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In the wake of the recent Rochdale trafficking ring convictions, new legislation to protect child victims of trafficking
Campaigning Tory Peer, Lord McColl of Dulwich will today introduce an important Anti-Trafficking Bill in the House of Lords. Amidst growing concerns about the trafficking of girls in the UK after last week’s convictions of nine men in Rochdale, it comes not a moment too soon.
Lord McColl has been tenaciously making the case for enhancing British trafficking laws for some time now. Throughout the last year he has repeatedly drawn attention to the fact that between 2007 and 2010, of the 942 child victims of trafficking in the UK, a staggering 301 were lost.[1] We are currently failing child victims of trafficking in the UK, both in identifying them as trafficked – as evidenced by the recent case in Rochdale – and in protecting those who have been identified.
In February, Lord McColl secured a commitment from Home Office minister, Lord Henley, that the Children’s Commissioner would conduct a review of the care currently afforded rescued child victims of trafficking in order to make recommendations about how it could be enhanced.[2] This is a step in the right direction. The new McColl Bill makes provision for Britain to emulate international best practice and appoint each rescued child victim of trafficking with a legal advocate from the moment a child is identified as a victim.
Other elements in the Bill include: a much more robust definition of trafficking offences; the non-prosecution of victims of trafficking for crimes committed when under duress; and the proper provision of assistance and support for trafficking victims, including appropriate and safe accommodation and translation services and the right to apply for compensation. The Bill also proposes that Britain falls into line with best practice with respect to the provision of a ‘Human Trafficking National Rapporteur’, the internationally recognised means of assessing the trafficking situation within the UK. Current mechanisms fail the crucial test of independence from government.
Commenting on his Bill, Lord McColl said, ‘It is a matter of great national pride that in 1807 and 1833 Britain took the lead in combating slavery. We do so no longer. That Britain is the number one destination for sex trafficking in Europe and that we should have lost 301 rescued child victims of trafficking between 2007-10 beggars belief. It is time to take action. My Bill proposes the way ahead.’
For more information, and the opportunity to interview Lord McColl, please contact Dan Boucher on 07768 165543 or Genevieve Galvin on 07795 332620.
Gathering Voices – A Journey of Prayer is an exciting initiative aiming to gather a network of voices, young and old, to intercede into the injustice of prostitution and human trafficking, running up to the 2012 Games.
This resource is based on the prayers of women who have been directly affected by this issue and we are inviting you to join with their prayers. You can find out more about Gathering Voices at www.journeyofprayer.com.
You can view the resource using the reader below or download the PDF.
Why ultrasound scan machines in India may eventually lead to a rise in violence against women
For most expectant couples, one of the joys of pregnancy is the anticipation of discovering the gender of their unborn child. Dreams of pink and blue nurseries and preferred names are at the forefront of their mind as the long-awaited first scan appointment draws closer. The birth of any child is reason for great celebration and it’s safe to say that Western culture welcomes the enthusiasm around the announcement of a new son or daughter.
Yet that prized first scan is nothing more than a death sentence to millions of unborn girls in India, a Guardian report suggests today. Ultrasound scans in India are now readily accessible and cheap – only £10 – enabling even the poorest of Indian women to discover the sex of their baby.
‘Son preference’ is an old tradition in India and parts of Asia as sons are more financially attractive than daughters. Theoretically, sons can better look after their parents in old age and are not expected to contribute a matrimonial dowry. And although girls have long been viewed as being substandard next to boys, sophisticated technology permits their elimination even before their birth. Girls’ chances of an education, access to health care and proper nutrition are moot points because of their pre-determined fate.
Educated, Hindu women are more likely to have a sex-selective abortion then are poor, Muslim women, most likely due to religious beliefs and socio-economic status. The staggering number of 500,000 girls aborted every year is more than the number of girls born every year in Britain. Despite the practice being outlawed in 1994, it continues, often undetected because of the prevalence of scanning machines in India.
In just a few years, an overwhelming number of men without the prospect of marriage will create huge social problems. Experts believe this will likely lead to a spike in violence against women, even further compounding the complexities of a culture that often systematically marginalises women.
To advocate for the ban of scanners in India would take away from their intended use, which is to better serve the needs of women and babies during pre-natal care. The blessings of modern technology are quickly being hampered by a devastating consequence of the freedom to choose.
Of course, there is no easy answer. But we’ve seen progress in small steps, like those highlighted by the BBC. Girl-friendly policies and educational programmes are important components in the fight to encourage India to believe in the value of each and every life.
Fashioned for Freedom
There are approximately 27 million slaves in our world today, more than any other time in history combined.
Fashioned for Freedom is an international foundation providing assistance to victims of human trafficking, combating the problem at source and setting about working with various global industries to address insidious problems which exploit peoples of all nations.
The evening of 7th July will see a fashion show and concert organised by Fashioned for Freedom to raise awareness of human trafficking. The evening will kick off with a fashion show, featuring four designers who are committed to the ethical production of their collections, and will end with a music concert. This event is to raise awareness of the problem of human trafficking.
Please visit the Fashioned for Freedom website on http://www.fashionedforfreedom.co.uk/ to find out more information. We would like to encourage you to invite friends and colleagues and help raise awareness of human trafficking.
All funds received will go directly to the IOM’s direct assistance fund. For more information on IOM UK please visit the IOM website
Designer: Linda de Jong
Photography: © Jhartho Kempink
Photo credit: Rachel Robichaux
Loose the Chains recently posted a blog on the plight of Dalit women who are ‘married’ to the temple deity and forced to work in ritualised prostitution in India. If you are interested in learning more about this and other women’s issues in India, CARE invites you to take part in a film screening and discussion this Saturday, 11th June, 2011 at the Methodist Central Hall, Westminster. This event is free and open to the public.
Details as follows:
“India’s Forgotten Women” human rights documentary explores the outrageous plight of millions of women oppressed in India today because of their cast e identity. Presenter Anjali Guptara unearths astonishing evidence of domestic violence, dowry crime, sex selective abortion, female infanticide, bonded labour, rape, temple prostitution, and human trafficking.
A thought-provoking screening of the 45min documentary followed by a panel discussion and ‘Q&A’ session with documentary presenter and Dalit Freedom Network.
12:00 – Welcome and Introduction
12:15 – Documentary Screening
13:00 – Q & A Panel Discussion
13:30 -Close
Full details of the event can be found on the Pentecost Festival’s website:
http://www.pentecostfestival.co.uk/events/indias-forgotten-women-screening-and-panel-discussion/
Rachel Robichaux’s photos can be found on her website http://www.rachelrobichaux.com/
Ritualised Prostitution in India
As a child, I distinctly remember receiving the gift of a new watch from my father. It was beautiful and shiny and I couldn’t wait to wear it. The sense of responsibility and privilege of owning such an item was thrilling – I took care of it and ensured its safe keeping. It is a testimony of the gift’s sentimental value that some 20 years on, I still remember my feelings of pride as sole owner of the watch.
But for many young girls in Southern India, the gift of jewellery at a young age is in fact no gift at all, rather a guarantee of life-long bondage. Every year, some 3,000 girls are dedicated to the Hindu goddess of fertility, Yellama. It is an age old tradition with historic roots linked to the Devadasi system whereby women were sold to Hindu temples as concubines. Their dedication is accompanied by a red and white beaded necklace, an outward sign of their allegiance to Yellama and regarded as a symbol of good luck, which has a hold on the girls and their family. Although glamorous thousands of years ago, the prestige of being Devadasi is long gone and has been replaced by a label of shame. A Devadasi’s fate is met at her dedication ceremony, often at age three of four. Once a Devadasi hits puberty, her virginity is auctioned off and she is subsequently sent to work in a brothel.
As is often the case, those at the lowest end of the poverty ladder face a greater fate. Almost all Devadasi are Dalits – untouchables – falling below India’s caste system and “married” to Yellama as young girls. Because Dalit families do not have money for a dowry, the Devadasi system actually consoles parents; their daughters’ work is done in the name of religion which eases the conscience and provides financial support through remittances. Parents become pimps for their daughters and force them into sanctified prostitution because their daughters are too poor to marry a mortal. Even when girls return after being sold, they are pimped in their own village.
Devadasi women typically work in the brothels until they are 45, or until they are no longer an attractive commodity to the brothel. Having lost the chance to wed as a result of their marriage to the goddess, Devadasi women turn to begging as a form of survival, often outside the very temples of their dedication. While Yellama may be an enticing goddess to young girls, she quickly loses her allure when the reality of forced prostitution and social isolation sets in. Their goddess has let them down.
Although the practice of Devadasi is outlawed, it is still occurring and the dedications to Yellama take place in secret. And even though women have been selling their daughters into ritualised prostitution for centuries, many admit feelings of regret and express their desire for a different life course. Behind the red and white necklaces are women and girls hoping for change and an end to the professed ‘bondage of the beads’.
To help women trapped by the Devadasi system, or to find out more about ritualised prostitution in India, please visit the Dalit Freedom Network’s UK website.
Photo credit: Rachel Robichaux, http://www.rachelrobichaux.com/
Hello to the CARE community! My name is Lydia Bowden and I recently took over Rachel’s role as Prostitution and Human Trafficking Policy Officer. Having volunteered at CARE since the beginning of the year, I am keen to continue the great work that I have watched closely over the last four months. Rachel’s diligence has been the reason behind much of the success of CARE’s campaigns – most recently the UK Government’s decision to opt in to the EU Directive. Although she will be dearly missed, we do wish her the best in her new endeavours.
By way of a brief introduction, my passion to work in the anti-trafficking sector began in 2005 when I first read about the issue of modern-day slavery in Gary Haugen’s book Terrify No More. After completing my studies in America, I moved to Moscow, Russia where I spent two years assisting victims of trafficking, refugees and economic migrants, mainly from Africa and the Middle East. My primary role was to develop the charity’s programmes which included legal assistance, refugee resettlement, medical care and food aid. I have an interest in issues of human trafficking both in the UK and abroad and I look forward to growing in my knowledge and continuing the work of CARE.
Please continue to follow Loose the Chains on Twitter, Facebook and of course the blog site. I look forward to interacting with all of CARE’s supporters!
As an American living in London, I recently read a startling statistic about my embassy in Britain: American diplomats have accrued over £2 million in fines for parking tickets and congestion charges and have yet to pay up. Their deliberate decision to ignore UK law is certainly cause for question – and perhaps even a laugh – as they insist the congestion charge is an illegal tax under the Vienna Convention. They may indeed have a case but without crossing political lines, one major point can be made: America’s debt to Transport for London flexes the muscles of diplomatic immunity.
But there is a sobering echelon of diplomatic immunity, one that connects trafficked people to labouring under the auspices of domestic servitude. The Domestic Worker Visa allows for the temporary stay of domestic workers, who intend to be employed exclusively in the household of a diplomatic visa holder. They work for men and women who are literally above the law, and often abuse their power, viewing their political status as an entitlement rather than a privilege. Because the worker visa binds an individual exclusively to their employer, leaving the home means they cannot access other employment opportunities.
Every year, the UK receives thousands of domestic workers from non-EU countries who accompany their employers; often diplomats during their postings or royal families on a short-term visit. Easy to romanticise, it is not hard to imagine why thousands of young women give their unequivocal consent to come with their employers to London. The promise of higher wages and guaranteed remittances to support their younger siblings and aging parents is nothing but alluring.
But the fantasy ends just as soon as it begins; diplomatic immunity under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (1961) grants protection to members of the diplomatic community, allowing abuse, exploitation and sexual harassment to occur on UK soil without a threat of legal action.
Personal testimonies from people who were formerly in domestic servitude suggest that family pets are treated more humanely; nearly half of the individuals who sought help with Kalayaan, a London-based charity which offers advice, advocacy and support services to migrant works in the UK, reported not having their own bed. Many face sexual abuse and threats to their families back home. Verbal intimidation, including unsubstantiated threats of police detention upon arrival in their home country, deters them from escaping. And who can blame them for bowing to the coercion of a powerful and often well-known political figure from their home country?
Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) does not condone this violence, little can be done when diplomats are accused of crimes within their own homes. Statements from the FCO imply that while investigations of diplomats are authorised, apprehension over political backlash from countries suffering already-tenuous relations with the UK means that they are rarely pursued.
What is more alarming – the instances of abuse or the sanction of abuse? If the UK would like to maintain its position as a world leader in the fight of international human exploitation, it must also remain vigilant about the offences in its own backyard.
__________
To take action on the issue of domestic servitude, please write to your MP and urge the UK Government to vote in favour of the adoption of a new domestic work Convention at the upcoming International Labour Conference in June 2011.
For more information on domestic servitude in the UK, please listen to the report on BBC Radio 4 or view I Am Slave on Channel 4OD.
Written by Lydia Bowden
Rape as a weapon in the DRC, part 2
The situation is bleak for survivors of sexual violence in the DRC, and the worst is far from over. To start, victims fear the stigma of such a heinous crime. Husbands reportedly leave their wives after the incident, rejecting them and leaving them socially ostracised.
Women’s sufferings are further compounded by a lack of proper health care. For those in the rural areas of the DRC, medical assistance is rarely accessible in less than 72 hours. Survivors have no recourse to compensation and cannot seek justice through the courts because their perpetrators remain unidentified. And in small villages, often only one police officer is responsible for sexual violence investigations, and he typically relies on a motorcycle for transport, making it impossible to move suspected rapists to a detention facility.
Stories of deep suffering in the DRC are unfortunately overshadowed by current political affairs. Perhaps it is our selective aversion to stories too horrific to comprehend, or the helplessness that accompanies grave accounts of human suffering. But we implore you to stand against this.
CARE is asking you to aid in the fight against gender-based violence in the DRC by bringing this issue to the attention of the UK government to first and foremost acknowledge the situation. Amid the unified support of the international community, the UK’s policies can facilitate funding to grass-roots organisations that give aid to those affected and offer preventative education training to men and women.
Let’s shift the stigma from the women to the perpetrators and help to empower hundreds of thousands of Congolese women by making their voices heard in the UK.
One of the best ways to make your voice heard is to sign a petition, which will be forwarded to Lynne Featherstone, International Violence against Women Champion. We also encourage you to pray for the women and children of all ages who are affected by the violence and brutality on a daily basis. Pray that their cries for help will be met with practical assistance and that legal help will become accessible for women brave enough to prosecute their offenders.
The world has an obligation to uphold our promise of ‘never again’. Our commitment to fighting injustice must extend to a level of advocacy for victims of sexual violence to ensure that historical trends of sanctioned hostility and inequality towards women come to an end.
Written by Lydia Bowden
Photos by Fjona Hill www.fwphotography.com/documentary.php
Thank you to everyone who spread the word of Felicia Adjei’s deportation to Ghana on Friday night and contacted Virgin Airlines on her behalf.
The European Court of Human Rights halted the deportation early Friday evening and Felicia can now stay in the UK.
Thank you once again to all who took action on this.
For the background on this case, read The Guardian article here
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