New issue of the Anti-Trafficking Review looks at following the money
Where does the money for anti-trafficking work come from? Who does it go to? What does it actually achieve?
The new issue of GAATW's peer-reviewed journal the Anti-Trafficking Review examines these critical questions about funding for the sector. For the first time, GAATW and journal authors attempt to look at the money spent on anti-trafficking work and reveal what kind of initiatives have been supported by anti-trafficking funding, and what work has been sidelined as a result.
The launch event on 23 September at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand, Bangkok, was attended by 99 people and the journal gained coverage in The Guardian and Reuters. The editors also wrote a blog post for The Trafficking Research Project.
View the journal articles in full at www.antitraffickingreview.org
GAATW Member Organisations gather to discuss accountability research project
Over the past year, 17 GAATW Member Organisations working in direct assistance in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean have been consulting with people who have been trafficked to find out about their experience of assistance and accessing justice. The goal of the project was to learn how to improve assistance work and understand the priorities for change that we need to advocate for.
On 22 September, 15 of these organisations met for the first time to discuss gaps and challenges with regard to shelter and accommodation, vocational training programs and promoting economic independence, support during criminal investigations and trials and alternative forms of justice. Following these discussions, organisations discussed follow-up actions for the research findings both nationally and regionally.
View a film about the project in English here and Spanish here.
GAATW at the United Nations transnational organised crime conference
Last week, GAATW's International Advocacy Officer and representatives from several GAATW Member Organisations participated in the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols Thereto. You can read our joint statement to the COP here. Read our article about the session's outcome here.
GAATW also ran a side event at the COP, which used the upcoming 15th anniversary of the UN Trafficking Protocol in 2015 to open up a space to review progress on its implementation and look at issues of compensation for trafficked persons, how trafficked persons experience anti-trafficking measures, and funding for anti-trafficking work. Read more here.
C-36 moves to the Canadian Senate, likely to pass this month
The Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (Bill C-36) passed the Canadian House of Commons on 6 October, moving to the Senate where it is also expected to pass. Authorities have until 19 December - one year since the ruling in the Bedford case at the Canadian Supreme Court that struck down Canada's existing laws on prostitution - to adopt new legislation on this issue. The new act will criminalise the purchase of sex, communicating for the purpose of selling sex, gaining material benefit from sex work, and advertising sexual services. Further information on the bill's provisions is available from Pivot Legal here.
GAATW shares the concern expressed by activists in Canada that there has not be adequate meaningful consultation on the bill and that the measures will violate the rights of individuals who sell sex. The provisions in the new bill are more restrictive than those struck down by the Supreme Court in the Bedford case decision. GAATW-IS and GAATW-Canada submitted a brief to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee outlining some of our concerns.
Research Ethics in Vulnerable Populations Symposium
Melbourne, Australia
17 October 2014
Julie Ham and Gemma Sadler from GAATW presented 'Intersectional ethics with women in sex work' at a symposium, 'Research ethics in vulnerable populations', 17 Oct 2014, organized by the Burnet Institute and Monash University's Michael Kirby Centre for Public Health and Human Rights. The symposium included presentations on research ethical issues with women who have experienced intimate partner violence, prisoners, people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men. Julie's and Gemma's presentation highlighted the recent work of Member Organisations in two GAATW research initiatives: (1) the work of Self-Empowerment Program for Migrant Women (SEPOM) and two researchers from Supporting Women's Alternatives Network (SWAN), and (2) Brigada Callejera's work with sex workers who had been trafficked, in GAATW's 2013-2014 accountability research assessing the impact of anti-trafficking assistance services. For more information, please contact Julie at [email protected] or Gemma at [email protected]
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