Trafficking in Persons Anti-Trafficking Law: Eliminating Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children  (R.A. 9208 / R.A. 10364) The Republic Act 9208, otherwise known as the anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, was signed into law on May 23, 2006. In keeping with the State’s obligation to protect the dignity of an individual, and in recognizing equal rights and inherent human dignity enshrined in universally accepted human rights instruments and other international conventions, this law criminalizes the act of trafficking in persons, especially women and children, for prostitution, sexual exploitation and slavery, among others. The law defines trafficking in persons as the: ↗ recruitment, transportation, transfer or harboring, or receipt of persons with or without the victim’s consent or knowledge ↗ within or across national borders Mina, 15 years old, was hired as a domestic worker for a family in Malaysia. She is from Zamboanga. She willingly agreed to do the work. She was not forced. Lina was recruited as a saleslady from Samar. Her employment turned out to be that of a "guest relations officer" (GRO) in a bar in Manila. She filed a case of trafficking. Her employer said the law is only applicable for those who are trafficked to and from other countries. There is still a violation of the AntiTrafficking law, because initial consent and/or payment for commercial labor is not relevant, especially if the victim is a child. Trafficking in persons do not only cover foreign nationals or immigrants from other countries, Filipino citizens may also be victims of trafficking in persons within the Philippines. 8 ↗ by means of threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of position, taking advantage of the vulnerability of the person, or, the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person ↗ for the purpose of exploitation which includes at a minimum, the exploitation or the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery, servitude or the removal or sale of organs.” It also considers “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child, for the purpose of exploitation, as "trafficking in persons" even if it does not involve any of the means set forth above. 9