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Thursday, September 25, 2014

Sex trafficking happens in our backyard

56% of trafficking cases occur in Asia and 161 countries are guilty of being involved in this illicit flesh trade.
COMMENT
By Syerleena Abdul Rashid
traffickingMedium2Human trafficking is a form of modern day slavery. It is a lucrative trade that exploits people and according to the United Nations, this industry alone generates roughly $32 billion each year and has been identified as the second fastest growing criminal enterprise – trailing closely behind drug trafficking.
Reports also highlight that around 20.9 million people, worldwide, are being bought and sold to fill the demands of labour.
Men and boys are usually trafficked for various positions within the construction sector, agriculture, textile or fishing industries, while women and girls are often trafficked to fill the demands of the commercial sex industry. It is also reported (by UN) that approximately two million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade, every year.
Global statistics indicate that 56% of trafficking cases occur in Asia and out of 192 countries, 161 countries are guilty of directly or indirectly being involved in this illicit flesh trade.
Unfortunately, this includes Malaysia.
In a study conducted by Suhakam in 2003, it was discovered that 27 of the 54 women incarcerated in the Kajang Women’s Prison for prostitution, were trafficked into Malaysia.
The interview also established the nationalities of those incarcerated; five out of eight were Indonesians, one out of four were Chinese and approximately 15 were Thai women trafficked into the sex trade in Malaysia.
The study also reported that out of approximately 1,485 foreign women, 275 were less than 18 years old and were identified as potential victims of trafficking.
Although this study is approximately a decade old, one can safely assume that present figures are much higher, especially if unreported cases were included.
What makes sex trafficking repulsive are the degrading and humiliating acts traffickers subject their victims to. In order to prevent them from escaping, traffickers threaten to cause harm or kill their families if they try to escape.
The physical and mental torture is increased ten-fold when the victims are kept malnourished and deprived of sleep. The language barrier is yet another contributing factor that adds to a victim’s psychological anxiety. Approximately 12,000 foreign women were incarcerated in 2010 and 2011, respectively, based on Suhakam’s report.
Earlier this year, the Penang Stop Human Trafficking Campaign organised an anti-sex trafficking seminar in Penang and reported that a simple Internet search over a short period of two hours was able to yield results that indicated 200 ‘hot spots’ where sex-based activities were offered.
Needless to say, authorities were unhappy about this revelation and downplayed the existence of such activities in Penang.
So, when the video “Trapped – The underage sex industry in Malaysia” made headlines, the authorities were once again quick to deny its existence, and downplayed the atrocities of sex trafficking in our country.
Denial will not make this depravity go away. Sex trafficking is a grave concern for everyone as the horrors of trafficking is too real and it happens, whether you believe it or not, in our own backyard.
Although, some of these ‘activities’ are quite noticeable such as street prostitution, most of these activities remain carefully hidden from public scrutiny and are offered in unmarked brothels, spas, massage parlours and karaoke clubs.
Some of these deplorable dens are also located in seedy areas and some in unsuspecting suburban neighbourhoods.
The parallels drawn by Bukit Aman’s secret societies, gambling and vice division principal assistant director, SAC Datuk Roslee Chik, who compared Malaysia to Thailand’s renowned sex tourism, displays the mindset most Malaysians have regarding this issue.
Many remain unaware and uneducated about the horrors of trafficking; while some continue to live in denial and ignore the fact that many lives have been destroyed by the unwillingness to acknowledge that this problem even exists.
Please understand that sex trafficking is not a minor problem and it is not similar to prostitution.
Therefore, it is highly important that we, as a society, stop disregarding the severity of issues relating to sex trafficking. Creating awareness regarding this matter is a crucial step in combating the ills of trafficking.
We need to respond proactively even if some believe that this industry is ‘not so big’; apathy will only permit such awfulness to escalate further.
A better well coordinated approach is needed; setting up a task force consisting of the authorities, immigration, civil society and representatives from migrant communities and translators will allow us to ascertain important information that can be used to identify the real criminals – the traffickers.
Syerleena Abdul Rashid is DAPSY Bukit Bendera Secretary as well as DAP Wanita Bukit Bendera Political Education Director

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