Human trafficking is the modern day name of slavery. According to United Nations reports, the international trade in human trafficking is now the fastest growing business of organized crime. It has become a $7 billion industry, ranked with the sale of illegal drugs and guns as the most lucrative criminal enterprise. Each year about 4 million people are trafficked worldwide. It is estimated that over the last 30 years trafficking for sexual exploitation has victimized some 30 million Asian women and children.
The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children says, “trafficking in human beings is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons by means of force. It may also involve abduction, fraud, deception; abuse of power or the giving and receiving of payments for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery-like practices, servitude or the removal of organs.”
Historically, human trafficking has been rooted in strong preference for male children with gender discrimination and inequity at its core. “In South Asia, perhaps more than anywhere else, vulnerabilities are strongly linked to gender discrimination together with other forms of social exclusion such as ethnicity and caste.” Studies show that “although human trafficking in South Asia is a centuries-old phenomenon current issues such as poverty, war and conflict, globalization, improved communication and transport links have accelerated the speed, magnitude and geographical coverage of human trafficking.”
Patriarchy, power imbalances, and male dominance are the pre-existing conditions that pave the way for human trafficking around the world. This complex phenomenon is fueled by multiple factors including: poverty; lack of substantial livelihood/lack of employment opportunities; structural inequities in society; gender-based discrimination; armed conflict; illiteracy and lack of education; present developmental models and globalization. Ultimately it increases receptivity to human trafficking, siphoning countries of vital, irreplaceable human resources.
War, armed conflict, and militarization and economic hardship go hand in hand for women and children. These situations generally force people to migrate, increasing the natural movement of people in search of opportunities and a better life. Women and children are more likely to be separated from their families and communities while in search of a safe environment and economic stability. This separation causes them to be vulnerable and marginalized, making them easy prey for traffickers. Post-conflict situations can be equally challenging. One example of post-war impact on women’s livelihood and economic viability can be found in the former Soviet Union where high unemployment bred an unfriendly climate for women who are constantly exposed to sexual harassment and exploitation, preyed on by employers, and forced into prostitution.
Recent global consumption patterns have dramatically shifted, impacting trafficking trends. Basic needs of previous generations have become far more complex and luxurious in terms of materialism. Is this change truly representative of a shift in people’s basic needs or has it overlaid illusions and images that generate confusion and greed?
A relational pattern can be seen between developing and developed countries as consumption trends become more pronounced in developed countries. The increased demand for goods by developed countries subsequently results in increasing demands for cheap labor from developing countries to supply the necessary goods. In order to fill the demand, women are often trafficked for domestic labor, arranged marriages, prostitution or forced labor. Consequently developed countries have not only become consumers of goods produced in the developing world but consumers of the “new human cash crop”. Inevitably the pressures of supply and demand of goods have resulted in social, economic, and political conditions that make women and children more vulnerable to trafficking.
Protracted political conflict and militarization of Naga society increased forms of psychological and physical violence which has given rise to conditions previously described. Furthermore, the pervasive nature of unemployment is attributed to the complete nonexistence of a private sector and the domination of a strong public sector. The imbalance between the sectors contributes to marginalizing youth in search of work as the state expands and exerts its control over people’s lives. When society is weakened economically, it creates an atmosphere conducive to gender violence, exploitation of women and children, and human trafficking. Protracted trauma, which Nagas have experienced and internalized, is being expressed through other forms of violence as they turn the pain inward and outward, hurting themselves and others. Sexual violence against women is rising; contradicting and eroding the meaning and purpose of co-existence.
State systems are generally hierarchical and gender imbalanced. Reversing this trend is critical as they must become gender responsive and politically transformative. New governance systems must be based on indigenous structures rooted and centered around peoples aspirations; preventing it from becoming a casualty to the rigid structures of state systems and the legalities and limitations of bureaucracy. In doing so it provides dynamic space promoting democracy and a restorative justice system that promises a future of co-existence with dignity for all people. When life is interrupted by political violence, all sense of normalcy is gone – ethical practices and values are often erased from human memory. Is it not time to rediscover our values and our humanity!
