A Very Short Note On The Liability Of Legal Entities

Although not required by the UN Trafficking Protocol, governments should establish the criminal and civil liability of legal entities in their anti-trafficking laws. Traffickers often use legal entities such as travel agencies and employment agencies as a front for human trafficking. Traffickers also use legal entities to launder the proceeds of human trafficking.

A Note On Consent

The UN Trafficking Protocol states that "[t]he consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation...shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth...have been used." For example, if a person agrees to work for another person and upon arrival to the job, their documentation is confiscated or the person is held against their will, the fact that the person consented to work is irrelevant. If a victim consents at any time during the process of being trafficked and traffickers have used any of the illicit means, the consent of the victim is still irrelevant.

The UN Trafficking Protocol also states that "[t]he recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered 'trafficking in persons' even if this does not involve any of the means set forth..." A prosecutor does not have to prove any of the illicit means in order to establish a case of child trafficking against a defendant.

It is important that states and governments properly address the issue of consent in their anti-trafficking legislation in order to effectively combat human trafficking and to be in compliance with the UN Trafficking Protocol. If the issue of consent is left unresolved, it will negatively affect implementation of anti-trafficking legislation by allowing the consent of the victim to be a defense to the charge of human trafficking.

A Primer On The Definition Of Human Trafficking

These are the required elements that must be included in a comprehensive definition of human trafficking:

(1) Acts: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons

(2) Means (this list is not exhaustive and represents elements that should be included at a minimum): threatened use of force, use of force, coercion, fraud, threatened abuse of the legal process, abuse of the legal process, abuse of power, giving or receiving payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person

(3) Purpose: Exploitation
It is the purpose that defines the state of being trafficked. Therefore, it is exploitation, not smuggling or crossing international borders, that defines the state of being trafficked.

(4) Forms of Exploitation (the list is at a minimum): sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery, removal of organs

Human Trafficking: The Way Forward

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recently released a report entitled "Human Trafficking: New Directions for Research". In the report, the IOM purports to "assess the current state of trafficking research, identify current knowledge gaps, share innovative research and data collection methods and highlight the importance of evaluation and assessment of counter trafficking programmes." Unfortunately, the report fails to address the key issues that impede international anti-trafficking programs.

The primary way forward is to stop fighting the definition of human trafficking that is contained within the UN Protocol. More time, energy and resources are spent fighting the definition of human trafficking than in fighting the problem of human trafficking. In the report, the authors argue against the definition of human trafficking and advocate broadening the definition to accomodate different cultures and social concerns. A broad, vague definition of human trafficking would make human trafficking difficult to prosecute because it would create confusion as to what actions constitute human trafficking.

The authors also complain that the trafficking of men and boys, as well as labor trafficking, are never studied. However, as long as people are focused on fighting the definition of human trafficking, these issues will never be addressed.

Finally, countries that legalize prostitution should not use the legalization of prostitution as an excuse to forgo passing anti-trafficking legislation.

Child Trafficking and Humanitarian Crises

We have all seen the moving pictures coming out of Haiti: millions of men, women and children devastated by the earthquake and its aftermath. People around the world have generously responded to the crises by donating money and supplies.

Many people have offered to adopt "orphaned" children from Haiti. Unfortunately, child traffickers are taking advantage of the surge in offers to adopt from well-meaning people as well as the lack of a functioning Haitian government. Reports have surfaced of Haitian children being trafficked into the Dominican Republic. The United Nations has reported people driving to the airport in expensive cars and putting undocumented children on outgoing flights. It is not even clear that the children are actually orphans. Child trafficking was a significant problem in Haiti before the earthquake, with Haitian children regularly sent to wealthier families to work as restaveks or to the Dominican Republic for sexual exploitation. Haiti's orphanages are poorly regulated and some are a facade for child traffickers.

Due to the risk of child trafficking, it is important during a humanitarian crises to suspend adoptions until all means of family reunification have been exhausted and to establish protocols for the care and protection of children.

Read more here.

Hip Hop and Human Trafficking

I'm that n***a tryin' to holla cause I want some bread
I could care less how she perform when she in the bed
B***h hit the track, catch a date, and come pay the kid
Look baby, this is simple you can't see
You f***n' with me you f****n' with a P.I.M.P

Lyrics from "P.I.M.P (G-Unit Remix)" 50 Cent feat. Snoop Dogg, G-Unit


Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too
You pay the right price and they'll both do you
That's the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin'
Gotta keep my hustle tight, makin' change off these women, yeah

Lyrics from "It's hard out here for a Pimp" by Three 6 Mafia


The glamorization of "Pimp Culture" is pervasive, especially within the black community. Rap songs abound with lyrics praising pimps and violence towards women. The rap song "It's hard out here for a Pimp" even won an Oscar! It is not "hard out here for a Pimp", it is hard out here for a victim. Victims of human trafficking are beaten, maimed and murdered by their pimps. Victims contract sexually transmitted diseases and are forced to have abortions by their pimps. Victims are not allowed to leave their pimps.

Rap songs like those by 50 Cent and Three 6 Mafia have inspired many to traffic young girls for sexual exploitation in order to make money and live the "pimp lifestyle". Disturbingly, a significant number of these pimps are teen aged boys who prey on vulnerable young girls by pretending to be their boyfriends. Once they believe that the girls are in love with them, the boys use insults, threats and violence to force the girls into prostitution.

Rap songs that glamorize pimps and the sexual exploitation of women act as cultural enablers that convince some that trafficking women and girls for the purpose of sexual exploitation is acceptable. Ending the glamorization of pimp culture is key to helping eradicate human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

Child Trafficking and Ritual Sacrifice in Uganda

Recent reports point to an alarming increase in child trafficking for the purpose of ritual sacrifice in Uganda. The Independent reported that in the first two months of 2009, 18 cases of child sacrifice were reported. Children are brutally murdered by family, friends and strangers who are motivated by greed and the pursuit of quick financial gain.

Ritual sacrifice is horrific and gruesome. Body parts such as the tongue, fingers, genitals and head are removed while the victim is alive. The victim is kept alive because it is believed that the screams of the victim increase the magical potency of the body parts.

There are two major obstacles to the eradication of ritual sacrifice in Uganda. The first obstacle is a lack of legislation that specifically criminalizes human trafficking for the purpose of ritual sacrifice. Uganda does have a 1957 Witchcraft Act that penalizes acts of witchcraft that threaten others with death but the maximum sentence of five years imprisonment does not reflect the severity of the crime of human trafficking for the purpose of ritual sacrifice. The law is rarely enforced, thus creating a sense of impunity among witchdoctors. The second obstacle is the customers. Prices for magic charms made from human body parts range from 50,000 Ugandan shillings (U.S. $25.91) to 12 million Ugandan shillings (U.S. $6,217.65). These prices are well beyond the means of ordinary Ugandans. The only people able to afford to pay these prices are wealthy businessmen and politicians who use their power and influence to block efforts to end this barbaric practice.

Uganda must pass a law that specifically criminalizes human trafficking for the purpose of ritual sacrifice and contains penalties that reflect the severity of the crime. Uganda must also commit itself to prosecuting those involved in the crime regardless of their wealth, power or political connections.