Bangladesh Sex
IV. Country Narratives: South Asia
Sri Lanka is a source country for women who are trafficked to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar for the purposes of coerced labor and sexual exploitation. A smaller number of Thai, Chinese, and Russian women were trafficked to Sri Lanka for commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked internally for domestic and sexual servitude. Boys and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation by pedophiles in the sex tourism industry. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forcibly conscript children for purposes of forced labor and military conscription. Although a formal cease-fire has been in place since February 2002, the LTTE continued to forcibly conscript children, abducting at least 75 children in the September-October 2003 period alone. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Fact Sheet: Asia Home to Some of Fastest-Growing AIDS Epidemics, U.N. Says
-- India has the largest number of people living with HIV outside South Africa-estimated at 5.1 million in 2003. Most infections are acquired sexually, but injecting drug use dominates in the north-east of the country. In this area, infection levels of 60-75% have been found among injecting drug users using non-sterile injecting equipment. In India's southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, HIV is transmitted through heterosexual sex, and is largely linked to sex work. According to selected surveys, more than half of sex workers are HIV-positive. In all four states, infection levels among pregnant women in sentinel antenatal clinics have remained roughly stable at more than 1%. This suggests sex workers' clients may have passed HIV to their wives. ... [Read More]
Miscellaneous Publications
111111--04/21/05 The Facts About Child Sex Tourism ... 111111--11/24/04 The Link Between Prostitution and Sex Trafficking ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: UNICEF Condemns Child Sex Trafficking
UNICEF's experience in these and other countries in Asia has shown that the effects of sexual exploitation on children are profound and may be permanent. Normal sexual, physical and emotional development is stunted. Self-esteem and confidence are undermined. Sexually exploited children are especially vulnerable to the effects of physical and verbal violence, drugs and sexually transmitted diseases. ... "Instead we are seeing at least 10,000 girls and women entering Thailand from poorer neighbouring countries and ending up in commercial sex work," she said. "We believe that five to seven thousand Nepali girls are trafficked across the border to India each year, mostly ending up as sex workers in Bombay or New Delhi." ... [Read More]
2003
1111--02/25/03 Pathbreaking Strategies in the Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking; Richard L. Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State; Hyatt Regency Hotel; Washington, DC ... 1111--02/23/03 Pathbreaking Strategies in the Global Fight Against Sex Trafficking; Paula J. Dobriansky, Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs; Opening remarks at International Conference held February 23-26, 2003; Washington, DC ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
On July 24, male and female police officers entered a female student dormitory at Dhaka University (DU), dragged female students out of the dormitories, and beat them. Some of the victims alleged sexual harassment by male police officers. The police detained 18 students overnight. Thirty students were injured in the raid. A one-member judicial commission investigated the incident and found DU administrators and police officers responsible for the incident. The commission report recommended banning teacher participation in politics on campus. On October 13, the inquiry committee formed by DU authorities submitted its report October 13 to the university Vice Chancellor with nine recommendations, including transfer of all officers and employees of the hall and taking action against Zannatul Kanon, the individual who filed the charges, for filing cases against students. Police and BDR personnel conducted raids at DU dormitories several times throughout the year and recovered some weapons. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
The Government sometimes forcibly resettles persons against their will. In 1999 police forcibly removed 267 sex workers from a large brothel district in Tanbazar and Nimtoli, Narayanganj. Authorities claimed that the women wished to be rehabilitated, but credible eyewitnesses stated that the women refused the offer. The 267 women were confined in a center for vagrants, where some alleged that they were abused. Eventually all of the women were released from the vagrant home, and most returned to work in other locations. On September 7, 70 sex workers tried to re-enter the vacant Tanbazar brothel. The women insisted that they had a right to re-enter the premises that they used to rent. Police resisted as the sex workers tried to force their way in. Some women were injured, three of whom were hospitalized. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
According to human rights groups and media reports, police engaged in violence and looting during the July 1999 raid of the Tanbazar and Nimtali brothel districts, allegedly attacking residents as well as over 40 female human rights activists who were protesting the eviction (see Section 1.f.). The evicted sex workers were detained in vagrant centers, where guards and fellow inmates subjected them to sexual assault and harassment. According to two human rights organizations, fewer than a dozen prostitutes remained in the vagrant homes at year's end. ... [Read More]
Bangladesh
Many NGOs and community-based organizations were working on the trafficking problem through prevention efforts, research, data collection, documentation, advocacy, awareness creation and networking, crossborder collaboration, legal enforcement, and rescue, rehabilitation and legislative reform. For example, Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children, a national anti-trafficking network, worked to link NGOs and government agencies by establishing a resource center to disseminate data and to provide technical support to grassroots organizations. The Association for Community Development conducted workshops and outreach programs to reach potential victims of trafficking before they were victimized. Over the past 3 years, because of the cooperation among NGOS and others involved, including the Government, a common, unified umbrella program has been established to address the trafficking problem. [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
Chile is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most victims are Chilean minors trafficked internally for sexual exploitation. According to a 2003 study conducted by the Chilean National Department of Children’s Affairs (SENAME), at least 3,700 children were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. Traffickers are known to contact victims and their families directly or through advertisements offering jobs as domestic help, models, or product promoters. Chileans have been trafficked to Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, the United States, Europe, and Asia for sexual exploitation. Foreign victims are brought to Chile for sexual exploitation or involuntary domestic servitude from Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Bolivia, though authorities find it difficult to distinguish trafficking victims from economic migrants. [Read More]
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