Hey guys,
I hope everyone's having a great week (and getting pumped for conference)! I wanted to bring to light an issue concerning the growing worldwide sex trafficking industry, mainly the branch that deals within warranted establishments, namely businesses masquerading as massage parlors. These are an example of the sex trafficking industry within developed western countries, namely the US and Europe, and the article cites a study by the national anti-human trafficking organization Polaris stating that over 9,000 of these brothels in the US alone are claiming to be legitimate.
Outwardly, they pose multiple issues to law enforcement: visitors have an immediate alibi of "just wanting a massage", most workers are brought from places like China or South Korea, and so speak little to no English, and there are no immediate warning signs; Esther Lai, a Polaris consultant on survivor experiences explains that "Women are rarely locked or chained inside massage parlors, but this does not mean that they feel empowered to leave". This is an example of implicit, rather than explicit, sexual slavery; women are bound by financial and social pressure to stay in their circumstance, but these reasons are quick to be shut down by the traffickers or store owners in any legal scenario.
Media outlets focus on the brothel industry in Southeast Asia, namely Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines; these countries have an outward acceptance of sex trafficking and tourism, and government interference is basically nonexistent. For example, according to the US Department of State 2008 Country Narrative, foreign domestic workers in Singapore often face "unlawful confiscation of their travel documents, restrictions on their movements, confinement, and/or physical and sexual abuse". However, through this coverage, western nations are partially exonerated in their contribution to the global sex trafficking system, however, this couldn't be further from the truth, establishments such as these are just as prevalent in places like the US, but fall under the radar for both law enforcement and media coverage.
Delegates should ask how, as members of an international community, how outwardly-legitimate brothels can be identified and prosecuted with limited overhead. How should countries change their legal frameworks to stop putting blame on the women and girls, but rather on traffickers and sex-buyers? What steps should be taken on an international scale to combat new techniques for marketing brothels and sex tourism, such as through internet forums and websites?
Discuss down below in the comments! And if you have any questions about this post or conference logistics, feel free to email us!
Article
Country Narratives
~ Soham
Hello fellow delegates and Honorable Chairs,
ReplyDeleteWhen discussing the issue of exploitation and trafficking, the delegation of China would like to place emphasis on the lack of transparency and effective prosecution within the sex trafficking industry. More often than not, victims are subject to corrupt and insufficiently trained officials, as well as unfair trials and sentencing. Enforcement units have inadequate training and suffer from low wages, and as a result, are prone to engaging in these illicit activities themselves. In order to combat such faulty regulation, it is necessary to dedicate resources towards the development of police sectors, in addition to establishing international guidelines and frameworks to coordinate transnational units. Additionally, in regards to the lack of transparency in the industry, seemingly legitimate businesses must be investigated thoroughly by the aforementioned forces. By enforcing higher wages and providing more access to training, liaisons between units and business will be addressed. Another overlooked aspect of the issue involves loose requirements for businesses to operate. In lesser-developed nations, contracts between businesses and workers are not supported by legal measures, providing loopholes that bind labor workers to the offender. In addressing the legislative actions taken by governments operating in this sector, within both the digital and physical field, punishments for violating rights can be prosecuted effectively.
Finally, the People’s Republic of China urges the provision of information and awareness campaigns to address the stigma surrounding slaves of the trafficking industry. Discrimination for their non-consenting participation is another key factor of tying workers down to their abusers. In many cases, victims cannot even return to their families or communities, as they are often portrayed as the offender themselves. By rehabilitation and educating the public on what exactly goes on in the industry, victims can reintegrate themselves economically and emotionally without worry of being forced to return to their previous occupations.
Germany believes that countries need to focus on prosecutions and convictions on trafficking. Previously, Germany’s authorities have completed 425 sex trafficking investigations with 542 victims that were identified. Countries need to conduct investigations and prosecutions through legal measures. For example, Germany is able to investigate under Section 232 and Section 233 of the Penal Code. In 2012, through this, the government was able to report 115 trafficking convictions and 99 of 107 convictions included penalties such as the deprivation of liberty for adults. Countries need to create legislation similar to Germany’s Criminal Code and the Residence Act. Germany’s legislation criminalizes human trafficking and provide assistance to the victims. Therefore, countries’ legislation need to include victim assistance that aligns with Germany’s legislation. In the German Residence Act, the victims are provided a period of reflection and stabilization of a minimum of three months. During this period, they are provided legal assistance for whether they would like to participate as a witness in the criminal prosecution of the traffickers and have potential to receive subsidiary protection if the duration after the trial is exposes the victim to degrading treatment within his or her country of origin. Thus, Germany encourages countries to adopt similar legislation to be able to criminalize traffickers and provide assistance to victims with legal protection instead of blaming women and girls.
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, Germany calls upon countries to implement an anti-trafficking policy and take preventative measures. Therefore, Germany proposes the creation of work time calendars that are available in multiple languages to provide to migrant workers that enter the country. These calendars would include information on the country’s labor laws. Germany’s own work time calendar has been funded by the Federal Ministry of labour and Social Affairs along with collaboration form the European Social Fund. To combat trafficking through the internet, Germany encourages countries to develop a specialized portal that targets facilitators and groups in the field that encounter victims. Germany’s own Unsichtbar portal includes information, news and events in human trafficking, and includes information on law, counselling, and identification guidance.
Seeing how focus needs to be placed on the foreign workers, a project for recruiting foreign workers needs to be established. Organizations need to collaborate to prepare foreign workers in countries by providing information on potential employers and assistance within the immigration process. Germany has collaborated with the GIZ and ZAV that are of the Federal Employment agency to assist foreigners. Germany would like to recommend to countries to take similar measures within their own legislation and government projects to provide support to victims and prevent further trafficking through the identification of traffickers and preventative measures.
-Germany