A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour - International Labour ...

A GLOBAL ALLIANCE AGAINST FORCED LABOURlabour and sexual exploitation. A review of 35 studieson trafficking in Nigeria indicates that victims aregenerally of low socio-economic status. Many comefrom large families, having dropped out of school becauseof financial difficulties. Although many havehad some vocational training, they are unable to setup a small business owing to lack of working capital. 139A UNICEF-supported study on child trafficking in11 states of southern Nigeria also concludes that traffickingis rife where poverty is endemic. 140270. In Asia, ILO research in the Greater MekongSubregion also shows this close link between the pressureto migrate from rural areas and vulnerability totrafficking. While some victims – male and female –are actually sold to traffickers by relatives or “friends”,most human trafficking occurs during the course ofvoluntary but ill-prepared and uninformed migration.Often naive and under-educated, many children andyoung women are tempted to leave their rural villagesin search of work. While some are simply searchingfor adventure in the big city and a new start in life,many are seeking to escape poverty. 141Discrimination as a root cause of trafficking271. Discrimination based on gender or ethnic originis also a major determinant of trafficking. ILOresearch has confirmed the generally held assumptionthat the majority of victims of human trafficking arewomen. The study on returning migrants in easternand south-eastern Europe found that, while the largemajority of successful migrants were men, womenaccounted for 58 per cent of forced labour victims(figure 2.4). Nonetheless, the proportion of menamong forced labour victims was substantial. Bothmale and female victims of trafficking indicated thatdebt bondage prevented them from leaving the employmentrelationship. However, more women thanmen cite actual or threatened violence against theirfamily as the main reason preventing them fromleaving, whereas men are more concerned about denunciationto the authorities. Exiting from a forcedlabour situation thus seems to be more risky forwomen than for men.272. Women are more vulnerable because, priorto migration, their housing and food are generallyless adequate than those of men. In very poor households,young women and girls are often destined toimprove the family lot by going abroad or by beingsold directly to the trafficker. In addition, men canfind employment abroad more easily than women.Women, often lacking good information, rely morethan men on intermediaries who may well turn outto be traffickers. Broader migration policies can alsodiscriminate against them in that bilateral migrationagreements, with the exception of those coveringdomestic workers from Asia, tend to cover predominantlymale occupations. 142273. Gender-specific cultural practices can alsomake women more vulnerable to trafficking. For example,certain traditions in central Asian republics,such as arranged marriages or forced marriages ofyoung women and girls, have contributed to the risein trafficking for sexual exploitation. Women can bepart of trafficking networks too, posing as friends or“aunts” who lure other women into coerced sex workabroad. According to research on the trafficking ofNigerian women to Italy, on their arrival the womenwere told that they owed a debt of 50,000-60,000euros to travel organizers. While most of the victimsinterviewed were aware in advance of the type of workthat awaited them, they usually had no idea of thereal conditions and the constraints that would beimposed on their freedom. Supernatural retaliationwas invoked as a threat against anyone who failed tofollow orders or to repay their alleged debt; to thisend, the women and girls concerned were subjected toa religious ceremony before leaving Nigeria. Threatswere used in both communities of origin and of destination.143274. More research is needed to better understandthe linkages between discrimination based on ethnicor national origin and human trafficking. Forced labourpractices suffered by migrant workers in destinationcountries show how ethnic or racial stereotypescan exacerbate the vulnerable position of mainly irregularmigrant workers. Often, however, forced labouris part of the “ethnic business” structure. Patriarchalrelationships within the community help ensure theworker’s compliance. In Hungary, Roma men fromRomania have been found working for a Roma employerin Hungary under forced labour conditions.Roma NGOs have denounced these practices whilepleading with authorities to address the root causesthat lead Roma to becoming victims of smuggling ortrafficking networks. 144139. S. Oloko: Desk review for the ILO on forced labour and traffi cking in Nigeria (unpublished document, 2004).140. National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other Related Matters (NAPTIP): Situation assessment of child traffi cking ineleven southern Nigerian states, 2004.141. IPEC Mekong subregional project to combat trafficking in children and women, at www.ilo.org/public/english/region/asro/bangkok/child/trafficking/projectoverview-theproblem.htm .142. G. Moreno-Fontes Chammartin: “The feminization of international migration”, in Migrant workers, Labour Education (Geneva, ILO),2002/4, No. 129, pp. 39-47.143. F. Prina: Trade and exploitation of minors and young Nigerian women for prostitution in Italy (United Nations Interregional Crime and JusticeResearch Institute (UNICRI) (unpublished document, July 2003).144. See OSCE: “Roma to combat human trafficking among their own ranks”, Press release, 19 Sep. 2002.58