MAKING DO - Providing Social Assistance to Trafficked Persons
From 26-30 November 2005, a consultation meeting on Social Assistance was held in Bangkok. It involved representatives of GAATW-IS, member and sister organisations who met to share, consult, and collaborate on strategies for providing assistance to trafficked persons.
Members were invited to submit a detailed report of the situation in their countries, based on a questionnaire, as well as complete a brief presentation at the onset of the consultation. The lively and respectful discussions that ensued were testament to the richness of the input, and the commitment of the practitioners who attended the consultation.
This report compiles information provided and discussed during the consultation. It is by no means definitive, but will necessarily adapt to additional experiences and lessons learned. It aims to build upon work done in the past decade (see section on Context & History) by GAATW and member organisations. We hope that new ideas will be stimulated resulting in practical benefits and contact between service providers will increase. GAATW recognises the value of information gained from direct assistance; therefore the consultation process was designed to document what is being done, the challenges faced, and what needs to be done to enhance providing assistance to trafficked persons. We hope that this report captures part of the spirit of the consultation and provides a useful record to all of you.