An Examination of Counter Trafficking Responses in the Asian Region: Hong Kong and Singapore

Abstract

Through a focus on Hong Kong and Singapore, this chapter aims to illustrate some of the key mechanisms that these governments have implemented in direct response to human trafficking, and more broadly, efforts to address the exploitation of vulnerable migrant populations. While the Trafficking-in-Persons (TIP) reporting and assessment process is presented as an objective measure of countries’ progress in tackling human trafficking, it is a limited tool both in terms of understanding the context within which exploitation and the response occurs, and the specific limitations and challenges in relation to realizing the international standards for ideal counter trafficking strategies. This chapter offers a review of the development and implementation of counter trafficking strategies in Hong Kong and Singapore; two very different city-states within Asia, to consider the extent to which counter trafficking efforts are potentially impacting the exploitation of vulnerable migrant populations more broadly.