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Legal Efforts Against Sex Trafficking

Multiple human rights organizations as well as governments have over the years have introduced various initiatives and legislation in order to combat sex trafficking. Until recently, many of these focused on prostitution or slavery, though recent efforts have begun to address sex trafficking directly.

Early Efforts

Early opposition to sex trafficking came from two broadly overlapping camps, those opposed to prostitution, and those that campaigned for the abolition of slavery. (cite) Abolitionists condemned the use of slaves for sexual activity, often showcasing young light-skinned mulatto girls to gain sympathy for the cause. However the efforts of abolitionists cannot be overlooked: abolitionist legislation often forms the legal basis for further human trafficking protections, such as the 13th and 14th Amendments.

The progressive movement brought renewed vigor to the legal efforts against sex trafficking. The 1910 Mann Act, also known as the White Slave Traffic Act, made it a felony the transport across state lines any woman or girl "for the purpose(s) of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." (http://legisworks.org/sal/36/stats/STATUTE-36-Pg825a.pdf)

Efforts to combat sex trafficking are often linked to efforts against prostitution, however this is often problematic in regards to legal recourse of sex trafficking victims. While prostitutes are nominally working by choice, sex trafficking victims do so under duress. Recognizing this, many states have passed legislation that allows sex trafficking victims amnesty under prostitution laws, however many fail to do so due to legal illiteracy and institutional prejudices. (Barnard, Alyssa M. “‘The Second Chance They Deserve: Vacating the Convictions of Sex Trafficking Victims.” Columbia Law Review, vol. 114, no. 6, 2014, pp. 1463–1501. www.jstor.org/stable/23932264) As such, sex trafficking victims often risk legal persecution when alerting authorities to their situation.

Jane Addams was one of the most notable reformers during the Progressive Era and refined the still early concepts of white slavery and sex work in her book "A New Conscience and an Ancient Evil”. She, among others, fought to classify all people coerced into prostitution as victims of sexual slavery, and believed that all sex work was sexual exploitation of women by more powerful men. Addams also believed that abolishing white slavery would bring more women into the suffrage movement. Alex Smolak, a physician, has studied many of the health risks faced by women in white slavery during the Progressive era. She says in her article titled “White Slavery, Whorehouse Riots, Venereal Disease, and Saving Women..."[1] that “The Progressive Era was a time when society was rapidly changing, with influences stemming from urbanization, industrialization, commercialization, immigration, and civilizing morality, all interacting with one another to fuel both prostitution and the anti-prostitution movement.” Along with “The U.S. White Slave act of 1910”, the “International Agreement for the Suppression of the White Slave Trade” was ratified by 13 nations, including the United States in 1904. Throughout the next 45 years the International Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and Children was adopted by the League of Nations and the term white slavery was replaced by trafficking, the word used commonly today.

Israel

The trafficking of women into prostitution in Israel began in the early 1990s. An estimate of three thousand women were being trafficked in the 1990s and early 2000s. Many of the women came from “post-Soviet states particularly Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and many more.” The women ended up in brothels where they worked 7 days a week and served up to 30 clients a day. The traffickers used physical violence and threats to dissuade the women from leaving, they also confined women behind locked doors and barred windows. Throughout the 1990s the Israeli authorities failed to view sex trafficking as a problem, they simply viewed it as prostitution. They failed to interfere with brothel operations. If a case was filed the trafficker would have had a plea bargain with light punishment. The women who were being trafficked on the other hand were classified as illegal alien or criminals since they entered Israel illegally, so authorities concentrated on catching the women rather than the traffickers. Usually the victims of trafficking are vulnerable because they live in poverty, or they aren't educated. Trafficking affects the mental health of the victim as well as physical health. Israel has become a country of destination for women who had been trafficked from surrounding countries.

In 2012, Israel has been ranked Tier 1, in the “Trafficking Persons Report.” Tier 1 is the highest ranking given to a government that has acknowledged human trafficking and has made efforts to solve the problem. Israel has tried to improve and protect the victims affected by sex trafficking. Israel has been providing victims of human sex trafficking with shelter and protection against the sex traffickers. Which have been one of many steps taken to lower the number of women who have been affected by the traffickers. Although many say that the shelters that they provide are not sufficient for the victims, it has been seen that the number of  women affected has declined since 2006. The anti trafficking law of 2006 describes penalties of up to 16 years of imprisonment for trafficking an adult, 20 years for trafficking a child, 16 years for slavery and up tp 7 years for forced labor.

Iran

Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Iranian girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are targeted by traffickers for sale abroad; younger girls may be forced into domestic service until their traffickers consider them old enough to be subjected to child sex trafficking. An increase in the transport of girls from and through Iran en route to other Gulf States for sexual exploitation has been reported from 2009-2015; during the reporting period, Iranian trafficking networks subjected Iranian girls to sex trafficking in brothels in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region. Organized criminal groups kidnap or purchase and force Iranian and immigrant children to work as beggars and street vendors in cities, including Tehran. These children, who may be as young as 3, are coerced through physical and sexual abuse and drug addiction; reportedly many are purchased for as little as $150. https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2016/258786.htm

Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most infamous countries for Human Sex Trafficking. On average 70-80 woman and children are reported in Bangladesh as being used for sex trafficking on a daily bases. Many of the woman who are taken from Bangladesh are handed off to near by ports in India. On annual 10,000 - 15,000 woman and children are smuggled and trafficked to India from Bangladesh. The problem lies within the lack of implementation on existing laws set in place. In the past five years only 53 cases appeared before court and of those 53 cases, 35 were dismissed due to a lack of evidence. In recent years, the government of Bangladesh has made an effort to enforce more strict laws against trafficking. Newly reported traffickers will be now be put through a shorter summary trial. http://www.hurights.or.jp/archives/focus/section2/2004/09/human-trafficking---a-new-form-of-slave-trade-in-bangladesh.html http://listdose.co/top-10-countries-infamous-for-human-trafficking/

Statistics show that every day 45 Iranian girls run away from home due to poverty, maltreatment, etc. Considerable part of these girls are picked up by human traffickers and end up at brothels abroad. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41430875

Global

The UN established various anti-trafficking tools, including a Global Report on Trafficking in Persons and an Inter-Agency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons. The Global Report on Trafficking in Person provides new information based on data gathered from 155 countries. It offers first global assessment of the scope of human trafficking and what is being done to fight it. The UN General Assembly passed several resolutions on measuring to eliminate human trafficking. In 2010 the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons was adopted. Various other organizations have engaged in global efforts against sex trafficking. "The UN Protocol's is the bedrock of the international initiatives against human sex trafficking" . The protocol includes several elements the first being: Action which includes recruitment,and transportation. The next element becomes a Means which includes coercion, fraud, or abuse of power towards others. The purpose element is the most concerning which can also be exploitation. This includes exploiting the prostitution, forced labor, slavery, and the removal of organs. The UN requires states and countries to establish the trafficking of humans as a criminal offense.