Disability and Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia: Vulnerabilities and Victim-Survivors’ Experiences

Author: Jackson, Elisabeth; Saidah, Cucu; Manlapaz, Abner & Sivathorn, Alisa

Abstract: Although persons with disabilities are among those who are vulnerable to human trafficking – and trafficking can result in people acquiring a disability – scholarly and practitioner understanding of this issue is still emerging. Our research in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand provides important insights into this issue, highlighting that disability shapes vulnerability to trafficking in specific ways and that this takes place within the context of broader patterns of poverty, inequality and injustice. Increased poverty and barriers to education and livelihoods, alongside discrimination and social stigma further constrain the choices persons with disabilities are able to make and exposes them to risks of exploitation and trafficking. This intersects with their individual disability. Our findings have several implications for counter-trafficking efforts that support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal of “promoting just, peaceful and inclusive societies.” These include the need to address structural factors such as access to education, employment and livelihoods, and social protection. More specifically, efforts could focus on educating persons with disabilities about their rights, raising awareness of disability among those involved in frontline counter-trafficking efforts, and collecting accurate data on disability among victims of trafficking to inform national policymaking and practice.

Keywords: Asia, disability, exploitation, health, human trafficking