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FMR 64 Trafficking and smuggling 51

June 2020 www.fmreview.org/issue64

have accepted the situation of exploitation collaborate with the authorities following
and this serves to reinforce the authority the intervention of a pastor and a woman
that their madams have over them. who had formerly been trafficked. The Dutch
The taking of the oath is performed in attorney general claimed that the moral
symbolic and theatrical ceremonies, usually authority of the religious leader encouraged
in shrines to the deity Ayelala, who is known victims to trust the police and overcame
for delivering justice. In the course of these any fears linked to breaking the oaths.
oath-taking ceremonies, women may be In March 2018, the Oba (traditional
asked to remove their clothes, take baths, ruler) of Benin Kingdom in southern Nigeria
and drink or eat specific concoctions. Small performed a ritual to neutralise the oath
incisions may be made to their bodies. Items curses that had already been administered
including animal blood, kola nuts, water, to women and to invoke a curse on any
palm oil, alcohol or herbs are usually used native doctor who administers such oaths.
in addition to fingernails, blood, sweat, Reportedly, this gave strength to some women
menstrual blood or hair, which are generally to flee their traffickers, although there are
taken from both the oath-taker and from no data available about how this revocation
one of her female relatives. Priests use these might have affected criminal investigations.
corporeal extractions and other symbolic In destination countries in Europe,
elements such as a woman’s underwear to law enforcement actors are adapting
make a small ‘packet’. It is believed that their approaches to better protect victims
whoever has the packet can control the and improve prosecution of traffickers.
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woman. Anecdotal accounts suggest that at For instance, in Spain, police officers are
times pacts are also being sanctioned in some receiving specific training to bolster their
Pentecostal churches, and that some churches understanding of these networks and the
may be involved in trafficking networks, both national police has a group of specialist
in Nigeria and in destination countries. officers who focus on African trafficking
Fear of breaking the pact is so intense networks. However, despite these and other
that sometimes traffickers may not need to welcome steps, further progress is needed.
exert other means of control. The result of
this is that trafficked Nigerian women appear Interviewing potential victims
relatively free from constraints, which in turn International anti-trafficking guidelines
hinders their identification as victims by law recommend that interviews with potential
enforcement actors and renders subsequent victims are conducted by specialist officers.
police and judicial processes more difficult. Anecdotal evidence gathered in the course of
my research suggests that traditional respect
Breaking the oath for elders means that women respond more
To combat the fear that is created in positively to older interviewers. Women may
victims, the Nigerian National Agency for interpret physical discomfort or malaise
the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons displayed by the interviewer as a sign of being
(NAPTIP) recommends that law inforcement cursed. Some police officers reported feeling
officials and NGOs supporting victims nervous and uncomfortable when women
inform the women that any contracts they avoided looking at them directly, believing
may have signed are not legal, and assist that the women were not listening to them
them to seek spiritual counsel, if requested. or were lying. However, generally in West
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It encourages law enforcement actors to call African cultures, not looking directly into
on expert witnesses to emphasise the effects an interlocutor’s eyes is a respectful gesture.
of ritual oaths in a prosecution, and also Being attentive to non-verbal communication
recommends the intervention of religious is also essential, as women may change
advisors to help bring forward a prosecution. their body language when referring to the
In an operation in the Netherlands, for oaths, for example choking or gagging when
example, at least 10 victims agreed to recalling the consumption of concoctions. 3