Economic and Emotional Vulnerability Exploited in Digital-Era Human Trafficking
Economic and emotional vulnerability can become an opening for someone to become ensnared in the crime of human trafficking as a result of increasingly broad digital interactions, according to Rahayu Saraswati, Chairperson of the National Network Against Human Trafficking.
“It is not only economic weakness, because there is also what is called emotional weakness,” she said during the Generation Safe Online 2026 seminar at the University of Mataram in Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday.
Saraswati explained that economic vulnerability can make a person readily accept offers of work or opportunities for a better life without first checking the background and veracity of such offers.
Meanwhile, emotional vulnerability can be exploited by perpetrators who build closeness through digital spaces.
Perpetrators can build relationships online by giving attention and sweet words until a person feels an emotional bond.
Such methods can develop into offers to travel together, marriage, or contract marriage. The offers made by perpetrators, she said, can differ from the reality once the victim arrives at the intended destination.
Beyond economic and emotional factors, the Deputy Chair of Commission VII of the Indonesian House of Representatives also highlighted social vulnerabilities such as loneliness and bullying, which can lead a person to seek support and acceptance from other circles.
She urged young people to be more attentive to the condition of friends around them, especially those who tend to withdraw or experience bullying.
The rapid development of artificial intelligence increasingly demands that the public be able to verify and confirm the truth of information, including a person’s identity and content received online.
Critical thinking, conducting research, and caring are three things that young people need to strengthen in order to prevent themselves and those around them from vulnerability to human trafficking.
The crime of human trafficking is not only related to sexual exploitation, but can also take the form of forced labour, including against migrant workers who depart through non-procedural routes.
Collaboration with various parties is urgently needed to prevent cases of human trafficking.
The National Network Against Human Trafficking, established in 2018, now has more than 41 members to strengthen the network and help build an early warning system against suspected human trafficking.
Throughout 2025, the organisation handled around 300 trafficking cases. Of the total cases handled, there were 24 victims aged 13 to 17 years. The age group with the highest number of victims was in the range of 22 to 27 years.