IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0168500.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Labour Trafficking among Men and Boys in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Exploitation, Violence, Occupational Health Risks and Injuries

Author

Listed:
  • Nicola S Pocock
  • Ligia Kiss
  • Sian Oram
  • Cathy Zimmerman

Abstract

Background: Men comprise nearly two-thirds of trafficked and forced labourers in common low-skilled labour sectors including fishing, agriculture and factory work. Yet, most evidence on human trafficking has focused on women and girls trafficked for sex work, with scant research on trafficked men and boys. Methods: We analyse survey data from the largest systematic consecutive sample of trafficked people collected to date to describe the prevalence of violence, occupational health risks and injuries and associated factors. Participants were labour-trafficked men and boys using post-trafficking support services in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. Findings: Data are presented on 446 males aged 10–58. Men and boys were mainly trafficked for fishing (61.7%), manufacturing (19.1%) and begging (5.2%). Fishermen worked extensive hours (mean 18.8 hours/day, SD 5.9) and factory workers worked on average 11.9 hours/day (SD 2.9). 35.5% of male survivors had been injured while trafficked; 29.4% received no personal protective equipment (e.g. gloves). The most commonly reported injuries among all males were deep cuts (61.8%) and skin injuries (36.7%), injuries for which fewer than one-quarter reported receiving medical care. Six fishermen lost body parts, none of whom received medical care. Most males (80.5%) had no or very few rest breaks. One-third (37.8%) experienced severe violence. Work-related injuries were associated with severe violence (AOR 3.44, CI:1.63–7.26), being in the fishing sector, (AOR 4.12, CI:2.39–7.09) and threats (AOR 2.77, CI:1.62–4.75). Experiencing any violence was associated with threats (AOR 26.86, CI:14.0–51.23), being in the fishing sector (AOR 18.53, CI:8.74–39.28) and fluency in language of destination country (AOR 0.39, CI:0.20–0.75). Conclusion: This study highlights the abuse and extreme occupational hazards suffered by trafficked men and boys. Occupational health and safety interventions are urgently needed to protect male migrant labourers working in high-risk sectors, particularly fishing.

Suggested Citation

  • Nicola S Pocock & Ligia Kiss & Sian Oram & Cathy Zimmerman, 2016. "Labour Trafficking among Men and Boys in the Greater Mekong Subregion: Exploitation, Violence, Occupational Health Risks and Injuries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0168500
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168500
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168500
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0168500&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0168500?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), 2015. "Pirates and Slaves: How Overfishing in Thailand Fuels Human Trafficking and the Plundering of Our Oceans," Working Papers id:7410, eSocialSciences.
    2. Fujita, Koichi & Endo, Tamaki & Okamoto, Ikuko & Nakanishi, Yoshihiro & Yamada, Miwa, 2010. "Myanmar migrant laborers in Ranong, Thailand," IDE Discussion Papers 257, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    3. Lee, Kawon. & McGuinness, Connor. & Kawakami, Tsuyoshi., 2011. "Research on occupational safety and health for migrant workers in five Asia-Pacific countries : Australia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand," ILO Working Papers 994638503402676, International Labour Organization.
    4. Oram, S. & Abas, M. & Bick, D. & Boyle, A. & French, R. & Jakobowitz, S. & Khondoker, M. & Stanley, N. & Trevillion, K. & Howard, L. & Zimmerman, C., 2016. "Human trafficking and health: A survey of male and female survivors in England," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1073-1078.
    5. Walter, Nicholas & Bourgois, Philippe & Margarita Loinaz, H., 2004. "Masculinity and undocumented labor migration: injured latino day laborers in San Francisco," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 59(6), pages 1159-1168, September.
    6. Hossain, M. & Zimmerman, C. & Abas, M. & Light, M. & Watts, C., 2010. "The relationship of trauma to mental disorders among trafficked and sexually exploited girls and women," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 100(12), pages 2442-2449.
    7. repec:ilo:ilowps:463850 is not listed on IDEAS
    8. repec:ilo:ilowps:384511 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Clay-Warner, Jody & Edgemon, Timothy G. & Okech, David & Anarfi, John K., 2021. "Violence predicts physical health consequences of human trafficking: Findings from a longitudinal study of labor trafficking in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    2. Ronald Musizvingoza & Jonathan Blagbrough & Nicola Suyin Pocock, 2022. "Are Child Domestic Workers Worse Off than Their Peers? Comparing Children in Domestic Work, Child Marriage, and Kinship Care with Biological Children of Household Heads: Evidence from Zimbabwe," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Yea, Sallie, 2022. "The produced injured: Locating workplace accidents amongst precarious migrant workmen in Singapore," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    4. Nicola Mucci & Veronica Traversini & Gabriele Giorgi & Eleonora Tommasi & Simone De Sio & Giulio Arcangeli, 2019. "Migrant Workers and Psychological Health: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-28, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Retina Rimal & Chris Papadopoulos, 2016. "The mental health of sexually trafficked female survivors in Nepal," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 62(5), pages 487-495, August.
    2. Mya Mya Thet & Piriya Pholphirul, 2016. "The Perception of Myanmar Development on its Return Migrants: Implications for Burmese Migrants in Thailand," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 995-1014, November.
    3. Zimmerman, Cathy & Hossain, Mazeda & Watts, Charlotte, 2011. "Human trafficking and health: A conceptual model to inform policy, intervention and research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(2), pages 327-335, July.
    4. Clay-Warner, Jody & Edgemon, Timothy G. & Okech, David & Anarfi, John K., 2021. "Violence predicts physical health consequences of human trafficking: Findings from a longitudinal study of labor trafficking in Ghana," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    5. Nicola Wright & Melanie Jordan & Runa Lazzarino, 2021. "Interventions to support the mental health of survivors of modern slavery and human trafficking: A systematic review," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(8), pages 1026-1034, December.
    6. Maass, Kayse Lee & Trapp, Andrew C. & Konrad, Renata, 2020. "Optimizing placement of residential shelters for human trafficking survivors," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    7. Belinda A. Green & Yalda Latifi, 2021. "No One Smiles at Me: The Double Displacement of Iranian Migrant Men as Refugees Who Use Drugs in Australia," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-24, March.
    8. Perry, Elizabeth W. & Culbreth, Rachel & Swahn, Monica & Kasirye, Rogers & Self-Brown, Shannon, 2020. "Psychological distress among orphaned youth and youth reporting sexual exploitation in Kampala, Uganda," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    9. Medvedyuk, Stella & Govender, Piara & Raphael, Dennis, 2021. "The reemergence of Engels’ concept of social murder in response to growing social and health inequalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    10. Kathleen Sexsmith, 2022. "The embodied precarity of year-round agricultural work: health and safety risks among Latino/a immigrant dairy farmworkers in New York," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 357-370, March.
    11. Digidiki, Vasileia & Bhabha, Jacqueline, 2018. "Sexual abuse and exploitation of unaccompanied migrant children in Greece: Identifying risk factors and gaps in services during the European migration crisis," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 114-121.
    12. Curtis Breslin, F. & Polzer, Jessica & MacEachen, Ellen & Morrongiello, Barbara & Shannon, Harry, 2007. "Workplace injury or "part of the job"?: Towards a gendered understanding of injuries and complaints among young workers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 782-793, February.
    13. Sepali Guruge & Brenda Roche & Cristina Catallo, 2012. "Violence against Women: An Exploration of the Physical and Mental Health Trends among Immigrant and Refugee Women in Canada," Nursing Research and Practice, Hindawi, vol. 2012, pages 1-15, May.
    14. Lisbeth Iglesias-Rios & Siobán D. Harlow & Sarah. A. Burgard & Ligia Kiss & Cathy Zimmerman, 2019. "Gender differences in the association of living and working conditions and the mental health of trafficking survivors," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 64(7), pages 1015-1024, September.
    15. Hickle, Kristine & Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique, 2018. "Adversity and intervention needs among girls in residential care with experiences of commercial sexual exploitation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 17-23.
    16. Byung-Deuk Woo, 2022. "The Impacts of Gender-Related Factors on the Adoption of Anti-Human Trafficking Laws in Sub-Saharan African Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, May.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0168500. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.