TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN: TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN: TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN: TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN: policy suggestions developed by women who

have been trafficked.

HELGA FLAMTERMESKY / Psicología social / UNIVERSITAT AUTÓNOMA DE BARCELONA / Barcelona / Julio 2011

TEMAS DE LA EXPOSICION:

1. Explain the concept and forms of trafficking

2. Suggest PAR as a methodology to:

- Point to and address problems affecting immigrants

- Develop feminist, post-colonial proposals

- Conduct reserch from different perspectives and lines of thought.

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MAIN GOALS:MAIN GOALS:MAIN GOALS:MAIN GOALS:

1. Develop proposals of intervention by women who have been trafficked.

2. Give these women a face and acknowledge their expertise and survival

strategies.

3. Respond to these women´s concerns and requests:3. Respond to these women´s concerns and requests:

�“...we are sick and tired of being objects of research, study, analysis and

statistics”

� They are tired of policies developed for them but without them”. (GMIS

2006)

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Participatory Action Research PAR or FPAR

Participatory Action Research (PAR) is a process of inquiry that

includes, simultaneously:

> Scientific research

> Formative processes

> Political action

PAR methodology considers

Border thinking,

post-

colonialism/de-

colonialism,

FPARFeminist

Participatory Action Research

� Research as a feministpractice.PAR methodology considers

critical analysis, diagnosis of

situations, as well as practice to

be sources of knowledge.

At the same time is a way to

empower those women who take

part of the research process.

People who take part of this

process are at the same time

objects and subjects of research.

colonialism,

Situated

knowledge.

Feminism.

Other

rationalities

practice.

� Highlights knowledgeproduced by women.

� Develops theory frompractice.

� The goal is to empower.

¿What is Human Trafficking?

� Different definitions….

� On the numbers….

(a) [...] the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means

of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception,

of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of

payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person,

for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of

the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services,

slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;

(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in

subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in

subparagraph (a) have been used;

(c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose

of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any ofof exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of

the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;

(d) “Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.[2]

The Trafficking Protocol entered into force on 25 December 2003. By June 2010, the

Trafficking Protocol had been ratified by 117 countries and 137 parties.[3

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and

Children. was adopted by theUnited Nations in Palermo, Italy in 2000

The ultimate goal of trafficking is EXPLOITATION

For economic purposes

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With the purpose to

dominate and abuse of

power

TRAFFICKINGTRAFFICKINGTRAFFICKINGTRAFFICKING

Where? How?

- Country of origin

- Country of

- Recruitment- Transport- Transfer

Roots

- Abduction

- Threats (to victims

or others)

- Country of arrival

- Transfer- Reception- Acogida

- Swindle

- Fraud

-False conditions

Benefit from needs or dreems

Countries of transit - Legal or fake

documents

-Deprive of liberty

- Identity theft

� Threats

� No payment

� Retention of documents

� Deprive of liberty or controlled freedom

The control....

� Deprive of liberty or controlled freedom

� Violence

� Slavery

� Social isolation

�Fear

� Use of force

� sexual exploitation

� forced labor

� slavery

exploiting beggary

Forms of trafficking...

�exploiting beggary

� servile marriage

� forced marriage

� removal of organs

� Women in Colombia, United States, Philippines and Spain.

� Different nationalities: Mexico, Pakistan, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, El Salvador,

Rumania, Argentina, Philippines, Morocco, Senegal and Colombia.

� Women who have suffered different types of trafficking like: labor exploitation, sexual

exploitation, removal of organs, servile marriage, forced marriage.

� Women who have suffered trafficking recently and others who suffered this experience

PROFILESPROFILESPROFILESPROFILES

� Women who have suffered trafficking recently and others who suffered this experience

several years ago.

� Women who reported to authorities and entered the assistance circuit, and women

(actually the majority) who never reported and did not receive any institutional support.

� Most of these women are now immigrants in the country where they had suffered slavery.

� Women from different creed: Catholic, Protestant, Evangelic, Muslim, Agnostic, etc.

� All of them have finished their high school studies. Some of them have higher education.

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Philippines Spain USA Colombia

•. Women identify trafficking

as a problem related to

migration.

. They have shared life-

stories.

. They want to become

visible.

. They allow taking pictures.

. Contact and meetings took

..Women identify

trafficking but are unsure

on how to deal with it.

. They want to become

visible.

. They allow pictures but

without showing their

face.

. Interviews and

.Women seem to accept trafficking as

given for anybody migrating to the US.

. They are reluctant to share their

experiences in front of other people.

. They ask for confidenciality.

. I work with them on narratives through

email.

. Women identifiy

the problem and

want to address it.

. NGOs want to act

as their

spokespersons.

. They want to be

visible.

. I am working with. Contact and meetings took

place through NGOs.

. Interviews and

meetings were

conducted in their

homes.

. I am working with

them through the

university.

. They have no difficulties in

sharing their experience.

. I have written stories based

on their experiences.

. They have difficulties in

sharing their experience.

.They want to be part of the process as

migrant, not as victims of trafficking.

.

Phases and Activities :

PHASE 1: Review of international, national and local handbooks and protocols of assistance and prevention of trafficking.

�We analyzed the existing services to assist women victims of trafficking. We analyzed protocols, agendas and handbooks of assistance to victims of trafficking.

�Reflections from our experience to escape trafficking.

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�Reflections from our experience to escape trafficking.

� Misperceptions about trafficking

(pictures)

PHASE 2: Empowerment and advocacy.

�Development of a handbook for social intervention based on ideas, suggestions and proposals by women who have suffered trafficking.

�Web, activities, emails…

www.mujerfrontera.com

Training in intercultural mediation

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� Training in intercultural mediation

http://www.mujerfrontera.com/En%20ingles/propues/curso%20Mediatio

n%20and%20trafficking.pdf

“The way in which we think, name, and make trafficked women visible

has consequences: it can empower them, or it can legitimize ways of

control and domination (over them and other women)”.

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USO DE PALABRAS QUE DEFINEN LO QUE HACEN: incidencia y lobby

Durante este proceso se da un cambio de rumbo en la investigación....

OUTCOMES:

1. Stories2. Symbols3. Music4. A website: “Border woman”4. A website: “Border woman”5. Another form of dialogue6. Solve problems jointly.

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Empowerment….

� To position themselves and respond/challenge the experts (process of legitimising)

� They are not fixed images, static concepts… like stamps.

� They challenge concepts like empathy, gender, victims (negative victimisation), vulnerability,

“traumatised women”. They rather identify with concepts of subalterns, post-colonial, etc

� From victims to annoying witnesses (about what is NOT working).

� Open unexpected venues… like the academe.

� Turn a negative experience into a tool for transformation.� Turn a negative experience into a tool for transformation.

� No posicionarme como feminista al inicio, pues ellas han tenido malas experiencias con el

feminismo.

� Una gran acierto: que ellas a través de la práctica descubren un feminismo cercano, asequible,

algo que YA estaba en ellas.

�IAP: participación...No podemos entender la participación como asistencia, como

cumplir normas..etc... En este proceso surgieron otras formas de participación.

• +

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THE LINK

“Nos facilita imaginar el papel de las mujeres como conectoras en una red, si

pensamos metafóricamente la red como una telaraña”

Women are the spider that spins the web (of relations, experiences, contacts).

Women are the thread that crosses from one side the other; they are the knot that

holds the thread.

Women are the web (flexible and strong) where other women walk.

Each thread they spin is a new path, a new connection.

.

“ A falling tree makes more noise“ A falling tree makes more noise

than a growing forest...”

....and to break stereotypes

� We, migrant women, not only act through our feelings... but we are

politically positioned.

� Women who have suffered from trafficking are not only victims but also

social actors.

� We, migrant women, don´t need that “others talk on behalf of us.”� We, migrant women, don´t need that “others talk on behalf of us.”

� Women who have suffered from trafficking can not only contribute to

awareness-rising, but also conduct research.

� We, migrant women, do not necessarily need to walk the paths traced for

migrants.

Strategies

that have allowed me to apply FPAR (1)

1. THEORETICAL FRAME: Explaining women that their stories and suggestions

are supported by theoretical discourse such as post-colonialism, border

thinking, and liberation psychology gives them more confidence in

participating because they identify themselves as bearers of knowledge, not

just single individual stories...

� “BORDER THINKING refers to different belongings and subverts and challenges the physicla� “BORDER THINKING refers to different belongings and subverts and challenges the physicla

and intellectual territory we move through”.

� “Allows to think beyond identity politics”.

� “Defines types and roles of citizenships based on acknowledgement, not only on

integration of migrant women ”.

� “Unmasks and challenges hegemonic/white/male/post-colonial discourses”.