16 June 2009

Public Awareness a Major Weapon in Fighting Human Trafficking

Canadian and Costa Rican activists fight modern-day slavery

Benjamin Perrin of Canada

By Yasmine Alotaibi
Staff Writer

Washington — Around the world, people desperate for employment often find themselves tricked by human traffickers. An estimated 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international borders each year. Millions more are trafficked within their own countries.

This problem does not go overlooked by everyone, as some everyday heroes from a variety of nations take steps to end modern-day slavery.

For example, Canadian Benjamin Perrin founded The Future Group, a nongovernmental organization (NGO) committed to fighting human trafficking and the child-sex trade. By bringing together a team from across Canada, The Future Group works with foreign governments, other NGOs and businesses to address human trafficking and other global issues such as HIV/AIDS.

Perrin has focused his work on urging the Canadian government to provide more effective victim services. In 2006, he released a report on Canada’s treatment of trafficking victims, which led to a provision of temporary residence permits and medical services to such victims.

Mariliana Morales Berrios of Costa Rica

Last year, Perrin released his latest research project, which involved immigration documents collected since 2006 when the Citizen and Immigration Canada department began flagging suspect cases. His research identified 31 instances of human trafficking in Canada and constituted Canada’s first national statistics on the problem.

Today, Perrin continues to promote awareness of the crime and encourages governments to protect victims. He has testified before the Canadian Parliament on the issue, serves as the chair of the University of British Columbia’s human trafficking working group and has helped identify a nationwide sex trafficking ring.

COSTA RICAN WOMAN A PIONEER IN ANTI-TRAFFICKING PROGRAMS

Similar efforts are under way in other parts of the globe. Over the last year, the Costa Rican government has made progress in addressing human trafficking crimes and helping victims. The government recently launched prevention campaigns as well as training efforts for government and law enforcement officials. Also, the government has begun to provide more victim assistance, although prosecution of human traffickers remains lacking.

Before the government began such efforts, Mariliana Morales Berrios was already fighting to protect trafficking victims. In 1997, she created the Rahab Foundation to help victims and their families find a new life, keeping the program running despite limited resources. Although she and her staff frequently face threats and attacks, they continue to help trafficking victims escape from their captors. In fact, since its founding, the Rahab Foundation has helped more than 3,000 victims and also trained more than 5,000 government leaders, law enforcement officials and tourism workers on human trafficking issues.

For these efforts, Perrin and Morales are being recognized by the U.S. Department of State in its annual report on human trafficking. Since 2001, the Department of State has published the Trafficking in Persons Report, a comprehensive report on governments’ efforts to stop trafficking. Since 2004, the report also recognizes “Heroes Acting to End Modern-Day Slavery,” those who show enormous courage in fighting a widespread, dangerous problem.