Trafficking of Human Beings in Pakistan and Role of Media

Human Trafficking in Pakistan Pakistan is a destination, transit, and source country for forced labor, sex trafficking Pakistan is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking for the third consecutive year. (2016 Trafficking in Persons Report)   Pakistani nationals are among the ten most-detected nationalities that attempt irregular migration to the European Union (EU) and Australia

Issues of Concern Trafficking of human beings across borders Internal Trafficking of men, women & Children Child trafficking & extremism Illegal labor agents Non- Availability of data & statistics

Government Efforts National strategic framework against trafficking in persons and human smuggling approved The federal government and Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces passed trafficking-related legislation  Reports an increase in the number of victims provided shelter in 2015 compared with 2014 In year 2016 , for the first time the issue of trafficking was highlighted in the national action plan for human rights, Pakistan. Thus national commission on Human rights was formed providing a forum for discuss trafficking issue and accept cases to file the issue related to Trafficking Human Beings

Challenges Weak implementation of laws and overall number of convictions of traffickers were inadequate The government only reported seven convictions for bonded labor in 2015 The government does not prohibit and penalize all forms of human trafficking Prescribed penalties for forced labor & Trafficking are not sufficiently stringent to deter the crime Government support to establish NRM mechanism is very weak. Victims & their families suffer economically, physically psychologically

Media responsibilities: Sensitization and awareness about the gravity of the issues Expose gaps in implementation and service delivery Draw attention of public, law enforcement authorities and service providers to the misery of victims Highlight best practices and success stories

Facts about Pakistani media Around 150 FM radio stations Around 90 privately owned TV stations. Around 2000 dailies, weeklies and monthlies Nearly 18 per cent uses internet Blogging has become an important part of political life in Pakistan, and has opened a broad new avenue for self-expression

Is media taking interest at all? Not Sufficient Security and political issues dominate the media space Lack of professional training to cover human rights issues Lack of sensitization among reporters and desk Link between media and civil society is missing

Media and trafficking issues Lack of sensitivity & technical knowledge on terms and processes Identification of trafficking aspects Lack of access to law enforcement officials and victims Lack of focus on human angle Lack of journalist protection Mindsets and perception

How development sector can contribute Share authentic information Training & sensitization of media personals Connecting to victims and institutions Traditional ways vs fellowships Research studies needs to be conducted Synergies among academic institutions, NGOs, government authorities, Bar Councils and MEDIA is needed