Local artists come together to fight human trafficking in Peru
More than 200 persons, amongst them several ministers, journalists
and local celebrities recently gathered in Lima to attend the
IOM-sponsored performance "The Prison of Angels: Trafficking in
Persons in Peru, A Reality".
The audience was kept at the edge of their seats as an actress
playing a victim of trafficking recounted her story to a
journalist. Painful memories flowed as the victim explained how she
managed to run away from her captors who were exploiting her as a
domestic servant. Her testimony also brought to light the story of
two other victims of trafficking she met at a center that provides
assistance for victims. The three had been sold and exploited for
years.
The performance left a deep and disturbing impression on
everyone in the audience.
One of the spectators told IOM staff: "It is one of the most
touching plays I have ever seen."
The play's writer and director, a young Peruvian artist,
confessed he did not know the prevalence of human trafficking in
his country before IOM contacted him to take on the project. "I am
a bit ashamed that young artists, like me, are not more aware of
this problem, which I believe is our responsibility and civic duty
to combat as artists in the public eye."
The performance placed human trafficking at the top of the
public agenda for days. Many journalists contacted IOM to get
exclusive rights to the performance, in order to bring it to a
wider audience.
The interest of the media was also sparked by the fact that a
made-for-television documentary portraying real cases of human
trafficking was previewed at the same event.
To produce the documentary, a team of journalists traveled to
different parts of the country to capture original and moving
images of trafficking situations, as well as testimonies from
victims. "The production of this documentary has opened my eyes to
a painful reality that I never imagined existed in my country,"
explained the producer, a well-known journalist. "The issue of
human trafficking has touched me deeply. I am a father and I do not
want this to happen to my daughter," he added.
Awakening to the reality of
trafficking
Slowly, and prodded by these types of initiatives, Peruvians are
waking up to a reality they have lived with for years but had not
really seen. In 2004 the Peruvian Government established the
Multisectorial Working Group Against Trafficking which is currently
integrated by 11 ministries, and NGOs and international
organizations. IOM is an active member of the group and one of the
oldest.
Ana María Cubas of Peru’s Public Ministry has taken
on human trafficking as a personal fight. "The times when none of
us knew what the word 'trafficking' meant are well behind us," she
said.
This year IOM has coordinated more than 50 capacity building
events in 12 regions of Peru (Lima, Iquitos, Piura, Cusco,
Pucallpa, Ica, Ancash, Cerro de Pasco, Huamanga, Tacna, Puerto
Maldonado, Juliaca, Chiclayo) providing training to some 3,000
persons active in the fight against human trafficking.
To carry out its project "International Trafficking of Women for
the Sex Industry in Peru", funded by the US State Department, IOM
works with many partners; including ministries, international
organizations and local NGOs.
0800-2-3232 – The Counter
Trafficking Hotline
All efforts underway to fight human trafficking are important,
but one is of special significance: the counter trafficking
assistance and reporting hotline.
Since the hotline became operational in March 2006, it has
received an average of 1,000 calls per month. The hotline is free
of charge and is staffed 24/7 by operators trained to provide
up-to-date, unbiased information and to contact law enforcement
authorities if a caller wants to file a police report.
Some of the calls received by the hotline are testament to its
success.
A 16-year-old girl was trafficked from the city of Iquitos to
Lima. She had been promised a job in a restaurant but instead was
taken to a suburb of Lima where she was locked up and forced to
provide sexual services to customers. The girl managed to send a
letter to her mother who called the local radio station La Voz de
la Selva, after the police refused to take her report. The radio
host called the hotline while on the air and the girl was set free
and returned home. "We are so pleased to have this
counter-trafficking hotline, because many people come to us looking
for help in similar situations," explained the journalist.
A young man was able to leave the house where he was being
forced to work as a domestic servant without payment after hearing
the radio spot advertising the hotline. He immediately understood
that he was a victim of trafficking and threatened his employer
with a call to the police. Scared, the woman let him go and paid
him for the time he had worked. "I am calling to thank you, because
of you I am free," the man exclaimed to the hotline operator that
had helped him.
The IOM counter trafficking hotline owes much of its success to
the Llama y Vive information campaign, a joint effort by IOM, the
Inter American Development Bank (IADB) and the Ricky Martin
Foundation. The campaign designed and implemented a media strategy
to inform the population of the new hotline.
National Plan of Action
"The more initiatives we have in place, the more important it
becomes to establish a public policy," stated Pilar Mazzetti,
Peru’s Interior Minister.
IOM was asked to draft a technical document in preparation for
the National Plan of Action Against Human Trafficking in Peru
2007-2010.
The National Plan, currently under review, is a top priority for
the new Government that took over last August. The new Government
is also keen to obtain final approval for draft legislation for a
new counter trafficking law.
Estela Roeder, Director of the Multisectoral Working Group
Against Human Trafficking said, "Once the law is in effect, our
next immediate goal is for the National Plan to become
operational."
For more information contact:
Dolores Cortés
IOM Regional Office Lima, Peru
Tel: +51.1.2217209
E-mail:
"mailto:dcortes@iom.int">dcortes@iom.int
View videos of the counter-trafficking campaign: