DUTCH LAUNCH TIP OUTREACH CAMPAIGN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 THE HAGUE 000334 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL/IL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/UBI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG NL SUBJECT: DUTCH LAUNCH TIP OUTREACH CAMPAIGN THE HAGUE 00000334 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (U) Summary. The Dutch government launched a national outreach campaign January 12 to counter trafficking in persons in the prostitution sector. The multimedia campaign is designed to increase awareness of the trafficking problem, and educate the public on how to identify potential victims and report them to the authorities. The campaign is funded by the Justice Ministry and managed by the Dutch anonymous crime-reporting hotline, Meld M. Initial reactions to the campaign have been positive. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The Dutch government and several NGO partners launched a national awareness campaign against trafficking in persons (TIP) and exploitation of prostitutes on January ¶12. The "Appearances Are Deceiving" campaign is targeted primarily at the clients of prostitutes and prostitutes themselves, as well as local residents, shopkeepers and taxi- drivers in areas where prostitution is common. The objective is to promote awareness of the warning signs of trafficking and sexual exploitation, and encourage individuals to inform the police or the anonymous crime hotline if they observe anything suspicious. The campaign is funded by the Justice Ministry and managed by the Dutch anonymous crime reporting hotline Meld Misdaad Anoniem, or Meld M (the Dutch equivalent of Crimestoppers International). ¶3. (U) Other parties participating in the design and implementation of the campaign are the regional police, the National Police Expert Group on Trafficking in People (TIP), the National Expertise Center on People Trafficking and Smuggling, the National TIP Rapporteur, the Foundation against Trafficking in Women (STV),the Red Thread organization for prostitutes, and Atalantas, an organization run by former TIP victims. Ten police regions throughout the country, including Amsterdam, have committed to providing additional manpower to investigate reports of possible trafficking received by the hotline and to distribute campaign brochures. REACHING THE TARGET AUDIENCE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The centerpiece, and most controversial component, of the campaign is an animated advertisement on a website, www.hookers.nl, frequented by clients of prostitutes, which has about 40,000 daily visitors. Each page of the website includes the number of the Meld M hotline, along with warnings about trafficking. Justice Ministry TIP specialist Sasja Hulscher told us that campaign planners determined that the website would be an effective vehicle to reach a wide audience in the key target group, the clients of prostitutes. She said explicit language and graphics were used in the ad because it had to get the attention of those visiting the site, if it were to accomplish the campaign's objectives. ¶5. (U) In addition to the website ad, posters and brochures are being distributed throughout the country, by police in the ten participating police regions, local health and welfare departments, social service and victim assistance organizations, and by taxi drivers. The material, which will be handed out on the street and posted in brothels and the restrooms of bars and restaurants, lists the warning signs of forced prostitution -- including fear, marks of physical abuse, and lack of interest -- along with the phone numbers of Meld M and the police, to which suspicions about abuse and potential trafficking victims can be reported 24 hours a day. It also refers readers to the STV website (www.mensenhandel.nl) for additional information on trafficking and forced prostitution. ¶6. (U) The animated website ad is in Dutch and English. Most of the printed material is currently available only in Dutch. A Meld M official told us that they did not develop materials in other languages because the campaign is targeted primarily at residents of the Netherlands, who, she said, can be expected to speak Dutch. The Rotterdam regional police district, however, used its own resources to have the flyers translated into Turkish and Bulgarian for distribution in that city. The campaign is getting extensive coverage in national and local newspapers. Ads will also be placed in free advertising papers delivered door-to-door throughout the country. CAMPAIGN STRATEGY -------------- THE HAGUE 00000334 002.2 OF 003 ¶7. (U) The Justice Ministry press release announcing the campaign said that the police received 604 reports of suspected forced prostitution in 2004; on the basis of these reports investigations were initiated. The STV registered 405 alleged victims that year. The press release noted that the clients of prostitutes, who may be aware of trafficking and other abuses, are often reluctant to report their suspicions to the police for privacy reasons; Meld M would provide an appropriate and safe alternative for those who did not want to contact the police. ¶8. (SBU) MOJ TIP specialist Hulscher told us that the Justice Ministry had provided 60,000 euros to cover design, production and advertising costs for the campaign. The participating police regions were contributing the manpower to distribute the printed materials. She noted that the website ad would run initially for six months, after which the results would be evaluated. If the evaluation were positive, the ad and other elements of the campaign would likely be continued. Hulscher said that prior to launching the campaign, the MOJ held extensive consultations with regional police districts and other participating partners to design an effective campaign. ¶9. (SBU) She noted that a key concern had been to ensure that the police would be prepared to respond effectively to the hoped-for increase in phoned-in tips about trafficking cases. Ten of the Netherlands' 25 police regions committed to providing the additional personnel resources to distribute the campaign materials and to investigate the tips received. Extra publicity materials were provided in those ten regions. Meld M employees also received special training on handling trafficking-related tips, in particular what questions to ask to ensure the police would have sufficient information to initiate an investigation. All the information received on the hotline is immediately referred to the police in the relevant region for investigation. ¶10. (SBU) Hulscher said that a preliminary assessment would be made after the first month of the campaign to determine whether it was generating an increase in the quantity and quality of reports from the public, or whether adjustments should be made in the campaign. The Director of the National Expertise Center on Human Trafficking and Smuggling told us February 13 that the initial anecdotal evidence is positive. Since January 15, Meld M has received 23 reports of suspected trafficking from the general public; in 2005, the hotline received only 52 such tips. Hulscher added that the MOJ and its campaign partners would also assess whether to expand the outreach campaign to cover other forms of trafficking, such as labor exploitation. She noted that it might be more difficult to design an outreach campaign to educate the public about trafficking for exploitation other than prostitution because it would be more difficult to determine the appropriate target audiences. (MOSTLY) POSITIVE RESPONSES -------------- ¶11. (U) On January 12, UNODC Executive Director Costa welcomed the launch of the Dutch campaign and said he hoped other countries would follow the Dutch example. The European Parliament issued a press release endorsing the campaign. National TIP Rapporteur Dien Korvinus told the press she was pleased with the campaign. She noted that 15 percent of all reports about forced prostitution currently come from customers of prostitutes. National police coordinator for prostitution and TIP Ted Peer said that all tips received would be taken seriously. ¶12. (U) Amsterdam city council member and former prostitute Karina Schaapman, who co-authored a recent report on prostitution in Amsterdam, also welcomed the outreach initiative, but objected to the ad on the hookers.nl website, which she said was degrading to women. Schaapman argued that it was inappropriate for the government to "subsidize" the site by paying for the advertisement. She also objected to the explicit nature of the ad; the government must set a higher standard, she said. ¶13. (U) A spokeswoman for Meld M told us that the decision to advertise on the hookers.nl site had been made jointly by all parties involved in the campaign, including those representing prostitutes and victims. All parties felt that use of the "club" with 40,000 daily customers would ensure wide distribution. She added that, during a New Year's THE HAGUE 00000334 003.2 OF 003 reception at the Amsterdam Prostitutes' Information Center (PIC),to which both police and customers were invited, customers had reacted positively to the campaign. She said that campaign planners had gotten a similar positive reaction during a meeting with the Association of Brothel Owners (VER). She said that Meld M was considering additional outreach actions over the next six months, including a special campaign on International Women's Day on March 8. COMMENT -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The anti-trafficking outreach campaign launched in January is making a good start toward increasing public awareness of the problem of trafficking and forced prostitution and the need to combat it. The campaign was designed to reach the two groups that are most likely to become aware of trafficking victims -- prostitutes and their clients -- and enlists their assistance to bring evidence of trafficking to the attention of authorities. Importantly, the third group critical to the success of the campaign -- the police responsible for investigating reports of trafficking -- has played a key role in the design and implementation of the campaign. The close coordination among government, police and civil society groups involved in TIP issues will help ensure the campaign contributes effectively to the long-term effort to combat trafficking. END COMMENT. BLAKEMAN