Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what recent assessment her Department has made of the extent of sex trafficking between Myanmar and China; and if she will make a statement.

Ending modern day slavery in all its forms, including sex trafficking and forced marriage, is a priority for DFID Burma. We address this through support to the Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), to which the UK has provided £187 million since 2010. DFID undertook a slavery assessment across Burma in 2018. As a result, we tripled funding through LIFT to tackle modern slavery to £40m.

We are currently developing a new programme addressing forced marriage which will work with mothers of daughters aged 10-18 in highly vulnerable areas, including displaced people’s camps.