Drawing on a study undertaken across eight Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries in 2019, this article focuses on the persistence of investment in criminal justice infrastructure and mechanisms 20 years after the Palermo Protocol came into effect. We examine the enduring challenges and limitations around counter trafficking responses that remain removed from the lived realities of women migrant workers. Building on qualitative interviews with stakeholders and women migrant workers, we argue that women's protection from migration and labor exploitation and gendered violence remains elusive. This study highlights how counter-trafficking systems undermine women's safety and argues for a move away from siloed trafficking efforts, toward a much broader commitment to upholding women migrant workers’ rights and protection.

本文借鉴了 2019 年在八个东南亚国家联盟国家进行的一项研究，重点关注《巴勒莫议定书》生效 20 年后对刑事司法基础设施和机制的持续投资。我们研究了围绕打击贩卖人口应对措施的持久挑战和限制，这些挑战和限制仍然与移徙女工的生活现实相去甚远。基于对利益相关者和移徙女工的定性访谈，我们认为保护妇女免受移徙和劳动剥削以及性别暴力仍然难以捉摸。这项研究强调了反拐制度如何破坏妇女的安全，并主张从孤立的拐卖工作转向更广泛的承诺，以维护移徙女工的权利和保护。