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“Pet Maak maak!!!”

This was a phrase very commonly used by my darling husband and I during our eight months in Bangkok, Thailand. Very very spicy!!! When you first walk down the long and narrow outdoor markets, you are overwhelmed by the powerful aromas, color and variety in every single dish you see. The sellers are busy, working harder than most people you will ever see, in heat so intense that you walk out your door and the exertion of that very small act has you sweating like you were in a sauna. One would think with the incredible number of dishes that you would have plenty of variety in the dinner of your choosing... but “pet maak maak!” is the reality of living in a country where “spice” to them has a different definition than to ours as Americans. There are no menus, and nothing is in English, and very rarely do the people speak it, so you take your chance on whatever dish has less peppers... and bring a hot dog home just in case.

There are however in Thailand, menus for people and enough English spoken concerning that menu to ensnare somewhere between 60 to 80% of foreign tourists and 70% of Thai men. When my husband took the train to go get our internet connected in another part of the city, he was approached very forcefully by a man who put a “menu” in his face filled with Polaroids of girls whom he advertised as, “Very young! Very cheap!” As shocking as this might seem, that man would not have that angle or choosing of words, were those very things not in huge demand every single day. Very young... very cheap...

In Thailand, there are more brothels than schools, around 60,000 to be more precise. And it is estimated that up to 400,000 children under the age of 16 work in bars, brothels, and night clubs. Trafficking is a $16 billion dollar annual business, which makes up 50%-60% of the governments annual budget. This industry is more profitable than the drug trade. Yet the issue lies in the grey area of corrupt desire and lack of desire to learn the reality that would compel even a cold heart toward action for the voiceless. Because if you were to ask if children were prostituted in Thailand, you would receive an automatic no. But, if they thought you might be interested in those children for your own sexual agenda, they would be made available to you.

If you were to open your eyes to see, the evidence is everywhere. So which way will we look? Will our hearts hunger to learn what we can to help, or turn away from a problem that feels too large and too dark? My question is, did the children and women who are prostituted have a choice? The majority of them did not, as their worth lied in being a commodity as opposed to a human being. So if they did not have a choice, why should you? If there were options for them, what could you do?

Intro to Human Trafficking; Article for Fayetteville Newspaper, by Juliet Stuck

Thailand Trafficking Facts

Many of these statistics are ten to twelve years old, and though they show the reality of the trafficking situation in Thailand, we are eager to find more up to date ones. At this point, though, this has been one of our best resources for these statistics.

•Twenty years ago, Thailand was in the forefront as a sending country for trafficked women. Thailand has now become a destination country, receiving women from Russia, Yugoslavia, Poland, and the Czech and Slovak Republics, South America. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•The internal trafficking of Thai females consists mostly of 12-16 year olds from hill tribes of the North/ NorthEast. Most of the internally trafficked girls are sent to closed brothels, which operate under prison-like conditions. (CATW - Asia Pacifc, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•Thousands of women from rural Thailand, China, Laos, Burma and Cambodia are sold to brothels in Bangkok or in other countries by unscrupulous "job brokers," who often operate in organized international syndicates. ("Survival the name of the game," Bangkok Post, 3 July 1998

•In Thailand, trafficking is a Bt500 billion annual business, which is 50%- 60% of the government's annual budget and more lucrative than the drug trade. (Authorites and activists, Kulachada Chaipipat, "New law targets human trafficking," The Nation, 30 November 1997)

•Of the estimated 20,000 prostitutes in Pattaya, hundreds are children who are either lured from their villages by the idea of opportunity or by criminal networks. (Mark Baker, "Sin city can? shake vice? grip," Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 1997)

•Girls in China are kidnapped and trafficked through Burma to Thailand. In one kidnapping scheme in the central Thai provinces, an agent photographed village girls on their way to school; showed the photos to a brothel keeper who ordered the girls he wanted. The agent returned and kidnapped the chosen girl. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•Three sisters left Nong Khai province, Thailand in June 1997 with a man who promised them a job in a restaurant in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Instead he traffcked them into prostitution. They were rescued after one sister convinced a man who bought her to let her make a phone call. She called her mother who alerted officials. On July 23, 1997, about 50 Malaysian policemen, accompanied by a few Thai officials, broke into the downtown Namapaya Restaurant. The group, headed by Kuala Lumpur police chief Dato Baki, found 35 girls - including Mrs Chandee's daughters - locked up behind bars on the third floor of the building. (Of flesh and blood: Forced Prostitution: One family recounts a journey into hell and back, Surat Jinakul, Bangkok Post, May 17, 1998)

•In Thailand, the new Measures in Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Children Act only issues authorities the right to detain suspected victims of trafficking, not the suspected traffickers. (Kulachada Chaipipat, "New law targets human trafficking," The Nation, 30 November 1997)

•Close to 300 million dollars is transferred yearly to rural families by women engaged in prostitution in urban areas, a sum that in many cases exceeds the budgets of government-funded development programs. Between 1993 and 1995, it is estimated that prostitution in Thailand produced an annual income of between 22.5 and 27 billion dollars. (Dario Agnote, "Sex trade key part of S.E. Asian economies, study says," Kyodo News, 18 August 1998)

•There are 75,000 prostituted children in Thailand. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•In Thailand, up to 400,000 children under the age of 16 are believed to be working in brothels,
clubs or bars. (Jill Serjeant, "Asia to launch joint crackdown on child sex trade," Reuters, 1 April
1998)

•From 1994 to 1997 the prostitution industry grew into a Bt60 billion business in Thailand. (Sangsit Piriyarangsan, an expert on the outlaw-economy, "Researcher discovers vice is big business," The Nation, 1 June 1997)

•4.6 million Thai men regularly, and 500,000 foreign tourists annually, buy women in prostitution. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•8,016 establishments offer the "services" of 63,941 person engaged in prostitution (61,135 women and 2,806 men), says a Public Health Ministry survey conducted nationwide in January 1998. The survey is considered accurate because it involved representatives from the Interior, Labour and Social Welfare ministries, the Thai Red Cross Society, the Prime Minister's Office, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, various universities and NGOs. The survey, classifies prostituted persons into 25 categories, includes freelancers ranging from call girls to those who solicit in public places. The 1997 survey showed there were 7,759 establishments and 64,886 persons engaged in prostitution. (Thai Public Health Ministry. Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Vice purge hinders campaign as prostitutes go underground," Bangkok Post, 17 June 1998)

•Bangkok has 1,421 sex venues that employ 26,361 workers and attract 36,473 patrons per year. In the provinces, there are 6,338 venues employing 38,525 workers and attracting 67,789 patrons per year. ("Sex industry census shows more venues," The Nation, 29 July 1997)

•There are 60,000 brothels and other sexual service centers in Thailand. (CATW - Asia Pacific,
Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•Half a million women are in sexual slavery, accounting for 18-20% of all Thai women aged 18-30. (Pino Arlaccki, Head of UN International Drug Control Programme, in charge of UN efforts to fight organized crime, Associated Foreign Press, 13 November 1997)

•55% of the total number of women in prostitution and 75% of men in prostitution became involved in prostitution when they were under 18 years of age. (Mahidol University Institute for Population and Social Research, Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Child Prostitute Problem Worrying," Bangkok Post, 28 July 1998)

•Estimates from January 1998 show 14% of prostituted persons are younger than 18 years and most of them from neighboring countries. (Thai Public Health Ministry. Aphaluck Bhatiasevi, "Vice purge hinders campaign as prostitutes go underground," Bangkok Post, 17 June 1998)

•40% of the two million in prostitution in Thailand are under 18, meaning that about 850,000
children are in prostitution. (Centre for the Protection of Children? Rights, Chris Gelken, "Row
Over Call to Boycott ?aedophile Playground" Gemini News, 28 February 1997)

•The government accepts that there are 200,000 "sex workers," 25% are probably below 18. (Dr.
Saisuree Chutikul of the National Committee for Women? Affairs, Chris Gelken, "Row Over Call to Boycott ?aedophile Playground" Gemini News, 28 February 1997)

•There are more brothels than schools in Thailand. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)

•Among the factors leading to the selling of girl children in the North is the arrival of electricity and television in rural areas, the new-found ''need" for consumer goods and the diminishment of the old sense of community where neighbors helped each other with the planting and harvesting of crops. Filmmaker Supachai Surongsain says, "Electricity has become a part of their lives so now everybody must have a refrigerator, a TV and a radio. Motorized ploughs that require gas and oil have now replaced buffaloes. All these things require money, of course. People no longer help each other for free; they want to be paid for their time." Consumerism has severely weakened the villagers' traditional customs and values. ("Fishing for the Green," The Nation, 30 April 1997)

Wikepedia Facts:

Child prostitution: The exact number of child-prostitutes in Thailand is not known, but Thailand Health System Research Institute reports that children in prostitution make up 40% of prostitutes in Thailand. The reasons why and how children are commercially sexually exploited include:

•Poverty: a high proportion of the population lives in poverty.
•Ethnic hill tribe children: these children live in the border region of northern Thailand. They suffer from disproportionate levels of poverty in relation to the general population and most of them lack citizenship cards. This means that they do not have access to health care or primary school, which limits their further education or employment opportunities.
•Trafficked children: Many children are trafficked into or within the country through criminal
networks, acquaintances, former trafficking victims and border police and immigration officials who transport them to brothels across Thailand.
•Sense of duty: According to traditional customs the first duty of a girl is to support her family in any way she can. Due to this sense of duty and to pay off family debts, many girls have been forced into prostitution and some have even married their abusers.
•Wealthy tourists: Child sex tourism is a serious problem, numerous tourists from the Western
World travel to Thailand to have sex with children.
•Foreign child sex offenders: Some foreign sex offenders residing in Thailand have taken up
professions with access to children or are involved in trafficking children and organizing sex tours for others.
•Children are exploited in sex establishments and are also approached directly in the street by
tourists seeking sexual contact.
•Thailand is listed by the UNODC as both a top destination for victims of human trafficking and a major source of trafficked persons.]
•A proportion of prostitutes over the age of 18, including foreign nationals from Asia and Europe, are in a state of forced sexual servitude and slavery.
•There are reports of bribe taking by some low- or mid-level police officers facilitating the most
severe forms of trafficking in persons.
•Ethnic minorities such as northern hill tribe peoples, many of whom do not have legal status in the country, are at a disproportionately high risk for trafficking internally and abroad. Within the country women are trafficked from the impoverished northeast and the north to Bangkok for sexual exploitation.
•It is common that Thai women are lured to Japan and sold to Yakuza-controlled brothels where they are forced to work off their price. The reason why it is so easy to lure these women from neighboring countries is because Thailand has 56 unofficial crossover points and 300 checkpoints where people can simply cross over the borders without the need for any paperwork. This makes it easier for exploiters to get by without a hitch.[1] Most legal entry points into Thailand demand some i.d.--either a passport or an identity card, but the problem of people who cross borders to work every day (like the USA/Mexican border) makes lax the rules due to familiarity of officers and frequent travelers.

Thailand

What is the human trafficking situation in Thailand?

Thailand is a source, transit and destination country for human trafficking. It is a destination-side hub of exploitation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region, for both sex and labour exploitation. Both internal and cross-border trafficking occur in and from Thailand, for sex and labour exploitation. Male and female migrants from neighbouring countries are trafficked into Thailand; Thais are trafficked to wealthier countries in Northeast Asia, the Middle East, and
Europe; and there is rural-urban risky migration and trafficking as well.

According to the record of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) in 2007, the Ministry provided 363 foreign trafficked victims with shelter and assistance. However, since victims are often unwilling to disclose their identities or file official complaints against traffickers for various reasons, the scale of the problem is likely to be greater than this.

Who is being trafficked in Thailand, and what are some of the vulnerability factors?

The majority of people trafficked to Thailand come from Myanmar, Lao PDR, Cambodia and Southern China and are subjected to forced or bonded labour and commercial sexual exploitation. The nature of labour migration to Thailand creates vulnerabilities for those migrant workers without documentation and often without Thai language skills, and who may not understand their rights under Thai law. Ethnic minorities within Thailand who are denied citizenship are at a high risk of being trafficked due to their
‘statelessness’.

Ethnic Thais are trafficked from the relatively poor areas of Chiang Rai, Phayao and Nong Khai to urban and tourist areas; or internationally. Thai women, urban and rural, are sent to work in sex and domestic industries in almost all regions of the world, particularly Malaysia, Japan, Bahrain, Australia, USA, Canada, South Africa and Germany15. This international trafficking is sometimes under the guise of a seemingly legal labor contract that is not honoured.

Motivations: Often-cited vulnerability factors are poverty, lack of education, awareness and employment, or dysfunctional families. But sometimes, it is a lack of relevant educational
opportunities, and not a lack of education – or, being relatively well-educated but with no appropriate job opportunities around – that are the key vulnerability factors.

Main sectors of work for trafficked persons in Thailand are sexual exploitation, begging, domestic work, factory work, agriculture and fishing industries

Who are the perpetrators of human trafficking in Thailand?

Profile: As the nature of trafficking varies, so too does the profile of traffickers, both Thai and non-Thai nationals, male and female. They range from those in organised networks able to produce or buy fake documents, avoid immigration requirements, and conduct trafficking operations spanning thousands of kilometres, to individuals seizing an opportunity to profit from cheating or coercing someone into a situation of exploitation. Perpetrators of human trafficking include anyone complicit in any stage of the deception, movement or exploitation of a person. Traffickers use sophisticated means of transporting Thai nationals on fraudulent travel documents and use various land, sea and air routes.

Trafficking networks in and from Thailand can be well-structured and work across the borders through the use of brokers. However, the majority of trafficking cases are facilitated by individual and local level networks of friends, family members and former victims, and often begin with voluntary migration.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP)

Cambodia:

What is the human trafficking situation in Cambodia?

Human trafficking in Cambodia is far from a homogenous phenomenon. Trafficking networks in Cambodia range from small-scale ad hoc activities to large-scale and well-organised operations. Cambodia now experiences significant internal and cross-border trafficking, and is a country of origin, transit and destination.

Cambodia's turbulent history has impacted significantly on human trafficking trends. Societal structures and traditions, such as the centrality of the family, the Buddhist religion and respect for elders, have been undermined. While peace has returned, the impact of the violence on society and communities is still visible. Poverty and economic inequality is also a significant
contributing factor to human trafficking in Cambodia. 34% of Cambodians live on less than US$1 per day. Many people still experience periods of hunger, resulting in 45% of children under five being underweight and 13% severely underweight.

Limited opportunity for education and vocational training has created a large pool of unskilled workers seeking employment. The lack of viable employment opportunities in Cambodia and the inadequacy of rural farming options for supporting families have encouraged many Cambodians to seek employment elsewhere, often resulting in irregular and uninformed internal and cross-border migration which renders them vulnerable to traffickers.

As a result of the deaths of approximately 2 million people in Cambodia under Khmer Rouge rule (1975-1979), nearly 50% of the population in contemporary Cambodia is below 20 years old. 150,000 to 175,000 people join the labour force annually and this is expected to increase to over 200,000 by 2010. At present, the job creation rate does not support the increasing labour supply. The urgent need for more legal employment opportunities for Cambodians is a particular concern for the development sector. In Cambodia, where international employment opportunities may be the most viable solution to an increasingly burgeoning labour supply, ensuring the protection of migrant workers recruited into international positions is imperative in preventing human trafficking.

Some other causes commonly cited to explain the emergence and detection of human trafficking in Cambodia include the economic liberalisation and opening up of the country during the arrival of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC); uneven economic development from the influx of foreign currency; corruption; discrimination and gender inequality; increasing scarcity of productive agricultural land; natural disasters; debt pressures; inadequacy of safe and legal avenues for migration; and increased tourism.

Who is being trafficked in Cambodia?

Human trafficking affects men, women and children. It is commonly acknowledged that women and children are more vulnerable to trafficking than other sectors of the population. Whilst this may be the case, trafficking in men is also a serious issue that is quite commonly overlooked in discussions on human trafficking.

Of the officially repatriated cases, almost all victims repatriated from Thailand and Vietnam were children identified as being trafficked into begging or street selling and were from localized areas in key border provinces of Cambodia. The Cambodians repatriated from Malaysia and the Vietnamese repatriated from Cambodia were all women trafficked for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. While men are only newly acknowledged as victims of trafficking in Thailand with the passing of the new Thai human trafficking law, counter-trafficking NGOs report receiving increasing numbers of complaints from Cambodian men trafficked to Thailand to work in the fishing industry over the last few years. Within Cambodia,
trafficking is predominantly women for commercial sexual exploitation and children and women for domestic work.

What is the scale of human trafficking in and from Cambodia?

Human trafficking is an underground crime with a complex definition making it difficult to holistically quantify. No universally accepted estimate of the number of trafficked persons being trafficked into, out of, or within Cambodia exists. Whilst existing numbers do not represent the whole problem of trafficking in and from Cambodia, they do reveal that a significant problem
exists and that effort is needed to address the problem. 1061 victims of human trafficking have been officially repatriated in government-to-government repatriations between 2005-2007 (see breakdown on next page). 179 cases of human trafficking were received from 25 NGOs in an ECPAT survey on trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation between 2005-2006.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP)

Laos:

What is the human trafficking situation in Lao PDR?

Human trafficking is closely linked to rising legal and illegal labour migration. There is a long history of migration to Thailand due to proximity, cultural and linguistic similarities, and better
economic conditions. In July 2004 there were 181,614 Lao migrants registered in Thailand, but there may be an additional 80,000 unregistered. More women than men migrate (55%: 45%), and the vast majority of Lao migrants are from the lowlands of the country.

Most migrants are 17 to 25 years of age, but 21% of migrants interviewed in a major survey were only ten to 17. Most cases of human trafficking start as voluntary movement or migration. Lao PDR is mainly a source country for human trafficking and the main destination is Thailand. Trafficking of Laotians to Myanmar and China for the purposes of buying and selling brides has also been reported. So far, trafficking from China and Vietnam into sexual exploitation in Lao PDR or through Lao PDR to Thailand seems less prevalent. Internal trafficking is found to be common, but it receives less attention than cross-border trafficking.

Who is being trafficked in Lao PDR, and what are some of the vulnerability factors?

Human trafficking is a tragic violation of human rights that affects women, men and children of Lao PDR. Trafficked persons experience various difficulties ranging from physical and mental health issues, to economic difficulties, and social reintegration issues. Girls and women may face more problems with the authorities upon their return, due to the suspicion of having been engaged in sex work in Thailand.

According to the first national survey on human trafficking, in 2004, the typical profile of a trafficking person in Lao PDR is:
-Girl between 12 – 18 years of age (60%) originating from rural areas, but not the most remote.
-Mostly from the Lao or Tai ethnic group from the lowlands of Lao PDR, but with proportional over-representation of persons from Mon-Khmer and Tibeto-Burman ethnic groups.
-The number of trafficked persons from resettled villages is disproportionately high.
-Often-cited vulnerability factors are poverty, lack of education, awareness and employment, or dysfunctional families. But: It is often a combination of factors that makes a person vulnerable to trafficking. It can also be that a lack of relevant educational opportunities, and not a lack of education, is a vulnerability factor. Often it is not the poorest of the poor that are trafficked, but poverty may be a risk factor because of its association with low status in the community.
-The lack of labour rights and law enforcement in the domestic sector adds to the vulnerability of women and girls. They are not provided with working contracts even they go through legal channels.

What is the scale of human trafficking in and from Lao PDR?

No universally accepted estimate of the number of trafficked persons exists in Lao PDR. One source puts it at 21,816 trafficking cases from rural areas in Laos to Thailand over the last ten years. This means that 1.4% of the total Lao migrant work force in Thailand is considered to be at high risk.

Who are the perpetrators of human trafficking in Lao PDR?

There is generally limited information about the perpetrators of human trafficking. The focus has generally been on the recruiters or the brokers, but less on the ones who own the factories, brothels, fishing-boats etc. where most of the exploitation takes place. In other words, in the counter-trafficking sector there has been more focus on the trafficking
aspects related to movement compared to exploitation taking place at the destination sites.
The recruiters for either internal or cross-border trafficking are often familiar to the persons and there is little difference in the methods used for either internal or cross-border trafficking.
It is important to note that there are various types of recruiters ranging from those who knowingly send persons in to exploitative situations and others who feel responsible for the wellbeing of the persons who use their services.
Trafficking networks are often well structured and work across the borders through the use of brokers.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP)

Myanmar (Burma):

What is the human trafficking situation in Myanmar?

• Myanmar is a source country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Myanmar people are trafficked to Thailand, China, Malaysia, South Korea, and Macau for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labour; some Myanmar migrants end up in situations of forced or bonded labour or forced prostitution. Myanmar children are particularly vulnerable to unlawfully working internally, as well as being trafficked into Thailand as forced street hawkers and beggars, or to work in shops, agriculture, and small-scale industries. Myanmar is also a transit country for trafficking of Bangladeshis to Malaysia and Chinese to Thailand.

• In Myanmar, trafficking takes place within the context of large-scale migration, both internal and cross-border migration. Some research suggests that as many as one-third of Myanmar's population have migrated between urban and rural areas within their lifetime, with Thailand being the main destination country. Though the migration figures differ, one mid-point estimate suggests that out of one million illegal immigrants in Thailand, 75% are from Myanmar. Little is known about cross-border migration to China, however, in 2001 Save the Children estimated that 140,000 persons from Myanmar have relocated to live along or across the Chinese border.

Where do trafficked persons come from and how are they exploited?

Cross-border human trafficking into Thailand, China and Malaysia:

• Border crossings: From Kengtung and Tachileik to Mae Sai, Thailand; from Myawaddy to Mae Sot, Thailand; and from Kawthaung to Ranong, Thailand, and sometimes from these points through to Malaysia. Women from Kachin State and Northern Shan States are trafficked to Yunnan Province, China, via Ruili.

• Internal routes to border crossings: The central dry zone areas (Mandalay, Sagaing and Magway) are source areas for people trafficked to Mae Sot in Thailand, via Kawkreik and Myawaddy. Another route is from Yangon and the surrounding areas to Mae Sot via Hpa-an and then Myawaddy.

• Exploitation: For Malaysia and Thailand, women and men are trafficked for labor exploitation; women are trafficked also for sexual exploitation and domestic work. Children are trafficked into forced labour as street hawkers and beggars. The main exploitative sites in Thailand are Bangkok, Samut Sakhon, Mae Sai, and Mae Sot. For China, women as young as fourteen are taken to border towns in Yunnan Province and as far as Eastern China, where they are forced to
marry Chinese men or work in the sex industry.

• Repatriations: 73 % of officially indentified victims repatriated from Thailand and Malaysia are from the Shan States (2005-2006); 36% of victims repatriated from China are from the the central dry zone areas and 36% are from the Yangon Division (2005-2006).

Internal human trafficking within Myanmar.

• Routes: Internal trafficking of women and girls occurs primarily from villages in the central dry zone areas and Delta (Ayeyarwaddy Division) to urban centres. Other transportation and economic hubs, such as truck stops, fishing villages, border towns, and mining areas also destination sites.

• Destinations: The main destinations for internal trafficking are Yangon and Mandalay, which are also transit points for cross-border trafficking.

• Exploitation: Women are trafficked into sexual and labour exploitation; children are trafficked into forced labour in shops, agriculture, and small-scale industries.

Who is being trafficked and what are some of the vulnerability factors?

Approximately 600,000 Myanmar migrants are registered to work in Thailand, but many more migrants are unregistered workers. One of the main drivers of out-migration is escaping economic hardships and limited job opportunities in Myanmar. Most Myanmar migrants working illegally in Thailand have limited awareness of their rights, as well as limited
knowledge of how to demand their rights. This increases their vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. The profile of those most at risk are those who are migrating for the first time with no network at the destination, and young women from poor backgrounds. However, the picture of victim profiles are mixed, and entire families in some circumstances are even at risk.

Reports indicate a trend of trafficking of women from Shan State to China for forced marriage with Chinese citizens. Many girls and young women from areas surrounding Yangon like Dala, Thanlyin and Dagon townships have been trafficked to China. Factory closures in Hlaing Tharyar, Htaukkyant, Hlawgar and Shwepyithar Industrial Zones, in part due to the Foreign
Direct Investment sanction, left many female workers unemployed and a possibly targets for traffickers. Girls and young women with low incomes from towns along Yangon and Mandalay highway are also trafficked into China. Girls and young women from small towns in Mon State who migrate to Thailand to seek job opportunities have also become victims of trafficking through various forms of exploitation, both labour and sexual.

What is the scale of human trafficking in and from Myanmar?

There are no reliable estimates on the number of persons trafficked annually, although a total of 134 trafficking cases were investigated in 2008 involving 303 victims (153 female and 50 male), and 342 traffickers prosecuted. 15 cases were of internal trafficking, and there are likely to be further cases in remote areas. Identified cases can only represent a small fraction of the scale of the problem. UNICEF for example, proposed in 2003 that 10,000 girls being trafficked every year from Myanmar into Thai brothels alone.

Who are the perpetrators of human trafficking in Myanmar?

While limited data exists, there are indications that it is generally small, or family-based groups engaged in brokering and trafficking, with linkages in the destination sites (both Myanmar and non-Myanmar criminals). Sometimes family members or other relatives of the victim have even been known to lure their relatives with the promise of well-paying jobs. In Kayin State, the traffickers or brokers operate at the transit point of Kawkareik, however, there are also such brokers at the village level. Once across the Myanmar border, more organized human smuggling networks and services can be found.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP)

Vietnam:

Human Trafficking and Migration in Vietnam: Migration in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS), including Vietnam, is increasing due to various factors such as uneven economic development, more open borders, demographic imbalances etc. Shared history, social relationships and ethnicity are also relevant migration factors particularly in border areas. Also, there has been a ‘feminization’ of migration particularly for domestic, agricultural and factory work, but also for marriages. Important aspects of the internal migration situation in Vietnam are:

(1) the strong rural-to-urban migration, which will see 45% of the country’s population live in cities by 2020;
(2) the major flow towards the South; and
(3) the existence of the Ho Khau residence registration system, which is slowing down the migration to cities but has had a negative impact on migrants’ lives. Doi Moi has played a key role in shaping Vietnam since its introduction in the 1980s.

Vietnam is also a major source country of formally recruited laborers and by 2010 the Government expects to send approximately one million Vietnamese workers abroad. As of November 2007, there were an estimated 477,000 Vietnamese migrant workers working globally and the main destination countries are: Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Despite a growing body of laws and regulations concerning the recruitment and sending of workers abroad, many still end up in exploitative situations. Research and experience to date in South-East Asia suggest that human trafficking can best be understood as “a fall-out from irregular migration”, although elements of trans-national organized crime are also present.

Who is being trafficked in Vietnam, where and what are some of the vulnerability factors?
Human trafficking affects women, men and children in Vietnam. Trafficked persons experience various difficulties ranging from physical and mental health issues, to economic and social reintegration issues. There are various vulnerability factors to human trafficking and usually no single factor brings about the vulnerability of a person. Research points to particular vulnerabilities that lead to trafficking of young women and girls. There is an increasing demand for virgins and children in prostitution, due to such factors as the threat of HIV/AIDS. Vietnam is also increasingly a destination for child sex tourism with perpetrators coming from various countries. Women and girls are considered more vulnerable to trafficking than men due to unequal gender relations and social and economic power, but it is important to recognize the agency both women and men exert in the migration process and the special needs of children in making that decision. The situation of trafficking in women and children in Vietnam continues to be complex. The nature and scale of trafficking in woman and children is more sophisticated, serious, well-organized and transnational. Recently, there also exists the crime of trafficking in men, newborn babies, fetuses, viscera and counterfeit adoption documents for the trade of children Vietnam is primarily a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor, but also marriages. The main destination countries are China and Cambodia, though Vietnam is also a destination country for trafficked persons from Cambodia and serves as a transit country for Chinese children to Cambodia. Internal trafficking has also become apparent, mainly from rural areas to urban areas involving women and children.

SIREN human trafficking data sheet
STRATEGIC INFORMATION RESPONSE NETWORK
United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP): Phase III