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Add to Preferred SourcesAcross the world, girls as young as 12 are being forced or tricked into marrying men who exploit them for sex and domestic work, in what the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called an “under-reported, global form of human trafficking”.
The agency has published a report which documents the interlinkages between trafficking in persons and marriage and provides steps for governments and other authorities to strike back.
“This is the first publication that looks at the issue globally and through the lens of the international, legal obligations that States have to address trafficking in persons,” said Silke Albert from UNODC’s Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Section, one of the report’s key authors.
The study involved research conducted in nine countries in different regions of the world, over a 12-month period. The countries covered were Canada, Germany, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Serbia, South Africa, Thailand, and Viet Nam.
Experts interviewed some 150 people who come into contact with potential victims of human trafficking, such as lawyers, government officials, members of non-governmental organizations, and police officers.
“We discovered that although trafficking for the purpose of marriage is a global phenomenon, the way the crime is perpetrated in different countries is very specific depending on cultural, religious, and socioeconomic factors,” said Tejal Jesrani, a UNODC Research Officer.
Most cases of trafficking for the purpose of marriage involve young, female victims, many of whom come from disadvantaged family backgrounds, according to the report.
Researchers found that the “marriages” can be arranged by family members, wedding agencies or brokers, often for financial or material gain. In some cases, brides are kidnapped.
Ms. Albert explained that there are many factors that make women vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, including their age, status, and lack of education and employment opportunities.
The report contains several policy recommendations. The aim is to prevent cases of trafficking linked to marriage, identify and protect victims, and prosecute those responsible.
Read the report: Interlinkages Between Trafficking in Persons and Marriage.
Original source: UN News