Manual for Training Police on Anti Human Trafficking

<strong>Manual</strong> <strong>for</strong> <strong>Training</strong> <strong>Police</strong> on Anti Human Trafficking 62
Activity
1) Divide the participants into three groups.
2) Each group is given a particular set of ideas to work on.
3) Based on their responses, the facilitator will engage the participants to interpret their findings
vis-à-vis being a man and a woman and making at least three pointed observations.
The questions <strong>for</strong> each group could be as follows:
(a) The first group will identify at least five objects that denote power. It could be anything such as
a stick, a police uni<strong>for</strong>m, etc. based on their understanding.
(b) The second group will identify at least five positions/situations of feeling powerful such as being
extremely well-connected, having total control over decision making, being in a position of
authority, etc.
(c) The third group will identify at least five positions/situations of feeling powerless such as not
having proper clothes be<strong>for</strong>e appearing <strong>for</strong> a job interview, etc.
Having identified the above sets of findings, you can invite the participants to re-interpret their findings
in the light of the differences as observed if one is a man and a woman. E.g., if the position of decision
maker in a family were to be identified with a man or a woman, what would be the resulting outcome?
Note to the facilitator
<strong>Police</strong> personnel are also part of the same social system and tend to have a similar socialization
and worldview which results in discriminatory behaviour and practices. Understanding gender
issues comprises the first step to change such notions. Clarifying biological roles vis-à-vis gendered
roles is the first step in this process. This is the first step towards changing long-held stereotypes
that have viewed trafficked persons as criminals. After due deliberation and extensive experience,
national and international laws have converted their view of trafficked persons from criminal
offenders to vulnerable victims in need of protection and support. While the law reflects the
reality – that trafficked persons are victims/survivors who have been subject to multiple crimes
and are in need of sensitivity and empathy – assumptions and stereotypes that result in the
judgment and accusation of trafficked persons are still widely prevalent and in dire need of
change.
4. HUMAN RIGHTS APPROACH
The following short note may be used by the facilitator to emphasize the synonymous nature of human
rights and women’s/gender rights to the participants.
Women’s human rights and dignity as full human beings are preserved within the main legal apparatus
of today’s international community. The equal rights of men and women are enshrined in the Charter of
United Nations’, entrenched by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and further backed in numerous
international treaties and declarations. Yet reality depicts a grim truth: these rights are far from being
realized – the social, economic and cultural rights of women continue to be neglected and violated
worldwide. While issues such as illiteracy, poverty, refugee movements, domestic violence and trafficking
<strong>for</strong> sexual exploitation affect both sexes – women fall victim to these problems in greater numbers than
men. Moreover, incidents of female feticide, dowry deaths, genital mutilation, and deprived access to
reproductive health care – these cases are uniquely women’s experiences and demonstrate that the
documented human rights of women are by no means reflected in reality. In light of such devastation,
it is safe to say that fighting <strong>for</strong> women’s rights is pivotal to the fight <strong>for</strong> human rights in general.
Ultimately, as legitimately declared by the United Nations’ High Commissioner <strong>for</strong> Human Rights, the
promotion and protection of women’s rights, “would translate (rights) into a better quality of life <strong>for</strong> us
all.” 42