A video has been released on 3rd February by END FGM European Campaign, which works with 14 partner organisations across Europe and led by Amnesty International Ireland. FORWARD is the UK partner in this campaign which aims to put FGM on the European Union agenda and to echo the voices of women and girls living with FGM and those at risk. The video calls on European leaders to take action to END FGM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=QF0JrLSdVHY
When you hear the word slavery perhaps you might think of something that was in the past and something that people have risen above. It would be nice if this were true yet what we are now faced with is human trafficking which actually traps more people than in the entire 400 years of the transatlantic slave trade![1]
Human trafficking is the movement of people by such means as force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them[2]. There are many types of exploitation and it is not just limited to sexual exploitation, although this is the most common type for women. Other forms of exploitation may include forced labour, removal of organs, illegal adoption, domestic service, forced marriage or forced military service. Furthermore, whilst trafficking may often be perceived as a cross border issue it also takes place within countries. So long as a person is moved it does not matter how far[3]. Barnados are experiencing an increase in this type of child abuse and it certainly reminds us that trafficking is not some distant horror happening only in big cities. Anyone can be trafficked and 600,000 – 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked every year (this figure is for international trafficking)[4]. Of this figure 80% are women[5] and so clearly gender is an issue and one can see a link here between the deep poverty and lack of opportunity facing many women. Trafficking is a lucrative “business” and earns twice as much as Coca Cola[6], unlike drugs which can only be sold once a person can be sold over and over again.
People become “trafficked” for a variety of reasons. As the definition above states it can be via force, fraud or deception. Whilst there are cases of people being abducted[7] it is more common that there is consent to the movement but with different degrees of knowledge about what they will actually be doing when they reach the destination. For example, some women may have no idea of the actual work they will be doing and think they are going to be a nanny or a waitress whereas others may know the job but be unaware of the conditions. Other times the traffickers may make false marriage proposals or build up fake relationships and play on a person’s vulnerabilities. This is made easier to do by poverty which makes people more likely to look for a “way out” but it can also happen to anyone anywhere. This tactic can be seen a lot in trafficking within the UK and the barnados article cited below explains how a “boyfriend” often showers a girl with love and affection and after some time and “investment” the girl is passed on to be exploited. Once a girl believes she is in love and loved back the trafficker holds a lot of power over her as often she will not even recognise that she is a “victim”. This can make things complicated since if a “victim” won’t testify against their trafficker they will not be seen as “trafficked” and as a result they can risk being re-victimised as an illegal immigrant[8]. This means that instead of being protected a trafficked person can become criminalised! People are often too terrified to report to the police if they even have a chance since they are often made to believe the police cannot help or there will be people waiting to hurt them again and also that they might shame their families.
With numbers so large it can all seem overwhelming and incredibly difficult to tackle but it is important to remember that each number represents a person and each person helped is a step forward. As well as helping support those affected to rebuild their lives to truly tackle trafficking we must look to the causes; povert
y, vulnerability, lack of opportunity as well not forgetting the demand for the services of those trafficked. There are many organisations working in this area and I will include some links below.
written by Natalie Mepham
www.stopthetraffik.org – Anti trafficking campaign /awareness raising
www.unseenuk.org Bristol based Anti trafficking campaign and project
www.blueblindfold.com Anti trafficking campaign/ awareness raising.
www.barnardos.org.uk Childrens charity – internal trafficking.
http://www.thea21campaign.org/ International campaign
http://www.eaves4women.co.uk/POPPY_Project/POPPY_Project.php London Project
http://www.awayout.co.uk Local North East project
http://www.barnardos.org.uk/secos/secos_how_we_can_help.htm tees valley project
http://www.mysistersplace.org.uk/ Middlesbrough based domestic violence service.
http://www.myharbour.org.uk/ UK wide
http://www.thea21campaign.org/home.php International campaign
.
[1] www.blueblindfold.com
[2] www.unseenuk.org
[3] www.barnardos.org.uk/resources/research_and_publications/puppet-on-a-string-reveals-the-urgent-need-to-cut-children-free-from-sexual-exploitation/publication-view.jsp?pid=PUB-1454
[4] US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2005.
[5] ibid
[6] www.stopthetraffick.org
[7] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/06/sex-traffick-romania-britain
[8] Home Office UK action plan on human trafficking 2007
Aspen FORWARD leaflet designed by Maryam B. one of the youth advocates. Thank you Maryam!!!
FGM (female genital mutilation) is defined by the World Health Organisation as ‘all procedures which involve partial or total removal of the genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs’.
The practice includes procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. The mutilation is often practiced without any anesthesia or numbing medicine using crude utensils like razors, blades and pieces of broken glass. FGM has no health benefits and harms girls and women in many ways with pain, risk of death and live lasting sufference.
FGM is widely practiced in 28 African countries including Sudan, Guinea, Mali, Egypt, Eritrea and and Somalia where is estimated that between 98 and 100% of the female population has undergone it. Even if it is regarded often as so, FGM is not only an African reality, but it is also practiced among some Yemeni, Iranian, Iraqi and Indonesian tribes and migrant communities in Europe, America and Oceania.
If you haven’t heard much about FGM before is probably because is regarded as an issue affecting ‘some communities’ or worse there are preconceptions about FGM being ‘an expression of culture’ or a practice taken for granted as a sort of ‘routine’. FGM has not being prioritised by the international community and only one third of the African coutries where is widely practiced have a legislation against it. The non priorisation of FGM resulted into a lack of systematic surveys to collect information and contributed to make it an uspoken, underground phenomenon.
Here are some good reasons to discuss FGM:
*WHO 1997
We want to acknowledge the organisation FORWARD, 2005 for many of the information in this piece and suggest you to visit FORWARD’s website for more information about FGM: http://www.forwarduk.org.uk/key-issues/fgm
The Aspen FORWARD is part of a national youth led peer support programme. We are part of the North of England Refugee Service and we are based in Newcastle upon Tyne and Middlesbrough.
The Aspen FORWARD support the rights of women and girls with a programme of training, campaigning and awareness raising.
We focus on tackling issues related to sexual violence and particularly FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) as a practice affecting women’s health & well being with over 24 000 girls at risk every year in the UK only.
The Aspen FORWARD project is part of the North of England Refugee Service (www.refugee.org.uk), the North East based leading charity working with refugees, asylum seekers, migrants and local communities. Aspen FORWARD benefits from the 2 years of experience of working women’s work done by the CLG funded Aspen Culture Project (www.aspenculture.org.uk) and it is delivered in partnership with FORWARD (www.forwarduk.org.uk) an African Diaspora women led UK-registered campaign and support charity dedicated to advancing and safeguarding the sexual and reproductive health and rights of African girls and women.
To discover more about the work we do, to be involved or inquire about opportunities of training, volunteering and partnership work get in touch with Sara at:
Sara Ganassin
Aspen FORWARD Project
North of England Refugee Service (NERS)
3rd Floor, Sylvan House, 12 – 16 Woodlands Road¦ Middlesbrough¦TS1 3BE
19 Bigg Market|Newcastle Upon Tyne |NE1 1UN
Email: sg@refugee.org.uk
Office Middlesbrough: (01642) 217447 ¦ Office Newcastle: (0191) 245 7301
