4 pages policy brief
ZachFinken
ints_2235_presentation.pptxThe Issue
-20.9 million people trafficked worldwide (ILO, 2012)
-49% of all trafficked people are women (UNODC, 2014)
-53% of trafficking cases are related to sexual exploitation (UNODC)
-97% of sex trafficking victims are women (UNODC)
Nepalese women after being trafficked in the sex industry:
Nepalese women after being trafficked in non-sex-related industries:
29.6% with PTSD
97.7% with anxiety
100% with depression
7.5% with PTSD
87.5% with anxiety
80.8% with depression
Data from Tsutsumi, A., Izutsu, T., Poudyal, A. K., Kato, S., & Marui, E. (2008)
Lack of Mental Health Resources
-limited financial resources
-illegal immigrant status
-shelters or refugee assistance programs aren’t enough
-language/cultural barriers
-NGOs such as Prajwala and the Rescue Foundation
Causes of the Issue
Factors contributing to this, she says, include the years of conflict in the region, weak governments, poverty and lack of access to education, particularly for girls, lack of women’s rights, marginalization of ethnic groups, and rampant corruption, and the use of humans as a form of commodity, or “development capital,” that contributes to the nation’s economic growth and development.
-- Professor Louise Shelley, author of Human Trafficking, A Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2010) and director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center at George Mason University
http://theislamicmonthly.com/truth-in-advertising-human-trafficking-in-southeast-asia/ Professor Louise Shelley, author of Human Trafficking, A Global Perspective (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
Causes of the Issue
| Social Conflicts | Governmental Regulation | Human Rights |
| Ethnic problems Marginalization of ethnic groups Racial discrimination eg. Chinese people were excluded in Malaysia and Indonesia Religious conflicts eg. Southern Philippines Muslim vs. Christians Three characteristics of the conflicts in SE Asia Area Terrorism Ethnic problems & religious conflicts “Black Triangle” | Weak governments Rampant corruption Lee Kuan Yew’s statement Economic conditions Poverty “Development Capital,” that contributes to the nation’s economic growth and development | Education Lack of access to education (particularly for girls) Lack of women’s rights Inequality between males and females The use of humans as a form of commodity |
Why we need a gendered analysis
From statistics and stories of survivors, there is a clear gendered nature to sex trafficking.
Why are female bodies at a higher risk of being trafficked?
How are the mental and physical health effects gender specific?
How might treatment or access to care be gender specific?
Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v0z7cbPiTKc/VXndfsS8MPI/AAAAAAAABOo/O6jotDZFnLI/s640/20091222_3_trafficking_bw.jpg
“Almost 21 million people are victims of forced labour – 11.4 million women and girls and 9.5 million men and boys. Of those exploited by individuals or enterprises, 4.5 million are victims of forced sexual exploitation.”
~ International Labor Organization
“86% of women trafficked within their countries and 85% of women trafficked across international borders
suffer from depression”
~ U.S Department of State, 2001
Hey, I don’t want to mess up your slide, but I found this really cool article about how women are more likely to develop PTSD when exposed to traumatic events! http://tva.sagepub.com/content/10/3/198.full.pdf
Why are female bodies at a higher risk of being trafficked:
Poverty, lack of opportunity and lack of education // patriarchal structures and norms disempower already economically or ethnically marginalized women (Kevin Bales, Disposable Bodies)
How are the mental and physical health effects gender specific?
dose-response - stronger cumulative effects due to previous child abuse or sexual abuse which have long term effects on health and well-being
What type of feminist research would be most useful and why
Rhianna
Possible research q’s, data sources to look at, and challenges
Research questions:
Why is there a lack of mental health resources for trafficked victims?
Why are women more likely to be victims of human trafficking?
What brain activity is associated with the difference in trauma between non-sex trafficking victims and sex-trafficked victims? What about between male and female victims? How does this affect treatment approaches?
Are gender-specific treatments more effective?
How does corrupt law enforcement contribute to the mental health effects in trafficked victims?
Data sources:
Challenges:
Victims don’t always come forward
Government policies often focus more on the threat to the state, so mental health aid is not a high priority
It is difficult to find concrete data relating to mental illness
Human trafficking is such an underground industry, it is difficult to get accurate statistics
Sources
International Labour Organization (2012). New ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour: 20.9 million victims. Retrieved from
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_182109/lang--en/index.htm
Tsutsumi, A., Izutsu, T., Poudyal, A. K., Kato, S., & Marui, E. (2008). Mental health of female survivors of human trafficking in
Nepal. Social Science and Medicine, 66, 1841-1847.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2014). Global Report of Trafficking in Persons 2014. Retrieved from
https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf
