Reframing Narratives: Anti-trafficking from the ground up (Issue 2)

GAATW and Partners Convene Regional Strategy Meeting on Trafficking for Forced Criminality in ASEAN

On 24 April 2026, GAATW, in collaboration with Hayat Life and with support from ASEAN–Australia Counter Trafficking Programme (ASEAN-ACT), convened an online regional strategy meeting on Trafficking for Forced Criminality: Drug Couriering in the ASEAN Region.

The meeting brought together government representatives from ASEAN Member States, anti-trafficking experts, law enforcement and civil society organisations to examine emerging forms of trafficking for forced criminality and identify collective strategies to strengthen protections for victims across the region.

GAATW and Partners Convene Regional Strategy Meeting on Trafficking for Forced Criminality in ASEAN

On 24 April 2026, GAATW, in collaboration with Hayat Life and with support from ASEAN–Australia Counter Trafficking Programme (ASEAN-ACT), convened an online regional strategy meeting on Trafficking for Forced Criminality: Drug Couriering in the ASEAN Region.

The meeting brought together government representatives from ASEAN Member States, anti-trafficking experts, law enforcement and civil society organisations to examine emerging forms of trafficking for forced criminality and identify collective strategies to strengthen protections for victims across the region.

Book: Women on the Move and the Movements they Build

We are excited to introduce our new publication, Women on the Move and the Movements they Build, an anthology that grew out of Voice and Participation: A Learning Journey, a multi-country initiative that brought together GAATW members and partners to reflect on how they centre the voices of migrant and trafficked women, and what role lived experience expertise plays in their decision-making.

This anthology charts the organisational journeys of eight partner and member organisations across East and Southeast Asia and Europe, tracing their evolution from founding moments, some rooted in individual acts of resistance, others in collective crisis response, into sustained movements for migrant and workers' rights. Each chapter recounts a distinct national context and history, from decades-long legal battles to community-built shelters that grew into unions, showing how organisations shaped by the voices of those they work with continue to adapt, grow, and push for justice. We believe these stories offer valuable insight and inspiration to the wider anti-trafficking and migrant rights community.

Book: Women on the Move and the Movements they Build

We are excited to introduce our new publication, Women on the Move and the Movements they Build, an anthology that grew out of Voice and Participation: A Learning Journey, a multi-country initiative that brought together GAATW members and partners to reflect on how they centre the voices of migrant and trafficked women, and what role lived experience expertise plays in their decision-making.

This anthology charts the organisational journeys of eight partner and member organisations across East and Southeast Asia and Europe, tracing their evolution from founding moments, some rooted in individual acts of resistance, others in collective crisis response, into sustained movements for migrant and workers' rights. Each chapter recounts a distinct national context and history, from decades-long legal battles to community-built shelters that grew into unions, showing how organisations shaped by the voices of those they work with continue to adapt, grow, and push for justice. We believe these stories offer valuable insight and inspiration to the wider anti-trafficking and migrant rights community.

Reframing Narratives: Anti-trafficking from the ground up (Issue 2)

We are excited to introduce our new publication, Reframing Narratives: Anti-trafficking from the ground up, an annual publication by GAATW members. The series offers a unique GAATW perspective on emerging anti-trafficking issues, focussing on the experiences and efforts of members and allies rather than ranking responses or estimating case numbers. It aims to foster dialogue across global movements, connecting those in fields such as migration, women’s rights, labour organising, climate change, corporate accountability, and conflict with anti-trafficking work.

This second issue, Lived Experience Expertise, focuses on a subject central to GAATW’s work since its founding in 1994. This publication is intended to support the practice of GAATW members and others involved in anti-trafficking work, by sharing personal journeys of survivor leadership, discussing the complexities of drawing on lived experience expertise and providing concrete strategies for promoting lived experience expertise. As the essays in this publication show, the practice of actively listening to survivors of trafficking and other abuses continues to be at the core of the work of our members. We believe the insights shared in this publication will be of great use to the wider anti-trafficking and human rights community.

Reframing Narratives: Anti-trafficking from the ground up (Issue 2)

We are excited to introduce our new publication, Reframing Narratives: Anti-trafficking from the ground up, an annual publication by GAATW members. The series offers a unique GAATW perspective on emerging anti-trafficking issues, focussing on the experiences and efforts of members and allies rather than ranking responses or estimating case numbers. It aims to foster dialogue across global movements, connecting those in fields such as migration, women’s rights, labour organising, climate change, corporate accountability, and conflict with anti-trafficking work.

This second issue, Lived Experience Expertise, focuses on a subject central to GAATW’s work since its founding in 1994. This publication is intended to support the practice of GAATW members and others involved in anti-trafficking work, by sharing personal journeys of survivor leadership, discussing the complexities of drawing on lived experience expertise and providing concrete strategies for promoting lived experience expertise. As the essays in this publication show, the practice of actively listening to survivors of trafficking and other abuses continues to be at the core of the work of our members. We believe the insights shared in this publication will be of great use to the wider anti-trafficking and human rights community.

Details: Published: 16 March 2009

Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee is a forum of 65 000 sex workers based in West Bengal, India. The basic approach of Durbar’s programme is based on the principle of “3 R’s” - Respect, Reliance and Recognition: Respect towards sex workers, Reliance on the knowledge and wisdom of the community of sex workers and Recognition of sex work as an occupation, for the protection of their occupational and human rights. Durbar was created by sex workers involved in the STD/HIV Intervention Programme or the Sonagachi Project. In 1999, Durbar took over the management of the Sonagachi Project and currently runs STD/HIV intervention programmes in 49 sex work sites in West Bengal. Durbar provides testing, counselling and care for people with HIV/AIDS. DMSC’s anti-trafficking work is done through Self-Regulatory Boards comprised of both sex workers and community supporters. Self-Regulatory Boards monitor brothels in co-operation with brothel owners in order to identify women and children who have been trafficked and to arrange for care. DMSC has also created a hostel for sex workers children, worked to decrease violence and abuse by law enforcement agencies, implemented an initiative to admit children in schools, organised loan programmes, provided vocational training for the children of sex workers (as electricians and beauticians), created the Usha Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society (the largest cooperative society for sex workers in Asia), provided literacy training for adults, organized annual conferences for sex workers, established Komol Gandhar (sex workers performance troupe) and the Binodini Srameek Union or the Binodini Labour Union.

Contact Details:

Address: 12/5 Nilmoni Mitra Street, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Tel: +91 33 2530 3148
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Website: durbar.org