In 2016 the Gendarmerie General Command established the Department of Counter Smuggling and Trafficking (under the Ministry of Interior) to respond to the heightened smuggling and trafficking risks posed by the Syrian crisis and related conflicts in the region surrounding Turkey. Despite the large-scale humanitarian assistance provided to refugees in recent years in Turkey, the issue of human trafficking has so far being largely overlooked, with an assessment conducted by IOM in 2017 revealing the widespread prevalence of varied forms of human trafficking including forced labour, sexual exploitation, child labour, and early and forced marriage, but limited capacity amongst relevant actors working in Turkey to identify victims, provide the necessary protection measures, and respond to trafficking cases. The lack of a comprehensive nationwide identification framework places vulnerable groups such as women, children and refugees at a great risk of exploitation. To respond to these gaps, IOM has received requests from the Gendarmerie – a law enforcement agency which plays a key role in identifying victims and perpetrators of trafficking and smuggling – for technical support in enhancing their institutional and operational capacities, which would represent a significant step towards a more coherent and rights-centered approach to addressing trafficking and smuggling in Turkey. To meet the recommendations detailed in the European Commission’s Progress Report, the proposed project aims to build the capacity of the Gendarmerie’s newly-established Department of Counter Smuggling and Trafficking to combat human trafficking and smuggling and identify, protect and assist all vulnerable migrants including victims of trafficking (VoTs). This aim will be achieved through the development and delivery of a training of trainers (TOT) program, to be subsequently incorporated into the Gendarmerie’s internal training program; roll-out training on interview techniques and victim identification; and facilitation of an inter-agency forum on trafficking to clarify and strengthen the role of the Gendarmerie in the national referral mechanism, with the participation of the Directorate General of Migration Management (DGMM), Ministry of Justice and NGOs.