Complex systemic constraints, not individuals, prevent trafficking victim identification
Research finds a lack of connection between trafficking victims and authorities impedes identification, the UK Supreme Court rules diplomatic immunity does not extend to modern slavery, and the EU and Morocco renew their anti-human smuggling partnership.
A new report from Winrock International and USAID Asia’s Counter Trafficking in Persons program has found that constraints on both victims and identifying authorities combine to form barriers to trafficking victim identification, allowing countless numbers of cases to go unreported and unsupported. Based on interviews carried out in partnership with the Human Research Consultancy and the Institute of Development Studies, the research found that both trafficking victims and state actors are impeded by symmetrical sets of reinforcing challenges that ultimately keep them apart.
The report also analyzed cases of successful identification, to discover the actions and approaches that facilitated this outcome. It found that, in successful cases, a combination of physical, attitudinal and/or institutional pathways had been created to overcome the systemic challenges on both sides and allow survivors and identifying authorities to connect.
The authors of Barriers and Opportunities for More Effective Identification of Victims of Human Trafficking made use of ongoing partnerships with researchers and NGOs who work with survivors of trafficking in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Taiwan to interview 112 people across the three countries, including 39 victims of trafficking who were able to talk about their experiences of navigating the identification process. The researchers found that trauma and other emotional struggles, along with their treatment as criminals when encountering law enforcement or border control, can make victims unwilling to take part in arduous formal processes related to identification. Further, survivors doubt that state officials and existing legal channels will prioritize their interests. As a result, they remain invisible, go unsupported, continue to suffer abuses, and face stigma and trauma even after finding their way out of trafficking. This lack of visibility also makes it difficult to gain deeper insight into how trafficking works, which seriously hinders international counter-trafficking efforts.
The interviews confirmed that state agencies and authorities also face many challenges in identification. Laws are ambiguous and the protection of victims often competes for attention and resources with other obligations such as the prosecution of criminals and the enforcement of border control. Frontline workers in police, border control and consular offices tend not to be sufficiently trained in their options and obligations to identify victims, and they often face pushback when trying. Frontline NGO workers, who are also typically authorized to identify victims and provide services, tend to be underfunded and lack the means to fully protect victims or help them achieve justice.
Instead, victims tend to seek help through informal connections and networks. In the first instance, where victims are being held in trafficking conditions, they will often attempt to reach out to family, neighbors or social contacts from their home country or even to look for a broker – potentially a broker that also engages in trafficking. In many cases, these neighbors and brokers help victims reach home or safety, but this does not mean they will be formally identified by authorities. In many other cases, survivors face further exploitation from their contacts, who sell them on to other traffickers.
The report concludes that difficulties of victim identification are not caused by unhelpful victims or lazy authorities, instead, challenges to victim identification should be reframed as the result of complex systems rather than individual actors. Identification is difficult to achieve because the systems involved have mechanisms that keep victims and identifying authorities physically apart, facing sets of incentives that are at odds with identification, and operating according to different institutional arrangements and social norms. To better facilitate connection and identification, the conditions that shape the incentives and possibilities for action need to change. This is a long-term aspiration but, in the short term, helping create opportunities for both victims and authorities to interact informally, to build trust, and to find ways to relate to each other, can help individuals find their own pathways to safety.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
In a world first, the UK Supreme Court ruled last week that diplomatic immunity does not extend to modern slavery cases. Filipina domestic worker Josephine Wong brought the case against her Saudi diplomat employer who had subjected her to abuse and conditions of modern slavery.
The United States is pushing its North American economic partners Canada and Mexico to clamp down on imports of Chinese goods produced by Uyghur slave labour. U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai met with Canadian Trade Minister Mary Ng and their Mexican counterpart in Vancouver on Friday to discuss the two-year-old revamped North American free-trade pact, known as the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), with Uyghur forced labour and reliance on Chinese supply chains high on the agenda.
Last week, the European Commission and Morocco announced a renewed partnership on migration and the tackling of human smuggling networks, amid concern about the extremely violent methods adopted by criminal gangs. The new operational anti-smuggling partnership will cover, in particular, support for border management, enhanced police cooperation, awareness-raising on the dangers of unlawful migration, and enhanced cooperation with EU home affairs agencies.
Investigators in Ukraine say they have foiled a criminal gang who forced women into sex work abroad after luring them with false adverts for legitimate employment. Prosecutors currently do not know how many women were forced into sex work and sent to Turkey and possibly other countries in the EU.
Europol says nearly 130 human trafficking suspects have been arrested following a joint operation aimed at criminal networks allegedly planning to smuggle migrants to Britain on small boats. Police from 22 countries were involved in the operation which also identified 60 new suspects, Europol said in a statement.
U.S. Border Protection has published a detailed report on widely publicized incidents of violence against refugees at the U.S.-Mexico border. The report also found that the agents used derogatory language, and four employees from U.S. Customs and Border Protection face potential disciplinary action over their treatment of Haitian migrants.
Last Tuesday, Vietnam arrested a prominent human rights activist, accusing him of distributing anti-state propaganda. Nguyen Lan Thang is well known in the communist country for his social activism as well as his online criticism of the government, which has become increasingly intolerant of any dissent. Human Rights Watch called for his “immediate and unconditional release”.
The Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre (Modern Slavery PEC) will hold a virtual workshop on “Building equitable partnerships between academics and NGOs in research” on 18 July.
On 15 July, Alliance 8.7 will host a virtual event as part of the 2022 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, during which it will share updates on the progress of pathfinder countries via a discussion among governments, the private sector, trade unions and civil society, with a special focus on the outcome of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour.
SEED Foundation is seeking an Anti-Trafficking Protection and Service Delivery Manager to coordinate the service delivery elements of its anti-TIP programming. The role is based in Erbil, Iraq.
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