The trafficking of women and children for the purpose of prostitution is one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activities and is now considered third largest source of profits for organized crime, behind only drugs and guns (HRW, 2001). Sex trafficking continues to increase the number of victims who are lured into the sex trade. Labor migration is directly proportional to sex trafficking; thus labor export has become an instrument to lure women into prostitution and turn the sex trade into a lucrative business. There are an estimated 7-8 million Filipino workers abroad, and the majority of them are women. Factors that have kept Filipino women as primary victims of trafficking include the Philippines reputation in sex tourism, relaxed labor export restrictions, and the ratification of the Visiting Forces Agreement. Poverty, government corruption and the patriarchial society also play crucial roles. In addition, the current Philippine government under President Joseph Estrada has turned a blind eye to the issue of sex trafficking.

2. Description

Definition of Trafficking:

The IOM (2001) has defined trafficking as "Any illicit transporting of migan women and/or trade in them for economic or personal gain." This may include the following elements:

"Facilitating the illegal movement of migrants to other countries, with or without their consent or knowledge; deceiving migrant women about the purpose of trafficking them; selling women into, or trading women for the purpose of employment, marriage, prostitution or other forms of profit-making abuse" (Grameegna, 1996, 3).

More specifically, sex trafficking is "the transport, sale and purchase of women and girls for prostitution, bonded labor and sexual enslavement within a country or abroad" (CATW, 2001)

Acts and Practices associated with sex trafficking:

Sex trafficking often involves the use of force, threats, trickery, or false promises. Different forms of sexual practices where women are sexually exploited include brothel prostitution, sex tours, mail order brides, serial sponsorships, sex shows, comfort women, and pornography.

Brothel Prostitution: See below

Sex Tourism: Sex tourism in developing countries sells people by advertising them as domesticated and trained to serve tourists. It uses local women to attract foreigners. The Philippines are promoted as the land of women; an advertisement in the internet reads "Wet and Wild Fun in the Philippines for $19.95." In some European and Japanese magazines, the Philippines is promoted as "pedophile's paradise." Males comprise the greatest number of tourists to the Philippines, with 86% Arabs and 81% Japanese male tourists in 1996 (IOM, 2001). Touism is one of the top money earners in the Philippines. In five years the dollar earning of the government from touirism increased by 256% in 1997 (IOM, 2001). While this industry gives income to the government, it also creates and expands the sex industry and entices more desperate women into the business.

Mail-order-bride: The mail-order-bride is the same as any woman who is a victim of sex trafficking. They face the same issues of trickery, force, and sexual exploitation. They may be unemployed or underemployed, and many are less educated poor rural women.In a study conducted by the Commission on Filipino Overseas of the Department of Foreign AFfairs, out of the 598 fianceses/spouses of foreign nationals in 1996, 91% were women, and 70% had no knowledge of their host country (CATW, 2001).

Visitiing Force Agreement (VFA): Twenty two ports all over the Philippines will be sites for US military exercises. Peripheral areas will be set up as recreation and leisure activities for the American forces. It is expected that women from poor and rural provinces will be lured to act as "comfort women" and engage in prostitution. Since the Vietnam war, the presence of women has become a necessity to the American soldier to relieve their minds from the atrocities of war (Gabrielle, 2001). With the VFA, "women and children are expected to arrive in droves in places near the US military stations where brothels, clubs, karaoke bars, beerhouses and massage parlors will sprout like mushrooms" (Gabrielle, 2001).

Trafficking Trends:

Destination countries: Japan is the largest market for Asian women trafficked for sex, where about 200,000 non-Japanese women are involved, over half are from the Philippines (Miko, 2000). Although prostitution is illegal in Japan, it is openly advertised publically and is an entrenched part of corporate entertainment. Philipino women are also increasingly trafficked into Korea, in addition to newly industrializing countries like Singapore and Malaysia. Although the vast majority are trafficked within the region, some victims are also sent to Western Europe, the United States, Australia, and the Middle East.

Economic Crisis: The slow recovery process of the economic crisis in 1997 has contributed to the increase in trafficking. Families that have been trapped into destitution are desperate to find ways out; many find that crossing borders through illegal means to be their only hope of escaping poverty. Job losses and decreased incom particularly threatens the basic needs for women and children. Furthermore, the gains that the Philippines made in terms of equal protection and equal pay quickly disintegrate in times of economic hardship. The crisis has thus exacerbated the problem of irregular migrant trafficking. When Yorio Tanimura of the International Organization of Migration spoke of the impact of the Asian crisis, he stated "the situation is ripe for smugglers to exploit people's security" (IOM, 2001).

Globalization: Globalization has prompted the increase in transnational crimes. Although big time operations are still controlled mainly by organized crime syndicates, there is still a rapid spread of small time opeations at every state facilitating the trafficking process. Friends, relatives, partners, couples and husband and wife teams all make up the chain of traffickers (UNDP, 2001). According to the US State Depeartment official Claudia Gonzales, "the trafficking of women and children iin the region has grown along with increased trade and economic development, expanded tourism and the easing of international travel, and the officially sanctioned export of manpower" (Johnson, 2001). Advanced technology has made it easier to forge documents and has also been used to market women and children for purposes of pornography, prostitution, and marriage matching. In addition, trafficking groups and networks continue to enjoy considerable political influence over corrupt governmental officials.

Poverty: Victims are usually poor women and girls who come from both urban and rural areas. They have little or no education. Most are single or single mothers, and many of them have a background of abuse, or a failed relationship (CATW, 2001). They are also from families that expect their daughters to support their family (CATW, 2001). The majority of traffic victims are taken against their will to other locations in Southeast Asia; only a minority are taken out of the region. The impoverished lack opportunities to education, employment, and general awareness about trafficking, which makes them the primary victims for recruiters.

Recruitment:

The recruiters timing, in addition to the traditional responsibility of women to care for their families make their offers difficult to resist. Because many agents are local people who are familiar with the local conditions, "they are able to strategically recruit in the lean period before the harvests, or target families with known financial difficulties" (HRW, 196, 1995). Traffickers lure women and girls into their networks through false promises of decent working conditions at relatively good pay as nannies, maids, dancers, factory workers, or models. The attraction of a big city, better paying jobs, and a better life leads women and girls who have few options at home to accept these false offers. In addition, the fear of infection of HIV/AIDS has led traffickers to recruit younger victims, sometimes as young as ten, from remote areas perceived to be unaffected by AIDS (HRW, 1995, 197). Once the women reach their destination, their passports are confiscatede to their trafickers and the victims are subjected to extreme physical and mental abuse, including rape, torture, starvation, imprisonment, deathh threats, and physical brutality to ensure that they comply with the demands of the traffickers.

The Brothel and Debt Bondage

Recruiters sometimes buy children from poor families and sell them into prostitution. In other cases, parents are deceived into believing their daughter will be working in a factory or as a servant; recruiters give the parents money telling them their daughter will soon repay the amount at her new job. The money paid to the parents forces the girls into debt bondage; they must repay this amount plus interest by working at the brothel. The debt mounts as recruters add transportation costs, and brothel owners add the cost of food, clothes, medicine, and other expenses. The women are held against their will until they work off their debt, which typically takes several years. Traffickers often transfer victims from their home communities to unfamiliear destinations, including foreign countries away from family, religious institutions, and other sources of protection or support. They are placed in countries where they do not know the language and ar unfamiliar with the culture. The victims are defenseless and vulnerable, and are are often forced to engage in sexual acts through physical violence. Many police officers and their local government officials facilitate and profit from the sexual exploitation of women and girls. For a price, they ignore abuses that occur in thier jurisdiction.

LIving and working ocnditions in the brothel are inhumane. The women and girls are forced to work ten to eighteen hours per day, about twenty five days a month. They average between five and fifteen clients daily. The following situation describes a typical scenario:

"L" was thirteen years old when she was recruited. Her father took $480 iwth the understanding that his daughter would pay the loan back out of her earnings. The agent took "L" to her to a large city,, and three days later she was taken to a brothel. "L" did not konw what was goint on until a man came to her room and started touching her breasts and body and then forced her to have sex. For the next two years, "L" worked at various parts of Malaysia in four different brothels. The owners told her that she would have to keep working until she paid off her father's debt. Her clients, who often included police, paid her $4 each time. "L" was freed when her brothel was raided by police, and was taken to a shelter run by a local NGO. She was fifteen years old, had spent over two years of her young life in compulsory prostituion, and tested postitive for HIV (ASW and SRP, 1993, 1)

Recovery and Prevention:

Returnees are often less candid when talking about their experience abroad. most admit to only having worked in factories or in agricultureal jobs where the pay is good. People who leave the sex industry feel obligated to held the pretense that they are happy and prosperous. This is an unwritten duty of those who depart for those who remain (Bruno, 1998). "When they come back, they must bring presents, and exude an air of success and achievement,even when the reality is far from this" (Skrobanek et al, 1997, 26). The women often becomes objects of admiration, regardless of whether famiy and friends are aware of the nature of their work.

A surprising number of women choose to continue working as prostitutes. They feel ashamed by their experience and do not want to deal with the negative stigma in their home countries and the disgrace they will bring to themselvesand their families if they return home. However, according to the IOM, teh poverty that forced these women to seek work abroad is still the main issue, despite the abuse, harsh conditions adn all the risks involved, prostitution provides a means of survival for these women and their families (IOM, 1997). For this reason, the issue of poverty needs to be addressed, and access to education and employment must be improved. Programs that provide sustainable livelihood and poverty alleviation among familoies most at risk should be implemented. Gender equality should also be promoted. Furthermore, awareness campaigns have proven to be successful in educating people about trafficking at the local, national, and regional level. This has helped to mobilize women and children at the grassroots level, and governments and NGOs at all levels.

Due to the region's slow economic recover, human trafficking in the Philippines is likely to remain high in the coming years (Boonpakedi et al, 1998, 43). However, an increasing internation focus on the paoblem, along with expanded international cooperatives endeavors and changes in national legislation, will hopefully combine to curb the growth. Over the last decade, numerous conferences, symposia, seminars, and workshops have been held to evolve strategies addressing persistent causes. Unfortunately, teh impacts on trafficking and the will and action of the Filipino government often leads much to be desired.

At present, there is no Philippine law that directly addresses sex trafficking. Instead, there are laws that address similar situations that may be used to bring traffickers to justice. Some of these laws include : Migrants Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act, Mail Order Bride Law, and Exploitation and Discrimination Act. A bill entitled "Anti-Trafficking in women and Minors Act of 1997 is currently pending at the House of Representatives.

The major parties involved are the victims, the government, the traffickers, and the corrupt law enforcement. The government is responsible for providing victims with the proper treatment and access to needed services. Services should include prevention measures such as education to women and girls about the dangers of trafficking and the techniques used to lure them into the trade; proper treatment to survivors of trafficking such as counseling, health services, skills training and legal aid; and collaboration with well established NGOs that have experience and knowledge about trafficking. Recruiters and corrupt enforcement officers need to receive severe punishment for their actions.

Agreement between the Philippines and Belgium:On September 15, 1994, the governments of the Philippines and Belgium signed an agreement to combat trafficking. The agreement was prompted by the acknowledgement of the massive sexual exploitation of women from developing countries into Europe. This first bilateral agreement opposing the global sex trade in women commits governements to legal initiatives and programs of research, education and social services on the trafficking and prostitution of women.

III. Geographic Clusters

Southeast Asia accounts for about a third of the estimated 500,000 to 2 million women and children who are trafficked annually (Orhant, 2001). It is thus estimated that at least 200,000 to 225,000 women and children are trafficked annually from this region (IOM, 2001). Over the past decade, forced migration has increased in Southeast Asia, largely due to the slow economic recovery from the 1997-1998 crises. In addition, the uneven growth of economies in the region has lead to increased economic disparities among countries; this has led to the rise migration and the increased likelihood of poor women to become victims of trafficking. Prostitution in Southeast Asia has developed into a lucrative business that contributes significantly to the region's economic growth. Currently, the sex industry accounts for between 2% and 14% of the GDP in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand (CATW, 2001). Thailand is known as the regional hub for trafficking of women and children for prostitution. Girls are brought in from Burma, Laos, and Cambodia for the sex industry in Thailand; some are further diverted to the sex markets in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan. According to the International Labor Organization, "the economic and social forces driving the sex industry show no signs of slowing down, particularly in light of rising unemployment in the region" (CATW, 2001).

The number of women in Asia's migrant force now equals or outnumbers male migrants (CATW, 2001). This statistic is not surprising, since tight government budgets leave little for programs that aid vulnerable women and children. Unemployment rates remain higher for women than men, and education about the dangers and risks of trafficking is not widespread. Studies report that there are some villages in Southeast Asia that have few young women and girls left (US Senate, 10, 2000).

12. Type of Measure: import and export standards

13. Direct v. Indirect Impacts: Indirect

14. Relation of Trade Measure to Environmental Impact

a. Directly Related to Product: Yes, sex

b. Indirectly Related to Product: Yes, sex tourism

c. Not Related to Product:: No

d. Related to Process: Yes, health

15. Trade Product Identification: Sex

16. Economic Data:

Due economic want and the need to escape from adverse conditions at home, labor migration has been a response that over the past ten years has seen the volume of women migrants gradually overtake that of men. About 60 to 80 percent Filipino overseas workers are women who work as domestic helpers or entertainers (CATW, 2001). These are populations of women in foreign and often hostile settings, largely unprotected by local or international laws. Around seven million Filipinos are propelled to work overseas - two million of them undocumented and more than half of them women - due to the so-called "push-pull" dynamic. They are pushed by low wages and poor work opportunities at home, where the average annual income is $3,200 (IPS, 2001). A woman's salary is 47% of her male counterparts (US State Dept., 2001). At the same time "they are pulled by a growing worker vacuum in Europe, North America and the growth countries of Asia" (IPS, 2001). In a study conducted in 1997 by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Philippine women trafficked to Japan for sexual exploitation, it was found that 77 per cent of those surveyed had worked in the sex industry in Japan, but only 11 per cent had known before their departure that this would be the case. Many were reportedly forbidden to refuse their clients' demands or had suffered sexual or other violence from customers, employers and agents (OIM, 2000).

The Philippine society is semi-feudal and semi-colonial. The economy remains "export-oriented and import dependent," which many claim is the cause for continued poverty. In the last twenty years, overseas migration has become a significant part of the economies of sending countries. Due to the Asian crisis, the source of foreign revenue has become more prevalent for the sending countries. In particular, recruitment agencies have become extremely profitable and competitive businesses in overseas migration.

Remittances for Overseas Migration

(Javate de Dios, 2000)

In the 1970's the Filipino government encouraged local people to work abroad as a solution to poverty, and labor export was adopted by the Marcos administration as an official policy. This policy entices women out of the country through registered recruitment agencies. The Philippines is one of the primary labor exporters of women as domestic workers, factory workers, and entertainers.about 60-80% Filippino overseas workers are either domestic workers or entertainers.The current export policy makes it easy to transport Filipino women out of their country through registered "recruitment agencies". In 1995, Republic Act 8042 was enacted, which mandated the government to deregulate the labor export industry. The act has been found to be favorable to employers and recruiters, since regulatory functions and services were omitted. Under this act, the government no longer has the power to go after illegal recruiters, to facilitate the proper hiring of workers, or to control the prescribed placement fees that workers pay. Recruitment agencies have a shorter waiting time of 15 days to process papers (compared to the original 30 days), and license renewal is now only a 2-day process

Local, regional and international NGOs have been at the forefront of efforts to raise awareness of trafficking and to press for accountability. In particular, local NGOs have been carrying out desperately needed programs to warn girls and their families of the dangers of trafficking, providing shelter for those who have managed to escape, providing urgent medical and psychological care, assisting in repatriation, and press governments to strengthen domestic laws against trafficking. The work of NGOs has filled the gaps left by government inaction. However, because international instruments are dependent on the political will of governments, government action often leaves a lot to be desired.

17. Impact of Trade Restriction: High

18. Industry Sector: Domestic services and entertainment

19. Exporters and Importers: Philippines to other Asian countries

There are few statistics on the scale of trafficking from the Philippines and in other countries for the following reasons listed by the Internation Organization of Migration (2001):

• the underground and illegal nature of trafficking
• the lack of anti-trafficking legislation in the Philippines
• the reluctance of victims to report their experiences to the authorities
• the lack of governmental priority given to datea collection and research.

In estimating the 10 leading exporters of the sex trade, most of them come from SE Asia, since this is largest sex export region. The highest numbers come from Thailand and the Philippines. Other SE Asian countries with large sex export include Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Burma. From Europe, the greatest number of 170,000 per year are trafficked out of Russia and the Ukraine. From South Asia, the largest numbers are trafficked out of Nepal and Bangladesh, the two poorest countries of that region. Bangladesh traffics over 15,000 women and children per year, and Nepal traffics 5,000-10,000 women and girls into India, and 7,000 to Asia Pacific (US Department of State, 2001).

The leading importer of the sex trade is Japan. Japan imports 150,000 sex workers every year. Thailand is the fastest growing importer of sex workers. Other major importing countries include Australia, India, Sri Lanka, the United States which traffics 50,000 per year; sex trafficking is now considered the United States third largest profits for organized crime. Western European countries of Germany, Italy and France also have a large import of sex work. Hard data was difficult to find on the actual numbers being trafficked into these countries.

The Philippines are one of the primary labor exporters of women as domestic helpers, entertainers and factory workers. According to a recent ILO report, the sex trade contributes to 2%-14% of the GDP for the Philippines (Gabrielle, 2001). Overseas workers remittances are estimated at $5-$6 billion yearly, which serves as a major source of the country's foreign exchange. About 60%-80% of Filipino overseas workers are women who work as domestic helpers or entertainers (Gabrielle, 2001). In 1998, a 3.5% increase was noted in the number of domestic helpers who left abroad compared to the previous year.

Although the Philippines are not a major importer of prostitution, the country has a reputation of having a large sex industry. In a study conducted of SE Asian nations by the ILO, the Philippines are listed as having the highest number of prostitutes at 600,000; 50,000-60,000 are forced into prostitution (IOM, 2001). Many of these women are then transported to another country to do sex work, where they are told they can make more money.

V. Environment Clusters

Boonpakedi, Nattaya, Siriporn Skrobanck, and Chytima Janathakeero. 1997. The Traffic
in Women: Human realities of the International Sex Trade. New York: Zed
Books, Ltd.

Muntarbhorn, Bitit, 2001. "Human trafficking is Now a Global Scourage, NATION.
World Sources [journal online]; available from Lexxis Nexis Academic Universe.
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe; internet; accessed 7 September 2001.

Gabriella. 2001. "Stop Sex Trafficking in Filipino Women and Children." Available
online from http://members.tripod.com/~gabriela_p/8articles/990601_prose.html;
Internet; accessed 1, October 2001.

Human Rights Watch. 2001. "Human Rights Developments. Defending Human Rights.
The Role of the International Community," HRW online. Available from
http://www.grw.org/hrw/worldreport99/asia.html; Internet; accessed 7 September
2001.

International Organization for Migraton. "Trafficking in Migrants." Quarterly Bulletin
.January 1999/December 2000. IOM online. Available from
http://www.iom.org; Internet; accessed 7 September, 2001.

US Department of State. 2001. Trafficking in Women and Children: the US and
International Response. USDS online. Available from
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/global/traffic/crs0510.htm; Internet; accessed 1
October, 2001.

US Department of State. 2001. "1998 Country Report on Economic Policy and Trade
Practices in the Philippines." USDS online. Available from
http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/global/trade/philippines/crs.htm; Internet; accessed
1, October, 2001.

Gabriella, 2001. "Stop Sex Trafficking in Filipino Women and Children." Available online
from http://members.tripod.com~gabriela_p/8articles/990601_prose.html; Internet;
accessed 13, October 2001.

IPS, 2001. The Philippine Migration." Available online from
http://www.ips.org/migration/dedios.html; Internet; accessed 13 October 2001.

OIM, 2001. "Philippine Laws on Overseas Employment." Available online from
http://www.chanrobles.com/republicactno8042.ruleshtml; Internet; accessed 15 October
2001.

US State Department, 2001. "1998 Human Rights Report-Philippines." Available online from
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1998_hrp_report/philippi.html;
Internet; accessed 15 October 2001.