Preventing Human Trafficking

Education and NGOs in Thailand

Robert W. Spires

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781472443021
• eBook ISBN: 9781317076025
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Criminology
• Index: Social Sciences

This book explores human trafficking, examining the work of grass-roots, non-profit organizations who educate and rehabilitate human trafficking victims and at-risk youth. Through interviews with staff and children, the author compares the work of two NGOs on-the-ground in Thailand with the work of similar organizations overseas, shedding light on the ways in which they combine educational work with shelter settings to prevent human trafficking, protect young people and attempt to provide a future free of exploitation. Concentrating less on the details of exploitation itself than the work that is being done to prevent exploitation and protect those who have experienced human trafficking, Preventing Human Trafficking explores the many challenges faced by the organizations, their staff and the children they serve. Drawing on rich qualitative research to address significant gaps in our knowledge of the work of NGOs and propose solutions to the problems of trafficking and how to protect its victims, this book will appeal to social scientists and policy makers with interests in criminology, exploitation, people trafficking, non-formal education and the work of NGOs.

Chapter 1
Why Human Trafficking, Why Education, Why NGOs, and Why Thailand?

The connection between education and human trafficking prevention has not been clearly delineated in the literature, yet many common elements exist (Jantraka, 2001). Scholars argue that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of human trafficking victims need to be more closely examined for a more complete understanding of the work they are doing, the issues that they face and the needs of the organizations, as well as those served by the organizations (Laczko, 2005). I conducted this study in three consecutive summers from 2009 to 2011, and I situated my study within the context of research in the field of human trafficking. I argued for the need of more in-depth examination of the issues at work in NGO-run shelter-schools in Thailand in order to more fully understand the human trafficking and education issues within the Thai context.

Why Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is a global issue and is claimed to be the second largest and the fastest growing, criminal activity world-wide, in terms of money and the number of criminals involved, behind illicit drugs and ahead of illicit weapons (Bales, 2005). The United Nations defined trafficking in persons as:

the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. (United Nations, 2000)

The definition above, put forth by the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, or the Palermo Protocol as it is popularly known, has become the internationally accepted definition for trafficking in persons, or human trafficking. Beyond the laborious title, the definition is largely considered problematic and issues with the definition will be discussed in more depth in Chapter 2. For the purposes of this book, I will define human trafficking as entailing force or coercion, as well as transport of people for the purposes of exploitation and/or labor.

Despite being a world-wide phenomenon and a global social issue, many people around the world are not even aware of the issue. The number of actual victims of human trafficking is highly contested because of the hidden nature of human trafficking (Laczko, 2005), although many scholars agree that the problem is serious and the number of victims world-wide is large (Bales, 2008; Batstone, 2007; Laczko, 2005; Skinner, 2008; United States Department of State, 2010). Some estimates have the number of human trafficking victims at over 20 million people world-wide (Bales, 2005). In the United States alone, it is estimated that 50,000 or more victims exist (United States Department of State, 2010). However, there is very little reliable data to support these figures (Laczko, 2005).

Why Thailand?

Human trafficking is a social justice issue affecting marginalized people world-wide, and human trafficking has been addressed in varying degrees by international organizations and national governments, by NGOs, as well as by local authorities. Although the problem has continued to be widespread in Thailand (Asia Watch Report, 1993; United States Department of State, 2011b) so are the attempts to address the practice. Both labor- and sex-trafficking are significant problems in Thailand—Thailand is considered a destination, source, and transit country for human trafficking throughout the literature (Biemann, 2005)—particularly due to Thailand’s relative affluence compared to other Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) countries. In the 2010 United States Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), Thailand was moved to the Tier 2 Watch List ranking. Thailand remains at the Tier 2 Watch List level for the 2011 TIP report as well. The State Department TIP Report tier system consists of three tiers. Tier 2 ranking means that Thailand is not complying with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA)

minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards AND: a) the absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing; b) there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecution, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials; or, c) the determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional steps over the next year. (United States Department of State, 2010: 23)

Why NGOs?

As a result, a variety of NGOs operate in Thailand and the surrounding areas with a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, education, care, protection, and rehabilitation of rescued victims of trafficking. Unlike many of the macro-level actors in the fight against human trafficking such as the United Nations and national governments, these NGOs are of particular interest to me because of their grass-roots, micro-level work. The NGOs examined in this study work with disadvantaged and exploited people, attempting to improve these people’s life chances, looking after their social and emotional well-being and helping them to integrate back into society to live as safe, normal, and productive a life as possible. In this study, I explored the issues facing students, teachers and staff, and the educational practices being used, in two NGOs in Thailand that work to educate and rehabilitate victims of human trafficking, and children considered at-risk of trafficking and exploitation, as described by Jantraka (2001). How human trafficking victims and at-risk populations are defined by these organizations varies, but are generally described on their websites and in the organizations’ literature (Child Protection and Development Center, n.d.a; DEPDC, n.d.). Exploring the issues that these NGOs and the individuals face helped me to understand the complexity of the work conducted at these NGOs. Examining what educational practices are used, and why, has provided information that may be of relevance to other NGOs or educators that work with the same or similar populations. Overall, I explored the work of individuals and groups who work to educate and rehabilitate children from traumatic circumstances, particularly victims of human trafficking and at-risk populations of children as defined by these organizations, and the issues facing the children themselves.

During the process of completing my study, the initial goals of the study shifted. At the bequest of my dissertation committee, I undertook a pilot study for the project in the summer of 2010 at two NGOs in Thailand: the Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC), and Child Protection and Development Center (CPDC). DEPDC is located in northern Thailand and serves human trafficking victims and at-risk populations of children, as defined by their organization. CPDC is located near the southeastern coast of Thailand and serves human trafficking victims, street children, and at-risk children from area slums.

Why Education?

I initially wanted to understand how student–teacher relationship-building was incorporated into the education programs of these two NGOs. I set out to describe, through observations, field notes, interviews, and document analysis how these NGO-run shelters and schools take up the everyday task of educating students who are former victims of human trafficking or from populations considered at-risk of human trafficking as described by Jantraka (2001). I began the pilot study with an operating assumption that social capital and relationship-building with students at the shelters are crucial to the successful education and rehabilitation of trafficking victims and prevention of their returning to vulnerable circumstances or trafficking situations. However, the pilot study allowed me an opportunity to gain a broader perspective on the issues at work in these NGOs, proving to be immensely important to my understanding of the human trafficking issue. The pilot study informed my outlook in a variety of ways. It helped to change the focus of my research from relationship-building as the key element necessary in the success of vulnerable students, to a more refined and complex view of the input and output factors pushing children into trafficking, and preventing them from returning to trafficking situations. These factors include student–teacher relationship-building, yet other elements that emerged during the pilot study became much more significant and they were more closely examined in the dissertation study.

I initially wanted to understand how these shelters function, and examine whether relationship-building is a factor in the NGO’s efforts by teachers, staff, and students. As an educator with years of classroom teaching experience, I was interested in how teachers, staff, and students determined NGO educational program success. I was also interested in whether successful student–teacher relationship-building, in concert with educational strategies and practices, is important in educating students from trafficking situations, and how this effectiveness is defined by teachers, staff, and students. In order to determine effectiveness, I initially intended to combine evidence from interviews, observations, and document analysis in my pilot study and again on a larger scale in the full study. Based on preliminary findings from the pilot study, I updated the study goals and features. The pilot study helped me to begin to understand the issues differently. Therefore, the full study clarified the importance of the complex set of issues impacting both the NGOs and the children being served. Understanding how the NGOs and children worked within complex societal pressures gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the political, economic and social context within which human trafficking prevention must function in Thailand.

The pilot study produced six key findings that were important in addition to the issue of student–teacher relationships. First, the issue of student access to and opportunity for education emerged as an important theme. Second, the issues of poverty and vulnerability were also prevalent themes. Third, in terms of education, student-centered and holistic approaches to education used by the personnel of the NGOs were important elements to student success. Fourth, although social capital-building, in terms of establishing connections with other individuals and groups, was taking place in various ways, I found a lack of evidence of social capital-building on behalf of the students. Fifth, one unanticipated finding was the importance of the issues of statelessness, citizenship, and documentation of children in the region, and the connection of these issues to human trafficking. Sixth, one of the most important issues was the issue of student retention at the NGOs, in terms of keeping older students in the education program, rather than those students leaving the program prior to completion.

Starting with Social Capital Theory

As I approached the pilot study, I conceptualized social capital, as described by Portes (1998) as the central factor on which the success or failure of these students, in my terms, the teachers’ terms and the students’ terms, depended. Although I uncovered some elements of social capital-building taking place in the educational programs of these NGOs during the pilot study, statelessness, poverty, vulnerability, access to education, and the educational approach of the NGOs appeared to be more important. Along with a lack of evidence of social capital-building within the NGO, I also had difficulty finding evidence that the NGO shelters were attempting to foster relationships outside the shelter for the children. This community networking aspect of social capital-building would likely have benefitted the students after leaving the shelters. Although the credentials of the NGOs educational programs may not be accepted by formal educational institutions, students have opportunities for further educational or career choices due to the connections made in the community through the NGOs. Looking at how other schools or educators increase student social capital by encouraging and developing connections between students and the larger community was certainly an aim of the pilot study, but I was also alerted to an alarming trend of older students dropping out of the NGOs educational programs prior to graduation. As the pilot study progressed, my understanding of the issues changed and social capital shifted to become just one of several key factors rather than the central factor. I was left wondering about several puzzling questions. Does education reduce vulnerability? If education does reduce vulnerability to human trafficking and exploitation for the most vulnerable, then implementing education programs for the most vulnerable of the population would likely help to alleviate the problem. In hindsight, I am not sure whether I can answer this question because the issues of poverty, marginalization, and vulnerability are entangled with inextricably with the human trafficking problem. This study does not attempt to definitively offer a comprehensive solution to human trafficking, nor does is suggest that education is the silver bullet that can fix the social ills of the world. However, through this study, the reader will gain a better understanding of the complex factors that push disadvantaged children into vulnerable situations in Thailand, and what grass-roots actors are doing to address these problems.

What Do We Know About Human Trafficking?

Research on human trafficking has grown in recent years and debate over what elements of human trafficking need to be studied is growing (Chang and Kim, 2009; Laczko, 2005). Much of that research falls into two categories: large-scale national-level studies, and individual case studies of victims of human trafficking. One major category of research into human trafficking focuses largely on macro-level studies sponsored by international entities such as the United Nations, national governments, and other large-scale actors (DeStefano, 2008; Laczko, 2005; Minorities at Risk Project, 2004; United States Department of State, 2009; World Bank, 2009). Typically, these studies focus on national and international policy, law enforcement, or country-wide estimations of the size and scope of human trafficking. Unfortunately, much of the data used in these large-scale studies are unreliable, inconsistent, and unverifiable. Another vein of human trafficking research focuses on individual case studies of the experiences of victims of human trafficking during the time of their exploitation and victimization (Batstone, 2007; Bowe, 2008). However, much of this work is sensationalized and inaccurate, and even key figures in the field of anti-trafficking such as Somaly Mam have recently been criticized for the inaccuracy of their stories (Marks, 2014).

Relatively little is known about how NGOs and other micro- and meso-level actors’ work to rehabilitate and educate victims after their removal from exploitative and traumatic circumstances (Arnold and Bertone, 2007; Brackin, 1999; D’Agnes, 2001; Oh and Van Der Stouwe, 2008; Tzvetkova, 2002). Even less is known about how grass-roots NGOs use education as a tool to prevent trafficking and exploitation for marginalized children and whether scholars argue that statistical data on human trafficking are unreliable and incomplete at the national and international levels (Laczko, 2005). Laczko (2005) argued for more “systematic studies of the role of actors involved in the fight against trafficking, such as service providers, law enforcement agencies and NGOs” (2005: 14), and both comparative and longitudinal studies in the human trafficking field. Therefore, exploratory and descriptive work on micro-level actors in the field is necessary in order to begin to understand the complexities of their work. Furthermore, clear understanding of the connections between human trafficking and education is needed, particularly because education is seen by many as a means of prevention and protection for vulnerable people (Jantraka, 2001). My study aimed for a more comprehensive understanding of the connections between human trafficking and education through exploring the processes, interactions, issues, and features of two NGO shelter-schools in Thailand. My study also aimed at exploring the impact of issues such as statelessness, access to education, poverty and vulnerability, and social capital on the work of NGO shelter-schools in Thailand, specifically the issue of retention of older students through the completion of these education programs.

Why Does Human Trafficking Persist with So Much Coverage in the Media?

Media coverage of human trafficking cases has grown in recent years, though increased attention has not curbed the problem. Human trafficking continues to persist, and at a significant level, despite the many individuals and organizations working to address human trafficking, and despite the growth in the field of human trafficking research (Laczko, 2005). Roth (2004) illustrated the importance of the media in bringing attention to this social issue, but there has not been a clear examination of the long-term impact of sensationalized media attention on truly addressing the issue through comprehensive solutions. Throughout the Thai society, there are several large-scale public awareness campaigns underway, including the MTV Exit campaign which organizes large concerts in Southeast Asia, and produces stylized television commercials intended to raise awareness. In Thailand, a variety of NGOs operate with a variety of purposes including, but not limited to, education and rehabilitation of rescued victims of trafficking, as well as work to prevent exploitation of at-risk populations (Arnold and Bertone, 2007; Asia Watch, 1993; Beyrer and Stachowiak, 2003; Delaney, 2006). Human trafficking, as a field of research, is in its early stages, and connections to other disciplines have only begun to be established in the literature (Laczko, 2005). However, attention to the subject has rapidly grown in recent years in Thailand garnering an increase in research, policy and practice.

Estimates of the size and scope of the issue are unreliable, in part due to the hidden nature of human trafficking. Human trafficking has numerous dimensions, including historical, political, economic, and social aspects that need to be explored in depth in order to more fully understand this complex topic. The Thai context further complicates the human trafficking realities in Southeast Asia. As the only Southeast Asian country never to be colonized by a European power, Thailand has fared economically well in comparison to many of its neighbors. Economic prosperity is a pull factor that draws in many informal migrants from Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, as well as others in the region. The relative economic power of Bangkok is also a pull factor that draws in rural Thais, particularly marginalized hill-tribe peoples from remote reaches of Thailand, looking for work and opportunity in the big city. These and other factors converge to create a situation ripe for human trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable people.

Why Study Human Trafficking, Education, Thailand, and NGOs?

The study of human trafficking and the associated exploitation and oppression of people world-wide is a growing and important research field. I had a five-fold rationale for this study. First, I have an important personal reason for further study of the issue on moral grounds. I cannot sit idly by with extensive knowledge of the suffering of others without working to learn and to help.

Second, more scholarly research is needed to understand this phenomenon. Human trafficking, also referred to as modern slavery (Bales, 2005), is a disturbing reality in today’s globalized world, occurring in every country around the globe despite national and international laws prohibiting slavery (Chapkis, 2003; Kyle and Koslowski, 2001). Whether its existence is due to the growth of capitalism, globalization, the legacy of colonialism, or a myriad of other phenomena is unclear, but human trafficking scholars agree that forms of slavery hav...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Photographs
• About the Author
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• 1 Why Human Trafficking, Why Education, Why NGOs, and Why Thailand?
• 2 Research on Human Trafficking
• 3 Methods for Conducting the Qualitative Case Study
• 4 Human Trafficking and Education: The Case of DEPDC and CPDC
• 5 Conclusions: Discussion of the Issues from the Local to the Global
• Photograph Appendix
• References
• Index