The Protection Project
Commentary: Chinese "Snakeheads" Arrested for Human Smuggling
Jennifer Goodson
Chinese organized criminal groups including the "triads" and "snakeheads" are documented to be involved in trafficking in women and children around the world for purposes of prostitution and exploitative labor. Research reveals that China is a country of origin for trafficked persons to more than 18 countries including Japan and the United States. China is also a country of destination, transit and internal trafficking for women and children.
It is necessary to clarify the distinction between illegal smuggling and trafficking in persons. Smuggling involves a willfully engaged emigrant who has some anticipation of hardship or fees due to the smuggler. Victims of trafficking are forced or deceived to trust the trafficker who may be presented as a trusted family member or falsified employment agent who then transports the person to a foreign country. Upon arrival to the destination country, trafficked victims are stripped of their documentation and forced into a form of slavery including prostitution, domestic service or indentured servitude. Trafficked victims may incur debt-bondage and do not have the freedom to leave.
While there is a distinction between these two criminal activities, there are common threads, primarily those who are responsible as the agents of smuggling and trafficking. The arrest of Chen Wenshu, the gang's top "snakehead" among the 42 arrested in China for people smuggling is a significant development in the movement to expose and prosecute those responsible for these crimes.
Chinese and Japanese officials not only need to investigate the evidence for human smuggling but also the evidence that unveils these groups are responsible for the thousands of women and children who have been trafficked in and out of China every year. The Chinese law criminalizes the abduction and trafficking of women and children. Those responsible for abducting women and children may receive a life sentence and will be fined or sentenced to confiscation of property. Anyone who buys an abducted woman or child can be sentenced to not more than three years, criminal detention or public surveillance. Furthermore, the death penalty is imposed in cases where a girl under the age of 14 is forced to engage in prostitution, where more than one person is engaged in prostitution or where serious bodily injury or death results.
While governments around the world are forming and implementing initiatives to combat the trade of humans for sexual slavery and exploitative labor, one lurking question remains, when will the spotlight move from the victim to the trafficker, from the shelter to the courtroom?
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