‘Modern-day slavery’

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labour or commercial sex act.

This act has truly become a global threat to vulnerable men, women and children. It has become a wrong that affects millions of people every year.

A three-day workshop is being conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for police investigators and prosecutors.

The objective of the workshop is to enhance and identify cases of human trafficking in PNG following the increased instances of trafficking in the country.

According to the U.N. agencies, research reveals that over 12 million people have been traded across international borders for cheap labour and forced prostitution. Study has estimated that 80 percent of these victims are women and children.

15 officers from the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate, prosecutors from Boroko Command, and the Criminal Investigation Division, attended the workshop on Tuesday to better understand practices to detect and prosecute trafficking cases in PNG.

It is expected that the workshop will be able to assist investigators identify elements of human trafficking and guide prosecutors to convict the accused in a court of law.

(Photograph: Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking)

Author: 
Annette Kora