IOM has had some 13 years of experience in implementing counter-trafficking activities and has provided assistance to over 14,000 victims of trafficking in all regions of the world. With a growing number of organizations, especially local non-governmental organizations, now providing or intending to provide assistance to victims of trafficking, IOM would like to share its experience and lessons learned. This Handbook summarizes and systematizes this experience. IOM recognizes that each victim is unique and requires and desires different assistance. As well, the nature of trafficking is different around the world and is ever evolving, requiring changing responses. Therefore, this Handbook is not meant to provide a single methodology for the provision of assistance to victims of trafficking, but to offer suggestions and guidance, based on IOM’s many years of experience. IOM hopes that it will be helpful to all organizations providing such assistance to victims, but especially for organizations who are just beginning to develop victim assistance programmes and can benefit from IOM’s experiences. This Handbook provides guidance and advice necessary to effectively deliver a full range of assistance to victims of trafficking from the point of initial contact and screening up to the effective social reintegration of the individuals concerned.

The practical guidelines contained in this publication provide guidance on how to determine the need for a response to migrants in situations of vulnerability, and on how to plan for, finance, monitor and evaluating such response, accordingly. This publication should be considered as complementing the IOM Handbook. Protection and Assistance for Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.

In September 2018, the Department of Operations and Emergencies (DOE) of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) launched its first Institutional Framework for Addressing GBV in Crises (GBViC Framework). The GBViC Framework builds on lessons learned and emerging good practices in addressing gender-based violence (GBV) in IOM’s crisis operations worldwide documented over the past four years. The key objective of the GBViC Framework is to ensure that the safety, dignity, well-being and equitable access to services for all crisis-affected persons, especially women and girls, is prioritized, integrated and coordinated across all IOM crisis operations. It articulates why and how IOM tackles GBV in crises and defines IOM’s vision and scope through three institutional approaches: 1. Mitigating risks: by mitigating the risk of GBV in all crisis operations and doing no harm; 2. Supporting survivors: by facilitating access to survivor-centred, multisectoral services; and 3. Addressing the root causes: by contributing towards progressively transforming the conditions that perpetuate GBV.

Migration projects produce the overwhelming portion of the resources that enable IOM to function, to innovate and design forward-looking migration management solutions, concepts, to seize new opportunities and to respond to the increasing demands of its Member States and migrants. Projects and Country Offices that develop those projects are the bedrock of the Organization without which it would not have the resources to operate. Given the diverse nature of migration, IOM's more tha​n 2,000 individual projects (in 2010) vary in content, structure and size but as a whole represent the nerve centre of IOM's annual activities. In 2010, more than 97 percent of IOM's total income (USD 1.3 billion) was generated through project activities.​​

Practical guidance contained in this publication provide information on how to develop and implement referral mechanisms for the protection and assistance of migrants vulnerable to violence, exploitation and abuse. The objective is to strengthen operational responses and thereby improve protection and assistance at the local, national and transnational levels. The publication should be considered as complementing the IOM Handbook on Protection and Assistance for Migrants Vulnerable to Violence, Exploitation and Abuse.

Out of the 17 SDGs, trafficking in persons is specifically mentioned in three targets under three goals: 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and 16 (Peace Justice and Strong Institutions). However, many other SDG targets and goals are relevant to addressing trafficking in persons, an issue deeply rooted in development issues at-large including poverty, education, child labour, abuse and exploitation, gender inequality and discrimination, migration and the effects of climate change. This issue brief provides an explanation of these three specific targets as well as several other SDGs relevant to addressing trafficking in persons, and makes recommendations about what States can do to achieve them by 2030

The handbook provides operational guidance and tools to support effective protection responses in situations of internal displacement. Specifically, the Handbook seeks to: ensure staff members are familiar with the core concepts, principles and international legal standards that form the framework for protection work; assist staff in operationalizing these concepts, principles and legal standards and in carrying out their protection responsibilities; improve understanding of the particular protection risks faced by internally displaced women, men, boys and girls of various backgrounds; provide guidance on how to prevent and respond to the protection risks faced by IDPs through a range of different activities; enhance staff skills for carrying out protection work; and promote a consistent and well-coordinated protection response in different operations.

It appeared necessary to carry out a synthetic comparative analysis of 8 legislations applied in countries of the Maghreb and the Sahel, to succeed in integrating a new bill on human trafficking in Mauritania in a coherent and harmonized regional framework, a process in which the Burkinabé, Malian and Senegalese women also got involved by preparing a draft amendment to their trafficking law. Comparative analysis of the laws of Burkina Faso, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Chad, Tunisia and Mauritania seek to allow Mauritanian authorities to initiate review aimed at strengthen existing legislative provisions.

Over the last half decade, IOM has implemented many counter-trafficking actions in Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan. Although there have been major improvements in efforts to combat trafficking in human beings (THB) within these countries, as the modes of operation of traffickers continue to evolve, States need to ensure that interventions continue to address the needs of victims on the ground while at the same time focusing on targeted capacity-building of law enforcement. This is particularly true in light of recently identified global trends, including the increased incidents of trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation, the recognized under-identification of male victims and an observed rise in the number of children identified as victims. Therefore, at the end of 2015, IOM undertook a project funded by the IOM Development Fund to improve planned THB interventions in the countries in the South Caucasus by making available a comprehensive assessment of the overall THB situation in each country. The assessment was done for these specific purposes: (1) to collect and synthesize stakeholder views of the current human trafficking landscape and responses thereto in the region; (2) to identify stakeholders’ perspectives on the trafficking situation and trends, as well as the gaps in relation to identification and referral, assistance and protection, and prevention and cooperation; and (3) to arrive at key conclusions and offer recommendations on how to strengthen existing responses, correct inappropriate processes, and address gaps at the domestic and, to the extent possible, regional levels. In order to produce these reports, a researcher was hired to develop a counter-trafficking needs assessment tool in line with international standards to serve as a basis for a needs assessment of existing State and non-government organization counter-trafficking mechanisms in each country. The research methodology included a desk review, stakeholder survey, in-person interviews conducted in each country and a national validation workshop for each country. As a result of this initiative, three separate national country reports for Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan were produced in June 2016. The findings within each report are broken down into the following categories: (a) national THB trends; (b) identification and referral; (c) assistance and protection; (d) investigation and prosecution; (e) prevention; (f) and coordination and cooperation. Findings were based on indicators developed as a part of the tool. Each report additionally contains recommendations to address gaps within each listed category, which stakeholders are invited to consider in their future efforts to combat THB in their respective countries.

Trafficking in persons is a serious crime that affects every country in the world. Conflicts that arise in countries or other geographical areas can exacerbate vulnerability to trafficking, as well as its prevalence and severity. As State and non-State structures weaken, and as people turn to negative coping strategies in order to survive, not only does the risk of falling victim to trafficking increase, but so too does the risk of perpetrating it against others. At the same time, conflict also increases the demand for goods and services provided by exploited persons and creates new demands for exploitative combat and support roles. For these reasons, United Nations entities and other international actors active in settings affected by conflict have a crucial role to play in preventing and countering trafficking in persons.