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Shared Hope International News Release
June 14, 2004
Contact: Karrie
Delaney
Director of Communications
Tel: 703.351.8062
Karrie@sharedhope.org
US RELEASES NEW REPORT ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING: HOLDING ALLIES FEET TO THE FIRE BY RAISING THE BAR
US Congresswoman Linda Smith
Founding President of Shared Hope International and the War Against Trafficking Alliance.
Comments on the 2004 US Trafficking in Persons Country Report
“In the 14 countries where Shared Hope International is working we are seeing change because of the trafficking in persons report. New laws against trafficking are being passed, arrests and prosecutions are increasing, and the issue is increasingly commonplace in the news.”
“While I question some of the conclusions and omissions in the ratings, I do not for a moment question its effect on the governments.”
“Countries, like Australia who were reluctant to admit they even had a problem with trafficking are now passing laws, committing substantial finances, and working across borders to fight this international crime against the innocent. This is a direct reaction to the US human rights rating on their anti-trafficking activities.”
The new special watch list added by the Reauthorization bill of the anti-trafficking law this last year is also a tool that will make the rating much more effective. In countries such as India where their world image is very important this continuous scrutiny will have a significant impact on the growing anti-trafficking efforts. In the Dominican Republic it will hold their feet to the fire.
In some of the countries where Shared Hope Works:
Australia
In Australia we see active marketing of foreign trafficked women, in both the legal and illegal brothels. In the last three months there has been a new recognition by the Australian government of the large numbers of victims in the growing prostitution industry. As of June the countries financial commitment has now grown to over $665 Australian (USD$455 million) from $20 million Australian (USD $14million).
In a five-week investigation to identify victims in Australia, Shared Hope International, working with Australian Project Respect, documented over 60 cases with over 300 victims. The 2003 trafficking in persons report did not list Australia because of a lack of information documenting 100 victims, which is the minimum number required to evaluate government progress in this report.
Reports from New South Wales show the number of illegal sex workers has tripled since December 1995 when prostitution was decriminalized. Women who are trafficked and forced into prostitution, like the majority of girls in the brothels in Australia, are not free agents who are benefiting from the payment of the clients. They are victims of debt-bondage and violence. They are not free.
The brothels in Australia serve as fronts for the marketing of trafficked victims. Our current experience is showing that most of the women in the legal and illegal brothels are from poor countries. The girls are recruited with deception concerning their employment opportunities and most have been subjected to violent rapes and tortured to force them to comply. Our work is showing that most of the women in the brothels are victims using the standards of both the TVPA and the UN Protocol. The interviews with the victims reflect that the legal prostitution system is fueling trafficking. Traffickers scout out victims in the surrounding poor countries to meet the demand for variety for their clients.
Argentina
Shared Hope International uncovered over 160 cases of trafficked victims, over half of which were children in the last five months. There is a very significant problem of Argentine young children being forced to prostitute to the domestic population by their own families. The government is apathetic at best and complicit in some cases we have documented. Their apathy concerning child trafficking is alarming. We are very concerned that they will see their tier 2 placements as an endorsement of their existing efforts.
Dominican Republic
In the June 2003 report the Dominican Republic was rated on tier three. The period between the announcement and the October 2003 review was very productive in government efforts including the passage of a new law.
Shared Hope International launched a new home for victims of trafficking with the new Alliance Against the Trafficking of Women, Children & Teenagers in the Dominican Republic at the same time of their conference in December 2003. Working with Dominican officials, and the US Justice Department, Shared Hope provided training for prosecutors and law enforcement from throughout the country. These efforts significantly developed their progress to protect victims and prosecute offenders. The follow through in prosecuting the traffickers and routing out the corruption in their justice system is poor at best. This justifies their placement on a tier two watch list in the 2004 report.
Fiji
Shared Hope continues to develop long-term services for victims of trafficking in Fiji and the surrounding region. Fiji is a growing sex tourist destination site for tourists from many countries. It is clear that there are a significant number of victims of trafficking. We recommend that the Department of State seriously investigate the number of trafficking victims in Fiji for the 2005 report.
South Africa
This week Shared Hope is dedicating a long-term shelter in South Africa for trafficked girls most of whom are taken from gangs often managed by Nigerian organized crime. On June 22, Shared Hope International will also host the Next Steps Conference to Path Breaking Strategies in the Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking, which will launch the South African Task Team's agenda to fight trafficking.1 This is an opportunity for South Africa to strengthen their regional leadership in this process of fighting what is for them a major fight against organized crime in this region.
For more information on the U.S. Department of State Report on Trafficking in Persons see http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2004/.
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For interviews with Congresswoman Linda Smith, contact Jennifer Goodson,
202-689-8989 (w), 703-731-9691 (c), jenniferg@sharedhope.org,
http://www.sharedhope.org/press.htm.
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1 Next Steps to Path Breaking Strategies in the Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking are a series of follow-up events to the World Summit originally convened by the U.S. Department of State and the War Against Trafficking Alliance in February of 2003. The South Africa event is one of six follow-up events organized by Shared Hope International. Other conferences that have already taken place include Moldova, Dominican Republic, India and Indonesia.
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