The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the

views or policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent. ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's terminology.

Trust Women - Putting the Rule of Law behind Women's Rights (December 3-4, 2013)
Francesco Tornieri Principal Social Development Specialist South Asia Department

 More than just a conference. Global movement with one clear mission: to put the full force of the law behind womens rights, and to take action. 450 global leaders from 40 countries attended the 2nd Annual Trust Women Conference in London, 3-4 December 2013. Over 1,000 people followed the event online, and the official conference hashtag #trustwomenconf reached over 1.5 million Twitter accounts. Womens rights campaigners and leaders in the fields of law, finance, business, technology and government committed to 18 key actions to help empower women globally.

VIEW OPENING VIDEO http://vimeo.com/81018632#t=122

2013 Themes
Modern-day slavery in the supply chain
First-hand accounts from human trafficking survivors Prosecuting violence against women: a comparison of the US, UK, India and South Africa What went wrong: unintended consequences of healthcare policies The impact of the Arab Spring on women's rights Fighting modern-day slavery

2013 Approach
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS DEBATE Plenary Sessions - live streamed

ACTION GROUPS PanelModerator (Journalist)-Real-world solutions (Beneficiaries)]

AWARDS CEREMONY Hero Award, which celebrates an innovator whose bold thinking and high-impact work enables women to know and advance their rights Journalist Award, which recognizes a journalist who has made a significant contribution to the coverage of womens rights SPECIAL EVENT: Theatrical Book Reading Ferite a Morte Wounded to Death, a renowned theatrical book reading created to raise awareness of violence against women by Italian best-selling author Serena Dandini read by celebrity readers (Queen Noor, Salma Hayek Pinault, Cherie Blair, Christy Turlington Burns, and Margherita Missoni).

Queen Noor, Jordan

Martina Vandenberg, Founder and President, The Human Trafficking Pro Bono Legal Center

2013 Speakers
Monira Rahman Award Winner Human Rights Defender, Bangladesh

Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York County, US

Nazir Afzal, Chief Crown Prosecutor, CPS North West, United Kingdom

Emma Bonino, Italian Foreign Minister

Monira Rahman Award Winner Human Rights Defender, Bangladesh

Anuradha Koirala. Founder and Executive Director, Maiti Nepal

Vrinda Grover Lawyer, researcher, human rights and womens rights activist, India Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC

Christy Turlington Burns, Founder, Every Mother Counts, filmmaker, author, model

Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan

Sponsors
HEADLINE SPONSORS

CONFERENCE SPONSORS

Slavery and Trafficking

Modern Slavery Bill
The draft Modern Slavery Bill (2013) presented by Home Secretary T. May will set out provisions to: Clarify and simplify existing slavery and trafficking offences with focus on investigating and prosecuting traffickers; Increase maximum sentence from 14 years to life imprisonment; Introduce Slavery and Trafficking Prevention Orders and Slavery and Trafficking Risk Orders to restrict the activity of those who pose a risk and those convicted of slavery and trafficking offences Create a new Anti-Slavery Commissioner role to galvanize law enforcement efforts to tackle modern slavery; and Establish a legal duty to report potential victims of trafficking to the National Crime Agency (NCA) to build a clearer picture of the nature of this hidden crime. Training and guidance for front line staff (police, border officers, asylum case workers and health workers), to improve the way potential victims are identified and supported. Establishment of National Crime Agency. Modern Slavery Unit established in the Home Office (2013) to ensure operation of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) framework for identifying victims of human trafficking- reviewed to make sure it is operating as effectively and supportively as possible.

Slavery and Trafficking

Global Minimum Wage and Elimination of Recruitment Fees
Outlawing recruitment fees, making it illegal for any agency to charge employees for overseas job placements or for any company to accept the recruitment of their workers in that way [Anne Gallaghar, Independent scholar and legal adviser, Australia].

Trafficking as a Business Crime

Estimated to rake in $32 billion annually, trafficking needs to be treated as a business crime, not just a sex offence [Cyrus R. Vance JR, District Attorney New York County]. The DA Office puts an emphasis on charging those who patronize prostitutes in Manhattan rather than penalize prostitutes, he said. "Everyone knows that sex trafficking is nothing more than a business, to the trafficker the trafficked woman is a commodity, bought and sold like merchandise, treated as "bar coded women". Use of investigative techniques and strategies to prove trafficking cases that dont necessarily require testimonies of the victims themselves. Prosecutions of men who use prostitutes quadrupled since Vance came into office in 2009 NYC-based International Financial Working Group launched to fight human trafficking (under NY/DA and Thomson Reuters Foundation, 2013): eight U.S. banks joined and agreed to share financial and technical information with U.S. Law Enforcement Agencies

Gender-based Violence

Video: Prosecuting Violence Against Women (US South Africa UK India) http://vimeo.com/80989337#t=0

(a) Honor-based Violence

Banaz: A Love Story, presented by Deeyah Khan, documentary film director and human rights activist to address the phenomenon of honor killings within immigrant communities in Europe through the story of a 20-year old British Kurdish woman (Benaz) killed and disappeared by her own family, having dishonored her community by deserting her abusive rapist husband and later falling in love with a man of her own choosing. Banaz went five times to the police to ask for help and tell them she believed her life was at risk. She even named her future killers on videotape with the words: "If anything happens to me, it's them." She was raped and strangled and her body buried in a suitcase. As the result of four painstaking years gaining the trust and co-operation of the extraordinary police officers who solved the case, the film contains heart-breaking footage of Banaz herself, detailing the horrors she was facing and accurately predicting her own brutal murder. The footage Of Bekhal, a young woman of incredible spirit and bravery, whose love for her murdered sister gave her strength to testify against her own family and community bringing justice to Banaz but consigning her to a life forever lived in hiding. Of Detective Chief Inspector Caroline Goode, senior Scotland Yard detective, whose dedication and passion led her to finding the body against all the odds, laying her to rest, and relentlessly pursuing her killers, even to Iraq. And Deeyah, international music producer and activist turned filmmaker, who has herself been subject to honor related abuse and threat. The Documentary included in the UK's Police Training Program to target issues related to women trapped inside honor-based cultures in the UK. 5,000 honor killings internationally per year 1,000 honor killings occur in India 1,000 honor killings occur in Pakistan 12 honor killings per year in UK

(b) Acid Throwing

Public-Private Partnership Acid Survivors Foundation (1999) prevent acid and burn violence and empower survivors, esp. women and children through integrated bio-psycho-social model backed by research in Bangladesh ASFs rights-based campaign led to (unprecedented) institutional and policy reforms Downward trend in acid attacks 2002: 490 2012: 98 2013: 85 ASF developed: 24 hotline for reporting attacks and referrals 24 hours free treatment Nation-wide notification system for immediate treatment (with local NGOs) First aid treatment for acid burn Facilities to perform immediate surgery (local and international surgeons) 24 hour ambulance service 24 hour nursing facilities Counseling and psychotherapy Legal aid and long term rehabilitation support The Rule of Law In 2002, Bangladesh introduces:: Acid Crime Control Act (ACCA) directly impacts the criminal aspect of acid attacks, Allows for death penalty (or level of punishment corresponding to area of body affected loss of hearing or sight or damages to victim's face, breasts, or sex organs = death penalty or life sentencing; other part of the body 714 year prison term + $700 fine) Punishes attempting to throw (or throwing) acid without causing physical or mental harm 3-7 year prison term + $700 fine Assumes the same liability for conspirators aiding in such attacks as those committing the crimes Acid Control Act (ACA): Adopts laws and implement policies related to sale, use, storage, and international trade of acids Calls for district-level committees to enforce and further regulate acid use in towns and cities. Establishes the National Acid Control Council (NACC) established.

Acid Throwing Statistics

Call for Actions

Actions

A Global Human Trafficking Hotline

Polaris Project [organization for global fight against human trafficking and modernday slavery] will create a Global Human Trafficking Hotline Network to connect existing human trafficking hotlines and provide a worldwide safety net for survivors Dasra [Indian Social Enterprise] & Tau Investment Management [Capitalist Solutions to Capitalism Failures] offered to support

Promote safe mobility

Free the Slaves suggested the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) to locate and document slave labor. MAKE Productions [Animation and Short Film Organization] offered to support ADB committed to conduct research in the area of global good practices related to 'safe mobility' and their applicability to the context of its South Asia operations [with UN Women South Asia] Verit [International NGO on Safe Labor] commit to work with ethical brokers to scrap all recruitment fees paid by workers in order to eliminate debt-bondage among migrant laborers. Thomson Reuters Corporation and Lexis Nexis have offered assistance. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has committed to partner with Verit in this endeavor and work with its clients to: Understand and identify risks with respect to their business processes, sectors and supply chains. Develop tools to mitigate the risks and build capacity to promote good practice with respect to their sub-contractors practices. Identify indicators to be used to measure success with respect to economic and social performance

Eliminate debt-bondage

Call for Actions

ACTIONS SUPPORTERS Photojournalist Hazel Thompson committed to use materials from photo-documentary TAKEN to raise awareness of Human Trafficking in/to India among girls aged 8-16 (for distribution in BAN, NEP and IND). Hewlett-Packard and law firm Sadat Sarwat & Associates and Wadah Foundation are considering providing assistance with translation, publication, distribution and legal issues.

Raise awareness of Human trafficking

Ensure Bangladeshs mental health bill meets international standards

Acid Survivors Foundation asked for help to research global mental health laws in order to ensure that Bangladeshs draft mental health bill meets international standards. TrustLaw Connect, Global Fund for Women and the University of Amsterdam have committed to assist.

A global portal for legislation on sexual violence

AEquitas will work with Westlaw (Thomson Reuters) to build a tool integrating data, research, media coverage and laws relevant to sexual violence prosecution that could sit on the Westlaw site and be available to all prosecutors

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player _embedded&v=9yJl19Jd-rQ#t=30

Lessons Learnt and Way Forward

LESSONS LEARNT
Progress has been made in prosecuting genderrelated crimes [gender-based, honor-based violence (killings) ], ingrained socio-cultural discriminatory attitudes perpetuate womens greater exposure and vulnerability to gender-based crimes. Greater efforts and partnerships with national Governments, bi- and multi-lateral organizations, private sector Corporations and Foundations, the media and advocacy NGOs remains critical - in advancing gender-responsive policy and legal reforms, the effective implementation of legislation, prosecution of cases; sensitization of judicial and police officers and support to legal aid and literacy targeting women and vulnerable groups was raised. Interest in the role and potential contribution of multi- and bi-lateral organizations (incl. ADB) in raising gender-related issues as part of their incountry and sub-regional policy dialogue was acknowledged.

WAY FORWARD

SARD Gender Team: Ensuring greater visibility of gender in RCI. Spearheading innovative approaches to Safe Cities in urban development projects. Revitalizing Legal Empowerment initiatives