Addressing exploitation of labour migrants in Southeast Asia: Beyond a counter-trafficking criminal justice response

Large numbers of young people in Southeast Asia seek work opportunities outside their country of origin, migrating both regularly and irregularly, and with little power to access or negotiate safe and fair migration and work conditions. The risk of exploitation is high.The potential for human trafficking in these situations has attracted
significant attention. Yet much of the response by regional governments and international donors has focused on identifying and prosecuting ‘traffickers’ rather than addressing the many vulnerabilities and forms of exploitation that many labour migrants experience. This thematic brief sets out a diversity of forms of exploitation that labour migrants in Southeast Asia experience, and the implications for how efforts to respond might need to adapt. This includes broadening beyond the dominant frame of criminal justice in order to address exploitation at scale and in a manner that is realistic about the prevailing political economy.

Addressing exploitation of labour migrants in Southeast Asia: Beyond a counter-trafficking criminal justice response- Australian Aid, 2023 DOWNLOAD

Cambodia’s trafficked brides: The escalating phenomenon of forced marriage in China

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When: May 11, 2022 @ 11:00 am – 12:30 pm

Report launch: Wednesday, 11 May 2022 16:00-17:30 ICT (Cambodia/Vietnam) | 11:00-12:30 CEST (Austria) | 10:00-11:30 BST (UK) The number of women travelling from Cambodia to China for forced or arranged marriages has surged since 2016 and experienced a further spike...

TAGS: Informal Sector Asia

Letting exploitation off the hook? Evidencing labour abuses in UK fishing

News & Analysis

Year-on-year, the number of migrant fishers crewing United Kingdom-flagged fishing vessels is seemingly increasing. Primarily from European states, the Philippines, and Ghana with fewer numbers of fishers from Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka, there ...Read More

TAGS: Sourcing or Production Aquaculture & Fishing Europe

Law of Georgia: On Combating Human Trafficking

Legislation

This Law defines legal and organisational grounds for preventing and combating human trafficking, powers and obligations of state bodies, officials and legal persons in taking measures against human trafficking, and the procedures for coordination o...Read More

TAGS: Domestic Work/ Servitude Asia

An IOM perspective on human trafficking in Niger: Profiles, patterns, progress

News & Analysis

Often referred to as a country at the crossroads of migration flows between west, central and north Africa, Niger is at the heart of complex and multifold forms of mobility as a country of origin, transit and destination. This includes traffickin...Read More

TAGS: Sourcing or Production Africa