Purple Teardrop Campaign - How You Can Help
Human Trafficking and the Purple Teardrop Campaign
www.purpleteardrop.org.uk
Order Purple Teardrop Campaign posters, pin-badges and our CD to help raise awareness and fund-raise for victim support.
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Human trafficking has overtaken even drugs trafficking in terms of scale. It is a global issue and the consequences for its victims are dire.
Soroptimist International of Poole launched its Purple Teardrop Campaign against Human Trafficking to over 70 leading figures from Poole and Dorset andSoroptimists from across the South of England at Upton House, Poole on 22 September.
The evening’s speakers brought 3 important perspectivesto the issue. Carol Freeman of CHASTE told the audience about the sheer scale of the problem and emphasised how changes in attitude and law can deter traffickers.
Carol’s hard-hitting statistics reminded us that 80% of trafficking victims are female, and 50% of those children.
We were delighted to welcome Sister Ann-Teresa, Founder of the Medaille Trust, who shared with us how the Trust was formed and organised. Her insights into the lives of the women supported at the Trust’s safe houses highlighted how trafficking affects people from many nations and its devastation to their lives. One victim was just 16 years old and, having been snatched by traffickers as an infant, had known no other life.
On a positive note, Sister Ann-Teresa advised that the Trust now successfully operates a network of moving-on accommodation as part of its comprehensive support and care programme.
The third speaker, DI Guy Shimmons from Dorset Police brought a local perspective to the evening and made the audience aware of the trafficking crimes that are committed in Dorset.
DI Shimmons’s examples highlighted the scale and complexity of trafficking organisations and the tenacity of some of the perpetrators.
In conclusion, the club’s Immediate Past President, Pauline Monk, invited all guests to pledge their support to the Purple Teardrop Campaign, which was met with generous enthusiasm.
YOU CAN HELP the victims of human trafficking through Soroptimist International of Poole’s Purple Teardrop Campaign by:
- Committing to display and sell a box of 100 Teardrop pin badges. All proceeds will help to identify, find and support human trafficking victims
- Displaying our posters
- Fund-matching our pin badge sales
- Giving financial support for the campaign start-up costs.
If you’re able to help, please e-mail enquiries@sipoole.org.uk
Here are some facts about human trafficking:
According to Article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (the Palermo Protocol) which supplements the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime:
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
What is trafficking?
A $32 billion annual industry, trafficking is a type of slavery that involves the transport or trade of people for the purpose of work. According to the UN, about 2.5 million people around the world are ensnared in the web of human trafficking at any given time.
Trafficking impacts people of all backgrounds, and people are trafficked for a variety of purposes. Men are often trafficked into hard labour jobs, while children are trafficked into labour positions in textile, agricultural and fishing industries. Women and girls are typically trafficked into the commercial sex industry ie prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation.
Not all slaves are trafficked, but all trafficking victims are victims of slavery. Trafficking is a particularly cruel type of slavery because it removes the victim from all that is familiar to her, rendering her completely isolated and alone, often unable to speak the language of her captors or fellow victims.
What is sex slavery/trafficking?
Sex trafficking or slavery is the exploitation of women and children, within national or across international borders, for the purposes of forced sex work. Commercial sexual exploitation includes pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and girls, and is characterized by the exploitation of a human being in exchange for goods or money. Each year, an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders-though additional numbers of women and girls are trafficked within countries.
Some sex trafficking is highly visible, such as street prostitution. But many trafficking victims remain unseen, operating out of unmarked brothels in unsuspecting-and sometimes suburban-neighbourhoods. Sex traffickers may also operate out of a variety of public and private locations, such as massage parlours, spas and strip clubs. Adult women make up the largest group of sex trafficking victims, followed by girl children, although a small percentage of men and boys are trafficked into the sex industry as well.
Where do trafficked people come from?
Trafficking migration patterns tend to flow from East to West, but women may be trafficked from any country to another country at any given time and trafficking victims exist everywhere. Many of the poorest and most unstable countries have the highest incidences of trafficking, and extreme poverty is a common bond among trafficking victims. Where economic alternatives do not exist, women and girls are more vulnerable to being tricked and coerced into sexual servitude. Increased unemployment and the loss of job security have undermined women’s incomes and economic position. A stalled gender wage gap, as well as an increase in women’s part-time and informal sector work, push women into poorly-paid jobs and long-term and hidden unemployment, which leaves women vulnerable to traffickers.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Thailand, China, Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine are among the countries that are the greatest sources of trafficked persons. The UNODC cites Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and the United States as common destination countries of trafficked women and girls.
Who trafficks women and girls?
Organised crime is largely responsible for the spread of international human trafficking. Sex trafficking-along with its correlative elements, kidnapping, rape, prostitution and physical abuse-is illegal in nearly every country in the world. However, widespread corruption and greed make it possible for sex trafficking to quickly and easily proliferate. Though national and international institutions may attempt to regulate and enforce anti-trafficking legislation, local governments and police forces may in fact be participating in sex trafficking rings.
Why do traffickers traffic? Because sex trafficking can be extremely lucrative, especially in areas where opportunities for education and legitimate employment may be limited. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the greatest numbers of traffickers are from Asia, followed by Central and South-Eastern Europe, and Western Europe. Crime groups involved in the sex trafficking of women and girls are also often involved in the transnational trafficking of drugs and firearms, and frequently use violence as a means of carrying out their activities.
One overriding factor in the proliferation of trafficking is the fundamental belief that the lives of women and girls are expendable. In societies where women and girls are undervalued or not valued at all, women are at greater risk of being abused, trafficked, and coerced into sex slavery. If women experienced improved economic and social status, trafficking would in large part be eradicated.
How are women trafficked?
Women and girls are ensnared in sex trafficking in a variety of ways. Some are lured with offers of legitimate and legal work as shop assistants or waitresses. Others are promised marriage, educational opportunities and a better life. Still others are sold into trafficking by boyfriends, friends, neighbours or even parents.
Trafficking victims often pass among multiple traffickers, moving further and further from their home countries. Women often travel through multiple countries before ending at their final destination. For example, a woman from the Ukraine may be sold to a trafficker in Turkey, who then passes her on to a trafficker in Thailand. Along the way she becomes confused and disoriented.
Typically, once in the custody of traffickers, a victim’s passport and official papers are confiscated and held. Victims are told they are in the destination country illegally, which increases victims’ dependence on their traffickers. Victims are often kept in captivity and also trapped into debt bondage, whereby they are obliged to pay back large recruitment and transportation fees before being released from their traffickers. Many victims report being charged additional fines or fees while under bondage, requiring them to work longer to pay off their debts.
Trafficking victims experience various stages of degradation and physical and psychological torture. Victims are often deprived of food and sleep, are unable to move about freely, and are physically tortured. In order to keep women captive, victims are told their families and their children will be harmed or murdered if they (the women) try to escape or tell anyone about their situation. Because victims rarely understand the culture and language of the country into which they have been trafficked, they experience another layer of psychological stress and frustration.
Often, before servicing clients, women are forcibly raped by the traffickers themselves, in order to initiate the cycle of abuse and degradation. Some women are drugged in order to prevent them from escaping. Once “broken in,” sex trafficked victims can service up to 30 men a day, and are vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases, HIV infection and unwanted pregnancy.
Who purchases trafficked women and girls?
Many believe that sex trafficking is something that occurs “somewhere else.” However, many of the biggest trafficking consumers are developed nations, and men from all sectors of society support the trafficking industry. There is no one profile that encapsulates the “typical” client. Rather, men who purchase trafficked women are both rich and poor, Eastern and Western. Many are married and have children, and in some cases, men have sex with trafficked girls in lieu of abusing their own young children.
One reason for the proliferation of sex trafficking is because in many parts of the world there is little to no perceived stigma to purchasing sexual favours for money, and prostitution is viewed as a victimless crime. Because women are culturally and socially devalued in so many societies, there is little conflict with the purchasing of women and girls for sexual services. Further, few realize the explicit connection between the commercial sex trade, and the trafficking of women and girls and the illegal slave trade. In Western society in particular, there is a commonly held perception that women choose to enter into the commercial sex trade. However, for the majority of women in the sex trade, and specifically in the case of trafficked women and girls who are coerced or forced into servitude, this is simply not the case.
In addition, sex tourism-that is, the practice of travelling or vacationing for the purpose of having sex-is a billion dollar industry that further encourages the sexual exploitation of women and girls. Many sex tours explicitly feature young girls. The tours are marketed specifically to paedophiles who prey on young children, and men who believe that having sex with virgins or young girls will cure sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Often, these men spread HIV and other STDs to their young victims, creating localized disease epidemics.
What is the impact of sex trafficking?
Trafficking has a harrowing effect on the mental, emotional and physical wellbeing of the women and girls ensnared in its web. Beyond the physical abuse, trafficked women suffer extreme emotional stress, including shame, grief, fear, distrust and suicidal thoughts. Victims often experience post-traumatic stress disorder, and with that, acute anxiety, depression and insomnia. Many victims turn to drugs and alcohol to numb the pain.
Sex trafficking promotes societal breakdown by removing women and girls from their families and communities. Trafficking fuels organised crime groups that usually participate in many other illegal activities, including drug and weapons trafficking and money laundering. It negatively impacts local and national labour markets, due to the loss of human resources. Sex trafficking burdens public health systems. and trafficking erodes government authority, encourages widespread corruption, and threatens the security of vulnerable populations.