Trafficking in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines a Research Study
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A research study on the traffi cking covering the countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines This is a project of the Asia Pacifi c Mission for Migrants (APMM) supported by COPYRIGHT Asia Pacifi c Mission for Migrants (APMM) December 2020 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Asia Pacifi c Mission for Migrants (APMM) holds the rights to this publication. The publication may be cited in part as long as APMM is properly acknowledged as the source, and APMM is furnished copies of the fi nal work where the quotation or citation appears. Comments and inquiries may be forwarded to: ASIA PACIFIC MISSION FOR MIGRANTS (APMM) G/F, No. 2 Jordan Road, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, CHINA Tel. No. (852) 2723 7536 Fax No. (852) 2735 4559 Email [email protected], [email protected] Website http://www.apmigrants.org Cover design and layout by Kai Duque Printed in Hong Kong SAR, CHINA Trafficking in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines A Research Study The Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) Table of Contents 1 Introduction Review of Related 4 Literature Table I Routes Taken to Malaysia from the Philippines Table II Origin Transit, and destination areas in the Philippines and Indonesia 7 Methodology Discussion of 8 Results Recruitment Migration Situation in trafficking destination country Role of migrant serving institutions and and government agencies Overview of existing laws and frameworks 24 Conclusion i References Introduction wenty years ago, the United Na- tries mix data related to trafficking, smuggling, tions General Assembly gathered in and irregular migration, meaning that figures are Palermo, Italy and adopted the UN often little more than estimates (Laczko, 2002). Convention against Transnational It has also been noted that human trafficking is TOrganized Crime, as well as the supplemen- generally under-reported, under-recorded and tal “Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish under-legislated despite rising to the top of inter- Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and national policy agenda (Omelaniuk, 2005). Sev- Children.” The said Protocol created a global eral factors are cited for these gaps in trafficking language and legislation to define trafficking data, including the fear of victims of retaliation in persons, especially women and children, and of government penalties, especially in the and established parameters of judicial coop- case of undocumented migrants. Nevertheless, eration and exchange of information among estimates indicate that the problem has wors- countries (Raymond, 2002). Based on the ened over the years even as international and na- said protocol, “trafficking in persons” shall tional frameworks and legislations on trafficking mean the recruitment, transportation, trans- in persons have been adopted and passed. fer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms Victims of human trafficking have remained on of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of decep- the rise during the past decade, although there tion, of the abuse of power or of a position of have been reported improvements in case detec- vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of tion and identification. The number of detected payments or benefits to achieve the consent of human trafficking victims reached at an all-time a person having control over another person, high in 2016 at around 25,000 reported cases, up for the purpose of exploitation.” from approximately 20,000 in 2014 based on the latest Global Report on Trafficking in Persons Trafficking supplies human beings for prostitu- (UNODC, 2018). Most of the trafficking victims tion, sweatshop labor, street begging, domestic originated from East Asia followed by those work, marriage, adoption, agricultural work, from sub-Saharan Africa, with majority of the construction, armed conflicts (child soldiers), victims consisting of women (49 percent) and and other forms of exploitive labor or services girls (23 percent), and with trafficking for sexu- (Jones et. al., 2007). As for trafficked workers, al exploitation as the most common form of the they are prone to all kinds of abuse, from being crime. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, underpaid to being physically brutalized by the it has been reported that human trafficking has people they work for “but they cannot complain even worsened despite the travel restrictions as because of their illegal status.” Some are even people have a greater need for services of smug- killed, while others take their own lives because glers and with the sharp increase in unemploy- they cannot take the abuse anymore (Dakur, ment rates, according to the latest UNODC re- 2016). port. Despite the UN Protocol’s attempt to distinguish Southeast Asia has remained as a major hub for human trafficking from smuggling, many coun- human trafficking, with one estimate indicating 1 I that nearly one-third of the global trafficking ple in vulnerable, usually low income, socially in persons trade (200,000-225,000 women and deprived, circumstances, such as women, chil- children) are trafficked annually from the -re dren and minority groups” (Omelaniuk, 2005). gion (Richard, 1999), although most of the trade Over the years, trafficking in persons has been happens in between Southeast Asian countries increasingly treated as a security problem and (UNODC, 2016). Skeldon (2000) noted that the as a transnational crime, even as it needs to be number of illegal migrants leaving Asia are tiny placed in the fundamental socio-economic con- compared with the numbers moving within Asia text. As Chuang (2006) puts it, “Governments itself, with migration happening towards neigh- have been deeply reluctant, however, to view bouring countries. According to the Walk Free trafficking in this broader frame - that is, as a Foundation’s Global Slavery Index, Thailand problem of migration, poverty, discrimination, is the leading destination for trafficking victims and gender-based violence. They have tended to from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, while Ma- view trafficking as a ‘law and order’ problem re- laysia is the top destination for victims from quiring an aggressive criminal justice response.” Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam. This The International Organization for Migration observation was shared by Piper (2005), who (IOM) listed several approaches to the problem noted that extensive intra-regional trafficking of trafficking, namely 1) trafficking for prosti- within Southeast Asia takes place around Thai- tution 2) trafficking in the context of migration land. Caballero-Anthony (2018) noted that more 3) trafficking as a labor issue 4) trafficking as than 60 percent of the victims identified in the a criminal problem 5) trafficking as a human region were trafficked for sexual exploitation, rights issue. There is a need, however, to ex- while others were victims of domestic servitude amine the driving forces and motives behind the and forced labor. ever-worsening problem of human trafficking, the role of national governments and nongov- Trafficking in persons remains one of the most ernment organizations in addressing the issue, lucrative illicit businesses in the world. The In- and the current gaps in international frameworks ternational Labour Organization (ILO) has esti- and national legislations. mated that the total profits obtained from the use of forced labor in the private economy worldwide In light of the available statistics indicating the is at US$150 billion per year. Of this aggregate magnitude of trafficking in persons in Asia, amount, US$99 billion is generated from forced specifically Southeast Asia, and the victimiza- sexual exploitation while US$51.2 billion came tion especially of women and girls, the research from forced labour exploitation, which includes study posed questions in relation to the experi- domestic work. Annual total profits are highest ence of victims, mostly women, along the traf- in Asia (US$51.8 billion), due to the high num- ficking routes connecting Malaysia, Indonesia, ber of victims in the continent, and in developed and the Philippines. economies where profit per victim is relatively higher (FATF, 2018). But beyond being a trans- national crime, human trafficking is principally a human rights violation “that affects mostly peo- 2 Statement of the Problem The research problem that needs to be answered is: What is the extent and features of human trafficking routes, specifically involving women victims, connecting Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines? In relation to this, the following are the specific objectives: To document and analyze the experience of victims (particularly 1 women victims) of human trafficking in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines To describe the features of the trafficking routes and the schemes 2 and processes involved To examine the roles of national governments and nongovern- 3 ment organizations in addressing human trafficking To identify possible gaps in existing regional frameworks and 4 national legislations regarding human trafficking 3 Review of II Related Literature Dominant discourses and current approaches Nevertheless, some studies have attempted to on human trafficking have serious limitations delve deeper into the problem of human traffick- in as far as comprehensively understanding ing by mapping the trafficking routes and letting the socio-economic dimensions of trafficking the victims speak out and describe their experi- in persons is concerned. As Tomkinson (2012) ences. Gusni (2009) documented the trafficking lucidly pointed out, the problems with current route from Manila to Kota Kinabalu via Zam- trafficking discourse is that the “the spectacle boanga City in Southern Philippines and Sanda- of enslaved bodies… creates a national pan- kan in Sabah, wherein it was found out where ic”, which in turn “expands the surveillance women victims were smuggled to work into the power of the state to intervene in sexual activ- vice industry in Sabah by organized syndicates ity with the argument that they are ensuring through deception and debt bondage. Some of national security.” Ford et. al. (2012) said this the victims were also further trafficking to West association of trafficking with sexual exploita- Malaysia from Sabah.