Public colloquium focuses on human trafficking, with Malarek as special guest (10/10/04)

Public colloquium focuses on human trafficking, with Malarek as special guest

CHICAGO - The Kyiv Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International Program on September 10 presented a public colloquium on human trafficking in Ukraine, featuring three panelists: Canadian journalist Victor Malarek, author of "The Natashas - Inside the New Global Sex Trade" (Arcade, 2004 a book on human trafficking) Melanne Verveer, chair of Vital Voices Global Partnership and former chief of staff to First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton; and Amy Heyden, former Trafficking Prevention Program Director at Winrock International, Ukraine.

The panel was moderated by Dr. David E. Guinn, executive director and adjunct professor of Law at the International Human Rights law Institute, DePaul University School of Law and author and editor of nine books, including "In Modern Bondage: Sex Trafficking in the Americas" (Transnational, 2003).

Marta Farion, chair of the Kyiv Committee of Chicago Sister Cities International, welcomed the panelists and guests, stating that "in organizing this program, the Kyiv Committee hopes to further dialogue and awareness that will lead the global community to identify and implement an effective policy response to human trafficking."

Preston Bradley Hall at the Chicago Cultural Center was filled to capacity for this event, as was fitting for the introduction to American audiences of Mr. Malarek's important exposé.

Women are trafficked to the United States, Western Europe, the Middle East and Russia from all corners of the globe - from Asia, Africa, Latin America and now from Ukraine. Ukraine is Europe's third top supplier of the "live commodity" to world markets. According to the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee to Fight Organized Crime and Corruption, the past few years have seen some 7 million Ukrainian nationals traveling abroad to earn money - about 2 million of them women under age 30.

A historical perspective

Ms. Verveer provided a historical perspective on the growing awareness in the United States of the problems associated with human trafficking, both for the victims and society. Human trafficking - modern-day slavery - is one of the fastest growing crimes in the world, affecting health and national security. Trafficking is the illegal trade in human beings, through abduction, the use of threat of force, deception, fraud or "sale" for the purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor. Issues of human trafficking became a topic of national concern following the global women's conferences attended by the first lady. This resulted in President Bill Clinton's 1998 Executive Order on Trafficking, with concentration on Prevention, Prosecution and Protection, and included a special program for Ukraine. The Trafficking Victim's Protection Act was passed and signed into law in 2000.

The three key elements in the fight against human trafficking, according to Ms. Verveer, are: prevention, including education of potential victims and the population at large; providing awareness of the issue; establishing connections between non-government organizations (NGOs) and government agencies; prosecution of criminals engaged in human trafficking; and protection of the victims through hot lines, shelters, medical care and special T-visas. Victims of human trafficking were often considered criminals by the law enforcement agencies that prosecuted traffickers, and the T-visas are granted while their cases are being examined. Previously, the women would be deported and returned to their homeland, where they were often recaptured by the same criminal nets and resold into slavery, Ms. Verveer explained.

Trafficking occurs from poorer to richer countries, Ms. Verveer stated, but this is a relative concept, and a country can be both an "exporter" of women and a "consumer" of the trafficked women. Trafficking affects predominantly women and children, but also men, and occurs not only to supply the sex trade but also for cheap labor. "People who are trafficked think they are being solicited for good-paying jobs overseas or think that they will be able to bear their pain and misery for a short time," that it will be worth it in the end, once they fulfill their contract or gain their freedom, Ms. Verveer observed.

The U.S. Department of State 2004 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report states that, of the 600,000 to 800,000 persons who are annually trafficked across international borders, 70 percent are female and 50 percent are children. Between 14,500 and 17,500 are trafficked to the United States each year. Trafficking is a phenomenon that touches all countries, all peoples and all races, but women and children are especially vulnerable. The TIP report also states that Ukraine is not effective in educating law enforcement officials and judges on human trafficking issues.

Prevention activities in Ukraine

Ms. Heyden explained the activities of Winrock International, which has been involved in programs for the prevention of human trafficking in Ukraine since 1998. Winrock's philosophy is empowering women, one individual at a time. In Ukraine, Winrock works in seven oblasts, where it has established Women for Women Centers that implement programs that provide training for women, crisis intervention, community response advocacy and outreach.

According to Ms. Heyden, women in Ukraine are especially vulnerable to the enticements of working overseas, thinking they will be able to improve the economic condition of their families. Of the women surveyed, 20 percent report they do not have enough money to buy food; and over half the women say they cannot provide for the needs of their children.

The Women for Women centers provide women with self-improvement and business skills, assist them with small loans and other economic incentives. The centers work with law enforcement officials, provide gender sensitivity training and assist in setting up counseling services for women in crisis, Ms. Heyden explained.

Winrock has sponsored a number of crisis hot lines in Ukraine, which women can call anonymously and obtain advice on protecting themselves from criminal elements. Ms. Heyden said a number of readily available publications describe the warning signs of exploitation, illegal employment, entrapment and arranged marriages to foreigners. Stories about victims of trafficking are publicized, raising awareness of the problem. Women arriving in cities from villages seeking employment are most vulnerable, she added.

Ms. Heyden concluded by saying that "through its programs in Ukraine, Winrock has assisted 46,000 women as direct beneficiaries, and indirectly 138,000 women, working in only seven oblasts. Imagine what the results would be if Women's Centers were established throughout the country."

The global sex trade

Mr. Malarek introduced the audience to his new book on human trafficking titled "The Natashas - Inside the New Global Sex Trade." An eloquent and emotional speaker, Mr. Malarek had the audience on the edge of their seats as he described the "organized criminal networks that feed the expanding sex industry," fueled by the Internet and helped by the relatively open borders and the ease of transportation of victims.

According to Mr. Malarek, the three major driving forces are poverty, greed and lust. These factors include the poverty of individuals, repressive economic policies of the nations supplying victims, as well as oppressive immigration policies in Western countries; the greed of rampant corruption, officials who can be bought and organized crime, which has found that sex trade is more lucrative than other crimes; and the lust that exists in the sex tourism industry, the need for immediate gratification. He accused the international community of encouraging human trafficking as a way of gratifying the sexual needs of overseas staff and armed forces on leave in foreign posts.

Most vulnerable in Ukraine are college students on campus, away from home for the first time, and children in orphanages. Mr. Malarek, who was an orphan himself, spoke of the way criminals solicite teenagers about to be sent out from orphanages, children with no life skills, no job training and no place to go. He explained that human trafficking continues to grow as a result of complacency, complicity and corruption among law enforcement officials worldwide. Perpetrators act in the open. They are seldom prosecuted and almost never convicted, he noted.

The fate of Ukrainian women and girls ensnared in the trafficking trade can be improved significantly through legal, social and community policies and practices. Being informed about agencies working in the field, legal remedies, international initiatives that raise barriers to the practice and the challenges that still remain is vital to bringing an end to human trafficking, Mr. Malarek underscored.

Dr. David E. Guinn ably guided the discussion, providing background information, introductions to the speakers and commentary. During the question and answer session, the audience learned that of 300 cases that went to trial in Ukraine, 17 resulted in convictions, with the perpetrators fined and sentenced to a period of community service or short jail time. The speakers stated that women in Ukraine differed from other victims of the sex trade in their level of education, as most were college-educated.

Copies of Mr. Malarek's "The Natashas - Inside the New Global Sex Trade" were available for autographs, and many audience members took advantage of this opportunity to purchase the book and exchange a few comments with the author following the discussion.

This colloquium on human trafficking was fully sponsored by the Chicago Kyiv Sister Cities Committee and presented in collaboration with the Chicago Business and Professional Group, Ukrainian National Women's League of America, Women's Association for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine (both the Alla Horska Branch and the Oksana Meshko Branch), and the Ukrainian Gold Cross.

| Home Page |