Human Trafficking in South Asia: Issues of Corruption and Human Security

Abstract

This paper focuses on the situation of human trafficking in South Asia, particularly in India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It argues that the focus on trafficking as a problem of illegal migration and prostitution still dominates the discourse of trafficking in this region, which prioritizes the security of the state over human security and does not adequately address the root causes of trafficking and the insecurity of trafficked persons. The root causes or vulnerability factors of trafficking such as structural inequality, culturally sanctioned practices, poverty or economic insecurity, organ trade, bonded labor, gender violence, which are further exacerbated by corruption, have remained unrecognized in academic and policy areas. This paper argues that emphasis needs to be given to such underlying root causes, particularly to corruption that fuels human trafficking and threatens human security of the trafficked persons in South Asian countries. Accordingly, it provides policy recommendations to address and deal with the problem.