The following is what a fellow British teacher, who is teaching English in Astana, wrote on recent events in Kazakhstan. He has been working non-stop to help those victims who come out of sex slavery or who have been trafficked for their labor. Here is what he wrote:
“As you have all contributed to the funds that are held by IOM to be used on behalf of trafficking victims I am writing to inform you that I have today approved the use of the total held (102,000 kzt) for legal representation of a victim of sex trafficking. Please see below for details of this horrible case and I am sure you would approve this use of the money raised (absolutely the profile of need we identified that is NOT covered by IOM budgets) to support a young Kazakh women who has been grossly exploited (note by her FEMALE friend!)
Many thanks for all your efforts that have contributed to us being in a position to assist. I have asked to be kept informed of progress and will of course keep you informed. Thank you again for your support.
A year ago an eighteen-year-old Kazakh girl was trafficked from village in South Kazakhstan region to Shymkent city for sexual exploitation by her female friend. She spent several months in a brothel until she was rescued by police officerA criminal case was initiated against her exploiters, however, all defendants were not arrested due to lack of evidence. Moreover, during preliminary court proceedings a prosecutor, instead of represent the victim’s position, accused the victim and tried to convince a judge that there was no reason to initiate this criminal case.The NGO (in Shymkent) applied to IOM for additional funding to hire a lawyer to represent the victim’s rights during the court proceedings. The next court session is scheduled on Feb 14. The NGO has already identified a lawyer who has good experience in trafficking cases (he represented a victim a year ago and won the case)”
