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

Call for papers – Child Labour Edition, April 2021

News & Analysis

Guest editors: Urmila Bhoola & Cindy Berman This edition is concerned with long-term solutions and prevention of child labour – tackling root causes and drivers, as well as enablers of long-term solutions that demonstrate progress and promi...Read More

TAGS: Global

Inside job: How business lobbyists used the Commission’s scrutiny procedures to weaken human rights and environmental legislation

News & Analysis

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TAGS: Due Diligence Europe

Human trafficking in Vietnam fact sheet

News & Analysis

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TAGS: Recruitment Sourcing or Production Informal Sector Asia

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News & AnalysisPublications

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TAGS: Europe