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10 Facts About Human Trafficking in Laos

10 Facts About Human Trafficking in Laos
Laos is one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world and the poorest in its region. Poverty and low levels of education leave its residents vulnerable to diverse sorts of crime and one of the largest crimes the country faces is human trafficking. Here are 10 facts about human trafficking in Laos.

10 Facts About Human Trafficking in Laos

  1. Human Trafficking Numbers: Between 200,000 and 450,000 people in Laos fall victim to human trafficking each year. Labor migration within Laos’s geographical region has a link to trafficking as many natives leave in search of better employment opportunities.
  2. The Vulnerability of Girls: Girls aged 12 to 18 make up about 90 percent of trafficking victims each year. These young Lao women must drop out of school to make a living to sustain their families. The girls then willingly seek employment opportunities abroad.
  3. Migration to Thailand: The majority of human trafficking from Laos occurs when its people choose to move to Thailand. One of the reasons that Thailand is a destination is that it is close and shares a similar culture and language. Moreover, people in Laos tend to move to Thailand due to its higher economic standing. Since education levels in Laos are particularly low, its people often seek better lives and are naïve and vulnerable to criminals who trick and cheat them.
  4. Sex Trafficking and Forced Labor: The commercial sex trade and forced labor situations are the two most common types of human trafficking that Laotians face. Since young females are the main people migrating from Laos, traffickers often take them to countries like China to sell them as brides. Others receive false promises of high paying jobs but end up trapped in slave work.
  5. A Tier 3 Rank: These conditions have manifested due to the Laos government’s failure to meet the minimum standards to end human trafficking. In 2018, the U.S. downgraded Laos to a Tier 3 in terms of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). Tier 3 is the worst rating a country can have.
  6. UN-ACT and Ending Human Trafficking in Laos: Human trafficking remains one of Laos’s most significant struggles, but positive headway has been developing over the years. Laos’s government has started to tighten its border security. The police force is now receiving training from organizations like the United Nations Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT). UN-ACT has implemented the three P’s protocol including prevention, protection and prosecution, to deter human trafficking in Laos.
  7. Raising Awareness: Not only is awareness spreading through law enforcement, but it is reaching civilians too. Officials have launched campaigns to spread information about human trafficking at border crossings. This initiative educates individuals on what to look out for and how to avoid potentially dangerous situations while traveling.
  8. The Lotus Project: While the government has started to do its part, other private organizations have lent Laos efforts too. The Lotus Project, founded in 2008, has a mission to support and provide young Loa women with education. Since the Lotus Project’s start, it has been able to impact 80 families and keep those girls from falling victim to human trafficking.
  9. Lao Women’s Union: Lao Women’s Union is the country’s largest support association. Not only does it focus on trafficking victims, but also on domestic violence victims. To serve the women of Laos, the LWU is an active advocator for women’s rights and their ability to prosecute traffickers.
  10. Village Focus International (VFI): In Laos, there are three shelters for trafficking survivors and two of them are a result of Village Focus International. At the shelters that VFI established, girls receive safe accommodations, food, health care and emotional support to repower themselves. VFI has been able to aid over 500 lives over the years and is helping make Laos a safer country for its residents.

The people of Laos, and especially the young women who live there, face great dangers when seeking employment opportunities abroad. As expressed in these 10 facts about human trafficking in Laos, however, the country is making positive strides. Thanks to recent government efforts and groups like LWU, The Lotus Project and VFI, more Laotians are able to avoid those hardships or receive rescue.

– Ariana Kiessling
Photo: Flickr

 

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10 Facts About Human Trafficking in China

Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is any forced exploitation or trade of human beings against their will. Though it primarily manifests itself in the forms of forced labor and modern slavery, human trafficking can also apply to other issues such as sex trafficking, forced criminality and forced organ removal. China has fallen victim to these increased rates of human trafficking, and the issue will continue to prevail until more people become aware of the horrible atrocities that are occurring throughout the East Asian nation.

10 Facts About Human Trafficking in China

  1. Prevalence of Human Trafficking: Human trafficking significantly impacts China’s migrant population of approximately 180 million people. Many of them work as forced laborers producing bricks, working in factories or mining for coal.
  2. Trafficking in China: Though credible data is not always available or attainable, many sources estimate that a majority of human trafficking in China takes place internally. In other words, most of China’s human trafficking involves its own citizens. These Chinese citizens are subject to traffickers moving or exploiting them throughout the country’s expansive geographical area.
  3. Foreign Women: Due to the Chinese government’s birth control policy, as well as a historic preference for male children, China has an unbalanced gender ratio distribution of 118 males to 100 females. According to researchers, this disparity is contributing to the human trafficking problem in China. Specifically, foreign women often become forced brides for men in China, as well as being forced into prostitution.
  4. Foreign Brides from Myanmar: As previously mentioned, millions of women become foreign brides who fall victim to human trafficking in China. Many of these women come from the nation’s southern neighboring country of Myanmar. According to anecdotal evidence from some women, they were typically sold within a range of approximately $3,000 and $13,000.
  5. Disabled People: In China, many of the targets for human trafficking are disabled people. In fact, in a 2016 report from the China Ministry of Public Security, one of the investigations resulted in the Chinese government’s arrest of 464 suspects. These people were all involved in labor trafficking of disabled Chinese citizens in some capacity.
  6. Organ Trafficking: Organ trafficking is a very obscure yet problematic manifestation of human trafficking in China. Though the Chinese government publicly announced that it would only accept organs for transplants from citizens that have donated voluntarily, many experts still speculate that secretive organ harvesting and trafficking occurs. Reports indicate that, even though the Chinese government claims that roughly 10,000 organ transplants occur each year, the real numbers could be closer to 80,000 per year.
  7. Tier 3 Country: The Trafficking in Persons Report, an annual report that the U.S. State Department issues, listed China as a Tier 3 country. Essentially, Tier 3 countries are nations whose governments do not sufficiently comply with the minimum anti-trafficking standards and are not making any significant efforts to do so. China’s government is not doing all that it can to combat this pervasive issue.
  8. Organizations to End Human Trafficking: Though many of these figures are startling and disheartening, many organizations around the world are currently working towards the eventual eradication of human trafficking in China and around the world. The United Nations Action for Cooperation Against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT), for example, is a division of the United Nations that is currently working to improve the human trafficking situation in China. With the implementation of its National Plan of Action II, which is to conclude in 2020, UN-ACT has participated in a number of anti-trafficking actions and initiatives, such as hotspot policing borders and other high-traffic areas for potential victims of human trafficking.
  9. Women’s Roles in Eradicating Human Trafficking: Women organize many of these anti-human trafficking organizations. For example, the All-China Women’s Federation (ACWF) is a group that tackles many human and civil rights abuses throughout China. On July 3, 2019, ACWF conducted training in Central China’s Hunan Province to teach more Chinese women to spot and prevent trafficking and abductions.
  10. Equality Now: Another group called Equality Now has been working to eradicate human trafficking in China and around the world. Equality Now is an organization that works closely with Asian women, as well as other non-governmental organizations, to spread awareness and knowledge about trafficking and how to combat it. In March 2019, Equality Now participated in a conference with over 230 attendees to share ideas, anecdotes and methods to successfully spot and combat human trafficking, as well as provide critical support for victims and survivors.

Evidently, China has a continuously growing issue of human trafficking. Both Chinese citizens and foreigners can suffer exploitation in forced labor, among other things. Because of China’s vast geographic reach, combatting this issue is more difficult. That said, government initiatives, as well as anti-trafficking non-governmental organizations and local groups, are all contributing to decreasing human trafficking throughout China. The problem may seem insurmountable now, but as long as people continue to learn and spread awareness about trafficking in China, solutions will become more clear.

– Ethan Marchetti
Photo: Flickr