It is very important to help the returning victim prepare mentally and emotionally for the return and reunification. Support from relatives and friends at home may also be necessary.
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Source:Training Manual for Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, devel- oped as part of the United Nations Inter-agency Project on Trafficking in Women and Children in the Sub-Mekong Region, available at:
http://www.un.or.th/traffickingProject/trafficking_manual.pdf
Assistance programmes under the International Organization for Migration
Victims of trafficking are seldom granted permanent residence status on humani- tarian grounds and, eventually, most trafficked victims must return to their State of origin or move to another State. Many of these victims need help in returning home. IOM is one of the resources available. In cooperation with local non-gov- ernmental organizations, it assists victims in both transit and final destination States in the pre-departure, departure, reception and integration stages.
IOM offers a voluntary return programme for certain categories of irregular migrants who are helped in obtaining travel documents, tickets, transport, recep- tion at the State of origin, some personal items, a small cash allowance and trans- port to their final destination. When needed, migrants are offered overnight accommodation and a medical examination. The organization offers three types of voluntary return programmes: (a) programmes to all irregular migrants; (b) pro- grammes for irregular transit migrants; and (c) country or caseload specific return programmes.
Upon return to their country of origin, victims can voluntarily join a reintegra- tion programme where shelter, counselling, legal advice and family support are offered. Vocational training and employment assistance can also be made avail- able.
More information about the programme can be obtained at: http://www.iom.int
See also Return Migration: Policies and Practices in Europe (Geneva, International Organization for Migration, 2004), available at:
http://www.iom.int/documents/publication/en/return%5Fmigration.pdf
chapter 7 Immigration status of victims and their repatriation and resettlement
Difficulties encountered by victims when returning to their State of origin
The Training Manual for Combating Trafficking in Women and Children, devel- oped as part of the United Nations Inter-agency Project on Trafficking in Women and Children in the Sub-Mekong Region, enumerates some of the difficulties faced by victims of trafficking at the time of their return.
• Trafficked women or children often no longer have (or never had) personal documents such as a passport or national identity card and usually need help to travel back safely.
• The woman/child may feel ashamed to return home without having earned a lot of money to support the family or to pay off debts, since that was the reason for going away in the first place. They may feel unsuccessful, as if they have failed their families in this way. The family may also have such feelings towards the returnee.
• In some societies, social acceptance of the person returning to the community may be dependent on whether they were able to send money back while they were away. Even though communities often look down on women who were sex workers, they are likely to be accepted back—at least to a certain extent— if they have sent money before or bring money back for their families. However, most trafficked victims do not manage to send money back to their family while they were at the point of destination, because the wages are not sufficient. • Opportunities for work in the home community may be very limited, wages
are generally lower and some may regard the work as more demanding than the work they did in the place they were trafficked to or were in.
• They may have become used to a different lifestyle elsewhere or abroad, liv- ing in cities, wearing different clothes or having more freedom than they had at home. It may be difficult to readjust to the slower pace of life and the isolation in rural areas.
• Women and girls who have worked in the sex industry usually don’t share their real experiences with their families and communities, because they feel ashamed. They may also feel alienated from their families owing to the often humiliating experiences they have gone through. At the same time, the com- munity may look down on them; consider them to be spoiled and unfit for marriage and as having a corrupting influence on other young people. Some of them may look for a way out by returning to the sex trade as sex work- ers or by becoming recruiters themselves.
• The relationship between the woman/child and her (or his) family may have changed due to the trafficking experience. Returning daughters or sons may feel resentful, thinking that they exist only to support their parents and or families. Parents and family members may also feel they have less control over their daughters or sons or wives. In the case of married women, their husband may have taken a girlfriend or another wife while they were away, or the woman may have a boyfriend. Either partner may want to break up the marriage because they no longer trust one another—especially if the woman worked as a sex worker or is suspected to have done so.
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chapter 7 Immigration status of victims and their repatriation and resettlement
Difficulties encountered by victims when returning to their State of origin (continued)
• Some returnees come back with an illness. Sometimes the illness may be caused by the conditions in which they were working, as a result of alcohol or drug abuse or because of physical or sexual abuse. The illness may be com- plicated because they usually have no access to good medical treatment while they are in the host State or place.
• Those who return may have emotional or psychological problems, spinal injuries, respiratory problems, tuberculosis, malnutrition, dental problems, sex- ually-transmitted diseases or HIV/AIDS, injuries from assault and complications from surgery or abortion. Illness places an additional financial burden on the family. If the illness is HIV/AIDS, it can also cause social shame for the affected person and her/his family. Some women/children who are ill may be afraid of being abandoned by their families.
• Returnees may be afraid of police and other officials, in particular if they have experienced corruption or abuse at their hands during the trafficking. They may also be afraid that they will not be treated well because they left the State or area illegally.
• Fear of some kind of retaliation or persecution by the traffickers is not uncom- mon, especially for those who were trafficked by people involved in other criminal activities like the arms or drug trade and have seen these activities. • So, trafficked persons who return home may have various problems. If these problems are not solved and the returnees are not supported, it is likely that they will be abused and exploited again, sometimes even trafficked once more. Because every trafficked person’s situation is different, organizations providing support to return and reintegration in the home State need to find out exactly what kind of support the returnee may need. The necessary infor- mation can be obtained through careful planning, prior to return, by asking: — In the destination State, the person who wishes to return and any insti-
tution or organization that is helping or taking care of her/him
— In the State of origin, the family or nearest relatives to whom the returnee will go back
Source: Training Manual for Combating trafficking in Women and Children, devel- oped as part of the United Nations Inter-agency Project on Trafficking in Women and Children in the Sub-Mekong Region:
http://www.un.or.th/traffickingProject/trafficking_manual.pdf
TOOL 7.6 Protecting returnee and refugee victims of trafficking
Guidelines for Prevention and Response—Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons
Refugees, internally displaced individuals and repatriated refugees are very vulner- able to various forms of abuse and exploitation. Among them, women and children are particularly vulnerable. This tool refers users to Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Refugees, Returnees, and Internally Displaced Persons: Guidelines for Prevention and Response, published by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in May 2003. Adaptable to different contexts and settings, the Guidelines provide a framework for developing effective prevention and response strategies; since preventing and responding to the complex problem of sexual and gender-based violence require inter-agency, interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral col- laboration, the Guidelines also encourage reflection and discussion among organi- zations and colleagues.
For more information on the Guidelines, see: http://www.rhrc.org/pdf/gl_sgbv03_00.pdf
Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women
The Guidelines on the Protection of Refugee Women were published in 1991 to help the staff of UNHCR and its implementing partners to identify the specific protec- tion issues, problems and risks facing refugee women. In doing so, they cover tra- ditional protection concerns such as the determination of refugee status and the provision of physical security. They outline various measures that can be taken to improve the protection of refugee women. Recognizing that prevention is prefer- able to cure, the Guidelines provide suggestions on actions that can be taken, par- ticularly within traditional assistance sectors, to prevent or deter protection problems from arising. Further, they present approaches for helping women whose rights have been violated. Finally, the Guidelines outline steps that can be taken to ameliorate and report upon protection problems that do arise.
For more information, see:
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TOOL 7.7 Repatriation of children
Background
In situations where a child victim is involved, returning the child to the State of origin may not be appropriate. In all cases involving children, special precautions must be taken to ensure that returning children is in their best interests and that, prior to the return, a suitable caregiver such as parent, other relative, other adult caretaker, a government agency or a childcare agency in the State of origin has agreed and is able to take responsibility for the child and provide him or her with appropriate care and protection.
Discussion
Article 6, paragraph 4, of the Trafficking in Persons Protocol provides that State parties, in considering measures to assist and protect victims of trafficking, must take into account the special needs of child victims. When the age of a victim is uncertain and there are reasons to believe that the victim is a child, a State party may wish, in accordance with its legal system, to treat the victim as a child in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child until his or her age is verified. Please see http://www.unicef.org/crc for the full text of the Convention.
The OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings recommends that a decision to repatriate a child victim of trafficking in human beings should only be made after having taken into account all of the circumstances of the specific case and if there is a family or special institution in the country of origin to ensure the child’s safety, protection, rehabilitation and reintegration.26
In other words, a mechanism needs to be in place to establish, in cooperation with the relevant social worker and child welfare authorities, whether or not repatriation of a child victim is a safe thing to do and ensure that the process takes place in a dignified manner and is governed by a concern for what is in the best interests of the child. States are also expected to establish procedures to ensure that the child is received in the State of origin by an appointed responsible member of the social services of the State of origin and/or the child’s parents or legal guardian.
In those cases where the child’s return is voluntary or in the best interest of the child, the Trafficking in Persons Protocol encourages States parties to ensure that the child is returned to his or her home State in an expeditious and safe manner. In situations where the safe return of the child to the family or State of origin is not possible, or where such return would not be in the child’s best interest, the social welfare authorities should make adequate long-term care arrangements to ensure the effective protection of the child and the safeguard of his or her human rights. In this regard, relevant state authorities in States of origin and of destina-
chapter 7 Immigration status of victims and their repatriation and resettlement
26The Action Plan was adopted by the OSCE Permanent Council in its decision No. 557/Rev.1, available at: http://www.osce.org/documents/2005/07/15594_en.pdf
tion should develop effective agreements and procedures for collaboration with each other in order to ensure that a thorough enquiry into the individual and family cir- cumstances of the child victim is conducted to determine the best course of action for the child.
UNHCR guidelines for the protection of unaccompanied minors
Unaccompanied children have often had little or no choice in the decisions that have led to their predicament and vulnerability. Irrespective of their immigration status, they have special needs that must be met. UNHCR has developed a set of Guidelines on Policies and Procedures in Dealing with Unaccompanied Children Seeking Asylum (February 1997). The guidelines, applied in conjunction with the UNHCR publication Refugee Children: Guidelines on Protection and Care, provide recommen- dations on how to ensure that any childcare and protection action is consistent with the principle of the best interests of the child. The guidelines are based on the principle that effective protection and assistance should be delivered to unaccom- panied children in a systematic, comprehensive and integrated manner.
The guidelines have three purposes: (a) to promote awareness of the special needs of unaccompanied children and the rights reflected in the Convention on the Rights of the Child; (b) to highlight the importance of a comprehensive approach; and (c) to stimulate discussions in each State on how to develop policies and practices that will ensure that the needs of unaccompanied children are being met. This will inevitably require the close cooperation of a variety of government bodies, special- ized agencies and individuals in delivering an effective continuum of care and pro- tection.
The text of the guidelines can be consulted at:
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/publ/opendoc.pdf?tbl=PUBL&id=3d4f91cf4
Legal aid for separated children