Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking and Access to Justice for the Poor and Vulnerable

Ethics in Action #7 MODERN SLAVERY, HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR THE POOR AND VULNERABLE Casina Pio IV 12-13 March 2018 The sexual discrimination of women Hay que afrontar la discriminación “must be tackled. Every person, whether “sexual de las mujeres. Toda persona, tanto man or woman, is destined to exist for hombre como mujer, está destinada a ser others. A relationship that fails to respect para los demás. Una relación que no respete the fact that men and women have the same el hecho de que el hombre y la mujer tienen dignity constitutes a grave crime against la misma dignidad, constituye un crimen humanity. It is time to vigorously put a stop grave contra la humanidad. Ya es hora de to prostitution, as well as to the widespread detener de modo enérgico la prostitución, dissemination of material with an erotic or a así como la amplia difusión de material de pornographic content, also on the Internet.” contenido erótico o pornográfico, también en Internet.” Pope Benedict XVI Address to German Ambassador Papa Benedicto XVI 7 November 2011 Discurso al embajador alemán 7 de noviembre 2011 2 In recent years, the Pontifical Academy of En el curso de estos últimos años no han “Social Sciences, thanks to the efforts of its “faltado importantes actividades de la President, its Chancellor and a number of Pontificia Academia de las Ciencias Sociales prestigious external collaborators – to whom bajo el vigoroso impulso de su Presidenta, I offer my heartfelt thanks – has engaged in del Canciller y de algunos colaboradores important activities in defence of human externos de notorio prestigio, a quienes dignity and freedom in our day. This has agradezco de corazón. Actividades en defensa been particularly the case with efforts to de la dignidad y libertad de los hombres y eliminate human trafficking and smuggling, mujeres de hoy y, en particular, para erradicar as well as new forms of slavery such as forced la trata y el tráfico de personas y las nuevas labour, prostitution, organ trafficking, formas de esclavitud tales como el trabajo the drug trade and organized crime. As my forzado, la prostitución, el tráfico de órganos, predecessor Pope Benedict XVI stated, and el comercio de la droga, la criminalidad I myself have repeated on several occasions, organizada. Como dijo mi predecesor these are true crimes against humanity; they Benedicto XVI, y lo he afirmado yo mismo need to be recognized as such by all religious, en varias ocasiones, éstos son verdaderos political and social leaders, and by national crímenes de lesa humanidad que deben ser and international legislation.” reconocidos como tales por todos los líderes religiosos, políticos y sociales, y plasmados en Pope Francis las leyes nacionales e internacionales.” Statement to the Judges’ Summit on Human Trafficking and Organized Papa Francisco Crime Discurso a la Cumbre Internacional 3 June 2016 de Jueces y Magistrados contra el tráfico de personas y el crimen organizado 3 de junio 2016 3 ETHICS IN ACTION 7 Modern Slavery, Human Trafficking, and Access to Justice for the Poor and Vulnerable Casina Pio IV, 12-13 March 2018 t is fair to say that our contemporary world is beset by tial approval, the person almost becomes non-existent. Ithe following injustices: broken promises on behalf Therefore, the humiliation caused by forced labour, of governments; unequal distribution of income and prostitution, involuntary organ harvesting and rape wealth; unjust redistributions from poor to rich; bully- makes the victim feel he or she does not exist as an end- ing of states and individuals on behalf of multinational in-itself, but merely an individual’s property, or a means corporations that are solely concerned with profit; states for the benefit of others.2 that do not welcome migrants, while contributing to the In the case of prostitution there is an additional com- causes of mass-migration; and global warming caused by ponent of non-approval of the victim as an human be- human activity, mostly due to fossil fuel consumption. ing: the betrayal of affection at its most intimate. When Concerned with this “globalization of indifference” parents force their daughter into prostitution – as is which tends to exclude whole masses of people from usual in contexts of extreme poverty and in promiscu- society, Pope Francis, soon after his election, asked the ous environments – they betray her in the affection that Academy to study human trafficking and modern slav- they owe her, and that she has the right to expect from ery, in the forms of forced labour, prostitution, and them. Likewise, when a life partner or a boyfriend woos organ trafficking. On several occasions he has defined a young woman with the intention of leading her to a life these practices as “crimes against humanity”. In order to of prostitution, he is betraying her in the most intimate describe this kind of exclusion, contempt and, ultimate- way possible, as he is violating their relationship of love, ly, non-participation in what makes us human, it is nec- understood as mutual approval and as a bond of perfec- essary to understand the double nature of the violence tion (τὴν ἀγάπην, ὅ ἐστιν σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος – St of this crime. It is an attack on corporal integrity and a Paul, Col 3,14). Unfortunately, this is the most common combination of all forms of abuse – torture, repetitive and effective method that traffickers use nowadays: hand- rape, organ harvesting, forced labour, including that some young men seduce girls through romantic promises of children – which destroy a person’s primary trust in (“You will be my wife: we will raise a family together”). him/herself and in others. But it is also an attack inflict- ed on the survivor’s soul, which creates wounds that are This destroys the very core of the trust that one can deeper and more complex than those already caused by lay in a person. Somehow, the betrayed victim feels worse the physical violence. than someone whose existence has not been recognised. It is for this reason that the protocol of victim rehabili- What kind of psychological and moral violence are tation is often based on the reconstruction of self-trust, we talking about? Friends, or individuals who love each and of trust in one’s fellow human beings, as well as on other, approve each other’s existence. Trafficking victims a sort of public admission of the iniquity of having been cannot have true friends, so they lack the affirmation that betrayed and sold. Betrayal by the person on whom we makes friendship the “unique good”, as defined by Sim- have laid all of our trust is worse than death itself. one Weil, inspired by Aristotle1. The humiliation of the victim, perceived as the withdrawal or rejection of that It is not possible to cross the threshold of the first affirmation to exist, harms, first and foremost, at a pre-ju- model of participation in affection without considering ridical level. The humiliated person feels looked down on or, worse, completely unvalued. Deprived of this essen- 2 “Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end, but always at the same time as an end” (Immanuel Kant, Grounding for the Metaphysics of 1 Simone Weil, Amitié, in Ouvres, Gallimard, coll. “Quarto”, 1999, p 755. Morals/On a Supposed Right to Lie Because of Philanthropic Concerns). 4 the restrictions and rules that, despite not being formally olution. In-dignation, the etymology of which indicates judicial, must be upheld – in every sense of the word – as a lack of dignity, can and must lead to the recognition for institutions, and which have actually encouraged count- everyone of the dignity that every human being deserves. less developments in the judicial arena. Such is the case These new moral imperatives are enshrined in the of parent-child and husband-wife relationships, and it is Sustainable Development Goals promulgated unan- also true of family ties, since families, in their education- imously by the United Nations after Pope Francis’ ad- al role, mark the beginning of cultural and value-based dress at the UN General Assembly. Goal 8.7 affirms life. In contrast with the city and the state, the family is a that we must “Take immediate and effective measures to way of living together that is represented by a home and eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human a shared roof, which unite a limited number of people. trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of Naturally, it is very difficult for people that have fallen the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and prey to these new forms of slavery to raise a family and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its nurture a conjugal relationship. This appalling form of forms”. In addition, SDG 5.2 asks “to eliminate all forms exclusion also rules out every opportunity for full-fledged of violence against all women and girls in the public and filiation, and even denies victims the chance of becoming private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and oth- fulfilled parents. It is for this reason that desire – whether er types of exploitation” and SDG 16.2, “to end abuse, desire for conjugality or desire for filiation – often works exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against as the stimulus for fleeing slavery in its modern manifes- and torture of children”. tations. It is with these intentions that Ethics in Action brings Naturally, victims of modern slavery are also deprived us together.

Load more