Trafficking in persons in Australia: myths and realities

In Australia, despite greater public awareness and acknowledgement of the problem by government agencies, trafficking in persons remains a phenomenon poorly understood and researched. The true extent of Australia's human trafficking problem is not fully known, largely due to the clandestine nature of this phenomenon. Anecdotal evidence, media reports, and statistical estimates without proper evidentiary bases are the only sources of information currently available about trafficking in persons in Australia. This article produces a more accurate assessment of the scale of trafficking in persons in the light of the open source evidence, thus contributing to the understanding of the immediate problem, and paving the way for further research on the many facets and aspects associated with trafficking in persons in Australia and elsewhere. The article calls for further research into trafficking and greater openness from relevant stakeholders, in order to clarify the facts about trafficking in Australia, and to help to dispel the myths and misconceptions that abound in discussing this issue.     

Trafficking in persons report

The Department of State is required by law to submit a Report each year to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. This Report is the sixth annual TIP Report. It is intended to raise global awareness, to highlight the growing efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking, and to encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons.     

Trafficking in Migrants: Illegal Migration and Organized Crime in Australia and the Asia Pacific Region

The subject of this article is the phenomenon commonly known as trafficking in migrants or people smuggling—the criminal offence of transporting migrants across international borders. This article explores the phenomenon of migrant trafficking and analyses migrant trafficking in the light of recent developments at domestic, regional and international levels. This article examines national legislation dealing with migrant trafficking in criminal law and immigration law in Australia and fifteen countries of the Asia Pacific region: Brunei, Cambodia, People's Republic of China and its Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau, Fiji, Indonesia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam. Moreover, international and regional efforts to combat illegal migration and organized crime are outlined and analysed.     

Indigenous Australia and health rights

Over the last decade, there has been a significant shift in public policy in relation to indigenous Australians. The new policy frameworks have been marked by an antipathy towards a policy discourse based on a human rights framework. This has also been associated with a shift from an approach based on "self-determination" to one founded on the idea of "mutual obligation". This article describes these developments in detail and considers the implications for human rights discourse.     

反贪查案工作机制探讨

上海市人民检察院第一分院反贪局自1995年贪检处成立发展至今,在办案思路、线索评估、把握初查重点及办案模式、办案谋略等方面基本形成了一整套行之有效的做法。在业务工作、队伍建设、检察改革、思想政治工作等方面取得了新的成绩,尤其在如何加强贪污贿赂案件线索的价值评估及初查方案的制定方面作了改革和努力。     

Effects of victim gender,victim sexual orientation,victim response and respondent gender on judgements of blame in a hypothetical adolescent rape

Objectives. Few studies have examined the judgements made towards adolescent rape victims, and none have investigated attributions towards gay male or lesbian adolescents. The current study examined the effects victim gender, victim sexual orientation, victim response, and respondent gender, on attributions of blame in the depicted rape of a 15‐year old adolescent. Methods. A total of 164 respondents read details of this assault before completing 15 attribution judgments. Results. Respondents were expected to attribute more blame to a victim who was male, gay, and who failed to resist the perpetrator. Male respondents were also expected to be more blaming of the victim than females. Overall these hypotheses were supported. Conclusion. Results are discussed in relation to the role gender stereotypes and homophobia play within attributions blame in sexual assault cases. Specifically, it seems male adolescent rape victims are subjected to the same negative stereotypes as male adult victims. Implications and ideas for future research are considered.     

Rape and the devalued victim

Numerous jurisdictions have made changes in their rape statutes in recent years. Five modifications that have commonly appeared in the amended rape legislations are aboulition of capital punishment as a sanction for rape, lowered sentence structure, a graduated continuum of offenses and penalties for rape, the reformulation of rape statutes to a sex-neutral definition of participants, and a change in terminology away from rape to such nomenclature as criminal sexual conduct. While the intent of the legal reforms was to insure fairness, we contend that the unintended effect of many of these changes is to trivialize the offense of rape and to devalue the victim.     

被害人辨认错误及其防范

被害人辨认错误是导致刑事错案发生的主要原因之一。被害人“身临其境”和“身受其害”的当事人身份,决定了被害人体验案件事实和辨认犯罪嫌疑人存在局限性,容易出现某些“诚实”的错误。分析被害人辨认错误的成因,进一步完善辨认规则,健全辨认程序,有助于提高被害人辨认的准确性和可信性,防范错误辨认,保护被害人权利。     

Exploitation in Human Trafficking and Smuggling

This article explores the mechanisms that underpin human smuggling and trafficking. It argues for the continued analytical relevance of the distinction between “trafficking” and “smuggling”, as posited by the 2000 UN Protocols. While this distinction has come under sustained criticism from several authors over the last 15 years, it nonetheless continues to capture the essential features of two distinct phenomena (control over a human being vs. illegal entry into a country), and acknowledges the role of agency in smuggling. The paper goes on to discuss three different scenarios that may emerge as a result of the interplay between smugglers and smuggled persons, and it specifies the role of exploitation in each scenario. In addition, the paper offers empirical evidence of the key building blocks of smuggling — namely the search for reliable information and the reaching of an agreement in regard to the service offered — and of how smuggling can turn into trafficking. This work concludes by drawing out the relevant policy implications.     

Regulation of health practitioners: national reform in Australia

From the second half of 2010 Australia has had a uniform regime for registration of health practitioners and, with the exception of New South Wales, a nationally consistent scheme for regulation of a number of categories of health practitioners. This entails a move toward validation requirements, a continuing focus on protection of titles as the principal regulatory mechanism, and an identification of those professions currently suitable for formal registration and regulation. This editorial discusses issues arising from the new national regulatory arrangements, controversies about the distinction between "conduct" and "performance" investigations, challenges in relation to assessment of impairment and what constitutes a "fit and proper person" as well as issues arising from the mandatory notification provisions within the legislation.