Protection
The Sri Lankan government’s efforts to provide protection for trafficking victims improved nominally, but remained limited. The government did not provide foreign trafficking victims with legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they would suffer retribution or hardship. Sri Lanka also failed to ensure that victims of trafficking were not punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked. Of particular concern are ongoing reports that women arrested on suspicion of being trafficked into Sri Lanka for the purpose of sexual exploitation were asked to pay fines in exchange for release from prison and were usually deported thereafter. Law enforcement officers continue to lack a formal system to identify potential victims of trafficking. The government does not provide specialized training for victim identification, though law enforcement officers participated in NGO-provided training.
For Sri Lankan victims, the government relies primarily on NGOs to provide victim protection services due to resource constraints. Police encourage these victims to assist in investigations against their traffickers, but do not undertake any specific measures to ensure victim or witness safety. For Sri Lankan victims trafficked overseas, the government operates shelters in diplomatic missions, offers repatriation assistance, and provides compensation to some who have registered with the government before leaving. In early 2008, the government paid for the repatriation of over 200 Sri Lankan domestic workers from safe houses in the Middle East. For repatriated Sri Lankan victims, however, there is little government effort to investigate the crimes committed against them. Limited aid is offered in terms of shelter, counseling, and medical care upon return. The government opened two temporary shelters for women who are victims of violence, and these were made available to trafficking victims. The government established an inter-ministerial committee to address the issue of child soldiers. Sri Lanka provides two rehabilitation centers specifically for children conscripted as soldiers; since their establishment in 2005, the rehabilitation centers have assisted 52 children.
Read more about this topic: Human Trafficking In Sri Lanka
Famous quotes containing the word protection:
“What is marriage, is marriage protection or religion, is marriage renunciation or abundance, is marriage a stepping-stone or an end. What is marriage.”
—Gertrude Stein (1874–1946)
“Is a Bill of Rights a security for [religious liberty]? If there were but one sect in America, a Bill of Rights would be a small protection for liberty.... Freedom derives from a multiplicity of sects, which pervade America, and which is the best and only security for religious liberty in any society. For where there is such a variety of sects, there cannot be a majority of any one sect to oppress and persecute the rest.”
—James Madison (1751–1836)
“The best protection parents can have against the nightmare of a daycare arrangement where someone might hurt their child is to choose a place that encourages parents to drop in at any time and that facilitates communication among parents using the program. If parents are free to drop in and if they exercise this right, it is not likely that adults in that place are behaving in ways that harm children.”
—Gwen Morgan (20th century)