Transcript Document

Trafficking in Children:
China and Asian
Perspective
Xin Ren, Ph.D.
Criminal Justice Division
California State University, Sacramento
[email protected]
Trafficking in Children
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International legal instruments
– CRC Articles 1, 11, 21, and 32-36
– UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Article 3(a)
– Hague Conventions on
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Inter-country adoption
The civil aspect of children abduction
Parental responsibilities and protection of children
– ILO Convention No. 182
Eliminating worst forms of child labor
– WTO’s Global Code of Conduct for Tourism 1999
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Purpose of Trafficking in Children
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Illegal child adoption
Illegal border crossing for family
reunification
Bridal trade
Forced prostitution
Child labor exploitation
Forcible organ removal
Trafficking in Children in Asia
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800,000 to 900,000 men, women, and
children are trafficked across
international borders worldwide into
forced marriage, prostitution, and
slavery labor
225,000 victims or ¼ victims of world
wide are trafficked annually from the
Southwest and Southeast Asia
Trafficking in Children
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Between 200,000 to 500,000 Chinese girls
and children have been trafficked into or
through Thailand in the past 10 years
Thailand alone has some 200,000 sex
workers
Every year an estimated 5,000 to 7,000
Nepali girls are trafficked to the red light
districts of Indian cities
Trafficking in Children
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One third of 55,000 prostitutes in Cambodia
are Vietnamese boys and girls under age of
18
200,000 Bangladeshi woman were trafficked
to Pakistan in the last ten years working as
prostitutes
Some 20,000 to 30,000 Burmese girls are
estimated to work in Bangkok as prostitutes
Characteristics of Trafficked
Child Victims in China
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From 1980-2000, a total of 10,768 children were
abducted and trafficked domestically in China
Of them, 66.4% are boys and 33.6% are girls
Price ranges from 10,000-20,000 yuan ($1,250-$2,500)
for a boy to 500-800 yuan ($60-$100) for a girl
Abduction premises
– 36% abducted from private homes
– 21% abducted from public place
– 6% from school premises
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Recruiting regions and direction of trafficking flow:
– 42% of children were recruited from three provinces: Sichuan,
Guizhou, and Shanxi
– Children were trafficked from the southwest inland provinces
onward to east and coastal regions
Age of Child Victims
Age group Total
Boys
Population
Girls
1 day-7
years old
69%
78%
36%
8-14 years 31%
old
22%
64%
Total
100%
100%
100%
Means of Recruitment
Sold by Parents
50%
False
Pretense/deception
27%
Stealing/abduction
11.3%
Robbery/Arson/Murder 2.3%
Unknown
9.4%
Traffickers
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51% under age of 25
Women traffickers
– 1990:
– 1991:
– 1992:
– 2000:
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10.3%
11.8%
13.9%
20%
75-89% cases involved more than
three traffickers
Causes
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The stronghold of traditional patriarchal value
Poverty in rural and mountainous regions
Widening gap between the poor and the rich
Lack of economic opportunity for women in rural
areas
Gender discrimination in rural economy
Enforcement of birth control policy
Economic openness and booming tourist industry
Regional Co-operation
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The Inter-government Summit of Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam)
ASEAN Tourism Agreement and the ASEAN Plan of Action to
Combat Transnational Organized Crime of Kuala Lumpur in
2002
ASEAN Subcommittee on Women in 1999 and the 6th
Meeting of ASEAN Heads of Immigration Departments and
Ministries of Foreign Affairs in 2002
A Joint Declaration of ASEAN and China on Cooperation in
the Field of Non-Traditional Security Issues identified
combating trafficking in women and children as one of the six
prioritized tasks that require inter-regional governmental
cooperation.
Anti-Trafficking Practice
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Mekong Subregional Project
– TICW works in education, skill training,
employment creation, alternative
livelihood and legal literacy
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China: In collaboration with UNICEF to
combat trafficking in women and
children.
Cambodia: Anti-Pedophilia Program
Legal Obstacles in
Assisting Victims of Trafficking
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Identification of rescued victims and
repatriation
Status offense for victims of trafficking
Legality v. humanity in rescuing victims
Children without country and citizenship
Trafficking in children and immigration policy
Prevention v. intervention
Public Education
Campaign in Henan
Victim Speaks up at Public
Rally Against Trafficking
Assembled Victims for
Repatriation in Henan
Rescued Victims in Henan
Rescued Victims in Shanxi
Victims Repatriation
Rescued Children under
the Police Care