RAMALLAH, December 9, 2009 (WAFA)- A study on Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Palestinian Women and Girls: Forms of Modern Day Slavery, conducted by Sawa Center with support of UNIFEM recommended to advocate for a law by the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) referring to forced prostitution as sexual violence and guaranteeing that girls and women are treated as victims of the crime and not as offenders.
The study, considered the first of its kind, also recommended developing a new and in depth research exploring the dimensions of prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes in and from the Occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt), document cases of forced prostitution and women and girls trafficking for sexual purposes, in light of a common understanding, within the framework of human rights law, of the adopted terminology. Cooperation and coordination mechanisms in the collection, documentation and monitoring of the cases shall be established among civil society organizations, and creating a network between Palestinian civil society organizations dealing with forced prostitution and women and girls trafficking for sexual purposes and civil society organizations abroad, including those in sending and receiving countries.
The paper emphasized the necessity of supporting international movements advocating for the adoption of a more inclusive definition of “human trafficking”, including internal trafficking.
It also called on Palestinian governmental institutions to draft, with the active involvement of the Palestinian civil society organizations and, in particular, women’s organizations, a law to be adopted by the Palestinian Legislative Council referring to forced prostitution as sexual violence and guaranteeing that girls and women are treated as victims of the crime and not as offenders, and to support Palestinian law enforcement officers with the necessary training and guidance to deal with and protect women and girls’ victims of sexual exploitation in a manner respectful of their human rights.
In addition, the paper demanded Civil society organizations and Palestinian governmental institutions together to develop, as a preventative measure, awareness raising programs, targeting men, women and youth, on issues related to forced prostitution, human trafficking, women human rights as well as consequences of prostitution and trafficking on the victims, as well as to establish and continue support services, including safe houses, for the protection and reintegration of women and girls victims of prostitution and trafficking.
The paper clarified that the lack of internationally recognized borders between Israel and oPt as well as the lack of control of the occupied country over the borders arbitrarily defined, the absence of a Palestinian State and the fragmentation of the territorial unity among the West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem have all led to weakly and ineffectively combating trafficking of women.
In this scenario, Israel, as occupying power, not only is responsible for the implementation of the international treaties and conventions it is party to in those areas under its control , but also it should not obstruct or hinder the movement of Palestinian stakeholders such as judges, police officers, lawyers, social service and health care providers within and between the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel when trying to carry out their professional duties and responsibilities.
The Israeli occupation curtails the right of Palestinian women to seek legal redress when victims of a crime, through the limitations placed upon the full implementation of the Palestinian criminal justice system. One among many examples is the fact that Palestinian courts are only able to hear cases arising from within areas A and B but not C, where Palestinian courts do not have the jurisdiction to implement judicial decisions. This amounts to a serious impediment to the effective administration of justice in the oPt, namely when trying to punish the culprits of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation against girls and women.
A total of 11 face-to-face interviews with key informants were conducted, in 2008, to get information about trafficking cases identified by this study. Key informants included police officers, the lawyers of the victims, taxi drivers, and hotel owners.
The issue of trafficking of Palestinian women is a despicable crime and a human rights abuse, and has for many years remained a hushed taboo.
This briefing paper, based on case studies, attempts to succinctly spotlight human rights violations faced by women and girls victims of trafficking and forced prostitution and factors that increase their vulnerability. It focused Six case-studies (two cases of fathers selling their daughters, three cases of traffickers, a case of a woman working in prostitution) were tackled with the aim of breaking the silence around the issue while focusing on possible trafficking routes: from the West Bank to Jerusalem; from Gaza to Jerusalem; and within the West Bank.
The paper was published within the framework of the “Global 16-day Campaign to Combat Violence Against Women”, UNIFEM oPt will upload the brand-new publication 'Trafficking and Forced Prostitution of Palestinian Women and Girls: Forms of Modern Day Slavery' to UNIFEM Global website on Wednesday, 9 December 2009, eve of International Human Rights Day to emphasize the serious human rights violations that human trafficking and prostitution constitute.
Estimates of the problem in the oPt vary, given the limited case studies appearing only in local newspapers, NGO hotlines and police records. At present, no governmental or non-governmental organization (NGO ) is compiling accurate statistics and archiving all received cases in this regard. Moreover, many of them deny the existence of the problem. There is, hence, an evident lack of accurate information and official reports tackling the issue.
Some business that enjoy legal status, are in reality prostitution venues which offer sexual services to men. Our sources have asserted that there are some cases of legally registered hotels and cleaning companies that in reality are clandestine prostitution venues with various forms of illegal prostitution activities offered to men. “For example, a client can contact a cleaning company, which operates also as a sex service company whereby a woman is sent to the client to clean the designated house. After cleaning, the woman will also have sex.”
Yet others are underground prostitution enterprises, operating out of private residences and discreet apartments and run mainly by Palestinian women, who are referred to as “Madams” or “pimps”. This is the case of the clandestine business known as “mobile prostitution services”, where women working in prostitution in Israel who are originally from Eastern Europe, mainly from Russia and Ukraine, are trafficked into the West Bank.
According to the case studies presented here, most of the victims are in their early 20s, though in some reported cases the victims were as young as 12 and 14, or in their 30s and 40s. Most of the victims are mainly university students from Palestinian colleges and universities who come from accommodated families. There are also a number of identified cases, especially in Ramallah, of teenage school girls working in prostitution.
Most of the identified and researched cases of trafficked women and those working in prostitution have been violently abused by their families, especially their fathers. According to their testimonies, they refer to prostitution as a mean to escape the violence and abuse they face at their homes. The three face-to-face interviews with trafficked women as well as the information about women working in prostitution that was gathered from key informants have revealed that these women were battered continuously and forced into marriage (either legally or urfi marriage) or out of school at an early age for those who didn’t continue their education.
Particular socio-economic factors, such as increasing economic insecurity and higher levels of unemployment and poverty, play a major role either pushing girls and women into prostitution or rendering them extremely vulnerable to be exploited by the recruiters and traffickers.
Researches have also proved that some of the victims were either drawn into the sex industry while being very young or have experienced sexually exploitative relationships by a member of their family or during their marriage. It is this vulnerability and lack of power which render them the targets of sexual exploitation.
The lack of social networks and shelter houses in comparison to the increasing problem of women trafficking and their sexual exploitation aggravate the problem as victims count with very few alternatives when facing dire economical situation or violence from their family members.
