What is sex trafficking?
As defined by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), “Human Trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit. Men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime, which occurs in every region of the world. The traffickers often use violence or fraudulent employment agencies and fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.” The UNODC has reported sexual exploitation as the most prevalent form of human trafficking. Globally, over 70% of trafficking is sexual exploitation with the majority of the victims being women and girls.
Why Southeast Asia?
Sex trafficking is prevalent in Southeast Asia due to poverty, discrimination against young girls and women based on outdated gender norms. This region is also a hot spot for sex tourism. Many victims of the global sex trade come from this region.
Our role
Our goal is to provide context, causes, and solutions to the issue. In our effort to provide the most accurate information surrounding this issue we’ve sought to also spread awareness of both international and regional (SE Asia) organizations which have been actively working to prevent sex trafficking.