The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) “Sold to China” investigation from 2019-23, which included interviews with 187 survivors, documented that the number of human trafficking survivors from Myanmar has risen dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic with women being sold by their families to Chinese men from as far as Yangon.
“Typically, we handled 50 to 80 cases annually, but in 2019, this surged to around 150. The true number of affected women is likely much higher,” a KWAT spokesperson told DVB on the condition of anonymity.
She added that prior to 2019, KWAT reported that most human trafficking cases came from Kachin and Shan states. But, recent data obtained by KWAT states that more than half of the victims now originate from other regions of Myanmar, including its biggest cities.
“Some people who knew my uncle and aunt approached them about marrying me to a Chinese man,” said a woman from Kutkai, 55 miles (88 km) south of Muse in northern Shan State along the Myanmar-China border, on the condition of anonymity.
“They described him as young, handsome, kind-hearted, and willing to convert to Christianity. They said he owned many farms. I hadn’t agreed but said I’d think about it. Within a week, my relatives and the traffickers organized a prayer ceremony, inviting neighbors. They gave my uncle and aunt a bride price,” added the woman from Kutkai.
Her husband turned out to be violent and, unbeknownst to her, had a criminal record in both countries. With a neighbour’s help, she fled the marriage and returned to her family in Kutkai, Shan State.
For many human trafficking survivors sent to China, escape often involves surrendering to Chinese police. But this is typically only possible after years in the country, or after bearing children to the Chinese husband, according to KWAT.
DVB data states that since the 2021 military coup, an increasing number of Myanmar families have had to resort to marrying their daughters off to Chinese nationals out of economic desperation.
A KWAT investigation also revealed that women have been deceived by relatives or acquaintances with the promise of a well-paid job in a factory or on a farm in China and have been trafficked to Chinese-run cyber scam operations in northern Shan.
The U.S. State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP report) maintained Myanmar’s Tier 3 classification—the lowest ranking for human trafficking—listing it among 13 countries where government entities are directly implicated in human trafficking activities.
