WUNRN
Canadian
Council fr Refugees
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Raising awareness about
trafficking
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Create a new group to
raise awareness
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Start the conversation
in your organization and/or sector
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Organizations working on
trafficking: Work with volunteers to raise awareness
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Create a new group to
raise awareness
Trafficking
in persons is a form of forced
labour that responds to demands in
To start raising awareness about
trafficking in persons in your own community and sector, here is some background information:
What is trafficking in
persons?
Trafficking:
Trafficking
can take many forms. It often involves the exploitation of people through forced labour.
Trafficking
can include:
Trafficking
can also be present in cases of forced marriages
where the act, means and purpose of exploitation are evident.
Trafficking in
Persons vs. Migrant Smuggling
Did you know? All countries are places of origin, transit or
destination for trafficking in persons. |
Trafficking in persons and migrant
smuggling are different:
Trafficking
in persons can be identified by the combination of 3 factors:
+ ACT: Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or
receipt of persons.
+ MEANS: Threat/coercion, abduction, fraud/deception, abuse
of power/of a position of vulnerability.
+ PURPOSE: Exploitation.
International
Anti-Trafficking Efforts
The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children (2000),
also known as the Trafficking
Protocol, provided the first internationally agreed upon
definition of trafficking in persons. It specifically offers States a legal
framework for their anti-trafficking initiatives, recognizing the need for a
combined approach that integrates:
This Protocol is one of three protocols
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime. As such, it addresses trafficking within the context of
organized crime.
While the Trafficking Protocol provides important
guidelines for countries and has been essential in laying the groundwork for
anti-trafficking strategies internationally, its limitations lie in that:
At
different stages of the trafficking experience, the human rights of trafficked
persons are severely violated.
Human
rights violations are a cause and consequence of trafficking.
During
exploitation
After
escaping situation
Many
governments give priority to prosecution
and to the detention
and deportation
of trafficked persons for reasons related to their status.
In many
cases, trafficked persons are used primarily as a tool to prosecute the crime.
Did you know? Protecting trafficked persons’ rights also serves
anti-trafficking objectives: When trafficked persons are given viable alternatives
they have an incentive to report; When trafficked persons are protected, traffickers, who
depend on victims that can be exploited, are undermined. |
Canadian Anti-Trafficking Efforts
The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking
(NAP) was launched by the federal government in June 2012. The NAP is the first
attempt to establish a national response to trafficking in persons. It promotes
anti-trafficking activities that are divided into 4 broad areas (also known as
the 4 ‘Ps’) which are in line with the Trafficking Protocol:
Even though the NAP includes a section on
protection, its anti-trafficking efforts largely favour a law enforcement
approach. This has proved problematic as the rights and needs of trafficked
persons have been given a lower priority and, as a result, trafficked persons
continue to fall between the cracks of the system.
Suggested
background documents and websites on trafficking in