Sexual Abuse of *Legally* Trafficked Laborers Doesn't Count Either
Jess McCabe of The F-Word Blog points to an Oxfam/Kalayaan Report (PDF) on yet another form of trafficking the Ann-Bartow/Southern-Baptist-Convention-supported amendment to the Wilberforce/TVPA act will do nothing about. Not least because, like a little too much human trafficking actually, the context in which the trafficking occurs is
Oxfam and Kalayaan today reveal that abuse of migrant domestic workers is mind-bogglingly widespread. The majority of these workers are women from developing countries, living in conditions close to slavery:Migrant domestic workers have the legal status of workers in the UK - and are entitled to rights such as the minimum wage, time off, etc. Yet, of more than 300 workers registered with Kalayaan in 2006, 43% of workers reported not being given their own bed, 41% were not given regular meals, 70% were given no time off, 61% were not allowed out of the house without their employer’s permission. In addition, 10% reported sexual abuse, 26% physical abuse and 72% psychological abuse at the hands of their employers. Many workers were paid as little as 50p an hour, were made to work up to 16 hours a day, and were on constant call to their employers.
Yes, 61% are not allowed out of the house without their employer's permission. 80% of the domestic workers registered with Kalayaan, an organisation which provides services for migrant domestic workers, are women.
A friend mentioned yesterday that "you should talk to my sister, her [politically conservative, fundamentalist/evangelical] church is really involved in trafficking." "Really," I said, because I've been trying to find anti-trafficking connections in the area (it really *really* matters to me.) We talked a bit more and, it turns out somewhat predictably, that it's a pulpit issue (i.e. a coordinated with conservative politics) and concerned exclusively with the anti-domestic-prostitution amendments to the Wilberforce/TVPA reauthorization bill.
That the same people are as virulently anti-immigrant, and as disinclined to doing "good works" as one can be and still even pretend to call one's self Christian suggests exactly where the congregation stands on actual, you know, human *trafficking.*
They are not likely to know, and even less likely to care, that the *Trafficking Victims Protection Act* they're seeking to amend does little or nothing to remedy the kind of abuse, including sexual abuse, of *legally* internationally-trafficked, effectively indentured migrants mentioned in Jess's article.
I know you blegged for this information a few months ago, fl. I decided not to send it to you because you have done so much research on anti-trafficking and I would be surprised if these organizations did not come up in your search results. I don't know what you define as area, e.g., statewide or more local, but here are two organizations that have local chapters and/or plentiful links. Also the University of Washington has sponsored several conferences and research projects on anti-trafficking. So here goes.
The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum has a Seattle chapter. From the website:
The Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network (WARN) is a coalition of Washington State organizations that provide assistance to pre-certified victims of trafficking.
I found this report published by the Center for Information & Society (CIS) from the University of Washington: Healing and Jobs: ICT training for survivors of human trafficking at the Philippine’s Visayan Forum Foundation. (For readers who do not recognize the acronym: ICT = information and communication technology.) Here is an excerpt from the report which describes a study program designed to teach computer and internet skills to migrant workers but, more importantly, provides a safe place where survivors of trafficking exploitation heal through writing about their ordeals and sharing their stories with one another.
Hope this is helpful for you and your readers.
[Wow, Kochanie. It helps a lot. Thank you! --fl]