Do Not Forget The Men

Human trafficking literature focuses primarily on women and girls as the only victims of human trafficking to the detriment of men and boys who also fall victim to human trafficking. Anti-trafficking laws, awareness raising and rehabilitation programs are specifically tailored to women and girls. Anti-trafficking laws in many countries limit the definition of a victim of human trafficking to women and girls. As a result, awareness raising programs are designed to raise awareness solely among women and girls about the dangers of human trafficking. Shelters only accept victims of human trafficking. Education and job skills programs are only available to women and girls.

The International Herald Tribune recently reported on the trafficking of Cambodian men for forced labor on Thai fishing boats at sea. The men were kept at sea for long periods, in some cases years, and often received severe beatings.

There were obstacles to rescuing the men and prosecuting the traffickers. The anti-trafficking laws of both Thailand and Cambodia were written to specifically protect women and children from being trafficked into prostitution and forced labor. Men who may have been victims of human trafficking were treated as illegal immigrants under the law and were deported back to their home countries. Understandably, the men were reluctant to come forward and cooperate with authorities out of fear of being treated as criminals.

Another obstacle is the problem of jurisdiction. Jurisdiction over crimes committed at sea is determined by a complex patchwork of international treaties. Countries are only able to assert jurisdiction in specific circumstances. For example, the United States asserts jurisdiction if four instances: (1) if the ship is U.S. owned, regardless of the nationality of the victim or perpetrator; (2) if the crime occurs in U.S. territorial waters; (3) if the victim or perpetrator is a U.S. national on a ship that departed or is arriving at a U.S. port; or (4) an act of terrorism against the U.S.

It is easy to see how U.S. jurisdiction can be circumvented by traffickers. If the crime of human trafficking occurs on a ship that is not U.S. owned, not in U.S. territorial waters, and neither the victim nor the perpetrator are U.S. nationals, the traffickers cannot be prosecuted by the U.S.

In order to end human trafficking, anti-trafficking laws must include men, women and children in the definition of a victim of human trafficking, and international treaties must allow countries to assert jurisdiction over cases of human trafficking at sea.