It is commendable that members of the public are coming forward inform relevant agencies on such matters. Not only that, it is refreshing that the focus now is on the pimps instead of on the sex workers. Currently, the punishment for exploiting any person for prostitution, or living on or trading in prostitution is a maximum imprisonment of 15 years with whipping, and a fine. There is no minimum sentence.

Trafficking and the sex industry is a complex issue that needs a holistic approach. It is insufficient to merely place the focus on punishment, which seems to be our first and only real response when it comes to any social crisis. There should be effective enforcement of current laws against not only pimps and their runners, but also on the entire network that sustains the trafficking industry. This includes brothel owners, agents who bring in the women from other countries under false representation and the soliciting clients. There should be monitoring mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and policies on trafficking and exploitation, to ensure that enforcement officers do not fail to uphold justice.

Apart from that, we need to also look at the support for trafficked women. In our experience, foreign women are promised legitimate work and work permits in restaurants or as domestic workers in Malaysia, but instead are trafficked to do sex work with their passports withheld by the pimps. Should they escape, they face detention and deportation because they do not have proper documentation. This does not enable the prosecution of the pimps or for the trafficked women to seek justice. The government should also provide specific shelters with counseling services to women who have been trafficked instead of placing them in detention camps, as these trafficked women are victims not criminals who need protection during the investigation.

Jaclyn Kee, Communications Officer