Stolen Dreams-Why Does Human Trafficking Continue To Thrive In Maldives?

Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crime industries in the world,and effects tens of thousands of people around the globe.Today's interconnected world has meant that like many contemporary issues,this is also a crime that surpasses national borders.Like many other parts in the world,human trafficking has been a growing problem in Maldives as well.Despite numerous efforts by the government of the Maldives to combat this issue,human trafficking continues to be the second most lucrative industry in the Maldives worth over USD 100 million.Therefore,this research is aimed at finding out why human trafficking continues to thrive in Maldives,so that areas that need improving could be identified and more viable policies could be adopted.This research explores different aspects that is believed to impact Maldives' ability to combat this issue.These include socio-political aspects which was investigated through an online survey as well as examining relevant news articles among other things.Moreover,the existing policies and preventive mechanisms put in place to combat human trafficking in Maldives was also examined.In addition to this,in order to further understand the issue especially in the Maldivian context,in depth interviews were carried out with relevant stakeholders as well as victims of trafficking.A combination of three different theories have been used to discuss the findings of this research.They are the rational choice theory,routine activity theory and the theory of supply and demand.Important findings of this research include the existence of a tendency of looking down on migrant workers within the locals.Furthermore,it was found that this tendency was echoed in some of the policies regarding migrants adopted by the government.Moreover,a serious lack of knowledge was identified within frontline officials that deal with cases of human trafficking.Another major challenge identified among other things,was lack of necessary resources.As per the findings,it was concluded that the challenges highlighted could be some of the reasons that ensures traffickers to operate easily within Maldives without being detected by authorities.The recommendations of this research are based on the “three-P” paradigm,namely,prevention,prosecution and protection.This research recommends capacity building of frontline officials as one of the most important measures that can be taken to combat this issue in Maldives.In addition to this,increasing international policing efforts was also highlighted as an important measure against this issue.