Whether it’s for access to clean water, a job or for food, around the world people are forced into sexual acts in exchange for basic commodities. In many countries, such incidents are hard to prosecute, at least partly due to the nature of existing legislation. But increasingly, campaigners are placing renewed pressure on authorities and raising awareness in a bid to ensure that people have legal protection against sextortion.

Sextortion, as defined by the International Association of Women Judges, is ‘the abuse of power to obtain a sexual benefit or advantage.’ Research by Transparency International from 2019 found that in Latin America and the Caribbean, one in five people had either experienced sextortion or had heard of someone who had. In Zimbabwe, 57 per cent of women surveyed by the organisation admitted being forced into sexual acts in exchange for jobs, medical care or schooling. Meanwhile, in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine, almost half of respondents said that sextortion takes place at least occasionally.

It is, however, a widespread issue, says Nagle. Through her work she has heard of examples in prisons and on borders, but also in corporate environments in higher-income contexts. To tackle it, those affected – which is predominantly women – need to be able to report incidents when they happen and perpetrators must be deterred by penalties, Nagle says. She adds that law enforcement should be trained on the issue and victim support services must be created.

For this to happen, Nagle believes countries must treat sextortion as they would corruption. ‘Corruption takes place because it’s quid pro quo, it’s abuse of power,’ she says, highlighting that the only difference here is that sexual acts are exchanged instead of money. What would help, she says, is if the UN ‘got on board’ and embraced the word ‘sextortion’. As it stands, the term, or any explicit reference to sex, is not mentioned in the UN’s Convention against Corruption. Instead, the language is broad, focussing on ‘undue advantage.’ This ambiguity gives licence for the issue to be disregarded, Nagle says.

In Tunisia and the Philippines, for example, ambiguous language in anti-corruption laws has left judges divided as to whether sextortion is covered, explains Hendry. ‘But it really doesn't matter whether the bribe is a sexual benefit or a financial one. Harm to the system is the same, and I strongly believe it should be treated as a corruption matter because it is a form of corruption,’ she adds. Argentina is one country that’s taking steps to address sextortion as a corruption issue in its investigations and is training civil society on the issue, Nagle explains.

Meanwhile, there are ongoing efforts to criminalise sextortion in other ways. In Kenya, the Attorney General is under pressure to address the issue. ‘After extensive consultation we opted to add a clause in the Sexual Offences Act to capture sextortion. This is being supported by […] members of parliament’ and the legislative reforms are under review, says Sareen Malik, Executive Secretary of the African Civil Society Network for Water and Sanitation. In India, some states have taken steps to pass specific legislation addressing sextortion. And in Bangladesh, Kenya and Mexico, WIN has been conducting research and raising awareness on the prevalence of sextortion in relation to water access.

There have also been cases resulting in criminal prosecution. In 2019 in Norway, for example, a politician was sentenced to five years imprisonment for sexually abusing three asylum seekers. The young men involved believed their response to his demands for sex could have implications for their right to stay in Norway, either leading to them being deported or failing to secure permanent residency.

The IBA’s report highlights the need for bespoke legislation at a national level that offers ‘clarity and consistency in respect of how this crime is defined and what sanctions should apply, in accordance with the underlying requirements of the rule of law.’ Without such protections, women will continue to experience the long-lasting effects of gender-based violence, Nagle says. These include trauma and shame, potential health consequences – for example, sexually transmitted diseases – and, in some cases, legal ramifications. In Iran, a woman can be stoned for death for having sex outside of marriage, and in Senegal, those paying bribes can be imprisoned.

In Kenya, Malik highlights how sextortion further entrenches victims into a cycle of poverty and violence. ‘In our work […] we found a lot of stigma, victim blaming and shaming,’ she says. Malik shares the story of a woman assaulted by a water vendor in front of her daughter. She subsequently had to be treated for HIV and suicide ideation yet was too scared to share her ordeal.

‘It carries a huge social cost,’ agrees Schreiner. Legislation alone won’t fully resolve the issue – awareness-building, including of the support available, while also gathering data on sextortion’s prevalence, is also key. Schreiner calls on civil society at the local level to take action, while Nagle says lawyers on the ground have a responsibility to highlight sextortion as a legal issue. But, with some countries refusing to acknowledge sextortion even happens, ‘we have an enormously long way to go,’ says Schreiner.

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The Cambodian government has introduced new legislation in an attempt to provide a legal identity to the thousands of people in the country who currently lack proof they even exist. The law includes a focus on civil registration – the process of recording births, deaths, marriages and divorces – and is set to be implemented from July 2024. It’ll tackle the issues created where a person doesn’t have a legal identity – for example, limits to their access to public services, human rights and social protections.

The legislation establishes Cambodia as a ‘leader’ in this area, says Romain Santon, Deputy Director for Asia, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) at global health organisation Vital Strategies. Many countries lack a comprehensive law on CRVS if they have one at all, he adds. Yet a legal identity is considered a human right under Article 6 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

That will is present in Cambodia. Historically, the country has passed numerous sub-decrees on the issue but lacked an all-encompassing law and digital population record. This contributed to the fact that just 47 per cent of deaths were registered, according to data from 2017.

To get to grips with the issue, Cambodia created a National Strategic Plan for Identification, covering the years 2017 to 2026. In 2017, it approached Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Data for Health Initiative, which includes Vital Strategies and the Global Health Advocacy Incubator as partners, to bring the Plan to life via a new CRVS law.

The legislation will create a new digitised civil registration, vital statistics and identity management system to better record, via a unique registration code, all of a person’s life events. It also removes certain barriers to registration, connects to the health system and educational institutions and allows for access at the district level. ‘I believe that reforming toward a strong identification and civil registration management system in Cambodia contributes to strengthening the rule of law, respect for human rights, promoting national security and safety,’ said HE Sante Bandith Mao Chandara, Secretary of State for Cambodia’s Ministry of Interior, in a statement.

What makes Cambodia’s new legislation innovative, Santon says, is that it applies to anyone within the country, including those who are considered stateless. It further reduces the evidence required for registration and allows people to register outside of their usual place of residence. ‘We are hoping that it will make this service easier and more accessible to the population, reduce the costs, and improve the rates of registration, but also the timeliness, because some people might still want to register the birth of their child, but they will only go back to their province after five months or six months,’ explains Santon. The earlier you do it, the less likely it’s going to be omitted, he adds.

Between now and July, the government aims to train the CRVS workforce about the changes. As part of this process, the Cambodian government has held a workshop to explain the details of the legislation to over 700 people, including officials from civil registration, health and justice, as well as development partners and civil society organisations. This educational work is important, says Chothani, sharing that, despite India implementing a countrywide civil registration law in 1972, she still receives clients who don’t believe that registering a birth is mandatory.

Physicians in particular, Santon says, need to be trained on how to properly certify a death so that it goes beyond the immediate cause to that which is underlying, helping to better generate data on a population’s health. ‘If you report cerebral haemorrhage as the immediate cause of death, it’s informative, but if you don’t know the origin of the cerebral haemorrhage, you cannot prevent it,’ he says. For example, the cause of death could be brought on by a road traffic accident and if there are high numbers of these, that could suggest a need for government intervention.

Robert Eckford, Director of Data for Health at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI), who’s based in Maryland, US, hopes other countries in the region will be able to take inspiration from Cambodia’s efforts to improve its CRVS systems. According to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, all Southeast Asian countries have legal frameworks in place for civil registration, but some of these are fragmented, incomplete and lack any mention of the need for vital statistics. ‘Each country is starting at different stages. Most countries do have some form of civil registration so it’s about system improvement’, says Eckford. He explains that the GHAI conducts analysis of countries’ CRVS laws and then suggests amendments in line with its CRVS Systems Improvement Framework and in partnership with local lawyers.

In Asia, it’s currently working with Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines on draft laws it hopes will pass in the next few years and has previously supported Thailand and Papua New Guinea in implementing new policies. The governments of Vietnam and Malaysia are also currently working on updates.

Chothani says this is in line with a trend of an increasing number of Asian countries taking action to adopt a more formal registration process. She says lawyers can assist by advocating for governments to implement more comprehensive systems, while highlighting the benefits to clients of recording vital events at the community level.

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