New data insights into Kenya’s high activity locations and regional risk
STTK’s national data network strengthens Kenya’s anti-trafficking response, Transparentem uncovers potential human rights abuses in Myanmar’s garment factories, and ASEAN-ACT hosts webinars on anti-trafficking practices in a time of crisis.
New data from civil society organizations in Kenya has revealed human trafficking hotspots and cross-regional exploitation patterns. Human trafficking is widespread and well established in Kenya – a year ago, data submitted by local organizations showed both domestic and international human trafficking activity and revealed that the range of movement is extensive in both the number of routes used and the distances covered.
This new data collection effort has been undertaken to identify the specific cities and counties that Kenyans migrate from – a gap identified in the previous report – as well as to collect additional data on the modes of transportation and recruitment methods used. Building on the previous data set from 2019, a number of additional locations of relevance for migration to, through or from Kenya have also been identified. These include Finland and Somaliland as countries of origin, as well as the destinations of Ethiopia, Namibia, Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, and Rwanda.
The data shows that the promise of a better life and profitable opportunities remain the main motivation for victims to put their trust in recruiters and agree to migrate, as they seek to provide for their families and children. Recruiters are often relatives or close friends of the victim, recruitment techniques vary between jobs and industries, and recruiters use different means, e.g. deception, threat and fraud, to lure their victims. Analysis shows that migrants frequently travel by bus and passenger plane, as well as in the car of the trafficker/recruiter/facilitator – the majority of victims use multiple modes of transportation and are often taken to airports by facilitators themselves. The data set also identifies the specific airlines used for particular migration routes.
This recent data collection exercise is a joint effort between the national coalition Stop the Traffik Kenya (STTK) and Freedom Collaborative. We are particularly proud that, following the publication of the 2019 data set, many more civil society organizations have joined the initiative and contributed their data. This project provides a positive example of how national networks are able to facilitate collaborative action and cooperation in order to build an improved evidence base and data-driven decision making which in turn will strengthen the anti-trafficking response of network members and relevant stakeholders.
The data was compiled using Freedom Collaborative’s Victim Journey Tracker tool and has been added to the global map of human trafficking routes available on the platform.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
Twenty-six companies, business associations and initiatives have released a joint statement calling for EU-wide, cross-sectoral mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence legislation. The group, which includes large multinationals such as Adidas, Unilever, Inditex, and Mars, holds a combined annual turnover of almost €350 billion.
A group of Taiwan-based Filipino fishermen, who have allegedly been subjected to exploitative working practices such as long hours and excessive deductions from their salaries, have urged for their cases to be seen as human trafficking.
Over a three-year period, Transparentem has gathered evidence from dozens of workers at three garment factories in Myanmar, and uncovered evidence of practices that appeared to violate international human rights standards and Myanmar law. Workers described hazardous working conditions and abuses of their vulnerability, as well as instances of deception during social audits intended to monitor conditions for workers. This raises the question of whether buyers are fully aware of their suppliers’ troubling practices.
The Hotline for Refugees and Migrants in Tel Aviv is currently representing 27 trafficking and torture survivors who were abducted from their homes in Ethiopia several years ago, before being released to Israel where they were able to begin the healing process. Recently these women received deportation notices despite the fact that, in Ethiopia, rape survivors are often killed due to the social stigma of their ordeal. Hotline for Refugees and Migrants has sent a humanitarian request to Israel’s Interior Minister asking that the women be granted humanitarian status to remain in Israel where they can live safely and with dignity, and is seeking support for the request.
ASEAN-Australia Counter Trafficking (ASEAN-ACT) is hosting a series of webinars with the theme “Adaptive Justice Responses on Trafficking in Persons under the New Normal”. On Friday, they are discussing Good Practices in Identifying Trafficking Victims or Persons at Risk During Crisis in the ASEAN region.
Please support Kalayaan's petition asking the government to reinstate the pre-2012 Overseas Domestic Worker visa, which enables migrant domestic workers in the UK to safely change employers, renew their visas and access a path to settlement.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is requesting proposals for the development of a briefing paper on the recruitment situation of migrant domestic workers in the migration corridor to Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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