Domestic SlaveryBy Nick Ozolins, Ria Guest, Sarah Goetz, and

Nate Truman

History Nigeria, historically, was one of the

largest exporters of slaves- a huge trading hub on the coast

Around the western ‘hump’,which is easily accessible; Alsonear central Africa- a huge raidarea

Background Statistics Five million people under eighteen years

old are domestic slaves in NigeriaMost are children and womenAt least one million children are sold into

external slavery 2/3 of the Nigerian population is under

the poverty line, putting many at riskStems from economic instability and

vulnerability

Domestic Slavery Most domestic slaves are very secluded

from the outside world, and have virtually no contact with the outside.

This makes it very difficult for the government to identify and help most domestic slaves.

GANGS IN NIGERIA There exists well-organized and established

criminal groups within Nigeria They primarily deal in drugs and smuggled

commodities There are less organized groups that deal in

trafficking of humans.

Gang HistoryNigerians started human

trafficking activities using their relatives, friends and community members as commodities

Human trafficking being a clandestine criminal activity

The gang members felt safer recruiting from trusted family members.

EFFECTS ON FAMILIES Families are vulnerable by persuasion

to hire out or sell their children because they lack adequate resources

Girls and women are most vulnerable to this form of commercial

Families can be broken up by slavery, never seeing each other again for long periods of time or never seeing them again.

Many Domestic Slaves are Children

Children believed to be domestic slaves in the fishing industry.

What has Been Done in the Past Cheerily the Libreville Platform of Action

Drafted in 2000Signed nationally, regionally, and

internationally by governments to help protect children and young women from the dangers of human trafficking

ECOWAS/ECCAS, a region cooperation on human trafficking was signed by twenty six countries in west and central Africa in Abuja

http://www.stopdemand.org/afawcs0112878/ID=180/newsdetails.html

What Has Been Done in the Past Continued Expert law enforcers and prosecutors came from around

the world, all the way to Nigeria to produce a practical import to the elaboration of UNODC training modules on preventing and getting rid of smuggling immigrants and fighting human trafficking. Early December in 2009, they had a regional training workshop

on investigating and prosecuting migrant smuggling in Abuja, Nigeria

Main objective was to make the capacitings in the investigation and prosecution stronger

The people who went to the meeting had a very wide range and a lot of depth of experiences in combating migrant smuggling

http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/2009/third-expert-group-meeting-to-elaborate-training-modules-to-combat-migrant-smuggling.htmlhttp://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/2009/regional-training-workshop-on-investigating-and-prosecuting-migrant-smuggling.html

Current Things Being Done- NAPTIPNAPTIP (National Agency for Prohibition of

Trafficking in Persons), one of the largest international organizations working against human trafficking, has been doing a lot all around the world.

In Nigeria, they have most recently uncovered and stopped a visa scam in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria, making people work in a crystal meth drug network.

UNICEF and NAPTIP in LagosAs help to domestic slaves, UNICEF and NAPTIP

created an organization to support domestic slaves that have been liberated by opening the doors to other jobsThey are given help, put into groups with other kids

their age, and taught skills like hairdressing, fashion design, and raising snails- a delicacy in Nigeria.

However, most of the people in slavery never get this chance because their owners know how illegal it is to use domestic slaves and keep them well hidden.

Titi Abubaker Titi Abubakar through her non- governmental Organization

(Women Trafficking and Child Eradication Foundation) took a seriouse fight agianst human traffickingUtilizing all advantages derivable from her position politically,

legally and socially○ And led her to get a seriously start on a challenge

Made anti-trafficking law ○ Signed 2003 ○ Called the Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Law enforcement and

Administration Act This helped Nigeria become the first country in Africa to enact such a law and

establish a special agency to complement it. http://www.ungift.org/docs/ungift/pdf/vf/backgroundpapers/OsitaAgbu_1.pdf

What Else is Being Done? NAPTIP is the most frequently shown

group doing anything against this trafficking, but very little is being done.• Most likely this is because most, if not all, of

these organizations are non-profit and can do very little.

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Poverty to Domestic Slavery

Two thirds of Nigeria’s population are in poverty.

This poverty forces the victims of human trafficking towards gang related activities, resulting in their falling victim to slavery

(http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/11/08/world/1109-NIGERIA_index.html)

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS We have to increase the

economic autonomy of the families that are at the highest risk for falling victim to human trafficking.

These countries often have an unstable government, and a unproductive economy, which forces populations to look for jobs in potentially bad places.

Most of the countries from which the majority of domestic slaves are coming from are third world countries.

“Manufacturing Poor People”Poor family from a third world country.

Education Educating the potential

victims of slavery will help them to better create economic stability for themselves and their families.

Economic status is linked closely with the amount of education one has.◦ By extension, educating

lower income families reduces the risk of falling victim to human trafficking.

“African School”Typical African school.

Government’s Laws It’s easiest to stop the

domestic slave trade when the slaves are entering the countries of their enslavement. We must introduce new

regulations, or train the workers of the chokepoints through which most people enter the country in order to catch the potential domestic slaves as they enter the country.

Most domestic slaves are very secluded from the outside world, and have virtually no contact with the outside.

This makes it very difficult for the government to identify and help most domestic slaves.

“America’s Police Force” Police on an urban street.

Educate the Masses The grand

majority of the people do not know that slavery still exists within the modern world. “Huge Crowd”

Huge crowd of people.

Knowledge is Wireless One of the most important thing we can do is educate

people that slavery is still a very prominent, and widespread issue.TV is one of the main ways through which people get their

information.One of the most effective ways in which to raise public

awareness through TV is ads. Ads are one of the most cost effective ways through which

to alert people that domestic slavery is still a problem. This raising of public awareness will lead to the

formulation of new laws and regulations against human trafficking, as it comes into the public conscious.

ORGANIZATIONS THAT AID VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC SLAVERY There are many organizations that already aid

the victims of human trafficking. They provide temporary housing, and legal

services in order to help them stay in the country. They help victims get a legitimate job. They offer rehabilitation services if the victims are

suffering from substance abuse problems. Many domestic slaves suffer from substance abuse

problems, drugs serving as another way in which their captor held power of them.

Contributing money to already established and respected programs is a good, cost efficient way through which you can aid the victims of domestic slavery, and human trafficking as a whole.

Works Cited "American's Police Force." Photograph. America’s Police Force: a Centuries-Long Crime Spree . John Reimann. The Daily

Censored, 2010. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://dailycensored.com/2010/07/12/america’s-police-force-a-centuries-long-crime-spree/>.

"Manufacturing Poor People." Photograph. www.afaceaface.org. First admin. Afaceaface, 2011. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://www.afaceaface.org/blog/2011/04/manufacturing-poor-people/>.

"African School." Photograph.dulemba.com. First Last, and First Last. Dulemba, 2009. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://dulemba.com/Blogstuff/2009/H4H-AfricanSchool.jpg>.

"Huge Crowd." Photograph.http://static.guim.co.uk. First Last. Static, 2009. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Environment/Pix/columnists/2009/2/25/1235563584854/huge-crowd-001.jpg>.

Olagbeg, Bisi. "Human Trafficking in Nigeria: Root Causes and Recommendations."unesdoc.unesco.org. Policy Paper Poverty Series, 2006. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001478/147844e.pdf>.

Ojukwu, Adeze. "Nigeria/West Africa: Human trafficking."Champion Newspapers Limited . (2006): n. page. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.stopdemand.org/afawcs0112878/ID=180/newsdetails.html>.

"Final Expert Group Meeting to Elaborate UNODC Basic Training Modules on Preventing and Combating Migrant Smuggling."UNODC. UNODC, 2011. Web. 25 Oct 2011. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/2009/third-expert-group-meeting-to-elaborate-training-modules-to-combat-migrant-smuggling.html>.

"Regional Training Workshop on Investigating and Prosecuting Migrant Smuggling." UNODC. UNODC, 2011. Web. 26 Oct 2011. <http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/2009/regional-training-workshop-on-investigating-and-prosecuting-migrant-smuggling.html>.

IRIN News. "NIGERIA: Domestic workers or modern day slaves?." IRIN Africa. IRIN News, n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=61047

Orakwue, Arinze. "NAPTIP." NAPTIP. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. <http://www.naptip.gov.ng/>. Nkereuwem, Elor. "Slavery is still alive in Nigeria ." NEXT: latest news, sport and views from Nigeria. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Oct. 2011.

<http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5061495-147/Slavery_is_still_alive_in_Nigeria.csp>. unknown. Nigeria. N.d. Africa, unknown. Luventicus. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. Nkereuwem. Child Trafficking Beach. 2009. Nigerian slaves, Usung Beach. NEXT: Slavery is Still Alive. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. ORAKWUE. Busted Traffickers. 2011. Trafficking in Nigeria, Lagos. NAPTIP. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. "Nigeria's Gang Violence Escalates." Photograph. www.nytimes.com. First n/a. New York City, New York: New York Times, n/a. Web. 26

Oct 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2007/11/08/world/1109-NIGERIA_index.html>.