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Civic Education Notes

Human Trafficking: Causes, Effects, Consequences and Government effort to combat it

Human trafficking is the recruiting, transporting, receiving and harboring of people in exchange for money.

People who are most vulnerable to human trafficking are women and children and they are subjected into forced labour, slavery, servitude and prostitution. The people who engaged in human trafficking business are called human traffickers.

Human trafficking is a violation of human rights and the traffickers use their wealth and power to deceive and force the poor, less privileged, ignorant and vulnerable people in the society into all kinds of human exploitation that violates the fundamental human rights of the people involved.

Human trafficking could be done domestically or at the international level. Most international trafficking activities are targeted towards taking young ladies abroad through illegal means for the purpose of forcing them into prostitution.
Domestic trafficking is targeted towards bringing young boys and girls into cities for force labour as house helps. It is important to know that human trafficking is both a domestic and international crime.

CAUSES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

  1. POVERTY
    Poverty is a state of being poor or lack of basic necessities of live. Poverty can make people vulnerable to human trafficking and child labour. Parents may give up their children to be taken to cities and work as house helps. Some parents may even sell their children totally into slavery while others go to cities or travel abroad to engage in prostitution in order to make money.
  2. GREED
    People who are not contented with what they have or those who want to accumulate fast wealth may find themselves engaged in human trafficking.
  3. LOW SELF-ESTEEM
    Some people due to low self-esteem or loss of sense of worth and self confidence may fall victim of human traffickers who will promise to help them but what they actually do is to exploit them.
  4. CORRUPTION
    Human traffickers bribe government officials with money and material things so that they can continue to carry out their business without being caught or hindered by government agencies.
     
  5. IGNORANCE
    Vulnerable members in the society can easily be deceived by human traffickers who will promise them greener pastures and better lifestyles in the cities or abroad and because everybody wants a better and improved life, they innocently follow these traffickers only to discover that their intention was to exploit and use them to make money. Some of these people may even be forced to take oaths not to disclose their secret or try to escape.
  6. WAR
    During prolonged war, children are forced to join the army and are trained to carry guns and ammunitions. Although this may not be done for money, it is also a form of human trafficking e.g during the second world war, some Africans were trafficked to Europe so as to fight in the war.

EVALUATION

  1. Define human trafficking.
  2. State the causes of human trafficking.

EFFECTS AND CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

  1. PHYSICAL OR PSYCOLOGICAL ABUSE
    People who are being trafficked are subjected to all form of physical abuse such as rape, beating and torture. Children used as house help are often time beaten and the female ones are raped and sometimes starved of food and other basic needs of life. This affects the psychological growth of such children.
  2. ABUSE OF FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS
    Human trafficking leads to abuse of fundamental human rights because they are often denied their right to free thought, conscience and decision.
  3. DELAY IN THEIR EDUCATION AND HUMAN CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
    Children who are trafficked and forced into child labour are usually denied their right to education in order to become useful to themselves in the future.
  4. VULNERABILITY TO SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
    Girls who engage in prostitute are prone to being infected with sexually transmitted diseases such as syphyilis, gonorrhea and HIV/AIDS. These diseases are capable of cutting their lives short and can reduce their productive contribution to the society and increase medical expenses.
  5. UNWANTED PREGNANCY
    Victims of human trafficking are mostly faced with unprotected sex which could result into unwanted pregnancies. Some of these girls when they give birth will throw the child away or abandon the child with their parents without adequate care.
  6. STIGMATIZATION
    People who are trafficked are usually stigmatized especially when they are deported back to the country from abroad.
  7. DEATH
    Some children who are used as house helps are violently beaten to death while some die of ill health because they are not properly taken care of.

GOVERNMENT AND INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS GEARED TOWARDS COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING

  1. Establishment of NAPTIP in year 2003.
  2. Government pledged in 2009 to annually fund the activities and operations of NAPTIP with over 7 million dollars.
  3. Government sustained efforts to raise awareness on human trafficking in both rural and urban areas by organizing workshops, seminars and conferences. Also by distributing manuals, textbooks, pamphlets, etc. printed in different languages on human trafficking and ways of preventing it.
  4. Enactment of trafficking law and administration Act in 2003 that was amended in 2005 to increase penalties and punishment for traffickers and to prohibit human trafficking in all form.
  5. Government together with international partners provide specialized training to officials of NAPTIP, Police, Custom and Immigration on how to recognize, investigate and prosecute human traffickers.
  6. The move towards enacting a law to directly address the challenge of Human Trafficking in Nigeria started with a private member bill sent to the National Assembly by WOTCLEF.

EVALUATION

Highlight the efforts of government in eradicating human trafficking.

The Trafficking in Persons Law Enforcement and Administration Bill was passed by the National Assembly (House of Senate and House of Representative) on 7th July, 2003. President OlusegunObasanjo gave his assent to the bill on 14th July, 2003 to make it an act. This act was further amended in 2005.

The law prescribed a punishment of five (5) years imprisonment or a fine of 670 Dollars which is about #100,000 for labour trafficking. Ten (10) years to life imprisonment for sex trafficking. Ten (10) years imprisonment for trafficking of children for forced begging and hawking. The law also prescribed similar penalty for offences like rape.

The law empowers NAPTIP, police, immigration and custom officials to arrest human traffickers. Once arrested, human traffickers can be tried in court.

The Child Right Act was enacted in 2003 to make child trafficking a criminal offence. Nigeria constitution however placed child right issues under the jurisdiction of state government.

NATIONAL AGENCY FOR PROHIBITION OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS AND OTHER RELATED OFFENCES NAPTIP came into existence on the 26th August, 2003. This agency was established as a creation of the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law Enforcement and Administration Act of July 14th, 2003. The agency was established to address the problem of trafficking in persons in Nigeria. For NAPTIP to perform its functions effectively as the number one agency for prohibiting and prosecuting human trafficking in Nigeria, section 4 of the 2003 human trafficking in person prohibition law enforcement and administration act gave NAPTIP the power to perform the following functions:

  1. To coordinate all laws on trafficking in persons and other related offences.
  2. To adopt measures to increase the effectiveness of eradication of trafficking in persons.
  3. To adopt witness protection measures.
  4. To enhance effectiveness of law enforcement agents to suppress traffic in persons.
  5. To establish proper communication channels, conduct research and work on improving international cooperation in the suppression of traffic in person by land, sea and air.
  6. To supervise, control and coordinate the rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking.
  7. To investigate and prosecute human traffickers.

DEPARTMENTS OF NAPTIP

  1. Investigation unit.
  2. Prosecution unit.
  3. Counseling and rehabilitation unit.
  4. Public enlightenment unit.
  • INVESTIGATION UNIT

This department receives intelligence information on human trafficking with a view to arrest and array them in court for prosecution.

  • PROSECUTION UNIT

This is the department that takes over human traffickers that are detected and being arrested by the investigation unit of the agency. This unit carries out proper and detailed investigation on the trafficker.

  • COUNSELING AND REHABILITATION UNIT

This unit takes over victims of human trafficking by providing shelter, food and counseling for the victims in order to reintegrate them back to the society. It also help them to overcome their psychological and physiological problems.

  • PUBLIC ENLIGHTENMENT

This department educates the public on the dangers and consequences of  human trafficking.

EVALUATION

  1. State the punishment awarded for people who engage in human trafficking.
  2. Highlight the various functions of NAPTIP.

GENERAL EVALUATION

  1. What is the meaning of NAPTIP?
  2. Explain the roles of NAPTIP in eradicating human trafficking.
  3. Define constituted authority?
  4. Mention the types of constituted authority.
  5. State the ways through which leaders emerge.

READING ASSIGNMENT

Fundamentals of Civic Education for Senior Secondary Schools Book 3, Sola Akinyemi. Pg. 119.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

  1. NAPTIP was established in year (a) 2000  (b) 2002 (c) 2003
  2. Which of these Nigerian heads of state signed the trafficking in persons act into law?  (a) General AbdulsalamAbubakar  (b) DrGoodluck Jonathan(c) Chief OlusegunObasanjo
  3. The National Assembly passed the bill on trafficking in persons law act on ________ (a) 14th July 2003 (b) 7th July 2003 (c) 7th August 2003
  4. Which of these units of NAPTIP receives intelligence information on human trafficking activities?  (a) public enlightenment unit  (b) investigation unit  (c) prosecution unit
  5.  NAFDAC means?  (a) National Food, Drug Administration and council  (b) National Food Drug Administration and Control  (c) National Food, Drug Administration and committee

THEORY

  1. How can government assist in eradicating human trafficking?
  2. Highlight five roles of individuals in eradicating human trafficking.

EVALUATION
What are the effects of human trafficking?

GENERAL EVALUATION

  1. What is human trafficking?
  2. Explain the causes of human trafficking
  3. State the effects of human trafficking.
  4. What is rule of law?
  5. Who propounded the principle of rule of law?

READING ASSIGNMENT
Fundamentals of Civic Education for Senior Secondary Schools Book 3, Sola Akinyemi. Pg 111.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

  1. A person who engages in trafficking business is called __ (a) controller (b) business expert (c) trafficker
  2. The following except _ are causes of human trafficking (a) poverty (b) greed (c) high self- esteem
  3. Which of these is not a challenge faced in Nigeria in an attempt to stop human trafficking? (a) Increase in prostitution (b) Porosity of our national borders (c) Adequate law on prohibition of human trafficking
  4. All are consequences of human trafficking except (a) death (b) unsecured future (c) improved health
  5. Those who are mostly victims of human trafficking are_______ and __

THEORY

  1. Outline five causes of human trafficking.
  2. Explain five ways of preventing human trafficking in Nigeria.

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