DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

Combating Human Trafficking in Zimbabwe: The role of NGOs in the fight against Human Trafficking in Zimbabwe.

Project disclaimer

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Description

Zimbabwe is a source, transit and destination country for trafficking in persons yet the prevalence of different forms of human trafficking in the country are unknown and its conviction rates and victim identification pattern remain a cause for concern. Working in partnership with NGOs in Zimbabwe to analyse the secondary data they hold on human trafficking, the project will gain the much needed insight into this global development issue using a country specific case study. At an international level, The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons 2000 (Palermo Protocol), which is the legal framework on which governments build their own domestic policy, prescribes the three Ps' of Prevention, Protection and Prosecution as the pillars of anti-trafficking; thus providing a one-size fits all approach to combating trafficking. Yet human trafficking is more complex than often imagined and its dynamics vary according to context, which calls for the need to undertake country specific case studies. Our recent pilot study (conducted by the PI and the UK-based CI) involving secondary analysis of the human trafficking data held by three Zimbabwe-based NGOs (International Organisation for Migration [IOM], Musasa Project and AFCAST) has revealed gaps in policy and practice as well as in public understandings of human trafficking. The data analysed related to the recent case of human trafficking, involving about 200 Zimbabwean women who were rescued and repatriated from Kuwait between 2016 and 2017. The pilot revealed the misrepresentations of human trafficking as solely a case of transnational organised crime; merely a gendered issue; as well as the conflation of human trafficking with sexual exploitation. The findings further highlighted the gaps in domestic policy, showing that Zimbabwe's current Trafficking in Persons (TiP) law is inconsistent with international law as it defines trafficking in persons as a movement based crime and does not adequately define 'exploitation' which leaves many victims of trafficking without legal protection. In short, the pilot work revealed the invisibility of internal trafficking victims and increasing forms of trafficking(e.g. labour exploitation) involving children, men and women whose plight does not normally attract public, media and government attention. To address this gap, we have secured the commitment of four NGOs whose anti-trafficking work spans internal and transnational trafficking. We will undertake secondary analysis of the data that these organisations hold in order to gain deeper insight into the human trafficking activity in Zimbabwe. The four organisations are: Love Justice-Zimbabwe, Childline-Zimbabwe, Kukosha and IOM. Love Justice-Zimbabwe has worked with approximately 700 diverse internal and transnational victims of trafficking since its establishment in 2015. It monitors trafficking hot-spots across the country including border posts as well as undertaking interception work. The work of Childline-Zimbabwe centres around child vulnerability and protection and the organisation operates 34 community-based drop-in centres across Zimbabwe as well as a 24 hour freephone helpline. Kukosha works with vulnerable children and their families. We will also engage with our existing partner, Musasa Project, an organisation that works with vulnerable women. The project will explore four research questions: RQ1: What do the data that NGOs hold show to be the scale, trends and prevalent forms of human trafficking, where and why? RQ2: How are the different forms of human trafficking represented by age and gender? RQ3: What, according to the various datasets, may be the opportunities and constraints that characterise NGOs' anti-trafficking work? RQ4: How can NGO anti-trafficking activities be strengthened? Findings will be disseminated to academics, policy makers and other key stakeholders through for example, conferences, workshops and website. COVID-19

Objectives

The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) supports cutting-edge research to address challenges faced by developing countries. The fund addresses the UN sustainable development goals. It aims to maximise the impact of research and innovation to improve lives and opportunity in the developing world.

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Location

The country, countries or regions that benefit from this Programme.

Zimbabwe

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