The value of the human trafficking trade in the world today is nearly $27 billion annually – just behind that of guns and greater than the value of trafficked drugs.
So many people we meet and talk to about Malia’s mission are shocked to learn that human trafficking, or slavery, is an international problem in this day and age of prosperity and globalization. On this page we would like to educate our visitors on exactly why human trafficking proliferates and what they can do to stop it.
What is Human Trafficking?
Trafficking in persons is a global problem embedded in a web of poverty, political transition, inadequate female education and economic opportunity and the low value placed on women and children.
According to United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children:
Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or a position of vulnerability or 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, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
Who are the victims?
It is estimated that more than 1 million people are trafficked annually around the world; some experts say it could be double that. People are trafficked for a variety of motives and in various ways. Many are trafficked across international borders, but many are simply transported to large cities to serve as sex slaves or indentured laborers.
Poverty and lack of economic opportunity make women and children the most susceptible to traffickers associated with international criminal organizations. They are vulnerable to false promises of job opportunities either abroad or in their own countries. Many of those who accept these offers from what appear to be legitimate sources find themselves in situations where their documents are destroyed, themselves or their families threatened with harm, or they are bonded by a debt that they have no chance of re-paying.
Human trafficking is not limited to sexual exploitation. It also includes persons who are trafficked into 'forced' marriages or into bonded labor markets, such as sweatshops, agricultural plantations, or domestic service. The prevention of human trafficking requires several types of interventions. Some are of low or moderate cost and can have some immediate impact, such as awareness campaigns that allow high risk individuals to make informed decisions. Strong laws that are enforced are an effective deterrent. In Cambodia, for example, foreign sex tourists can be brought to justice in their home country for crimes committed against children in Cambodia. However, serious law enforcement is expensive and often not in the best interest of the local governments who in some cases may be directly or indirectly involved in the business of trafficking.
International agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) have been integral to the defense of the victims and the prosecution of the perpetrators of human trafficking. President Bush recently signed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which aims to help victims of trafficking within the U.S. and pledges to pressure governments of other countries to prosecute the offenders on their own soil. Malia Designs supports local organizations and NGO’s giving grassroots aid and services to trafficking victims which stems from our belief that this is where the victims need the most assistance.
More information on Human Trafficking can be accessed at www.humantrafficking.org and www.worldvision.org
Why Cambodia?
Before starting Malia Designs, we were deeply impacted by the pervasiveness of this atrocity throughout Cambodia. Many of the bars and discos in Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, are notorious for housing sex workers and/or turning a blind eye to prostitution of young women and girls on their premises.
We were both touched by the desperation of these women’s situations and the lack of a viable employment alternative to the sex trade. Through interviews and conversations with many NGO’s, including UNICEF, the US Embassy in Cambodia and the U.N. Inter-agency Project on Human Trafficking, we are convinced that the local and foreign governmental efforts to stop the traffickers does not sufficiently address the root cause of human trafficking.
By forming Malia Designs, we aim to increase economic opportunity in an effort to create a viable alternative to the lure of potential traffickers promising well-paying jobs outside of the victims’ home village.
For more information on trafficking in Cambodia, visit http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/cambodia.
Please visit the following websites to learn more about organizations working to fight human trafficking around the world and in your own backyard:
Child Rights Information Network (CRIN) information on sexual exploitation: http://crin.org/themes/ViewTheme.asp?id=9
Coalition against Trafficking in Women:
http://www.catwinternational.org/
End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT): http://www.ecpat.net/
HumanTrafficking.org: http://www.humantrafficking.org/
International Organization on Migration (IOM): http://www.iom.int/jahia/jsp/index.jsp
Ricky Martin Foundation:
http://www.rickymartinfoundation.org/
The National Multicultural Institute Human Trafficking Web Portal: http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net/
United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) trafficking information:
http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_exploitation.html
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime: http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/index.html?ref=menuside
World Vision:
http://www.worldvision.org/content.nsf/learn/globalissues-child-trafficking?Open&lpos=lft_txt_Child-Trafficking
Fighting Trafficking in the United States:
Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is responsible for helping victims of human trafficking become eligible to receive benefits and services so they may rebuild their lives safely in the U.S. As part of this effort, HHS has initiated the Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking campaign to help identify and assist victims of human trafficking in the United States.
To find out information on what is being done to fight human trafficking in Illinois and throughout the United States, please visit www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/.
For information on Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), please visit http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/crim/traffickingsummary.html.
