As a part of our partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, GFEMS is excited to share the launch of our new project and partnership with Hope for Justice. Coupled with other efforts in the portfolio, the project objectives are to:
- Provide rehabilitation services to survivors of sex trafficking in Uganda
- Improve and standardize rehabilitation and trauma-informed care practices within the region
- Build capacity for service delivery for the national network, Uganda Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons (UCATIP).
See more of our work combatting sex trafficking.
Sex trafficking is a key focus of the Fund’s efforts. Working within our intervention framework, we target reduction in the supply of vulnerable individuals, demand for sexual exploitation, and the enabling environment that allows modern slavery to persist and traffickers to operate with impunity. This project specifically targets the supply of vulnerable individuals and the enabling environment.
On the supply side, GFEMS and Hope for Justice will provide holistic rehabilitation services to survivors, including shelter, psychosocial support, and medical care at its reintegration centers, Lighthouses in Kampala. Hope for Justice will also trace survivors’ families and, when safe, will work with the family to provide reintegration support. Working with local partner, Platform for Labor Action (PLA), the project will facilitate access to vocational training, apprenticeships, and sustainable employment opportunities for survivors over age 16 to reduce their risk of re-trafficking. In addition, with the support of PLA, the project will facilitate access to legal support for survivors of child trafficking. To improve access to care and services long-term, GFEMS and Hope for Justice will support the members of CAPITU to strengthen coordination and improve the standard and consistency of care for survivors in the region.
To address the enabling environment and reduce risk of re-traumatization for survivors, the project will focus on improving trauma-informed care within the justice system. Police, magistrates, and prosecutors will be trained on trauma-informed care and practices. This reduced risk level should also make their testimony more effective for the prosecution of traffickers and provide a critical step in deterring traffickers.
Further, the project partners will work with the University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab to develop a suite of evidence-based, trauma-informed Standards of Care resources. Hope for Justice will implement these resources as a part of its services at Lighthouses. Throughout the project, GFEMS will monitor the uptake of the resources and their impact on quality of survivor care.
GFEMS looks forward to providing updates on this project and sharing our learnings with the anti-trafficking community. For updates on this project and others like it, subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
This article and the Hope for Justice project were funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of State. The opinions, findings and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Department of State.
