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Violence Against Women: 10 Reports / Year 2003trafficking in persons. It provides that:“anyone who promotes, induces, constrains, enables,finances, co-operates, or participates in a person’s transferwithin the national territory or abroad by resorting to anyform of violence, ruse or deception, for exploitation purposes,to lead such person to work in prostitution, pornography,debt bondage, begging, forced labour, servile marriage, slaveryfor purposes of obtaining financial profit, or any otherbenefit either for himself or for another person, shall incur10 to 15 years imprisonment and a fine.” 98This important law has the potential to be an effective tool in fightingagainst human trafficking. However, given its recent enactment, the mannerin which it is implemented remains to be seen. Colombia has signedbut not ratified that Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Traffickingin Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UNConvention against Transnational Organized Crime.Colombia is a country of origin for trafficked women, with traffickingoccurring internally, regionally and internationally. Reports indicate thatas many as 35,000 women a year are sent abroad for traffickingpurposes. 99 In particular, women from Colombia are trafficked to Japan inlarge numbers, with estimates claiming that 40% of all traffickedColombian women are taken to Japan. It is reported that this traffickingroute is heavily linked to the Japanese mafia, who also engage in drug andarms trafficking. 100Over the 8 year period between 1992 and 2000, only 99 cases were filedagainst traffickers and of those, only 7 actually went to trial. The averagepunishment was between two and five years in prison, which meant thatmany of the convicted traffickers were able to go free as two years is theminimum sentence and under the Colombian system these sentences areoften not served. 101According to ESPERANZA, a Colombian NGO working on this issue,problems perpetuating the phenomenon of trafficking in women includepoverty, lack of education, continuing violence and conflict, lack ofawareness in all sectors of society and the lack of preventionmechanisms. 102178