Human Trafficking in Australia: Everyone Pitches in to Give it a Go

Every year, the U.S. State Department releases a Trafficking in Persons report which rates countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking.  Each week, I'll be providing a brief glance at human trafficking in one of those countries, based off the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, with my own (often snarky) analysis added.  This is just a snapshot of what's going on in the country.  For more information, you can check out the full text of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report here.

This Week's Country ...  Australia

Basic Info

The U.S. State Department ranks Australia on Tier 1, meaning that the government there is doing an ace job of fighting human trafficking. But don't bust out the beer and the barbie just yet -- Australia still has their work cut out when it comes to cutting down the modern-day slave trade. Despite the government's hard and well-funded work, Australia remains a destination country for trafficking victims from across Southeast Asia and the Pacific, especially for commercial sex. So does Australia have the political and economic stability to truly tackle trafficking? The Australian government and the Australian people have both proved themselves willing to pitch in and have a go at ending human trafficking. But with Australia's status as the only Westernized country in the area, will it be enough to fight demand for slavery?

Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?

The primary trafficking to Australia is of women and girls who are being forced into the commercial sex industry. Sex trafficking in Australia has continued in spite of a law passed legalizing prostitution, which was intended to reduce the trade. Men and women are also trafficked into Australia for forced labor, including domestic servitude, debt bondage and involuntary servitude. In some cases, Australian traffickers have created creative ways to skirt the country's strong anti-trafficking laws, including using fake visas and arranged marriages.

Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?

Australia is a destination country for women from Southeast Asia, South Korea, several Pacific islands, China, India, Taiwan, and even Eastern Europe. Additionally, indigenous children are forced into prostitution in rural parts of the country, especially truck stops.

What's Gotta Happen?

Australia needs to step up efforts to discover trafficking victims in the legal commercial sex industry, since legalization has not prevented women and girls from being forced into legal prostitution. They also need to prosecute employers who use workers under debt bondage or other forced labor scenarios. Finally, they need to reform the visa process to help prevent fradulent visas being used to get trafficking victims into Australia.

Photo credit: linh_rom