Traffickers exploit technology edge
Everyday tools—be it Skype or job sites—can set slaves free. In Thailand, satellites, optical scanning and e-payment services have been rolled out to prevent forced labor in its multibillion-dollar seafood industry. The digital measures may help labor inspectors identify victims and pinpoint slave vessels. Yet such technology is impotent in isolation, a trafficking expert said.
(Last of four parts)
LONDON— But it’s not just bitcoin and blockchain on the front line. Everyday tools—be it Skype or job sites—can set slaves free.
From car wash to construction site, nail bar to refugee camp, modern slaves are hidden in plain sight the world over.
Different search and rescue tools fit different jobs.
In Thailand, satellites, optical scanning and e-payment services have been rolled out to prevent forced labor in its multibillion-dollar seafood industry, where many migrants work.
Impotent in isolation
The raft of digital measures is intended to help labor inspectors identify victims, pinpoint slave vessels and ensure work- ers do not have their wages withheld.
Yet such technology is impotent in isolation, according to UN trafficking expert Ben Smith.
“You need good information, intelligence … [to know] where to look,” said Smith, a project coordinator of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Southeast Asia.
“[Technology] has to be a small part of a much bigger effort,” he added.
At the other end of the spectrum, job matchmaking websites cut out middlemen and help domestic staff avoid abusive bosses in countries such as Hong Kong—often a trouble spot for maids.
“Recruitment is so mired in these unethical things because there are too many players and no accountability,” said Victoria Ahn of Fair Employment Agency (FEA), which offers a platform for employers and domestic helpers to connect directly.
“Technology will play a huge role in clearing that up and reducing the number of players,” said Ahn of FEA, which has made 2,000 connections since 2015 and saved workers about $3 million—money that would otherwise have gone to recruiters.
Video calls
Elsewhere in Asia, video calls could revolutionize the pursuit of justice in trafficking cases spanning India, Bangladesh and Nepal, allowing survivors to go home after being freed or rescued and to testify via software such as Skype.
Human trafficking convictions in India are rare as most victims drop cases if forced to testify in court, face their abusers, and stay in a shelter throughout often lengthy trials.
“When I was questioned by Indian authorities after I was rescued from near Mumbai, I lied because I was scared,” said Neha Maldar, who was trafficked from Bangladesh to sell sex.
“But during the trial, I was in my own country and there was no fear,” Maldar said.
“I saw the people who had trafficked me on the screen and I wasn’t scared to identify them. I was determined to see them behind bars,” he added.
40 million slaves
Modern slavery is increasingly dominating global headlines—from a landmark collective estimate on the number of slaves worldwide, to countries from Australia to India looking to follow Britain’s lead by adopting tough antislavery laws.
About 40 million people are living as slaves—in forced labor and forced marriages—and seven in 10 victims are female, according to research by the UN International Labour Organization and human rights group Walk Free Foundation.
But despite growing international collaboration on antislav- ery laws, data and funding, law enforcement cooperation is often lacking, said Kristiina Kangaspunta, chief of the UNODC’s crime research section.
“I’ve worked on human trafficking for 18 years and seen very few, if any, good practices on international cooperation,” Kangaspunta said, explaining howrequests from poor nations to rich countries often get overlooked.
“Countries lack the capacity and training to tackle crimes online … so they aren’t capturing newer forms of trafficking,” she added.
With more people falling into slavery each day—pushed by war and disaster, greed and inequality—experts fear technology has given human traffickers the edge over those giving chase.
“It’s like a game of cat and mouse,” said Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor. “But the cat has two legs tied together.”