ASEAN member countries have committed themselves to the fight against trafficking in persons. This includes commitments to work together to prevent trafficking, to identify and protect the victims, and to ensure that offenders are punished.
To succeed in the fight against such trafficking, ASEAN member countries need access to the best possible information. This includes the raw data about the trafficking situation, and the information and knowledge this can generate about “what will work” to prevent trafficking, protect victims and prosecute traffickers.
Four ASEAN member countries, namely Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, allowed external researchers to examine and assess their internal processes of data collection. This demonstrates their commitment to continual improvement. This report is the first step in getting access to better data and ultimately better information and knowledge about trafficking in persons.