Saving Grace: Child and enslaved in New Zealand

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Warning: This story contains content that some may find disturbing.

A 13 -year -old girl was brought to New Zealand and enslaved, with a pediatrician saying that the teenager would probably have died if she had not been rescued when she was.

But his attackers were never accused of the girl’s trafficking – given the pseudonym Grace – and Oranga Tamariki says he would “press much more” for more serious convictions if this situation happened today.

International Child Protection Manager Sharyn Titchener told a Webinar last month that a social worker was warned about Grace’s situation by a medical professional, received a warrant and described to see him when he arrived.

“The social worker wrote the description of how this child appeared, sad, sad. And she was only 13 years old. She was very unhealthy, but the social worker who collected her was from her home country, so she was able to speak on her first language. And she used words as a slave and was treated as a dog.

“She had 35 current injuries on various parts of the body. She was underweight, was bad hygiene and had lice. Due to the appearance of historical and current injuries, it was determined that the weapons were used for what pediatrics. The pediatrics were that the pictures that were those who calmed the painted were those who calmed, which was one of the sheets that was one of the paintings that was one of the paintings He used to that the worst of the leaves was one of the paintings that calmed down with what was one of the leaves that it was one of the jokes – which was one of the paintings that got used to what was one of the paintings. It also stated that the removal of the grace of the house probably prevented that a murder occurs. “

It was an example in a webinar being kept to increase awareness among health professionals about revealing signs of people held against their will. The two adults in the house where she lived were convicted of abuse and arrested.

“This was a few years ago, we would press much more now to ensure that this be delivered to the crown [prosecutors] To consider trafficking, “said Titchener.” And no doubt that – the story of Grace – was a story of domestic servitude, slavery. She was transferred to New Zealand to this house and was enslaved. “

Servants, drugs and acrobats

The forms of trafficking ranged from country to country, he added, and while sexual exploitation was also happening, many cases involve forced labor by borders trafficked.

“Traditionally, historically and globally, people think of sexual exploitation in brothels, etc.” she said. “Our context of New Zealand includes places such as Cannabis-Grow operations, where children were brought as harvests. And obviously we had the [Zirka] Circus, children here as artists. So we keep our lens very wide as we learn and understand what the context of New Zealand is like. It is different from international studies may indicate. “

In the case Zirka Circus, 11 -year -olds visited the country for years as acrobats before being elected by the authorities and returned to China.

Children do not necessarily know that they have been trafficked, she said, do not always come from origins or countries where there are child protection officers, or government officials can be reliable.

The processes were difficult for the victims – and were not helped by gaps in the law.

“Our current legislation is really difficult for children. We have to prove the coercion and mistake of a child and, in general, cases of trafficking – an accusation – depends on the victim’s testimony.”

ECPAT Children’s Warning Director Eleanor Parkes said the issue of coercion is what needed to change to increase processes. The government received a bill for lawyers and activists who fight modern slavery in December, written by experts in the countryside.

Authorities needed to apply existing laws and review the legislation, Parkes said.

“We have anti-break legislation that is not being applied in cases like this, where it could be. We also really need to strengthen our modern legislation of slavery and ensure that we are not requiring coercion to be proven in these cases.

“When we are talking about a child being explored, and especially if it is sexual exploitation, coercion is not a relevant question. Children are usually really compatible and they will do what they say. And therefore you do not need to prove that somehow, somehow deceived or forced to do something.

And she said people need to take care of the potential trafficking – children and adults – that happen in public houses and places, New Zealand and the borders.

“This kind of exploration is not as rare here as people assume. Generally, people are looking for the wrong thing. They are looking for the track of the way it looks like in movies, like kids being kidnapped at airports. And it really looks very glamorous. It seems like child abuse. It may seem like intimate partner violence.

“And so, since people look for the right thing, they realize that this happens here – all the time.”

New Zealand needed to talk to other countries about anti-break and slavery legislation and intensify their operational budgets, she said.

Immigration to New Zealand said it is investigating whether to find red flags in visa requests and refers to cases relevant to partner agencies if there are indications that trafficking may have occurred.

ORAGA TAMARIKI told RNZ that it is part of the Interagency Trafficking Group of the People Operations Group, which is composed of representatives of INZ, police, Alfândega, Department of Internal Affairs and Occupational Inspection.

“One of the priorities of the interinstitutional group is to increase awareness that trafficking in people happens in Aotearoa, New Zealand and improve understanding, so that we can work together to eliminate this crime,” Titchener said in a statement in writing.

“The anonymous case you mentioned was mentioned in a webinar that was made to increase awareness in the professional sector and was not for public use. The name used was not the real name of the young and was compensated to protect his identity.

“Increasing awareness of professional trafficking signals such as health care helps to give people who work in these industries about whom these crimes can be committed, signs that they can look for and ways to answer if they feel that someone with whom they are getting involved can be a victim of traffic.”

Meanwhile, Grace was sent back to his home country, but other abuse continues.

“We are incredibly busy, which is very sad,” Titchener told Webinar, hosted by a Christian medical group, which has been inaccessible in view of the public since RNZ approached Oranga Tamariki to comment on Tuesday. “We are just a four team. But we are very, very busy – and that shows what we are facing.”

Where to get help:

Sexual violence