Human trafficking: A concern

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Md Shariful Islam
Trafficking in women and children is today a major social and political concern globally as well as nationally. It has also become the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world. An estimated 1-2 million women and children are trafficked annually around the world, generally for the purpose of forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation or domestic servitude. A United Nations estimate indicates that the fastest growing international business is trafficking in women and children. According to an estimate by International Organisation for Migration, the global trafficking industry generates up to $ 8.0 billion. And in the context of Bangladesh, according to a study over a million women and children have been trafficked out of the country in the last thirty years. According to a UNICEF report, approximately 400 women and children in Bangladesh are victims of trafficking each month.
It has been reported that there are about one million 'undocumented' Bangladeshi women in Pakistan, a significant number of whom are believed to have been trafficked. According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), about 300,000 Bangladeshi children have been trafficked to brothels in India over a period of time. Over the last five years at least 13,220 children are reported as being trafficked out of the country and it was possible to rescue only 4,700 of them. It is believed that about 4,500 women and children from Bangladesh are trafficked to Pakistan annually. On the other hand, Bangladeshi boys in the ages between 4-12 years are trafficked for camel racing in the Gulf; sexual exploitation of these boys by the employers is not uncommon.
In Bangladesh, various ways are practiced for the procurement of women and children for the purpose of trafficking. One of these practices is procuring young girls through marriage. For this purpose, men are being employed outside the country. They come back to their village homes to get married. After marriage, the young wife accompanies the husband to his place of work and since then, no trace could be found of these young girls.
The other way is that the traffickers entice young girls that they would provide them with jobs and better prospects in other countries. What is alarming is that a large number of garment factories are now acting as recruiting stations for the traffickers. In other cases, sometimes, parents also sell their children to the traffickers due to poverty while kidnapping is another way for trafficking.
Generally, traffickers apply various techniques in recruiting and transporting women and children from Bangladesh. Women and children are generally recruited from rural areas or small towns. In the transshipment process they are handed over and taken over by numerous agents and intermediaries. In the recruitment process, traffickers take help of local people and villagers to identify vulnerable families.
Human trafficking is influenced by two factors - demand and supply factors. Development policies and patterns of development, promoting tourism, industrialisation, rural to urban migration particularly of males generate the demand for commercial sex. An expanding commercial sex industry in the Asia region has increased the demand for the services of sex workers. Employers and enterprises also look for cheap labour of children and women. Male attitudes and perceptions of women, male dominated value systems in society, and women's unequal and low socio-economic status maintains demands.
On the other hand, supply factors include poverty and deprivation coupled with the low status of women and girls in society, inadequate educational and employment opportunities, gender disparities in access to opportunities, and lack of social safety nets. Lucrative business with low investments but high monetary returns is attractive to crime syndicates. Economic disparities within countries and between countries and regions fuel the demand for trafficking from low income to high income areas.
Furthermore, globalisation and liberalisation have relaxed controls, opened borders between countries, facilitating population mobility; internal and international migration of women into the labour market, provides increased opportunities and channels for trafficking. Social conventions such as child marriages, polygamy, dowry, and social stigma against single, unwed, divorced women and girls are important contributing factors. Erosion of traditional family systems and values, and the pursuit of consumerism encourage the sale of women and children. The growth of transnational crime and the expansion of drug trafficking networks act as mechanisms for other forms of exploitation. Lack of a strong political will, and weak law enforcement mechanisms and measures to penalise offenders, exploitation by corrupt law enforcers, allows the trafficking trade to flourish.
To combat trafficking in women and children we must introduce community policing system involving police and members of the community to work in partnership to prevent trafficking in the source areas. Providing information on trafficking incidents to law enforcing agencies, keeping the confidentiality of trafficked victims, establishing help lines and help booths, creating awareness as well as providing immediate help and support to missing, kidnapped and trafficked women and children and to work in coordination with law enforcing agencies are other measures to contain the menace.
Eradicating poverty by offering livelihood options, life skill training and employment opportunities particularly for women and girls of marginalised groups can also help reducing trafficking. Reducing gender discrimination in the family and society with regard to resource allocation, building the capacity of vulnerable groups, raising awareness towards changing the patriarchal attitudes and mindset to reduce the vulnerability factors that trigger trafficking, eradicating the practice of early marriage, marriage without registration, dowry and polygamy which causes gender violence leading to trafficking and related laws need to be strictly implemented. Enhancing the level of awareness on underlying issues of trafficking by mass campaigns and community participation, mobilising the media to create public opinion and mass awareness are also suggested measures against trafficking.
Facilitating safe and regulated migration policies for women and girl children is felt required so that they do not end up being trafficked through illegal and regulated migration. Enhancing cooperation between government agencies and departments, disseminating information on safe migration by land, water and air routes at the points of departure, transit and entry like train stations, air ports, harbours are also important.
The problem of trafficking has generated a lot of concerns and apprehensions among the international and national policy makers and governments and the civil society at large. It has been observed that the human trafficking is an age old problem. But the concern is that the magnitude of it is multiplying with the growing incidence of poverty and criminalisation. As Bangladesh is a poverty stricken country, human trafficking is increasing at an alarming rate. However, concerted efforts are there on the part of the Government, the international agencies, the donor community and the NGOs to combat the problem. It has been observed that the problem has international and regional dimensions. As such, more concerted international and regional efforts should be mooted alongside national efforts to combat the menace of trafficking of women and children from one country to the other.
(The writer is a post graduate student in International Relations at the University of Dhaka. He can be reached at email: shariful.shuvo.duir@gmail.com)