First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh
2022
- Author
- Government of Bangladesh, Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants (GLO.ACT) Bangladesh and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
- World region
- South Asia
- Origin of migration
- Khulna, Bagherat, Patuakhali, Lakshmipur, Noakali (district specific for climate migrants) Borguna, Chottogram and Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka in Bangladesh
- Area of transit
-
Iran, Iraq and Egypt, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal
Bangladesh is also a transit country itself - Destination of migration
-
Bangladesh
India (Mumbai, Delhi)
Thailand
Malaysia
Gulf Cooperation Countries
Middle East
Europe
The Americas - Who is affected
- Boys, Girls, Men, Women
- Type of climatic event
-
Rapid-onset event, Slow-onset event
Tropical cyclones, storm surges, river and coastal flooding, landslides and droughts.
- Type of migration/mobility
-
Cross-border, Internal, Rural to urban
Internal migration in response to climate change events has been on the rise in Bangladesh. The effects of climate change have driven temporary and seasonal migration from rural to urban areas within the country, especially along the coast. Seasonal patterns of migration in particular are affected by changing livelihood strategies in response to climate change. Internal migration puts pressure on cities, some of which have been re-classified from rural to urban areas. The effects of climate change are also driving coastal residents to migrate to larger urban centres to find work, making them more vulnerable to modern slavery.
- Destination industry or sector
-
Agriculture, Brick kilns, Construction, Domestic work, Fisheries and factories, Manufacturing
*Domestic work, construction, agriculture, ship-breaking, fishing, textile and manufacturing (e.g. electronics, brick), shrimp farming.
- Type of modern slavery
-
Human trafficking
*Human trafficking for forced labour and/or forced commercial sexual exploitation and/or debt bondage, and/or forced marriage
Human traffickers target communities in disaster-affected regions, who are desperate to cross the border to India. Adults and children are often trafficked for different purposes, but both groups are subjected to forced labour and forced sexual exploitation.
- Link between climate change, migration and modern slavery
- Direct
- Key vulnerability factors
-
The effects of climate change exacerbate vulnerability to modern slavery for rural communities with low levels of resilience and precarious socio-economic conditions. Key factors affecting vulnerability include: economic need, discrimination, marginalisation (i.e. of the Rohingya and Hijra peoples), harmful traditional practices, displacement and the effects of climate change. Other factors that influence vulnerability to human trafficking are gender, marital status for women (e.g. being divorced or separated), age, lack of safe migration pathways, complex emigration and immigration regulations, low levels of education and skills and low income. Boys experiencing sexual abuse are also particularly vulnerable to human trafficking. The impunity of perpetrators helps create an enabling environment for forced labour.
- Summary
-
This document provides an overview of human trafficking in Bangladesh. It recognises that the impacts of climate change are key drivers of human trafficking, given that people affected by extreme climate change events are directly targeted by traffickers. Climate change also exacerbates precariousness and need, pushing people to migrate in search of opportunities and making them more vulnerable to human trafficking.
- Recommendations
-
The document outlines 14 recommendations for the Bangladeshi government. They include: developing effective counter-trafficking strategies, analysing how the effects of climate change drive human trafficking, training disaster response teams on human trafficking, and setting up support centres for people impacted by extreme climate change events.
