1. Pre-Departure stage

The pre-departure stage is the initial period in the trafficking process and encompasses the time before a victim enters the trafficking situation. This stage may influence a victim’s vulnerability to be trafficked. It is reasonable to speculate that some of the factors that may negatively influence an individual’s physical and psychological characteristics during this early stage may also influence them to being trafficked (e.g., poor living conditions, poverty, unemployment, and political instability).

2. Travel and transit stage

The travel and transit stage begins when a victim agrees to go or is forced to depart, with a trafficker (whether he or she is aware that she is being trafficked or not). This stage ends when the victim arrives at the work destination. It can also include travel between work destinations and often involves one or numerous transit points. A victim can have several periods of travel and transit, such as when he or she is sold from one work destination and “re-trafficked” to another.” During this time, victims may be exposed to dangerous modes of transportation, high-risk border crossings, arrest, threats and intimidation, and violence, including rape and other forms of sexual abuse. {1} Events during this period can pose the risk of injury and death, cause extreme stress, and establish a victim’s vulnerability to later risk and ill-health. This period frequently represents the beginning of the cycle of harm to come. The travel and transit stage is generally the time when illegal activities and movements begin. Crimes include abduction, use of forged documents, facilitation of illegal border crossings, harboring and employing undocumented persons, rape, and other forms of violence.

3. The initial trauma

While many victims leave their homes with hope and courage, these feelings are frequently accompanied by uncertainty and anxiety. This is particularly common in cases of trafficking where the women perceive that a portion of what is taking place may be less than legal (e.g., forged documents, illegal border crossing, unregulated employment). Many discover during the journey that their anxiety was merited as they learn that they are now in life-threatening danger with little or no way out. {2}

4. Buying and selling of victims

It is during this phase that the main financial transactions generally take place, as the victim is made aware of his or her “debts” and repayment obligations, or his or her debts are transferred to another trafficker or employer and he or she is effectively “sold”. In a majority of trafficking cases, the arrangements for travel and the expenses incurred are tallied and multiplied, putting the victims in a situation of “debt-bondage”. {3} The psychological effects of this type of “merchandising” of victims is completely barbaric, being assigned a monetary value or being “traded” is a humiliating, dehumanizing process that has serious social and psychological implications. Physical and sexual violence frequently accompany these first transfers of victims, especially women. While in transit women are vulnerable to abuse by any individual along the route, including trafficking agents, escorts, drivers, border officials and anyone else who may be involved in her transport. Regularly on the move, unfamiliar with their surroundings, often unable to speak the language, without legitimate papers or status and treated like “cargo”.

5. Destination stage

The destination stage is the period that a victim is put to work and his or her labour is exploited. The destination stage exemplifies the range of abuses most often associated with trafficking and the dangers and violence that pervade the victim’s work. {4} The potential abuses and outcomes during this stage are so wide-ranging. The multiple forms of abuse (e.g., physical abuse, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, forced and coerced use of drugs) often occur simultaneously and can compound or worsen each another in ways that increase morbidity and risk of fatality.{5} For victims who have been trafficked internationally, this array of abuses takes place in a foreign country, which can increase their vulnerability to harm as they are in utterly unfamiliar surroundings, often do not speak the language, perceive they have no legal rights, and feel alienated physically and psychologically. {6}

REFERENCES

{1} Wijers, M. and L. Lap-Chew, 1999.Trafficking in women, forced labour and slavery-like practices in marriage, domestic labour and prostitution. Utrecht:Foundation Against Trafficking in Women, Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women.

{2} Barry, S., 2002. Personal communication on 25 May.

{3} United Nations, 2000. Protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the United Nations convention against transnational organized crime, in G.A. res. 55125, annex II, 55 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 60, us: Doc. Al45149 (Vol. l).

{4} IBID

{5} Kozhouharova, N., How we help women, survivors of trafficking, in Trafficking in women. Questions and answers, A.A. Foundation, Editor. 2001, Animus Association Foundation: Sofia.

{6} International Organization for Migration, 1995. Trafficking in women to Italy for

Sexual exploitation. 10M: Geneva.

Few days ago, the CEO of End Trafficking International was featured by Olujoke C. Mosaku on DNTWOK to discuss the topic; CHILD TRAFFICKING. It was indeed an intriguing session. Kindly watch the full interview with Joy Agbeyegbe below;

Thus far, little research has been conducted on those who perpetrate or participate in the crime of trafficking. Information from law enforcement professionals and immigration experts suggests that, as victims, there is no one profile or network structure description that accurately captures all global trafficking. Traffickers may include, for example, amateur traffickers (small, opportunistic operators, such as those who provide a single service, e.g., transport); small groups of organized criminals (those that specialize in escorting migrants from country to country, sometimes based on family connections, but less ‘professional’ than those operating in international networks); and international trafficking networks (those who address all aspects, including recruitment, documents, accommodation, transport, placement or sale of victims; these groups are often involved in other criminal activities). {1}

Defining the characteristics of a “trafficker” is complex, one might, for example, try to look at the various roles that a trafficker might play in order to understand perpetrators in practical ways, such as how they carry out the crime. Recruiters and recruitment in many situations include, for example, individuals posing as employment or travel services. In other circumstances, recruitment tactics include men introducing themselves to women and their family as well-situated young men living outside the country. They then make marriage proposals, promising to care for the girl and send money home to the family. {2}

Otherwise, one might attempt to tie many of the features of a trafficker to motives. One might thus look at one of the most important motives: profit. There is enormous financial gain to be made in trafficking. Viewing motives would be to look at traffickers from criminal law enforcement and/or global market perspectives. Taking a market perspective may also mean looking at the way in which traffickers are responding to demand. Common techniques used by traffickers can be assembled based on case studies in forms and execution of coercion and abuse emerge in examples from around the world. A summary of some techniques used by traffickers might include the following:

• Terrorizing: to instill persistent and relentless fear.
• Lying and deceiving: to undermine individuals’ trust in their perception of themselves and their understanding of the world around them so as to destabilize their ability to plan or anticipate events based on their former concepts of the world, forcing them to relinquish previous life strategies in exchange for responsive and self-defensive survival strategies.

All these tend to create the sense that the individual has few options other than those preferred by the perpetrator. Additionally, to give the sense that the individual’s well-being and safety depends on pleasing the perpetrator.

REFERENCES

{1} Graycar, A. Trafficking in human beings. in international Conference on Migration, Culture & Crime. 1999. Israel.

{2} Renton, D., 2001. Child trafficking in Albania. Save the Children: Tirana.

In an effort to make life more bearable, people engage in unlawful and criminal activities all over the world. The dignity of a human person is occasionally trampled upon when desperate efforts are made to make ends meet. Human beings are bought and sold just like goods and services in various parts of the world and worse still is the fact that many of the perpetrators of these scrupulous acts hardly get brought to book.

The prevalence of human trafficking across several climes, including the so-called developed countries, is one that calls for serious concerns. Statistics from the International Labor organization in 2014, revealed that annual profit made by traffickers was around $150 billion. The ready implication of this is that the crime has since attained a seemingly lucrative status in the eyes of many and this explains the reason for the surge in trafficking cases in recent times. Hence, it is not surprising that estimates from the global slavery index, 2018 revealed that there were about 40.3 million victims of modern slavery, world-wide. These figures are simply alarming.

According to Polaris Project (2006), human trafficking encompasses both transnational trafficking, that involves transit between two borders, and domestic or internal trafficking that occurs within a country. Undoubtedly, human trafficking is internationally known to be a system of modern slavery. The illegal trade has not only been found to be growing on yearly basis but it has also become one the most illicit problems of the entire world.

Efforts to curtail and eradicate human trafficking have led to the categorization of the factors responsible for its occurrence. These are generally divided into the push (supply) and pull (demand) factors (Gesinde, 2009). These factors play and continues to play a huge impact in the continued spate in trafficking occurrences, as potential victims of trafficking are pushed into being trafficked mostly due to factors tied around poverty and low standard of living.

Push factors are factors resident in the victim of traffickers as well as the environment of the victim which tends to push the victim out of his/her current location while pull factors are factors resident in the projected location which have a tendency to fascinate the victims (Gesinde, 2009).

Our major focus is on the push factors. As the name implies, push factors exist because people are pushed out of their countries, usually due to economic hardships, and pulled into countries that have better economic conditions with corresponding demands for labor. The major Push factors recognized globally today are Poverty and Deterioration in the living conditions of persons, which are more prevalent in the Sub-Saharan African and less-developed economies.

POVERTY:

Poverty is one of the main reasons why Nigerians today migrate. Big families, lack of basic human needs and low standard of living are few of the poverty-induced problems. Most families in developing countries of the world are living below the poverty line. The situation is so terrible to the extent that some go as far as refuse dumps in search for what to eat.

It is therefore not surprising that such people will quickly jump on an imaginary or real offer to migrate to where basic needs of life will be met. Most often, traffickers deceive families by approaching parents to buy their children with lies that such children will be gainfully employed in restaurants or bars. Many have thus fell into this trap as a result of the desperate need to overcome poverty.

DETERIORATION IN THE LIVING CONDITIONS OF PERSONS

Illiteracy, unsafe and uniformed migration culture, unemployment, decline in traditional and cultural values, laxity of security agents, porous borders, and greed are also some of the factors under this category. The terrible rate of unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa is a disturbing event. This makes us not to falter the veracity of the economic concept of “‘violent circle of poverty” which is real to many Africans who suffer the stroke of unemployment and insufficiency in their families.

If young ones grow up and watch their parents working for a very low salary or struggle for a career, they have only one dream; to go abroad, find a job and help their family to overcome poverty. Traffickers understand and employ these push factors to coerce their victims, usually poor and uneducated and without the ability to discern other risks, with promises of a better life and increased opportunity.

People who have been trafficked for the purpose of domestic servitude may:

• Live with a family

• Not eat with the rest of the family

• Have no private space

• Sleep in a shared or inappropriate space

• Be reported missing by their employer even though they are still living in their employer’s house

• Never or rarely leave the house for social reasons

• Never leave the house without their employer

• Be given only leftovers to eat

• Be subjected to insults, abuse, threats or violence

Children who have been trafficked may:

• Have no access to their parents or guardians

• Look intimidated and behave in a way that does not correspond with behaviour typical of children their age

• Have no friends of their own age outside of work

• Have no access to education

• Have no time for playing

• Live apart from other children and in substandard accommodations

• Eat apart from other members of the “family”

• Be given only leftovers to eat

• Be engaged in work that is not suitable for children

• Travel unaccompanied by adults

• Travel in groups with persons who are not relatives

People who have been trafficked for the purpose of labour exploitation are typically made to work in sectors such as the following: agriculture, construction, entertainment, service industry and manufacturing (in sweatshops). People who have been trafficked for labour exploitation may:

• Live in groups in the same place where they work and leave those premises infrequently, if at all

• Live in degraded, unsuitable places, such as in agricultural or industrial buildings

• Not be dressed adequately for the work they do: for example, they may lack protective equipment or warm clothing

• Be given only leftovers to eat

• Have no access to their earnings

• Have no labour contract

• Work excessively long hours

• Depend on their employer for a number of services, including work, transportation, and accommodation

People who have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation may:

• Be of any age, although the age may vary according to the location and the market

• Move from one brothel to the next or work in various locations

• Be escorted whenever they go to and return from work and other outside activities

• Have tattoos or other marks indicating “ownership” by their exploiters

• Work long hours or have few if any days off

• Sleep where they work

• Live or travel in a group, sometimes with other women who do not speak the same language

• Have very few items of clothing

• Have clothes that are mostly the kind typically worn for doing sex work

• Only know how to say sex-related words in the local language or in the language of the client group

• Have no cash of their own

• Be unable to show an identity document

• There is evidence that a person has been bought and sold.

• There is evidence that groups of women are under the control of others.

• Advertisements are placed for brothels or similar places offering the services of women of a particular ethnicity or nationality.

They may be:

• Believe that they must work against their will

• Be unable to leave their work environment

• Show signs that their movements are being controlled

• Feel that they cannot leave

• Show fear or anxiety

• Be subjected to violence or threats of violence against themselves

or against their family members and loved ones

• Suffer injuries that appear to be the result of an assault

• Be distrustful of the authorities

• Be threatened with being handed over to the authorities

• Be afraid of revealing their immigration status

• Not be in possession of their passports or other travel or identity

documents, as those documents are being held by someone else

• Have false identity or travel documents

• Be found in or connected to a type of location likely to be used

for exploiting people

• Be unfamiliar with the local language

• Not know their home or work address

• Allow others to speak for them when addressed directly

• Act as if they were instructed by someone else

• Be forced to work under certain conditions

• Be disciplined through punishment

• Be unable to negotiate working conditions

• Receive little or no payment

• Have no access to their earnings

• Work excessively long hours over long periods

• Not have any days off

• Live in poor or substandard accommodations

• Have no access to medical care

• Have limited or no social interaction

• Have limited contact with their families or with people outside of

their immediate environment

• Be unable to communicate freely with others

• Be under the perception that they are bonded by debt

• Be in a situation of dependence

• Come from a place known to be a source of human trafficking

• Have had the fees for their transport to the country of destination

paid for by facilitators, whom they must payback by working or

providing services in the destination

• Have acted on the basis of false promises

Human trafficking can occur in many variations, but the most common types of human trafficking are debt bondage, forced labor, sex trafficking and organ trafficking.

• Debt Bondage

The most frequently used strategy to employ against victims of human trafficking is debt bondage. It is used against victims of labor and sex trafficking. Specifically, agricultural workers are frequently exploited in this manner, as they are led to migrant labor camps and kept from contact with the outside world. Eliminating their debt is impossible for these workers, as prices for everything cost more and more money. Their initial debt, rent, food and even the tools they work with, are rigged in a way to never be compensated by their wages. Occasionally, victims are “fined,” so that they remain in debt. Victims often have very few resources to turn to, as many are illiterate and impoverished. In poor countries, children are sometimes sold into bondage to eliminate debt.

• Forced Labor

Forced labor, or labor trafficking, is a type of modern slavery. Over 14.2 million people across the globe are victims of this, one of the most common types of human trafficking. Victims are lured in the prospects of high-paying jobs and life-altering opportunities. The reality for labor trafficked victims is far different from what they were promised. With little to no payments, their supposed “employers” assert both psychological and physical control over victims. Seizure of passports and money, physical abuse and countless other methods are used to give victims no other choice than to continue working in these terrible conditions.

• Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking occurs when someone uses force, fraud or coercion to cause a commercial sex act with an adult or causes a minor to commit a commercial sex act. A commercial sex act is considered to be pornography, sexual performance, or prostitution. The exchange can be done monetarily or to fulfill basic human needs such as food and shelter. As one of the most common types of human trafficking, sex trafficking is thriving because there is such a large demand for these types of services. Traffickers utilize several strategies to lure in the victims, as internet and social media being one of the most frequently used ones. The most common age range of victims of human sex trafficking is 14 to 16. Victims are encouraged by the false hopes of adventure, protection, opportunity and love.

• Organ Trafficking

Trafficking in persons for the purpose of organ removal is a growing international problem and sits uneasily within the normal trafficking in persons framework. The global demand for transplantable organs continues to increase with the development of modern transplantation procedures and immunosuppressant drugs (Scheper-Hughes 2005). The organ most commonly procured illegally is the kidney, as it can be retrieved from living donors.