The Forum > Article Comments > Australian brothels and sexual slavery > Comments
Australian brothels and sexual slavery : Comments
By Vicki Dunne, published 10/10/2005Vicki Dunne argues Australia's attitude to sexual servitude is not based on humanitarian principles.
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Posted by sprite, Monday, 18 December 2006 12:32:47 PM
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These charges are largely the result of a new legislative approach towards combatting sexual slavery and trafficking in Australia. Adopted in 2004, the National Action Plan to Eradicate Trafficking in Persons was released by the Howard government to ensure Australia's compliance with our international human rights obligations stipulated under the UN Trafficking Protocol.
As a reasonably new initiave, the effectiveness and approach of this policy response to trafficking requires some review. However I would argue that policing of brothels, and prosecution of sexual slavery have increased significantly with this inititiative. The general reported incidences of trafficking have also increased due to new visas for victims assisting prosecution of traffickers.
Therefore I would argue that given that the government has acknowledged there is a problem with trafficking, as demonstrated by their 20 million dollar commitment towards implementing new anti trafficking initiatives - this clearly undermines Timkins suggestion that there is no problem with sexual slavery in Australia at all.
Perhaps we should be channelling more funding into researching these issues so that we can attain more accurate data on the extent and nature of the problem. Debate around whether sexual slavery exists in Australia are only one iarea where there is contention within the broader trafficking debate. There are plenty of others that are far more intelligent, particularly given the available evidence which nullifies the suggestion that trafficking does not exist in Australia.