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EDITORIAL
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Tuesday, March 13, 2018
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A VERY important activity took place in Iloilo City last week – a symposium on human trafficking organized by Zonta Club of Iloilo City I and II.
What is human trafficking?
The United Nations defines it as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an estimated 2.5 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery. Men, women and children fall into the hands of traffickers both in their own countries and abroad. In the Philippines, thousands fall prey to human traffickers each year. Behind these numbers are stories of individuals whose freedom of choice is impaired by desperation or helplessness, thus rendering them vulnerable to exploitation. Victims are subjected to forced labor, domestic servitude and forced marriage, organ removal and sale, sex trade, and exploitation of children.
Trafficking in persons is a complex problem and trafficking modes and patterns continue to evolve over time as perpetrators of the crime seek to outflank policies and regulations of government. We have the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act to address the problem of human trafficking and other forms of modern-day slavery. The vital step, however, is to strengthen enforcement and prosecution.
We can start by training prosecutors and law enforcers to prevent cross-border trafficking. Also, the large number of Filipinos facing death row in other parts of the world for various crimes highlights the need for stronger support, access to justice and remedies and protection of overseas Filipino workers in all stages of recruitment and employment in order to prevent trafficked persons from being duped into servitude with the false promise of a well-paid job.
There is clearly a need to improve strategies in arresting / stopping human traffickers. We can start by training prosecutors and law enforcers to prevent cross-border trafficking. Also, the large number of Filipinos facing death row in other parts of the world for various crimes highlights the need for stronger support, access to justice and remedies and protection of overseas Filipino workers in all stages of recruitment and employment in order to prevent trafficked persons from being duped into servitude with the false promise of a well-paid job.
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