Child Trafficking Webinar: From Evidence to Action on Child Trafficking
Child Trafficking Webinar: From Evidence to Action on Child Trafficking
On 22 September, the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT), in coordination with Alliance 8.7, held a webinar titled “From Evidence to Action on Child Trafficking”.
During the webinar, Dr. Claire Galez-Davis and Ms. Irina Todorova from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as Dr. Vasileia Digidiki, Dr. Jacqueline Bhabha, and Ms. Kaela Connor of the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University highlighted the key findings from a joint study that examined 20 years of primary data from more than 69,000 victims of trafficking registered with IOM in its countries of operation globally.
The event was opened by Ambassador Claudia Fuentes Julio, Chairperson of the Alliance 8.7 Global Coordinating Group (GCG), and Ms. Tea Machaidze from the Office of the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Violence against Children (OSRSG-VAC) who is current ICAT co-chair for 2023. Both Her Excellency the Ambassador and Ms. Machaidze emphasized the importance of primary case data as a key source of evidence for anti-trafficking policy and action.
“A key challenge we face is the constant evolution of trafficking networks and tactics in response to our efforts. To stay ahead, it is essential to possess up-to-date data on current trends and dynamics. This data is vital to deepen our understanding of the issue and guide policy and program interventions,” said Ms. Machaidze.
Ambassador Julio echoed, saying, “Trafficking is a hidden phenomenon, difficult to observe and collect data on. That is why often the recorded experiences of trafficked persons are one of the most important sources of evidence that can help us answer the important questions on how trafficking works and what we can do about it.”
In closing, Mr. Mukundi Mutasa from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), highlighted, among others, the importance of inter-agency coordination and cooperation to end child trafficking. UNODC is ICAT’s permanent coordinator.
Child trafficking is one of ICAT’s key priority areas in 2023. This webinar follows another related webinar on strengthening access to justice for, and with, children that was held in June 2023.
The recording of the session is available online here.
