Trafficking Women and Children: A Perspective from the

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 GUANGZHOU 000463 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/CM, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KTIP SOCI ELAB CH SUBJECT: Trafficking Women and Children: A Perspective from the Guangdong Women's Federation and Public Security Bureau SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Guangdong Women's Federation and Public Security Bureau are combining resources with other government agencies to combat the trafficking of women and children. Authorities are hesitant to say where these women and children end up, claiming that the women "mostly become farmers' wives," while acknowledging that younger children are sometimes sold to childless families. According to both organizations, insufficient resources and lack of awareness, particularly among the large migrant worker population, continue to be obstacles. Although the Public Security Bureau has received media criticism for its handling of trafficking cases, it claims it does not have the legal tools necessary to be fully effective. End Summary. -------------- Efforts by the GDWF to Combat Trafficking -------------- ¶2. (SBU) The Guangdong Women's Federation (GDWF),established in 1954 to improve the welfare of women and promote gender equality, has anti-trafficking programs in three areas: prevention, legal aid, and cooperation with other agencies. According to Gao Suisheng, Director of the Department of Women's Rights and Interests at the GDWF, the floating population in Guangdong accounts for one-fifth of the entire migrant worker population in China (estimated at 140 million),and women account for 55 percent. Since a large percentage of human trafficking victims are female migrant workers and children of migrant workers, the GDWF does not delineate a breakdown between trafficking in women and trafficking in children, said Gao. ¶3. (SBU) The GDWF has launched various programs with the support of social organizations to prevent human trafficking. Under the leadership of Guangdong Vice Governor Lei Yulan, the GDWF is coordinating efforts with other provincial departments to participate in a United Nations program to prevent labor trafficking, said Gao. Her organization also works with the Foshan Women Entrepreneurs Association to provide jobs to female workers, she added. "Spring Rain," another GDWF-sponsored program in place for the past three years, involves the distribution of handouts at train stations and long-distance bus stations on measures to prevent human trafficking. According to Gao, a total of 1,100,000 handouts have been distributed, and more than 100,000 people have benefited from GDWF's consulting services provided through this project, including 32,000 people who have successfully located jobs. The GDWF has also worked with the Labor and Social Security Bureau to fight against illegal job brokers who cheat women into being trafficked. According to Gao, the Labor and Social Security Bureau has allocated RMB 180 million (about US$26 million) to this task. ¶4. (SBU) The GDWF also works with the Department of Education to ensure all children enjoy equal opportunity to an education. Volunteers for the GDWF also work to combat trafficking in children by stationing themselves in large markets and transportation centers where children tend to get lost, she said. In a further effort to counter trafficking, Gao explained that the GDWF, in cooperation with the Public Security Bureau (PSB),chose Dongguan's Shilongkeng Community as a "model anti-trafficking area" because of the reduction in trafficking cases in that city. Recently, the village committee in Dongguan, a major manufacturing center located between Guangzhou and Shenzhen, set up playgrounds, ping pong courts, and security guard patrols to ensure that children are watched during and after school hours. Prior to this development, Dongguan experienced numerous trafficking cases and parents simply refused to send their children to school, said Gao. ¶5. (SBU) In the area of legal aid and protection, the GDWF has lobbied the Guangdong Provincial Government to issue the Guangdong Province Implementing Measure for PRC Law on the Protection of Women's Rights and Interests, according to Gao. The GDWF also maintains a hotline number to provide legal assistance and an email address to receive reports, she said. The organization has established 1,200 schools for migrant workers in the Pearl River Delta to provide legal training, she added, and each year, one week in March is dedicated to rights protection for women workers. -------------- GUANGZHOU 00000463 002 OF 003 The PSB's "Special Campaign" -------------- ¶6. (SBU) In addition to sustaining anti-trafficking campaigns in Dongguan and other areas saturated with migrant workers, the PSB has worked with the GDWF to perform public service-themed plays on how to prevent trafficking in women and children. According to Chen Weiguo, Deputy Director of the Guangdong PSB's Public Relations Division, in 2007-2008, the PSB cracked 217 trafficking in women cases and 151 trafficking in children cases. Chen added that 38 criminal gangs were involved, averaging approximately four members per gang. In 2009, since the launch of a "special campaign," 159 trafficking cases have been solved, he said. As part of this "special campaign," the PSB emphasizes the proper and efficient handling of reporting in addition to stronger investigations, according to Chen. Moreover, the PSB has already built a DNA database containing information on victims and their relatives, and an interagency mechanism has been established to fight against trafficking in persons, he added. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: Though the Public Security Bureau claimed that "prostitution was not a problem in Guangdong" and that the women were "mostly becoming farmers' wives," it seems probable that some women are trafficked into the sex trade or for use as factory labor. Reportedly, children are trafficked for provision to childless families or for factory labor. End comment. -------------- Common Obstacles -------------- ¶8. (SBU) According to Gao and Liu Lanni, Liason Officer at the GDWF, insufficient resources are an enormous hurdle for organizations trying to combat trafficking, especially given the large population of migrant workers. Additional resources would help the GDWF and PSB further develop the DNA database, they said. ¶9. (SBU) The other main difficulty cited by both the GDWF and PSB is lack of awareness. Women are often cheated by people they are familiar with, said Gao, and they are accustomed to raising kids in the countryside, not big cities. Chen noted that migrant workers tend to leave their children at home, even in cities, leaving them vulnerable to kidnapping. While women can report that they have been victimized, said Gao, many kidnapped children are infants. However, she added, most child trafficking victims are between the ages of three and ten. Chen said that there are still a number of people who want sons instead of daughters and thus engage in the buying and selling of boys. -------------- Rule of Law? -------------- ¶10. (SBU) According to PSB Serious Crimes Division Section Chief Zhang Yanluan, the PSB is currently proposing new laws and regulations that would provide better legal tools in the fight against human trafficking, including language punishing middlemen who may not intentionally be involved in trafficking crimes. Zhang also mentioned that the PSB would like to punish those who buy children from traffickers but would not provide further details on current provisions of the law. -------------- Trafficking Issue Gains Media Attention -------------- ¶11. (SBU) The issue of trafficking in children has received increased media attention over the past several months due to a number of protests by parents of missing children. Allegedly, approximately 100 parents from Guangdong and Guangxi provinces had recently planned to launch a march in Chaozhou, Guangdong, but once their plan was exposed, the police visited the homes of these parents and "persuaded" them not to attend, according to foreign media reports. When asked about protests by parents, Chen responded, "We are empathetic. Our principle is that we will try our best to respond to any information provided." And in a statement he repeated several times during our meeting, he said, "We will spare no efforts to investigate." GUANGZHOU 00000463 003 OF 003 GOLDBECK