Human Trafficking in the Philippines.Research Paper
There are estimated to be 375,000 women and girls in the sex trade in the Philippines, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, though some are as young as 11. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies state that there are more than 1. 5 million street children in the Philippines and many end up in prostitution and drug trafficking in places such as Manila and Angels City. Government and NAG estimates on the number of women trafficked range from 300,000 to 400,000 and the number of children trafficked range from 60,000 to 100,000.
According to the US government reports, the number of child victims in the Philippines range from 20,000 to 100,000, with foreign tourists, particularly other Asians, as perpetrators. An estimated 60,000 to 1 children in the Philippines are involved in prostitution rings, according to Minute Random, a spokeswoman for the U. N. ‘S International Labor Organization’s Manila office. Based on the statistics provided by the Visalia Forum Foundation, most victims are between 12 to 22 years old. [20] The Philippines is ranked under Tier 2 Watch List in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report of the United
States (US) State Department due to the Philippine government’s alleged failure to show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking. Problem areas and history A report published in 2004 by the Vatican stated: The Philippines has a serious trafficking problem of women and children illegally recruited into the tourist industry for sexual exploitation. Destinations within the country are Metro Manila, Angels City, Along City, towns in Vulcan, Battings, Cube City, Dave and Canaan De ROR City and other sex tourist resorts such as
Puerco Caller, which is notorious, Pagans, Laguna, San Fernando Pangaea, and many beach resorts throughout the country. The promise of recruiters offers women and children attractive jobs in the country or abroad, and instead they are coerced and forced and controlled into the sex industry for tourists. Puerco Caller There are numerous cases of child molestation that have been reported in Puerco Galena, a beach resort on Indoor Island three hours south of Manila. The area is a favorite for foreign child molesters seeking children.
Puerco Galena has been described as one of the Philippines top five spots for child restitution Angels City Go-go bars, massage parlors and prostitution were prominent in the “entertainment district” of Eremite, Manila. In 1991 a volcanic eruption of Mount Punctuation forced an evacuation and destroyed much of the Clark Air Base, a major United States military facility located 40 miles (60 km) northwest of Manila, which closed shortly thereafter. Most the of sex trade around the base closed at the same time due to the loss of the GIG customers.
Mayor Alfred Lime proceeded to crack down on Manila’s remaining sex industry, causing many of these businesses to relocate to Angels City, which orders on the closed base, and was becoming a popular tourist destination especially with former Gig’s. By the late 1 sass, EUNICE estimated that there are 60,000 child prostitutes in the Philippines, describing Angels City brothels as “notorious” for offering sex with children. In 1997, the BBC reported that EUNICE estimated many of the 200 brothels in the notorious Angels City offer children for sex. 34] In 2004, Police arrested foreigners and Filipinos and rescued 15 females of a child pornography and cyberspace ring in Angels City. The current trade is dominated by Australian bar operators sustained by tourists seeking inexpensive sex, often with children. In bars catering mostly to foreign men, girls are sold for a “bar fine”. Conditions are sometimes brutal children and teenagers are lured into the industry from poor areas by promises of money and care, and are kept there by threats, debt bondage and the fear of poverty.
Angels City is one of the largest sex tourist destinations in the world with just over 1 5 thousand women working in its various sex establishments (brothels, bars and videos). EUNICE reports evidence of growing child pornography production in Angels City. Children as young as ten years old have been rescued from brothels in Angels. Angels Mayor Francis Omnipotence has acknowledged the problem. “We admit having HIVE cases and that prostitution may be flourishing”. SST cases rose five times. The RICH treated 1,421 cases in 2005, 2,516 cases in 2006 and 6,229 cases in 2007.
Most Of the afflicted were women. In 201 0, CNN ran an article about a 15 year old who began working in prostitution in a bar in the notorious fields eave, Angels City because she needed money to support her baby. She was eventually trafficked to Malaysia here she was forced to take drugs and forced to service 20 customers a day. Metro Manila Visalia Forum Foundation has established that most of the children and young women trafficked to Manila from rural areas in search of work are assured jobs as domestic workers, but in a significant number of cases end up in the sex trade.
Pagans CNN states that “A decade ago, Pagans, located about 60 miles south of Manila, became known as a popular location for men seeking homosexual Pagans began to attract an increasing number of child molesters. “In the ‘ass, Pagans was declared by international gay publications as a paradise for them, a gay paradise, a haven for homosexuals”, said Dry. Sonic Aside, an activist who is particularly concerned by the expansion of the town’s sex trade to include minors, mostly young boys.
Time magazine reported in 1993 that Pagans was a favorite destination for sex tourists seeking children. The Filipino government began a crackdown on the child Sex industry in Pagans and 23 people of varying nationalities were arrested. Foreign child molesters take advantage of the poverty, with children often being used as sexual currency by their own parents. Since then the town of Pagans through civic action has aromatically reduced child prostitution. Papas Childhood Asia Philippines, Inc. As a Community Manipulation against Child Prostitution project to prevent child prostitution in Papas. Children as young as 14- and 15-year-olds are child prostitutes in Papas clubs. Magmata In 2003, Magmata Mayor Jammed C. Binary ordered a crackdown against prostitution following reports that some prostitutes are linked to criminal syndicates. 33 women were rescued from a sex trafficking operation in Magmata City by a team of National Bureau of Investigation (NIB) agents. The Chief of the Southern Police District deployed policemen in schools in Magmata
City after the abductions of children by those involved in the sex trade industry. P/Sups. Manuel Gabion, SSP director, said the increased police presence in schools would deter members of a flesh trade syndicate from further pursuing their illegal activities. Dave City October 5 has become the Day of No Prostitution Campaign in Dave City. The Philippine Information Agency reports documented cases of children as young as 10 years old forced into prostitution in Dave. Dave provinces, along with the Cargo region, have become the favorites of child traffickers posing as tourists.
Dave is one of the top five areas for child prostitution and sex tourism. The Tambala Center for Abused Street Girls reports more than 1 ,OHO teenage girls have turned to prostitution in Dave City, charging as little as 50 cents. Cube It is estimated there are 1 0,000 young girls trafficked into sex slavery in Cube. ‘What has become very obvious is a growing market for child prostitutes,” says Father Heinz, a Catholic priest who has been involved for more than a decade in initiatives to beat the pimps and child-traffickers.
Cube remains a destination, source and transit area for human trafficking, where women and hillier victims are brought to be “processed”. Cube has been the destination of international and domestic trafficking of children, aged from 11 to 17 years old. Pangaea Province More than a dozen of cyberspace operations have been busted in the Pangaea province and Angels City areas, this resulted in the rescue of hundreds of exploited women, most of them minors or below 18 years of age. Human trafficking or trafficking in person is some sort of slavery.
Hundreds of computers sets have been seized, including sex toys and other gadgets used in the cyberspace operations mostly maintained by foreigners. A arum hosted by the Prosecution Law Enforcement and Community Coordinating Service (process) discussed several factors that contribute to the human trafficking problem and these include poverty, the proliferation of underground cyberspace through internet and sex tourism. Shambles province Cubic Bay In 1 988 a Naval Investigative undercover operation based in Cubic Bay were offered children for sex as young as 4.
Many of those involved in the prostitution of children have been brought to justice in the courts. Most of the 16,000 women estimated to have worked the bars around the largest overseas naval base were forced into the sex industry. One 16 year old child tells of her experience in Cubic Bay: She was locked in a room for a month, starved and force-fed drugs and alcohol to ensure she was addicted and could be more easily controlled. She was often beaten unconscious for refusing to have sex with customers.
Pregnancy, abortion, the spread of disease and drug abuse were just some of the indignities imposed on Filipinos. Despite the US pull-out from Cubic Bay in 1992, continues to fester, catering to a new generation of civilian sex tourists. The former naval base, and current visits by American military have been the subject of protests by elf groups and activists in Cubic. Brandishing placards and chanting slogans, members of WAIL and GABRIELE called for justice for all victims of human rights abuses.
Along Trafficking of Women and Children in Along was rampant during the time of the Cubic Naval Base located close by. In 1988, the US Naval Investigative Service confirmed the existence of child prostitution in Along City. After the base closure a new child molesters clientele from countries such as Australia and Europe moved in. In Along City, there are believed to be 15,000 prostitutes, almost 8% of the total population. Along special prosecutor Direction Z. Florists states, “Politicians do not want people to know that these things are happening in Along,” said Florists.
Visas Eastern Visas continues to be a source of women and children being sent to Metro Manila brothels and sweatshops. Department of Social Welfare and Development officials said the number of human trafficking cases was increasing. Leticia Carillon, DEWS regional director stated that the victims were mostly children and women. Seventy percent are aged from 1 3 to 1 7 years old. A DEWS report, said the Wary towns of Prangs and Jibbing and Callback City in Samara province and Napalms and Lass Naval in Northern Samara are considered as human trafficking “hotpots. Appearance City MA Foundation, the Women’s Legal Bureau and the Office of the Presidents Philippine Center on Transnational Crimes raided a house in BE Executive Homes, Appearance City, on Novo. 7, 2003, rescuing 31 women. Another 40 women were rescued in the next raid. Trafficking Of Filipinos to overseas destinations There are 150,000 Filipino women that are trafficked into prostitution in Japan as reported in the July 2, 1 998 issue of the Daily Star. Some of them were sold allegedly sold to the Yakima for $2,400. 00 to $ 18,000. 00.
A news item that appeared in the May 31, 1995 of the Manila Chronicle reports that 150 Filipinos were sold into prostitution for $5,000. 00 each by international syndicates to night club operators in some African countries particularly Nigeria [76] A trafficker earns for each woman or girl sold in the international sex trade. [77] 1 50,000 Filipino women have been trafficked into prostitution in Japan. [1 6] Sex tourism An article in the newspaper Dave Today reports that, according to experts, the growth of tourism in the Philippines in places such as Cube and Portray, has given rise to the sexual exploitation of women and children. 8] In a 2004 article, the People’s Recovery, Empowerment Development Assistance Foundation (PARED) reported in 2004 that ACCEPT, which it describes as “a global network that campaigns against child prostitution”, estimates that 300,000 sex tourists from Japan alone visit the Philippines every year. In the same article, PARED reports, “many others are British Local NAG Pared states that the majority of the “customers” (the word used by the children to describe their abusers) are local tourists and about ten percent are foreign tourists.
The foreign customers, according to arrest figures compiled by ACCEPT Manila rank in frequency as follows: – American, Japanese, Australian, British, German, Swiss, other. Nationalities. [65] Eunice noted that child trafficking in the Philippines is the highest incidence of child prostitution in a tourist area. [80] Foreign child molesters The Philippines continued to assist U. S. Law enforcement authorities in the transfer to U. S. Custody of Americans who sexually exploited children. [81] Foreign child molesters are a major problem in a country like the Philippines.
Some foreign child molesters are very well connected and have positions in industry and politics. Profile studies of these child molesters show they come mostly from Europe and are usually well off, married and with children Of their own. Some foreign child molesters arrange with bribes and corrupt practices to get the children out of the country and abuse them in another country-[82] The problem of foreign child molesters continues to be reported in the Foreign child molesters have operated openly in the Philippines. 85] Government officials have been accused of turning a blind eye to the sex tourism trade because it helps promote tourism in the country. [86] The Bureau of Immigration (Blob) has warned of a new modus operandi of foreign child molesters in the Philippines, “The child molesters usually meet the mothers, sometimes even the grandmothers, of possible victims online and make them their girlfriends. The women usually let the economically better-off foreigners into their lives and their homes, not knowing that the men would later pounce on their young children. 81 Commissioner Marcelo Albanian told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. [87] In Angels, Pangaea (a hotshot for trafficking and sex trade), child molesters are increasingly using the Internet to lure other child molesters to come to the Philippines. Live video streaming on the Web show children being sexually abused. Other child molesters browse personal profiles or lurk in chat rooms to find their victims. 88] One October 2004 paper asserted that most of the documented cases of child pornography had been instigated by foreign child molesters. [89] A 2005 paper by the same author tabulated reported cases of victims of child pornography as compared to victims survivors of child prostitution as follows: Seafarer 2000 2001 2002 2003 Victims of Pornography 9 4 7 13 Victims of Prostitution 186 224 245 247 Source: Ernie C Trinidad, Child Pornography in the Philippines (2005), UP
Center for Integrative and Development Studies and EUNICE Manila News reports in 2008 indicated that the Philippines had deported five foreign child molesters that year (one German, two American and two Japanese), and was seeking five Mail-order bride trafficking Republic Act 6955 declares as unlawful “the practice of matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on a mail order It is also unlawful under the R. A. 208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, a penal law against human trafficking, sex tourism, sex slavery’ and child prostitution-[94] The Philippines Government first outlawed bride agencies in 990 after being alarmed at reports of widespread abuse of Philippine women in other countries. [95] There have been 5,000 Filipino mail order brides entering the United States every year since 1986, a total of 55,000 as of 1997. [96] Intimacy an assistant professor of the Department of Sociology at the Iowa State University, said browsing for potential brides on websites is as easy as shopping for a shirt.
Each woman is assigned a catalogue number. [97] Maria Regina Angela Galas, head of the Migrant Integration and Education Division of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (SCOFF), stated that South Korea and Japan have become the top destinations of Filipino mail-order brides. [98] Over 70% of Philippine women live in poverty, thus making them particularly vulnerable to the mail-order industry. [95] Debt bondage Debt bondage is a criminal offence under the RA. 208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003194] According to Human Rights Watch, the practice of “debt bondage” among sexual traffickers is routine, and women often find that their so-called debts only increase and can never be fully repaid. [99] Recruiters sometimes buy children and sell them into prostitution. Most Often he children have either been stolen from their villages or sold off by their poor Child-organ trafficking In 2008, the National Bureau of Investigation alerted the public over the rampant smuggling of human organs in the Philippines.
The NIB said smugglers are now targeting children who are kidnapped and taken abroad where their organs are sold to foreign The World Health Organization has identified the Philippines as one of the five organ trafficking hotpots. CHIC] However, a recent 2008 proclamation by former President Gloria Macadamia-Arroyo has markedly decreased the frequency and ease of he commercial organ trade industry in the Philippines. 105] Efforts to control Philippine law defines the worst forms of child labor as all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery; any use of a child in prostitution, pornography, or pornographic performances; any use of a child for illegal or illicit activities; and work that is hazardous, including nine hazardous categories. The law criminals trafficking of children for exploitation, including trafficking for sex tourism, prostitution, pornography, forced labor, and the recruitment of children into armed conflict.
The law establishes the penalty of life imprisonment and a fine for trafficking violations involving children and provides for the confiscation of any proceeds derived from trafficking crimes. [106] Ann. Aguish, a lawyer with the child protection group, ACCEPT, identifies lax enforcement of RA 76/10 (sic-?actually ARREAR) as a major reason why so few offenders end up behind bars-[61] Department of Justice records show that from June 2003 until January 2005 there were 65 complaints received for alleged trafficking in persons violations in the entire nation. 1 07] In November 2009 The Philippine government signed into law of Republic Act 9775, also known as the Anti;Child Pornography Act of 2009, by Philippine President Gloria MacDougal-Arroyo. This landmark legislation provides the full legal armor against producers, transmitters, sellers and users of child pornography in whatever form and means of production, dissemination and consumption, in public and private spaces. [108] In 2009, the DEWS assisted 632 victims of trafficking in persons, illegal recruitment, prostitution, child molestation, pornography and child labor.
From here 188 are male minors, 408 were female minors and 36 were women. [AD] Severing Gaga Jar v, Assistant Chief State Prosecutor of the Department of Justice, stressed the need for a national database to track human trafficking cases in the Philippines. CO] Gamma Gabby, chief of the Dew’s Social Technology Bureau, said the national government in a bid to address the problem had formed the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (CACTI) in 2003 in partnership with civil society organizations and other stakeholders of PACT. 80] Microsoft has awarded over SIS$I million through its Unlimited Potential grants to non-governmental organizations (Nags) across six Asian entries, including the Philippines. The latest round of grants will deliver IT training courses specifically for people in human-trafficking hot spots across the region. [1 09] Eunice executive director Carol Bellary stated, The Philippines is among the few countries that are making a dent in the fight against the trafficking of women and children. She also stated, “This is not going to be easy, Bellary said. “We are dealing with criminals and they are not stupid.
There are lots of money to be made and they will go to any length to continue harming and exploiting children in this awful 0] Protection by politicians and police Some local politicians, mayors and their business cronies continue to allow the operation of clubs and bars where children are used as sexual commodities along with young women. Many women will tell how they were recruited as young as 13 and 14. They issue permits and licenses for all establishments and harass and threaten those trying to rescue the children, gather evidence and bring charges against them. 111] The United States Embassy in the Philippines states that some officials condone a climate of impunity for those that exploit trafficked women and children[11 2] Politicians n the Philippines work with local criminal gangs to do their dirty work and in return the gangs are given protection for their involvement in prostitution. [1 1 3] ACTA-AP Executive Director, Jean Meringue, expressed the groups concerns saying that many of the women victimized by politician- buyers are minors who are vulnerable and powerless.
Also, most of them suffer various forms of physical violence, rape and degradation in the hands of customers and pimps resulting in low self-esteem and damaging their body and spirit. “These women, often referred to as criminals, are actually victims Of the system Of prostitution. The violence and abuses they suffer in the hands of customers and pimps cause deep wounds in their being. Sadly, this is made worse by politicians/government officials who buy and use them for (the purpose of) sexual exploitation.
They are supposed to provide protection and support to women yet are the ones who inflict pain and suffering -? they are the real criminals! ” Meringue said. [1 14] The First National Conference of Victims-survivors of Prostitution, held in Manila in October, charged the Philippines’ government with committing human rights abuses. The women aid that local governments, the Philippine National police and the armed forces protect pimps and owners of businesses such as bars that promote prostitution, and that government officials themselves often use women in prostitution. 1 1 5] In 2008, IMAM Foundation executive director Susan Pinned stated that, probably the series of raids on alleged prostitution fronts is mainly aimed to force the establishments to pay PAP daily per entertainer as “protection money” by some persons closely connected with City Hall. [116] Presidential Anti-crime Commission has evidence that the police in Manila are ailing the children to foreign tourists and diplomats information independently confirmed by journalists. 1 1 7] When a journalist based in Angels City wrote stories exposing corruption and human trafficking in Angels she was harassed, attacked and threatened with death-CLC 19] When Father Shay Culled exposed a child prostitution ring in Cubic Bay he was threatened with deportation. [120] Socio-economic Impacts of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children in the Philippines Health Forgone The sexual exploitation of women and girls has dire, lifelong, consequences on their health.
Some of these health risks include subjection to physical abuse and violence, poor reproductive health and health issues related to substance abuse (drugs are often used as a coping mechanism). Deaths arising from unsafe, illegal abortions and physical abuse and violence, have also become commonplace in this industry. In terms of reproductive health, children fare worse because they often lack the skills and ability to negotiate condom use and, thus are more vulnerable to sexually transmitted diseases like HIVE/AIDS and Generator (a common SST among child prostitutes in the Philippines).
It is reported that the prevalence of Generator was 18. %. [121] This dismal health standard of the individuals in the sex industry could impede them from attaining the highest possible level of physical, mental and social well-being and maximizing their potential. [1 22] The worrying trend is that these health risks are simply regarded as an occupational hazard of this industry. If left unchecked, the deteriorating health standards of these women and girls would have long-lasting negative effects on the Philippine society.
Once the physical well-being of these women and girls has been compromised, the health of their potential offspring would also be adversely effected in one way or another. For instance, HIVE is often transmitted from mother to child during pregnancy. Furthermore, the constant sexual exploitation and degradation these women and girls face may lead to various types of psychiatric morbidity and an impaired ability to form attachments and successful interpersonal personal relationships. 1 22] Consequently, their poor health would prevent them from being competitive in the labor market and they cannot be as productive as the average, healthy worker. Similarly, their subsequent generation are also disadvantaged in the labor market due o their poor health. This under-utilization of the nation’s current human resources and the loss of future human capital would have long-term repercussions on the economic development of the Philippines. Moreover, the deteriorating health standards of this burgeoning group of individuals could strain the social and healthcare systems of the Philippines in the future.
Lack of Access in Education The proliferation of child prostitution has a direct negative impact on the education levels of the children in the Philippines. The primary school completion rate in the Philippines was only 92% in 2007. 123] In order to achieve the Millennium Goals set by the UN, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, should be able to complete a full course of primary school. This goal may not be reached at the rate child prostitution is flourishing in the Philippines.
An estimated 400,000 prostitutes working in the Philippines are underage (of school-going Without proper educational qualifications, even the minority of the children who escape their plight lack the skills to be competitive in the labor market and thus, face grim economic prospects. The lack of access to education for these women and arils has a profound impact on the quality of life their progeny would experience also, because these girls, if they ever start a family, may not have the skills or the knowledge to generate a steady source of income to support their family.
Without the financial means to receive a proper education, generations after generations would be prevented from achieving social mobility and attaining equal opportunities. This in turn, prevents them from earning higher wages and entrenching them farther into poverty. Prevention In 2007, the government’s Interagency Council Against Trafficking established TTS first anti-trafficking task force at Manila’s international airport to share information on traffickers and assist victims.
