Addressing impact in human trafficking….. Why is this important?

Within any society, there are many social issues Social issues Human trafficking Human trafficking is one of them Intervention programs funded by donor agencies attempt to address this issue in a variety of ways

Social issues Human trafficking But the impact of these programs differ. Positive impact Some programs have a positive impact on addressing a problem Negative impact Some programs have a negative impact on addressing a problem No impact Sadly some have no impact at all

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact Counter trafficking Interventions In addressing human trafficking, there are a variety of interventions But the outcome of these interventions is not always what one might expect In the best of circumstances, an intervention has a positive impact on reducing trafficking This might include a program that teaches potential migrants how to effectively protect themselves from getting trafficked in a way that reduces an exploitative outcome

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact In some cases, a program has an impact, but it doesn’t address a counter-trafficking outcome Counter trafficking Interventions This might include a program that reduces poverty but does not reduce a person’s vulnerability to being trafficked So not all counter- trafficking interventions reduce or address trafficking in a way we might have intended

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact Counter trafficking Interventions In some cases, funding is spent, but the intended interventions have no effect on addressing human trafficking This might include a set of workshops that are made to community leaders that does not provide any trickle down effect to potential victims The human trafficking sector has many such activities that require funds, but do not result in any measurable change.

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact Counter trafficking Interventions But this analysis does not end here. In some cases, counter trafficking interventions actually increase trafficking For example, some female education programs increase a girls’ chance of being trafficked at a later time. After an additional two years of education, a family might have very high expectations The girl is then sent to the city where she can’t compete with the better trained urban folks and then becomes vulnerable to be trafficked.

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact Counter trafficking Interventions Finally, there are some counter trafficking interventions that have a negative effect on other social issues. For example, this might include counter-trafficking interventions that result in borders being closed for women The assumption is that if women don’t cross borders, they can’t be trafficked. But the outcome of this often has two effects: women accept more vulnerable conditions to cross borders and… A very positive, supportive developmental initiative (migration) is closed to a large portion of a society

Social issues Human trafficking Positive impact Negative impact No impact Counter trafficking Interventions To do a better job of knowing if the interventions we are doing are making a difference, we have to place more emphasis on understanding impact This requires that we put in place monitoring and evaluation formats that help us to understand the true implications of our programs With this in mind, UNIAP will place a greater emphasis on working with the development community to institutionalize impact assessments so we can better understand our programs…..and the potential impact they might have in reducing human trafficking…

Thank you For more information, please contact: Mr. Matthew Friedman UNIAP