A hidden scourge

Security threats are no longer just about military confrontation, territorial disputes, and nuclear proliferation. They also arise from nonmilitary dangers such as climate change, natural disasters, infectious diseases, and transnational crimes. Among these nontraditional security threats, human tra...

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Main Author: Caballero-Anthony, Mely
Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: 2021
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145772
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author Caballero-Anthony, Mely
author2 S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
author_facet S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Caballero-Anthony, Mely
author_sort Caballero-Anthony, Mely
collection NTU
description Security threats are no longer just about military confrontation, territorial disputes, and nuclear proliferation. They also arise from nonmilitary dangers such as climate change, natural disasters, infectious diseases, and transnational crimes. Among these nontraditional security threats, human trafficking looms large, especially in Southeast Asia, where natural disasters and military conflicts lead to displaced people and refugees, who are particularly vulnerable to this heinous crime. In Southeast Asia and elsewhere, nontraditional security threats have two defining features: they are transnational and complex. The scourge of human trafficking, sometimes called “modern slavery,” affects some 40 million men, women, and children trapped in a horrendous web of forced labor, sexual exploitation, and coerced marriage (ILO and Walk Free Foundation 2017). According to some estimates, human trafficking is now one of the world’s most lucrative organized crimes, generating more than $150 billion a year. Two-thirds of its victims, or 25 million people, are in East Asia and the Pacific, according to the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index 2016 (pdf). These shocking figures are only estimates, since accurate data are difficult to obtain, largely because human trafficking is underreported, underdetected, and thus under prosecuted. It remains largely a hidden crime, since victims are reluctant to seek help for fear of intimidation and reprisals. Victims, not perpetrators, are often the ones who suffer physical abuse and prosecution for illegal migration.
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spelling ntu-10356/1457722021-01-07T07:42:05Z A hidden scourge Caballero-Anthony, Mely S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies Social sciences::Political science Non-Traditional Security Human Trafficking Security threats are no longer just about military confrontation, territorial disputes, and nuclear proliferation. They also arise from nonmilitary dangers such as climate change, natural disasters, infectious diseases, and transnational crimes. Among these nontraditional security threats, human trafficking looms large, especially in Southeast Asia, where natural disasters and military conflicts lead to displaced people and refugees, who are particularly vulnerable to this heinous crime. In Southeast Asia and elsewhere, nontraditional security threats have two defining features: they are transnational and complex. The scourge of human trafficking, sometimes called “modern slavery,” affects some 40 million men, women, and children trapped in a horrendous web of forced labor, sexual exploitation, and coerced marriage (ILO and Walk Free Foundation 2017). According to some estimates, human trafficking is now one of the world’s most lucrative organized crimes, generating more than $150 billion a year. Two-thirds of its victims, or 25 million people, are in East Asia and the Pacific, according to the Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index 2016 (pdf). These shocking figures are only estimates, since accurate data are difficult to obtain, largely because human trafficking is underreported, underdetected, and thus under prosecuted. It remains largely a hidden crime, since victims are reluctant to seek help for fear of intimidation and reprisals. Victims, not perpetrators, are often the ones who suffer physical abuse and prosecution for illegal migration. 2021-01-07T07:25:39Z 2021-01-07T07:25:39Z 2018 Journal Article Caballero-Anthony, M. (2018). A hidden scourge. Finance & Development, 55(3), 18-21. 0015-1947 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145772 3 55 18 21 en Finance & Development © 2020 by the International Monetary Fund. All rights reserved.
spellingShingle Social sciences::Political science
Non-Traditional Security
Human Trafficking
Caballero-Anthony, Mely
A hidden scourge
title A hidden scourge
title_full A hidden scourge
title_fullStr A hidden scourge
title_full_unstemmed A hidden scourge
title_short A hidden scourge
title_sort hidden scourge
topic Social sciences::Political science
Non-Traditional Security
Human Trafficking
url https://hdl.handle.net/10356/145772
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