Women, Girls, and the Impact of Climate Change on Sex Trafficking

15 November 2021 – by Rebecca Allen

Summary

Climate change is forcing the displacement of people, both within states (i.e., internally displaced persons or ‘IDPs’) and beyond borders (i.e., climate change-forced migrants). According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (‘UNHCR’), as of 22 April 2021, climate change has triggered more than twice as much displacement than conflict has in the last decade.^[i] Since 2010, weather emergencies have caused an average of 21.5 million people to move per year.^[ii] The International Panel for Climate Change (‘IPCC’) recently found that climate change exasperates gender inequalities and women are less likely to have equal rights and access to resources.^[iii] These inequalities appear to result in women being more likely to be displaced than men, and it has been reported that women represent 80% of people displaced by climate change globally.^[iv]

Research is showing that this increase in displacement has a direct effect on the rise of modern slavery. Although each year more traffickers are being brought to justice,^[v] modern slavery still presents serious cause for concern, particularly when contemplating an increase in vulnerability as people are affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and conflict amongst other factors. Migrants account for a considerable share of detected victims globally as they are often marginalised and impoverished, and therefore preyed upon by traffickers.^[vi]

The aim of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between climate change and sex trafficing – specifically with regard to women. The experiences of children will also be included where possible. The experiences of non-binary victims have not been included due to a current lack of data which needs to be addressed in future research. The paper also aims to highlight recent migration and pollution trends in order to give an overview of who is being affected and where accountability should lie. Sex trafficking is examined as opposed to other forms of exploitation, such as forced labour (including domestic servitude), organ harvesting, forced adoption, or forced criminality. This is due to the fact that, according to data gathered about detected victims, the majority of modern slavery cases constitute sexual exploitation. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (‘UNODC’) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020 records that 50% of those detected were trafficked for sexual exploitation, 38% were trafficked for forced labour, 6% were forced into criminality, and just over 1% were forced to beg. Smaller numbers were reported for people trafficked for the purposes of forced marriages, organ removals, and other types of exploitation.^[vii]

Women and girls are the focus of this paper as they continue to be the most affected demographic. The UNODC recorded that in 2018, for every 10 victims globally, about five were adult women and two were girls.^[viii] The International Labour Organization (‘ILO’) also recorded that in 2017, women and girls accounted for 99% of victims in the commercial sex industry.^[ix]

Climate change and women

Forced migration as the result of climate change has risen in the last decade and is projected to continue rising. Some states are large enough geographically that governments can move citizens to areas of the country that are not as affected by climate change yet- such as away from coast lines for example. However, to do this people are often placed in camps, thus becoming internally displaced persons. Although this means that they still have recognised rights from their governments, IDPs are often more vulnerable than non-displaced persons due to the fact that they may have to inhabit camps with poor sanitation, limited access to clean water and food, higher rates of disease, and sometimes social and economic exclusion.

A study on internal displacement camps in Northern Uganda showed that placing people into these camps hampers the rights provided by citizenship as people do not always have their basic needs met, such as access to adequate healthcare facilities.^[x] Moreover, climate change can put stress on national infrastructures and limit access to land which can cause food insecurity. It is not uncommon for IDPs in internal camps to suffer from food shortages. 

Other states, including low-lying Small Island States (‘SIDS’)- such as Kiribati and the Maldives, do not have the capacity to internally protect all displaced citizens.^[xi] Consequently, many are forced to cross state borders due to adverse weather caused by climate change. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol (‘the Refugee Convention’) do not currently recognise climate change as a ground for claiming refugee status.^[xii] A refugee is legally defined as a person who is ‘unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion’. The 1967 Protocol removes the temporal and geographical limitations of the Convention’s definition.^[xiii]

The 1951 Refugee Convention was drafted because of people who were displaced due to World War Two and so only applied to people displaced due to events that occurred before the 1st of January 1951 and state parties could choose to restrict its application to only cover Europe. The Protocol removes these limitations so that the Refugee Convention can be applied globally and for events up to present day.

This lack of legal protection for those who are forced to cross borders due to hazardous weather caused by climate change are often from countries that contribute the least to climate change and may already have been vulnerable to poverty- for example, SIDS according to 2019 data, made up seven of the ten countries globally that face the highest risk of internal displacement from extreme weather events but SIDS per capita emissions are around a third of those from high-income countries.^[xiv] C02 emissions are of particular concern as the IPCC identified that Green House Gases (GHGs) are the main anthropogenic contribution to climate change, with the main gas being CO2^[xv]. According to data from 2018 published by the World Bank, the ten countries that produce the highest level of CO2 emissions are as follows:

1. China (10,313,460 kt);
2. United States (4,981,300 kt);
3. India (2,434,520 kt);
4. Russian Federation (1,607,550 kt);
5. Japan (1,106,150 kt);
6. Germany (709,540 kt);
7. Republic of Korea (630, 870 kt);
8. Islamic Republic of Iran (629,290 kt);
9. Indonesia (583,110 kt); and
10. Canada (574,400 kt).

These countries are typically considered to be ‘developed’ and therefore better equipped to respond to adverse weather conditions. It seems that this group of states should be held accountable if forced migration from climate change is to be prevented- this would also follow the ‘polluter pays’ principle wherein those who produce pollution should bear the responsibility of managing it to prevent damage to the environment. Many of the countries that appeared to produce the lowest number of CO2 were SIDS such as the Seychelles (620); Sao Tome and Principe (140); Samoa (320); Palau (290); Nauru (70); the Federated States of Micronesia (180); the Marshall Islands (190) and Kiribati (80) amongst others.^[xvi] As aforementioned, SIDS often contribute the least to carbon emissions but are the group of states that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Research in this area shows that it is women and girls who appear more at risk of displacement due to climate change, particularly those who live in developing countries.^[xvii] This is likely due to pre-existing gender inequalities that render women and girls to have less access to resources, including land. Following floods, wildfires, droughts and other extreme weather events, food can be scarce as crops can be destroyed and agricultural land can be in left in conditions that make it difficult to cultivate food in adequate quantities. Women and girls being denied access to land can then be another barrier in them being able to grow food so this coupled with devastation from extreme weather means that women and girls are disproportionally affected.

Data from the United Nations shows that women are more vulnerable to the effects of climate change than men, as they constitute the majority of the world’s poor, and their livelihood is also more dependent upon the natural resources that are threatened by these changes.^[xviii] They also are more likely to face economic, social, and political barriers as a result of existing gender inequalities which limit their ability to access resources and cope with the effects of climate change, making them less likely to be involved in any decision-making processes.^[xix]

Sex trafficking and women

The 2016 UNODC Global Report found that when using data that was disaggregated by gender, it was clear that women and girls are usually trafficked for marriage and sexual slavery, whereas men and boys are often trafficked for forced labour.^[xx] There are several societal reasons for this gender inequality. For example, women are disproportionally affected by poverty as they are often excluded from economic and educational resources and opportunities- research shows that women are generally paid less than men are, many women are in the informal economy which means they are not likely to have secure employment contracts and are not always paid enough to get out of poverty. This same research also shows that women do at least twice as much unpaid care work as men do.^[xxi] On top of being unpaid this gives them less opportunity to engage in paid work. Traffickers prey on poorer individuals who are in need of an income to survive and may not recognise the signs of exploitation until it is too late. In many societies women have been treated as unequal to men and have been sexualised or objectified, and their societal ‘value’ is perceived to be lesser than that of men.

Although the Refugee Convention does not require State Parties to legally recognise forced migration from climate change as grounds for refugee status, Article 6 of the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW”) stipulates that State Parties “shall take all appropriate measures, including legislation, to suppress all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of prostitution of women”.^[xxii] It can therefore be argued that due to the link between climate change forced migration and sex trafficking in women and girls, the latter should be tackled by reducing and preventing climate change forced migration in order to mitigate the vulnerability exploited by traffickers.

Of the top CO2 producing countries listed above, eight have signed and ratified CEDAW. The United States of America has signed the treaty but is yet to ratify. Iran ratified the treaty in 2003 but this was later vetoed by the Guardian Council. This means that the majority has acknowledged their responsibility to take all appropriate measures including the implementation of legislation that protects women and girls from sexual exploitation and although some progress is being made this does not appear to be happening effectively enough to protect women and girls. 

Conclusions

It is clear, therefore, that as the result of existing gender inequalities and vulnerabilities, women and girls are most affected by climate displacement globally. This renders them more susceptible to human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

The main solution for preventing women and girls being so vulnerable would be to achieve economic and social gender equality. However, this is obviously a long-term aim. More short-term solutions could include increasing economic opportunities for women and girls such as providing education, vocational training, and apprenticeships. The dissemination of information to women and girls on their rights and on sexual exploitation could help them recognise signs of coercion and give them avenues in which to report it. This could include information on rights and signs of exploitation at displacement camps, information on the legitimacy of overseas ‘job’ opportunities, and the visitation of displacement camps by qualified people such as aid workers and governmental officials. The equal employment of women in such positions as well as in law enforcement and border officials could help women and girls to feel safe to report sexual exploitation. The accountability of states that contribute the most to climate change needs to be examined in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Tackling the causes of climate change could help mitigate one area where women and girls are disproportionally affected. The accountability of the traffickers also needs to be addressed more as this is often lacking in research conducted on sexual exploitation. Efforts could be made to target key areas to ascertain exploitation networks by identifying states that are affected the most by extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. Looking at routes that displaced people take and monitoring these as well as migrant camps could help protect people whilst also maintaining surveillance for perpetrators. Cross-border cooperation would also be advantageous for the identifying of perpetrators- as forced migration and sex trafficking often involves crossing state borders then communication between states is key.

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References

^[i] IPCC, (Global Security, 22 April 2021), <https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/news/2021/04/mil-210422-unnews02.htm>. 

^[ii] Ibid.

^[iii] Global Citizen, ‘Understanding Why Climate Change Impacts Women More Than Men’, 5 March 2020, <https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/how-climate-change-affects-women/>.

^[iv] M. Halton,  ‘Climate Change “Impacts Women More than Men”’, (The British Broadcasting Corporation, 8 March 2018), <https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-43294221>.

^[v] UNODC, ‘Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020’(United Nations, January 2021). Since 2003, the number of those convicted per 100,000 people has nearly tripled.

^[vi] Ibid

^[vii] Ibid

^[viii] Ibid.

^[ix] International Labour Organization, ‘Forced Labour, Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking’, (2017), <https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang–en/index.htm>.

^[x] M. Oosterom, ‘Internal Displacement, the Camp and the Construction of Citizenship: Perspectives from Northern Uganda’, (2016) 29(3) Journal of Refugee Studies. 

^[xi] Data from 2016 showed that China, the Philippines, and India had the highest number of internally displaced persons from disaster. However, these states have more capacity for moving citizens internally but it is small island states that are disproportionally affected. Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, ‘Global Report on Internal Displacement’, (2017), <http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2017/>.

^[xii] In Ioane Teitiota v. The Chief Executive of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (New Zealand Supreme Court, 2015),the Court rejected the claimant as a ‘climate change refugee’ on the basis of lack of legal recognition of climate change as grounds for refugee status.

^[xiii] Refugee Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol (1951), United Nations.

^[xiv] Oxfam, ‘Forced from Home: Climate-fuelled Displacement’, 2019.

^[xv] IPCC, ‘Fifth Assessment Report’, 2014.

^[xvi] The World Bank, ‘CO2 Emissions (kt)- World’, <https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.KT?end=2018&locations=1W&start=1960&view=chart>.

^[xvii] CARE, ‘Evicted by Climate Change: Confronting the Gendered Impact of Climate-Induced Displacement’, 2020.

^[xviii] United Nations Women Watch, ‘Women, Gender Equality and Climate Change’, <https://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/downloads/Women_and_Climate_Change_Factsheet.pdf>.

^[xix] Ibid. 

^[xx] United Nations, ‘Report: Majority of Trafficking Victims are Women and Girls; One-Third Children’, (22 December 2016), <https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2016/12/report-majority-of-trafficking-victims-are-women-and-girls-one-third-children/>.

^[xxi] Oxfam International ‘Why the Majority of the World’s Poor are Women’, https://www.oxfam.org/en/why-majority-worlds-poor-are-women

^[xxii] Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), United Nations.