Addressing child trafficking in Bangladesh
Empowering Children Against Exploitation
Child trafficking in Bangladesh has been on the rise in recent years, partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Together with the U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Office (TIP), Terre des Hommes Netherlands works in a programme to combat the surge in child trafficking for sex and labour.
Background
Human and child trafficking have increased during the pandemic. At the same time, the safety net, the systems for identification, referral and assistance to victims, actually deteriorated.
In Bangladesh, Counter Trafficking Committees (CTCs) are used to identify victims at the grassroots level and assist with reporting and referral to social and legal services. The COVID-19 restrictions limited the opportunities to meet and support victims face to face. At the same time, CTCs did not have the offices, computers, IT systems, or online skills to help victims online. As a result, the victims of trafficking remained unidentified and did not have access to the assistance they needed.
With this project we create awareness among girls, boys and young women about the risks of child and human trafficking in the aftermath of COVID-19. We encourage communities to report human trafficking using digital tools. The CTCs have learned how to report online. Victims are encouraged not only to make a report but also to seek support, such as psychosocial counselling.
Approach
Terre des Hommes Netherlands is developing a reporting and referral system for all cases of child trafficking, child sexual exploitation and child labour in Bangladesh.
The programme focuses on:
Service centre
Establishing a one-stop digital service centre for the reporting and referral of sex and labour trafficking.
Training of service providers
Training of CTC members and schoolteachers amongst others to use new online and mobile tools, for the referral and reporting of trafficking cases.
Coordination of the existing initiatives
Terre des Hommes Netherlands and the TIP Office are working closely with USAID and the U.S. Embassy based in capital Dhaka to refine project activities and reduce duplication of efforts.
We have achieved a lot in 2022:
- the service centre has been established and has 610 users; 26 organisations have joined the service centre
- 80 cases of child trafficking have been reported through the system; all victims have been referred to the right assistance
- 184 CTC members and 600 aid workers have been trained
- 190,000 people have been reached in the awareness campaign
- 248 boys and girls participated in awareness raising activities in school
