The fee to travel from Rakhine State to Malaysia is around 5,000,000 to 6,500,000 Myanmar Kyat (2,850 to 3,700 US dollars) and the payment methods are varied. In some cases, travellers are required to pay up-front in full, in other situations they make a partial payment upfront and the rest at the half-way point or at the final destination. Sometimes, the costs of travel can spiral with demands made to families by agents for more money at the half-way point or before the destination stage. Children living in IDP camps in Rakhine are sometimes targeted by the traffickers who promise to find them work in Malaysia, Thailand or elsewhere. Whilst they are still en route in Myanmar, money is extorted from their families. One respondent from the IDP areas of Rakhine State explained: I know of many trafficking cases. Brokers shared misinformation to children aged around 13, 14 and 15 years old. Children do not want to live in camp and the brokers ask them to come with them. They did not need to pay money to brokers. At the half-way point, the brokers asked them to call their family to transfer money. Then they started threatening the family until they transfer money. Brokers often state that the journey will take a few weeks, but for some it can take months. In other situations, travellers never reach their destination. They may be arrested, abandoned, or die en route. Others are abused or exploited en route. In cases where women and girls travelling for marriage become pregnant as a result of rape en route, they are sometimes rejected for marriage on arrival at their destination. 4.1. Arrest and Detention in Myanmar Prior to the coup, under the NLD government, Rohingyas travelling through Myanmar were intercepted and arrested. However, if intercepted outside of Rakhine State, they were often released and immediately transported back to their homes in Rakhine. Rohingya refugees travelling through Myanmar from the camps in Bangladesh towards Southeast Asia were often sent to Rakhine, issued with National Verification Cards (NVC) (a form of IDs for non-nationals) and allowed to stay with relatives. Since the coup, this situation has changed. Many Rohingyas have been arrested by the police for travelling without permission either between the townships of Rakhine State or on their way to Yangon, Irrawaddy or Myawaddy divisions. They are not returned to their homes in Rakhine State but are instead sentenced to three to five years for immigration violations. Some children have also been detained with their parents. Unaccompanied children under 16 have also been sentenced and some have been sent to youth detention facilities, including Hnget Awe San Youth Detention Centre in the Yangon region. They have not been screened as potential victims of trafficking and have no access to support services. As one community worker explained: Rohingya have been sentenced to several years and children have been sent to youth detention camps. Actually, they should release them as they are underage. Some United Nations (UN) agencies have tried to help those children to get released, but the police do not allow UN agencies to help children who may be victims of human trafficking. Most Rohingyas and Muslims from Rakhine State have been arrested in Rakhine, Yangon, Irrawaddy, Myawaddy and Hpa-An. Rohingya travelling via the sea routes from Bangladesh have also been arrested by the Myanmar navy near the Bangladesh border or within Rakhine state. The true number of Rohingya women, and girls arrested is obscured due to under-reporting and the limitations of systematic data collection in the current conflict situation in Myanmar. Women’s Peace Network documented the arrest of at least 856 Rohingyas in Rakhine state since the coup. This included 464 women. The actual number according to respondents is closer to a thousand women and girls. Arakan Civic Cooperation Network estimates around 3,0000 Rohingya women, girls and young people have been arrested and charged by the police. When Rohingyas are detained, high prices must be paid in order to obtain their release. The cost is approximately around 1,000,000 Myanmar Kyat (around 563 US dollars) but can be more than that. Many families cannot afford the release fee. In such situations, there is very little legal assistance and financial support available to them. One community worker who provides some limited assistance in such cases explained that they do not have the capacity to meet all the needs of detained women and children. He said, Since the coup more than 3,0000 Rohingya women, girls, young people and children have been arrested and charged by the military. Currently we are helping Rohingya women who have been arrested in Hpa-An and Irrawaddy – but we can’t help all. We paid 10 lakh to the police to release each girl. He went on to explain that the girls released were aged between 13 and 18 years old and that they recounted how some members of the group had been abandoned on the journey. According to them, they had to make arduous journeys on foot through the forest. This was too much for some women – some were left behind as they could not walk any further. They also said they were kept in houses along the way guarded by men in military uniform. 13