Exploiting the poor

Earlier this week was International Women’s Day. While the Philippines has made great strides in the area of women and children’s rights, there is a lot of work to be done. In need of address are human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of Filipino women and children. In 2009 the US government put the Philippines (with countries like Cambodia) on a watch-list of nations suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking.

Women and children who are forced or abducted into prostitution come from economically and educationally poor backgrounds. Some are trafficked from provinces with promises of good jobs in big cities.  Estimates from 1998 are about 500,000 prostitutes in the country. ECPAT International (a group dedicating to ending child prostitution) estimates that between 60,000-100,000 children are trafficked annually in the Philippines; the majority for prostitution. Children are coerced, abducted or sold (sometimes by family) into slavery. Globally, we have the fourth highest number of child prostitutes.

Many Filipino women and children are also being trafficked internationally for commercial sexual exploitation. Some are promised good jobs and find themselves in the sex trade, others are abducted. In the United States, 41% of certified human trafficking victims came from Asia. Of that 41%, the second most victims came from the Philippines, just behind Thailand.

Reports indicate that the Philippines receives at least 300,000 sex tourists a year — from one country alone. With the continued prevalence of sex tourism in the Philippines we need to take a hard look at some of the tourists that are visiting. We have cultural and ecological diversity that, with the proper investment, would make us a unique destination. In past years we have talked about developing a cultural tourism program, but have seen little evidence of one. Instead, since President Cory Aquino and President Ramos we have been trying to pursue gambling as a tourist attraction. The question we should be asking is, who gains from gambling and casinos? Culture reflects values. Properly implemented, a cultural tourism program can benefit the diverse regions of the country and preserve our heritage. Gambling is just vice and exploitation. We are at risk of becoming the red light district of Asia.

In addition to legal and judicial deterrents, the best way to combat prostitution and human trafficking is to target the economic issues that make women and children easy prey. Citing data from the National Statistics Coordinating Board, we pointed out a few weeks ago extreme poverty and hunger have increased in the Philippines from 2003 to 2006 to today. The highest levels of poverty and hunger are found in agriculture industries. There are at least 1.5 million street children in the Philippines and, between the ages of 6-12, at least one million children out of schools.

There has been little to no trickle-down from reported economic gains. Hunger and extreme poverty continues to rise, while primary education enrolment numbers and the quality of our education continues to fall. Out of school children and women suffering from extreme poverty are ideal targets for human trafficking. We are in dire need of long-term poverty alleviation programs and education reform to combat factors that leave women and children susceptible to exploitation.

We do have a number of good laws on the books to protect women and children: the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act of 2003, the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009 and others. NGOs and the government have long been working on the problem. Just this week, a memorandum of agreement was signed between the government, the Visayan Forum, the Ateneo Human Rights Center and the International Justice Mission to combat human trafficking in the Philippines. Poverty, high unemployment, weak rule-of-law, sex tourism, poor education and corruption are all contributing factors.

The continued exploitation of impoverished Filipino women and children for sexual practices domestically and internationally is disgraceful. We have laws on the books to combat the problem. Having the laws is well and good, enforcement would be even better. –Alejandro R. Roces (The Philippine Star)