This tool presents some examples of standardized research instruments and methodologies.

Transcription

1 506 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Tool 9.15 Use of standardzed data collecton nstruments Overvew Ths tool presents some examples of standardzed research nstruments and methodologes. In the same way that unversally accepted and consstently appled defntons of traffckng and smugglng wll help researchers generate accurate estmates of the frequency of the two phenomena, standardzed research nstruments and methodologes make t possble to measure, compare and nterpret data, across jursdctons and over tme, on the prevalence, nature and effects of the traffc n persons. Traffckng n persons s a transnatonal phenomenon that can only be overcome f all anttraffckng players, nsde and outsde Governments, can work together on the bass of sound nformaton about the phenomenon, how t evolves and how t s affected or not by varous nterventons. Recommended Prncples and Gudelnes on Human Rghts and Human Traffckng (E/2002/68/Add.1) (Unted Natons Hgh Commssoner for Human Rghts) Gudelne 3. Research, analyss, evaluaton and dssemnaton Effectve and realstc ant-traffckng strateges must be based on accurate and current nformaton, experence and analyss. It s essental that all partes nvolved n developng and mplementng these strateges have and mantan a clear understandng of the ssues. The meda has an mportant role to play n ncreasng publc understandng of the traffckng phenomenon by provdng accurate nformaton n accordance wth professonal ethcal standards. States and, where approprate, ntergovernmental and non-governmental organzatons, should consder: 1. Adoptng and consstently usng the nternatonally agreed defnton of traffckng contaned n the Palermo Protocol. 2. Standardzng the collecton of statstcal nformaton on traffckng and related movements (such as mgrant smugglng) that may nclude a traffckng element. 3. Ensurng that data concernng ndvduals who are traffcked s dsaggregated on the bass of age, gender, ethncty and other relevant characterstcs.

2 chapter 9 Preventon of traffckng n persons Undertakng, supportng and brngng together research nto traffckng. Such research should be frmly grounded n ethcal prncples, ncludng an understandng of the need not to re-traumatze traffcked persons. Research methodologes and nterpretatve technques should be of the hghest qualty. 5. Montorng and evaluatng the relatonshp between the ntenton of ant-traffckng laws, polces and nterventons, and ther real mpact. In partcular, ensurng that dstnctons are made between measures whch actually reduce traffckng and measures whch may have the effect of transferrng the problem from one place or group to another. 6. Recognzng the mportant contrbuton that survvors of traffckng can, on a strctly voluntary bass, make to developng and mplementng ant-traffckng nterventons and evaluatng ther mpact. 7. Recognzng the central role that non-governmental organzatons can play n mprovng the law enforcement response to traffckng by provdng relevant authortes wth nformaton on traffckng ncdents and patterns takng nto account the need to preserve the prvacy of traffcked persons. The Recommended Prncples and Gudelnes on Human Rghts and Human Traffckng are avalable at: Research nstruments As part of a project enttled Coaltons aganst traffckng n human bengs n the Phlppnes, UNICRI, n cooperaton wth UNODC, has desgned standard research nstruments and a standard research methodology. These could be used, wth mnor mod f catons based on stuatonal and cultural varables of the State under study, n all ant- traffckng techncal cooperaton projects. The research nstruments are as follows. Vctm survey The survey nstrument used wth vctms of traffckng comprsed 49 questons and addressed the followng topcs: Personal and demographc profle (gender and age) Recrutment practces Costs of beng smuggled and debts ncurred n the process of recrutment and departure Routes and experences durng travel Explotaton n the destnaton State Involvement of organzed crmnal groups and networks Connvance and corrupton of Government offcals Vctm reportng practces Vctm assessment of Government measures to fght traffckng

3 508 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Non-governmental organzaton survey The non-governmental organzaton survey ncluded questons concernng the followng ssues: Organzatonal and operatonal profle Clents and/or benefcares Extent of the non-governmental organzaton s work wth as well as assstance to traffcked vctms and smuggled persons Servces most needed by traffcked vctms Coordnaton wth Government agences as well as wth other non-governmental organzatons Crmnal justce experts survey Two varatons of ths survey were developed: one for the State of orgn and one for destnaton States. It was felt that law enforcement and crmnal justce experts n the State of orgn mght have more nsght nto recrutment practces, whereas ther counterparts n destnaton States mght be able to provde more nformaton on the explotatve practces. Thus, there are mnor dfferences n these two research nstruments. However, an attempt was made to have as much overlap as possble between the two questonnares. The crmnal justce experts survey covered the followng topcs: General data on traffckng cases Travel routes and experences Coercon, decepton and explotaton Other crmnal practces Crmnal earnngs Involvement of transnatonal organzed crmnal groups Law enforcement and crmnal justce responses Connvance and corrupton of Government offcals Checklst for the analyss of case fles The checklst mrrors the categores and varables contaned n the other research nstruments. It covers the followng specfc topcs: Vctms (ther experences wth recrutment and explotaton) Offenders (demographc varables and ther role wthn the crmnal organzaton) Crmnal organzatons (nature, practce and modus operand) Contacts wthn the lct and llct envronments Routes taken Costs and proceeds of crmnal actvtes Data on crmnal cases

4 chapter 9 Preventon of traffckng n persons 509 An executve summary of the report on phase I of the project on coaltons aganst traffckng n human bengs n the Phlppnes, enttled Traffckng n Human Bengs from the Phlppnes: Examnng the Experences and Perspectves of Vctms and Non-governmental Organzatons, s avalable at: A report enttled Rapd Assessment: Human Smugglng and Traffckng from the Phlppnes s avalable at: Recommended resource ASEAN and Traffckng n Persons: Usng Data as a Tool to Combat Traffckng n Persons (IOM and ASEAN) In ths IOM/ASEAN report, publshed n 2007, the collecton of traffckng data n the ASEAN member States of Camboda, Indonesa, the Phlppnes and Thaland s examned wth a vew to dervng best practces from those efforts and makng recommendatons for mprovng ther effectveness and effcency. Sample questonnares used to collect data are also provded n the report. What s data? The report states: Data s the bass of nformaton. Informaton s the bass of knowledge. In assessng the type of data that needs to be collected, the followng must be consdered: What knowledge do you need? What nformaton wll help you obtan that knowledge? What data wll help gve you that nformaton? Informaton objectves of data collecton on traffckng In the context of traffckng n ASEAN member States, the report clarfes that member States need data whch wll help them work out how to prevent traffckng, prosecute offenders and protect vctms, and measure ther efforts n dong so. Data collecton prncples The report sets out and dscusses the followng data collecton prncples:

5 510 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons Prncple 1 To be useful, data has to be relevant to your objectves It s mportant to defne objectves before undertakng data collecton. Data s relevant f t provdes Governments wth nformaton on how to meet the objectves of preventon, protecton and prosecuton, and f t helps to measure whether ant-traffckng efforts are havng the ntended effect (evaluaton). Prncple 2 Data needs to be regular and relable Data needs to be collected and reported on a regular bass, to allow for trackng of changes over tme. Data needs to be relable; t must be accurate and precse, and the methodology for collecton must be clearly explaned and defendable. Prncple 3 Data must be protected Data must be property protected, wth clear polces and procedures that balance the nterests of law enforcement wth the need to ensure prvacy, confdentalty and the personal safety of ndvduals. Anonymous, non-personal data s generally suffcent for polcymakng purposes. Specfc, personal data may be requred for operatonal reasons. Access to ths data should be subject to strct controls. Prncple 4 Data must be turned nto nformaton and knowledge Ths nvolves mplementng an approprately desgned and mantaned nformaton system at the agency level and/or at the natonal level. Informaton systems are not just computerzed databases or spreadsheets; they requre hardware, software, people and clearly defned data felds. Informaton systems nvolve many steps, from dentfyng nformaton needs and relevant data, to turnng that data nto nformaton that s useful nformaton for managers. Informaton systems have to be properly desgned, mplemented and mantaned. Informaton systems must be sustanable. ASEAN and Traffckng n Persons: Usng Data as a Tool to Combat Traffckng n Persons s avalable at: Promsng practce For related promsng practce concernng proflng of traffckers, see Tool Traffckng n Persons: Global Patterns (Unted Natons Offce on Drugs and Crme) In Aprl 2006, UNODC publshed a report on global traffckng patterns. The methodology used to collect the data compled n ths report was content analyss, whch nvolves the systematc study, analyss and selectve classfcaton of the content of open source publcatons. Content analyss schemes are hghly relable: a dfferent research group, usng the scorng system and nstructons assgned for the data collected, should be able to come up wth the same categorzatons, snce the results acheved by the methodology are based on objectve elements and not on perceptons, opnons or evaluatons. The basc procedure n content analyss conssts of:

6 chapter 9 Preventon of traffckng n persons 511 Selecton of categores and subject to be analysed Rgorous establshment of crtera for ncluson, a feature whch ensures that the study can be replcated by others Carefully followng the pre-establshed classfcaton scheme Statstcally analysng the results Pror to publcaton of the report, the methodology appled was revewed and evaluated postvely by a panel of ndependent experts. In 2002, the Global Programme aganst Traffckng establshed a traffckng database on flows of traffckng n persons. The data entry phase conssted of a contnuous screenng of the prncpal sources, globally, that provde nformaton on traffckng cases. Each account of traffckng selected by the team of researchers was entered nto the traffckng database usng the support of data-entry user-frendly software. The felds selected by the researchers and used for the IOM/ASEAN report were: Date of the entry Date of the publcaton Publcaton dentfcaton number (assgned to each publcaton durng the data collecton phase to avod duplcaton and facltate reference to the orgnal source) Type of publcaton Publshng nsttuton Route of the human traffckng (n terms of countres or areas or regons nvolved) Number of stages of each route Country, area or regon of orgn, of transt and of destnaton of the vctms Type of explotaton (whether sexual explotaton or forced labour) Profle of the vctms (whether men, women, chldren) Profle of offenders (natonalty and gender) More nformaton about the data collecton methodology can be found n Traffckng n Persons: Global Patterns, avalable for downloadng at: Frontex Frontex s a European Unon agency based n Warsaw, created as a specalzed, ndependent body tasked wth coordnatng operatonal cooperaton between European Unon member States n the feld of border securty. A core actvty of Frontex s carryng out rsk analyss: assessng threats, lookng at vulnerabltes and weghng consequences. Among ts talored rsk analyses are assessments of mgraton flows from Afrca nto Europe, ncludng traffckng n persons. The beneft of conductng such talored rsk analyses s that t wll facltate n desgnng jont operatons at European Unon borders to dsrupt the flow of traffckng nto the Unon.

7 512 Toolkt to Combat Traffckng n Persons More nformaton about the work of Frontex s avalable at: Strategc Informaton Response Network The Strategc Informaton Response Network s an ntatve supported by UNIAP that s ntended to delver hgh qualty, responsve and up-to-date data and analyss on cuttng edge ssues relatng to traffckng n persons n the Greater Mekong subregon. The Network s ntended to nform and encourage acton by key governmental and non-governmental ant-traffckng stakeholders and to convey nformaton to them n varous forms, from bref reports, maps and data sheets, to dscusson forums and debates. Research, valdaton and analyss s conducted n the feld by communty-based organzatons, natonal and nternatonal agences and/or UNIAP tself. As secretarat to COMMIT, UNIAP s mandated by paragraph 29 of the memorandum of understandng on COMMIT, sgned by the Governments of the subregon to develop procedures for the collecton and analyss of data and nformaton on traffckng cases and to ensure that ant-traffckng strateges are based on accurate and current research, experence and analyss. The Strategc Informaton Response Network s ntended to fulfl that mandate. More nformaton about the work of the Strategc Informaton Response Network s avalable at: