The fight against human trafficking is now using a medium that has been used by traffickers themselves to lure some of its victims.

A website dedicated to special reports on human trafficking and provides a venue on information-sharing among anti-trafficking advocates was relaunched Thursday in Makati City.

The website, www.humantraffickinginasia.net, which was first created in 2007 by Newsbreak, contains investigative stories on the unexplored areas of human trafficking.  It was a project in partnership with The Asia Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The website has been re-launched and now features a blog where anti-trafficking advocates can share information and possible solutions to the problem. It receives funding support from The Asia Foundation and the US Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

“Anti-trafficking advocates need to be technology-savvy and creative in utilizing information, as traffickers  are not only one step ahead of anti-trafficking groups, but also have many resources at their disposal,” said Maribel Buenaobra, managing program officer of the anti-trafficking project of the foundation

One-stop shop

Newsbreak editor-in-chief Marites Vitug said that the website is a continuation of the human trafficking project they undertook in 2007 when Newsbreak published a special issue on trafficking.

“This new, improved website is not just a passive one-stop shop. It’s a place where all those interested in human trafficking—advocates, journalists, decision-makers, policy makers, researches—can converse, exchange ideas and information,” Vitug said.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney hopes that the website will not only serve as an avenue to protect people and share best practices but also get more people involved in the fight against trafficking.

“ A big part  of our campaign is prevention. We want to make sure that people know that this is a problem so men and women will not fall in this trap,” Kenney said.

Next to trafficking of drugs and guns, human trafficking is the world’s third largest organized crime. The 2005 US State Department‘s Human Rights Report said that about 400,000 women are trafficked within the Philippines annually.

“Trafficking in persons is such a huge issue that it needs the effective collaboration and coordination among stakeholders and anti-trafficking advocates to address this problem,” Buenaobra added. (abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak)

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