Global Alms Incorporated CEO Speaks at Asia Region Anti-Trafficking Conference 2025

On 22-24 July 2025, Global Alms Incorporated CEO, Mechelle B.J. Moore, represented the organisation at this year’s Asia Region Anti-Trafficking (ARAT) Conference, joining an expert panel alongside BC Tan and Sharlene Chen for the session “Scamming, Forced Criminality, & Transnational Crime”.

Panellists BC Tan, Charlene Chan and Mechelle B.J. Moore at the ARAT Conference 2025

Held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, the 2025 ARAT Conference convened anti-trafficking leaders, researchers, and practitioners from across Asia to exchange strategies and strengthen collaboration against evolving forms of exploitation.

Unpacking Trafficking for Forced Criminality

During the 45-minute panel, the speakers explored the rise of scamming compounds across Asia, sites where trafficking victims are coerced into committing cyber-enabled fraud. The discussion exposed how transnational criminal networks are using these operations to generate profit, sustain corruption, and exploit systemic gaps in justice and financial regulation.

The session examined three key dimensions:

• Global Landscape & Political–Criminal Nexus: BC Tan provided an overview of how isolated scam operations have evolved into politically protected trafficking hubs, mapping the source–transit–destination routes that link organized crime and state complicity.

• Structural Enablers & Victim–Perpetrator Spectrum: Sharlene Chen unpacked how recruitment tactics, social media exploitation, and financial loopholes sustain these networks. Her insights highlighted the blurred lines between victims and coerced perpetrators trapped in cycles of control.

• Survivor Realities & Response Gaps: Mechelle Moore drew on Global Alms’ direct field experience to highlight the lived realities of survivors exiting these compounds. She underscored challenges such as inconsistent victim identification, fragmented cross-border coordination, and limited reintegration options. Moore also called for trauma-informed, survivor-centered responses and sustainable investment in recovery and reintegration programs.

Strengthening Collaboration Across Borders

Moore’s participation reaffirmed the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration in addressing the convergence of human trafficking, cybercrime, and financial crime. The panel emphasised that combating trafficking for forced criminality requires not only criminal justice reform but also financial accountability, technology sector engagement, and survivor-led policymaking.

Helen Avadiar-Nimblker speaking on the Asia Region Survivors & Allies Network at ARAT Conference 2025.

Global Alms extends its appreciation to Helen Avadiar-Nimbalker, whose leadership made the session possible, and to Dalaina May, who stepped in as moderator. The organisation also commends the ARAT team for convening such a critical and impactful platform for regional dialogue.

The ARAT Conference continues to play an essential role in advancing collaboration, knowledge exchange, and innovation across the anti-trafficking sector.

For more information about the conference, visit ARAT Conference 2025.