Human Trafficking in Australia and Japan: A Persistent Problem - Coursework Example

Human Trafficking in Australia and Japan: A Persistent Problem {This is a place-holder for a title page, edit according to your course guidelines} Table of Contents Abstract 1 Introduction 2 1. The Scope of the Human Trafficking Problem 3 1.1 Human Trafficking in Australia 3 1.2 Human Trafficking in Japan 4 2. Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking 5 2.1 Initiatives and actions in Australia 6 2.2 Initiatives and actions in Japan 6 3. The Shortcomings of Anti-Trafficking Measures 7 3.1 The Australian Record 7 3.2 The Japanese Record 8 4. Conclusion 9 Works Cited 12 Abstract Despite being modern, advanced nations, Australia and Japan are struggling with a persistent and very old problem: the modern forms of slavery known as human trafficking. The problem in terms of numbers of victims is comparatively similar in both countries, as are their efforts to fight the problem. And in both countries, key issues that continue to encourage the perpetuation are being overlooked, inevitably guaranteeing that the problem cannot be completely eradicated without a fundamental change in approach. Introduction "Why is human trafficking into Japan and Australia a persistent problem despite the efforts of those two governments to eliminate or reduce it?" Human trafficking is slavery, and the two most common forms of this practice are sex trafficking in which a person is forced into some form of prostitution, and forced labour. (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2008:6) Australia and Japan are both considered “destination countries” for victims of these forms of exploitation. (Tigno, 2001, OAS, 2004, ILO-Japan, 2005, Putt, 2007, and Keat, 2008) The Trafficking in Persons Report (TIPS) is a comprehensive assessment of over 170 countries with regards to the scope of their problems with human trafficking and their efforts to combat it. Australia is rated higher in its anti-trafficking efforts by the 2008 TIPS report than Japan, but in both countries human trafficking is recognised as a problem which dedicated efforts are being made to eliminate. Even so, the problem still exists at a fairly similar level in both countries. Australian authorities have identified at least 100 victims of sex slavery since 2004. (Benns & Gilmore, 2008) In Japan, the National Labor Committee, a U.S.-based industry watchdog, accuses auto giant Toyota of a long list of human trafficking crimes against its vast workforce. (Kernaghan, et al., 2008) These are just two examples of the persistent problem in both Australia and Japan that is the focus of this research. The reason that Australia and Japan were selected for this study is that among the nations of the Asia-Pacific region, they are considered perhaps the most advanced. They are both stable democracies, with high standards of living, and generally good records in the area of human rights. And they are both essentially island nations; they share no land borders with neighbouring countries, which should do much to prevent the easy entry of trafficking victims. And yet despite these advantages, the human trafficking problem is still a concern in both of these countries. The reason for that is that even though much attention is paid to human trafficking, the real root causes of the problem – the demand for people, and the conditions in those peoples’ home countries that make them susceptible to human trafficking – are not being adequately addressed. 1. The Scope of the Human Trafficking Problem The Trafficking in Persons Report of 2008 gives varying estimates of the problem of human trafficking worldwide. Quoting figures provided by the International Labour Organisation, the TIPS report gives a figure of 12.3 million people worldwide who are victims of trafficking. (TIPS, 2008:7) The report mentions other estimates, without giving their sources, of between four and 27 million people. In addition, the TIPS report cites U.S. government research completed in 2006 that found that approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders annually throughout the world. About 80 percent of transnational trafficking victims are females, and half of those are estimated to be minors, i.e. under the age of 18. (TIPS, 2008:7) 1.1 Human Trafficking in Australia According to the Australian Federal Police, between January 2004 and September 2006 there were a total of 117 criminal investigations into human trafficking cases, which resulted in 23 arrests, 14 subsequent criminal prosecutions, and four convictions; additionally, 66 victims of human trafficking were placed into various victim support programs. (Putt, 2007:3, and Schnierer, 2008:2) The trouble with these numbers is that in Australia conditions are such that the definition of what constitutes human trafficking has been subject to disagreement. Because nearly all of the human trafficking cases that make up the official statistics involved women involved in the sex trade, the focus of Australian anti-trafficking efforts has been on this activity. (TIPS, 2008, Schnierer, 2008, and Pearson, 2007) But there is concern about the extent of forced labour in Australia, due to the use of the ‘457 Visa’, which allows employers to sponsor foreign guest workers for a period of up to four years. (Ibid.) Under a ‘457 Visa’, an employer may fill a position with a foreign worker, but the worker may not leave his job or change employers, and if he does so, he must either re-apply for a new visa, or leave Australia. (ADIC, 2006) These conditions have made it possible for some employers to exploit workers with poor conditions and low pay, conditions bad enough in some cases that they would meet most definitions of forced labour. (Schnierer, 2008) If anti-forced labour measures were extended to cover these workers, the number of trafficking victims in Australia would certainly be much higher; the Australian NGO Project Respect estimated in 2006 that up to 1,000 persons might be thus affected. (humantrafficking.org, 2006) 1.2 Human Trafficking in Japan As in Australia, the number of victims of trafficking in Japan is difficult to determine. Official figures, which are based on trafficking complaints reported to Japanese authorities and cases prosecuted under anti-trafficking laws, are similar to those of Australia. The International Labour Office in Japan reported a total of 307 victims of sex trafficking from 2000 to 2003, based on statistics made available by the Japanese National Police Agency in 2004. (ILO-Japan, 2005:32) In 2004, 79 trafficking cases were reported to Japanese police, and 77 victims were found. (ILO, 2005) The 2008 TIPS report does not give figures on numbers of victims, but states that 11 sex trafficking and two labour cases were prosecuted in Japan in 2007, resulting in a total of 14 convictions, a slight decrease from 17 cases with 15 convictions in 2006. (TIPS, 2008:150) This is disputed by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, which provides figures of 40 cases in 2007 and 77 in 2006. (MOFA, 2008) If the figures for the two countries are informally compared, Japan reported 242 victims in a 36-month period (2004-2006) (Ibid.), whereas Australia reported just 66 in a 33-month period (January 2004-September 2006), or about 81 per year for Japan compared to 24 per year for Australia. But if one considers that the population of Japan is approximately six times that of Australia, the trafficking problem, at least based on official figures, begins to look proportionally very similar. And just as in Australia, the figures for the number of actual human trafficking victims in Japan are highly disputed, although many estimates, while possibly valid, are unsubstantiated. Research done by the Organisation of American States in 2004, for example, found approximately 1,700 female trafficking victims among women who were either detained under Japan’s Immigration Control Act or otherwise in the country illegally, as well as those who entered Japan under ‘Entertainer’ or ‘Child or Spouse of Japanese National’ visas. (OAS, 2004:3) But how those victims were differentiated from others in those groups is not explained. And the National Labor Committee produced a 68-page report in June 2008, accusing Japanese auto giant Toyota of subjecting up to 10,000 workers to forced labour conditions, and reporting that 200 to 300 per year actually die from overwork. (Kernaghan, et al., 2008:20) But while the report details two such cases in which the Japanese courts actually made rulings to that effect, the attribution of the much higher figure is made only to “a prominent Japanese attorney”. (Ibid.) 2. Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking The reason the American Trafficking in Persons Report is cited as a benchmark for assessing other countries’ problems with human trafficking and their efforts to combat it is because it is a yearly report that rates all countries against a single consistent set of guidelines. The guidelines are based on the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), which states that “the purpose of combating human trafficking is to punish traffickers, to protect victims, and to prevent trafficking from occurring”. (TIPS, 2008:5) The TIPS report has a narrow focus, basing countries’ rankings on definite actions governments have taken to fight trafficking, such as the enacting of laws specifically addressing trafficking, numbers of prosecutions and convictions, prison sentences for traffickers, programs to protect and assist victims, and prevention efforts such as immigration and border security improvements. (Ibid.:11) Based on these actions, the TIPS report places each country on one of three ‘tiers’. Tier 1 countries, such as Australia, are “those that comply fully with the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”. Tier 2 countries, such as Japan, are those who do not, but are “making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance”. Countries that do not meet the minimum standards are considered Tier 3. (TIPS, 2008:13) 2.1 Initiatives and actions in Australia The Australian Government has made several efforts to combat human trafficking, beginning in 1999 with the passage of the Slavery and Sexual Servitude Act. In 2005, Australia ratified the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and passed additional criminal laws against trafficking with the Trafficking in Persons Offences Act. (Putt, 2007, and Schnierer, 2008) In June 2008, the government committed $20 million per year for the specific purpose of combating sex slavery in Australia. (Benns & Gilmore, 2008) Because of these measures and the number of offenders charged, prosecuted, and convicted under anti-trafficking laws, the 2008 TIPS report places Australia in Tier 1, the same ranking it has held since 2004. (TIPS, 2008:61) Forced labour is a contentious issue in Australia, largely due to the ‘457 Visa’ which legally ties workers to their employers. Pearson (2007:35-36) points out that even though forced labour is defined in the Australian Criminal Code Dictionary, there is no general offence of forced labour in the Criminal Code. The TIPS report describes some actions Australia has taken, such as the barring of 123 employers and warnings issued to 273 others for failing to pay minimum wages to ‘457’ workers, but also mentions that there were no criminal penalties levied on any employers for forced labour practices. (TIPS, 2008:62) 2.2 Initiatives and actions in Japan Japan has taken a number of steps to combat human trafficking, beginning with the adoption of a National Action Plan in December 2004. The Japanese government has also approved the UN Protocol against trafficking, as well as making a series of changes to existing criminal statutes and immigration regulations to specifically address trafficking. (MOFA, 2008) The Japanese government’s measures are virtually identical to those of the Australian government, yet the TIPS report gives Japan a Tier 2 ranking, judging it less effective in its efforts against trafficking than Australia. The reason for this is that despite the implementation of reforms, prosecutions of trafficking offences decreased in 2007 from 2006, and the Japanese authorities, according to the U.S. State Department, do not use a formal, systematic procedure to identify victims. (TIPS, 2008:150) Ironically, efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the sex trade, seem to have made victim identification more difficult by driving sex businesses out of red-light districts in major cities and forcing them to operate underground. (Ibid.) 3. The Shortcomings of Anti-Trafficking Measures Despite efforts to eliminate human trafficking, the problem persists and seems to be growing worldwide. Even officials from the United States, the country with the most concise and effective standards against trafficking, admit that their country is not immune to the problem. (Hansen, 2008) Both Australia and Japan have taken aggressive steps to fight trafficking, and while officials in both countries can point to statistics on the numbers of offenders punished and the numbers of victims rescued, the general sense is that these represent a very small part of the overall problem. 3.1. The Australian Record The biggest criticism of Australia’s efforts against trafficking is that the wrong approach is taken to victims of trafficking. Under Australian law, no distinction was made until recently in the circumstances of people who are in violation of immigration laws, which criminalises the presence of many victims of trafficking. Assistance services are tied to the victims’ willingness and ability to help as witnesses in prosecuting offenders. (The Human Trafficking Project, 2007, and Broderick, 2008) Nonetheless, the fear of being detained and deported by the government discourages many victims of trafficking from seeking help. (Putt, 2007, Pearson, 2007, and Schnierer, 2008) In turn, this hampers enforcement and prosecution efforts against trafficking, due to the lack of witnesses and informants. Another factor is the questionable existence of the ‘457 Visa’. Even though the abuses under the visa have been addressed to some extent (see 2.1, above), its essential nature of tying workers to employers almost guarantees it will be misused. As long as it exists in its basic form, it will continue to serve as an encouragement to poor people overseas, whose dreams of earning big money in Australia will continue to put them at risk of falling victim to traffickers. This points out perhaps the biggest shortcoming in efforts to combat trafficking, the lack of attention paid to the sources of victims. The Philippines, a poor Asian country in close proximity to both Australia and Japan, is a very good example of how the misdirected focus on effects rather than causes is hindering anti-trafficking efforts. Foreign currency remittances from Filipino workers overseas are a significant part of the Philippine economy, bringing about $1.5 billion a month into the country. (Gov.Ph, 2008) Competition among Filipinos for foreign job opportunities is fierce, and many willingly agree to postings that are questionable, or are encouraged to do so by their families. (SunStar, 2008) Efforts to combat trafficking in the Philippines must balance giving people the opportunity to earn a living against keeping people safe; likewise, efforts by Australia to help the problem in a source country like the Philippines must recognise the risks that things like the ‘457 Visa’ and a soft approach to dealing with refugees may present. 3.2 The Japanese Record Japan has a similar situation with regard to its provisions against trafficking: the existence of a sex industry which is at least partly-legal, a visa provision (the ‘Entertainer Visa’) which is susceptible to abuse, and labour provisions which potentially permit the exploitation of workers, such as the ‘temporary worker’ provision under which Toyota employees some 10,000 people. (Kernaghan, et al., 2008) Like Australia, it seems that conditions are permitted to exist in Japan that actually restrict the effectiveness of anti-trafficking efforts. And even though Japan has held discussions with many source countries and initiated some prevention measures with them (MOFA, 2008), the problem persists. The most glaring problem for Japan seems to be the ‘Entertainer Visa’. The Philippines again serves as a good example, because it is the most popular source of these so-called ‘entertainers’. Although some restrictions have been applied to reduce the number of Filipino women entering Japan as entertainers from a high of 7,000 per month in 2004 to about 1,000 per month in 2007 (Hansen, 2008), the numbers are still very high. By comparison, the U.S. only issues about 13,000 similar visas for entertainers worldwide in an entire year. (Ibid.) These women are employed as singers, club hostesses, and escorts, no doubt sometimes legitimately, but many fall victim to trafficking that forces them into prostitution. The appeal of being an ‘entertainer’ for young Filipina women is that not much is required in the way of qualifications. The case of one young woman, recruited as a dancer but forced to work as a bar hostess and escort in Okinawa, is a good example. A fresh college graduate with no job experience, she was eager to begin work abroad to help support her family. After having her passport seized by her employer and then subsequently being raped by one of her ‘customers’, the young woman found herself in hot water with the Japanese authorities for being an illegal alien. (Olea, 2008) Just as in the case of the Australian ‘457 Visa’, the Japanese ‘Entertainer Visa’ is too big a temptation; too tempting to those desperate to earn money for their families, and too tempting to traffickers to take advantage of soft provisions to line their own pockets. Conclusion This report has briefly described the worldwide problem of human trafficking as it relates to Australia and Japan. The scope of the human trafficking problem in each country has been described and compared, along with the actions each government takes to try to eliminate the problem. Some of the reasons why these efforts are not entirely successful have also been examined, and lead to certain conclusions. First is the matter of demand. The Australian ‘457 Visa’ and the Japanese ‘Entertainer Visa’ illustrate that there is a demand for particular kinds of human resources. If the issue of reducing or eliminating the demand were addressed instead of the mechanisms to satisfy the demand, efforts against human trafficking would be more effective. The second issue is the circumstances of source countries where overseas employment is considered an integral part of the economy. This is simply another form of demand. Initiatives to aid the development of countries like the Philippines and reduce the reliance on overseas jobs should be considered a vital component in any effort to combat trafficking in Australia and Japan. Until they are, the two countries will only be treating the symptoms and not the illness. References Australian Government Department of Immigration & Citizenship. (2006) Visas & Immigration: Temporary Business (Long Stay) – Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457). [Internet] Available from: Benns, Matthew, and Gilmore, Heath. (2008) ‘All-out bid to emancipate nation's sex slaves’. The Sydney Morning Herald [Internet], 6 July 2008. Available from: Broderick, Elizabeth. (2008) ‘Trafficking: The Need for a Human Rights Based Approach’. Speech, Inaugural Anti-Trafficking Forum, University of Technology Sydney, 24 July 2008. [Internet/Transcript], Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. Available from: Gov.Ph News. 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