Trafficking of women and children: The situation in Hungary and Vietnam

The School of Public Policy and the Center for Policy Studies at CEU
cordially invite you to a lecture on

Trafficking of women and children:
The situation in Hungary and in Vietnam

with
Zsuzsanna Vidra
Centre for Policy Studies
Caitlin Wyndham
PhD Candidate, Public Policy

The Hungary case (Zsuzsanna Vidra):  This presentation based on policy analysis, institutional interviews and community fieldwork, looks at why children in prostitution and victims of trafficking remain practically without state support and institutional assistance. It also explores to what extent the decriminalization of the system assisting victims of child prostitution and trafficking, or the shift from the 'punishment' to the 'welfare model', has taken place. The ethnic aspect of the problem is addressed as well given that the majority of victims are of Roma origin. While Hungary has ratified all important international conventions that oblige the country to protect child victims, neither its policies, legislation nor its institutions including the child protection and the law enforcement and the judiciary, seem to have adequate structural frameworks and institutional practices to attend to these children and prosecute offenders. Policy gaps, institutional procedures and practices are identified and it is concluded that the country is still much closer to the 'punishment model'.

The Vietnam case (Caitlin Wyndham): In this presentation, Caitlin will outline the situation of trafficking of women and children in Vietnam, particularly the trafficking of women to China and children to domestic labor exploitation. She will discuss how Blue Dragon approaches the rescue and reintegration of women and child victims, and the challenges of anti-trafficking initiatives. In addition, the presentation will consider some policy implications for domestic and international organizations and governments.

The presentation will consider some similarities and differences between the two cases and implications for broader anti-trafficking policy and programs.

Zsuzsanna Vidra is a research fellow at the Center for Policy Studies, Central European University (Hungary) and a senior lecturer at Eötvös Lóránd University (ELTE), Intercultural Psychology and Education (Hungary). She holds a PhD in sociology from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (France), an MA in Sociology from ELTE (Hungary) and an MA in Nationalism Studies from the Central European University (Hungary). Her main areas of research are poverty, ethnicity, migration, education, racism, political extremism, and media and minorities. She has published several articles on Roma and non-Roma interethnic relations, educational inequalities, labour market and social policy issues. She has edited a volume on Roma migration to Canada, and another volume on the far-right and Roma self-mobilization and she has co-authored a book on ethnic relations, migration, labour market conditions and informal economy in marginal rural communities. Her latest volume is on child trafficking in Hungary.

Caitlin Wyndham is a PhD Candidate in the Public Policy stream of the Doctoral School of Political Science, Pubic Policy and International Relations. She is also the Resources and Partnerships Leader at Blue Dragon Children's Foundation in Hanoi, Vietnam. Blue Dragon Children's Foundation is a grassroots charity serving children in crisis throughout Vietnam. We believe that every child deserves the best care we can offer. Blue Dragon kids are street kids, children with disabilities, and children who have been trafficked. We rescue kids from danger and slavery, reunite them with their families when we can, and provide all the services needed for recovery and growth.

Increasingly, this involves the identification, rescue and reintegration of women and girls who have been trafficked into sexual exploitation into China. Since 2005, we have rescued over 700 women and children from labour and sexual exploitation and supported their reintegration into their communities.