Natural Disasters and Child Trafficking
Post Typhoon Haiyan
In a Devex report Bishop Broderick Pabillo, convenor of the Philippines’ Interfaith Movement Against Human Trafficking and Manila’s auxiliary bishop is reported as saying, “During disaster situations [like Haiyan], a lot of people are desperate to look for work, shelter, and education, among other things. These particular vulnerabilities are the usual things offered to them by exploiters. It’s sad that victims are already suffering the effects of disasters and are still being put under human trafficking.”
He said one of the most pressing challenges in addressing this issue is a lack of awareness to the forms and causes of human trafficking. Being aware improves the rescue rate of human trafficking because people will be able to save themselves — something Bishop Pabillo hopes the aid and development community can further contribute to: “[Being aware] helps because when a potential victim knows who to call or who to go to, response will be immediate.”
