This is a guide to the issue of human trafficking in Singapore. It is developed as a public education resource to be widely shared, and adapted for specific use, with the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Singapore License. It can be also downloaded at http://www.concern.sg/HumanTrafficking

1. Human Trafficking in Singapore 1
Creative Commons Attribution
3.0 Singapore License

2. Definition
UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons: this is the international
agreement which comprehensively defines
human trafficking.
Building on the UN Protocol, the ILO &
European Commission jointly drafted a set of 67
strong, medium and weak indicators to quantify
what constitutes labour and sexual exploitation.
In Nov 2014, Singapore passed a Private
Members’ Bill on the Prevention of Human
Trafficking, proposed by MP Christopher De
Souza. However, there is dispute over what
constitutes labour trafficking in the Singapore
context.
Human Trafficking
in Singapore
2

3. There are 3 main variants: labour
trafficking, sex trafficking (which
is different from consensual
prostitution) and the peddling of
human organs.
It is different from smuggling,
because force, coercion or
deception is involved.
Human trafficking is generally
recognised as a modern form of
slavery, in which national
borders are usually crossed,
although it can happen intra-
country.
ScopeHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
3

4. Human trafficking is the 3rd
largest industry in the world,
after drugs and guns. It is also
the fastest growing.
There are no estimates on
industry size in Singapore, or
the number of victims.
Official figures by the
government only indicate the
number of cases investigated
(see box on left).
2015 figures are expected to
increase, due to the new Bill.
Year Cases with elements
of sex trafficking
Cases with
elements of labour
trafficking
2009 2 8
2010 0 67
2011 43 67
2012 52 72
2013 53 (incl 5 prosecutions) 49
PrevalenceHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
4

5. There 4 main reasons why human trafficking
continues to exist in Singapore:
1) Poverty, especially in rural communities.
2) Societal attitudes
3) Lack of education
4) Social and political instability
It is argued that these factors mainly originate
in source countries of human trafficking, which
makes it challenging for the Singapore
government to address them.
Root CausesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
5

6. DEMAND
Lack of legitimate
opportunities for people
from developing
countries.
Information about the
opportunities of
migration, but not about
the risks.
Lax immigration controls
in source countries.
SUPPLY
Increasing demand for
foreign workers in
Singapore’s
construction industry.
Growth of the sex &
entertainment industry,
being tolerated as a
“necessary evil”.
High profit margins
available to human
traffickers.
Contributing FactorsHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
6

7. Involving victims / potential victims
in addressing the issue. A rights-
based, gender responsive approach
is needed to tackle this upstream.
The Singapore government has yet
to sign the Palermo Protocol – it
said it will do so when domestic
measures are put in place to adhere
to it.
It takes a network to defeat a
network. We need a cross-sector
approach, with coordinated action
amongst a range of stakeholders.
Increasingimportance
Critical Gaps 7Human Trafficking
in Singapore

8. US Department of State
Trafficking in Persons
Report, published since
2001. See last slide on
Singapore’s annual
rankings.
Code of Conduct for the
Protection of Children
from Sexual Exploitation
in Travel and Tourism
International InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
8

9. 1997 - ASEAN Declaration on Transnational Crime and ASEAN Plan
of Action to Combat Transnational Crime
2004 - ASEAN Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons,
Particularly Women & Children
2004 – Mekong Children’s Forum on Human Trafficking (DFID,
Save the Children, ILO)
2001-2008 - Humantrafficking.org brought Government and NGOs
in the East Asia and Pacific together to learn from each other’s
experiences in combating human trafficking.
Jan 2002-Aug 2014 – Project Childhood brings together UNODC,
INTERPOL and World Vision to address sexual exploitation of
children in travel and tourism in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and
Viet Nam.
2014 - United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in
Persons ensures a coordinated approach to more strategically and
effectively combat trafficking in persons in the Greater Mekong
Sub-region and beyond.
Regional InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
9

10. Malaysia – Tenaganita
Myanmar – Women's League of Burma,
Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs
Association
Philippines – Visayan Forum Foundation
Thailand – The Mirror Foundation,
Development and Education
Programme for Daughters and
Communities, Mekong Club
Timor Leste – Alola Foundation
Vietnam - AFESIP Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh
City Child Welfare Foundation
Brunei – Human Trafficking Unit
Cambodia – NGO Coalition to
Address Sexual Exploitation of
Children in Cambodia, Chab Dai
Indonesia – Yayasan Mitra
Kesehatan dan Kemanusiaan (YMKK)
Laos – AFESIP, IOM
Regional InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
10

11. 2010: Formation of the Inter-Agency
Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons. It
comprises 9 agencies, and is co-chaired by
the Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry
of Manpower.
2012-2015: A National Plan of Action
launched with 31 initiatives under 4
categories: Prevention of TIP, Prosecution
of offenders, Protection of TIP victims,
and Partnerships to combat TIP.
Nov 2013: MOM changes
Employment Act to reflect a 25%
cap on deductions to employees
salaries for accommodation,
amenities, and services.
2013 & 2014: Police set up
specialist teams to enforce sex
trafficking and labour trafficking
respectively.
SG Public Sector InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
11

12. Stop Trafficking SG: A coalition comprising AWARE, HOME, TWC2, MARUAH,
Project X, UN Women Singapore Committee, they submitted a petition with
at least 1,050 signatures, from migrant workers and Singaporeans.
SG People Sector InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
12
Various other NGOs, social enterprises and projects are involved in
addressing the human trafficking issue.

13. Microsoft developed a Child
Exploitation Tracking System and
PhotoDNA , to support child sex
abuse investigations.
Carlson is a founding member of
the Global Business Coalition
Against Human Trafficking (gBCAT).
There are few private sector
initiatives originating from
Singapore, although some
companies have started training
their staff on the issue.
SG Private Sector InitiativesHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
13

14. Apr 2005: Conference on Tackling
Demand for Child Sex Tourism and Sex
Trafficking in East and Southeast Asia.
Sep 2009-Sep 2011: STOP Sex
Trafficking of Children and Young
People campaign, a partnership
between HOME, UN Women Singapore,
ECPAT International, and The Body Shop
Singapore.
Feb 2014: Businesses Against Trafficking
in Persons conference, organised by UN
Women Singapore and HOME,
sponsored by Inter-Agency Taskforce on
Trafficking in Persons.
Cross-Sector CollaborationHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
14

15. Write: Joint
Operations
Management Team,
Joint Operations
Division, Ministry of
Home Affairs, New
Phoenix Park, 28
Irrawaddy Road,
Singapore 329560
Call: Anyone who
comes across a
possible trafficking
victim can contact the
police information
hotline at 1800 235
0000.
Petition: Sign the Stop
Trafficking SG petition
Tweet:
@StopTrafficking,
#stoptraffickingsg
Pinterest: Human
Trafficking infographics
Email:
TIP_Bill@mha.gov.sg
Pray: The Scarlet Web
church network meets
to pray against TIP.
IndividualsHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
15

16. Ambassador Chan
Heng Chee
(Singapore rep to
ASEAN Inter-
Governmental
Committee on
Human Rights)
Ng Yeow
Boon (Co-
chair, Inter-
Agency
Taskforce)
Kandhavel
Periyasamy
(Director, Joint
Operations
Directorate,
Ministry of
Manpower)
Christopher de Souza (Member of
Parliament, former government
lawyer who worked on sex trafficking
cases, in the anti-vice branch of the
Attorney-General’s Chamber.
K Jayaprema
(Ex-President,
Association of
Employment
Agents)
Radha Basu
(Senior
Correspondent,
The Straits
Times)
Nirmal Ghosh
(Indochina
Bureau Chief,
The Straits
Times)
Nadhirah
Borhanudin
(Founder,
Traffick Lights)
Key PeopleHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
16

17. Pia Bruce & Mrinalini
Venkatachalam
(Staff, UN Women
Singapore
Committee)
Melissa Kwee &
Saleemah Ismail
(Ex-Presidents, UN
Women Singapore
Committee)
Sallie Yea (Asst
Prof, NTU-NIE &
Director, IDEALS
consulting)
Bindu Sharma (Asia-
Pacific Policy
Director,
International Centre
for Missing and
Exploited Children )
Sylvia Lee
(Founder,
Emancipasia)
Jolovan
Wham &
Bridget
Lew
(HOME)
Alistar Cook
(Research Fellow,
S. Rajaratnam
School of
International
Studies)
Rachel Chhoa-
Howard
(Singapore
Institute for
International
Affairs)
Key PeopleHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
17

18. Human Trafficking Articles lists 107
articles published in Singapore
mainstream and alternative media.
It is part of the Human Trafficking
SG dropbox folder.
Key PublicationsHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
18

19. 3.50 is a feature film co-
production by Singapore and
Cambodia, produced by and
starring Eunice Olsen.
Innocence for Sale (2006),
WKWSCI, on child sex workers
in Batam.
Relevant international films:
Taken, starring Liam Neeson,
which has 2 sequels
Traffic: An MTV Exit Special,
presented by Lucy Liu
Nefarious, Merchant of Souls,
award winning documentary
Christopher de Souza tells
Rachel Au-Yong why he
started a Private Member’s
Bill on human trafficking.
Key VideosHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
19
Singapore has launched its
National Plan of Action
against Trafficking in
Persons aimed at taking a
more holistic fight against
human trafficking.
Featuring Suresh Damodara,
Saleemah Ismail, Timothy
Weerasekera, Braema Mathi,
Shih Shu Hui

20. Year US State Department
TIP Report ranking for
Singapore
2001 Tier 2
2002 Tier 2
2003 Not ranked
2004 Tier 2
2005 Tier 2
2006 Tier 1
2007 Tier 2
2008 Tier 2
2009 Tier 2
2010 Tier 2 Watchlist
2011 Tier 2
2012 Tier 2
2013 Tier 2
2014 Tier 2
Year Singapore events
2004 ASEAN Declaration Against Trafficking in Persons,
Particularly Women & Children
Apr 2005 Tackling Demand for Child Sex Tourism and Sex
Trafficking in East and Southeast Asia conference
Sep 2009-
Sep 2011
STOP Sex Trafficking of Children and Young People
campaign
2010 Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons
2012 National Plan of Action for 2012-2015
2013 Police set up sex trafficking specialist team
Feb 2013 3.50 movie launched
Nov 2013 MOM changes Employment Act
Feb 2014 Businesses Against Trafficking in Persons
conference
2014 Police set up labour trafficking specialist team
Nov 2014 Private Members’ Bill on Trafficking in Persons
Timeline SummaryHuman Trafficking
in Singapore
20