2017

II Critical Assessment of the Implementation of Anti–Trafficking Policy in Bolivia, Colombia and Guatemala

For the second year running, Fundación La Paz, Corporación Espacios de Mujer and ECPAT, with the support of the International Secretariat of GAATW has conducted an analysis of anti-trafficking policies and services in Bolivia, Colombia and Guatemala respectively to assess the gap between what the legislation states and the services actually provided.

It can be said that legislation against human trafficking is still not effectively implemented in any of the three countries. The institutions are not fulfilling all of their responsibilities nor are they facilitating the restitution of the violated rights of trafficked persons.

Not only is there an inadequate budget allocation specifically to enforce the law, but most institutions responsible for prevention, care or prosecution are unaware of the budget available for their accomplishment.

There is also no uniformity in the collection of information, which results in a high degree of ambiguity and, therefore, a lack of knowledge about the crime and associated violations. A proper recording of trafficking cases would make it possible to classify and quantify information for the purpose of designing more suitable public policies.

One need identified in all three countries is ongoing training for specialists involved in the processes of identification, care, protection and prosecution.

Finally, it is worrisome that states generally continue to fail to link prevention strategies with public policies that deal with structural aspects, such as poverty or the guarantee of basic rights.

Download the Executive Summary

Por segundo año consecutivo Fundación La Paz, Corporación Espacios de Mujer y ECPAT, con el apoyo del secretariado internacional de GAATW, han llevado a cabo un análisis de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Bolivia, Colombia y Guatemala respectivamente.

Se puede afirmar que la legislación contra la trata de personas sigue sin aplicarse efectivamente en ninguno de los tres países. Las instituciones no cumplen con el total de sus responsabilidades ni se está propiciando la restitución de los derechos vulnerados a las personas objeto de trata.

No solo falta la debida asignación presupuestaria específica para poder ejecutar la Ley, sino que además la mayor parte de las instituciones responsables de acciones de prevención, atención o persecución desconocen el presupuesto disponible para la ejecución de dichas acciones.

Destaca también la falta de uniformidad en la recogida de información lo que conlleva una gran ambigüedad en la información disponible y por tanto un desconocimiento del delito. Un registro adecuado de los casos de trata permitiría tipificar y cuantificar la información en aras de diseñar políticas públicas más adecuadas.

Una necesidad identificada en los tres países es la formación permanente a las personas involucradas en cualquier nivel de los procesos de identificación, atención, protección y persecución del delito sobre el delito de trata de personas y en materia de derechos humanos.

Por último, es preocupante que en general los Estados sigan sin relacionar las estrategias de prevención con políticas públicas que afronten aspectos estructurales como la pobreza o la falta de cobertura de derechos básicos.

Descargar el Informe Ejecutivo

II Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Bolivia
II Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Colombia
II Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Guatemala

2017

Enabling Access to Justice: A CSO Perspective on the Challenges of Realising the Rights of South Asian Migrants in the Middle East

In 2015-2016, the GAATW International Secretariat undertook a project called the ‘South Asia – Middle East Access to Justice Project’ (SAME A2J Project) as part of a larger initiative, ‘Addressing Labour Trafficking of South Asian Migrant Workers in the Middle East.’ The objective of the SAME A2J Project was to identify cases in which migrant workers who had travelled to the Middle East as temporary labour migrants were trafficked, and to identify the barriers those workers faced accessing justice. The rationale for the project was a perception within GAATW that migrant workers from South Asia who were coerced, defrauded or deceived into situations of severe exploitation were rarely treated as trafficked persons and rarely received an adequate remedy.

A total of thirteen partner organisations from seven countries (Bangladesh, India, Jordan, Lebanon, Kuwait, Nepal and Sri Lanka) participated in the project. This report aims to capture one area of learning that emerged from the project: the barriers that project partners experience or observe when supporting migrant workers to access justice. Although specific barriers to justice may differ between countries, and even regions within countries, project partners identified many in common.

The report concludes with reflections on the lessons learnt by the GAATW about the obstacles to justice for migrant workers, but also for organisations seeking to assist migrant workers and the effort required to overcome those barriers. It is not intended to dissuade civil society organisations or legal service providers from working to improve access to justice for migrant workers, but rather to highlight the complexity of human trafficking, and the many challenges along the road to justice.

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2017

Access Unknown: Access to Justice from the Perspectives of Cambodian Migrant Workers in Thailand

Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand usually do not try to pursue justice after rights violations due to a lack of trust in the police and courts, research conducted by GAATW and partners found.

Lack of information about labour and migration laws and regulations was one factor among those interviewed that made them vulnerable to exploitation and human trafficking. When violations occurred they did not seek justice, either because they are undocumented and believe that this makes them ineligible for justice mechanisms or because they don’t believe they will receive a fair outcome against a Thai employer. Perceptions of what is just or fair among the migrant workers were often based on what had been agreed with a broker or employer, rather than what meets a minimum legal standard, the research found.

Interviewees spoke of lack of examples of success that might inspire their pursuit of justice - no one they knew had successfully accessed a fair resolution though the legal system. A number of workers spoke of having no other options than undertaking undocumented migration to Thailand again, despite knowing the risk of being overworked, cheated or facing physical abuse.

These are some of the main findings of our new research ‘Access Unknown: Access to justice from the perspectives of Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand’, which interviewed 59 migrant workers, men and women working in seven different industries, in Thailand and after returning home. This research aimed to examine why there is still such a significant disconnect between the currently available options in the legal system and Cambodian workers’ unwillingness or inability to practically access them.

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2016

Critical Assessment of the Implementation of Anti-Trafficking Legislation in Bolivia, Colombia and Guatemala

The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) carried out this joint evaluation report in three countries in Latin America and the Caribbean – Bolivia, Guatemala and Colombia - with the aim of encouraging governments to improve the implementation of anti-trafficking laws and policies to better respond to the needs of trafficked persons. The report highlights (1) the existing gaps between what the anti-trafficking legislation states and the actual services provided by government agencies, and (2) concrete recommendations for the three governments to take forward.

This project was developed by Fundación La Paz in Bolivia, Corporación Espacios de Mujer in Colombia and ECPAT in Guatemala with the support from the GAATW International Secretariat and the Peruvian NGO Capital Humano y Social (CHS) Alternativo. 

Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Bolivia, Colombia y Guatemala

La Alianza Global contra la Trata de Mujeres (GAATW) ha realizado este balance de las medidas anti trata en Bolivia, Guatemala y Colombia con el objetivo de estimular a los gobiernos a mejorar la implementación y ejecución de las mismas para responder mejor a las necesidades de las personas objeto de trata. El balance señala las diferencias existentes entre lo que dice la legislación anti-trata y los servicios reales que las entidades gubernamentales proporcionan y aporta recomendaciones concretas para que el gobierno pueda reducirlas.

El proyecto ha sido desarrollado por Fundación La Paz en Bolivia, Corporación Espacios de mujer en Colombia y ECPAT en Guatemala con el apoyo del secretariado internacional de GAATW y de la ONG peruana Capital humano y social – Alternativo.

Download the Executive Summary [EN, SP]

• Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Bolivia
• Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Colombia
• Balance de la implementación de las políticas anti-trata en Guatemala

2015

Briefing Papers: “Towards Greater accountability - Participatory Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Initiatives”

The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW) believes that the impact of anti-trafficking initiatives is best understood from the perspective of trafficked persons themselves. In 2013, 17 GAATW member organisations across Latin America, Europe, and Asia undertook a participatory research project to look at their own assistance work from the perspective of trafficked persons. GAATW members interviewed 121 women, men and girls who lived through trafficking to find out about their experience of assistance interventions and their recovery process after trafficking. The project aimed to make the assistance programmes more responsive to the needs of the clients and to initiate a process of accountability on the part of all anti-trafficking organisations and institutions.

These briefing papers highlight the main findings of what people who have been trafficked say about 3 important themes:

• Unmet Needs: Emotional support and care after trafficking [English, Spanish]
• Rebuilding Lives: The need for sustainable livelihoods after trafficking [English, Spanish]
• Seeking Feedback from Trafficked Persons on Assistance Services: Principles and ethics [English, Spanish]

With translation support from Translators without Borders.

2015

Regional Report: “Towards Greater Accountability - Participatory Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Initiatives”

The project of the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW), "Towards greater accountability - Participatory Monitoring of Anti-Trafficking Initiatives”, aims to reaffirm the right of surviving victims to express their voices, by monitoring initiatives that are intended to benefit them.

The research study aimed to identify victims’ perceptions and views of the support services they received, which would be reflected in the respective country reports. The participant organisations in the research had provided some form of assistance to surviving victims that had participated in the study. Seven of the organisations that participated in the research are from Latin America and the Caribbean: The Civil Human Rights Association of United Women Migrants and Refugees in Argentina (AMUMRA) of Argentina; Renacer, Hope Foundation and Space Corporation Foundation Women of Colombia; Ecuador Hope Foundation; Street Brigade Support Women "Elisa Martinez", AC of Mexico and Alternative Forms of Human and Social Capital (CHS Alternativo) of Peru.

Download the Executive Summary in English

Download the full report in Spanish - Testimonios de las Sobrevivientes de Trata de Personas: Brecha entre las necesidades de atención y los servicios recibidos después del rescate

Download the Executive Summary in Spanish

2011

A Toolkit for Reporting to CEDAW on Trafficking in Women and Exploitation of Migrant Women Workers

This toolkit provides guidance to NGOs engaging in the CEDAW review process.  It hopes to enable NGO reporting to provide more thorough information on the situation of trafficking in women and the exploitation of women migrant workers and to link these areas of concern with migration, labour and discrimination issues. It also provides lobbying tools for NGOs to facilitate effective advocacy to the Committee on these issues, in order that the Committee is better equipped to address trafficking and the exploitation of migrant women workers with states under review.  

Download the toolkit  

2011

Moving Beyond ‘Supply and Demand’ Catchphrases: Assessing the uses and limitations of demand-based approaches in Anti-Trafficking

The need to reduce ‘demand’ for trafficked persons is widely mentioned in the anti-trafficking sector but few have looked at ‘demand’ critically or substantively. Some ‘demand’-based approaches have been heavily critiqued, such as the idea that eliminating sex workers’ clients (or the ‘demand’ for commercial sex) through incarceration or stigmatisation will reduce trafficking. In this publication, we take a look at the links between trafficking and: (1) the demand for commercial sex, and (2) the demand for exploitative labour practices. We assess current approaches used to reduce each of these types of ‘demand’ and consider other long-term approaches that can reduce the demand for exploitative practices while respecting workers’ and migrants’ rights (e.g. enforcing labour standards, reducing discrimination against migrants, supporting sex workers’ rights).

Download the report

2011

What's the Cost of a Rumour? A guide to sorting out the myths and the facts about sporting events and trafficking

There has been a lot published on the supposed link between sporting events and trafficking, but how much of it is true and how much of it is useful? In this guide, we review the literature from past sporting events, and find that they do not cause increases in trafficking for prostitution. The guide takes a closer look at why this unsubstantiated idea still captures the imagination of politicians and some media, and offers stakeholders a more constructive approach to address trafficking beyond short-term events. We hope this guide will help stakeholders quickly correct misinformation about trafficking, develop evidence-based anti-trafficking responses, and learn what worked and what didn't in past host cities.

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2010

Feeling Good About Feeling Bad…

A Global Review of Evaluation in Anti-Trafficking Initiatives

This research explores and assesses the evaluation of anti-trafficking policies and programmes worldwide, including three international, two regional and nine national anti-trafficking initiatives. It highlights common themes and emerging patterns between a range of approaches to evaluation in this sector and finds overwhelmingly that anti-trafficking initiatives are not being sufficiently evaluated, impeding the effectiveness of anti-trafficking responses and limiting progress in combating trafficking. Urgent action in the form of adequate evaluation systems is imperative to ensure anti-trafficking programmes are effectively targeted and delivered.

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2010

A Woman’s Life is Richer than Her Trafficking Experience
Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) Series

This CD contains the results of the Feminist Participatory Action Research organised by GAATW. It demonstrates the ways in which women are taking action and steering change in their communities. It shares their stories of resilience, hope and strength; it reveals the complexities of their lives; and raises their voices so we can hear them loudly and clearly, and take action.

The Realities and Agency of Informal Sector Workers:The Account of Migrant Women Workers in Nairobi

Migración y Trabajo: Mujeres Migrantes Haitianas: Investigación Feminista de Acción Participativa

Uma Experiência De Pesquisa Ação Participativa: Migração, Trabalho e Genero entre Mulheres na Amazônia Brasileira

‘Am Only Saying It Now’: Experiences of Women Seeking Asylum in Ireland

Understanding Needs, Recognising Rights: The stories, perspectives, and priorities of immigrant Iranian women in Vancouver, Canada

Labour migration from a human rights perspective: The story of migrant domestic workers in the Netherlands.

A Look at the Linkages:How does Gender, Migration, Labour and Trafficking Intersect in Women’s Lives? A Qualitative Research based on migration and labour experiences of women from Ursoaia village, Republic of Moldova.

The Impact of Excessive Placement Fees on Indonesian Migrant Workers (IMWs) and Their Families. Report of Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) in Limbangan village, Losari subdistrict, Brebes district, Central Java, Indonesia

Trafficked’ identities as a barrier to community reintegration: Five stories of women re-building lives and resisting categorisation

The Linkages Between Migration, Labour, Gender and Trafficking Among Women Migrant Workers: Feminist Participatory Action Research (FPAR) in Rowoberanten Village, Ringinarum Sub District, Kendal District, Central Java, Indonesia 

2010

Female Temporary Circular Migration and Rights Protection in the Strawberry Sector in Huelva, Spain

Agency has always been at the core to GAATW’s message, and this topic was further looked at in a 2^nd Roundtable (February and March, 2009). This Roundtable focused on ‘macro’ issues such as trade, security regimes, and global economics, and their impact on migrant and trafficked women and their space for agency and decision-making.  

This specific research report seeks to contribute to this on-going analysis by GAATW by looking at these issues in the context of a programme of female temporary migration within the agriculture sector in Huelva, Spain; we aim to connect  macroeconomics to a micro example of reality lived on the ground.

2007

Click here to download the following:

• Cover,Contents,Preface
• Introduction
• Australia
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Brazil
• India
• Nigeria
• Thailand
• United Kingdom
• United States of America
• Annexes

Full Report

2007

Respect and Relevance: Supporting self-organising as a strategy for empowerment and social change

The report features self-organised members in the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women (GAATW). Discussions highlighted the importance of empowering internal relationships within the organisation and respectful partnerships with external stakeholders, organising processes that accomodated women's individual circumstances and needs, and the need to have opportunities where women could learn from shared experiences with other women.

Download the report

2005

Women, Mobility and Reproductive Health

The report provides an assessment of the health conditions and mobility patterns among women migrant workers in Thailand.

Partners in Change: Stories of women's collectives

This is a collection of stories of Women’s Collectives, but these are not the mainstream groups about whom we read everyday. The women featured in this booklet do not have much formal education, nor do they have the advantage of wealth. Stigmatised in their communities as ‘prostitutes’ or ‘trafficked women’ they have endured humiliation and yet come together to claim their space in society.

Read about Langson women’s Group; Vietnam, Shakti Samuha; Nepal, Dok Orr Women’s Group, Thailand, Cambodia Prostitutes Union, Phnompenh, EMPOWER Foundation, Thailand, Durjoy & Ulka; Bangladesh and many more…

See also - Partners in Change - a Conference Report

1999

Human Rights and Trafficking in Persons: A handbook

A broad-based manual, containing general strategies that can be easily adapted to local contexts, this has proved to be an extremely valuable resource for NGOs worldwide. This manual clarifies the concepts of human rights and trafficking in persons and provides concrete rights-based strategies that can be carried out at all levels, from local to international, in the context of trafficking. 

Available in English, Spanish, Russian, Polish (Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

2001

Human Rights in Practice: A guide to assist trafficked women and children

This is the result of a collaborative effort involving a number of activists from South East Asia. The manual aims to promote direct assistance for trafficked women and children within a human rights framework.

In order to ensure use of this manual by colleagues working in community based groups member organisations of GAATW have translated it into Bahasa Indonesia, Burmese, Chinese, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese.

• Selected chapters in Vietnamese (Concept of Trafficking, Laws and Legal Processes) 
• Click here for a PDF copy of this book in Burmese. Translated by the This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1999

Human Rights Standards for the Treatment of Trafficked Persons

Available in PDF:

The Migrating Woman's Handbook

1997

Trafficking in Women, Forced Labour and Slavery-like Practices

A report presenting the results of an international investigation on trafficking in women, forced labour & slavery-like practices in the contexts of marriage, domestic labour and prostitution, this document marks a major turning point in thinking and activism around trafficking. Initiated in 1995 in response to the invitation of the then UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, (SRVAW) the investigation was carried out by the Dutch Foundation Against Trafficking in Women (STV) and GAATW. A condensed version of the report was submitted to the SRVAW and the complete report was published in 1997.

A reprint with some revision, mainly in the layout and chapter division has been brought out in 1999.

To order a copy, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

1997

Practical Guide to Assisting Trafficked Women

GAATW’s first effort to support groups working at the grassroots level this handbook contains information gathered from governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and legal and health experts. Written in a clear and simple style, this manual created a forum for discussion on the everyday aspect of anti-trafficking work among practitioners and promoted understanding of the human rights framework. (Out of Print)

2013

AU PAIR: Challenges to safe migration and decent work

In GAATW’s 2010 Working Paper Series Beyond Borders, links between trafficking and migration, labour, gender and security are explored and developed conceptually. This working paper seeks to build on the earlier work by developing a practical understanding of safe migration, with specific reference to a case study on au pair migration.

The scope for this research focus on Filipina au pairs in three European countries: Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands, which are the top receivers of au pair migrants from the Philippines. This working paper provides an overview of the existing policies on au pair migration in these three countries and also includes a case study of the situations and experiences of Filipina au pairs in one country of destination: Denmark.

This paper includes three separate sections of analysis which are summed up in a chapter on recommendations at the end. The first section gives an introduction to safe migration, in particular, to its challenges, and considers how concepts related to safe migration can be linked to au pair migration. The second section presents existing policies and regulations of the country of origin (the Philippines) and the destination countries (Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands). The third section presents the findings of a case study of Filipina au pairs in Denmark. The final section of the report seeks to address the challenges identified in the analysis by setting out a range of recommendations to be considered by policy makers 

Download the report

 2011

MORE ‘TRAFFICKING’, LESS ‘TRAFFICKED’: Trafficking for exploitation outside the sex sector in Europe

GAATW Working Paper Series 

GAATW has always proactively lobbied for a broad definition of human trafficking and has consequently critiqued a ‘traditional’ near exclusive focus on the sex industry as the primary, if not the only, site of trafficking. The last years have seen, especially in Europe, a growing attention to what is termed as ‘trafficking for labour exploitation’ as something somehow separate or different.  Whilst we welcome the broadening of focus we wonder if creating two separate and distinct categories such as ‘trafficking for labour exploitation’ and ‘trafficking for sexual exploitation’ is helpful. 

With this Working Paper we want to take a closer look at this new scenario and analyse the practical and conceptual implications of the expansion of initiatives to trafficking outside the sex sector, especially for service providers and for those seeking assistance, and try to understand the emerging issues linked to this expansion (especially as they relate to identification and assistance). We discuss the benefits and challenges of the legal avenues, and analyze how existing case law can be used to advance the rights of trafficked persons. A working paper, as the name implies, is a work in progress, rather than a ‘final say’ and we look forward to discussion and dialogues with colleagues on the issues raised in this Paper.

• • Download the report
  • Useful Resources  

2011

SMUGGLING AND TRAFFICKING: RIGHTS AND INTERSECTIONS

GAATW Working Paper Series 

GAATW is increasingly concerned with immigration measures that criminalise migrants and badly affect trafficked people. Many of these policies are framed as ‘anti-smuggling’ measures. We chose to look at smuggling partly because the Smuggling Protocol sits in the same UN convention as the Trafficking Protocol and receives much less attention, especially in terms of human rights.

GAATW members also struggle with smuggling in terms of misidentification. When authorities detain migrants, they do not always screen whether they might have been trafficked, but detain them as criminals, as ‘smuggled’, or as ‘irregular’ and then deport them before they have a chance to seek or receive entitled rights. If people labelled as ‘smuggled’ are not getting their rights, it follows that some non-identified trafficked people are not either. We feel that we cannot ignore the anti-smuggling measures that are affecting the people with whom we work.

This paper examines three topics:

• • Human rights that migrants have in smuggling situations,
  • Intersections between smuggling and trafficking, and
  • Language that different stakeholders use to talk about smuggling.

Click the links below to download: 

• • Working Paper on Smuggling and Trafficking
  • FAQ 1: Human Rights in Migrant Smuggling
  • FAQ 2: Smuggling and Trafficking Intersections