in the process of human trafficking. Pennington has mentioned and introduced a phase that is known and called as "Victim disposal". This victim who has no value left is left for the final owner that he disposes the victim of himself. Following are the phases discussed in detail.

Recruitment

This is known to be the first level/ phase/ stage of human trafficking as process. We may see that a victim is targeted by its trafficker due to its potential criteria being fulfilled. Recruitment will adopt any kind of mean {e.g. force, deception, coercion, abduction or fraud}. The most common kind of "mean" that it might adopt can be the abuse of power or involving deception. But kidnapping may be another mean.

Movement

The second stage/ phase of human trafficking is known to be the movement of the victim. The movement may be if two kinds. Either the victim can be crossed within the borders or either it may be across the border. The victim can be crossing border legally or illegally. It is important to understand that the trafficker who is trafficking isolates the victim and forces that victim into a state of dependency. The question arises how this isolation is achieved by moving the potential victim to an area within their own country of which they are unaware of. The modes of trafficking can be by road, air, sea or rail. It depends upon the traffickers if the victims are transferred from one group to another. The possibility of transit country becoming its destination country might occur. The potential victim might get exploited in this scenario.

Exploitation

The last phase/ stage of human trafficking is exploitation. The traffickers in order to gain and make large amount of money gain the benefit from donation of organ or obtain free services of labor recruitment and exploitation. Palermo Protocol has following identified 3 types of potential exploitation.

1) Sexual exploitation which include prostitution, bars, massage parlors, call girls, hostess club, forced marriage, brothels and private house.

2) Labor exploitation or forced labor

3) Removal of organs.

There are numerous kinds of crimes attempted or they may occur while trafficking is in process.

1) Instrumental criminal activity.

(Which includes falsification of documents, labour/ sexual exploitation and prostitution)?

2) Secondary

(which includes money laundering and tax evasion).

Table A (Appendix) will display how human trafficking serves as a process, mean and purpose.

2.4 Difference between human smuggling and human trafficking

Human smuggling and human trafficking is often confused with one another. Both terms differ in the following three perspectives i.e. purpose of exploitation, movement across border and consent. One of the main differences is that human migration involves a victim to be crossed over internationally. Human trafficking where known as to traffic a victim across the border but it can as well as traffic within the country. The second aspect to their difference is that human smuggling is done with the consent and with the full permission of the individual, where it is ready to pay every amount to be smuggled during the process and knows about the illegally transfer of to another country. Once they arrive they are allowed to go by their free will. In contrast in human trafficking although the "victims" permit themselves to be transferred to another destination illegally but with time they are not allowed to go by their free well and are prevented from leaving by physical force. The last difference between human smuggling and human trafficking is the purpose for which and what reason the person is recruited. Human smuggling or migrant smuggling includes the illegal entry of an individual into another country for material or financial benefit only whereas trafficking occurs in order for labor exploitation, for sexual exploitation and the removal of organs. Table B (appendix) has described the various aspects of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Table C (appendix) lists the differences between smuggling and trafficking.

2.5 Demand and Supply Factor in human trafficking

History of human trafficking informs us that poor children and women are the key target in the trafficking sector. It may be based on the basis of limited economic resources predominance in the informal sector of marginalization. Divorced, separated, unmarried and widowed are the major portion of women who are traffic. There other kinds of victims who fall prey to human trafficking e.g.

Backward classes

ethnic minorities

hill tribes

illegal migrants

independent people

refugees

The whole business of trafficking represents demand and supply factors where demand factor represents demand side and supply factor represents supply side. Table D (Appendix) elaborates the demand and supply side.