Research

Supporting Effective Rehabilitation and Reintegration for Trafficking Survivors in Bangladesh and India

Bangladesh is a major country of origin for trafficked persons in South Asia. Each year, an estimated 50,000 women and minors are trafficked across its porous border with India, another global trafficking hotspot. Though governments in both countries have made considerable efforts to prevent and combat commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), critical implementation gaps remain, including …

Building a Comprehensive International Migration System in Indian Source Communities

Forced labor and risky migration are part of a larger cycle of exploitation that stems from consumer demands for cheap goods; private business desire for rapidly mobilized and low-cost workers; weak labor and immigration laws in source and destination countries; and the socioeconomic status of workers. This brief presents key learnings to improve financial stability …

Supporting Survivors to Access Trauma-Informed Rehabilitation and Reintegration Services in East Africa

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) thrives when perpetrators are not held to account. In Kenya and Uganda, this lack of accountability can occur when criminal justice actors don’t have adequate technical capacity or resources. At the same time, survivors of CSEC are extremely vulnerable to being re-trafficked. Reintegration programs must be carefully planned and …

Respondent-Driven Sampling Study of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) in Kampala, Uganda

ICF International completed the second part of a two-phase study in collaboration with Makerere University that provides estimates of the prevalence of commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) in Kampala, Uganda. Both phases of the study used Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) and in-person interviews. The objective of these studies was to create population-based measures of …

Assessing Change regarding the Sexual Exploitation of Children in Napak District, Uganda

From 2021 to 2022, the Global Fund supported partners Terre des Hommes Netherlands and Dwelling Places to implement the “Community Action to End Child Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation” project (or “Community Action”) in Napak District, Uganda. Targeting both prevention and response to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) with the aim of protecting 2,000 at-risk …

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) in Coastal Kenya

Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Despite continued efforts on the part of the Kenyan government to eliminate CSEC and other forms of trafficking in persons, Kenya continues to rank a Tier 2 country in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report due to uneven …

Protecting Bangladeshi Migrant Workers in International Labor Migration Systems

Despite Bangladesh’s global status as a major labor-sending country, the overseas labor recruitment and reintegration systems do not adequately safeguard in-service and returning migrant workers. While migration is spurred by conditions of poverty and a lack of job opportunities at home, migrants often lack knowledge and access to safe migration channels. Many are unaware of …

The Role of Debt in the Lives of International Labor Migrants and Families from India

India has the largest emigrant population in the world with 18 million people living abroad. A large percentage of India’s international labor migrants reside in the GCC countries (28% in 2020.) Migration to the GCC countries from India is typically temporary and is characterized by the predominance of unskilled laborers. Though frequently pursued as a …

State of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Maharashtra - 2022

India is a global hotspot for trafficking of women and minors for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), and Maharashtra, as its financial and commercial capital, is one of the largest destinations for CSE in the country. However, reliably estimating the size of child sex trafficking victims has historically been challenging owing to the hidden nature of …