Human trafficking is an urgent human security issue in Asia. The abuse and exploitation associated with human trafficking have been documented across a range of sectors, including the sex industry, domestic work, construction, agriculture, and fisheries. Key drivers of human trafficking across the region include poverty and the desire for a better life. Increasingly widening economic disparities in Asia and the impact of climate change have become a focus of attention for organisations attempting to address peoples' vulnerability to human trafficking.

Trafficking for labour exploitation outside the sex industry is now recognised as an equally significant concern in the region. The offshore fishing industry is beset by extreme cases of forced labour and human trafficking, exploiting migrant workers from Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia and Myanmar, and with countries like Australia benefitting from the import of this seafood only fuelling the problem.

Speakers:

Associate Professor Sallie Yea (Tracey Banivanua Mar Principal Research Fellow, La Trobe University)

Jenny Stanger (Executive Manager at the Anti-Slavery Task Force, Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney)

Sunil Rao (Lecturer, La Trobe Law School, La Trobe University)

Chair: Dr Bec Strating (Executive Director, La Trobe Asia)

Held as live zoom panel on 20th April, 2021.