By Pravin Periasamy
In Malaysia, the authorities have maintained their strict stance of penalising all forms of human trafficking through various brothel networks.
Coercive sex trafficking gravely destabilises and ruptures the societal order. Traffickers groom vulnerable women and force them to take part in the illegal sex trade.
The organised criminal network of brothels surreptitiously facilitates human trafficking. This global problem has worsened, and we need new initiatives to combat it.
In 2007, the Malaysia enacted the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act. However, the law was deemed to be ineffective and required amendments.
The act focused on human trafficking, including the recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring, providing or receiving of a person for sexual exploitation. The law criminalised labour trafficking and sex trafficking, prescribing penalties of three to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
The problem was that the law, as analysed by the US Department of State, conflated migrant smuggling and human trafficking. This stymied law enforcement efforts.
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Amendments were proposed to lay the foundation for an institutional system of support for victims of trafficking. What is needed is an exclusive law aimed at stringently prosecuting human traffickers while empowering disenfranchised victims of heinous abuse with adequate support structures.
Malaysia should learn from other countries how to make sure that victims of the illegal sex industry are not left without support and protection. These victims have often endured sex trafficking and need help to guarantee their long-term protection.
The sex trade emerges out of deeply embedded and covert structures that are interwoven. These structures allow organised criminal networks to amass influence to lure vulnerable women.
The Malaysian authorities should look into how these criminal networks can be disassembled and brought to justice. Comprehensive approaches are needed to wipe out the illegal sex trade.
The nation needs to tackle the issue at multiple levels, including protecting women and penalising criminals. The authorities should learn from the criticisms of various parties and come up with new initiatives to help vulnerable women who are victims of prostitution.
Stricter penalties are needed to cripple criminal operations and deter others.
Prostitution is a crime that is difficult to combat, and the Malaysian government must ensure that its measures are holistic. The vulnerable victims of the illegal sex trade must be protected while perpetrators are dealt with severely.
In the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report by the US Department of State, Malaysia is listed under the “Tier 2 watch list”. This is a key reminder to the Malaysian authorities that they need to boost their anti-trafficking efforts.
The crisis of localised sex trafficking has escalated. If Malaysia is to wipe out sex trafficking, it has to diversify its initiatives. It needs comprehensive measures to tackle the problem holistically.
Long-term policies must cover the groundwork needed to encourage the recovery of victims. These policies must reduce the influence of harmful external forces through the use of advanced profiling and updated enforcement measures.
One strategy would be to create an independent commission to oversee the support provided to human trafficking victims in Malaysia. The commission could also shape welfare policies that would give victims recourse to justice and provide them with medical, legal and social aid.
Research undertaken by the UN has found that technology is being increasingly used to facilitate covert human trafficking. Criminals resort to social media to lure innocent victims. Traffickers use online space, particularly the dark web, to exchange illicit materials and to conceal their operations. As technology advances, the crimes have grown more devastating.
Malaysia needs to introduce legislation that tackles these issues more effectively. It can model legislation after the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in the US. This law aims to equip the US government with “new tools and resources to mount a comprehensive and coordinated campaign to eliminate human trafficking”.
The act improved victims’ access to social and provided for tougher penalties for human traffickers. The focus moved to tightening prosecutorial and legal operations, rectifying institutional weaknesses and closing policy gaps.
New legislation in Malaysia could incorporate these facets. It must also tackle digital exploitation and human trafficking through online spaces.
The Malaysian government should recognise that it needs holistic legislation to uphold justice in the country and guarantee the safety of everyone in Malaysia.
Through this, the nation will be able to correct its legislative inadequacies and cope with the growing threat of diversified trafficking operations.
Such reforms could raise Malaysia’s international standing in efforts to eradicate human trafficking. It could inspire other Asean nations, such as Cambodia and Thailand, to follow suit, allowing Malaysia to assume the status of a respected policy leader.
Pravin Periasamy is the networking and partnership director of the Malaysian Philosophy Society.
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