I recently took the Global Arts Outreach Project to the Philippines to work with orphaned, special needs and traumatized children, some of whom were suffering trauma from human trafficking. Children in the Philippines are particularly exposed to human trafficking due to factors such as lack of economic opportunity and development, gender inequality, lack of employment and sex tourism. Filipinos are connected to Twenty five percent of the human trafficking that takes place world wide.

Many children in the Philippines do not have access to a proper education and there are few stable job opportunities, especially for woman. Lack of public infrastructure can also make it hard for those from the rural areas to find employment. Children will often help their parents, or work from an early age.  Families can thus be susceptible to traffickers who offer to buy their children and give them work, offering a chance for existing family members to be provided for.

Rural children can be trafficked as domestic workers or abused in the growing sex tourism industry in Manila’s bars or overseas. Families may lack a clear understanding of what might happen to their children due to a limited awareness of the realities of trafficking, child labour and the sex tourism industry.

In the Philippines anti-trafficking laws are inefficient with inadequate enforcement so it is difficult for traffickers to be criminally prosecuted. Flaws in the judicial system enable trafficking to continue, with the low numbers of convictions being connected to elements such as lack of evidence and corruption.

The war-torn province of Mindanao, is known for its frequent trafficking. There has been almost forty years of armed conflict in Mindanao between government troops and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front who have been engaging in armed conflict against the government, fighting for self rule. Orphaned children in this conflict area are even more susceptible to sex traffickers or to militant groups who recruit children as child soldiers. Girls in this area are trafficked from the region to nearby cities and countries from smaller ports. Movement from one island to another via the smaller ports not under control of the Coast Guard makes it much easier for traffickers as they are not required to show their identification.

The trauma experienced through trafficking can be overwhelming for victims and a lack of support sabotages the chances of full recovery and adds to the vulnerability and possible re-victimization of the individual. Not only is the trauma of separation from family, and a sense of abandonment devastating for a child victim of trafficking; the experience is also dehumanizing and objectifying. There is a lose of identity, power, dignity and security and traffickers may use physical abuse and psychological bullying to make their victims feel confined and devalued.

Support services are critical but facilities in the Philippines are often lacking. The training on how to assist the special needs of children who have been rescued from trafficking is still insubstantial; for their therapeutic care, rehabilitation and finally, successful reintegration back into society. Thus the shelters, assistance programs and programs that work to stop human trafficking need critical development and expansion in the Philippines.