United States Extends Assistance to Combat Human Trafficking

Thursday, October 09, 2008

HANOI, Vietnam -- The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $760,000 to extend two projects focused on combatting human trafficking in Vietnam. USAID’s implementing partners for these activities are the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) and the An Giang/Dong Thap Alliance for the Prevention of Trafficking (ADAPT).

Over the next three years, USAID and UNIAP will carry out a $500,000 project to support trafficking prevention, prosecution, victim protection, and policy strengthening.  Working with the Government of Vietnam, UNIAP will support a team of lawyers and judges to analyze trafficking prosecutions throughout Vietnam.  By examining cases of human trafficking and how they are adjudicated, the team will gain a better understanding of how to improve criminal justice processes. In addition the project will ensure that shelters serving trafficked persons meet the highest standards and provide quality, victim-centered services.  Vietnam will also take a lead role in improving data on human trafficking in order to gather scientifically reliable estimates of the number of persons trafficked in a hotspot location.  This will allow the government to more accurately gauge the number of people being trafficked over time, and to support groups of trafficking victims that had not been previously identified.  A final initiative will raise awareness of the plight of victims, starting with a hotline to support affected men, women and children.

The second USAID-funded activity, ADAPT, was launched in 2005 to combat trafficking in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region. This project is coordinated with local authorities in An Giang and Dong Thap, and will now continue its expansion to a third province, Kien Giang, located on the Vietnam - Cambodia border. This $260,000 program will continue support and individualized care for at-risk girls and returnees at the newly opened voluntary shelter in Long Xuyen.  The program helps broaden educational and economic opportunities through scholarships, vocational training, job placement, and income generation. There are approximately 500 at-risk girls receiving long-term scholarships covering school fees, books, uniforms, bicycles, and tutoring until the girls graduate from high school.

Thirty young women will receive 12 months of training and work placement assistance in textile and garments, handicrafts, and service industries. To help returnees reintegrate, ADAPT will provide medical care, counseling, referrals to legal agencies, and assistance with vocational training and job placement.  Apart from prevention and integration services, ADAPT also includes training and public awareness through discussion groups, brochures, and community events on topics such as safe migration and the risks of trafficking.   Next year, ADAPT will deepen advocacy work through community groups conducting peer educational activities at the grassroots level.

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