Trafficking
The argument that trafficking in humans and prostitution are inexorably linked is in part due to policy decisions made by the United States. Although much international dialogue surrounding both trafficking and prostitution claims prostitution and trafficking are often linked, the extent of this link is debated.[84] The Committee considers that in the case of New Zealand, there is no link between the sex industry and human trafficking.
Every year the US State Department produces a Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report), which ranks countries according to the extent that they comply with US anti-trafficking standards. The definition of trafficking used in the assessment process is the US one. The New Zealand definition of trafficking requires international movement. While New Zealand’s ranking has been threatened by the US definition, New Zealand’s tier ranking is still the highest (most favourable) Tier 1 ranking, and has been ever since New Zealand was included in the report in 2004.
Under US law, prostitution is illegal in most states and the transportation of people across state lines for the purpose of prostitution is considered human trafficking. In addition, any under age person used in prostitution is considered a victim of trafficking.
New Zealand is more likely to deal with the forcible movement of persons within New Zealand (whether for sex work or other purposes) as kidnapping, slavery, or other related forms of offending. The PRA specifically prohibits the use of persons under 18 years in prostitution, whether or not they have been transported internally or internationally. In addition, section 16 of the PRA makes it an offence to compel (via threat or any other means) a person to provide commercial sexual services, or earnings from prostitution.
Information received from Immigration Service NZ indicates that no situations involving trafficking in the sex industry have been identified (Department of Labour, 2007). In addition, there have been no prosecutions for trafficking under section 98D of the Crimes Act 1961.[85] Immigration only monitors the indoor sector of the industry and does not check the employment conditions or immigration status of street-based sex workers. The Committee is satisfied, on the basis of information received from NZPC and other NGOs involved with street-based sex workers, that during its period of investigation, there were no internationally trafficked women working as street-based sex workers in New Zealand.
The Committee is aware that some people working in the sex industry are doing so in breach of their immigration status. The Committee does not endorse this illegal activity. However, it is also concerned that these sex workers are not protected under the PRA and may be vulnerable to exploitation. The Committee considers the prohibition on non-residents working in the sex industry, coupled with New Zealand’s geographical isolation and robust legal system, provides a protection against New Zealand being targeted as a destination for human traffickers.
Footnotes
84 It is U.S.A policy that no foreign NGOs that support legal state-regulated prostitution should be awarded U.S. grant funds (U.S. State Department, 2004). In response, a group of academics and experts in the field of human trafficking published a letter to Ambassador John Miller, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. State Department (http://www.genderhealth.org/pubs/LtrMillerTrafficking.pdf). The letter outlined the groups concerns about the assertion as fact that there is a link between trafficking and prostitution, and challenged much of the research and data the U.S. position is based on.
85 Section 98D Crimes Act 1961,Trafficking in people by means of coercion or deception. The penalty is imprisonment for a term not exceeding 20 years, a fine not exceeding $500,000, or both.