Indebted Before Departure: Information Arbitrage and Financial Exploitation by Philippine Migration Intermediaries

Labor migration is currently the most common predicate action leading to human trafficking and forced labor, and debt bondage is the most common indicator of forced labor. Based on Migrasia’s first hand experience with directly assisting thousands of migrant domestic workers per year, instances of collusion between migration intermediaries in migrants’ pre-departure phase have been identified as an enabling factor for abuse. This research seeks to test and understand these relationships, filling important knowledge gaps regarding the pre-departure phases of the labor migration process.