Dubai Sex Workers In Need Of NGOs Says Expert

By Meagan Wiseley – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

Woodrow Wilson Fellow Scholar and expert on Middle-Eastern studies Pardis Mahdavi spoke today about her findings on her ethnographic research on migrant workers and sex workers in the United Arab Emirates. She believes the creation of civil society organizations, or NGOs, aimed to support trafficked workers will end the abuse that is currently afflicting these men and women.

“My recommendation would be to actually strengthen civil society. There are a series of informal groups that are working on the ground to address the needs to migrant workers and sex workers,” said Mahdavi.

The 2009 annual Trafficking In Persons Report, or TIP, was released and placed the United Arab Emirates on the Tier 2 Watch list. The report defines nations on this list as having “governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”

Mahdavi said that some of the recommendations made in the report are not designed to help trafficked people in the Persian Gulf. The report recommends a tightening of borders and an increase in police forces.

“Tightening borders typically actually only makes people more likely to end up in the informal economy, or more reliant on smugglers…they are more likely to rely on these shady middle men who put them in these cycles of violence,” she added.

Mahdavi emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency within these civil society organizations. She said if these NGOs are funded by the government and forced to comply with a series of standards in order to protect trafficked workers, abuses and more trafficking will be easily recognized and put to an end.

“What we need is transparency and accountability. These groups need to be accountable to one another,” she added.