Stop the Traffic 2 (2003)
Fact Sheets: International and Australian Law
Fact Sheet: International and Australian Law
On December 9 2002 Australia became signatory to The United Nations Protocol to Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime.
The UN protocol:
- clearly defines trafficked persons as victims of crime rather than criminals;
- specifies that they should be protected;
- states that consent to trafficking is irrelevant, because the means by which trafficking is effected such as the use of force, fraud or deception, make any consent invalid;
- Emphasises the need to prosecute traffickers.
In 1999 the Australian Government introduced a Federal Criminal Code Amendment (Slavery and Sexual Servitude) and the then Attorney-General, Daryl Williams, affirmed that trafficking involved ‘serious violations of fundamental human rights.’ 1
The detainment and deportation of women, particularly without the opportunity to testify against their traffickers is then inappropriate and not in keeping with either the UN’s recommendations or Australian criminal code.
Overseas research shows that the provision of support for victims significantly increases victims’ willingness to act as witnesses against their traffickers by up to 50 per cent.
Due to work by the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs there are currently eight prosecutions under the Criminal Code in the courts at the moment and 18 investigations being carried out.
There are maximum penalties of up to 25 years imprisonment for offences relating to sexual servitude, slavery and other offences of a similar nature.
Links
- The Criminal Code Act 1995 (relevant Division is Division 270).
- United Nations Protocol to Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime
1. Williams, D. Speech given in the context of a Bill: Criminal Code Act (Slavery and Sexual Servitude), 1998.
