Trafficking in Persons

international | crime and justice | news report

Saturday January 27, 2007 19:52

by Rasta4i's

Rastavidhead at yahoo dot com

MODERN DAY SLAVERY

Audio 1:47,46 .mp3 (mono)

Trafficking in Persons
MODERN DAY SLAVERY

Today, trafficking is a truly global industry.

During the 1980s alone, more women and children were enslaved by trafficking from Asia than all the people sold into slavery from Africa during 400 years of the slave trade.

Trafficking includes the recruitment, transfer and sale of vulnerable people – women,children and men – through various forms of coercion of deception. They are kept in bondage by the traffickers, frequently under appaling conditions. While this may be done for the purpose of cheap labour, we are particularly concerned with the trade in persons for commercial sexual exploitation.

It is difficult to be exact about the number of people trafficked because it is very much a hidden problem. It is believed that more than 1.5 million people are trafficked each year, 800,000 of them through various European countries including Ireland. The industry is said to be worth $36 billion in Europe alone. Through it, human life is reduced to a commodity and this constitutes a tragedy of huge proportions for the victims who are powerless to escape.

It is important not to confuse trafficking with smuggling of people, which refers to procuring of facilitating the illegal entry of people into another State for financial gain, usually using falce documentation. Unlike people who have been trafficked, those smuggled – once in the country – will normally be left to their own devices.

Causes:
POVERTY, POWER, PATRIARCHY, PORNOGRAPHY, PLEASURE, PROFIT

Action:
PREVENTION, PROTECTION, POLICY, PRAYER

Published by the Ad Hoc Working Group against Trafficking in Persons under the umbrella of CORI and IMU.

For more information send an email to
Noreen O’Shea, Good Shepherd Sisters noreenoshea73@eircom.net

ALSO

TRALEE WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTRE
Link: www.twrc.ie

Sexual violence centre Cork
Mary Crilly – Director

Link: www.sexualviolence.ie
Useful websites

Association for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Ireland – http://www.arasi.org/

Irish Haven Organisation – http://www.irishhaven.org
www.amnesty.ie
www.spirasi.ie
www.ris.ie – Refugee information service

Challenges
1. Conversation
2. Collaboration
3. Care and Compassion
4. Confront the Channels that keep this trafficking in place
5. Change Society’s Mindset
6. Change the Law
7. Cut out the Consumerism/Demand
8. Christian Communities of Prayer