HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN – ARTICLE 6 24. The United States Department of State’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report states:25 New Zealand is a destination country for foreign men and women subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking and a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking within the country … Foreign women from Asia are at risk of sex trafficking. Some international students and temporary visa holders are vulnerable to forced labour or prostitution. A small number of Pacific island and New Zealand (often of Māori descent) girls and boys are at risk of sex trafficking. Some children are recruited by other girls or compelled by family members into sex trafficking 25. The Government states in its report to the Committee that the Prostitution Review Committee “considers that in the case of New Zealand, there is no link between the sex industry and human trafficking.” However, the report dates back to 2008 and there remains anecdotal accounts that migrant women and international students are working in the New Zealand prostitution industry against their will.26 26. The passing of the Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Bill in 2015 prompted an updated definition of people trafficking under the Crimes Act 1961. Exploitation and coercion where the victim has remained within New Zealand now constitutes an offence, meaning the offence is not restricted to cases where a victim has crossed a national border. The definition of exploitation now also includes forced labour (and other forced services), slavery (and like practices), and servitude. 27. In September 2016, the first conviction for a trafficking offence was handed down. The case related to an individual who aided and abetted Fijian workers to unlawfully enter New Zealand and then forced them to work illegally for long hours, and sleep on the floor of overcrowded basements for little if any pay. He was found guilty of 15 people trafficking charges and sentenced to 9 years and six months imprisonment and ordered to pay $28,167 in restitution. While the verdict was a success for the Government and a sign of their 25 https://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2017/271252.htm New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse, https://nzfvc.org.nz/news/roast-busters-ipca-report-criticisespolice-responses-reporthttp://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED1506/S00095/study-reveals-the-sad-secret-worldof-child-prostitution.htm Lincoln Tan, “Claims over migrant sex workers” New Zealand Herald 8 October 2015. 26 6