Civil Society Organisation in Combatting Human Trafficking — Experiences from South Asia

Abstract

Although disasters do not discriminate among people but they exacerbates the pre-existing vulnerabilities which are often ignored or difficult to visualise by policy makers of disaster risk reduction (DRR). One such vulnerability leads to human trafficking. It simply makes a bad situation worse. Most cases of human traffick- ing are prevalent in areas that reel under abject poverty belonging to the most marginalised and vulnerable sections of the society. They remain confined at the tail end of the country’s socio-economic profile. People who get trafficked are mostly for purposes of labour, commercial sexual exploitation, organ trade and domes- tic servitude. The role of Community Participation and Institutions are significant in developing the vertical and the horizontal linkages. The policy strategies formed at the top meant for the vulnerable, will remain unfinished unless they reach the grassroots. Without the CSOs (Civil Society Organisations) this would be impossible. The dots need to be joined from the macro to the micro level. The NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations), CSOs and government officials need to work in conformity to get the message home.