Warming-up.

Does human trafficking only occur in illegal underground industries?

Is human trafficking a crime that must involve some form of travel, transportation, or movement across state or national borders?

Does physical violence have to be involved in human trafficking cases?

Do victims always come from a low-income or poor background?

How many human trafficking victims are there in the world today?

     Read the following text. What steps can each of us take to prevent human trafficking?

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

a booming international trade

victims

traffickers

to be bonded/chained in labour on mines

a perverse commercialization of humanity

adhered

people vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of opportunity

refugee camps

strengthen information exchange

to fund projects around the world

Human trafficking prevention

Human trafficking is a booming international trade, making billions of dollars at the expense of millions of victims, many of them children, who are robbed of their dignity and freedom. Although most of us have never witnessed this crime, it happens every day all around the world. Criminals profit while satisfying consumer demand. In the middle are the victims, made vulnerable by poverty and exploited by traffickers who use force and deception to trap their prey.

Victims include: young girls sold by their families; children drugged and forced to fight as soldiers; men bonded/chained in labour on mines and farms; women enslaved in quarries and households; women and girls trapped in the sex trade; boys forced to fish in dangerous waters—all of them people, human beings, coerced to do what others would never freely do, paid virtually nothing for their pains. In a perverse commercialization of humanity, they are used like products and then thrown away.

More and more people are becoming aware of the horrors of human trafficking. Yet the crime persists. In many countries, international laws to stop human trafficking are still not adhered to and implementation remains inadequate. Few criminals are convicted and the majority of victims never receive help. The true extent of this crime is unknown. That in itself is a problem that deserves further attention. The criminal nature of the phenomenon, the lack of legislation, benign neglect in some quarters and denial in others make information collection a challenge. The tip of the iceberg is in front of our eyes: how much of it is submerged? Evidence suggests that the problem is global, significant and growing.

The ways to prevent human trafficking.

Raise awareness—inform the world of this crime and mobilize people to stop it.

Strengthen prevention—warn vulnerable groups and alleviate the factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, underdevelopment and lack of opportunity.

Reduce demand—attack the problem at its source by lowering incentives to trade and decreasing demand for the products and services of exploited people.

Support and protect victims—ensure housing, counselling, medical, psychological and material assistance, keeping in mind the special needs of women and children and people at risk, such as those in refugee camps and conflict zones.

Improve law enforcement—strengthen information exchange between law enforcement agencies on international trafficking routes and traffickers´ profiles in order to dismantle criminal groups, leading to the conviction of traffickers.

Implement international commitments—ensure that international agreements are turned into national laws and practice by assisting countries in need and improving the monitoring of compliance.

Enrich knowledge—deepen world understanding of the scope and nature of human trafficking through more data collection and analysis, joint research initiatives and the creation of an evidence-based report on global trafficking trends.

Strengthen partnerships—build up regional and thematic networks involving civil society, inter-governmental organizations and the private sector.

Create a special purpose fund—to attract and leverage resources into funding projects around the world committed to ending human trafficking.

Create an informal contact group—to give like-minded Member States ownership of the process and create long-term momentum. The objectives set for the Global Initiative will contribute to achieving the UN Millennium Development Goals of empowering women, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, eradicating poverty, improving education and developing a global partnership for development.

Questions to discuss:

1. What population groups make the most frequent victims of human trafficking?
2. What are the ways to prevent human trafficking?
3. How can education and special knowledge help prevent and fight human trafficking?
4. Why are international measures important to prevent and combat human trafficking?