Listening to Local and Foreign Sex Buyers of Men and Women in Cambodia

Research on prostitution and trafficking has largely focused on the exploitation of girls and young women. This research comes out of the “Listening to the Demand” two-part study by an independent research team on the sex industry in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. “Listening to the Demand” is a series of research exploring often over-looked populations in the anti-trafficking conversation, including men and transgender people. The first of the studies was completed in 2013 and focuses on men who purchased sex with female sex workers. Interviews of 50 Cambodian and 50 foreign heterosexual and bisexual males explored the respondents’ views and use of prostituted women in Southeast Asia’s sex industry. The second part of the research was completed in 2014 and focuses on men who purchase sex with men. In this second part of the project, 51 Cambodian and 23 foreign men who have sex with men were interviewed about their views of prostitution, the individual sex worker, and their experiences of Cambodia’s sex industry. Due to its comparative nature, the research seeks to deliver information on the differences in culture between the foreign and Cambodian men who seek to pay for sexual services. Results point to the need for proper sex and gender education as well as different approaches when planning projects to reach out to men purchasing sex. In gaining a deeper knowledge of the beliefs and behaviours among the demand population, the findings suggest more holistic approaches are needed to combat the exploitation of sexual services in Cambodia.

Prosecuting Human Trafficking - Progress in the UK

This paper examines the United Kingdom’s approach to prosecutions and convictions of modern slavery and human trafficking offences. It focuses on the UK’s journey and the progress that it has made thus far, from having no legislation by which to tackle this crime to the newly enacted Modern Slavery Act (2015). The paper observes the low numbers of prosecutions leading to convictions as well as the difficulty in effective data collation and recording of trafficking offences. The paper focuses on a non- governmental organisations experience of working with victims and law enforcement agencies, using a sample of seventy four case files to record interactions with the criminal justice process. Further the paper suggests that in order for the Modern Slavery Act (2015) to obtain successful convictions, prosecution should only be seen as part of the solution and not the whole solution. It will only be a successful part of the UK narrative if it is used in conjunction with effective, long-term victim support and prevention efforts.

Learning From Incidents to Improve Services: Kenyan Victims’ Reaction to a Migrant Labour Scam in Thailand

Incidents that occur at workplace can serve as sources of unique knowledge from which organizations can derive information that can be insightful when drawing lessons on how to improve the functions, structures, or services of the organizations. In May 2015, a human trafficking and migrant labor syndicate was uncovered in Bangkok. Victims were Kenyans who had been lured into the scam, while seeking job opportunities abroad. This is a qualitative case study which describes and interprets Kenyan victims’ reaction to a migrant labor scam in Thailand.

The Relationship Between Human Rights Violations and Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is lucrative crime, often trans border, affecting every country in the world. In the course of this crime victims are subjected heinous experiences. Consequently the crime has been described as a grave violation of human rights. However, there are those that question the legal nature of trafficking in human beings, and whether it really is a violation of human rights. This article explores the relationship between human trafficking and human rights, and analyses what are the impacts of that relationship on State’s duties to fight the crime.

Measuring Government Responses to Modern Slavery: Vietnam Case Study

In 2014, the Walk Free Foundation released the second edition of the Global Slavery Index (the Index). The annual report estimated the number of people in modern slavery in 167 countries, assessed government responses to this issue, and examined the factors that contribute to risk of enslavement. This paper will provide an overview of the evolution of the government response component for the 2014 edition of the Index, explore the challenges involved in quantifying a government response to modern slavery through an examination of the situation in Vietnam, and highlight how the conceptual framework attempts to capture the various social, political and cultural intricacies involved in responding to modern slavery. Finally, the paper will discuss some of the limitations of applying a comprehensive framework to varied socio-political contexts, and identify potential ways forward as the Walk Free Foundation strives to address the gaps in research on responses to modern slavery.

Thinking Beyond the Escape: Evaluating the Reintegration of Child Soldiers in Uganda

While the Lord’s Resistance Army has gained notoriety for its brutal tactics and abduction of Ugandan children, little attention has been given to the return and reintegration of these formerly abducted child soldiers. The absence of a formal reintegration program in Uganda has placed the burden of reintegration on international NGOs, but reliance on non-local organizations to successfully reintegrate child soldiers has proven challenging. This paper seeks to evaluate whether the process of reintegration in Uganda has been successful. With an overwhelming lack of up to date and methodologically sound research, variables such as PTSD, domestic violence, alcoholism, violent crime, and primary education rates are evaluated to indicate the current state of Northern Uganda. These variables indicate an unstable environment in Northern Uganda and suggest reintegration has proven unsuccessful in the Acholi region. The successful reintegration of child soldiers is demonstrated to be not merely a Ugandan issue, but an international issue.

A Quantitative Analysis of Commercial Sex Advertisements During Super Bowl XLVIII

The Super Bowl is commonly known as the single largest human trafficking incident in the United States where an inordinate number of children may be trafficked in or around the host area to engage in commercial sex (Jee, 2011; Jervis, 2011). To examine this claim, our research team mined publicly available data from a major website known to host commercial sex advertisements for three months before and two months after Super Bowl XLVIII, held in East Rutherford, New Jersey.