Data On Trafficking And Prostitution The example essay topic

Trafficking in women is clearly a both a human rights and a development issue. Apart from the human, social and economic costs of the sex industry, the spread of venereal diseases and HIV / AIDS, prostitution deprives women of the opportunity to pursue education and to achieve their full potential. Therefore it deprives the nation of vital human resources for development. This should be a particular concern in a country such as Thailand, (with an adult population with comparatively low levels of education but a rapidly increasing demand for an educated and skilled labor force) but also plagues countries such as the United States.

Trafficking in women is a repulsive and increasingly worrying phenomenon. It is a true development issue, rather than of a sporadic nature affecting a few individuals, in that it has extensive implications on the social, economic and organizational fabric of our societies. The occurrence of trafficking is facilitated by globalization and by modern technologies and circumstances. Trafficking in women not only involves sexual exploitation, but also labor exploitation in conditions similar to slavery.

The victims are subjected to violence, rape, battery and extreme cruelty as well as other types of pressure and coercion. Nations across the globe are much affected by these plagues to society. Economically speaking, trafficking or prostitution has often been seen as a development problem from the supply side. That is, it is argued that young women and girls are forced (or pressured) into the sex industry by poverty and a lack of alternative employment and income-earning opportunities. Common excuses include: "My child is ill and I had to earn money for medical surgery, my parents are retired and have no money to help us."Had no living space and had quarrels with relatives."Absence of financial means and bad relations with brothers (parents are deceased)".

Increasingly, prostitution and trafficking are also being seen as a development issue from the demand side. The demand for the services of prostitutes and for women to be trafficked, both within areas such as Thailand and into developed countries, is clearly a function of development. Concentrations of single men, such as those in the military seeking out sexual contact, maintain the need for sex trade. It is a function of both the level of development, which creates both supply and demand (see Why Trafficking), and the nature of that development: o Development projects in comparatively undeveloped regions and countries often bring with them a rapid increase in the demand for commercial sex due to the sharp increase in the numbers of unaccompanied male workers in areas where there are few outlets for recreation and entertainment. o Patterns of development that depend heavily on temporary migrant workers, particularly male workers, are likely to be associated with a sharp increase in the demand for commercial sex. o Marked differences in income levels within the region contribute to a strong demand for women and children to be trafficked from low income countries to high income countries where the income to be gained from prostitution by the procurers are many times greater than in the country of origin. o The increasing ease and frequency of international travel, together with the growing phenomenon of temporary migration for work, has increased the opportunities for trafficking. o The growth of transnational crime involved in a variety of forms of trafficking, including of drugs, has led to the expansion of these networks into trafficking for the purpose of prostitution and other forms of exploitation. See Appendix A for supplemental discussion on Development. Recent Trends in Trafficking in Women The traditional flow between certain developing countries (Northern and Central Africa, Latin America, Asia) and Western destination countries continues.

However, the most striking factor, which gives rise to great concern, is the increase in the numbers of women and children trafficked into the European Union (EU) from Central and Eastern European countries. The worsening of the economic situation in these countries has had a direct effect on the flow of trafficking in women. Estimates of up to 120,000 women and children being trafficked into Western Europe each year have been made. The majority of these countries have according to their own law enforcement officials become, to various degrees, both countries of origin, transit as well as countries of destination. Many women originating from the Newly Independent States are being trafficked via the candidate countries before ending up in EU Member States.

The phenomenon of re-trafficking within the EU has also been noted as one new and developing factor. All EU Member States are, to a greater or lesser extent, affected by trafficking in women. (See The European Phenomenon for more details) More specifically, trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation has increased in recent years in parallel to the development of the sex industry. Although certain figures have been collected by police and non-governmental organizations or NGOs as well as international organizations, it is difficult to gather reliable overall figures. Industrialization and Globalization of Sex trade Today, not only is it possible to talk of prostitution as constituting 'the sex industry', rather, the only way its complexity can be grasped is by examining it as one huge and contiguous structure with its tentacles spread in different regions, globally.

The industrialization of sex trade, and indeed, the globalization of it is one crucial factor which makes contemporary prostitution different. Reams of data flowing in from various sites in the world, attests to the fact that not only is the sex trade a trans-national industry but among the most profitable industrial enterprises globally today, prostitution occupies the place of pride. And, similar to most lucratively expanding industries in the area of global capitalism presently, the sex industry is one of the most diversified, sophisticated and specialized. It offers a vast array of services, caters to a spectacular range of customer demands, offers specialized venues for sex entertainment in different countries of the world, caters to every need in terms of price range in the consumer market, and has designed a mind-boggling repertoire of market strategies to attract prospective clientele. And hence, savvy and skillful prostitutes massage male egos and bodies with adroit expertise; young, aboriginal girls are purveyed as virgins to customers expressing such demands; women of every color and ethnicity can be procured via the sex industry; young girls, fresh from the countryside are trained in hazardous sexual acrobatics such as inserting razor blades, glass bottles and lighted cigarettes into their vaginas in order to entertain; and venues for sexual adventures can be arranged in Brazil, Cuba, Russia, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan, etc. As in the case of every major multinational enterprise under global capitalism, the principal players and beneficiaries of the sex industry are cohesive and organized.

They have managed to secure through bribes and pay off, the services of politicians, police personnel, and high functionaries responsible for governance and enforcement of law. Most importantly, the various dimensions, activities and agents connected with the sex industry are not confined by narrow national or territorial boundaries. Capital, labor and organization move relatively unhindered within and across regions. This movement is facilitated and negotiated through structures which are both over ground and underground. This particular feature, namely, the over ground and underground nature of the globalized sex industry lends it to tremendous strength and sustaining power.

A combination of the legal and illegal brings to the sex industry margins of profit which are astronomical. Reportedly, material benefits accruing to organizers of the sex industry currently equal those flowing out of the global clandestine trade in arms and narcotics. The globalized sex industry further seeks to strengthen itself and expand by negotiating mergers with other multinational enterprises, namely, the tourism industry, entertainment, travel and transportation industry, international media concerns, the underground narcotics and crime industry, etc. And therefore, while women are still selling sex in the market, the magnitude, expense, organization, rate of capital accumulation and range of market strategies employed to sell sexual services make the contemporary trans-nationalized sex industry qualitatively different from the old practice of prostitution and sex trade. The Concept of Trafficking " Trafficking' has been defined in various ways over the years and by different groups. Since 2000, a widely used definition is that of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children (also known as the Palermo Protocol).

According to this document, trafficking in persons is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of 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. Who are trafficked? o Women and children are the key target group, because of their marginalization, limited economic resources and predominance in the "invisible" formal sector. o People from impoverished and low income households in rural areas and urban slums, especially women engaged in small farming, petty trading, vending, as laborers scavengers and in other low status work and services. o Ethnic minorities, indigenous people, hill tribes, refugees, and illegal migrants. o People with low level of education, a few years of formal schooling, some primary school education, or illiterate. o Young girls running away from home or girls from families that expect their daughters to financially contribute to their support are easy targets for traffickers. o People who lack awareness of their legal rights, their exploited situation, and have no channel for seeking redress. Why trafficking? The reasons why trafficking in human beings is developing The underlying root causes of trafficking in human beings include poverty, unemployment and lack of education and access to resources. Clearly, if on the one side, people are ready to take the risk of falling into the hands of traffickers in order to improve their living opportunities, on the other side, there is a worrying trend in industrial countries to use cheap and undeclared labor forces as well as exploiting women and children in prostitution and pornography.

In particular women are in a position of vulnerability to become victims of trafficking due to the feminization of poverty, gender discrimination, lack of educational and professional opportunities in their countries of origin. Both supply and demand factors foster the growing trafficking industry: Trafficking Techniques Three modes of entry into prostitution have been identified: o Voluntary indicates that the woman, prostitute-to-be, approaches the owner / manager of a sex establishment herself; o Bonded implies the involvement of parents or guardians who receive money from an agency or owner for giving away their daughter; o Involuntary involves the use of deception and coercion of the women by an agent or owner / manager However, the distinctions between them are not as clear as the definitions might suggest. 'Voluntary' does not necessarily mean free choice or informed consent. Interviews with victims of child prostitution in Thai NGO shelters revealed that many girls who said that they 'knew' they would be working as prostitutes actually did not know what that meant. They thought that it meant 'wearing Western clothes in a restaurant'. Many also said that they could leave the brothels freely but when asked if they had ever tried, most said that had not dared because they had no money or because they feared being arrested or sold to another brothel.

Most also said that they could refuse a customer, but further questioning revealed that refusal was virtually unheard of because of the fear of repercussions. Trafficking networks and organized crime Law enforcement experience shows that, although there is small scale traffic involving few individuals, there are, more importantly, large enterprises and international networks creating a sophisticated and well organized 'industry' with political support and economic resources in countries of origin, transit and destination. Cases of corruption of officials have also been reported. There seems also to be links with other forms of criminality. Trafficking in women is becoming a major source of income for some organized crime groups. High profits gained by these criminal organizations often imply the creation of front companies involved in legitimate activities.

Profits are also laundered and fed into other illicit activities, including narcotics and arms trafficking. Traffickers of women and children use a variety of methods to move their victims. They sometimes operate through nominally reputable employment agencies, travel agencies, entertainment companies or marriage agencies. In the cases of children the use of adoption procedures have also been noted. Legitimate travel documents are often obtained and used to cross international borders, after which the trafficking victims disappear or overstay their visas. Traffickers, however, also use fraudulent documents to obtain genuine travel documents or use altered or counterfeit papers.

Looking more specifically at trafficking in women, the recruitment of the victims takes various forms. Traffickers profit from the fragile social and economic situation of women and lure their victims by promising them large earnings in the West. Accepting such offers could support not only the victims themselves, but also their families. Traffickers approach women by advertising in newspapers for dancers, waitresses, club hostesses etc. or by direct recruitment in discotheques and bars. They also lure women through the use of marriage bureaus. Even if a certain number of the trafficked women know they will work as prostitutes, they do not know that they will often be kept in slavery like conditions being unable to escape from their exploiters.

After the women are transported to the country of destination, there are several ways in which they are forced to enter and / or to continue with prostitution. Often they are obliged to repay heavy debts consisting of the costs of the documentation and transport, or their passports and money are taken away, or they are led into drug addiction by their exploiters. Frequently the trafficked women are threatened with violence, beaten up and raped. In some cases women are physically restrained to prevent them from leaving. Traffickers also threaten to inform the family of the women that they are working abroad as prostitutes. These women also feel trapped because of their situation as illegal immigrants.

Finally, the influence over the victims is even stronger when the criminal organizations control the whole chain from recruitment, through transportation to the concrete sexual exploitation. The Toll of Trafficking Populations vulnerable to trafficking are growing with potentially disastrous effects on the entire world community. The number of orphans in many developing countries is rising dramatically, thanks to civil conflicts and HIV / AIDS. The rapid rise of child-headed households is creating fertile ground for traffickers. Traffickers violate the universal right of all persons to life, liberty, and freedom from slavery in all its forms. Trafficking undermines the basic need of a child to grow up in a protective environment and human right of children to be free from sexual abuse and exploitation.

Hundreds of men, women and children die in transit or upon arrival at their destination. Thousands of victims are killed for refusing to submit to forced labor or sexual slavery, or for trying to escape. Others die from contracting disease or suffering abuse during their enslavement. The loss of family support networks makes the trafficking victim more vulnerable to the traffickers' demands and threats and contributes to the breakdown of societies.

For families and communities, trafficking weakens parental authority, undermines extended family relationships, and eliminates the family's nurture and moral development of children. Trafficking interrupts the passage of knowledge and cultural values from parent to child and from generation to generation, weakening a core pillar of society. Victims who do not return to their communities may be more likely to become involved in criminal activity. Cultural context of prostitution There are cultural, familial, economic and historical reasons behind the decision to send a child to work in the sex industry. In Thailand and neighboring countries children are expected to support and obey parents' wishes, and show parents gratitude and respect no matter what the difficulties.

Many children who migrate to Thailand to work in difficult, low-paid and dangerous occupations feel that they should not return home 'empty handed' due to their traditional responsibility to care for their parents. Prostitution is often perceived as fulfilling a traditional role of daughters who are caretakers of the family and community. Under Theravada Buddhism, women and girls are thought to be unable to achieve enlightenment. Thus, while men can show gratitude and respect to their parents by becoming monks and pursuing the spiritual life, many girls feel that they must make sacrifices for the benefit of their families, villages and their own karma. Data on Trafficking and Prostitution The trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation knows no global boundaries and exists in all corners of our globe.

Despite the continuing difficulties in collecting statistical data in this area, most actors involved in combating trafficking in human beings agree that it is a growing phenomenon. At world level, estimates reach as high as 700,000 women and children being moved across international borders by trafficking rings each year (Justice and Home Af fiars). Some non-governmental organizations estimate the number to be significantly higher, especially if trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation is included. History has shown that the proportion of prostitutes is significant in areas where there is a concentration of single men. The maintenance of the armed forces as well as the civilian male workforce has meant the provision of sexual service along with basic physical necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. The main reason for providing for these basic needs has been to ensure the laboring capacity of the male worker and the fighting ability of the soldier on an ongoing basis.

Under colonialism, when large male populations were uprooted and transported across land and sea to raise vast brigades of workforce, their sexual and physical needs were provided for by colonial states and masters. Thus women from the Indian subcontinent were transported to Fiji, Malaysia, South Africa, Surinam, the West Indies and the Caribbean to sexually service the indentured male workforce from the same subcontinent. Similarly, Chinese women were taken to service the Chinese male workforce under colonial policy. The proportion of women to the men they were required to service was extremely low, often one woman to ten or fifteen men. However, it is worth noting that under colonial rule, these women transported as sexual service providers most often belonged to the same region as the male indentured labor and slaves. Even a slight look at the organized use of women's sexual and reproductive labor by colonial powers to maintain their 'native' enslaved and indentured male work brigades shows that women's sexuality was controlled and deployed to (a) procreate and produce more workers.

This was especially the case under slavery in the Americas when African women were separately designated into categories as breeders and draught workers; (b) sexually service work gangs in order to ensure the maintenance of their laboring capacity, and (c) provide domestic services such as, cooking, cleaning, and general housekeeping. During territorial and colonial expansion women's bodies and labor have been designated for reproducing military and male workforce. Regionally, trafficking within Africa has grown considerably over the years as has the trafficking of African women to Libya, Lebanon, the United States of America, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, with estimates that 3,582 women from Ghana alone were trafficked between 1998 to 2000 (IOM, 2001 a). South-East Asia is also victim to trafficking, within the region as well as to outside destinations. In 2000, in a six-month period alone, the Chinese police rescued 123,000 women who had been trafficked into China.

The International Human Rights Monitoring Group in 2003 reports that there are approximately 800,000 sex workers in India which speaks to the high demand for a sex industry as well as the presumption that many may have been trafficked from other countries or regions for this purpose. Although there is less data on trafficking concerning Latin America, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that ten women per day are trafficked out of Columbia with approximately 500,000 women and children currently outside the country due to being trafficked for sexual exploitation (IOM, 2001 a). Considering Europe, different organizations offer varying estimates of the numbers of women trafficked for sexual exploitation annually - from between 100,000 and 200,000 (Bassiouni, 2001) to 500,000 (IOM, 1996 as cited in Kelly and Regan, 2000) and while nongovernmental organizations suggest that the numbers may be even higher. Unfortunately some agencies lack the resources, intention or agreement of a definition of trafficking and / or sound statistic collection methods, or rely solely on 'official's tatistics recorded as a result of women being brought to the attention of the authorities through arrest, prosecution, deportation, victim assistance or witness protection.

Non-governmental organizations's tatistics are a direct result of their efforts to protect and care for trafficked women survivors, which includes those who independently seek help in addition to those, brought to their attention by official sources; and academics tend to use statistics gathered from both such organizations in which to base their research. Consequently, figures vary and are one-sided, and so one must exert caution when proclaiming such figures to be encompassing the entire phenomenon of trafficking for sexual exploitation but rather be aware that potentially an amplification and / or a 'dark figure' of this crime exists. Bearing in mind these limitations, since the early 1990's the wave of women trafficked from Central and Eastern European countries to Western countries has grown to a level where it now constitutes one-fourth of the world trade (O'Neill, 2002 as cited in La Strada, 2002) or a global sex trade worth an estimated US$10 billion (Main ville, 2003). According to the Swedish NGO Kvinna Till Kvinna, an estimated 500,000 women from over the world are trafficked each year into Western Europe alone, wherein a large proportion of these women come from the former Soviet block countries, and IOM reports that between 700,000 to 2 million women and children are trafficked across international borders annually (IOM, 2001 a); that in 1997, an estimated 175,000 women and girls were trafficked from CEE countries and CIS into Western Europe, and furthermore 120,000 women and children are trafficked annually into the European Union, mostly through the Balkans (OSCE, 2002).

Regardless that the figures may be exaggerated or not all encompassing, there is ample evidence to suggest that a substantial amount of women are being trafficked within Europe and sexually exploited. The European Phenomenon Although experienced world-wide, the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Europe has experienced a boom of productivity and exploitation since the collapse of the communist system in the former Soviet block and elsewhere in Eastern Europe. As a result of the shift in the political climate and economy (from socialist to capitalist), exorbitant amounts of unemployment and poverty have sky rocketed as well as has a lack in the rule of law, and inappropriate judicial systems which have allowed black market economies and corruption to flourish. Smuggling of goods, arms and people, corrupt state employees, organized crime groups and acceptance of illegal ways to earn money, have unfortunately become a new norm (OSCE, 2002). The European Commission estimates that up to 120,000 women and children are being trafficked into Western Europe each year (European Union, 2001), the United States Government (1998) proclaims that circa 175,000 women are trafficked from CEE and CIS countries to Western Europe annually, and 120,000 women coming from the former Eastern block countries are trafficked to Western Europe annually (Richard, 2001 b as cited in IOM, 2001). According to the United Nations and International Labour Organization conference in 2001, up to 6,000 women and children from Eastern Europe are brought to Britain, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands each year by organized crime groups (Choudhury, 2002).

They come from cultures where girls are not considered as desire able as boys; are not afforded equal opportunity for education or work; and where the selling of a young virgin girl can bring the family money for food and shelter (Johnson, 2002). Such causal factors appear more prominent in certain regions that in others. In addition to such causal factors, women promised lucrative employment opportunities in Western European countries, find themselves sold into slavery-like conditions and held as virtual prisoners in caf " es or brothels. Ninety percent of foreign migrant sex workers in the Balkan countries are victims of trafficking (OSCE, 2002) and at least 50,000 women are taken out of Russia each year and become slaves abroad (Caldwell et al., 1997). For instance, in Israel, which is the main market for Russian slaves, 46% of prostitutes originate from Moldova; 25% from Ukraine; and 13% from Russia and Central Asian Republics (Novosti, 2002). An estimated 20 to 30 women and girls return to Moldova each month from being trafficked abroad and most of them are coming back from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo and / or Albania, additionally, that the largest groups of women trafficked to Western Europe through and from the Balkans are Moldovan, Albanian, Romanian and Ukrainian (IOM, 2001).

Nearby countries in South Central Europe, along with Turkey, seem to have the highest numbers of illegal Moldovan immigrants. UNICEF reported that in the years 2000 and 2001, Turkey had by far the highest number of deportations of Moldavian's, with 6,610 in addition to Germany (654), Greece (317) and Italy (232) following as next highest (UNICEF, 2000) suggesting that not all were consenting migrants. The BARS Project in 2000 found that of its 125 referrals, 71 cases or 46.7% were from Moldova (IOM, 2000). An IOM study in the Balkans for the years 1999 to 2000 (IOM, 2001) reporting on a combined study from agencies that assist trafficked women in the region, offered that from a total of 5,887 cases, 7% originated from Moldova and those assisted specifically by IOM, from a total of 697 cases, the majority (46%) were from Moldova. Perspectives of Trafficking Trafficking does not occur in a vacuum (Robinson, 2002). It is a crime as a result of various and combined social situations and circumstances, legal systems, people and their needs.

Trafficking is not one event but a series of constitutive acts and circumstances implicating a wide range of actors. When seeking a solution, extracting one aspect of the equation would be worthless (for example restricting migration) since the combined forces would continue to act (people's need, social situations, poverty, violence, demand, and criminal intent) even with the elimination of one of its links. Trafficking has been defined and considered from varying perspectives. Some consider it a violation of a woman's human rights or another form of violence against women, as she is a modern day slave experiencing intimidation and force, debt-bondage, limited freedom and independence, passport confiscation, violence, objectification and second class citizenship. Addressing the issue as a violation of human rights means acknowledging that trafficking is a violation of the basic human rights to which all persons are entitled - the right to life; to equality, dignity and security; not to be held in slavery; not subjected to cruel, in human or degrading treatment and more.

A human rights approach also demands that we acknowledge the responsibility of governments to protect and promote the rights of all persons within their jurisdictions. Others consider trafficking an issue of migration in that a woman has illegally crossed its borders without a proper permit or visa or stayed beyond her visa time frame; in effect, she has victimized the state. Strategies for Combating Trafficking Preventing trafficking Attention to causal factors from the women who have been trafficked must be a starting point in fighting trafficking. In addition to the various perspectives and amounts of research available discussing and supporting causal factors of trafficking of women for sexual exploitation, each woman's experience, in particular from certain countries versus others, must be understood. Each country and its issues concerning women (unemployment, inequality, laws against violence, advocacy, attitudes etc.) must be taken into account for it is those specific environments and experiences that influence a woman's decision to leave her home country for work abroad. In addition to supporting the relevance and degree of economics and violence, the women identified other factors requiring attention in order to prevent trafficking of women from their county.

As accepted earlier and reinforced by common saying, prostitution is among the oldest professions. This is due to the fact that the social and economic vulnerability of women and powerlessness in society has left only a small range of options open to them to seek out a livelihood. So prostitution is indeed the twin sibling of poverty, and as old as indigence, destitution and compulsion. Women with no assets and few options have relied directly on their bodies to maintain themselves and their dependents through the ages. On the side of demand, prostitution is as old as patriarchy.

The demand for prostitution has been engendered in a context where masculinity and male sexuality is constructed through sexual prowess and appropriation of the female body, whereas simultaneously, female sexuality is controlled, denigrated and erased. Traditionally, male sexuality has been constructed as well, within the context of miniaturization and conquest thus, power and victory have been closely tied in with conquest and appropriation of land, resources and, invariably, women's bodies. Given the direct conflict ion of power, virility and success with the sexual act and sexual prowess, male sexuality and identity has been socially constructed by patriarchy, accordingly. And hence, even when the context of war and conquest is removed, sexual performance and intense sexual activity is normalized as a basic male sexual need. He who can demonstrate his sexual prowess through intensified sexual activity by accessing several women is considered by his peers and himself to be manly, successful and powerful. Such a man is considered an active agent in the social patriarchal world, and as long as his sexuality is 'healthy' his identity and self esteem remain intact.

In fact, in many instances, male initiation into manhood is marked by a ritualized visit to a prostitute. With the development of market forces, historically, the consequence of the above mentioned forces of supply and demand has been the location of sex and sexual services in the market place. And thus, prostitution developed into a trade, a profession, segmented into diversified tiers, skills, and services. In particular, concentrations of prostitutes occurred where ever colonies of single men were located. As such throughout history, prostitution centers grew in port cities of the world; around colonies of migrant, male workers; around containment's and barracks of military men, and in the vicinity of any such activity which marked an accumulation of male workforce. During times of natural disasters or social and political upheavals such as famines, epidemics, earthquakes, wars of displacement of large populations, it has been documented historically that masses of women offering sexual services in the market would swell disproportionately.

The era of industrialization in Europe was one such phase in history which saw an unprecedented growth in the sex trade on account of massive evacuation of people from the countryside into new urban centers. In the main however, it can be said that while prostitution is certainly an old trade yet, it maintained its basic character well into a couple of decades after World War II. The basic determining factors on the supply and demand side remained principally the same in most parts of the world. If the same features which characterized prostitution in the 60's prevailed globally today, it is possible that we may not have gathered here to discuss and formulate strategies to address the issue.

Nor would we be suggesting a third perspective on prostitution. Government agencies and NGOS, together with the international community, have adopted a variety of strategies to combat trafficking in women and children. These include: o Prevention of trafficking through the legal and criminal system, training of law enforcement officers o Control and suppression of prostitution through the legal system o Rescue and rehabilitation for women and girl victims of trafficking o Protection for and awareness-raising among women and girls to prevent trafficking o Demand reduction through advocacy to raise public awareness, particularly in relation to forced and child prostitution and other measures o Supply reduction by advocacy and awareness-raising among parents and guardians o Supply reduction through the provision of alternative employment and income-earning opportunities for women and girls o Supply reduction through campaigns targeting parents on the long-term advantages of girls education See Appendix B: Legal Instruments to Combat Trafficking for more details. Discussion When motivated to fight trafficking, laws are enacted and legislation ratified to facilitate criminal justice system cooperation; however, focusing an abundance of attention to the legal aspects of trafficking is paying attention to only one half of the equation. To understand any crime and to create effective means of deterrence and prevention, the causes of a crime must also be understood in order to effect change. A doctor does not only offer medicine (a reactive solution) to a patient for her heart attack, but attempts to educate the patient on her disease's causes (excess weight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stress) in order to facilitate change -change being the elimination or reduction of future heart attacks.

The same analogy can be used when analyzing trafficking. By offering only reactive solutions (increasing sentences, facilitating closer law enforcement cooperation, and restricting migration) only half of the equation (and understanding of the crime) is being addressed; in essence the crime is not experiencing the full advantages of criminological analysis and application. Conclusions Exact information about the volume, characteristics and organization of trafficking in women and children in Europe is still so scare, and most of the programs and legislative changes aimed at combating the crime are so new that it is hard to say how they work in every-day crime prevention, and what practices of countering are the best and most effective. On the whole, it seems that the measures taken should be many and varied, comprised of legislative measures, police operations as well as different awareness campaigns, support programs and media actions. In the long run, the best and most effective way to prevent trafficking is to support and facilitate the general social and economic development in the Eastern European and third world countries. Appendix A: Development Development is the upward directional movement of society from lesser to greater levels of energy, efficiency, quality, productivity, complexity, comprehension, creativity, enjoyment and accomplishment.

These attributes are both the means for achieving development as well as its most characteristic expressions or results. The factor that they all have in common and which imparts to them their value is organization. Higher levels of each of these attributes are the result in higher levels of organization in society. Organization is the capacity to mobilize all the available information, knowledge, material resources, technology, infrastructure, and human abilities to meet challenges and take advantage of opportunities. Development is the process of continuously enhancing the capacity of society to respond to opportunities and challenges by increasing its level of organization. Development is the process of creating newer organizations.

The foundation of society consists of intricate interrelationships and interactions between different activities, systems, organizations, institutions, ideas, beliefs and values. The process of social development occurs by increasing the scope and complexity of the organization of this foundation. The movement involves a simultaneous development of the social foundation in several dimensions: o Quantitative expansion in the size and carrying capacity of social activities, systems, organizations and institutions; o Qualitative increase in the content, productivity and sophistication of the constituent elements of the foundation; o Geographic or spatial extension of the organized foundation to provide more intensive coverage to larger portions of the population. o Integration of existing and new organizational elements into an increasingly complex network of interrelationships; A continuous process of organizational invention and innovation spurs this movement. During each phase new organizations emerge and existing organizations take on new attributes that enable them to act as spearheads of the development process. The contribution of any of these factors may for a time become so significant that we view them as essential causes in their own right.

Actually they are the live evolving ends of the underlying social organization which fashions them by its excess energy and without which they cannot exist or function. The accumulated knowledge of the society and its increasing awareness of emerging opportunities and challenges determine the overall direction given to this development process. The energy that drives the process is determined by the intensity of the collective social aspiration for higher levels of accomplishment released by this accumulated knowledge and growing awareness. These in turn are strongly influenced by the level of organization of the social collective. Stated in other words, society becomes increasingly conscious of its inherent capabilities, the opportunities for high achievement and the means to organize itself for that achievement.

The more conscious it becomes, the more its energies are released, the clearer the direction given to those energies, the more effective and efficient the organizational arrangements it fashions to support accomplishment, and the greater the magnitude and speed of social progress. Appendix B: Legal Instruments to Combat Trafficking International Legal Instruments " International Law clearly condemns slavery and slave-related practices. It is well established that the prohibition of these practices has attained the status of customary international law. ' Human Watch Rights Watch, 1993: 29 Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Person of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (The Trafficking Convention) The international community first denounced trafficking in the Trafficking Convention, which was approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1949. The Convention calls on states parties to punish traffickers and to protect all persons against such abuse.

It also calls on states parties 'so far as possible' to 'make suitable provisions for [trafficking victims] temporary care and maintenance', to repatriate trafficked persons 'only after agreement... with the State of destination', and where such persons cannot pay the cost of repatriation, to bear the cost 'as far as the nearest frontier'. [Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons, Article 19]. Thailand has not ratified the Trafficking Convention. The Convention deals only with trafficking for the purposes of prostitution, and is now regarded by many NGOs as out-of-date. Convention on the Elimination for All Forms of Discrimination Against Women Under CEDAW, states parties are obliged to eliminate discrimination and must take all appropriate measures to suppress all forms of traffic in women (articles 2 e and 6). However, the Convention does not explain what these measures might be.

Thailand ratified CEDAW in 1985, with reservations on articles 7, 9, 19, 11, 15, 16 and 29. Some reservations were recently withdrawn. Some countries have expressed concern that, although the Convention itself does not require that acts of prostitution be criminalized, several of its provisions have the indirect effect of making the practice of prostitution illegal. Australia, for example, noted that these provisions blur the distinction between voluntary and coerced prostitution. 'To consider voluntary sex work and coercive prostitution as the same issue, and therefore to demand the outlaw of prostitution per se, is to view prostitution as a moral issue and to consider sex workers as people unable to make informed decisions on their life. Such a view is paternalistic and raises serious human rights implications.

Further, criminalization of the voluntary sex industry fosters conditions of violence against women sex workers. ' [United Nations, 1996, pages 8-9, para 26]. Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989 (CRC) The CRC defines the child as a person under 18 years of age, unless the national laws recognize a younger age of majority. States parties are obliged to protect children from all forms of discrimination (article 2), to protect them from sexual exploitation and abuse, including prostitution and pornography (article 34) and to make every effort to prevent the sale, trafficking and abduction of children (article 35). Under article 39, states parties have an obligation to ensure that victims of exploitation receive appropriate treatment for their recovery and social reintegration. Thailand acceded to the CRC in 1992.

Thai Legal Instruments The Trafficking in Women and Girls Act (Anti-Trafficking Act) of 1928 The Anti-Trafficking Act was passed in 1928 as a result of the perceived increase in numbers of foreign nationals in Thai brothels. It prohibits trafficking in women and girls. Section 7 states that women and girls who have been trafficked into Thailand will be exempt from imprisonment and / or fines. However, before being deported they must be sent to a state reform house for 30 days, a period which can be extended by a judge. The Anti-Trafficking Law also requires Thai authorities to arrange and shoulder the cost of the victim's repatriation to her country of origin. The Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1960 The Suppression of Prostitution Act (Prostitution Prohibition Act) was passed in 1960 partly as the result of UN pressure.

The Act replaced the Contagious Diseases Prevention Act 1908, which aimed to control prostitution. The new law was intended to eliminate prostitution (defined as an act promiscuously rendering sexual services for remuneration) by making it an illegal activity. The Act provided that convicted prostitutes should be reformed through medical treatment and a period not exceeding one year in an assistance centre where they were to receive vocational training. This Act was repealed by the new Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996. The Entertainment Places Act of 1966 This Act was designed to pave the way for brothels to be legalized in the guise of massage parlour's, bars, night-clubs, tea-houses etc.

It was enacted at a time when the Government sought to increase state revenue from the 'Rest and Recreation' activities of the US armed forces stationed in Vietnam. The Act defines the various kinds of 'Entertainment Places' and allows such places to operate only under a license to be obtained from local police stations. The use of licensed establishments for prostitution is illegal. The Act sets 18 years as the minimum age for women to work in such establishments but the penalty for employing under-age women in only baht 2,000. The Penal Code of 1956 Under the Thai Penal Code 1956, prostitution is not illegal but procurement for the purpose of prostitution is. The Penal Code imposes more severe penalties for procurement than the Prostitution Prohibition Act.

Several sections provide specific and quite harsh punishment for abuses against girls forced into prostitution, penalties that increase if the girl is under 18 years of age and increase still further for offences against girls under 15 and 13 years of age. Section 276 penalizes forced sexual intercourse with a women 'who is not wife, against her will, by threatening her by any means whatever' with 4 to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of 8,000 to 40,000 baht. Section 277 makes sexual intercourse with a girl under 15 statutory rape, even if with her consent. The Thai Immigration Act of 1979 The Thai Immigration Act denies entry to Thailand to those who have engaged in prostitution, trading in girls and other immoral activities. Any person who 'brings or takes an alien into the Kingdom... shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years or fined not more than 100,000 baht". Prevention & Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996 The new Act defines prostitution 'accept sexual act or accept other action or anything for the sexual satisfaction of other person for the benefit of pay or other interest', irrespective of the sex of the recipient or the prostitute.

The Act continues make to prostitution illegal but considerably reduces the penalties for the prostitute. In addition, if the prostitution is forced then the prostitute is not deemed to have committed an offence. The new provisions of the act are: o the clients of a prostitute under the age of 18 also commit an offence punishable by imprisonment; o parents or guardians who collaborate in the prostitution of a child under the age of 18 commit an offence publishable by a fine and revocation of guardianship; o those involved in forced prostitution will be punished by a term of imprisonment from 10 to 20 years and a fine from 200,000 to 400,000 baht. o In the event of serious injury of death to the victim, the penalty shall be life imprisonment or death. [Government Gazette Vol 113, part 54 a, page 1, dated 22 October 2539 International Translations Office Vol 51. No. 2 (February 1997).] o all prostitutes under age 18 shall receive protection and vocational development for up to 2 years; o requires the establishment of a Committee for Protection and Vocational Development at the national level and in each province; o the private sector, foundations and NGOs working in the area can apply to the authority to establish a primary shelter or a centre for protection and vocational development.

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