UNIAP Myanmar

Who is being trafficked in Myanmar and what are some vulnerability factors?

Approximately 600,000 Myanmar migrants are registered to work in Thailand, but many more migrants are unregistered workers. One of the main drivers of out-migration is escaping economic hardships and limited job opportunities in Myanmar. Most Myanmar migrants working illegally in Thailand have limited awareness of their rights, as well as limited knowledge of how to demand their rights. This increases their vulnerability to trafficking and exploitation. The profile of those most at risk are those who are migrating for the first time with no network at the destination, and young women from poor backgrounds. However, the picture of victim profiles are mixed, and entire families in some circumstances are even at risk.

Reports indicate a trend of trafficking of women from Shan State to China for forced marriage with Chinese citizens. Many girls and young women from areas surrounding Yangon like Dala, Thanlyin and Dagon townships have been trafficked to China. Factory closures in Hlaing Tharyar, Htaukkyant, Hlawgar and Shwepyithar Industrial Zones, in part due to the Foreign Direct Investment sanction, left many female workers unemployed and a possibly targets for traffickers. Girls and young women with low incomes from towns along Yangon and Mandalay highway are also trafficked into China. Girls and young women from small towns in Mon State who migrate to Thailand to seek job opportunities have also become victims of trafficking through various forms of exploitation, both labour and sexual.