Human Trafficking in [Australia Street Children in [Australia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Australia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery
Australia is a
destination country for women from Southeast Asia, South Korea, Taiwan, the
People’s Republic of China (PRC), and reportedly
Eastern Europe trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.
Some men and women from several Pacific islands, India, the PRC, South Korea, the Philippines, and Ireland are
fraudulently recruited to work temporarily in Australia, but subsequently are
subjected to conditions of forced labor, including confiscation of travel
documents, confinement, and threats of serious harm. Some indigenous teenage
girls are subjected to forced prostitution at rural truck stops. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Paying for
Servitude: Trafficking in Women for Prostitution in Australia Traffickers routinely respond to
women’s initial complaints, including their requests to return home, with
sexual, physical and psychological violence. Threats can include something as
subtle – I use the term advisedly – as threatening to send a woman’s child a
pornographic picture of her. As with women deceived about doing prostitution,
this violence aims to teach women that they have no other option, cannot
access help and cannot escape. One of the great skills of traffickers is
their ability to move beyond simple brute force. In this way, women can be
effectively imprisoned with well-applied and strategic physical violence,
that may appear minimal to outsiders, cemented by devastating psychological
violence. Traffickers engage with women’s psychology. They learn what women
value, and work to their strengths and weaknesses. In this, I suspect we can
learn something from them. I am sure if government agencies spent more time
trying to understand how trafficked women see things, rather than seeing them
as problems that don’t understand how we work, we would have more success in
challenging trafficking. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Some women,
primarily from In response to the report's
recommendations, in June the government expanded existing anti-trafficking
laws to include new offenses for debt bondage, child trafficking, and
domestic trafficking, with penalties of up to 25 years in prison, and in
September ratified the UN Trafficking Protocol. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2005 [67] While the Committee welcomes
some positive developments in the context of prevention of trafficking and
forced prostitution, such as the adoption of the National Plan of Action to
Eradicate Trafficking in Persons of October 2003 and the changes to the
Criminal Code in 2005 whereby, inter alia, trafficking in persons and child
pornography have been criminalized, the Committee is concerned that Australia
continues to be a destination country for trafficked women and girls in the
sex industry. [69] The State party is also encouraged
to become a party to the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, to which UQ study looks at foreign sex worker exploitation and
human trafficking www.uq.edu.au/news/?article=16004 Australia and Canada's records in
combating human trafficking were among the worst in the developed world,
according to a University of Queensland
researcher. Dr Andreas Schloenhardt, a senior lecturer in UQ's
TC Beirne School of Law said trafficking in persons
remained a phenomenon not well understood and poorly researched. "This is despite greater public
awareness and acknowledgement of the problem by government agencies," he
said. "Strategic policies,
concerted government action, along with prosecutions and convictions of
traffickers are only slowly forthcoming and the support available to victims
of trafficking is only marginally developed." One of the major obstacles to
government policy making, program development by non-governmental organisations, and public awareness about the
exploitation of foreign workers and the trafficking in persons was the lack
of any reliable and comprehensive account of the nature and extent of this
problem, he said. Anecdotal evidence
and statistical estimates without a sufficient evidentiary basis were the
only sources of information currently available about Australia and Canada's
involvement in trafficking in persons.
This was in contrast to other countries where comprehensive accounts
of human trafficking were published annually by government agencies. All-out
bid to emancipate nation's sex slaves Authorities have identified more
than 100 women as sex slaves, imported into Australia to work as prostitutes,
since 2004. They often have their passports seized by brothel owners and must
work to pay off so-called "debts", as high as $45,000, for the
opportunity to work in Australia. The number of sex slaves in Sydney
looking for help prompted the Salvation Army to open a 10-bed refuge for
illegally trafficked sex workers. Salvos
issue slavery call-to-arms Salvos say about 3,000 trafficked
workers may be found on Australian farms or in mines, factories, restaurants
and private homes. Spokesman Rick
Hoffman says he knows of Indonesian or Burmese children as young as 12 working
in Brisbane. Govt taking poor approach to human trafficking: report A new report by an international
alliance of non-government organisations suggests
Australia's anti-people trafficking measures should be reviewed. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in
Women argues Australia puts too much emphasis on law enforcement instead of
protecting victims. In a report to be
released today, the organisation also raises
concerns temporary skilled work visas under the 457 visa scheme could expose
migrant workers to exploitation. Human
rights lawyer Eleanor Taylor-Nicholson from the Alliance says there is a
focus on the sex trade in Australia at the expense of other workers. Falling Short
of the Mark: An International Study on the Treatment of Human Trafficking
Victims [PDF] AUSTRALIA - Australia is complying with its
international obligations under the Trafficking Protocol related to the protection
of victims of human trafficking. Since 2003, it has implemented a phased
system of protection for victims of human trafficking with enhanced residency
status being tied to enhanced support services, which are government funded.
Specialized investigative teams have facilitated the unique needs of
trafficking victims being promptly addressed. RESIDENCE - The new Australian approach to
residence of trafficking victims is three-phased. First, the “Bridging Visa
F” lasts for 30 days while an investigation into trafficking claims are being
made. Secondly, if the victim agrees to assist with the investigation, they
are eligible for a “Criminal Justice Stay Visa” (“CJS Visa”) which is valid
for the duration of criminal proceedings in the case they are assisting with.
Thereafter, victims may apply for a “Witness Protection (Trafficking) Visa”
enabling them to remain in Australia on a temporary or permanent basis,
depending on individual circumstances. Ellison
rejects estimate of sex slave numbers "I believe that the number of
people who have been deceptively recruited into the industry in Australia
acts on forced marriage Sex
trafficking under the microscope Mr Milroy said the syndicates might
now be shifting their operations to other crimes. "I think a lot of the attention
... has raised the level of awareness in the community," he said. "Those who are involved and are
affected by this, as all criminal groups are when you pay them attention,
step back and realize this is too difficult and that there are easier ways of
making money." Trafficked Women 'Being Raped, Starved' There are at least 1,000 adult
women in Children
'Handed Over To Sex Ring' "The picture is painted of
young girls and boys who were frightened, unable to protect themselves and
make disclosure and who were abandoned by their carers
[care givers]," says the report by Ted Mullighan,
the commissioner of the inquiry into the sex abuse of state wards. The report finds that young boys from Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 1 Civil Liberties: 1 Status: Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide AFP agent Josephine Accetta said Ho and another suspect, Hoting
Yeung, ran two Melbourne brothels where foreign women
were forced to work as prostitutes. Hoo helped by keeping three Thai women locked in a house
and driving them to and from the brothels, Accetta
told the court. The women were among a
group of at least seven who told police they were slaves. Accetta said a year-long investigation
had produced a "very strong case" including telephone intercept
evidence. Ho was recorded trying to
sell a 21-year-old woman for A$21 000 (about R95 000) after flying
to Sydney with Yeung in August this year. Yeung fled overseas on November 4 and was not expected to
return, Accetta said. Paying for
Servitude: Trafficking in Women for Prostitution in Australia Traffickers routinely respond to
women’s initial complaints, including their requests to return home, with
sexual, physical and psychological violence. Threats can include something as
subtle – I use the term advisedly – as threatening to send a woman’s child a
pornographic picture of her. As with women deceived about doing prostitution,
this violence aims to teach women that they have no other option, cannot
access help and cannot escape. One of the great skills of traffickers is
their ability to move beyond simple brute force. In this way, women can be
effectively imprisoned with well-applied and strategic physical violence,
that may appear minimal to outsiders, cemented by devastating psychological
violence. Traffickers engage with women’s psychology. They learn what women
value, and work to their strengths and weaknesses. In this, I suspect we can
learn something from them. I am sure if government agencies spent more time
trying to understand how trafficked women see things, rather than seeing them
as problems that don’t understand how we work, we would have more success in
challenging trafficking. Australia
to set trafficking rules The sex slavery trade in Australia
hit the spotlight last year with an inquest into the death of a 27-year-old
Thai woman, Puongtong Simaplee,
who choked to death on her vomit in a Sydney detention center after 15 years
as a prostitute in Australia. Project Respect, a group that
represents women brought to Australia as sex slaves, believes there could be
up to 1,000 such women in the country at any one time. 10 reasons for NOT legalizing prostitution www.isha.org.il/default.php?lng=3&pg=2&dp=2&fl=9 2.
LEGALIZATION/DECRIMINALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION AND THE SEX INDUSTRY PROMOTES SEX
TRAFFICKING - The link
between legalization of prostitution and trafficking in Australia was
recognized in the U.S. State Department’s 1999 Country Report on Human Rights
Practices, released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In
the country report on Australia, it was noted that in the State of Victoria
which legalized prostitution in the 1980s, “Trafficking in East Asian women
for the sex trade is a growing problem” in Australia…lax laws including
legalized prostitution in parts of the country make [anti-trafficking]
enforcement difficult at the working level.” We are also tackling issues such
as trafficking in persons which are a grave threat to the health and safety
of women and children throughout the Asia Pacific. The Australian Government recently
strengthened its efforts to combat people trafficking through coordinated
activities within Australia and in the region. Australia has been strongly involved in the
Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related
Transnational Crime. In October 2003, the Government
pledged more than $20 million over four years to combat trafficking. We have also committed more than $14
million to a number of projects in Cambodia, southwest China, Laos, Burma,
Thailand and Vietnam. These projects
aim to reduce people trafficking and improve protection, recovery and
reintegration of trafficked women and children. Last week, on International
Women’s Day, I announced Government funding of $200,000 to help countries in
the Sub-Continent to abolish sex slavery.
And, I am pleased to advise that Australiawill
soon ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children. Australian
Government Dept of Foreign Affairs and Trade - Illegal Immigration PEOPLE SMUGGLING - Australia, along with the
United States, New Zealand and Japan, funds the Bali Process on People
Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (the Bali
Process). The Bali Process is a regional, multilateral process designed
to boost bilateral and regional cooperative efforts against people smuggling
and trafficking through technical workshops and increased cooperation between
interested countries, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and International Organization for
Migration (IOM). Australia Tips in
with Bt250m to Help with People Trafficking in ASEAN Thai and Australian government
officials yesterday discussed new moves to counter the trafficking of
"sex slaves" and other people Down Under and within the
region. Thailand is one of four Asean nations Australia will help to fight human
trafficking, along with Burma, Laos and Cambodia. Canberra is funding an
8.5-million Australian dollar (Bt250 million) project to provide a more
effective and coordinated approach by governments in Southeast Asia to
prevent trafficking. Australia
Unveils Initiative to Stop Human Trafficking As part of the package, a new
23-member Australian Federal Police team will be established to investigate trafficking,
and a senior migration officer will be appointed to Thailand, a major source
of women trafficked into Australia. Support services will be developed for
victims of trafficking, including those who will be kept in detention and for
those returned to source countries in Southeast Asia. One factor underlying the
attention to human trafficking is undoubtedly the media spotlight on the
detention of female trafficking victims, including the death at the Villawood Immigration Detention Center of a young woman
who had allegedly been brought to Australia as a 12-year-old for commercial
sex work. Lobbying by women's groups outraged by this and other incidents
played a key role in putting the issue on the political agenda. This month I heard about Mary who
is currently detained in the Villawood Immigration
Detention Centre. Mary arrived in Australia on a student visa in 1999. She
had been promised a restaurant job and a chance to study. When she arrived
her new 'boss' took her to a house in Cabramatta, a
makeshift prison tucked away in suburbia. He then told her that she owed him
money for her visa and her air ticket. To pay back this debt Mary was forced
to sleep with 500 men before eventually escaping from the brothel with the
help of a client. Trafficking
and the Sex Industry: from Impunity to Protection [PDF] This brief provides an overview of
the trafficking of women and children into the Australian sex industry in the
context of the global trade in people trafficking. It examines why there have
been no prosecutions of traffickers under existing Commonwealth laws. It
explains how Australia's emphasis on border control is working against the
prosecution of traffickers and the human rights of trafficking victims and
explains how existing Australian policy and law will need to change to meet
the new internationally agreed standards to punish traffickers and support
victims under the UN Trafficking Protocol. Jammed:
Trafficked Women in Australia In September 2001, a young
Vietnamese woman died in Villawood Immigration
Detention Centre in Sydney. She is believed to have been brought to Australia
when she was 12 years old on a family reunion migration application which was
possibly fraudulent. It is understood that upon arrival in Australia she was
placed in a brothel and that she worked continuously as a prostitute until
her incarceration in Villawood after authorities
detected her as an "illegal immigrant". There was evidence of drug
use on her body, with injection scars on both arms. She was locked in
solitary confinement in Villawood. Her dead body
was found lying face down in a pool of vomit. In January 2002, there was a
second death of a trafficked Vietnamese woman in Villawood.
This woman had made at least one previous suicide attempt. It is believed
that she died in hospital from injuries caused when she jumped out of a
window from the first floor of the women’s dormitory. To date, there has been
no coronial inquest into the deaths. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC §
107 for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Australia Street Children in [Australia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Australia] [other countries]