Survival Story, Philippines, Alma

I walk along the streets in Olongapo city where scantily clad women pose outside entertainment clubs and beckon passers-by to come inside for a "good time". I enter one of the "videoke bars" and find myself in a dimly lit den where foreign businessmen and locals watch inebriated women gyrate on a stage. From the bar, I watch a Westerner buy another drink from a young Filipina whose language he does not speak. If the man wants to buy her for sex, he will pay the bar owner a fee called a "bar fine". Looking at this young girl, I wonder how she ended up here. I wonder if she will take her customer to a back room in the bar or to her home and risk waking up any children she might have. I wonder if she's ever been beaten or raped by her customers. Or, if she ever had to contact a "hilot" (midwife) who terminates unwanted pregnancies by violently pounding a woman's stomach until she miscarries. When the customer leaves to use the bathroom, I approach the girl who looks surprised and a little annoyed that I've intruded on her personal space. Undeterred, I tell her that I work for an organization called Buklod. "We bring women together to discuss their lives and share ideas," I say. "You should come to our next meeting." She looks at me quizzically and asks, "What do you know about my life?" (…)

In 1984, Olongapo City was a thriving U.S. military base and my name was not Alma but "Pearly." I was a single-mother of two young children struggling to support my family by waitressing seven days a week. The clubs were always busy when the military ships came in.

As a child I dreamed of becoming an accountant. When my brother promised to help pay my tuition, I left Manila for Olongapo City where he lived. Once I arrived though, he admitted that he had no intention of helping me attend college. Instead, he hoped I would "strike it lucky" and marry an American serviceman so I could support our family. After a few months there, I grew frustrated by the lack of jobs and finally agreed to waitress near the U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay. My brother tried to force me to accompany the servicemen when they requested my company, but I refused.

One day, a serviceman offered the manager a "bar-fine" for me. I refused, saying that I was just a waitress. The manager told me that if I didn't go, I would lose my job. He threatened to withhold my transfer documents, papers releasing me from his employment and allowing me to work elsewhere. I was scared that my children and I would end up homeless and hungry, so I reluctantly agreed. The American wanted to rent a hotel room, but I told him to give me the money he would spend on a room and accompany me home instead. I sent my children to my parents because I did not want them to see what their mother was doing to make a living. I tried to avoid doing this again, but my daughter fell ill and I needed money for her medical expenses.

During my four years at the club, I had about 30 American "boyfriends". In the early 1980s, there were no health programmes, and nobody knew how to use contraceptives. The 'Amer-Asian' child population boomed. I gave birth to my third child knowing he would never meet his father. Around that time, we started hearing about AIDS. The American guys would line up for condoms before disembarking their ships. However, some of them would just blow the condoms into balloons and toss them around. We couldn't require a customer to use a condom because he would say, "I paid good money" and get his way. (…)

In 1984, I befriended an American woman named Brenda Proudfoot, who was helping women escape prostitution and sex trafficking. She invited me to join a support group where I met others in similar situations. After several meetings I knew this was my chance to finally exit the hellish world of prostitution. In 1987, I co-founded Buklodng Kababaihan and spoke with women at the bars about our services. My employer grew frustrated with my absences, but I felt so empowered that I continued speaking out against injustices at work. I now knew my rights as a woman and a human being and was unwilling to compromise any longer. My employer fired me, calling me "a Communist". I was unable to find another job because he withheld my transfer permit, but thankfully, Buklod hired me as an organizer. The salary was low, but I jumped at the opportunity. I was so happy to be free from prostitution. (…)

Society's understanding of human trafficking and prostitution needs to change. In my country, people believe that prostitutes are criminals and buyers are the victims. This is wrong. When women are not given equal opportunities for employment or education, their options are limited, and they grow desperate. Because women are often viewed as powerless sex objects they are constantly driven into the sex industry. At times, I too believed that I only existed for men's pleasure. Filipina women are often referred to as "little brown fucking machines" by servicemen. Once I asked a customer, "Why do you like Filipina women so much?" He replied, "Because the women are cheap, way cheaper than Japanese women. And besides, you can do what you like. Here the women are always smiling. They pretend that they like it." 

We need to change this thinking and educate young girls about the abuses of the sex industry, to let them know that they do have choices. Women are human beings, not commodities to be bought and sold. As I leave the videoke bar, I'm unsure if the young woman will attend our next meeting. She is one of thousands of prostituted Filipina women. The sex industry is a huge machine, and it's not easy to stop. As one survivor to another, I try to communicate that I understand their fears and pain. I try to tell my sisters that Buklod is trying to create a different future.

Equality Now, Alma, Stories of Survivors, Trafficking Survivor Stories

The link between globalization and trafficking

The process of globalization is especially pronounced and entrenched in the world economy. An increasingly integrated world economy enables human trafficking to thrive. Just like the slavery of old, modern day trafficking of humans is a lucrative business that has only become more rewarding for traffickers with the advent of globalization. In fact, the trans-Atlantic slave trade of centuries ago epitomized economic globalization. Just as it was back then, human trafficking, as abhorrent as it is, remains a matter of supply and demand. To corroborate this stark and unfortunate economic reality, the ILO estimates that annual global profits generated from trafficking amount to around U.S. $32 billion (ILO 2008).

Polakoff submits that economic globalization has led to a form of "global apartheid" and a corresponding emergence of a new "fourth world" populated by millions of homeless, incarcerated, impoverished, and otherwise socially excluded people (Polakoff 2007). It is from this pool of "fourth world" denizens where victims of human trafficking are increasingly drawn. From this perspective, economic globalization is the prime culprit of the facilitation of an exorbitant number of vulnerable trafficking victims worldwide. More precisely, according to the U.S. Department of State's 2008 report, about 600,000 to 800,000 people-mostly women and children-are trafficked across national borders. In this age of globalization, one can only expect these numbers to escalate as the inequalities and the economic disparities between the developing and developed worlds continue at the present pace.

Globalization fosters interdependence between states for commerce and facilitates the transfer of commodities. Comparative advantage in goods and cheap labour in developing states has played a significant role in objectifying and exploiting humans for economic ends. In developing states where agrarian lifestyles once predominated, citizens are left without an education or the appropriate skills to compete in an evolving work-force. To a large extent, the lesser developed countries of the world have become the factories and workshops for the developed countries. A high demand for cheap labour by multinational corporations in developed countries has resulted in the trafficking and exploitation of desperate workers who, in turn, are subjected to a lifetime of slave-like conditions. (…)

The ultimate icon of globalization, the internet, has also proven to facilitate the trafficking of individuals. Traffickers can now, from the comfort of their own lairs, lure women into trafficking under the guise of mundane job advertisements in foreign countries.

Devin Brewer, Globalization and Human Trafficking (2008), Topical Research Digest: Human Rights and Human Trafficking

The Kafala System in Kuwait

In her Preliminary Findings in Kuwait in 2016, the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons noted the following:

"The Kafala system, bounding every worker to a particular employer as a sponsor, creates a situation of vulnerability which favours abusive and exploitative work relationships. It happens that domestic workers are deprived of their documents and of their mobile phones, are prevented from communicating with their families and from establishing social relationships outside the family, are obliged to work long working hours, and are eventually mistreated and beaten. In this context, hundreds of them flee their employers every year…. In order to be successful in the struggle against trafficking, the government of Kuwait should also consider to deal with the general context of migration and labour regulations that produce social vulnerabilities. This is the reason why the Kafala system should be abolished and replaced by a different regulation, allowing migrant workers to enjoy substantial freedom in the labour market. Moreover, in line with the recent law acknowledging the rights of domestic workers, the area of domestic work should be placed under the competence of the Ministry of Labour and the Authority for Manpower, which implies full recognition of equal rights if domestic workers".

Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, Preliminary findings on the visit to Kuwait

Nexus between trafficking and crisis setting (including conflict)

• Crises are likely to have an impact on trafficking in persons not just in directly affected areas, but also in regions hosting migrants, independently from their legal status and the nature of the crisis;
• The erosion of rule of law and institutional breakdown, development of criminal activities, corruption and involvement of officials, impunity, and the enhanced reliance on negative coping mechanisms and risky survival strategies, are observed in many large-scale crises and represent important risk factors for trafficking in persons;
• At the onset of a crisis, existing criminal networks may become disembroiled but may also adapt to the new situation - for example by targeting new victims, in new places such as refugee and IDP camps or local populations hosting high numbers of mobile populations;
• Traffickers may seek to take advantage of populations receiving humanitarian assistance to increase their criminal activities through fraudulent and ultimately exploitative opportunities of employment or onwards migration;
• Independent from the type of crisis, internally displaced person and refugee camps are a breeding ground of new victims for traffickers and other criminal networks looking for a cheap or free workforce, sexual services and other exploitative services;
• The general lack of economic opportunities and the increasing reliance on negative coping mechanisms can translate, in some cases, into heightened vulnerability to trafficking in persons among affected populations. Positions of vulnerability may be abused, while traffickers take advantage of the desperate economic and social conditions of the affected population;
• Traditional harmful practices, such as early marriage, are increasing during crisis settings and some might lead to trafficking;
• The absence of protection or immediate solutions increase exposure to trafficking, in particular in protracted settings;
• Weak governments are less equipped to respond to a large-scale crisis, and when a crisis hits, it will strongly exacerbate the vulnerability of affected populations;
• Other aggravating factors related to discrimination, whether gender-based, ethnic, racial, religious, social, in the communities or at national level.

International Organization for Migration, Addressing Human Trafficking and Exploitation in Times of Crisis (2015)

War and armed conflict has been widely recognized as a driving force of trafficking

• The 2016 UNODC  Global Report on Trafficking in Persons states: " People escaping from war and persecution are particularly vulnerable to becoming victims of trafficking. The urgency of their situation might lead them to make dangerous migration decisions. The rapid increase in the number of Syrian victims of trafficking in persons following the start of the conflict there, for instance, seems to be one example of how these vulnerabilities play out".
• The report further states that " Conflicts create favourable conditions for trafficking in persons, but not only by generating a mass of vulnerable people escaping violence. Armed groups engage in trafficking in the territories in which they operate, and they have recruited thousands of children for the purpose of using them as combatants in various past and current conflicts. While women and girls tend to be trafficked for marriage and sexual slavery, men and boys are typically exploited in forced labour in the mining sector, as porters, soldiers and slaves".
• The United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, addresses this linkage between trafficking in persons and conflict in her 3 May 2016 report noting that: " Individuals fleeing anticipated or actual conflict, or the aftermath of conflict, are vulnerable to trafficking. The pressure to move is often urgent and intense, leading people to take risks that would be unacceptable under normal circumstances." Furthermore, " Forced displacement can increase the risk of trafficking by weakening or destroying family structures, community bonds and self-protection mechanisms that might otherwise serve as a buffer against human trafficking. Because internally displaced persons often lack documentation and have limited access to education, resources and self-reliance opportunities, they may be particularly vulnerable to traffickers who appear to offer life-saving access to employment and other opportunities."  Importantly, " Conflict-related violence, such as, sexual violence, can itself be a driver of forced internal displacement, which in turn increases vulnerability to further exploitation, including through trafficking. For instance, sexual violence by armed groups has forced ethnic minority women and girls in remote rural areas away from their communities and placed them at greater risk of trafficking within the country as well as overseas."
• She also noted that " egregious patterns of trafficking, forced labour and slavery were a strategy for terrorist groups, pointing out that such gross human rights violations were perpetrated systematically by criminal or armed groups taking advantage of the breakdown in the rule of law to carry out the "dirty business" of trafficking and become more powerful and dangerous. Violations such as trafficking were not only a consequence of conflict, but also a cause (…). Moreover, it [the UN SC Agenda on trafficking in persons] should be addressed in tandem with the women, peace and security agenda, and the Six Grave Violations against Children during Armed Conflict Agenda. Expressing particular concern about the situation of children, she said they were used as child soldiers or sexual slaves during conflict and were disproportionally affected by displacement."

United Nations Meetings Coverage and Press Releases, Security Council Reiterates its Condemnation of Trafficking in Persons, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2388 (2017)

Survivor Story, Uganda, Concy

When people think of sex trafficking, they often think of commercial sexual exploitation where traffickers and pimps profit monetarily from the exploitation of human beings. However, under the Palermo Protocol, the internationally agreed-upon definition of trafficking in persons does not necessarily require an exchange of money to have taken place.

In war-torn Uganda, the abduction of boys to become child soldiers has been widely reported on. However, the fate of thousands of Ugandan girls, who were abducted and sexually exploited, forced to become sex slaves for rebels and soldiers during Uganda's civil war, has received less attention. They, too, are victims of trafficking and their voices must also be heard. As a young child, my life was good and I felt happy. I spent many evenings playing netball and dancing with my friends. My family's home was located in Unyama, a village outside of Gulu, in northern Uganda. I am the youngest of four children, two boys and two girls. As a child, I helped fetch water and cook for my family, but I also attended primary school. My father was never home, so my mother and grandfather raised me. We were a happy family that loved each other. When I was nine years old, my life changed suddenly.

On the night of May 22, 2000, rebels with the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) descended on our home. My mother and I were asleep in our hut when they barged in and woke us up by kicking down the door. Five men caught us right away. One man held me down, ripped off my blouse, and tied me up. I watched in horror as another man beat my mother badly. One of the rebels brought in a large bag of posho-maize meal-and ordered me to carry it. They tied up my grandfather and others in my village and forced all of us to walk and walk without rest to an unknown destination. After a few days, the rebels allowed my grandfather to leave, but he could not even look into my eyes to say goodbye. He walked away in silence. The rebels told me not to be afraid because they would take me back home, but I didn't believe them. I feared they were going to kill me. The rebels didn't kill me, but they forced me to kill others. I was trained to fight and shoot a gun. At first, I refused, but they beat me and threatened me with death. The rebels made examples out of some of the children to warn the rest of us what would happen if we disobeyed their orders. The boys were forced to rape, and the girls got raped. All the girls were divided among the male fighters as "wives." The leaders believed the male fighters would escape if they did not have "wives" to fulfil their sexual desires.

When I was 10 years old, I was married against my will to a Brigade Commander. The first time he forced me to have sex I bled and cried a lot. I was in great pain, but my "husband" had a gun next to him and I had seen him use it before, so I tried to stop crying. Every day he called me and demanded sex. Whenever I tried to resist, he beat me to the point of paralysis. Sometimes I felt so weak because we had no food or water, but I had to go to him anyway. The Brigade Commander had a total of 20 "wives" - some were very young, but most were between 12 and 18 years old. If the rebels raided a village and abducted a beautiful girl, she would be forced to marry the Brigade Commander. Since I was also a soldier who fought, I was more respected than some of the other girls who were only "wives." When my "husband" would go away, I would stay with his other "wives" and keep them in line. I knew that if any of them ever escaped, I would be killed.

A year into my captivity, a big fight erupted not far from where we were being held between LRA members and Ugandan government soldiers. I decided to use the opportunity to run away, as I would rather die trying to escape than die in the bush as a sex slave. Two other girls ran with me, and we made it to the barracks where the government soldiers were staying. When we arrived, the guards took our guns and gave us clothes and food. After a while, they took us back to our villages. When I returned home, my mother accepted me despite my past. However, my neighbours and community were afraid of me and shunned me; they knew I was forced to commit unspeakable acts of violence. Life was difficult even at home. I suffered from extreme insomnia, haunted by memories of the rebels. I was still breathing, but somehow I didn't really feel alive. My mind kept replaying the past.

I tried to return to school when I was 12, but I couldn't concentrate on what my teachers were saying. I found other people who had suffered like me, but I still felt so alone. One day when I was 15, I was walking home from school when a man around 19 years old approached me and forcibly took me into his hut deep in the bush. I tried to fight the man, but he was too strong. No one was around to help me or hear my screams. When I went home, my mom chased me away, telling me to go back to the man since he was my husband now. I didn't want to go back to him; I wanted to go to school. However, I had nowhere else to go, so I returned to him and soon grew pregnant with my daughter. My family accepted me again since I was living with the man as his wife. I spent a year with my new "husband", but he drank too much alcohol. We would fight, and he would beat me badly for no reason. After one particularly vicious beating, I took my child and fled to my mother's home. I stayed at home for six months and then I heard about ChildVoice International. Since then my life has changed. I am very different now. I went to ChildVoice not speaking a word of English. During my time there, I learned English and skills such as catering, baking, and tailoring. I also found solace in my growing relationship with God.

After leaving ChildVoice, I found work in a bakery in Pece and met my current husband. Unlike my first husband, he is good to me and treats me as an equal. For the first time in my life, I have hope for the future and my children's future. Today, I believe I can do many good things if I find a way. I am much happier now and can even laugh sometimes. On most days, I can talk about the past without feeling fear and shame. My past no longer stops me from living my future. I want people to know what has happened here in Northern Uganda. Even though the fighting has ceased, men continue to abuse women. Those who have escaped from the bush should be able to return to school and learn some skills, so they can have a future. In my country, we do not provide enough support for child soldiers. Right now, there are only a few organizations to help us. Many of us survived the conflict, but we can do nothing but cry about our past since we have no family, food, money or skills. The government needs to provide more support for former child "wives" of the LRA rebels.

Equality Now, Concy, Stories of Survivors, Trafficking Survivor Stories