Human trafficking on the increase

Broadcast on 2CH Sydney, 7 Apr 2013

The conviction of Sydney brothel owner Chee Mei Wong for holding young Malaysian students in sex servitude demonstrates the need for tougher measures to combat human trafficking, the Australian Christian Lobby says.

A proposed NSW brothel-licensing regime is unworkable and the government needs to tackle the demand for prostituted and trafficked women if it is serious about ending human trafficking.

“This is a scourge that cannot be ignored and the NSW Government needs to act urgently to tackle this problem,” ACL Human Trafficking spokesperson Wendy Francis said.

The NSW Council of Churches has consistently called for the introduction of laws in NSW prohibiting the purchase of sex, a model that has worked well in Sweden to reduce the incidence of human trafficking and protect vulnerable women from sexual servitude and other forms of human rights abuse.  There is no sensible reason to delay the introduction of such legislation in NSW.

I’m Rod Benson for the NSW Council of Churches.