Human Trafficking Around the World (60 page)

Another potential problem is that promotion among law-enforcement personnel largely depends on an officer’s success rate—the number of case wins compared to losses. This situation makes officials wary of taking on cases—such as human trafficking cases—that are new and/or unfamiliar. Additionally, investigation of trafficking cases is time-consuming and complicated. Criminal investigators are required by law to finish an investigation within a 40-day period. Although they can obtain an extension from a judge, with such pressure to clear cases quickly investigators may choose another route if they think they have enough evidence to go forward with a different charge. Lauren A. McCarthy writes that there is no incentive for any of the key players to investigate cases thoroughly to determine if there is trafficking and properly classify the crime:

If at any point after the sledovatel [criminal investigator] finishes his/her investigation, the classification is changed (by the gosobvintel or the judge), it is a negative for the sledovatel’s record. The gosobvinitel [state prosecutor] may not have an incentive to uphold the sledovatel’s charge of trafficking if they fear that the judge will return a not-guilty verdict. This is often because judges are unfamiliar with the new laws. An acquittal would negatively affect the gosobvinitel’s statistics. If the case is returned for further investigation because of a technical error or if the case is overturned in a court of higher instance, this is a blemish on everyone’s record. Concerns over promotion (

) were mentioned by a number of my respondents as the reason they did not want to risk using the human trafficking laws. (McCarthy, 2010: p. 17)

The government has adopted some potentially significant anti-trafficking measures. For instance, Prime Minister (then-President) Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev signed the Commonwealth of Independent States Program to Combat Human Trafficking for 2011–2013 in Moscow in December 2010. The program of Cooperation in the Prevention of Human Trafficking outlines commitments to form a national anti-trafficking structure and fund NGOs to provide victim protections (Embassy of the Russian Federation Thailand, 2010; U.S. Department of State, 2012). Immediately afterward the Ministry of Health and Social Development formed an interagency committee that includes anti-trafficking NGOs to specifically address human trafficking (U.S. Department of State, 2011, 2012). If properly implemented, these two undertakings could greatly benefit trafficking victims.

It would behoove Russia to adopt a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that clarifies the investigative and prosecutorial process as it relates to human trafficking. Article 127.1 criminalized human trafficking and thereby allows law enforcement to charge offenders with that specific offense, but the law is meaningless if not accompanied by effective prosecutions. At the present time, it appears that law enforcement would prefer to utilize tried-and-true—and often lesser—charges against traffickers. In addition to the challenges this situation presents to the collection of trafficking data, the lack of uniformity creates a systemic inefficiency in the government’s efforts against traffickers. Finally, in order to improve the protection and treatment of victims as well as strengthen cases against traffickers, it is essential that identified foreign victims be referred to NGOs for assistance instead of held in detention centers, deported, or released without protection and services.

CHAPTER 24

Brazil

There’s lots of girls working around here. I’m not the youngest, my sister is 12, and there’s an 11-year-old. I’ve been doing it for so long now, I don’t even think about the dangers. Foreign guys just show up here. I’ve been with lots of them. They just show up like you.

—PIA, A CHILD PROSTITUTE

Governments and environmentalists worldwide have been desperate to find an alternative renewable energy source that could alleviate dependence on crude oil and create a much-needed break for the environment. At the forefront of the biofuel movement stands Brazil with sugarcane ethanol. Some experts call it clean energy; others argue that it is not sustainable.
¹
Some experts assert that it could actually have an adverse impact on the environment—warning of potential deforestation and other ecological impacts of making room for biofuel plantations (Fargione et al., 2008). This debate is certain to continue, but there is one critical issue that is not arguable: owners of sugarcane plantations are the number-one abusers of slave labor in Brazil. In 2009 alone, 45 percent of slave laborers discovered by the Ministry of Labor’s Special Mobile Enforcement Unit were found on sugarcane plantations (Gomes, 2010a). The international community has responded harshly to the treatment of workers on sugarcane plantations. In an attempt to diffuse the negative attention on Brazilian sugarcane ethanol, the government launched the National Commitment to Improve Labor Conditions in the Sugarcane Industry in June 2009 (Sugarcaneblog, 2009; Gomes, 2010b).

Brazil has had a National Policy on Trafficking in Persons in place since 2006 and a National Plan of Action from January 2008 to January 2010. The second draft plan is aimed for 2012–2016, although as of April 2012 the plan had not been passed or implemented. Taking their cue from the national plan, some of the federal states and larger municipalities have begun to draft their own plans of action to address human trafficking (UNODC, 2009a). Various Penal Code laws address human trafficking. Sections 231 and 231-A prohibit promoting or facilitating movement to, from, or within the country for the purposes of prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation. Amendments to the two sections went into effect in August 2009. The amendments strengthen penalties against sex-trafficking offenders. Prescribed penalties range from 3 to 8 years’ imprisonment. Sentences may be increased to up to 12 years in cases that involve violence, threats, or fraud or if the victim is a child (U.S. Department of State, 2010).

Article 149 of the Penal Code prohibits worker exposure to conditions akin to those of slavery. Under the code, slave labor is defined as an unyielding work schedule in degrading working and living conditions under the threat or use of violence. The code also prohibits the use of malevolent persuasion to take workers to remote locations in other parts of the country. The code prohibits impairment of the enjoyment of labor rights via violence or fraud. Finally, landowners are prohibited from holding worker documents (Hall, 2004). In addition, the Ministry of Labor and Employment makes public a Dirty List (
Lista Suja
) of companies where slave labor has been discovered by inspectors. The list is updated every six months, and companies remain on the list for two years. During that time the companies may not receive public funds (Biofuel Watch Center, 2009; Anti-Slavery International, 2010).

Even though the law is rapidly changing to protect potential victims and punish those who have committed trafficking offenses, few traffickers are actually convicted, and even fewer have been sentenced.

TRAFFICKING WITHIN BRAZIL

Forced labor of its own citizens is a major problem in Brazil. Experts assert that more than 25,000 Brazilian men are subjected to slave labor, but the number of identified victims has fluctuated. It is unclear how many of these persons are victims of forced labor as opposed to degrading work conditions or exhausting workdays, as all fall under the definition of
trabalho escravo
(slave labor). In 2003 the number of identified slave-labor victims was 5,223 as compared to 2,887 in 2004, 4,348 in 2005, 3,417 in 2006, 5,975 in 2007, 5,016 in 2008, 3,769 in 2009, 2,628 in 2010, and 2,428 in 2011 (UNODC, 2009a; U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011, 2012). The Ministry of Labor’s Mobile Enforcement Unit has rescued over 41,500 workers since the unit’s creation in 1995 to 2011 (Anti-Slavery International, 2010; U.S. Department of State, 2010; Lehman, 2012). The primary industries in which slave labor has been discovered are sugarcane plantations and cattle ranches. From 2007 through 2009, half of identified slave-labor victims were found on sugar plantations (Anti-Slavery International, 2010). In 2009 alone, 45 percent of 4,234 persons released from slave labor were rescued from sugar plantations. Sixteen percent (682) of the slave laborers were found on cattle ranches, while 18 percent (773) were discovered on “other crops” farms and plantations (Gomes, 2010a).

Anti-Slavery International estimates that half a million persons work as sugarcane cutters in Brazil. Typically middlemen known as
gatos
(cats) entice workers from poor areas in northeastern Brazil with a wage advance. Upon arrival at the plantations, the workers are commonly forced to work without pay and face threats and abuse. The life expectancy for sugarcane cutters from the time they begin work is 10 years (Anti-Slavery International, 2010). “The dramatic expansion of agribusiness crops in southern and central Brazil lies at the heart of the country’s slavery problem. The existence of slavery totally undermines the idea that sugarcane ethanol is a ‘clean’ biofuel,” Brother Xavier Plassat of the Pastoral Land Commission said (Anti-Slavery International, 2010).

As in other forced-labor scenarios across the globe, victims in Brazil are often offered decent-paying jobs that also provide food and lodging. Instead, the victims are charged exorbitant fees for housing, travel, food, and even work equipment. These fees are “deducted” from the victims’ wages, and as debts continue to mount the victims are never paid. In many instances, forced-labor victims’ movements are restricted not only physically by close monitoring and armed patrols, but also geographically, as many forced-labor settings are in isolated areas. One such case is that of Gomes da Silva, a Brazilian worker who accepted a good job with decent pay, free lodging, and free food, offered by trafficking recruiters. Instead he was taken by bus to a cattle ranch surrounded by armed guards in a desolate area of the jungle. “It was 12 years before I was finally able to escape and make my way back home,” Da Silva told the
New York Times
(Rohter, 2002).

Da Silva was charged for basic necessities such as lodging, travel, and food. His traffickers would not allow him to leave until the rapidly accruing (and inflated) debt was paid. “We were forced to work at 6 a.m. and continued sometimes until 11 p.m., but I was never paid that entire time because they always claimed that I owed them money.” Da Silva said that he was sometimes instructed, under suspicious circumstances, to burn the documentation of fellow workers. “Maybe a half-dozen times I was ordered to burn identity cards and work documents of workers whom I had last seen walking down the road, supposedly on their way out,” Da Silva told the
New York Times
. “We also found heaps of bones out in the jungle, but none of us ever talked about it” (Rohter, 2002).

Internal sex trafficking of Brazilians is also a problem. It is estimated that 500,000 children are exploited for prostitution (Bischoff, 2006; U.S. Department of State, 2006, 2007b). Race and socioeconomic status appear to make some women more susceptible to targeting. Women and girls who are trafficked for sexual commercial means are predominantly black or of mixed race and ages 15 to 27. Thirty-one percent of these are 16 or 17 years old. Male children and adolescent boys are also trafficked for sexual commercial purposes; some of them work as transvestites (CLADEM, 2004; U.S. Department of State, 2007a). Previously, as recently as 2009, NGOs reported that many cases involving sex-trafficking victims were dismissed on the basis that the victims worked in prostitution. Today, police still often dismiss sex-trafficking cases, and some victims face prejudice from authorities if they engaged in prostitution prior to experiencing coercive conditions (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2012). These discriminatory practices hinder the identification process, the ability of victims to obtain necessary shelter and services, and the gathering of accurate trafficking statistics.

Despite the government’s efforts, child sexual tourism is a serious problem in the cities of Brazil. Many of the persons exploited by sex tourists are underage. One taxi driver who works in Recife and drives young girls and their tricks to motels/hotels (most likely for a cut of the profit) states that underage sex workers are “so much cheaper than the older ones” (BBC News, 2010a). Sarah de Carvalho of Happy Child International says sex tourism is on the rise in Brazil. “The crisis for these children turning to prostitution has increased significantly in the northeast of Brazil over the last few years, fuelled by increasing numbers of foreign tourists who travel to Brazil for sex holidays,” Carvalho told the BBC (BBC News, 2010a). One child prostitute, Pia, stated that she turned 10 tricks a night in order to support her mother’s crack addiction. At the time she was interviewed, Pia was 13 years old and was not the youngest child prostitute in her group. “There’s lots of girls working around here,” Pia told the BBC. “I’m not the youngest, my sister is 12, and there’s an 11-year-old.” Pia had been a prostitute since she was 7 years old. “I’ve been doing it for so long now, I don’t even think about the dangers. Foreign guys just show up here. I’ve been with lots of them. They just show up like you” (BBC News, 2010a).

Boys are also exploited by sex tourists. Two boys, 14 and 12 years old, said their families knew that they are working in prostitution. “We need to earn money to buy rice and staple foods for our families,” the 14-year-old told the BBC. “Our parents don’t worry about us too much. We tell them when we are leaving and when we’re coming back. And then we give the money to them to buy food. They know how we get the money, we just don’t discuss it” (BBC News, 2010a).

TRAFFICKING ABROAD

Brazilian women and children are forced to prostitute in France, French Guiana, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Venezuela (U.S. Department of State, 2010). Young men are also subject to forced prostitution abroad. In August 2010 Spanish authorities broke up a syndicate that trafficked young Brazilian men to Spain for commercial sexual exploitation (BBC News, 2010b). The victims, an estimated 60–80 men in their early twenties from northern Brazil, were offered and accepted legitimate employment as models and dancers. Instead, after large travel fees, the men found themselves in debt bondage. Some of the other workers knew that they would be working as prostitutes but did not know the conditions they would face upon arrival in Spain. “If the men complained or caused any kind of problem, the gang leaders would threaten them, even with death,” the police statement said (BBC News, 2010b).