Between 2014 and April 2019, the government of Myanmar banned international migration for domestic work to Singapore and criminalised the brokering of such migration as well as predeparture training and placement of migrants as domestic workers in Singapore. These measures were taken in response to concerns over the alleged abuse of migrant women as well as international pressures to eliminate trafficking and debt bondage. Experienced brokers and recruitment agencies who were trading openly up until then were forced to cease operations. At the same time, large numbers of inexperienced and uncouth recruitment agencies emerged to take advantage of the black economy created by the ban. This resulted in women migrating irregularly from Myanmar to Singapore being exposed to greater risks which the paper traces. Four discernible impacts of the ban on the recruitment practices and working conditions faced by migrant women from Myanmar before departure and after arriving in Singapore were identified: a sharp increase in migration and placement costs, inadequate predeparture training, placement in forced labour conditions with extended and unclear repayment periods and no access to support from the Myanmar government while in Singapore. Although the ban has since been lifted, the resulting migration system had placed workers in conditions of extreme exploitation with little recourse to justice or having their voices heard. The paper ends by summarizing the unanticipated negative consequences of the criminalisation of migration brokerage in Myanmar and lessons for other countries that may be considering controls on female migration.

在2014年至2019年4月之间，缅甸政府禁止国际移民进行家庭佣工到新加坡，并将这种移民的经纪以及出境前培训和将移民安置为新加坡的家庭佣工定为犯罪。采取这些措施是为了回应对据称虐待移徙妇女的关切以及消除贩运和债务束缚的国际压力。经验丰富的经纪人和招聘机构在此之前一直在进行交易，被迫停止运营。同时，大量经验不足和虚假的招聘机构应运而生，以利用禁令所创造的黑人经济。这导致从缅甸非法移民到新加坡的妇女面临更大的风险。查明了禁令对缅甸移徙妇女在离开新加坡之前和抵达新加坡后所面临的招募做法和工作条件的四个明显影响：移民和安置费用的急剧增加，离职前培训不足，长期和长期处于强迫劳动条件中在新加坡期间，还款期不确定，也无法获得缅甸政府的支持。尽管自那时以来禁令已经解除，但由此产生的移徙制度使工人处于极端剥削的条件下，极少诉诸司法或听到他们的声音。本文最后总结了缅甸将移民经纪定为刑事犯罪所带来的意料之外的负面后果，以及可能正在考虑对女性移民进行管制的其他国家的经验教训。