WUNRN
ILO - International Labour
Organization
ILO &
UK Department for International Development (DFID) Partner to Combat
Labour
Trafficking of Women & Girls with New Project in South Asia &
Middle East
15
July 2013 - GENEVA - A major new project to help prevent 100,000 girls and
women across South Asia and the Middle East from falling victim to the
worst forms of labour trafficking was launched today, by the Department for
International Development and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
The UK Government is investing £9.75 million over five years into the Work in
Freedom initiative to help tackle known labour trafficking routes between South
Asia, such as Bangladesh and Nepal, to the Middle East including Jordan, United
Arab Emirates and Lebanon. Around 21 million people are trafficked and in
forced labour worldwide, the majority are from Asia with women and girls most
affected.
Every year millions of men and women from poor communities migrate to find
employment so they can send money home to support their families. They get jobs
such as live-in domestic workers cooking, cleaning and looking after families
or in garment factories. But many end-up being deceived and trafficked into jobs
with extremely low wages or don’t get paid at all, their movement is
restricted, their living and working conditions are very poor, and they often
suffer physical and sexual abuse.
The programme will reach tens of thousands of women and girls and aims
to:
International Development Minister Lynne Featherstone said:
“Income earned from migrant workers abroad and sent back home provides a vital
source of support to families in developing countries worth billions of pounds
and many times more than the global aid budget. But it is appalling that today
- hundreds of years since the abolition of the slave trade - women are still
trafficked into abusive jobs in their millions.
“Women who want to migrate for work to lift themselves and their families out
of poverty should be able to do so safely and securely. The Work in Freedom
initiative will help more than 100,000 women and girls in South Asia, a
trafficking hotspot, with practical support and advice so that they can earn a
living and avoid the dangers of trafficking.”
The ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder said:
“Labour mobility is a reality of our globalized economy but with it comes an
increased risk of labour trafficking, particularly for the poorest and most
vulnerable.
“We estimate over $12 billion worth of income a year is withheld from those in
forced labour in Asia and the Middle East. This is money that should be helping
lift families out of poverty.
“This ground-breaking partnership with the UK Government is a vital step in
making migration for work a safe and legitimate means of improving
livelihoods.”
The Gender Violence and Health Centre at the London School of Hygiene &
Tropical Medicine will be monitoring and evaluating the project. Professor
Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical
Medicine, said:
“Given the large numbers of women and girls putting themselves at risk of harm
to support their families, it is exceedingly urgent that we seek strong
evidence on what works to prevent human trafficking and stop extreme
exploitation.
“DFID recognizes that, to date, the field of trafficking has had very weak
evidence. We are pleased to lead this intervention research and draw on our
expertise to build a more robust evidence-base on what works to help working
women improve their lives and livelihoods.”
The Department for International Development, ILO and the London School of
Hygiene and Tropical Medicine are from today hosting a two-day conference
bringing together governments, international and regional institutions, private
sector, trade unions and NGOs to create a network of organizations to take
action against trafficking.