Research conducted by IOM in 2017 revealed that internal trafficking is a prevalent problem in Tajikistan. There is an increase in victim referral between victim support organizations and law enforcement, but there is a lack of an adequate referral system for internal trafficking cases among state bodies and civil society organizations (CSOs). While having good expertise in the areas of human rights abuses, transnational trafficking and domestic violence, CSOs still have capacity-building needs in combating internal trafficking and the dialogue between state bodies and CSOs needs to be strengthened.
The goal of this project is to contribute to improved services available for victims of internal trafficking provided by state agencies and CSOs. This will be done through building the capacity of CSOs in order to reinforce their role as one of the main actors within the National Act Plan. The expected outcomes of the project are: i) State agencies and CSOs deliver enhanced referral and protection support to victims of internal trafficking through the establishment of a robust cooperation mechanism; and ii) Enhanced understanding on internal trafficking by the general public will reduce the risk of vulnerability to internal trafficking.
To enable these outcomes IOM will make sure: i) CSOs, state agencies and other stakeholders have the skills and knowledge to identify and refer cases of internal trafficking and provide psycho-social support to victims of internal trafficking (Output 1.1) by organizing a number of training sessions for CSOs on internal labour and sexual exploitation, victims of trafficking rights protection, and referral mechanisms; ii) CSOs will obtain international expertise in identifying cases of internal trafficking (Output 1.2) through an international study tour; a Working Group (WG) in charge of the development of a multi-year National Action Plan will be established (Output 1.3); and, the general public is sensitized to internal trafficking and sexual and labour exploitation (Output 2.1) through NGO-led information campaigns.