To Better Know A Country: Human Trafficking in Hong Kong

by Amanda Kloer · 2009-09-23 07:00:00 UTC
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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..... Hong Kong

Basic Stats

  • Ranking: Tier 2

  • Status: Transit and destination country for trafficking victims

  • Political Stability: The more kisses strategically placed on China's butt, the better Hong Kong is.

  • Cash Flow: It's the fifth mo$t expen$ive city in the world for expat$ and a major financial center.

  • Do I Think They Care?: As long as ending trafficking doesn't affect their bottom line, which is kinda does.

Who Are the Victims and What Are They Doing?

  • Women: Forced labor, commercial sex, debt bondage

  • Men: Forced labor, debt bondage

Where Are They Coming From and Where Are They Going?

  • Victims are trafficked from China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia to Hong Kong.

  • Victims are trafficked through Hong Kong from China, Thailand, the Philippines, and Indonesia to other parts of Asia.

What's Gotta Happen?

  • Investigate and prosecute traffickers, especially for labor violations.

  • Proactively identify trafficking victims, especially in commercial sex industries.

  • Create a public awareness campaign aimed at reducing demand for commercial sex.

What Can I Do

  • You can support Caritas Hong Kong, an organization which provides social and medical services to children and families in need.

In summary, Hong Kong is all about the Benjamins, baby. And if a little child trafficking or forced labor or debt bondage slips into the mix, the government seems to be willing to look the other way.  One way to get Hong Kong to care about trafficking would be to show that that actually, having slaves in their country is bad for business, because no one wants to do business with a slave-holder.  But before we can do that, we must first demonstrate that we care about slave-free business by buying slave-free products.

Amanda Kloer is a Change.org Editor and has been a full-time abolitionist in several capacities for seven years. Follow her on Twitter @endhumantraffic
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