NASSA - Caritas Philippines

1. Alice was 25 when she left her job in Manila. She is a qualified civil engineer, yet her salary was not enough to pay for her four brothers and sisters to go through school. When she saw an advertisement offering well-paid posts as civil engineers in Kuwait, she contacted the recruitment agency immediately. She had to pay half the agency's fees up front, agreeing to repay the rest on taking up her position. But when she arrived in Kuwait she was told to sign a contract to work as a domestic servant. The agency refused to allow her to return to the Philippines, insisting that she take up the post and pay them the money she owed. For two and a half years she worked as a domestic servant for a family. She never had a day off, and regularly worked 20 hour days.

2. The Philippinestogether with other south-east Asian countries, account for four million women and children who have been trafficked illegally. - statistics released byAsia ACTS Against Child Trafficking “Child trafficking and sexual exploitation of women and minors are the basest and most severe forms of abuse that occur frequently in the impoverished regions of the country.” • Sr. Rosanne Mallillin, Caritas Philippines

3. NASSA - Caritas Philippines NASSA is deeply committed to combating child trafficking and to protecting its victims. • international partnership = wider latitude in terms of tracing the whereabouts of victims, uncovering the route of trafficking, and apprehending the criminals • direct contact with Asia-wide Caritas organizations • Child Trafficking Programme - community mobilization for effective and efficient delivery of basic social services, provisions for healthcare, education, and other development programmes - programme strategy addresses concerns such as lack of basic education due to poverty, and exposure to violence and unsafe environment brought about by development aggression, militarization, and high urban poor population - awareness-building (symposia on child trafficking; reproduction and distribution of anti-trafficking posters and materials to community members; art competitions; photographic exhibitions; and films screenings that discuss the destructive consequences of child trafficking)

4. This evil trade in vulnerable, poor and exploited childrendevastates the lives of millions. This we have to stop. “..alarming reports from Puerto Galera, Mindoro Island, told of the abduction of young children. Parents and teachers are in panic. A white van has been seen in the area where several children disappeared. The most notorious area is between Calapan town and White Beach. The mysterious murder of a young teenager boy found with money in his hand and his internal organs and eyes gouged out near Baco is believed to be a revenge killing by a pedophile slave master from whom the boy ran away.. Five- and six-year olds have been sexually abused by foreign pedophiles with impunity in the Philippines. Young girls are being sold to US troops on R&R in Angeles City. It's just sex trafficking as usual. Where have we failed?” - Fr. Shay Cullen, msscDirectorPREDA Foundation, Inc. Olongapo City, Philippines

5. CHILD SLAVERY Republic Act No. 9231 Section 5- Prohibition on the Employment of Children in Worst Forms of Child Labor   All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery (Anti-trafficking in Persons Act of 2003)

6. CHILD SLAVERY • Piggeries in Bulacan employ underage workers and restrict them from leaving the breeding farms. (US Dept of State, Human Rights Report, 1998) • Traffickers lure people from China, the Philippines, Bangladesh and other nations to the Northern Mariana Islands, a United States territory promising lucrative work. Instead, many are forced into slave labor and prostitution. (CATW Fact Book, citing Laura Myers, "Sen Panel Hears of Marianas Abuses", AP Online, 31 March 1998)

7. CHILD TRAFFICKING • In 1996, 492 of 3,776 reported cases of child abuse involved pornography, prostitution, paedophilia and trafficking. (CATW Fact Book, citing Department of Social Welfare and Development, "375,000 Filipino Women & Kids Are Into Prostitution", Philippine Daily Inquirer, 26 July 1997) • The Philippines is a source, transit, and, to a lesser degree, destination country for trafficked persons. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001) • Young Filipina women and girls are trafficked to Japan and many other countries for the purposes of sexual exploitation. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001) • There were reports of girls from the Philippines being trafficked to Costa Rica to work in the sex industry. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 1999, 25 February 2000)

8. CHILD TRAFFICKING • Minors are trafficked to the U.S. from the Philippines for prostitution. (CATW Fact Book, citing William Branigan, "Human rights abuses found on US island", Washington Post, 30 March 1998) • Philippine NGOs report that Filipino infants and children between 5 and 12 years are smuggled and sold in Europe and other countries. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996) • Thai and Filipino girls are trafficked into Malaysia for prostitution. (Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Action, The Flesh Trade Report, 1995-1996)

9. Republic Act No. 7610 • 1992 Child Protection Law • Special Protection of Children against Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act • provides protection of children against abuse, commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, and employment in illicit activities

10. Republic Act No. 9208 • Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act • institutes policies to eliminate trafficking in persons, especially women and children • establishes the necessary institutional mechanisms for the protection and support of trafficked persons