Victim identification procedures must be consistently applied after scam compound rescues
Southeast Asian countries are in need of a common victim identification framework, a policy brief examines disappearances as a tool of organized crime, and a new report offers a deep analysis of forced labour in U.S. jails and the private wealth it generates.
Trafficking for forced criminality is a rapidly expanding issue across Southeast Asia and, increasingly, the globe, and a growing number of stakeholders are now involved in the response. In order to facilitate information sharing and coordination among the many different organizations and agencies, Freedom Collaborative – supported by USAID Asia CTIP and USAID Cambodia CTIP – has for several months hosted a specialized working group which brings together practitioners and professionals to share updates, outline challenges, and discuss best practice. Members of the group primarily belong to organizations working on the ground in areas such as Tachileik in Myanmar, Sihanoukville in Cambodia, and the Golden Triangle area spanning Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand, in which many scamming compounds are located.
One of the most pressing ongoing concerns raised by group members is a lack of consistency in victim identification. While helping people escape from compounds remains the most urgent challenge facing stakeholders, ensuring that victims are then screened and supported through a verification process is not always a given next step. While some progress has been seen in terms of trafficking awareness and stakeholder training, and some efforts made by governments to implement protection strategies and referral mechanisms, in practice identification, referral and rehabilitation procedures remain inconsistent across the region. Instead of being identified as trafficking victims, many people are processed as immigration cases or criminalized.
Although there is no clear pattern to this inconsistency, which varies within and between countries, frontline organizations have identified several reasons for the differing ways in which those leaving compounds are treated.
Trafficking for forced criminality in cyber-fraud compounds is a new form of human trafficking, and states that were once countries of origin are now also destination countries, leaving stakeholders underprepared and under-resourced to deal with victims’ needs and the requirement to screen and support them effectively. While the laws and policies of several Southeast Asian countries include victim-centered guidelines, which emphasize that victims’ rights, privacy and confidentiality must be respected, their safety prioritized, and that interviews should be conducted by trained personnel, in cases of trafficking for forced criminality these principles are not always implemented in practice.
Lack of training among law enforcement officers often leads them to approach cases as immigration-related, or to judge victims harshly. Even in countries with a National Referral Mechanism in place, law enforcement officers are often not yet trained in its implementation, meaning that survivor treatment depends on the officers involved. Furthermore, police corruption has also been documented, with officers demanding bribes for bedding, food, and the ability to return home. A lack of physical evidence is also cited as a reason for non-verification, and victims and witnesses are not always trusted to be truthful.
Moreover, some practitioners note that police officers may be reluctant to instigate identification procedures because a high number of victims could reflect badly on their force or department. Or, in a wider sense, that victim identification is deprioritized because of concern over the scrutiny of a country’s perception and assessment of its prevention and protection strategies, or for reasons of expediency in dealing with cases – victims themselves often choose to be repatriated as quickly as possible.
Victims who are not processed within a formal identification and referral system do not have access to the support and rehabilitation services they may urgently need, or to justice, and are at risk of being re-trafficked. In addition, appropriate evidence of the scale of human trafficking for forced criminality then goes unrecorded, leading to missed opportunities for adequate intervention and the prosecution of perpetrators.
However, in some areas, such as Chiang Rai in Thailand, multi-disciplinary teams made up of relevant stakeholders such as law enforcement, social workers, government representatives and prosecutors are working together with encouraging results. This practice should be implemented in other places, members suggest, with the Laotian Ministry of Labour already expressing interest in cross-border capacity building and training. Furthermore, UNODC reports that there is now momentum in aligning countries on a common legal framework and response, and that the publication of a strategic roadmap, endorsed by ASEAN countries and China, is shaping the regional perception of the crime with hopes for a more robust regional response.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched the National Human Trafficking Prevention Framework last week, a resource for organizations, communities and governments seeking to strengthen efforts to prevent human trafficking. The framework reflects research and best practices in violence prevention and health promotion, as well as the expertise of people who have experienced human trafficking and allied professionals.
Thousands of Porsche, Bentley, and Audi vehicles imported to the U.S. have been detained due to a banned Chinese subcomponent, highlighting Volkswagen’s challenges in ensuring compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act. Last week, Volkswagen stated that it was engaging in talks with one of its primary joint venture collaborators in China, the state-owned Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, following accusations of human rights abuses at their shared operation in Xinjiang.
A new policy brief by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC) analyzes the deployment of disappearances as a tool of organized crime – a phenomenon particularly prevalent in Latin America – focusing on cases in Mexico and Venezuela. It emphasizes the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities and aims to inform policymakers and civil society groups about this serious human rights violation, including its connections to human trafficking.
This new report by the Corporate Accountability Lab highlights the exploitation of incarcerated labour in U.S. jails and prisons by domestic companies, examining how these practices perpetuate systemic racism and violate international law. Building on previous research, the report provides deeper analysis, including firsthand accounts from currently incarcerated workers, and offers actionable recommendations for policymakers, companies, and advocates to create an economy free from this exploitation, which particularly affects Black, Latinx, and Indigenous communities.
This article explores the transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in combating human trafficking within supply chains, emphasizing its role in detecting and preventing exploitation through data analysis, predictive analytics, social media monitoring, and supply chain mapping.
On Monday 26 February, ECPAT UK and University of Nottingham Rights Lab will hold a webinar event to discuss the launch of their report “Prevention and identification of children and young adults experiencing, or at risk of, modern slavery in the UK”.
Share your news
Post your experiences from the field and initiatives to feature