User:AllieQuinn7/sandbox

My Topic: Human Trafficking In Georgia (Country)
This semester I am working to better the page, Human Trafficking In Georgia (Country). Please check it out, if you get a chance. It is a blank shell of a page and can use an entire section on youth! AllieQuinn7 (talk) 02:30, 19 April 2013 (UTC)AllieQuinn7

Republic of Georgia




Youth Trafficking and Sex Work
Street children, specifically, from Georgia (country) are highly susceptible to exploitation through means of trafficking. Whether it be through begging or theft by third parties, including their parents, this subcategory of the population is considered to be at risk. Children working in agriculture and in the informal urban economy are specifically vulnerable to forced labor

Trafficking of children is a large concern within this area. Thousands of children living in the streets and in orphanages are trafficked annually. Some families experiencing economic hardship have been forced to separate, which has directly increased the number of children living on the streets in Georgia. This is a direct result of familial stress on the children, which often leads to youth feeling responsible for supporting the family in hard times, by then bringing in money through illegal means.

As a large portion of children who are susceptible to be drawn into the realm of trafficking are first noted as high-risk youth and street children, it is relevant to note that statistic that UNICEF estimated that 28.8 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Georgia were working in 1999. While the majority of working children work in family businesses, and agriculture in rural areas, there are reports of significant numbers of children, some as young as 5 years old, engaged in begging or working on the streets. Children as young as 9 years old are found working in markets, sometimes at night, and involved in carrying or loading wares. Children also work in cafes, bistros, gas stations, and for street photographers. The relevance of these statistics indicate that a majority of these working children are out in the community, as opposed to working within the safer confines of their homes. Having to go outside the home to work within the community at a young age plays a role in the risk of being a youth in this area. According to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, police violence against street children is a problem. In general, there is a lack of social safety services for children living on the street, with disabilities or from dysfunctional households.

Children, especially young girls are commonly trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, particularly for prostitution and pornography. In 2003, the statistical bureau of the Supreme Court reported 24 registered cases of the use of children in the drug trade and trafficking. This burden can then lead to negative impacts the female as they mature on both their sexual health, as well as concerns about their mental stability.

The Government of Georgia fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking where children are involved. During the year, however, local experts expressed serious concerns about the government’s view of its trafficking problem and its lack of effective efforts in the first half of the reporting period to proactively identify victims of this serious crime. In the duration of the reporting period, the government increased the number of trafficking cases investigated and the percentage of prosecutions that resulted in convictions of trafficking offenders. The government also significantly increased funding for anti-trafficking training and trafficking prevention activities, including in the budgets of its shelters for victims. The government significantly increased the number of Georgian officials provided training on victim identification.

Update to Prevention Section
The Government of Georgia improved its anti-trafficking prevention activities in 2011 and significantly increased cooperation with NGOs to conduct prevention campaigns. The government began enacting legislation in December 2011. They did this by authorizing the executive branch for the first time to make grants to NGOs. Pursuant to this legislation, the government provided small grants to two NGOs in early 2012 to work on projects related to public awareness of trafficking and information pertaining to victim identification. It also entered into memoranda of understanding with leading NGOs to expand and coordinate cooperation in addressing trafficking.

During the year the government conducted multiple information campaigns utilizing a broad array of media, including public service announcements, seminars, and television broadcasts throughout the country. The Civil Registry Agency continued its practice of distributing anti-trafficking related pamphlets when it issued new passports to citizens. The government also conducted numerous outreach events including some focused on specific high risk segments of the population, such as university and high schools students, internally displaced persons, and ethnic minorities living in the regions, would were more likely to be recognized as high-risk groups. Events included numerous panel discussions, a film screening, a peer education campaign, and an essay contest, all which provided research as well as preventative ideas regarding human trafficking in the country. The government distributed 10,000 donor-funded trafficking indicator cards to front-line responders, including law enforcement and border officials. In coordination with NGOs, the government posted anti-trafficking posters on cross-border buses and distributed multilingual leaflets to cross-border truck drivers and others. In November 2011, authorities created a high-level, steering committee to oversee the implementation of an EU-funded project to address street children. In March 2011, the government approved its new anti-trafficking National Action Plan for 2011-2012, produced with extensive collaboration with the NGO community. Because their focus was on human and child trafficking specifically, during the reporting period, the government did not initiate any campaigns to reduce demand for commercial sex acts.