Trafficking should be generally defined in accordance with the international legal definition as affirmed in the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children and, as far as possible, concepts within that definition that are not otherwise defined in national law should be clarified. Trafficking acts conducted by legal persons should be criminalised, as should an appropriate range of related and ancillary offences.
This chapter seeks to ascertain how trafficking is defined and criminalised in national law and, as an extension of this, how the concept is understood and applied in practice across AMS. For example, are legal definitions of “trafficking” confined to women and children or do they extend to include men as well? Do they include or cover the full range of exploitative purposes set out in international law, such as forced labour?