Human trafficking in times of armed conflict: a hidden story?

Human trafficking is more common than you think

Youthvillages.org

Human trafficking during armed conflict is a harsh, unknown reality

Human trafficking, as the name suggests, is a form of modern slavery. It involves the illegal, forced, or deceptive transportation of people for the purpose of labor, sexual exploitation, or activities for the financial gain of others. Human trafficking is a global problem that affects people regardless of age, gender, or ethnicity. It is estimated that approximately 1,000,000 people are trafficked worldwide each year, and between 20,000 and 50,000 people are trafficked to the United States, one of the largest destinations for sex trafficking victims. However, little is said about human trafficking that occurs during armed conflict. It is most often used as a weapon of war with devastating consequences for the victims and their families.

Human trafficking is happening everywhere and at all times, right under our noses

“In reality, victims of human trafficking are often voiceless and completely invisible to society.”

— Elise Stefanik

Human trafficking as a weapon of armed conflict

Every year, people living in war zones and those fleeing them are subjected to unspeakable violence and abuse. Women and children are most at risk in such situations. Armed groups use human trafficking to assert their power over a region, to establish their presence and dominance. Sexual and gender-based violence, abductions and kidnappings for forced marriages and forced labour are common practices to control people. A perpetrator can be anyone: a criminal belonging to a gang, a random opportunist, a party to the conflict or even a community member.

Traffickers target vulnerable people and in the chaos of armed conflict it is not difficult to spot a few. This happens because people are struggling to meet their basic survival needs, such as food, water, shelter and medicine. Therefore, in times of panic and fear, they are more likely to be deceived by people known as “Good Samaritans” who are too kind and helpful to them. Furthermore, victims can be violently trafficked during armed raids simply because they have not managed to reach safety despite their best efforts.

Even children can be trafficked by armed groups to become forced soldiers

Search for human trafficking

Risk factors to keep in mind

When armed conflict begins, terror and panic spread throughout the affected regions. Many people struggle to flee, while others find opportunities. Traffickers take advantage of the situation to trade and remain undetected. Some of the risk factors that facilitate them are the following:

1) Collapse of the state, deterioration of the rule of law
2) forced displacement
3) humanitarian emergency and socio-economic stress
4) social fragmentation and family disruption.

As conflict damages infrastructure and disrupts services, the breakdown of the rule of law allows perpetrators to act with impunity. Parties to conflict may recruit children into their ranks, force women and girls to marry their members, or coerce civilians into labor or sexual services. Countries with protracted conflicts have some of the highest overall vulnerability to modern slavery, and, as a result, high prevalence of modern slavery. These countries include Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Warning signs of human trafficking

In order to recognize and help victims of human trafficking in armed conflict, it is essential to look for a number of key signs in their behavior. Victims are usually unable to seek help due to various constraints, such as being held captive or constantly monitored by a gang member so that they do not escape or tell others what is happening. Therefore, it is necessary to recognize a person with behavior that suggests that he/she has been trafficked, in order to provide immediate help. That person may:

Seems excessively nervous, anxious, fearful for no apparent reason and is reluctant to talk to people other than those watching him/her
Be accompanied by someone at all times and never leave yourself alone
Look at the person(s) accompanying him/her with fear before answering a question
Not having the freedom to move and speak freely
Bruises and visible marks of physical abuse have

If many of the above conditions are met, the person is likely to be a victim of human trafficking. But one should not rely solely on behavioral cues to determine whether this is true. He/she should ask the right questions to confirm it and offer help, to avoid misleading judgments.

Questions as a tool to help victims of human trafficking in armed conflict

When an individual exhibits disturbing behavior that suggests they are being trafficked, asking the right questions is crucial to providing help. Understanding the context, such as the reason behind it, where, by whom, and for how long, is important information to rescue victims. Questions that can be used include:

Where do you live? If the person refuses to answer or doesn’t know, that’s a red flag.
How did you get that injury? If the person tries to justify it in some weird way, something bad is happening.
This is a very interesting tattoo. What does it symbolize? This is applicable if the person has bizarre symbols or words like “dad” or “for sale” and others that indicate that it is being sold.
Do you live with others? Where do you sleep? Do you have a bed? Do you sleep on the floor?
Will something happen to you if you leave the place where you are now? Has anyone threatened you or your family?

Providing assistance to victims of human trafficking is a major step towards protecting them

The Administration of Children and Families.gov USA

Suggestions to help the victims

Once it is confirmed that someone is a victim of human trafficking, helping them is a top priority. Of course, it is not advisable for individuals to confront traffickers solely for safety reasons. However, there are humanitarian and peacekeeping organizations that can inform citizens if they have evidence-based suspicions that human trafficking is taking place. Collaboration between the organizations and governments is certainly important to rescue victims so that the phenomenon can be tackled on a larger scale.

More specifically, governments should work with humanitarian actors to raise awareness of trafficking among populations and to prevent it, especially in areas of high displacement. This can be achieved by facilitating access to livelihood opportunities, education, medical services and legal advice. In addition, safe referral and incident reporting mechanisms should be planned and implemented in humanitarian settings. Frontline humanitarian and peacebuilding actors should be trained to handle such incidents appropriately, in particular by knowing how to identify cases of exploitation without delay and refer them to support services.

Conclusion

Human trafficking in armed conflict is a broad topic and needs to be discussed and addressed more effectively. As armed conflicts continue, more and more people are at risk of being trafficked as part of the war zone. The need for a coordinated response to such incidents by states and people is the only way to tackle the problem at its roots. More steps have been taken in that direction, but much more needs to be done to eradicate this type of modern slavery to a greater extent. Ultimately, history will judge whether governments made the right or wrong decisions.

This content reflects the personal opinions of the author. It is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge and should not be used as a substitute for unbiased facts or advice in legal, political, or personal matters.