Bringing the ferrymen into the dock: Underage Indonesians as ‘people smugglers’ in transporting asylum seekers and refugees to Australia

Worldwide, children and teenagers are recruited for activities related to people smuggling. The reasons for their recruitment range from the lower cost of their labour and their readiness to obey orders to their perception within smuggling operations: since children have a low chance of being prosecuted, it is often believed that laws are more lenient when they are tried for their involvement in smuggling.