Human Trafficking Around the World (29 page)

Some of the children were trafficking victims, others were fleeing persecution in their home countries, and some were arriving to join family members in France. Instead of receiving protection, the unaccompanied children faced detention with adults, humiliating treatment by police, little to no protection from traffickers, and obstacles to filing for asylum. Of the 1,500 children, roughly 30 percent were deported to their country of origin or to a country through which they had transited on their journey to France, or continued their journey to their final destinations. The remaining children were granted access to France (HRW, 2009). This practice facilitates human trafficking by allowing for the completion of the trafficking route or returning victims to a country where they face re-trafficking, retribution, and/or persecution.

The French government continues to target immigrants, and it is not just the encampments of Roma that are targeted. In September 2009 French police dismantled a migrant camp in Calais and arrested 276 persons from Afghanistan and Pakistan, 135 of whom were teenagers. Their fate was determined on a case-by-case basis. Authorities stated that some of the migrants would apply for asylum in France, others would be returned to their country of origin or Greece—the country where most of the migrants had entered the EU (Audi & Brothers, 2009). French officials touted the demolition as an anti-trafficking measure, but experts criticized the government’s response and believe it increased the migrants’ vulnerability to trafficking (U.S. Department of State, 2010).

WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAFFICKERS

The 2003 anti-trafficking law was first used in 2007 to convict 2 persons of sex trafficking. There were only 33 trafficking convictions under the anti-trafficking statute in 2007 and 19 in 2008. In 2011 there were 85 known human trafficking convictions. Historically, prosecutors have utilized the offense of labor and living conditions against human dignity in cases of forced labor and the anti-pimping statute when prosecuting sex traffickers (U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010, 2012; UNODC, 2009a). Even the government’s urging prosecutors to charge cases under the trafficking statute, along with other applicable charges, has not made much of a dent. Generally speaking, prosecutors are more comfortable with the established case law of the longstanding anti-pimping laws. Pimping has been illegal since the late 1940s. Fortunately, penalties under the anti-trafficking statute and the anti-pimping laws are equally stringent. In 2006, 505 pimps were arrested and prosecuted under the anti-pimping statute. In 2008 there were 523 prosecutions that utilized the anti-pimping statute. Sixteen percent of those cases involved original arrests for trafficking-specific offenses. In 2011 there were 508 convictions under the statute, with 15 percent of original arrests in these cases involving trafficking-specific offenses (Lichfield, 2005; U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010, 2012; UNODC, 2009a).

The Office for the Prosecution of Illegal Labor (OCLTI) focuses on forced-labor cases under the offense of labor and living conditions against human dignity. Roughly 100 forced-labor cases were investigated in 2006 and also in 2007. From January to September 2008, 32 forced-labor cases were investigated and involved 55 alleged offenders (UNODC, 2009a). In addition to the 19 persons convicted under the anti-trafficking statute in 2008, 26 trafficking offenders were convicted for the forced prostitution of children. The maximum sentence in all 45 convictions was 7 years’ imprisonment (U.S. Department of State, 2010). In March 2009 the government convicted 2 French nationals for aggravated sex-tourism offenses committed in Southeast Asia. Both received 7 years’ imprisonment. At least 1 other offender was convicted for aggravated trafficking under Article 225-4-2 in 2009 (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011). The government also utilized other offenses to prosecute traffickers. Seventeen trafficking offenders were convicted of the prostitution of children, and roughly 79 were convicted under the anti-pimping statute in 2009. The majority of trafficking offenders received sentences between 2 and 10 years’ imprisonment, though this was increased in aggravated cases. In 2010 the French government sentenced 2 traffickers to 30 years’ imprisonment, and 10 others received sentences between 2 and 25 years’ imprisonment (U.S. Department of State, 2011).

It is often assumed that all traffickers are foreign nationals. But of the 55 suspected forced-labor offenders in France identified between January and September 2008, 42 percent were citizens. There were also a number of foreign traffickers. Eight suspected offenders were citizens of Turkey, seven were from North Africa, six were from central Europe, five were from China, and five were from Portugal (UNODC, 2009a). It is also commonly believed that persons are exclusively exploited by persons of the same nationality. This is not always the case. In 2008 the OCLTI registered 37 cases of forced labor that were prosecuted under different offenses. Of those cases, 50 percent involved French nationals exploiting French nationals or foreigners, 26 percent involved foreigners exploiting their own nationals, and 24 percent involved foreigners exploiting persons of a nationality other than their own (UNODC, 2009b).

INTERNAL EFFORTS TO DECREASE TRAFFICKING

In January 2009 the government broadened its anti-trafficking law to include a specific definition of forced labor, further increasing the protections granted under the statute (U.S. Department of State, 2010). The hope was that the broadening of the statute would result in increased utilization of the anti-trafficking statute in trafficking cases. Thus far there has been an increase, but other statutes are still more regularly used. The issue is that using non-trafficking-specific charges—such as pimping—can adversely affect international collaborations on trafficking cases (U.S. Department of State, 2012).

The government collaborates with other nations to ensure the safe return and medical care of victims sent back to their home of origin. In addition to the government of Bulgaria, the government of France collaborates with the governments of Brazil, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, Romania, and Ukraine to combat the trafficking of women from those nations to France for commercial sexual exploitation (People’s Daily, 2008; U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2012). In 2009 the government dismantled 40 trafficking rings in France and cooperated with authorities in other nations to dismantle an additional 14 networks (U.S. Department of State, 2010). “We want to ensure that there are concerted efforts between our European neighbors and the source countries,” said Jean-Marc Souvira, the head of the Central Office for the Suppression of Trafficking in Human Beings (OCRTEH) (People’s Daily, 2008). OCRTEH is a government-run agency under France’s central criminal investigation department. It focuses on sexual-exploitation trafficking cases and as of 2007 had 32 officers working full-time on the issue (People’s Daily, 2008; UNODC, 2009a). Between 2005 and 2008 OCRTEH broke up over 25 African prostitution rings within France (People’s Daily, 2008; Embassy of the United States in Paris, France, 2010). Patience Ashorkor Quaye, deputy superintendent of police in Accra, Ghana, concurred with Souvira that a collaborative effort among many nations is the best means of eliminating trafficking. “Ghana cannot wage the fight against a global phenomenon on its own,” Quaye said (People’s Daily, 2008).

Some experts and politicians believe that licensed brothels could be a positive anti-trafficking step. Prostitution is not illegal, but pimping, procuring, or solicitation is. Chantal Brunel, a member of the National Assembly of France, says legalizing brothels might help protect persons from trafficking. “Prostitutes are finding themselves even more badly treated and damaged than before,” Brunel said. “We have to stop their exploitation” (Davies, 2010). Brunel believes that the focus needs to be on making the sex trade safer and transparent as opposed to exerting efforts to stamp out prostitution: “Women selling sex should be allowed to do so legally on special licensed premises. This would free thousands of women from the exploitation they suffer at the hands of pimps and criminal gangs and offer them much more security than they currently have on the streets. It would give them a legal taxable income and they would not be handing over large sums of their earning[s] to a pimp” (Telegraph, 2010).

Opinion polls indicate that a significant number of French citizens may agree. One poll found that 59 percent of respondents supported Brunel’s position to reintroduce brothels (Davies, 2010). While transparency of the commercial sex industry is certainly ideal, whether it can actually be regulated and monitored within France is unknown.

The largest hurdle in the French government’s anti-trafficking efforts is its own immigration policies. The systematic destruction of camps—both of Roma (in violation of EU law) and of other immigrants—makes these persons homeless and even more vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking. The French government has maintained that deportation of Roma to Romania has been voluntary, but voluntary return seems to have occurred after the living quarters of the Roma have been destroyed and they have received orders to leave, putting into question the actual voluntariness of their return. Also of concern are unaccompanied child trafficking victims who enter transit zones and are not offered adequate protection. In fact, some are sent to their final destinations—simply allowing the trafficking cycle to be completed. Others are returned to their country of origin, which makes the victims vulnerable to re-trafficking and retribution.

PART VI

Gender Apartheid

In some nations, strict sex segregation and socio-sexual and economic discrimination against women and girls make equality in life and justice impossible. This gender apartheid pervades all aspects of female existence; it saturates the human, political, economic, social, and cultural experience. It not only makes females more vulnerable to human trafficking, but it also hinders them from attaining equal justice under the law in the post-trafficking experience
.

In Iran the segregation of men and women is enforced in public spaces. Women are not allowed to socialize openly with men who are not relatives or who are unmarried. They must sit in specific reserved sections on the bus and must enter public buildings, airports, and universities through a separate entrance from men; they must stay in “women only” areas when swimming, skiing, or at the beach. Health care is also segregated, and there are not enough trained female physicians and health care professionals to meet the needs of all the women and girls in Iran. A woman may initiate divorce for a limited number of reasons, while a man does not need to state a reason to divorce. The age of criminal responsibility begins at age 8 years and 9 months for girls and age 14 years and 7 months for boys. Under the Penal Code, a woman may not go out in public without an appropriate
hejab;
those who do face lashings and fines. The fact that there is no clear legal definition of an appropriate
hejab
creates an arbitrariness that places the decision on appropriateness in the hands of morality police and judges. A man may have up to four wives as well as temporary wives; a
sigheh
(temporary marriage) is a loophole that is used for prostitution and human trafficking
.

Article 3 of Iran’s constitution states that women and men have the same rights and protections, yet it also states that the principles of Islamic law are the supreme law. This state of affairs poses significant challenges for female trafficking victims. For instance, a significant hurdle to obtaining equal justice for female victims is that under the Iranian government’s interpretation and application of Islamic law, a woman’s testimony is worth half of that of a man. Furthermore, while human trafficking is criminalized, so too are the moral offenses victims commit during the trafficking experience such as illegal border crossing, prostitution, or extramarital affairs. Punishments are severe; at times victims are sentenced to death. This was the case of a 16-year-old sex-trafficking victim who was publicly hung for crimes against chastity committed during her trafficking experience. Aside from the diminished worth of a female’s testimony, the knowledge of potential punishment and execution strongly deters victims from coming forward. This situation further marginalizes the victim and also allows traffickers to continue the abuse and exploitation of females with impunity. The punishment of females for crimes associated with their trafficking experience is likely to continue. At the February 2010 Trafficking in Persons Working Group in Vienna, the Iranian delegate stated that the government of Iran would not accept recommendations that called for absolving trafficking victims for their crimes. The delegate went on to state that while the victim status of a woman may be taken into account by the judge, he opposed the idea that such a woman should not be prosecuted. In January 2012 the government of Iran adopted a new Penal Code, which retains adverse differential treatment in the punishment, age of responsibility, evidentiary standards, and compensation of females as compared to males
.

Note: Throughout
chapter 12
we refer to the Penal Code, which specifically means the Penal Code of 1991, unless otherwise specified. Any noteworthy changes to the code that arise from the 2012 Penal Code are discussed
.

CHAPTER 12

Iran

There are many young runaway girls—I say this confidentially. More than 4,000 young girls have come to our city. That’s a lot. On any street corner I can pick up ten girls.

—A MULLAH IN IRAN

A 16-year-old sex-trafficking victim was publicly hung in 2006. Her crime was engaging in acts incompatible with chastity. The town governor congratulated the religious leader who sentenced the young girl on his firm approach (U.S. Department of State, 2006). Just two years earlier, Iran had taken significant steps toward eliminating human trafficking within its borders. In 2004 the Iranian Parliament ratified an anti-trafficking law that prohibits the trafficking of persons by means of a threat, use of force, coercion, abuse of power or of position of vulnerability of the victim for prostitution, removal of organs, slavery, or forced marriage (UNODC, 2007; Hosseini-Divkolaye, 2009). In the same year Iran signed separate memorandums of understanding with Afghanistan, the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and Turkey. Iran also conducted a study focusing on the trafficking of women (U.S. Department of State, 2005).