Memorandum submitted by STOP THE TRAFFIK
1. STOP THE TRAFFIK welcomes the Inquiry
of the International Development Committee (IDC) into DFID's New
Strategy on HIV/AIDS. However, we are disappointed that the IDC's
Second Report of Session 2006-07 "HIV/AIDS: Marginalised
Groups and Emerging Epidemics" made no mention of victims
of human trafficking.[37]
In particular, whilst the report identified sex workers as one
of four key populations at risk, it did not identify trafficking
victims as such.
2. DFID references to human trafficking
victims in the context of HIV/AIDS have been present but sporadic.
In the IDC's Fourth Report on Session 2006-07 "HIV/AIDS:
Marginalised Groups and Emerging Epidemics: Government Response",
DFID refers to its support of a programme in China and Nepal tackling
the trafficking of children and women into prostitution.[38]
DFID's New Strategy on HIV/AIDS, "Achieving Universal Access",
recognises that "Female migrants and women and children caught
up in conflict face increased risk of abuse, violence and trafficking
and are at higher risk of HIV infection".[39]
Yet they neglect to specifically address the spread of HIV/AIDS
through human trafficking.
3. The centrality of human trafficking to
the spread of HIV/AIDS is unavoidable and self-evident. STOP THE
TRAFFIK urges the IDC and DFID to address the points raised in
the evidence below.
4. The Southern African Network against
Trafficking and Abuse of Children (SANTAC), a Southern African
Development Community (SADC)-derived NGO, identifies HIV/AIDS
as both a cause and a consequence of child trafficking.[40]
As a causal factor of child trafficking, HIV/AIDS increases the
number of orphans who are vulnerable to child trafficking, through
lack of a secure environment and increased numbers of exploitable
street children. It also increases the demand for sex with younger
girls, who are perceived to be free from STDs. Furthermore, HIV
transmission rates increase as a consequence of child trafficking,
as child trafficking victims have little control over the conditions
in which they are forced to have sex. UNICEF concurs, stating
that children forced into the sex trade are the most vulnerable
to contracting and spreading HIV/AIDS.[41]
5. In August 2007 the Journal of the American
Medical Association (JAMA) published the results of a review into
the prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Nepalese victims of sex trafficking.[42]
Of 287 sex trafficking victims identified by a major Nepalese
NGO, 38% tested positive for HIV. Girls trafficked prior to the
age of 15 were at increased risk, with 60% of this age group infected,
and were also at increased risk of longer duration in forced prostitution
in multiple brothels. The review recommended increasing intervention
in and reduction of sex trafficking to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.
6. Advocates for Human Rights, a US-based
NGO, states that the rise of trafficking in women and girls for
prostitution has led both to the emergence of new and the re-emergence
of old STDs.[43]
This has contributed to the increase of HIV transmission rates
in women by two to ten times. Eastern European countries that
have the highest numbers of trafficked women and girls also have
the quickest spread of HIV/AIDS. Human trafficking victims are
particularly vulnerable to HIV/AIDS as they are forced to have
sex against their will with multiple partners and no protection,
and with no subsequent access to medical care. Human trafficking
is also aiding the global dispersion of HIV subtypes, which are
more resistant to treatment. Physicians recommend that anti-trafficking
laws be enforced in order to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS.
7. The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, TB, and
Malaria reports on the emergence of sex trafficking as an HIV/AIDS
risk factor.[44]
One study estimates that 25% of trafficked women in Mumbai, India,
are HIV positive. Another found that over 60% of 218 trafficked
Nepalese sex workers in Mumbai were HIV positive. The Fund notes
the recommendation of the 8th International Congress on AIDS in
Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) that governments must work to merge
their anti-trafficking and HIV prevention efforts.
8. STOP THE TRAFFIK particularly endorses
this recommendation. The IDC should examine the feasibility of
and recommend to DFID that the UK government integrate anti-trafficking
work into all its poverty-reduction strategies. The sixth Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) to halt and begin to reverse the spread
of HIV/AIDS will only be achieved if human trafficking is tackled
as both a cause and a consequence of the geographical and quantitative
increase of HIV/AIDS and the vulnerability associated with it.
This can be implemented by including criteria for anti-trafficking
initiatives, such as preventative education, victim protection,
and perpetrator prosecution, within both the multilateral Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) of international financial institutions,
and DFID's bilateral Country Assistance Plans (CAPs).
9. Such moves would fall under the long-term,
preventative, and integrated human rights approach that DFID aspires
to in its new strategy "Achieving Universal Access".
It is only when DFID and the UK government take such steps that
the spread of HIV/AIDS and human trafficking can be effectively
tackled.
10. STOP THE TRAFFIK is a global movement
of local communities campaigning against human trafficking. For
more information, please contact 020 7921 4251, info@stopthetraffik.org,
or visit www.stopthetraffik.org.
37 http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmintdev/46/46i.pdf Back
38
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmintdev/329/329.pdf Back
39
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/achieving-universal-access.pdf Back
40
http://www.againstchildabuse.org/en/human_trafficking/relationship_between_trafficking_and_hiv_aids Back
41
http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr93printer.htm Back
42
http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/298/5/536?maxtoshow=&HITS=10&hits=10&
RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=trafficking&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT Back
43
http://www.stopvaw.org/Trafficking_and_HIV_AIDS.html Back
44
http://www.theglobalfund.org/programs/news_summary.aspx?newsid=2&countryid=SRL&lang=en Back
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