OpenForum – a blog by the Health and Human Rights community

Trafficking of women for sex has long been a problem, one that has been made even worse with the spread of HIV in recent years. On August 6, 2009, women who have experienced the horrors of trafficking gathered in Bali, Indonesia, to tell their stories to the “jury” of the South East Asia (SEA) Court of Women on HIV and Human Trafficking. The participants included a young HIV-positive woman from Cambodia who was taken to Malaysia and forced into bonded sex work, a woman from Myanmar who survived trafficking, and others who shared their stories of exploitation and violence.

The Court was organized by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), along with the Asian Women’s Human Rights Council (AWHRC) and the Balinese NGO Yakeba, as part of the effort to raise the profile of human trafficking. During the proceedings of this symbolic court, women who have been trafficked served as witnesses and testified to a six-member jury made up of lawyers and human rights experts, including Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn, the former UN Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. “Expert witnesses” were also called upon to provide an analysis of trafficking in Southeast Asia.

According to Caitlin Wiesen, UNDP’s Regional HIV/AIDS Practice Leader and Programme Coordinator for the Asia & Pacific region, “the Women’s Court is both a call for action against human trafficking and HIV, and a testament to the resilience and courage of women from the region who have survived unspeakable exploitation and violence.” The call for action against human trafficking is certainly needed. The violence and exploitation that come with trafficking are among the worst human rights abuses, especially when trafficked individuals are forced into sex work, which is nothing short of rape.

The number of people trafficked every year is unknown, but estimates have ranged from 500,000 to 4 million in recent years. Accurate figures for the spread of HIV related to trafficking are even harder to obtain, as both trafficking and HIV infections are underreported.  The limited measurements and estimates that have been made are not encouraging. Jay Silverman and colleagues found a high HIV prevalence — 38% — among repatriated Nepalese women and girls who had been trafficked for sex, and Silverman’s 2006 review of case records for trafficked women and girls in Mumbai revealed that over 20% were HIV-positive. Although these studies focused only on the South Asian region, they highlight the magnitude of the HIV problem associated with trafficking. Not only will sex-trafficked individuals likely endure violence and humiliation, because of HIV, their lives may be cut short even if they manage to make it back home. Read more

[Editor's note: This is a guest post written by Ms. Katherine Moloney.]

On 17th June the Federal Government announced changes to its Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program, to take effect as of 1 July. The government has radically reformed its policy with regards to victims of trafficking after years of campaigning by non-government organizations and advocacy groups.  Previously based on the victim’s usefulness to criminal proceedings, the system recognizes the complex needs and vulnerabilities of victims and their difficulties, however willing, in providing a “significant contribution” to a criminal investigation. The program is therefore afforded to all victims regardless of their instrumentality.  Taking a human rights-based approach, the new legislation removes the temporary visa entirely and bases permanent visa attainment on any “contribution” (including a police statement) and a risk of harm if returned home.  Furthermore, the reflection period has been increased to 45 days, with the possibility of extension to 90 days to provide an adequate period over which to seek assistance and make an informed choice about their future. Read more

A former child soldier from Uganda, Grace Akallo, recently spoke at the UN Security Council about her experiences being abducted, sexually assaulted, and forced to fight for the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) at the age of 16. She described being sent into battle with an AK47 and forced to kill other children who attempted escape. The Security Council is now discussing using stronger methods to stop “repeat offenders” from recruiting children.

It is estimated that 250,000 children, some age 10 or younger, are currently recruited into armed conflicts around the world and used as soldiers, guards, messengers, or sex slaves. Such recruitment of children occurs most often in conflict zones such as Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. The use of child soldiers has been officially prohibited by a UN treaty ratified by 126 countries since 2002. Children in conflict areas are guaranteed special protection under the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.

It is no surprise that rehabilitating child soldiers is a difficult and lengthy process. Because of the severe trauma they suffer, children who have been in combat require extensive long-term support to be re-integrated into communities, says UNICEF spokesman James Elder. He explains that child combatants “live in a theatre of violence and suffering…Instead of hope, fear defines their childhood.” Read more