Background: Human trafficking was affecting a number of individuals in Ethiopia that resulted in various health problems and human right violations. Though the pushing and pulling factors of human trafficking were identified qualitatively, their effect on trafficking status were not measured quantitatively; the magnitude of human trafficking among returnees was not also quantified. Methods: Primary data were collected from 1342 Ethiopian returning migrants from abroad via Metemma-Yohannes, Moyale, and Galafi border towns from May to October 2016 consecutively. The status of each returnee as trafficked or non-trafficked was determined based on the UN 2000 definition of human trafficking. Factor analyses were conducted on the push and pull factors of migration to identify the underlying constructs. Considering the common underlying concept of items that load on the push and pull factors, the newly emerged construct variables were named in consultation with sociologists before used as independent variables. Finally, the effect of these and other variables on trafficking status were measured using generalized estimation equation.

Objectives: Evidence showed that the prevalence of sexual violence during the whole human trafficking period was high. However, the distribution of sexual violence along the stages of the trafficking cycle is unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual violence at each stage of trafficking and factors associated with it among Ethiopian trafficked females. Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to study trafficking returnees regarding their previous experiences at each stage of trafficking. Settings: Data were collected at immigration offices in three border towns of Ethiopia located bordering Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti. Participants: Six hundred and seventy-one women who were trafficked from Ethiopia were recruited into the study consecutively. They were recruited when they came back home via the three border towns either by deportation or voluntary return. Outcome measure: The outcome variable was sexual violence.

The areas where armed conflicts take place and have been perpetrated by state or non-state actors involved in conflicts represent a suitable place for emergence of phenomenon of human trafficking. The exploitation of victims of trafficking in human beings in the context of armed conflicts can take various forms, so that for the purposes of our research, this category of victims will be classified into two groups: victims of armed activities and victims of non-armed activities. Hence, the first group includes victims that take direct participation in armed combat activities or other activities during combat operations such as minefield cleaning, transport and medical services, etc. The second group includes victims of sexual exploitation in the conflict area and their forms, forced labour in different sectors and trafficking in organs.

The project will implement a comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking in Turkey, fostering community-based solutions, increasing humanitarian protection of trafficked individuals and bolstering law enforcement interventions. First, the project will coordinate the development and execution of local action plans to combat trafficking in persons in pilot communities to be identified in northeastern Turkey. Second, trafficking will be reduced through stepped up law enforcement identification of trafficked persons in border regions in northeastern Turkey. To this end, the project will train up to 100 border officials and relevant law enforcement representatives to increase identifications and put in place sustainable interdiction strategies. Third, public awareness of trafficking realities will be increased in the pilot communities to increase local ownership of counter-trafficking strategies. Finally, the project will ensure sustainability of Turkey’s nascent counter trafficking program, which is essential in support of the three principle goals of this program. Accordingly, the project will ensure humanitarian protection of trafficked individuals through safe accommodation and coordination of voluntary return. In addition, it will support the 157 Helpline for rescue of trafficked persons, enhanced data collection and analysis of trafficking trends. The project will operate in coordination with development programs in northeastern Turkey, including UNDP and the UN Joint Gender Project and encourage cross-border collaboration and regional solutions to combating the international crime of human trafficking.

Global assessments suggest that a substantial proportion of labour migrants ends up in situations of extreme exploitation, some of whom are identified as victims of human trafficking. Because large numbers of migrant workers fall into a “grey area” between trafficking (as defined by international and national law) and exploitative labour situations, there is good reason to explore the differences and similarities between the health needs of those who have been identified as trafficked compared to other migrants working in the same labour sector who have not. It is urgent to understand present-day occupational health and safety risks, forms of abuse and exploitation in different sectors and common hazardous working and living conditions to improve prevention and response strategies. This is among the first studies to explore and compare the influence of occupational and other risk exposures on people’s health and well-being and compare the experiences of migrant workers and victims of trafficking across sectors and regions. Our multiregion qualitative study on exploitation and harm experienced by individuals in the textile sector in Argentina, and artisanal gold-mining in Peru and construction sector in Kazakhstan, found important commonalities in the health hazards and financial, social and legal challenges across sectors and regions. In total, we interviewed 71 people; of these, 18 were formally identified victims of trafficking and 53 were migrant workers.

Background: Human trafficking is a crime that commonly results in acute and chronic physical and psychological harm. To foster more informed health sector responses to human trafficking, training sessions for health care providers were developed and pilot-tested in the Middle East, Central America, and the Caribbean. This study presents the results of an investigation into what health care providers knew and needed to know about human trafficking as part of that training program. Methods: Participants attended one of seven two-day training courses in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Costa Rica, Egypt, El Salvador, Guyana, and Jordan. We assessed participants’ knowledge about human trafficking and opinions about appropriate responses in trafficking cases via questionnaires pre-training, and considered participant feedback about the training post-training. Results: 178 participants attended the trainings. Pre-training questionnaires were completed by 165 participants (93%) and post-training questionnaires by 156 participants (88%). Pre-training knowledge about health and human trafficking appeared generally high for topics such as the international nature of trafficking and the likelihood of poor mental health outcomes among survivors. However, many participants had misconceptions about the characteristics of trafficked persons and a provider’s role in responding to cases of trafficking. The most valued training components included the “Role of the Health Provider,” “Basic Definitions and Concepts,” and “Health Consequences of Trafficking.”

Las evaluaciones mundiales sugieren que una proporción sustancial de los trabajadores migrantes terminan en situaciones de explotación extrema, algunos de los cuales han sido identificados como víctimas de trata de personas. Debido a que un gran número de trabajadores migrantes caen en una "zona gris" entre la trata (como es definida por el derecho internacional y nacional) y situaciones de explotación laboral, hay una buena razón para explorar las diferencias y similitudes entre las necesidades de salud de aquellos que han sido identificados como víctimas de la trata en comparación con otros migrantes que trabajan en el mismo sector de trabajo que no lo han sido. Es urgente comprender los riesgos actuales para salud y la seguridad, las formas de abuso y explotación en los diferentes sectores y las condiciones de trabajo y de vida peligrosas comunes para mejorar las estrategias de prevención y respuesta. Este es uno de los primeros estudios que explora y compara la influencia de las exposiciones de riesgo ocupacionales, entre otros, en la salud y el bienestar de las personas, comparando las experiencias de los trabajadores migrantes y las víctimas de trata en todos los sectores y regiones que lo integran. Nuestro estudio cualitativo multi-región sobre la explotación y el daño sufrido por las personas en el sector textil en Argentina, en la extracción artesanal de oro en Perú y la construcción en Kazajstán, encontró similitudes importantes en los riesgos para la salud y los retos financieros, sociales y legales en todos los sectores y regiones. En total, se entrevistó a 71 personas; de éstos, 18 fueron identificados formalmente como víctimas de trata y 53 eran trabajadores migrantes.

Background: Trafficking is a crime of global proportions involving extreme forms of exploitation and abuse. Yet little research has been done of the health risks and morbidity patterns for men, women, and children trafficked for various forms of forced labour. Methods: We carried out face-to-face interviews with a consecutive sample of individuals entering 15 post-trafficking services in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. We asked participants about living and working conditions, experience of violence, and health outcomes. We measured symptoms of anxiety and depression with the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist and post-traumatic stress disorder with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and used adjusted logistic regression models to estimate the effect of trafficking on these mental health outcomes, controlling for age, sector of exploitation, and time in trafficking.

This desk review is conducted as part of the project entitled “Stop Trafficking Now!” being implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Special Liaison Mission in Addis Ababa, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Secretariat. The project is aimed at contributing to the efforts of the AUC, IGAD and East African Community (EAC) Member States to combat trafficking in persons, consistent with the “Ouagadougou Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings Especially Women and Children” (OAP) and the AUC Initiative against Trafficking (AU.COMMIT) campaign strategies to translate the Ouagadougou Action Plan into action. The OAP is a declaration of the will and joint intent of the African Union, the European Union and their Member States to enhance their efforts to fight human trafficking. It provides specific legal and political recommendations to be implemented by the Regional Economic Communities (RECs) and Member States at sub-regional, continental and global levels. It further upholds and reinforces the international and regional legal instruments on human rights, particularly the conventions and protocols on trafficking in persons, elimination of discrimination against women and protection of the rights of the child. As part of the project “Stop Trafficking Now!” a desk review is undertaken on the countertrafficking efforts by IGAD Member States (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda), EAC Member States (Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda) as well as the IGAD and EAC secretariats within the framework of the OAP, the AU.COMMIT strategy document and the recently-developed implementation matrix. A comprehensive review report is thus prepared to be shared and discussed during the launching of the AU.COMMIT campaign in the IGAD and EAC sub-regions and at a sub-regional workshop on making the OAP operational, which is organized in Djibouti from 6–8 December 2010.

The massive earthquake of 8th October 2005 has killed over 42,000 people to date, and affected the lives of over 4 million of which an estimated 1 million have been seriously affected. The number of casualties grows every day. Husbands, wives, parents and guardians have died, families have been separated and infrastructure has been damaged leaving people, especially separated/widowed women and separated/orphaned children, vulnerable to hunger, dehydration, the elements, disease and crime. Local government, social services and law enforcement structures in the affected areas have been destroyed and many officials have died in the disaster increasing the vulnerability of local populations, especially women and children. From experience of other humanitarian emergencies and existing concerns about human trafficking in Pakistan, there is a clear risk of human trafficking escalating in the aftermath of the earthquake. Press reports have already started to indicate the presence of human trafficking activity.