Myanmar’s Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force has busted more than 200 cases from January to November this year, resulting in the arrests of over 600 suspected traffickers.
Among the cases investigated by police, 57 were in Yangon Region, 52 in Shan State, and 29 in Kachin State. The rest were scattered around the country, excluding Chin and Kayah states, where police have not investigated any cases.
In most of the cases, women were being sold into forced marriages in China, the Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force said in a statement. China’s former one-child policy has created a shortage of women and a lucrative market for wives.
“Yangon had 57 trafficking in persons cases from January to November, and 30 out of them were related to forced marriages with Chinese men. In some cases, women were forced into prostitution within the country. Some cases are related to job exploitation,” said Police Major Khin Maung Kywe from the No. 6 Anti-Human Trafficking Police Force, based in Yangon.
“Women are most vulnerable to human trafficking. Selling women into forced marriages with Chinese men can generate good prices. In some cases, women were sold into working at KTV bars and brothels,” he added.
Among the suspects arrested for human trafficking this year, around 400 were men and 200 were women. The victims included around 220 women, 60 men, and 50 children.
The most recent Trafficking in Persons Report, produced by the US Department of State, places Myanmar on its Tier 2 Watch List, indicating that the “Government of Burma does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”
However, these efforts are are concentrated in select parts of the country, and many of Myanmar’s most vulnerable populations say they are being ignored.
NGO workers who work with internally displaced populations in Kachin State told Frontier recently that human traffickers are a constant threat, and anti-trafficking resources devoted to the area are so low that police are often forced to borrow motorbikes and fuel from local residents.
