Human Trafficking is a crime that generally requires 3 elements:
1. an act of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or abduction of a person;
2. by means of the use or threat of violence, force, fraud, coercion, deception, abuse of power, or
debt bondage;
3. for the purpose of exploitation for:
- A Commercial Sex Act
- Involuntary Servitude
- Peonage
- Debt Bondage
- Slavery
How can I learn more about Trafficking?
Read Books:
• Disposable People, Kevin Bales• Understanding Global Slavery, Kevin Bales• Enslaved: True Stories of Modern Day Slavery, edited by Jesse Sage and Liora Kasten• Prostitution, Trafficking and Traumatic Stress, Melissa Farley• Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: Youth Involved in Prostitution, Pornography & Sex Trafficking, Laura A. Barnitz• The Natashas: Inside the New Global Sex Trade, Victor Malerek• Human Traffic: Sex, Slaves & Immigration, Craig McGill• Children at War, P.W. Singer• Slavery: A World History, Milton Metzler
Watch Movies:
• Blood Diamond, illustrates how child soldiers are used in West African conflicts (2006)• Soldier Child, a documentary about child soldiers in Uganda (2005)• Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (2005)• Fields of Mudan, a 23 minute film about child sex slavery in Asia (2004)• Human Trafficking, the 4-hour Lifetime miniseries on European women trafficked into the USA for prostitution (2005)• Amazing Grace, the inspiring true story of William Wilberforce who demanded abolition of the African slave trade in the UK in the 1800s (2007)• Modern-Day Slavery: Sierra Leone and Liberia, a 10 minute video by World Hope and World Relief? on trafficking and our programs in these countries • Sex Trafficking in Cambodia, a 23 minute World Hope video documenting the lives of victims in Cambodia (2003)
Supplied by : http://www.worldhope.org
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Trafficked into the devil’s bedroom
In our mind’s eye, the victims of human trafficking tend to be refugees or desperately poor women from Thailand or Eastern Europe – not educated women from middle-class, white South Africa. In reality, anyone can be trafficked – and the trade in people is thriving right under our noses. By Angelique Ardé
Candice is not her real name. Eager as she is to reveal it, the risks are too great. “I’m not fearful for my own life,” she says matter-of-factly. “But they’ve threatened to harm my children.”
The ominous “they” work for her former bosses – those who purchased her from traffickers and profiteered from her labour as a prostitute in a Cape Town brothel. They tried to get to her immediately after she escaped, but the intention then was more to break her down and hopefully get her to go back.
Now, however, they want her silenced. For lately Candice has been sharing her story in churches and on radio (anonymously), telling of how she was trafficked into prostitution, the brutality that is prostitution, and the long, gracious arm of God, who reached into her life and set her free.
Evidently her speaking out is irking them – particularly at a time such as this when South Africa is reviewing the laws governing adult prostitution.
It’s bad press that they simply can’t afford.
Those seeking to have prostitution decriminalised are at pains to refute or downplay the link between human trafficking and prostitution. But the evidence is stacked against them.
According to the UN GIFT (Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) report for 2008: “...the purpose of human trafficking is reported to be mainly sexual exploitation”.
Human trafficking is not a well-understood crime in South Africa, because we have yet to implement comprehensive legislation outlawing it. Thankfully, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill should be enacted by the end of the year.
Essentially, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of victims.
RecruitmentRecruitment can be by force, though it’s usually by deception, as in Candice’s case.
“We met in a chat room. I wasn’t in a good place. I had just come out of a bad relationship, following a divorce. We spoke online for about four months.
“I was taken in by his concern for me: he seemed to really care. He asked me lots of probing questions, wanting to know if I had friends or family nearby, and all about my relationships.”
What Candice could never have known was that her Romeo was a recruiter for a Russian mobster. And all he was doing was assessing her vulnerability and establishing trust.
On the face of it, it’s hard to believe that an intelligent, educated, 36-year-old woman could be so easily duped. But in the context of her life story, it makes sense.
As a young child Candice was sexually molested by an uncle. The abuse went on for about a year. She was never able to tell her parents, whom she describes as proud well-to-do people in their small community. They also weren’t in the habit of articulating their love for their children. “I don’t recall my mother ever telling me she loved me.”
Marred by the abuse and “looking for answers”, Candice went on to study social work after school. But she never found answers there. So she tried marriage. Broken and unhappy, she stuck it out for 13 years for the sake of her children. When the emptiness within became too much, so she left her husband and children in search of herself.
It was then that her recruiter sniffed her out and began pursuing her. Receptive as she was to him, the loss and guilt of having given up custody of her children led to a nervous breakdown. It was the perfect opportunity for her recruiter to play the gallant rescuer.
“I agreed to let him fetch me from the clinic, to take me home.”
Transportation But instead of taking her home, he took her straight to a brothel in a Cape Town suburb. There Candice was locked up, beaten and drugged. She’s not sure how long this lasted – all she recalls is having eye drops frequently put in her eyes and “very bad trips”.
“I’m told it was probably liquid LSD.”
Sometime after that, she was given a makeover and presented with a bill for the cost of her hair, nails and make up. It was explained to her that she would have to “work it off”.
Exploitation“I remember my first client. He knew it was my first time... I used coke from day one. It helped.”
In no time, she would become an addict who was always in debt with her bosses. “They were making a lot of money out of me, but I always owed them: For drugs and for fines for being cheeky or refusing a booking.”
After about six months, Candice was allowed out of the house, though always accompanied by a “driver”, who was in fact a body guard paid to watch her rather than to protect her. “I wasn’t allowed to phone anyone.”
As a means of manipulation, she was allowed to see her children twice on the premises during the 13 months that she was in the brothel.
“It was horrible. I was dying.”
Candice was trained to be a dominatrix, who eventually had a reputation for the number of lashes she could take in an hour.
She tells me only because it is relevant.
“One Friday night I was beaten so badly that I couldn’t sit. So they sent me to this woman’s house to recover.”
There Candice got hold of the hostess’s cell phone and called her father, who contacted Straatwerk, a Christian NGO that reaches out to women in prostitution. (For more about Straatwerk see the April issue of Today Magazine.)
Candice regards her rescue as something of a miracle. “The following day a vehicle arrived at the house. The door bell rang. And a woman from Straatwerk said, ‘I’m here to fetch ******’ – and I walked out!”
The road to recovery – another story altogether – was harrowing. Candice came off drugs and surrendered her life to Jesus. “I couldn’t have done it alone. The people from Straatwerk literally loved me back to life.”
She weeps as she tells of all the Christians who have supported her, providing accommodation, clothing, money, groceries – and above all, acceptance.
It has been three years since she came to Christ and He’s all over her. The Word flows out of her like a well of living water and she radiates His grace.
Candice is struggling to stay composed. “You know when God puts something on your heart and you just can’t stop crying? That’s how I feel at the thought of prostitution becoming legalised. We cannot let it happen.”
This article was first published in the September 2009 issue of Today magazine.
Candice is not her real name. Eager as she is to reveal it, the risks are too great. “I’m not fearful for my own life,” she says matter-of-factly. “But they’ve threatened to harm my children.”
The ominous “they” work for her former bosses – those who purchased her from traffickers and profiteered from her labour as a prostitute in a Cape Town brothel. They tried to get to her immediately after she escaped, but the intention then was more to break her down and hopefully get her to go back.
Now, however, they want her silenced. For lately Candice has been sharing her story in churches and on radio (anonymously), telling of how she was trafficked into prostitution, the brutality that is prostitution, and the long, gracious arm of God, who reached into her life and set her free.
Evidently her speaking out is irking them – particularly at a time such as this when South Africa is reviewing the laws governing adult prostitution.
It’s bad press that they simply can’t afford.
Those seeking to have prostitution decriminalised are at pains to refute or downplay the link between human trafficking and prostitution. But the evidence is stacked against them.
According to the UN GIFT (Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking) report for 2008: “...the purpose of human trafficking is reported to be mainly sexual exploitation”.
Human trafficking is not a well-understood crime in South Africa, because we have yet to implement comprehensive legislation outlawing it. Thankfully, the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill should be enacted by the end of the year.
Essentially, human trafficking involves the recruitment, transportation and exploitation of victims.
RecruitmentRecruitment can be by force, though it’s usually by deception, as in Candice’s case.
“We met in a chat room. I wasn’t in a good place. I had just come out of a bad relationship, following a divorce. We spoke online for about four months.
“I was taken in by his concern for me: he seemed to really care. He asked me lots of probing questions, wanting to know if I had friends or family nearby, and all about my relationships.”
What Candice could never have known was that her Romeo was a recruiter for a Russian mobster. And all he was doing was assessing her vulnerability and establishing trust.
On the face of it, it’s hard to believe that an intelligent, educated, 36-year-old woman could be so easily duped. But in the context of her life story, it makes sense.
As a young child Candice was sexually molested by an uncle. The abuse went on for about a year. She was never able to tell her parents, whom she describes as proud well-to-do people in their small community. They also weren’t in the habit of articulating their love for their children. “I don’t recall my mother ever telling me she loved me.”
Marred by the abuse and “looking for answers”, Candice went on to study social work after school. But she never found answers there. So she tried marriage. Broken and unhappy, she stuck it out for 13 years for the sake of her children. When the emptiness within became too much, so she left her husband and children in search of herself.
It was then that her recruiter sniffed her out and began pursuing her. Receptive as she was to him, the loss and guilt of having given up custody of her children led to a nervous breakdown. It was the perfect opportunity for her recruiter to play the gallant rescuer.
“I agreed to let him fetch me from the clinic, to take me home.”
Transportation But instead of taking her home, he took her straight to a brothel in a Cape Town suburb. There Candice was locked up, beaten and drugged. She’s not sure how long this lasted – all she recalls is having eye drops frequently put in her eyes and “very bad trips”.
“I’m told it was probably liquid LSD.”
Sometime after that, she was given a makeover and presented with a bill for the cost of her hair, nails and make up. It was explained to her that she would have to “work it off”.
Exploitation“I remember my first client. He knew it was my first time... I used coke from day one. It helped.”
In no time, she would become an addict who was always in debt with her bosses. “They were making a lot of money out of me, but I always owed them: For drugs and for fines for being cheeky or refusing a booking.”
After about six months, Candice was allowed out of the house, though always accompanied by a “driver”, who was in fact a body guard paid to watch her rather than to protect her. “I wasn’t allowed to phone anyone.”
As a means of manipulation, she was allowed to see her children twice on the premises during the 13 months that she was in the brothel.
“It was horrible. I was dying.”
Candice was trained to be a dominatrix, who eventually had a reputation for the number of lashes she could take in an hour.
She tells me only because it is relevant.
“One Friday night I was beaten so badly that I couldn’t sit. So they sent me to this woman’s house to recover.”
There Candice got hold of the hostess’s cell phone and called her father, who contacted Straatwerk, a Christian NGO that reaches out to women in prostitution. (For more about Straatwerk see the April issue of Today Magazine.)
Candice regards her rescue as something of a miracle. “The following day a vehicle arrived at the house. The door bell rang. And a woman from Straatwerk said, ‘I’m here to fetch ******’ – and I walked out!”
The road to recovery – another story altogether – was harrowing. Candice came off drugs and surrendered her life to Jesus. “I couldn’t have done it alone. The people from Straatwerk literally loved me back to life.”
She weeps as she tells of all the Christians who have supported her, providing accommodation, clothing, money, groceries – and above all, acceptance.
It has been three years since she came to Christ and He’s all over her. The Word flows out of her like a well of living water and she radiates His grace.
Candice is struggling to stay composed. “You know when God puts something on your heart and you just can’t stop crying? That’s how I feel at the thought of prostitution becoming legalised. We cannot let it happen.”
This article was first published in the September 2009 issue of Today magazine.
Friday, October 9, 2009
STOP applauds Mr J P Smith
The pro-prostitution lobby is criticizing Mr. JP Smith and his vice squad’s efforts to arrest prostitutes and drug dealers.
I want you to know how proud we at STOP – Stop Trafficking of People are to have a town counsel whose members take their jobs seriously.
As you know, prostitution is against the law, but it does not end there.
Seventy percent of the prostitution in the United States is linked to organized crime.
In the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal and street prostitutes are only allowed to practice their trade in red light areas, the government admitted that a legalized sector does not remove the illegal, nor reduce the involvement of organized crime.
In SA organized crime was noted as an essential element of trafficking operations specifically in respect to commercial sexual exploitation. Qualitative interviews uncovered the proliferation of Nigerian organized criminal involvement in trafficking operations in the central business districts of Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth.
The province of origin for victims most frequently noted was the Eastern Cape, followed by Kwa-Zulu Natal, Northwest Province, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape.
Research done by International Organization for Migration showed that the countries that have legalized prostitution have become magnets for human trafficking and associated crimes including drug dealing, child pornography child molestation, child prostitution and violence. Legalizing prostitution is a failed experiment it ignores the underlying social inequities that create it.
Prostitution and the use of drugs go hand in hand. Prostitutes need the drugs, so they are slaves to the pimps who supply it.
Girls as young as 12 are being abducted by pimps, drugged, raped for weeks to make them compliant and then sent out onto the streets to work as prostitutes. They are too afraid to talk, because their pimps are heartless, very cruel and violent.
The girls are being threatened that their loved ones or they themselves would be killed should they speak to anyone about it.
If they do not bring in enough cash for the day, they are burnt on their backs with cigarettes, beaten, raped, or their drugs or food are withheld from them for a day or two.
When Mr. Smith and the vice squad arrest these girls, they have the opportunity to find out what is really happening behind the scenes and where the sex and drug syndicates as well as the illegal abortion rooms are.
These girls will then have a chance to go into exit programs where they will be counseled, cured from their drug habits, get medical treatments, and trained in various skills to empower them to earn an income using their trained skills.
Three quarters of prostitutes in the Netherlands wish to attend exit programs to enable them to leave.
We at STOP sent a proposal to the Law Reformed Committee suggesting that prostitution should be criminalized, but with an exit clause. Should the prostitute want to leave the trade, she neither has to appear in court, nor be given a criminal record, but rather be given the opportunity to submit herself to a government funded exit program where she can be treated physically (diseases, addictions),
Emotionally and do skills training which will empower her to earn a living when she is ready to go back into society.
I do not know of any girl who has dreamed all of her life to become a prostitute.
Law enforcement agencies and research institutions have identified South Africa as one of the countries in the southern part of Africa that is used by organized traffickers of human beings as a destination, transit and country of origin of victims in pursuing this abominable trade.
At the present time, South Africa does not have comprehensive legislation that addresses human trafficking. Currently, provisions listed under various legislation, referring to child welfare and sexual offences are used in prosecution. However, conviction rates are low and if convicted, offenders generally receive
minimal sentencing often just a monetary fine (UNODC, 2007: 5). Offenders can also be charged with rape or kidnapping which will bring a harsher sentence yet difficulties with these convictions exists.
I have all the faith in Cape Town's town counsel to fight crime and corruption and make her a crime free tourist destination and a safe place for us to raise our children without fear of being robbed, high-jacked, attacked or killed.
I want you to know how proud we at STOP – Stop Trafficking of People are to have a town counsel whose members take their jobs seriously.
As you know, prostitution is against the law, but it does not end there.
Seventy percent of the prostitution in the United States is linked to organized crime.
In the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal and street prostitutes are only allowed to practice their trade in red light areas, the government admitted that a legalized sector does not remove the illegal, nor reduce the involvement of organized crime.
In SA organized crime was noted as an essential element of trafficking operations specifically in respect to commercial sexual exploitation. Qualitative interviews uncovered the proliferation of Nigerian organized criminal involvement in trafficking operations in the central business districts of Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Johannesburg, and Port Elizabeth.
The province of origin for victims most frequently noted was the Eastern Cape, followed by Kwa-Zulu Natal, Northwest Province, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape.
Research done by International Organization for Migration showed that the countries that have legalized prostitution have become magnets for human trafficking and associated crimes including drug dealing, child pornography child molestation, child prostitution and violence. Legalizing prostitution is a failed experiment it ignores the underlying social inequities that create it.
Prostitution and the use of drugs go hand in hand. Prostitutes need the drugs, so they are slaves to the pimps who supply it.
Girls as young as 12 are being abducted by pimps, drugged, raped for weeks to make them compliant and then sent out onto the streets to work as prostitutes. They are too afraid to talk, because their pimps are heartless, very cruel and violent.
The girls are being threatened that their loved ones or they themselves would be killed should they speak to anyone about it.
If they do not bring in enough cash for the day, they are burnt on their backs with cigarettes, beaten, raped, or their drugs or food are withheld from them for a day or two.
When Mr. Smith and the vice squad arrest these girls, they have the opportunity to find out what is really happening behind the scenes and where the sex and drug syndicates as well as the illegal abortion rooms are.
These girls will then have a chance to go into exit programs where they will be counseled, cured from their drug habits, get medical treatments, and trained in various skills to empower them to earn an income using their trained skills.
Three quarters of prostitutes in the Netherlands wish to attend exit programs to enable them to leave.
We at STOP sent a proposal to the Law Reformed Committee suggesting that prostitution should be criminalized, but with an exit clause. Should the prostitute want to leave the trade, she neither has to appear in court, nor be given a criminal record, but rather be given the opportunity to submit herself to a government funded exit program where she can be treated physically (diseases, addictions),
Emotionally and do skills training which will empower her to earn a living when she is ready to go back into society.
I do not know of any girl who has dreamed all of her life to become a prostitute.
Law enforcement agencies and research institutions have identified South Africa as one of the countries in the southern part of Africa that is used by organized traffickers of human beings as a destination, transit and country of origin of victims in pursuing this abominable trade.
At the present time, South Africa does not have comprehensive legislation that addresses human trafficking. Currently, provisions listed under various legislation, referring to child welfare and sexual offences are used in prosecution. However, conviction rates are low and if convicted, offenders generally receive
minimal sentencing often just a monetary fine (UNODC, 2007: 5). Offenders can also be charged with rape or kidnapping which will bring a harsher sentence yet difficulties with these convictions exists.
I have all the faith in Cape Town's town counsel to fight crime and corruption and make her a crime free tourist destination and a safe place for us to raise our children without fear of being robbed, high-jacked, attacked or killed.
CARIN NEL (STOP)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
LINDA'S STORY
I answered an ad in a Cape Town newspaper for a masseuse/receptionist. The advertisement stated I would be a staff member, would receive a salary of R8100 per month and receive an incentive bonus. During the interview I was told that the job involved answering the telephone and that I would be trained to do simple Swedish massages. She said to me this was a straight forward massage salon and there was “no funny business”. I was going to get a cut of each massage I did – which (I understood) was over and above the offered salary. On my second day, I was trained to do a back massage. When I started on the Monday, I went straight into doing back massages. I was confused when a client asked me for “extras” and did not understand what he meant. After a few days the owners asked me to “get more involved” and handed me a slip of paper which had the services I could offer. These were itemized and varied from “full house” R450 to Blow jobs R270 to “body to body” to “touching” at lower rates down to some R120. I then only realized what was really happening in this “beauty salon”. I needed the salary and decided to stay on, without doing any of the extras. Girls told me how they often did not use condoms, how married men are telling their wives they are in business meetings whilst having sex and how girls used drugs with their clients. The pestering from both the clients and management became so bad, that I could no longer take it. I decided to leave, which I could do because I had the support of my family. This was a very bad experience for me. The advertisement was a “con”. I was told they always had the best girls and I realize why, they got the young girls who never intended to be prostitutes but wanted a decent job. The pressure and the money got to them. They could earn up to R10 000 a week I realized too the salary was a “con” as well. I would never have received the R8100. No one ever did.
Example of job ad
RECEPTIONIST/TRAINEE MASSEUSE
Our salon is looking for a presentable, energetic and open-minded lady to join our team. Full training provided. To start immediately. This is not and escort agency. Total package R 9000 +pm. MMS Photo & Details
Our salon is looking for a presentable, energetic and open-minded lady to join our team. Full training provided. To start immediately. This is not and escort agency. Total package R 9000 +pm. MMS Photo & Details
Why parents don't know
In the case of many of these "beauty salons" every step is taken to assist the girl to keep the work secret. Each establishment has a secret number parents etc can phone and use her real name and the child can be called to the phone unless she is busy having sex in which case the parent will be told she is attending to a customer and will call back.
UN PROTOCOL ON TRAFFICKING
The definition of trafficking in the Protocol is the first international definition of trafficking.
"(a) ' Trafficking in persons' shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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 [interpretative note (63)] 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 [interpretative note (64)], forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;" Interpretative note (63): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the reference to the abuse of a position of vulnerability is understood to refer to any situation in which the person involved has no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved." Interpretative note (64): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the Protocol addresses the exploitation of prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitation only in the context of trafficking in persons. The terms 'exploitation of the prostitution of others' or 'other forms of sexual exploitation' are not defined in the Protocol, which is therefore without prejudice to how States Parties address prostitution in their respective domestic laws." "(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons 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 [interpretative note (68)];" Interpretative note (68): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that Subparagraph (b) should not be interpreted as imposing any restriction on the right of accused persons to a full defence and to the presumption of Innocence. They should also indicate that it should not be interpreted as imposing on the victim the burden of proof. As in any criminal case, the burden of proof is on the State or public prosecutor, in accordance with domestic law[...]."
Commentary on Definition of Trafficking in the UN Protocolfrom the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women
The Trafficking Protocol contains the first international definition of 'trafficking in persons'. It takes a different approach to trafficking from that contained in the 1949 Convention, which focused only on prostitution and considered all prostitution, voluntary and forced, to be trafficking. The Protocol recognises the existence of voluntary prostitution and forced prostitution. It intentionally does not define the phrase "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" because government delegates to the negotiations could not agree on a common meaning. All delegates agreed that involuntary forced participation in prostitution would constitute trafficking, but the majority of governments rejected the idea that voluntary, non-coercive participation by adults in prostitution constitutes trafficking. In order to ensure the greatest number of signatories to the Protocol, delegates agreed to leave the phrase undefined and add the following explanation: "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the Protocol addresses the exploitation of the prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitation only in the context of trafficking in persons. The terms 'exploitation of the prostitution of others' or 'other forms of sexual exploitation' are not defined in the Protocol, which is therefore without prejudice to how States Parties address prostitution in their respective domestic laws." Thus, the Trafficking Protocol expressly permits states to focus only on forced prostitution and other crimes involving force or coercion and does not require governments to treat all adult participation in prostitution as trafficking. Governments that want to focus on crimes involving force or coercion in prostitution and other forms of labour do not even need to include the phrase "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" in their domestic law. The terms "forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude" will cover all situations including forced participation in the sex industry. Furthermore, forced labour, slavery and servitude are defined in international law and those definitions can be incorporated into domestic legislation. As "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" are not defined in international law, governments would have to develop clear definitions for their criminal codes. If they do not define the phrase or define it unclearly, then convictions will be difficult because prosecutors will not know what they have to prove. Clear criminal law definitions are essential to the rule of law and the rights of the defendant. Definition of Sexual Exploitationfrom the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women If a government insists on using language such as 'sexual exploitation', we should encourage them to use the following definition so that sexual exploitation, like any other form of labour exploitation, requires the use of force or coercion etc.: "'sexual exploitation' means the participation by a person in prostitution, sexual servitude, or the production of pornographic materials as a result of being subjected to a threat, deception, coercion, abduction, force, abuse of authority, debt bondage or fraud. Even in the absence of any of these factors, where the person participating in prostitution, sexual servitude or the production of pornographic materials in under the age of 18, sexual exploitation shall be deemed to exist."
"(a) ' Trafficking in persons' shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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 [interpretative note (63)] 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 [interpretative note (64)], forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;" Interpretative note (63): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the reference to the abuse of a position of vulnerability is understood to refer to any situation in which the person involved has no real and acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved." Interpretative note (64): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the Protocol addresses the exploitation of prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitation only in the context of trafficking in persons. The terms 'exploitation of the prostitution of others' or 'other forms of sexual exploitation' are not defined in the Protocol, which is therefore without prejudice to how States Parties address prostitution in their respective domestic laws." "(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons 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 [interpretative note (68)];" Interpretative note (68): "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that Subparagraph (b) should not be interpreted as imposing any restriction on the right of accused persons to a full defence and to the presumption of Innocence. They should also indicate that it should not be interpreted as imposing on the victim the burden of proof. As in any criminal case, the burden of proof is on the State or public prosecutor, in accordance with domestic law[...]."
Commentary on Definition of Trafficking in the UN Protocolfrom the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women
The Trafficking Protocol contains the first international definition of 'trafficking in persons'. It takes a different approach to trafficking from that contained in the 1949 Convention, which focused only on prostitution and considered all prostitution, voluntary and forced, to be trafficking. The Protocol recognises the existence of voluntary prostitution and forced prostitution. It intentionally does not define the phrase "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" because government delegates to the negotiations could not agree on a common meaning. All delegates agreed that involuntary forced participation in prostitution would constitute trafficking, but the majority of governments rejected the idea that voluntary, non-coercive participation by adults in prostitution constitutes trafficking. In order to ensure the greatest number of signatories to the Protocol, delegates agreed to leave the phrase undefined and add the following explanation: "The travaux preparatoires should indicate that the Protocol addresses the exploitation of the prostitution of others and other forms of sexual exploitation only in the context of trafficking in persons. The terms 'exploitation of the prostitution of others' or 'other forms of sexual exploitation' are not defined in the Protocol, which is therefore without prejudice to how States Parties address prostitution in their respective domestic laws." Thus, the Trafficking Protocol expressly permits states to focus only on forced prostitution and other crimes involving force or coercion and does not require governments to treat all adult participation in prostitution as trafficking. Governments that want to focus on crimes involving force or coercion in prostitution and other forms of labour do not even need to include the phrase "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" in their domestic law. The terms "forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude" will cover all situations including forced participation in the sex industry. Furthermore, forced labour, slavery and servitude are defined in international law and those definitions can be incorporated into domestic legislation. As "exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation" are not defined in international law, governments would have to develop clear definitions for their criminal codes. If they do not define the phrase or define it unclearly, then convictions will be difficult because prosecutors will not know what they have to prove. Clear criminal law definitions are essential to the rule of law and the rights of the defendant. Definition of Sexual Exploitationfrom the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women If a government insists on using language such as 'sexual exploitation', we should encourage them to use the following definition so that sexual exploitation, like any other form of labour exploitation, requires the use of force or coercion etc.: "'sexual exploitation' means the participation by a person in prostitution, sexual servitude, or the production of pornographic materials as a result of being subjected to a threat, deception, coercion, abduction, force, abuse of authority, debt bondage or fraud. Even in the absence of any of these factors, where the person participating in prostitution, sexual servitude or the production of pornographic materials in under the age of 18, sexual exploitation shall be deemed to exist."
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