Gender and Development

Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia (TA 5948-REG)

To better understand the nature and underlying causes of trafficking in women and children and identify how ADB can contribute to addressing anti-trafficking concerns through its country programs and regional policy dialogue, ADB started a Regional Technical Assistance (RETA) Project in South Asia in July 2001. Under this RETA

• a series of National Consultation Workshops were held in late March - early April 2002
• an Exposure Visit of the South Asia delegation to Thailand was held on 15-18 May 2002 where participants exchanged ideas on multi-stakeholder program models and legal frameworks
• a Regional Workshop was held in Manila last 27-29 May 2002. Read the proceedings.

At the Regional Workshop, key stakeholders from the Government, NGOs and donors in the three participating countries - India, Bangladesh, and Nepal - and resource persons from Thailand were invited to discuss key findings and recommendations of various reports produced under the RETA. They also enjoyed interaction with Manila participants through the plenary discussions and the field trips organized around two thematic areas - safe migration and rescue/repatriation of trafficked victims".

The final reports presented at the Regional Workshop include:

• Final Regional Synthesis Summary Report [ PDF: 1,437kb | 71 pages ]
• Supplemental Study on Legal Frameworks Relavant to Human Trafficking in South Asia [ PDF: 166kb | 53 pages ]
• Presentation about this study [ PDF: 47kb | 32 pages ]


• Final India Country Report [ PDF: 1,065kb | 93 pages ]
• Final Bangladesh Country Report [ PDF: 1,908kb | 83 pages ]
• Final Nepal Country Report [ PDF: 1,117kb | 97 pages ]

These reports have been compiled into two synthesis publications:

• Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia-Regional Synthesis Paper for Bangladesh, India, and Nepal
• Combating Trafficking of Women and Children in South Asia- Guide for Integrating Trafficking Concerns in ADB Operations

These reports generally highlight that:

• Human trafficking in South Asia is a highly gendered process.
• Traffickers 'fish' in the stream of migration, therefore, it is important to address safety and security of human movement.
• It is necessary to understand and address the demand side factors of trafficking.

Review the agenda, papers, and presentations of the Workshop.

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Read the ADB Review article Fighting Trafficking Ending the Agony