The Mission:
- What We Do
- Who We Work With
- Those being Trafficked
- How We Operate
- Building a Base
- Why We Solicit Support
The Mission
Who We Work With
People being trafficked / People in prostitution
According to Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking, “human trafficking” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of 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 includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs.
The United Nations estimates between 700,000 and four million women and children are trafficked around the world for purposes of forced prostitution, labor and other forms of exploitation every year. According to the Report of the Eastern and Horn of Africa Conference on Human Trafficking and Forced Labor:
Kenya has been identified as a major point of origin, transit and destination of victims of trafficking. Although there is no official data on the patterns, trends and magnitude of the problem, anecdotal evidence and newspaper reports point to an increase in the levels of internal and cross-border trafficking particularly of women and children.
There are media reports about Kenyan women being trafficked to Germany. Reports have also indicated that Kenyan women and children are being trafficked into other destinations in Europe, Middle East and Southern Africa. Kenya is also a destination point for many trafficked women and children from neighbouring countries such as Burundi, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Tanzania. Women and children are reportedly trafficked to Kenya for commercial sexual exploitation.
The sale and trafficking of children has also been reported to be rampant particularly in key maternity hospitals, children’s homes and through the abuse of inter-country adoptions. Many cases of internal trafficking for purposes of domestic work and prostitution have also been reported by various agencies in the districts where they operate.
Factors associated with trafficking in the countries include high levels of poverty and unemployment, a large number of orphaned children, the lure of a ‘better life’, cultural practices, weak laws and enforcement. Awareness on trafficking is low, and few programmes, both government and civil society, have targeted human trafficking and forced labour as an issue. Armed conflict in the region, local and international tourism, poor access to education, existence of a large refugee community, and internal displacement have contributed to the rise in trafficking activities.
A few facts regarding human trafficking:
- Any prostitution of persons under 18 is ipso-facto sex trafficking.
- The average age of entry into prostitution is 12.
- A high prevalence of foreign-born women in a country’s sex industry is highly indicative of sex trafficking.
- The vast majority of adult women in prostitution experience levels of physical and psychological coercion, physical abuse, and torture that plainly classify them as victims of sex trafficking.
- Victims of sex trafficking are trafficked into and used in various forms of commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution, pornography, and stripping. Thus commercial sex markets and sex trafficking are symbiotically related – one would not exist without the other.