Combating human trafficking
THE US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton released the ninth annual "Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP)" on June 16. It has been claimed that the goal of this TIP report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world to fight against the modern-day slavery.
In its narrative of Bangladesh, the TIP report has identified Bangladesh as a source and transit point for men, women and children trafficked for forced labour and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited with fraudulent employment offers, who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labour or debt bondage. Women and children from Bangladesh are trafficked to India and Pakistan with the promise of jobs and marriage.
Although the report says that Bangladesh does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it recognises the fact that it is making significant efforts to do so. The government made modest efforts to prevent human trafficking, although it did not take measures to reduce the demand for forced labour or for commercial sex.
Till date, there has been no reaction from our government on the report in relation to Bangladesh, which continues to remain in the "Tier 2 Watch List." This means that the country has weak practices for combating human trafficking.
What causes trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, from Bangladesh?
Poverty: According to the Household Income & Expenditure Survey (HIES) 2005 (published in May 2007), 40.4% of the population live below the absolute poverty line while 19.5% live below the hardcore poverty line. Millions of these people lack purchasing power to meet the basic necessities of life such as food, clothing and shelter. The poor and the ultra poor become easy targets for the traffickers.
Unemployment: According to the Labour Force Survey (LFS) 2005-06 (published in April 2008) of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), unemployment rates of youths with educational background of class 1-V, V1-V111, class 1X, SSC/equivalent, and HSC/equivalent stand at 17.84%, 17.99%, 14.55%, 15.06% and 10.96% respectively. This vast pool of unemployed youths sometimes fall prey to the recruiting agencies, which offer them nonexistent jobs or conditions that leave them stranded upon arrival in the receiving countries. This leads to suffering in the form of imprisonment, forced labour, etc.
Dowry: Although banned by law, dowry blocks marriages for many girls in the poor and lower middle class families. Many poor girls whose guardians cannot afford to meet the dowry fall victims to the traffickers who promise them a happy married and affluent life. The marriages of many poor girls end in divorce when their parents fail to pay the promised dowry. Since the divorced women find little hope for a remarriage, they become easy victims of traffickers.
Restriction on child labour: Available reports suggest that trafficked boys are generally under 10 years old and trafficked girls are between 11 and 16 years old. Many scholars think that legal restriction on employing a child below the age of 14 has contributed to them being trafficked as they do not find jobs here.
Booming sex industry worldwide: Sex tourism is no longer a secret affair. Tourism in the developed western countries, as well as in few developing countries in Asia, thrives to a considerable extent on the sex industry. Young and beautiful girls are trafficked from the developing countries, including Bangladesh, for the booming sex industry worldwide.
Lack of proper implementation of laws: Bangladesh has enacted laws of international standard to combat trafficking in persons. But what is lacking is the proper implementation of those laws.
Recommended measures for combating human trafficking from Bangladesh are:
-Creating job opportunities by setting up small and cottage industries and agro-based industries in the rural areas, with a bias for employment of illiterate and half-literate girls and women.
-Encouraging enrolment of girls in schools from the lower strata of the society, giving them extra-financial incentives and ensuring their food security through schemes like food for education.
-Introducing and implementing the much-talked-about national service scheme throughout the rural Bangladesh within a reasonable time frame.
-Integrating anti-labour trafficking objectives into national anti-trafficking policies and programs.
-Significantly increasing criminal prosecutions and punishments for all forms of labour trafficking.
-Strictly implementing anti-trafficking laws and continuing investigation and prosecution of government officials who may be suspected of complicity in trafficking.
-Improving oversight of Bangladesh's 700 international recruiting agencies to ensure that they are not promoting practices that contribute to labour trafficking.
-Increasing cooperation among South Asian countries to fight against this crime.
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