Human trafficking and slavery in

Australia

www.acrath.org.au

Trafficking in AustraliaAustralia is a destination country Australia has not been reported as a

source or transit country.

Media headlines - Scope of TIP Indian Stonemasons Exploited to Build

Temple, 2001

$50 a Week for Ribs and Rump, say Soweto Chefs, 2002

Deadly Slave Labour Racket Exposed, 2002

Abused and Exploited and Now to Be Deported, 2005

Hung Jury in Sex Slave Trial, 2005

Slaves Dig Desert Ditches, 2006

Filipinos Treated as Slave Labour, 2006

Foreign Nurses Exploited, Union Says, 2005

Bride Forced to Work in Brothel, Court Told, 2006

Teens Bashed and Used as Slaves, 2006

Man Charged with Slavery Offences, 2006

Sex Slavery: First Woman Jailed

Trio Arrested on Sexual Servitude Charges, 2006

Firm Treated Migrant Worker Like Slave, 2007

Diplomat Servant’s Unpaid Slavery, 2007

Difficulties in collecting reliable data Estimates of the extent of trafficking in Australia Thailand and to a lesser extent China, South Korea and Malaysia

have been cited as origin countries of illegal sex workers in Australia, based on statistics of those detected by immigration authorities and submissions to a parliamentary inquiry into trafficking of women for sexual servitude (PJCACC 2004).

Quoted in AIC, Human trafficking to Australia: a research challenge, June 2007.

2007 US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report lists Australia as:

a destination country for women from East Asia and Eastern Europe trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Men and women from India, China and South Korea were reported to be subject to slavery, debt bondage and involuntary servitude

There are different estimates about the extent of trafficking in Australia (Project Respect study: up to 1000 women under ‘contract’ at any given time); Australian Government’s Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons states the number is less than 100; Scarlet Alliance 300 consenting to contract debt arrangements each year).

Official human trafficking statistics, Australia, January 2004 - September 2006

Criminal Investigations 117

Victim Support Program 66(a)

Arrests 23

Prosecutions 14

Convictions 4(b)

a: 44 have been issued with criminal justice stay visas b: at the time of writing three convictions were under appeal Source: Australian Federal Police From Australian Institute of Criminology, Human trafficking to Australia: a research challenge, June 2007

The tip of the icebergAustralia’s response to trafficking has focused on the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation.

Less is known about the trafficking of persons into other industries.

Root causes of trafficking to AustraliaIn Countries of Origin Poverty Lack of access to education Lack of access to

employment Lack of a chance to make a

life Responsibility for family

members Excitement at the prospect

of travel Family circumstances –

violence, assault, male-dominated family structures.

In Australia Market Demand

Australian Government Action Plan To Eradicate Trafficking in Persons Prevention :community awareness, regional

initiatives

Investigation:establishment of new AFP taskforce,

Prosecution:review of legislation & reform of criminal law

Protection :victim support & rehabilitation, trafficking visa framework

Ratification of Trafficking Protocol

Prevention and awareness campaigns Government community

awareness campaign focused on the sex industry

NGO campaigns by Anti-Slavery Project and Project Respect

Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans

Stop the Traffik campaign – jointly promoted by World Vision and the Salvation Army

Australian Government Support for

Victims of People Trafficking Program

1.2 What are the planned outcomes of the Support for Victims of People Trafficking Program? The Program aims to achieve the following outcomes:

• Clients are able to meet their basic needs for food, accommodation, health and welfare while they assist the Australian Federal Police (AFP) with investigations into people trafficking and the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) with respect to the prosecution of such offences; and • Clients will also be given the opportunity to learn new skills to support their reintegration upon returning home.

Australian Government Support for Victims of Trafficking & Slavery Who is eligible for the programme?Phase 1During this initial 30 day period victims have access to the

following support: secure accommodation within close proximity to the AFP

(approx. $140-$160 per night); a living allowance ($160 per fortnight); a weekly food allowance ($160 per fortnight); a one-off amount of $300 for the purchase of essentials

such as clothing and toiletries; access to the Medicare Benefits Scheme and the

Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme; and access to legal services (a maximum of 3 appointments per

client throughout both phases of support).

From Trafficking Fact Sheet – Office for Women

Australian Government Support for Victims of Trafficking & SlaveryPhase 2 Victims who are willing and able to assist with the investigation or

prosecution of a suspected trafficker have access to Phase 2 of the programme, which will provide them with the following support services:

Special Benefit (up to $420.90 per fortnight) and Rent Assistance (up to $103.20 per fortnight) paid through Centrelink (if they meet eligibility requirements);

Assistance with securing longer term accommodation (provision for bond and 2 weeks rent in advance refundable to the Commonwealth);

a one-off amount of up to $700 for the purchase of essential furniture for long term accommodation;

Access to the Medicare Benefits Scheme and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme;

Access to legal services (a maximum of 3 appointments per client throughout both phases of support); and

Access to employment and training if desired and to social support (including English language training, budgeting skills, counselling etc) and vocational guidance where appropriate.

From Trafficking Fact Sheet – Office for Women

What happens at the end of the Government victim support programme?

Clients of the programme who are deemed to be at risk of harm if they return to their home country as a result of their contribution to an investigation or the prosecution of trafficking offenders, may be eligible for temporary or permanent Witness Protection (Trafficking) Visas.

The Australian Government is also implementing a reintegration assistance project for victims of trafficking who return to their countries of origin.

From Trafficking Fact Sheet – Office for Women

Evaluation of the government victim support program The program is limited to those who

can assist the police and prosecutors

If a woman can’t help the police or prosecutors, no government help is offered

This policy causes immense hardship and suffering as religious groups and other ngos work hard to fill the gaps providing

accommodation, food, medical assistance, dental help, psychological treatment, translation and interpreting services, immigration and other legal services.

No visa certaintyNo clear assistance if returned to country

of origin.

Anti-Slavery Project

University of Technology, Sydney

THE AUSTRALIAN RESPONSE TO TRAFFICKING Criminal Code Amendment (Slavery and

Sexual Servitude) Act 1999 Created the offences of sexual servitude, slavery and

deceptive recruiting; No offence of trafficking; Narrower in scope than the UN Trafficking Protocol; First charges under the Act laid in 2003; Difficulty in obtaining successful prosecutions.

Slavery is unlawful: right of ownership over a person including where such a right results from a

debt contract OFFENCES – Criminal Code 1995 A person who intentionally : Possesses a slave or exercises the right of

ownership over a slave; Engages in slave trading Enters into any commercial transaction involving

a slave Exercises control or direction or provides finances

for slave trading or commercial transactions 25 years imprisonment (If a person is reckless as to whether a transaction

involves a slave and enters into a commercial transaction, directs, finances or exercises control over slave trading :17 years imprisonment ).

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS OFFENCES) ACT 2005

Positive step forward. New offences:

Offence of Trafficking in Persons (s 271.2) Covers trafficking into and out of Australia in circumstances where

the person is forced, threatened or deceived about the fact the person’s stay in Australia will involve exploitation, debt bondage or confiscation of travel documents

Covers where a person was deceived about the nature or conditions of sexual services

Covers circumstances where the trafficker is reckless as to whether the person will be exploited either by the first person or another

Offence of Trafficking in children (s71.4) Offence of Domestic Trafficking (s271.5)

CRIMINAL CODE AMENDMENT (TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS OFFENCES) ACT 2005 Offence of Debt Bondage (s271.8)

Debt bondage is defined as: the status or condition that arises from a pledge by (a) a person of his or her personal services or (b) of the services of another person under his or her control as security for a debt owed, or claimed to be owed, (including any debt incurred, or claimed to be incurred, after the pledge is given), by that person if: (ba) the debt owed or claimed to be owed is manifestly excessive; or (c) the reasonable value of those services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt or purported debt; or (d) the length and nature of those services are not respectively limited and defined.

The offence of debt bondage in section 271.8 states a person commits an offence if a person engages in conduct that causes and intends to cause another person to enter into debt bondage.

Prosecution : ‘beyond reasonable doubt’

In Australia, the jury makes the decision about whether a person is guilty or innocent.

The jury must decide whether a person is guilty ‘beyond reasonable doubt’.

The Attorney-General’s department believes that there is a general lack of knowledge in the community about the reality of trafficking and slavery.

Director of Public Prosecutions 14 prosecutions have been

undertaken resulting in 4 convictions – 3 of which are under appeal.

Commonwealth conducts prosecutions – generally they prosecute white-collar crime, customs and drug importation offences.

Little experience prosecuting personal crimes such as sexual assault, rape. They are building up their experience in the prosecution of trafficking and slavery.

A NEW VISA FRAMEWORK FOR VICTIMS/WITNESSES Introduced January 2004

The new visa framework is a four-step package, comprising:

1. Bridging Visa F (BVF)

2. Criminal Justice Stay Visa

3. Witness protection (trafficking) (temporary)

4. Witness protection (trafficking) (permanent)

EVALUATING THE VISA FRAMEWORK Problems:

Few witness protection (trafficking) visas have been granted;

Discretionary process;

Even if trafficking victims are willing to provide evidence they will not be granted visas unless the AFP believes the evidence is useful to an investigation or prosecution;

Witness protection visas only available after criminal justice visas have expired;

Victim support contingent on capacity to provide useful evidence;

Reform the current visa regime to protect ALL victims of trafficking and slavery

Weaknesses: Focuses on victim’s usefulness as a witness Requires close cooperation with a prosecution or

investigation Not self-petitioning, at the discretion of the Minister Lengthy and expensive process

A victim-centered visa regime will prevent the re-trafficking and re-enslavement of victims regardless of their cooperation with authorities

Particular issues for Australia Labour shortages in rural

and regional Australia Is there a need for a new

type of visa to meet demand for seasonal horticultural and other work?

Should Australia invest in a guest worker scheme?

Is there a greater risk of trafficking, slavery and exploitation

Australia has not ratified the Migrant Workers Convention.

Implement a coordinated human rights approach to combat trafficking and slavery

Human Rights

Human rights are about recognising and respecting the inherent value and dignity of people. Human rights principles are contained in internationally agreed human rights standards. The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission is responsible for promoting and protecting those human rights in Australia.

Law enforcement

The Australian government has pursued a migration and law enforcement approach to address trafficking and slavery focused on criminal justice and immigration control rather than a holistic human rights and social justice approach.

Human rights

The National Action Plan should be re-evaluated and new strategies developed in conjunction with human rights organisations.