Open Democracy have added a new article to their Palermo 20th Anniversary Special, looking at the story of how ‘human trafficking’ got its definition, as told by someone who was there when it happened. Marjan Wijers is an experienced consultant, trainer and researcher in the field of human trafficking, violence against women, women’s rights, sex workers’ rights and human rights.
The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) have issued a statement that urges the anti-trafficking movement to acknowledge a broader perspective on trafficking during the global COVID-19 pandemic. The statement also calls into question the opportunistic link between the widespread disruption of lives and livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic to trafficking and ‘modern slavery’.
This research from the Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women aimed to explore gender-based violence in the world of work from the perspective of women migrant workers.
Agape International Missions (AIM), a US-based charity that operates brothel raids and ‘rehabilitation’ programmes in Cambodia, was almost forced to leave Cambodia and cease operations this summer, after a CNN news report on trafficking that featured AIM angered Cambodian citizens and high-level government officials, including the Prime Minister.
The news report, “Life after trafficking: The Cambodian girls sold for sex by their mothers,” originally released on 22 July 2017, quickly drew criticism from the public and Cambodian government for misrepresenting the problem of trafficking in Cambodia, and defaming Cambodian women and mothers in general to raise funds.