CEDAW/C/SR.1405
available in the centre to support the victims, and police officers could interview them there
rather than at a police station.
55.
Since 2005, 230 cases of human trafficking had resulted in the conviction of a total
of 263 people, including 6 foreign nationals and 4 public officials. A further 7 criminal and
17 administrative cases against public officials were ongoing. The penalties applied were
increased when the accused was a public official.
56.
While there had been no cases of human trafficking where the victims were persons
with disabilities, there had been one case involving a deaf witness, who had been provided
with a sign language interpreter.
57.
Mr. Larga (Philippines) said that the Philippine Overseas Employment
Administration was the primary body for regulating recruitment agencies and protecting
migrant workers. The Administration had run community and local government campaigns
to prevent human trafficking and had recently introduced a mandatory pre-departure
orientation seminar for first-time migrant workers traveling abroad for employment, which
included a module on human trafficking and how to avoid becoming a victim of the
practice. Through a data-sharing programme with the Bureau of Immigration, the names of
migrant workers presenting travel documents at an airport could be checked against the
database of the Administration: if workers were not found in the list of persons whose
papers had been processed by the Administration, they were referred back to the
Administration, and the recruitment agency involved was investigated and could potentially
lose its operating licence as a result. Advertisements and public service announcements
aiming to prevent human trafficking had also been aired on television and radio channels
and shown at cinemas.
58.
Ms. Villar (Philippines) said that the referral system on the recovery and
reintegration of trafficked persons aimed to strengthen the network of referral agencies and
establish a framework of interventions and services for victims of trafficking, while the
referral system on violence against women and children aimed to provide an integrated and
coordinated community response to ensure the safety of victims of violence against women
and the accountability of the perpetrators.
59.
The Government had opened rape crisis centres in two pilot regions: the centres
provided access to doctors, police officers, prosecutors and social workers and provided a
comprehensive programme for the recovery and reintegration of victims of rape. As a result
of the pilot, an operating manual was now available for use in the creation of more centres
in other regions.
60.
Another Government initiative was the establishment of women-friendly spaces in
evacuation centres, which aimed to address the practical and strategic needs of women
during crisis situations. Such spaces had been set up in partnership with local government
units, civil society organizations and the United Nations Population Fund to provide
systematic gender-responsive service delivery to protect internally displaced women from
violence and abuse.
61.
Around the country, 11 centres for girls aged under 18 provided protection,
treatment and rehabilitation for victims of abuse or exploitation, while 9 centres for women
aged 18-59 provided temporary shelter and protective custody to victims of physical or
sexual abuse, forced prostitution and armed conflict. The centres provided a range of
services, including health and nutrition, skills training and legal assistance. The
Government hoped to establish more such centres in other regions in due course.
62.
The Department of Social Welfare and Development had implemented a programme
to ensure the delivery of adequate recovery and reintegration services for victims of human
trafficking. The programme employed a multisectoral approach to meeting the social,
GE.16-11608
11