Liberia
The Problem
The 14 years of civil war that ravaged Liberia at the turn of the century ended close to two decades ago, but the culture of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) popularized as a weapon of war by fighting forces endures. Despite being the first African country to elect a woman president, women and girls in Liberia today are susceptible to abuse in nearly all aspects of life, with husbands, fathers, teachers, and domestic partners the most common perpetrators of violence.
Likewise, Liberia is a source, transit and destination country for vulnerable men, women and children subject to human trafficking. Rural populations are limited in their exposure to awareness campaigns, leaving many Liberians unaware of their rights and how to protect themselves and their families from falling victim to slavery, while authorities and community members are limited in their capacity to identify trafficking when it occurs. Further complicating matters, lack of access to appropriate social welfare services precludes survivors from receiving the supports they need to recover, leaving survivors vulnerable re-victimization.
WHI's Solution
World Hope International (WHI), both individually and as part of Faith Alliance Against Slavery and Trafficking (FAAST), first became active in anti-trafficking work in Liberia in 2007. Today, we continue our anti-trafficking efforts in Liberia by supporting the GoL to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. With WHI’s support, enhanced protection and recovery services are providing emergency shelter, holistic case management, and reintegration assistance for victims of abuse of all forms, including SGBV and human trafficking. Additionally, WHI and the GoL have established a national Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Hotline for the identification of trafficking victims and at-risk persons and are working to institute a National Referral Mechanism and Standard Operating Procedures to reduce trafficking across the nation. In addition, WHI works to raise awareness of human trafficking in Liberia through person to person outreach in villages and radio call-in shows.
The Impact
The TIP Hotline has become a standard referral resource of potential victims for law enforcement; civil society actors; and government ministries, departments, and agencies to combat human trafficking. WHI has noted a dramatic spike in calls to the TIP Hotline immediately following radio call-in shows. WHI has also found that working in collaboration with other organizations in remote regions and across borders is an effective way to share resources and expertise in caring for survivors of TIP.
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