What's happening at HSS?
Workshop on 'Human Trafficking' under the Patronage of the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, August 14 - 15 , 2016 in Irbid / Jordan
As defined by the United Nations, Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
The challenge is that Human Trafficking is a hidden crime and the limited awareness and knowledge about Human trafficking are exacerbating the situation in Jordan especially between Syrian refugees. To increase awareness and knowledge and to educate on the indicators of Human Trafficking the workshop was organized in cooperation with the 'Arab World Center for Democratic Development - UniHRD' in Irbid.
Topics addressed during the workshop:
- The definition of Human Trafficking
- Human trafficking in Jordan (Reality and Challenges)
- Human trafficking cases
- Human trafficking indicators (Red flag and good practices for enhancing a community response to human trafficking)
- Human trafficking as a crime trans the national borders (e.g. trafficking to Europe)
- Workers’ rights and their relationship to Human Trafficking
- The role of the Security Bodies to Human Trafficking
- Efforts of International civil society organizations to combat Human Trafficking
- Strategies to combating Human Trafficking
Furthermore the participants learned about the realities of domestic human trafficking in Jordan especially in between Syrian refugees since the number of the refugees were increased. One message of the workshop was that everyone has the potential to discover a Human Trafficking situation. While the victims may sometimes be kept behind locked doors, they are often hidden right in front of us at, for example, construction sites, restaurants, elder care centers, nail salons, agricultural fields, and hotels. Traffickers’ use of coercion – such as threats of deportation and harm to the victim or their family members – is so powerful that even if you reach out to victims, they may be too fearful to accept help. Knowing indicators of human trafficking and some follow up questions can help to act on your gut feeling that something is wrong and report it.
Student from various universities in Jordan and from various governorates, journalist, various NGO” s and Jordanian Initiatives as well as representatives from the Ministry of Political and Parliamentary Affairs, the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Health and the Unit for Combating Trafficking of Human Beings took part at the workshop.