Sector: Gender Equality
Region: South Asia
Funded by:
Asian Development Bank
Total Value: C$340,000
Partners and Counterparts:
None
India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia: January 2001–January 2002
Purpose
To support ADB’s efforts to combat trafficking of women and children in India, Bangladesh and Nepal and to identify how future ADB programming can support anti-trafficking activities.
Challenge
The alarming numbers of women and children being trafficked for forced labour or slavery-like practices (including commercial sexual exploitation) is a development concern for the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Following initial investigations in the South Asia region and discussions with the governments of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal the following objectives were developed:
- To increase ADB’s understanding of how its existing country programs and regional policy dialogue can be used to support and strengthen anti-trafficking efforts in South Asia
- To contribute to capacity building and other efforts by stakeholders to develop and implement policies and programming that will effectively combat trafficking in women and children in South Asia
Approach
As the challenge of combating trafficking is far beyond the capacity and resources of individual organizations alone, the project sought a collaborative approach to learn from the experiences of ADB member countries and with other donors. The Inception Phase included an inception workshop in Delhi that reviewed all current programming in each country. The Team Leader and ADB Project Officer also participated in the South Asia Regional Consultation in Dhaka in preparation for the Yokohama Congress on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, including trafficking. The project facilitated two exchange programs:
- one to strengthen the regional enabling environment for implementing commitments to combating cross-border trafficking of women and children
- one to explore operational examples of integrating trafficking prevention initiatives into poverty reduction programming
It also sponsored a sub-regional workshop at the end of the project.
Project Description
Agriteam provided an international consultant/team leader and five national consultants to conduct a study on trafficking of women and children in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal. The team carried out a comprehensive analysis of the factors that induce and facilitate trafficking on the demand and supply side and of the potential for addressing vulnerabilities created by these factors in the context of ADB’s policies and ADB-assisted projects. It evaluated how different types of anti-trafficking activities already underway could be used in the context of sector activities or mainstream poverty reduction projects to combat trafficking of women and children. The team consulted widely, reviewed the extensive literature on trafficking in South Asia and assessed existing programming and its relevance to mainstream poverty reduction efforts. The findings were discussed with stakeholders at both national and regional workshops.
Results
- Country papers for India, Bangladesh and Nepal were prepared, as well as a synthesis of regional findings and a supplemental report of legal frameworks. The papers identified a number of key opportunities for ADB to more effectively mainstream trafficking concerns into all levels of ADB operations including regional and sub-regional cooperation, country programming in most sectors, project designs, and legal frameworks.
- The project developed several tools to assist in mainstreaming including entry points during poverty and social assessments, and steps to guide the process in most sectors.
- Findings were also presented at a regional workshop in Manila in May 2002 and posted on ADB’s website.
Project Director
Gayle Turner
gturner@agriteam.ca