Human Trafficking In Malaysia

Human trafficking is currently the third largest illegal industry in the world. It generates more than $32 billion dollars annually and over twenty million people are victims of forced labor (“Human Trafficking” 2012). The growth of technology and easy transportation has led to an increase in the number of trafficked people throughout the years (“Human Trafficking” 2012). People are led to believe that they will find better paying jobs in other countries and rely on the traffickers to assist in their migration by smuggling the people to another country. However, once they arrive, the smuggled people become similar to indentured servants to the traffickers and have to pay off their debt to them by working (“Human Trafficking” 2012). The traffickers

The U.S Department of State has downgraded Malaysia into a Tier 3 country, which is the lowest tier in their annual human trafficking report (Hodal & Lumpur 2014). This means that Malaysia fails to meet even the basic requirements to prevent trafficking. Currently, there are an estimated 2 million people in Malaysia who are victims of trafficking (Hodal & Lumpur 2014). Many of the victims come from nearby countries such as Indonesia, Cambodia, and Bangladesh thinking there will be more job opportunities and higher wages but once they come, they are trapped by the traffickers and forced into labor (Hodal & Lumpur 2014). Escape for the victim is also difficult due to Malaysia’s corrupt

The countries where the trafficking levels are the highest are also countries that are less developed. These countries are not stable in political, economic, or social aspects that lead to people finding ways to make more money through illegal means. Also, the trafficked victims become involved in the industry while they are out looking for better paying jobs. The trafficking industry provides cheap labor so that the goods can be sold off to other countries for lower prices. Although cheaper prices seem like a good deal for the consumers, there are the laborers who produce the goods who barely get paid enough to sustain a living. These root causes are all problems that need to be resolved in order to reduce the number of trafficked victims. Catching the traffickers and punishing them is not nearly enough to put an end to the rapidly growing industry. There need to be more state involvement to set up and implement the right laws so that less innocent people around the world will be victims to