“Migration is not a static phenomenon, nor is it black and white”, noted ICMC U.S. Liaison Officer, Jane Bloom, in her presentation to the plenary. “The continuum from migration to trafficking is a ‘slippery slope’, which increases protection risks for migrants—especially women and children on the move—who can become easy prey for traffickers. What we are doing here this week is leveraging the strengths, the knowledge, the connections of each others’ work to better the lives of those who are most vulnerable.”

Featuring sessions on networking, human rights instruments and protocols, resource development and evaluation, the six-day capacity building workshop organized by the Good Shepherd Sisters of the Asia-Pacific region was hosted by the welfare arm of the Good Shepherd Sisters in Malaysia, Pusat Kebajikan.

Representatives from both migrant ‘sending’ and ‘receiving’ countries, including India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka, among others, were able to benefit from the targeted training and exchange on migration and human trafficking.

The workshop was the first in a series of events planned for the next two years with the aim of better coordinating services along trafficking routes (e.g. prevention activities in countries of origin, victim services and shelter in receiving countries, and livelihood and integration activities for those rescued and repatriated); strengthening capacity for advocacy and collaboration with governments in the region; forming an inter-province resource bank of expert personnel and best practices to prevent and combat trafficking; and improving regionally integrated documentation of cases and related information and activities.

“Trafficking victims have often been subject to violence, sexual abuse and hard labour”, recalled ICMC Head of Office for Indonesia, Fatimana Agustinanto in a presentation highlighting major regional trafficking routes. “In addition to victim protection, there is a need to strengthen the capacity of law enforcers to understand the laws, and conduct victim-sensitive investigations”.

Together, ICMC representatives Fatimana Agustinanto, Jane Bloom and Noel Dass, ICMC National Program Manager for Malaysia, provided both a global overview of migration and trafficking, and first-hand details on the work of ICMC in the region. Specific emphasis was placed on the current partnership with the Good Shepherd sisters in Kuala Lumpur to increase protection for urban refugee women and children, and cross-border counter trafficking work with local and federal governments in Indonesia and Malaysia.

Funding is now being sought to support the continuation of ICMC's capacity building efforts on anti-trafficking across the Asia-Pacific region.

“We look forward to continuing, expanding and strengthening our partnership with the Sisters of the Good Shepherd throughout the Asia-Pacific region to prevent trafficking, and to protect those migrant women and children most vulnerable to becoming trafficked”, stated Bloom.