Prior to the establishment of TICW Phase I, ILO-IPEC had commissioned Thailand’s Mahidol University Institute of Population and Social Research to conduct a survey into the extent of the trafficking problem. It found:

	Cross-border migration had increased significantly due to the opening of borders and as a result of globalization.
	An estimated 194,180 foreign child labourers, mainly from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia worked in construction, small shops, factories, agriculture, and domestic work in Thailand. Many were also involved in begging, soliciting and gang work.
	Thousands of foreign commercial sex workers were active in Thailand. 30 percent were believed to be below the age of 18.
	Cambodian girls were trafficked into prostitution within that country, although some were also taken to Thailand for the same purpose. The average age was 15. Boys were used mainly for begging and selling sweets, etc, in Thailand
	Vietnamese children and women have been trafficked to Cambodia for sexual exploitation and to China for marriage and domestic work. However it is now believed that many Chinese and Vietnamese children and women are trafficked within their own countries.

Source: ILO-IPEC South-East Asia (1998, October). Combating Trafficking in Children for Labour Exploitation in the Mekong Sub-Region: A Proposed Framework for ILO-IPEC Action and Proceedings of a Mekong Sub-Regional Consultation (pp.3-5). Bangkok: ILO-IPEC

Responding to the need for more research:

Reliable, universally accepted, statistics involving the numbers of migrants, victims of trafficking and child labourers are hard to come by. The results of various surveys carried out by a number of government and UN agencies, International Organizations and NGOs vary widely across the Mekong sub-region.

In order to establish its own reliable baselines and monitor progress, ILO-TICW-Phase II, in cooperation with partners and stakeholders, is carrying out fresh research across its project area. The findings and methodologies used will be subject to the rigors of peer review in order to establish external validity and reliability.

Through a combination of qualitative and quantitative research, the project is building a stronger knowledge base upon which Governments and other stakeholders can further develop their national plans of action to tackle trafficking in children and women and the resulting sexual and labour exploitation.

Working with governments and others to research the extent of problems associated with human trafficking, and ill-prepared migration has revealed some disturbing trends. Not only is the migration trend accelerating, but migrants are getting younger, thereby increasing the number of people placed in vulnerable situations.