Image by © Yan Cong

In this webinar on Ethical Storytelling, hosted in collaboration with the USAID Asia Counter Trafficking in Persons project, panelists share their perspectives on ethical practices and lessons learned that could enable anti-trafficking organizations, researchers, journalists, and practitioners to tell a story that resonates with their intended audiences while doing justice to the people in the center of these narratives.

During the session, you hear from a survivor that leads a survivor support group in Bangladeshi communities, an organization that started a movement for a new standard of storytelling, and a photographer that incorporates ethics in the many decisions that an artist must make in documenting sensitive issues.

We discuss the importance of deep consent, how to navigate competing priorities between client-facing and donor-facing storytellers, and how nuanced stories of small and big successes can help to build more realistic donor expectations.

We explore the story of one Cambodian woman who migrated to China for marriage and the process of telling a story that humanizes the Cambodian woman as well as the Chinese man in a brokered marriage.

And, we are reminded to rethink survivor protection issues at the community level and ensure we are not sharing personally identifiable information of survivors. As practitioners, the best interest of our beneficiaries must always be the priority, and organizational concerns must come after that.

Speakers:

Lucy McCray, The Freedom Story

Yan Cong, Visual Storyteller

Reshma Khatun, ANIRBAN

Natasha Burley (Moderator), Winrock International

Please find below a list of resources on the topic, some of which we mentioned during the discussion and some additional ones:

• The Ethical Storytelling Initiative and Pledge: A community of practitioners engaging the messy yet beautiful conversation around storytelling in the social impact space, bringing together resources and discussions on the topic.

• Senior Policy Operating Group Public Awareness and Outreach Committee Guide For Public Awareness Materials: Guidelines for Messaging, Use of Images and Awareness Raising published by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) last week.

• The guidelines are based on Freedom United’s #MyStoryMyDignity Campaign and Pledge.

• Rights Lab at the University of Nottingham provides an online archive of modern slavery survivor testimonies, and have published a report which addresses the use of survivor voices in discussion and research into modern Slavery.

• Photographers without Borders connects volunteer storytellers from all over the world to document assignments together with community partners.

• Our Guidance Note on the Usage of Victim Images includes principles that need to be observed when making the decision whether to use a vulnerable person’s image or not, a checklist of key principles, as well as a proposed form of consent letter.

In recent years, technology solutions have emerged to transform migrant worker protection. Innovative tools offer to fill information gaps, promote fair recruitment processes, and capture the workers’ experiences within supply chains. 

This webinar, hosted in collaboration with the USAID Asia Counter Trafficking in Persons project, showcases four existing initiatives for Migrant workers in Southeast Asia and lessons learned regarding the development of effective platforms, improved accessibility and usage, and addressing risks to users and platform hosts.

Our panelists present the following initiatives:

• Bong Pheak, an employment service platform for low-skilled and unskilled workers in Cambodia to find opportunities in their own country. The platform reduces the use of intermediaries and allows employers to directly communicate opportunities to workers that before had little access to information about jobs available domestically. 

• Miss Migration, a Facebook ChatBot disseminating migration information. In Myanmar, Facebook is the primary online information channel, and the chatbot provides automatic responses to routine migration inquiries such as passport application requirements, visa and work permit issues, and rules and regulations.

• The E-Min project to help protect workers across industries by utilizing blockchain technology. The tool addresses the challenge of creating trust, transparency, and security in complex supply chains by allowing for copies of workers’ employment contracts and related documentation to be stored in an immutable and secure way. The document upload can also be coupled with questionnaires to assess working conditions and violations.

• SaverAsia compares existing money transfer services to help empower migrant workers to make better financial decisions. They can compare costs and services for sending money home, can find financial services, and also connect with support organizations through the website.

Following the presentations on each tool and the challenges and lessons learned, the webinar concludes with questions from the audience. These include how to work towards sustainability and measure the impact of technology tools. 

Speakers:

Marja Paavilainen, ILO

David Vilchez, IOM

Javier Sola, Open Development Institute

Phoebe Ewen, The Mekong Club

It serves the community’s interests to jointly recognize that both funders and the organizations providing services to victims and working in the field have critical but different roles to play, and one cannot be elevated above the other. In order to create change together, collaborating effectively is critical.

This webinar discusses some of the insights on the nature of the challenges between civil society organizations and international funders within the anti-trafficking field and explores potential approaches and opportunities for helping funders and organizations to work together as partners and allies.

Speakers:

Corey Oser, The Global Fund for Children

Sophie Otiende, HAART Kenya

Steve Hoeschele, Graduate Student University of Nottingham

Charlotte Brugman, , Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP)

La trata de personas es un fenómeno complejo que requiere un enfoque coordinado y multisectorial para lograr una respuesta efectiva. Según el documento de antecedentes preparado por la Oficina de Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y Delito UNODC para las discusiones del Grupo de Trabajo sobre Trata de Personas en el 2015; Para que sea exhaustiva, la respuesta nacional de justicia penal a la trata de personas debe incluir medidas destinadas a proteger y apoyar a las víctimas, así como medidas apropiadas para actuar contra los tratantes. En el artículo 2, párrafo b, del Protocolo de Naciones Unidas contra la Trata de Personas se señala que uno de los fines del Protocolo es proteger y ayudar a las víctimas de la trata, respetando plenamente sus derechos humanos. Después de casi tres decenios de experiencia en la aplicación del Protocolo, es evidente que existe un amplio consenso no solo sobre la necesidad de atender a las necesidades particulares de cada persona y prevenir la revictimización, sino también sobre la necesidad de desarrollar las facetas de esa protección y asistencia, para garantizar que las víctimas puedan desempeñar un papel eficaz de apoyo a la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de los casos.

En este contexto y producto de las reflexiones en el marco de la Conferencia Regional sobre Trata de Personas en América Latina y el Caribe, realizada en el mes de Julio de 2019 en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana; la Asociación Internacional de Mujeres Juezas IAWJ, la Oficina de Naciones Unidas contra la Droga y Delito UNODC y la organización Liberty Shared a través de su iniciativa Freedom Collaborative han invitado a dos mujeres asociadas a compartir sus experiencias y reflexiones alrededor del tema “Retos de la Justicia Penal en la respuesta a la Trata de Personas” en un Webinar en español.

Las Invitadas:

Magistrada Jueza en Madrid. Profesora del Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía y de la Asignatura de Derecho Penal Internacional en el Real Centro Universitario María Cristina adscrito a la Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Profesora de la formación específica de los Grupos Especializados en Trata de Seres Humanos de la Guardia Civil ha participado como experta en distintos programas de cooperación en Trata y Tráfico de Personas en cooperación internacional en la Escuela de Jueces del estado Plurinacional de Bolivia, confeccionando los materiales que permitirán desarrollar los procesos de formación y capacitación en la Temática de Trata y Tráfico de Personas, así como docencia, capacitando a los docentes en esta materia. Ha sido Ponente en el Seminario organizado por la Comisión de la Unión Europea de Aprendizaje mutuo, sobre igualdad de género con el título “ combatiendo la trata de mujeres y niñas con fines de explotación sexual”; Ponente en el VI Congreso Latinoamericano y Caribeño de Trata de Personas y Tráfico de Inmigrantes, causas estructurales y políticas de prevención, celebrado en la Universidad de FLACSO en Quito (Ecuador) con la ponencia titulada “Trata y Tráfico de Personas: Dimensión de Derechos Humanos, Género e Interculturalidad. Respuesta de los sistemas judiciales”. Experta llamada a la Subcomisión del Congreso de los Diputados para el Pacto de Estado Contra la Violencia de Género, con una intervención basada en la proposición de una Ley Integral Contra la Trata para el Estado Español y autora de diversos artículos sobre Trata de Seres Humanos publicados en revistas jurídicas especializada.

María Alejandra Mángano es fiscal de la Procuraduría de Trata y Explotación de personas y de la Fiscalía Federal Nro. 12 en la ciudad de Buenos Aires. Se graduó con honores de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, donde también fue profesora de Derecho Penal durante varios años. Es especialista en Derecho Penal por la Universidad Torcuato Di Tella y allí concluyó los cursos de la maestría en derecho penal. Es miembro de la Asociación de Fiscales y Funcionarios Públicos del Ministerio Público (AFFUN) y de la Asociación de Mujeres Jueces de la Argentina (AMJA). También es miembro de la Red Iberoamericana de Fiscales especializados en Trata de Personas y Tráfico Ilícito (REDTRAM). Escribió varios artículos sobre el delito de trata de personas, realizó estudios estadísticos y herramientas de investigación penal sobre este tópico. Ha sido invitada como experta en el campo por UNODC, la OIM y la Academia Pontificia de las Ciencias del Vaticano, entre otros.

This webinar discusses the Freedom Fund’s study that investigates the nature of exploitation of minors in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector. The speakers explain the purpose and research questions, as well as the processes of data collection and field procedures.

For the study, 600 workers in the adult entertainment sector in Kathmandu Valley were surveyed, and 50 in-depth interviews were conducted. The research found a current population of minors working in Kathmandu Valley of about 1650 with a margin of error plus or minus 23. The current proportion of minors working across the adult entertainment sector as a whole is 17 percent, and the majority of the workers, 62 percent, began working in the sector when they were under 18. While the numbers of minors working in the AES may have declined since past estimates, there are still a significant number of minors working in the sector that is a highly exploitative place for children to work.

The second presentation during the webinar focuses on the methods used for the prevalence estimation and explained respondent-driven sampling (RDS), mark and recapture, and venue-based sampling to determine the population of minors. The presentation concludes with a discussion of the limitations of the study and how these limitations may be minimized in future research efforts.

Presentations are provided by the principal investigator and lead statistician:

Dr. Meredith Dank is a Research Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Her areas of focus include human trafficking, teen dating violence, LGBTQ issues, victimization, and qualitative methods. She served as principal investigator on over a dozen human trafficking studies funded by the Department of Justice, the US Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Dank has conducted research in multiple countries and took part in a White House stakeholder meeting on victim services for survivors. 

Dr. Kyle Vincent, Ph.D., is the pioneer in the development and application of Adaptive and Link-Tracing Sampling-based strategies for estimating the size and distribution of networked hard-to-reach populations. Dr. Vincent has provided technical support and consulting services to a multitude of national and international agencies, including the U.S. State Department, International Labour Organisation and the Walk Free Foundation. His research has been published in high-ranking journals such as the Journal of the American Statistical Association and has been recognized in the Journal of Human Trafficking.

Sex work remains a contentious issue among feminists and human rights activists, some of whom see it as a form of labour, and others as a form of violence against women. Equally contentious is the relationship between sex worker rights organisations and anti-trafficking organisations. The frequent conflation of sex work with human trafficking in the past two decades has increased the marginalisation and stigmatisation of sex workers and led to violent intrusions by state and non-state actors in their lives. At the level of legislation, most states continue to favour repressive policies that lead to further human rights abuses against sex workers.

This webinar briefly presents several academic articles on sex work and human trafficking, published in an issue of the journal Anti-Trafficking Review.

The speakers explain the polarised discourses around sex workers and the conflation of sex work with human trafficking that can be observed in many countries and pose challenges for sex worker rights activists to work with anti-trafficking activists. They also discuss collaborative efforts that are happening to achieve a reduction in the amount of violence that people are experiencing, whether someone chooses to do sex work, whether it's circumstantial that they would love to do something else but it's their best or only way to meet their needs, or they’re being forced and experiencing trafficking.

In California, Senate Bill 233 has been signed into law only a few weeks ago and will offer sex workers immunity from persecution if they contact police to report a violent crime, which the panelists felt will help those people who really do want to seek out legal help and support when they've been a victim or witness of a crime, to have a little bit more assurance and protection.

The speakers conclude that any type of collaborative work takes time and that it is imperative to recognize that it requires a lot of thoughtfulness, clarity, and having - sometimes difficult - conversations in order to establish common values everybody agrees on.

Speakers:

Calogero Giametta, Aix-Marseille University

Ntokozo Yingwana, African Centre for Migration and Society, University of Witwatersrand

Alexandra Lutnick, University of California, Berkeley

Borislav Gerasimov (Moderator), Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women / Anti-Trafficking Review

Fotos © Edu León

En este webinar, panelistas en Colombia, Perú y Venezuela conversan sobre la migración venezolana, hablando de los derechos de los migrantes, los flujos mixtos, y las respuestas a situaciones de vulnerabilidad de los migrantes por actores gubernamentales, ONGs y la academia.

Las panelistas hablan de características de poblaciones que enfrentan mayores riesgos de explotación, destacando los riesgos para personas que carecen de documentación y mencionando que las mujeres, los niños no acompañados y las personas indígenas enfrentan desigualdades y abusos ambos en tránsito y en países de destino.

Las panelistas conversaron sobre los derechos de los migrantes, los flujos mixtos, y cómo los cambios en perfiles de migrantes han necesitado una adaptación en las respuestas de las organizaciones que atienden a estas poblaciones. Ellas hablaron también de características de poblaciones que enfrentan mayores riesgos de explotación, destacando los riesgos para personas que carecen de documentación y mencionando que las mujeres, los niños no acompañados y las personas indígenas enfrentan desigualdades y abusos ambos en tránsito y en países de destino.

La conversación concluyó con una discusión sobre las brechas de información que existen, especialmente en relación con los venezolanos migrantes que son víctimas de trata. Las panelistas mencionaron esfuerzos en Colombia, Perú y Venezuela para atender a las necesidades y vulnerabilidades de la población migrante y refugiado.

Panelistas:

Cécile Blouin
Investigadora Principal, Instituto de Democracia y Derechos Humanos de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú

Beatriz Eugenia Luna de Aliaga
Consultora, Universidad del Rosario

Dorennys Angulo
Directora Ejecutiva de Éxodo

Delisbeth Villalobos
Abogada en HIAS

The private sector is increasingly being recognized by donors, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as a crucial partner in combatting human trafficking and unfair labor practices. Companies are both directly affected by these challenges in their own operations and supply chains and are well-positioned to take action that has a significant impact.

However, many stakeholders do not have experience engaging the private sector to support development outcomes, and there is limited public guidance and resources on how to best do this.

This webinar shares lessons regarding private sector engagement to counter unfair labor practices learned through the USAID Asia CTIP project as well as from Resonance’s experiences in brokering over 300 partnerships with the private sector. It also shares the point of view from global companies and encourages discourse on meaningful private sector engagement and partnerships to combat labor trafficking.

The panel discusses the many nuances of the process of building partnerships with the private sector that can help to make progress and highlights the need for understanding of the partners’ perspective, trust, flexibility, and problem-solving.

Speakers:

Anna Casey, Project Manager, Resonance

Patchareeboon (Mam) Sakulpitakphon, Senior Private Sector Engagement Specialist for the USAID Asia CTIP Program, Resonance

Katelin Kennedy, Senior Partnership Advisor, Resonance

This webinar gives a general introduction to the Rohingya refugee crisis to help us understand what the situation is today. The panel discusses the challenges currently endured by the Rohingya as they attempt to resettle in Bangladesh, India and Malaysia specifically, and the vulnerability to exploitation by traffickers they face as undocumented migrants in these countries.

The panelists speak about their experiences and ongoing work to document the migration dynamics, vital needs, and obstacles the Rohingya face in seeking justice, accountability, and protection given their current status as stateless people. They discuss the need for change on many levels, and how lack of legal avenues leads many Rohingya to turn to smugglers to facilitate cross-border migration - increasing their risk for human rights violations and abuse.

The discussion concludes with an overview of the key advocacy issues for this vulnerable population and highlighting the need for empowerment of the Rohingya for sustainable solutions.

Speakers:

Yasmin Ullah, Rohingya Human Rights Network

Gillian Cleveland, Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) Asia

Puttanee Kangkun, Fortify Rights

Briefing paper: Rohingya migration to India: patterns, drivers and experiences by the Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) Asia

Article: Mass atrocities and human trafficking: Rohingya Muslims on the move by Puttanee Kangkun and John Quinley III, Fortify Rights

Rohingya Human Rights Network

Human trafficking remains one of the three most profitable criminal activities in the world, generating $150 billion a year. These profits find their way into the formal financial system, opening opportunities for anti-money laundering actions. Yet significant gaps exist in understanding the links between trafficking in persons (TIP) and money laundering and how to leverage those links to effectively attack the criminal enterprise of trafficking.

This webinar engages the wider anti-trafficking community on this topic and discusses the intersection between anti-money laundering (AML) and CTIP and how financial industry tools such as typologies are developed and can be used by other actors, including the broader private sector, civil society, governments, and law enforcement to strengthen their anti-slavery efforts.

Our panelists explain why the existing anti-money laundering frameworks can be so impactful to combat human trafficking and discuss the developments and strategies to improve the application of financial investigation skills through sharing of information and experiences on trafficking in persons operations. 

Speakers:

Olga DiPretoro, Winrock International

Val Farabee, Liberty Shared

Nicholas Schumann, HSBC’s Financial Crime Threat Mitigation (FCTM)

The adult entertainment sector in Nepal is made up of a complex web of venues that includes massage parlours, dance bars, cabin restaurants, and guesthouses. These workplaces employ young women and girls as waitresses and dancers who entertain male patrons. Many of these venues have become a front for commercial sex, and, alarmingly, the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC).

The webinar presents the findings from two recently completed research commissioned by the Freedom Fund, each offering a different perspective on CSEC in the adult entertainment sector in Kathmandu: contrasting the view of perpetrators with the experiences of survivors.

The first of these, “what’s driving demand for minors in Kathmandu’s adult entertainment sector”, seeks to understand the profiles of those who use the services of children in sexualized work and the perspectives of owners and managers of the venues where this work takes place.

The second, “how girls can safely and permanently exit exploitative work?”, looks at the typical pathways for girls into and out of work in adult entertainment venues and identifies the services and systems needed for girls to speedily, safely and permanently leave the adult entertainment sector.

Each report is presented by the principal investigator:

Dr. Subas Risal is a senior researcher with over 15 years of research and teaching experiences in the USA, Australia and Nepal. His areas of expertise include welfare policies, inclusion, poverty, international development and social protection. Dr. Risal brings with him insights from a broad range of research projects and in recent years has worked mostly as a team leader.

Dr. Lucy Jordan is an Associate Professor from the University of Hong Kong, Department of Social Work and Social Administration. Dr. Jordan is a qualified social worker, is experienced in population and demographic field research in resource-poor settings, and has completed large-scale research and consultancy projects on children, families, and migration. 

In this webinar, Patrick Hannon, Director of the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center (HSTC) speaks about his unique experience of working across US federal agencies and the challenge of bringing together data that has the specificity and level of detail to be actionable. Patrick offers his view on the importance of data-sharing partnerships to generate new insights on forced labor especially and to develop a strong evidence base for more effective joint action of government and non-government actors.

He highlights how all of us in this space are bound together by caring about an issue of common concern and concluded that there is much reason to be optimistic as NGOs increasingly recognize their expertise in providing human intelligence.