Kathmandu: The findings of an 18 month research study on trafficking in Nepal were presented jointly by The Asia Foundation-TAF-and the Population Council-Horizons- at a seminar held here last Friday January 19, 2001.
The findings have emanated, say the organizers, from in-depth field based research on adolescent vulnerability to trafficking conducted among as many as 1,200 girls from various districts of Nepal notably from Jhapa, Parsa and Palpa as well from analyses of the prevailing Nepali laws, policies and current interventions to prevent the menace of trafficking.
Mr. Nick Langton, Representative of The Asia Foundation at the beginning of the seminar introduced the research scholars involved in the field-based research and the speakers who included Dr. Jyoti Sanghera and Dr. Celine Costello Daly.
Those who attended the one-day seminar on the topic included Government officials, donor organizations, and I/NGOs working on the issue plus a selected number of media professionals.
At a time when local and international attention to the issue is burgeoning, the research highlights innovative intervention approaches being undertaken to arrest trafficking, identifies program gaps and provides guidelines for the development and the implementation of further policy and program responses to trafficking.
Among the major recommendations of the research revealed at the seminar was the need to bring about greater conceptual clarity on the issue of trafficking. The speakers argued that it was essential to consider the laws and the policies from the point of view of the possible impact on the Human Rights of the disgraced trafficked persons. They drew attention to the fundamental difference between a woman’s right to safe migration and protection of women per se, and the need for interventions that are need-based, research based and rights based as well.
The findings on the field research on adolescent girls’ vulnerability to trafficking showed that girls view trafficking to be caused by factors such as illiteracy and sheer poverty and suggest addressing the issue by targeting underlying gender/social issues and providing livelihood opportunities within the community.
Social stigmatization regarding trafficking and HIV/AIDS in rural Nepal was considered to be quite high in the study.