Welfare Assistant Officer Ponniya Irham representing 'Kumpulan 3' expressed firstly, that the shelter, set up following the rescue last year of eight Filipinas aged between 18 and 26 who were alleged to have been wrongfully confined in an apartment for the purpose of prostitution, has no security system. The shelter is meant only for women and children.

Secondly, there are not enough Protection Officers to cater to the need of the shelter. The Welfare Department provides these officers but there are currently only eight, of which only five are trained and gazetted for the task under the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 2007.

"We have problems bringing the victim to hospital for treatment as we do not have police escort.

If the victim falls ill, the protection officer does not have the authority to bring her or the child to hospital. We need a doctor to be based at the shelter. Or we may have to get the four agencies (in the Act - Police, Immigration, Customs and Maritime) to help send the victim to hospital."

She said there is also no permanent counselor at the shelter. Even the Welfare Department lacks counselors - there are currently only eight. Staff at the shelter also need training including preparing them on how to face aggressive employers, she said.

Meanwhile, the group also sees the need for "Care and Protection" public awareness programmes provided under the Act to be aggressively promoted. In this regard, there should be a one-stop centre for the alert or discerning public to conveniently refer a victim for rescue and thereby fulfil their social obligations. The centre should also be adequately equipped with staff well trained in their duties to then refer the victim to the appropriate authority.

The two-day workshop is jointly organised by the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC) Indonesia and Archdiocesan Human Development Committee (AHDC) Kota Kinabalu with the support of the Home Ministry, State Community Development and Consumer Affairs Ministry, and enforcement departments and agencies, among others.