The total number of modern slavery victims in the world today is estimated to be 40.3 million. Out of this shocking figure, more than half of the victims – at least 24.9 million – are in Asia and the Pacific. This region has the highest number of victims across all forms of modern slavery, accounting for 73 percent of victims of forced sexual exploitation, 68 percent of those forced to work by state authorities, 64 percent of those in exploitation related to the private economy, and 42 percent of all those in forced marriages. Asia and the Pacific is also an origin of victim trafficking outside of the region. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s 2018 data tell us that 36 percent of trafficking victims detected outside their region of origin come from Asia and the Pacific. Nine percent of victims from East Asia and the Pacific were detected in Western and Southern Europe and six percent were detected in North Africa and the Middle East.

In recent years, Asia has experienced a rapid dissemination of information communications technologies. While a huge accessibility divide still exists between rural and urban areas, Asia now accounts for half of the total internet usage globally.

It is surprising that having these large internet usage statistics applying to Asian countries, very little is known about how technology can aggravate trafficking flows both nationally and internationally. While several resources on the use of artificial intelligence, smartphone apps and other types of technology being used to address this issue can be found, this white paper’s focus will be to provide insight on the use of technology as a liability. We will describe some of the most common ways technology is used for the purpose of trafficking and exploitation in Asia and the Pacific, along with case studies gathered through academic papers on the subject, investigative media stories, official reports, and original research conducted by the Mekong Club.

How Technology Fuels Trafficking and Exploitation in Asia and the Pacific DOWNLOAD

post

page

attachment

revision

nav_menu_item

custom_css

customize_changeset

oembed_cache

user_request

wp_block

wp_template

wp_template_part

wp_global_styles

wp_navigation

wp_font_family

wp_font_face

acf-taxonomy

acf-post-type

acf-field-group

acf-field

ai1ec_event

exactmetrics_note

Preventing Trafficking in Persons: The Role of Public Procurement
Publications

This Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) Issue Brief explains the role of public procurement in preventing trafficking for forced labour. It outlines the international and national policy framework; elaborates on va...Read More

Ripe for Change: Ending Human Suffering in Supermarket Supply Chains report
Publications

Millions of people around the world who farm, fish, and process the food in our stores are working extremely long hours, toiling in unsafe conditions, and earning only poverty wages. The report and its accompanying methodology note launch Oxfam’...Read More

National Hotline 2019 Michigan State Report
Graphics & InfographicsPublications

The data in this report represents signals and cases from January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019 and is accurate as of July 30, 2020. Cases of trafficking may be ongoing or new information may revealed to the National Hotline over time. Consequen...Read More

Risks and Considerations for Businesses and Individuals with Exposure to Entities Engaged in Forced Labor and other Human Rights Abuses linked to Xinjiang, China
GuidancePublications

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government continues to carry out genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and members of other ethnic and religious minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang), China The PR...Read More

TAGS: Asia