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July 30th is a day set aside by the United Nations Organisation to mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons (WDATIP), all over the world.
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a crime and grave human rights violation of enormous scale, which is prevalent in situations of vulnerability.
To commemorate this year Word Day Against Trafficking In Person’s, tagged “Use and Abuse of Technology”; Civil Society Organisations in Edo State, under the umbrella of Localising Trafficking In Person’s Response (LoTIP-R) Cluster, had a two kilometre awareness, and sensitization walk across the three senatorial districts of the state.
The Civil Society Organisations that participateed in the two kilometre awareness and sensitization road walk include Willi Johnson Foundation, JDPC Auchi, IDRC,GPI, Josemaría Escrivá Foundation, JDPCI and the Edo State Task Force Against Human Trafficking (ETAHT).
The cluster is led by Uromi Justice Development Peace and Caritas Initiative (JDPCI) with support Strengthening Civic Advocacy and Local Engagement (SCALE) project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Palladium International.
Human trafficking is the third largest crime industry in the world, behind drug dealing and arms trafficking, and is the fastest-growing activity of trans-national criminal organizations. Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is a crime and grave human rights violation of enormous scale, which is prevalent in situations of vulnerability. This year’s theme is tagged “Use and Abuse of Technology”
With the global expansion in the use of technology – intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift of our everyday life to online platforms – the crime of human trafficking has conquered cyberspace. The Internet and digital platforms offer traffickers numerous tools to recruit, exploit, and control victims.
However, during the rally the cluster created the awereness that the use of technology also lies great opportunity. Future success in eradicating human trafficking will depend on how law enforcement, the criminal justice systems and others can leverage technology in their responses, including by enhancing prosecutions through digital evidence and providing support services to survivors. Awareness-raising activities on the safe use of the internet and social media as well as cooperation with the private sector are important to support prevention and combatting of human trafficking.
Part of the cluster’s mandate is to advocate for the need for the legislative review and amendment of the existing Edo State Trafficking in Persons Prohibition law 2018 to accommodate the establishment of trafficking in Persons response structures at the Local Government Level of Edo State. Say no to human trafficking!
