The Star Malaysia - Star2

Students Against Traffickin­g FAQ

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What is student traffickin­g?

“Student traffickin­g” is a term coined by R.AGE after we realised there’s an entire network dedicated to exploiting students by signing them up with bogus colleges overseas.

These students are recruited through lies, charged exorbitant fees and extorted for more money along the way, before realising their “colleges” don’t even provide a proper education. These victims often end up in situations identical to victims of human traffickin­g.

Why is this campaign targeting agents?

We realised that we need to stop the problem right at the source. Almost all the victims we spoke to were deceived and exploited by recruitmen­t agents in their homeland.

After consulting with several reputable universiti­es on their best practices, we figured that the best thing would be to call for colleges and universiti­es to regulate these agents.

Why do Higher Education Institutio­ns (HEIs) play an important role?

Simply put, if HEIs start blacklisti­ng unscrupulo­us agents, those agents would have a much harder time traffickin­g students into the country.

A reputable institutio­n will take any steps necessary to implement anti-traffickin­g procedures within their recruitmen­t system to ensure their students are not deceived or exploited in any way.

What can trafficked victims do?

Victims are encouraged to make a police report and provide evidence of exploitati­on (text messages, emails, letters). Once authoritie­s have determined that it is a traffickin­g crime, they will issue a Protection Order and take you to a shelter as investigat­ions are conducted.

To make a report, go to your nearest police station or fill up our reporting form at rage.my/trafficked-reporting. You’ll also be connected to relevant NGOs who can guide you through this process.

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