Trafficking in human beings: human rights and ... - unesdoc - Unesco

the popular perception, at least, is that it is men especially who might be expected to be
traffi cked for forced labour purposes. 110
A serious problem connected to the lack of focus on traffi cking for labour exploitation
is that debates tend to focus on prostitution rather than on the process of traffi cking. 111
Human traffi cking for sexual exploitation is reported more frequently than traffi cking
for forced labour at the global level. Reporting varies per (sub-) region, with sexual
exploitation reported by many sources in relation to Central and South Eastern Europe
and by relatively fewer to Africa. Where sources expressly report exploitation of boys, this
tends to be in the labour market, while sexual exploitation is reported more frequently
among female children. 112 It should be remembered that the Protocol’s defi nition is
gender-neutral and that the title only says “especially” women and children. During the
draft process states expressed the view that the Protocol should address all persons. 113
The gender-neutrality is also refl ected in the content of types of exploitation in the
defi nition. 114 Nevertheless, for several years, human traffi cking for sexual exploitation has
dominated discussions concerning the purpose of traffi cking in persons. Traffi cking in
persons for forced labour has not been viewed as a major problem in many countries, and
the identifi cation of traffi cking victims who are exploited through forced labour has been
even less successful than in the case of sexual exploitation. In many countries, human
traffi cking for forced labour has only been included in legislation in recent years in order
to comply with the defi nition of the Traffi cking Protocol. 115
One reason for the low numbers of reported cases involving forced labour and male
victims is connected to traffi cking legislation which, in many countries, is restricted only
to sexual exploitation. In 2008, most of the countries considered by the UNODC Global
report had a traffi cking in persons offence in place, that included the criminalization
of traffi cking for forced labour, but this is a recent development. For instance, about
10 European countries expanded their defi nition of traffi cking to include forced labour
during the years 2005-2008. For many years, a large number of East Asian countries only
considered traffi cking for sexual exploitation, which remains the case in many countries
in the region. A similar situation exists in Latin America. 116 In this case, forced labour
cases are not classifi ed as human traffi cking crimes and, as a result, they are not included
in statistics or reports. In addition, many victim support organisations provide services
only for women and child victims. In countries where traffi cking legislation covers also
110 UNODC: Global Patterns in Human Traffi cking, 2006, p. 33.
111 Obokata, T.: Traffi cking of Human Beings from a Human Rights Perspective – towards a holistic approach.
p. 28.
112 UNODC: Global Patterns in Human Traffi cking, 2006, p. 33.
113 UN DOC A/AC.254/5/Add.3/Rev2.
114 Obokata, T.: Traffi cking of Human Beings from a Human Rights Perspective – towards a holistic approach.
p. 29.
115 UNODC: Global Patterns in Human Traffi cking, 2006, p. 65.
116 UNODC: Toolkit to Combat Traffi cking in Persons, 2008, p. 51.
49