GENDER AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Gender aspects of human traffickingBy Yoshiko Ogawa27 June 2014

WHAT IS GENDER?

Gender: socially constructed differences between men and women

Sex: biological differences between men and women

What is ‘being a man’ and what is ‘being a woman’?

WHAT IS GENDER?

It is about HOW WE SEE OURSELVES

WHAT IS GENDER?

Differences in Behaviours/attitudes/attributes Roles Opportunities Constraints Values Relationships

between women and men, between women, between boys and girls…

WHAT IS GENDER?

‘Socially constructed’- what does it mean?

Learned through socialization processes Context and time specific Changeable

WHAT IS GENDER?

Gender determines what is expected, allowed and valued in a women or a man in a given context.

WHAT IS GENDER EQUALITY?

The equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men and girls and boys.

Equality does not mean that women and men will become the same but that women’s and men’s rights, responsibilities and opportunities will not depend on whether they are born male or female.

Gender equality implies that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into consideration, recognizing the diversity of different groups of women and men.

Equality between women and men is seen both as a human rights issue and as a precondition for, and indicator of, sustainable people-centered development.

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/osagi/conceptsandefinitions.htm

GENDER IN VIETNAM AT A GLANCE

Women’s participation in labour market: high 88.9 compared to 79.3 of developing countries in East

Asia & Pacific, 48.8 of lower middle income countries and 68.3 in Japan (2012 WB)

High literacy rates both men (96.6%, 2012) and women (92.9%, 2012)

Political participation (women in parliament) stands at 24%; it is only 8% in Japan!

The World Gender Gap Report ranks Vietnam 73 and Japan 105 (World Economic Forum 2013)

BUT…

AND…

Sex ratio

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2018.html

Country At birth Total population

World 107 101

China 111 106

Japan 106 95

Vietnam 112 100

GENDER AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

What is human trafficking? Illegal migration, is it the same as

trafficking, or different from it?

CASE 1

Thai women agreed to migrate to work at a bar, knowing to be involved in sex work.

But the work conditions were worse than expected. The bar owner did not listen to her and threatened her.

Is this human trafficking?

CASE 2

Cambodian men were transported across border with a promise of good salary, but they were forced to work in a fishing boat, day and night, without salary until they pay off their debts.

Is this human trafficking?

CASE 3

A 17-year-old boy from Dien Bien was offered a job in HCMC. He was confined in a family factory with 10 other boys and not allowed to go out, contact his family. He was paid but very little.

Is this human trafficking?

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Anti-TIP Law Transfer, receipt, recruitment, transportation, harboring

persons for sexual exploitation, forced labor, removal of organs, or for other inhuman purposes (Art. 3-2 &3)

Penal Code 119 (Trafficking in Women) Trading women for the purpose of prostitution; organized,

professional, sending overseas, more than one victims, more than once -> 5 -20 years of imprisonment vs. 2-7

Protocol to Prevent Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children Action, Means, Purpose

GENDER AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

① The majority of victims of human trafficking in Vietnam are women – why?

② Many people think that there are no male victims of trafficking – why?

③ Many women are trafficked to become a bride in China – why?

④ Many children, especially boys are kidnapped – why?⑤ Women who was sexually exploited do not want to

talk about their experience, do not want to even report – why?

⑥ Boys who were trafficked and sexually exploited often do not go back home – why?

DIFFERENT VULNERABILITY AT DIFFERENT STAGES

Why trafficked? What are the causes? Women, men, girls and boys

In a trafficking situation, what difficulties they face? Women, men, girls and boys

After returning Vietnam/home, is it easy for them to re-integrate into their community? What support services are available? Women, men, girls and boys

CONCLUSION

We live in our society conditioned by own perception of ‘gender’ roles and relationships.

‘Gender’ influences all aspects of our lives, including root causes of human trafficking together with other factors such as poverty, war, ethnicity, etc.

Measures for prevention of HT, and protection of and service provision to victims need to consider different needs of men, women, boys and girls, and different intervention outcomes.

Thank you for your attention and thank you for your cooperation in implementation of the project. We highly appreciate it and look forward to further collaboration to advance our counter-trafficking work and contribute to building a better society.