Global InformationHuman trafficking in Australia information
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Human trafficking in Australia is illegal under Divisions 270 and 271 of the Criminal Code (Cth).[1] In September 2005, Australia ratified the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,[2] which supplemented the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.[3] Amendments to the Criminal Code were made in 2005 to implement the Protocol.[4]
Australia's response to human trafficking has been evolving significantly since 2005. From the government concentrating mainly on sex trafficking, to placing more focus on labour trafficking, forced marriage, organ removal and criminal exploitation.[5]
According to the United States Department of State, 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), Australia fully met the standards for the elimination of trafficking and was placed on Tier 1. The government proved to have made significant efforts during the reporting year by investigating more cases, identifying and referring more victims to services, convicting more traffickers, and administering programs to provide services to community groups and assistance to workers.[6]
In 2017, the government investigated 166 trafficking cases, compared to the 105 of 2016, of which six defendants were prosecuted and five traffickers were convicted. Prosecutions from 2016 were continued in 2017 by the authorities against 14 defendants, in which one sex trafficker, and in another case four labour traffickers, were convicted.[7]
The extent of human trafficking in Australia is difficult to quantify.[8] However, it has been estimated that between 300 and 1000 persons are victims of trafficking a year.[9] The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) lists Australia as one of 21 trafficking destination countries in the high destination category.[10]
The Australian Institute of Criminology has stated:
Suspected victims of trafficking are in a unique position. Like other victims of crime, they may be deeply affected by their experience; but, unlike other victims of crime, they may also have a tenuous migration status in a foreign country, where they may speak little of the language and know only the people who have exploited them. In addition, there is the fear of being identified as a victim of crime. As a result, suspected victims of trafficking can be highly vulnerable and isolated.[11]
Migrant sex workers targeted by anti-trafficking policing in Australia have had their human rights curtailed and their workplaces have been impacted in negative ways.[12]
U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017.[13]
- ^ "Criminal Code Act 1995 - Schedule". Austlii. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
- ^ "UNODC - Signatories to the CTOC Trafficking Protocol". Treaties.un.org. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
- ^ "Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime" (PDF). Uncjin.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Criminal Code Amendment (Trafficking in Persons Offences) Act 2005
- ^ "Strengthening Australia's response to Human Trafficking" (PDF). University Of Technology Sydney. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
- ^ Lipley, N. (13 September 2012). "'Rise in standards' would free up emergency beds". Emergency Nurse. 20 (5): 5. doi:10.7748/en2012.09.20.5.5.p9386. ISSN 1354-5752. PMID 23256344.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Australia". Refworld. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
- ^ "Report" (PDF). Australian Institute of Criminology. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ [1] Archived 28 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Trafficking in persons: global patterns" (PDF). United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ David F (2008). "'Trafficking of women for sexual purposes', Research and public policy series, no. 95". Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology, p. 36. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ Elaine Pearson. "Collateral Damage, Report on Australia, Global Alliance Against Trafficking in Women" (PDF). Gaatw.org. Retrieved 20 October 2012.
- ^ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 28 June 2017. Retrieved 1 December 2017.