Suppression of the exploitation of women
4.1 Australia is resolute in its commitment to fulfilling its international obligations to protect women from exploitation and to criminalise and eliminate people trafficking, especially trafficking in women and children. Since Australia's last report on CEDAW in 2003, the Australian and state and territory governments have taken a number of important steps to reinforce, expand and better coordinate efforts across the country and the region to combat trafficking crimes and exploitation.
Trafficking
4.2 Australia ratified the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in 2004; acceded to its supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children in 2005; and acceded to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography in 2006.
4.3 In 2008, Australia and Indonesia co-hosted a side event at the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking Forum; the event was on the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime. The Bali Process is co-chaired by Australia and Indonesia, and is a key vehicle for regional engagement on people trafficking. For instance, workshops on developing anti-trafficking legislation have been held as part of the Bali Process and Asia-Pacific states have used its model legislation to draft their own anti-trafficking and smuggling legislation.
4.4 Australia is a partner in the Asia Regional Trafficking in Persons project-a five-year, $21 million activity that began in August 2006. The project contributes to preventing people trafficking in the region. It promotes a more effective and coordinated approach to dealing with people trafficking by criminal justice systems of governments in the Asia-Pacific region. The project partners are Australia, Thailand, Lao PDR, Cambodia, Burma, and Indonesia, who also work closely with the Association of South-East Asian Nations and engage with the association's member countries at a regional level.
4.5 Australia's anti-trafficking strategy addresses the full trafficking cycle, from recruitment to reintegration, and gives equal weight to the critical areas of prevention, detection and investigation, prosecution, and victim support.
4.6 Opportunities to traffic people into Australia are low because Australia is surrounded by sea and has strong migration controls. With 107 trafficking victims, 105 of whom were women, supported by an Australian Government program between 2004 and mid 2008, (see paragraph 4.9 for more on the Government's support program) the Australian Government continues its focus on preventing any trafficking, prosecuting the perpetrators, and protecting and supporting victims.
4.7 The Australian Government takes seriously the issue of people trafficking both domestically and internationally. In 2007 the Government demonstrated its strong and ongoing commitment by announcing $38.3 million over four years to renew and strengthen the whole-of-government strategy to eradicate trafficking in people. This brings the Government's total commitment to combating trafficking since 2003 to $58.3 million.
4.8 Australia has also comprehensively criminalised all trafficking-related activity, with penalties of up to 25 years' imprisonment. Australian Federal Police Transnational Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Teams have undertaken over 150 investigations and assessments of allegations of trafficking-related offences since January 2004. By 23 May 2008, these investigations had led to 34 people being charged with trafficking-related offences and seven convictions. Of the seven convicted defendants, five were convicted for slavery matters. Two defendants were convicted for conducting a business involving the sexual servitude of others. One of the slavery matters related to labour trafficking. The rest of the slavery matters are linked to trafficking in women from South-East Asia for work in the sex industry. These data are provided in response to the CEDAW Committee's 2006 Concluding Comments in paragraphs 20 and 21.
4.9 Australia provides a comprehensive range of support services for suspected trafficking victims who are able and willing to help in criminal investigations or prosecutions. The Support for Victims of People Trafficking program has supported victims trafficked into Australia for the sex industry and for labour servitude. Victims who have participated in the program have been mostly female, with two males, and predominantly from Thailand.
4.10 Where a person is assessed as being a suspected victim of trafficking, a comprehensive visa framework means people who help with investigations or prosecutions of people trafficking offenders may be able to remain lawfully in Australia. If a victim is assessed as being in danger because of the assistance they provided, they might be eligible to remain permanently in Australia on a Witness Protection (Trafficking) visa.
4.11 In response to the CEDAW Committee's 2006 Concluding Comments in paragraphs 20 and 21, when a suspected victim chooses not to help law enforcement authorities or the person's evidence is insufficient to help a trafficking investigation or prosecution, they receive assistance to return to their home country, unless they can establish their eligibility to stay in Australia under another class of visa.
4.12 The Australian Government has undertaken consultations with peak non-government and government organisations as part of a review of the effectiveness of the People Trafficking Visa Framework. The views expressed by stakeholders ranged from simplification including more flexibility of the visa framework to the de-linking of visas from law enforcement activities. While the Government is considering the feedback from these consultations, the Australian Government believes there are opportunities for a simpler and more flexible framework.
4.13 Australia provides funding to the International Organization for Migration Return and Reintegration of Trafficked Women and Children project (Phase II), which started in 2004. The project develops sustainable support mechanisms and structures for the identification, return, recovery and reintegration of victims of trafficking.
4.14 The Return and Reintegration of Trafficking Victims from Australia to Thailand (Thai Returnees Pilot project) commenced in 2006 as a pilot project for Thai victims identified in Australia who go back to Thailand. The project includes activities to encourage victims to seek reintegration assistance including strengthening information dissemination and peer support networks, improving case management by Thai Government and non-government organisation partners, improving access to vocational training and job-referrals, providing access to legal services, and providing small-scale support for reintegration.
4.15 The Australian Government implemented a targeted communication awareness strategy to increase awareness about people trafficking within the sex industry. The strategy informs and educates people working in the industry and people who come into contact with them. It also provides information on how to seek assistance or report people trafficking.
4.16 In paragraph 32 of the CEDAW Committee's 2006 Concluding Comments, the committee recommended that Australia increase funding to non-government organisations involved in providing services that promote women's rights, including organisations that work in the area of people trafficking. Australia works closely with non-government organisations-including the peak body representing Australian sex workers, Scarlet Alliance-and other governments to support a number of aid projects in the Asia region. The focus is on regional cooperation in reducing the number of trafficking victims and improving victims' protection, recovery and reintegration.
4.17 In paragraph 15 of the CEDAW Committee's 2006 Concluding Comments, the committee recommended that the state party regularly conduct impact assessments of its legislative reforms, policies and programs to ensure that measures taken lead to the desired goals and that it informs the committee about the results of these assessments in its next report. In 2005, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on the Australian Crime Commission recommended that an evaluation of the results of the National Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons be carried out after three years of operation. The Auditor-General of the Australian National Audit Office agreed in June 2007 to carry out this audit. The Auditor-General will release the evaluation's findings in early 2009.
[ top ]
Prostitution
4.18 Article 6 provides that 'State Parties shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women'. The Australian Government believes that legalised brothel prostitution, or profiting from the use of prostitution of women in this way, does not of itself fall within the meaning of 'exploitation of prostitution'. Rather, 'exploitation of prostitution' applies where the circumstances in which women are being prostituted are themselves exploitative-for example, if women are being held in sexual servitude, or child prostitutes are involved. Laws legalising and regulating brothel prostitution in fact help to protect sex workers from exploitation by subjecting the industry to safeguards and standards that cannot to be imposed where brothels are illegal. For more information about Australian and state and territory government legislation relating to prostitution see Australia's 2003 report on CEDAW.
4.19 State and territory governments are responsible for regulating the sex industry under the residual powers of the Australian Constitution. Street prostitution is illegal in all jurisdictions except New South Wales, where it is prohibited near churches, schools, hospitals and similar venues. Legislation in each jurisdiction covers (in varying degrees) the welfare and safety of women working in prostitution, the protection of children from exploitation relating to prostitution, and the location of brothels. Licenses are needed for brothels and there are strict requirements for brothel owners. Brothels are regulated to ensure they meet minimum standards of health and safety.
4.20 The Western Australian Government reformed its prostitution laws in 2008. The Prostitution Amendment Bill 2007 provides a framework for addressing the regulation of prostitution in ways that take account of public health, protects sex workers from exploitation, and protects children from being involved in or exposed to prostitution.
4.21 The Northern Territory Government funds the Sex Workers Outreach project, which provides information on occupational health and safety standards, legislation relating to sex work, updates on relevant industry news and issues, as well as information on protection against sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses, such as HIV and Hepatitis B and C.
Sexual servitude
4.22 Australian Crime Commission research indicates that many foreign sex workers in Australia are not trafficked and have working conditions and remuneration comparable to Australian sex workers. However, most state and territory governments have enacted legislation against the offence of sexual servitude. State and territory police and the Australian Federal Police enforce this legislation collaboratively. When sexual servitude involves people trafficking, the state or territory jurisdiction refers suspected offences/offenders to Australian Government authorities for investigation. For more information about legislation and amendments relating to sexual servitude, see Australia's 2003 report on CEDAW.
4.23 The Tasmanian Sex Industry Offences Act 2005 commenced in 2006. This new Act recognises the vulnerable and marginalised position of sex workers in society and makes it an offence to force a person to become or remain a sex worker by intimidation, assault, supply or administration of drugs, false representations, or threatening to cause the person to be deported. To date there has been no evidence found of sexual slavery and trafficking reported in Tasmania.
4.24 The Queensland Police Service has developed a framework and has the resources to monitor and address sexual exploitation and servitude through prevention, victim assistance, partnerships, training and education, and regulation and legislation. The framework is monitored across the state through the specialist Prostitution Enforcement Task Force, which is responsible for the policing of prostitution in Queensland.
4.25 In 2004, the Victorian Government introduced offences targeting sexual servitude of women under the Justice Legislation (Sexual Offences and Bail) Act 2004.
4.26 Since 2003, the New South Wales Police Force has worked to:
- build and maintain knowledge about indicators of people trafficking for sexual exploitation among investigators attached to Local Area Commands around the state
- ensure a high standard of investigative response and victim care in early phases of suspected sexual exploitation cases
- maintain regular interaction with the Australian Federal Police in relation to their investigations involving New South Wales suspects and locations.
4.27 In 2006, the New South Wales Police Force developed an education package designed to inform police officers, particularly investigators, about the requirements for dealing with incidents of people trafficking and sexual servitude.