ANTI-TRAFFICKING RESPONSE DURING EMERGENCIES
During emergencies, there is an imperative need to view its impact and response through a trafficking lens. Trafficking in persons (TIP) is the illegal trading or selling of persons for the purpose of exploitation (1). In emergencies, human trafficking largely goes unnoticed as it is perceived to be a problem already present in society. Human trafficking therefore is often overlooked during times of crisis and disasters – factors contributing to this include lack of measures to reduce vulnerability to trafficking, limited baseline data available and the adverse attention given to those already missing or undocumented before a crisis occurs (2).
An emergency increases the vulnerability of affected communities and families. For traffickers, this is an opportune time to make profit and recruit their victims, knowing that they are in sheer desperation for survival and more likely to accept offers. For potential victims, traffickers are usually known to them and take their offerings as an act of kindness. We can minimise the number of people being trafficked and provide support for survivors by incorporating an anti-trafficking response during emergencies. Take the following examples: • Families may lose their homes, jobs and necessities. They have fewer options to meet their needs and may become desperate for survival thus accept fake economic opportunities.
We can prevent this from happening amongst affected communities by providing education and awareness on risky job offers and recognising when opportunities may be fake.
• Children and youth who are orphaned or separated from their families/guardians are vulnerable to trafficking. An emergency can cause children to be traumatised - it would be nearly impossible for a child or youth to overlook adults who offer to look for the child’s family and make inviting offers. We can support children by providing counselling and family tracing, therefore reuniting children with their families/guardians and minimising the risks of child trafficking. • Families may need to migrate or relocate to escape a disaster. Displaced families are often accommodated at refugee camps or scattered into neighbouring countries. A new location can bring challenges such as language barriers, legal protection and unfamiliarity, therefore enabling traffickers to persuade their victims in promise of safety and comfort. We can provide materials with contact details and information (such as safe migration) in different languages. We can also provide details of the local corps for families to receive further support. • For law enforcers and rescue workers, human trafficking is usually not a priority in times of a crisis. We can build the capacity of law enforcers and rescue workers by providing them with training on spotting the signs of human trafficking, especially at the border and check points.
1 For full universally accepted definition of ‘Trafficking in Persons’ see the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, ratified in 2000 https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/protocoltraffickinginpersons.aspx 2 International Organisation for Migration (2015): ‘Addressing human trafficking and exploitation in times of crisis’ https://publications.iom.int/system/files/addressing_human_trafficking_dec2015.pdf
Territories are encouraged to respond to human trafficking in an emergency by:
Linking the territorial Anti-trafficking National Contact Persons with other organisations to coordinate a response
Training key persons on areas such as spotting the signs of trafficking, referrals, reporting and responding to the issue Creating awareness on human trafficking and safe migration communities affected by a crisis
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Providing trauma-informed counselling to support the emotional and psychological recovery for individuals and groups who have been traumatised as a result of the crisis Liaising with other organisations to ensure children who have been separated from their families have a safe guardian during the crisis
Coordinating, sharing information and liaising with local antitrafficking stakeholders for referral and specialised support of any survivors rescued during emergencies