March 24, 2010
The Anti-Trafficking Law
Photos by Mitch Maurico
Human trafficking is a global problem that affects an estimated 12.3 million individuals worldwide. The United Nations estimates that of this number, about 70 per cent are women or girls trafficked into sex slavery.
Human trafficking is regarded as the third largest and most profitable black market industry in the world, only after weapons and drugs.
In the Philippines, the number of individuals trafficked each year are in the hundreds of thousands. As there is no official centralized database to track trafficked individuals, the numbers largely vary. But the fact remains that human trafficking is also a huge problem in the Philippines.
In 2003, Republic Act 9208 called The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act was passed. The passage of this law made the Philippines one of the few countries in Asia to have enacted an anti-trafficking legislation. The law establishes an Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) composed of government agencies, non-government organizations and other civic organizations for the development of comprehensive and integrated programs to prevent and suppress trafficking.
Jean Enriquez is Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW-Asia Pacific), one of the NGOs that were instrumental in the lobbying for and passage of R.A. 9208. Enriquez discusses the anti-trafficking law and illuminates us on its salient provisions.
What is the Anti-Trafficking Law?
The Anti-Trafficking Law or RA 9208 criminalizes acts of trafficking. Trafficking in this law is defined thus as the recruitment, transfer, transport, harboring or receipt of persons by means of the use of force, theft or even abuse of authority for the purpose of sexual or labor exploitation, involuntary servitude, or removal or sale of organs .
The Anti-Trafficking Law also includes clear provisions for the protection of all victims, regardless of consent. It also covers trafficking within borders or across borders and it also considers that victims, while saying that women and children are most vulnerable, may also include men.
How is sex trafficking defined in R.A. 9208?
There are clear provisions in R.A. 9208 that pertain to sex trafficking and clearly define the parameters of the criminalized act. It is about using recruitment or employment, or matching women with foreign men for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
I think sexual exploitation means not only prostitution, but also pornography. It can also be bride trafficking and other such definitions.
What was the trafficking situation particular to the Philippines that made this law necessary?
Before and during the lobbying for this law—which we lobbied for for nine years, we were going around the country and saw there was no name for this kind of violation of women’s human rights; this recruitment of women who are desperate for work, but are brought to situations of sexual exploitation.
The women and the mothers would say that they just met bad luck. They would only attribute it to misfortune because illegal recruitment is so commonplace. They didn’t know that there is an organized force preying on the vulnerability and desperation of women for additional income; these women who think it’s better to leave the country to save their family from starving and dying of hunger.
But it [trafficking] is not only in the Philippines. It is a global problem that has already allowed businesses and establishments to earn a lot from the backs of these women who are sexually exploited for prostitution like those working in brothels, in massage parlors and even those fronting as entertainment establishments, but are actually selling women to buyers for sexual acts and the like.
What were the changes brought about by the passage of R.A. 9208?
Of course the law started facilitating the conviction or prosecution of traffickers who have long been immune to criminal liability. Also, it gave the women confidence to seek justice. A lot more victims were able to come out and claim that they were actually victims of sex trafficking.
The law also somehow increased the reportage of the issue because the law provides for comprehensive support for victims and also it ensures that the sexually trafficked women are not criminalized, thus giving them a sense of protection and security.
We tend to think of trafficking as a remote reality that doesn't affect us. Why should the issue of trafficking be relevant to us, even as ordinary women?
I believe that the fact that women are sexually trafficked and exploited should bother us because it again gives the statement to all of us that there are men who think that women can be bought and used sexually—which is similar to rape.
I am affected with every rape that happens because it’s a statement to all of us women that when you go out there in the middle of the night, dis oras ng gabi, or if you feel you’re dressed skimpily or you give signals, then there’s a sanction against you.
The same is true for sex trafficking because it’s sexual violence; it is violence against women. R.A. 9208, is a huge leap in protecting women’s human rights. I think it reminds society that we, women are not commodities to be bought and sold. We ought to educate ourselves and the rest of the public that there is such a standard which tells men that you cannot use money in exchange for women’s bodies, therefore it is relevant to all of us.
Report trafficking cases to the Philippine Ports Authority, Coast Guard or in the Visayan Forum halfway house in the port. You can also call the Visayan Forum Hotline at (632)709-0711 or (632)709-0573.
For more information on trafficking, please log on to www.catwinternational.org or http://jlp-law.com.
You may also log on to www.catw-ap.org .
Ana Santos often claims that her writing is characterized by war and sex. As a freelance journalist, she has written extensively about sex and relationships, gender issues, and armed conflict in Mindanao for both local and international publications. Ana is also the founder and editorial director of SexAndSensibilities.com, a website that pushes the envelope on the understanding of sexual reproductive health by making it sexy and sassy.
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