Cyberspace and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia

The most recent UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons identifies East Asia and the Pacific is an origin area for victims of trafficking where most of the victims consist of both adult and underage females. The Report also showed that in the East Asia and the Pacific region, a third of the victims (33%) are children, and 38% of all trafficked victims are sexually exploited with the vast majority of people trafficked for labour exploitation. The origins of this are found in the increase in affordability and accessibility in international travel in the sixties and seventies, which led to a surge in the international tourism industry. Developing Southeast Asian Governments began to promote national tourism policies as the tourist dollar became a major contributor to their economic growth. The rise of traditional tourism also led to the emergence of sex tourism. This has human security implications for the region – human trafficking increases as demand for sex workers exceeds its supply. A key example is the growth and increasing sophistication of sex trafficking operations as sex traffickers today use cyberspace as a means for recruitment.