Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science
Volume 653, Issue 1, 2014, Pages 202-224

Human Trafficking and Moral Panic in Cambodia (Article)

Keo C. , Bouhours T. , Broadhurst R. , Bouhours B.
  • a [Affiliation not available]
  • b Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University, Australia
  • c Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University, Australia
  • d Regulatory Institutions Network, Australian National University, Australia

Abstract

This article examines the backgrounds of traffickers in Cambodia: why they became involved in trafficking, how they operate, their earnings, and the criminal justice system's response to their activities. Our research draws from interviews with justice officials, NGOs, and detained alleged traffickers; and from a review of police and prison records. The results challenge alarmist claims about the high prevalence, profitability, or role of organized crime in human trafficking. In Cambodia, 80 percent of incarcerated traffickers are poor uneducated women who lack legitimate opportunities and whose unsophisticated illicit activities earn very little. We argue that the Cambodian government, in return for foreign aid, adopted a repressive law that defines human trafficking ineptly; in the hands of a dysfunctional justice system, the law has turned into an instrument of corruption and injustice against powerless individuals. © 2014 by The American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Author Keywords

moral panic trafficker Corruption Smuggling Human trafficking antitrafficking law

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84898678284&doi=10.1177%2f0002716214521376&partnerID=40&md5=90bce6cc38d929a6391a69a74d92302b
DOI: 10.1177/0002716214521376
ISSN: 00027162
Cited by: 16
Original Language: English