Media Release
20 NOVEMBER 2012
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Prime Minister Julia Gillard today announced that Australia will fund the $50 million Australia-Asia Program to combat Trafficking in Persons, which will reduce trafficking in persons by strengthening criminal justice systems in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Investigators and prosecutors will be supported to increase convictions and reduce opportunities for trafficking, while victims of trafficking will be supported through the criminal justice process.
Trafficking in persons is a global issue that ruins the lives of its victims and profoundly affects their families and communities.
The International Labour Organization estimates that, each year, more than 20 million people become trapped in situations of forced labour globally.
Women and young people are particularly vulnerable, with school age girls often forced into conditions of exploitative labour, domestic work, or prostitution.
The program is part of the joint work being carried out by Australia with ASEAN members to combat trafficking in persons.
