What Do We Know About Human Trafficking and Scam Compounds in Southeast Asia (2020–2025)? A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis of Coercive Deviant Enterprises

Bibliographic Data

ID11275640
AuthorsSuleman Lazaru (0000-0003-1721-8519, University of the Western Cape, corresponding author), Mina Chiang (0000-0002-9416-959X, Humanity Research Consultancy Limited), Rossitza Stefanova Dimitrova (0009-0005-7553-1193, University of Surrey), Theint Theint Thu (0009-0006-7339-0769, London School of Economics and Political Science), Enobong Essien (0009-0002-1122-5988, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire), Enobong R Essien (0000-0003-2379-3640, Police and Crime Commissioner for West Yorkshire)
Year2026
Volume47
Issue6
Pages1-33
Publication date2026-01-06
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDeviant Behavior (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0163-9625 • E-ISSN: 1521-0456
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01639625.2025.2604138
OpenAlexW7118423645
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited79

This study synthesizes peer-reviewed research on human trafficking linked to scam compounds in Southeast Asia (2020 to 2025) to understand their organizational, spatial, and coercive infrastructures. Applying a Qualitative Meta-Synthesis (QMS) protocol, it integrates findings from fifty publications. These outputs comprise forty-five journal articles, three conference papers, one book chapter, and one monograph. As a consolidated evidentiary base, this QMS constitutes the first systematic review to integrate scam-compound economies into broader research on trafficking and forced labor in Southeast Asia. The included studies employ qualitative, mixed-methods, and conceptual approaches, drawing on survivor interviews, NGO and law enforcement perspectives, and legal analyses. Results show that scam compounds function as industrialized socio-technical systems embedded within licit-illicit economies, exploiting digital infrastructures, deregulated Special Economic Zones, and migration precarity. Cross-study patterns highlight hierarchical divisions of labor, coercion, and liminal victim-offender roles. Divergences reflect local political economies and adaptive organizational forms. The synthesis situates scam compounds within the broader history of illicit economies. The study demonstrates the value of the QMS for advancing theoretical coherence in fragmented literatures on deviance

Enforcement · Human trafficking · Law enforcement · Liminality · Politics · Qualitative property · Qualitative research · Southeast asia · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Sex work and related issues

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