Sierra Leone
The Problem
Sierra Leone is a source, transit, and destination country for vulnerable men, women, and children subjected to illegal migration, human trafficking, and forced labor. Victims are commonly trafficked from rural provinces and across borders to and from nearby West African countries for the purposes of exploitation in prostitution and domestic servitude or forced labor in mining, petty trading, rock-breaking, street crime, and begging. Making matters worse, the 2014/2015 Ebola outbreak in West Africa left more than 12,000 orphans throughout the region, increasing the vulnerability of these children to being trafficked and exploited. The Government of Sierra Leone still relies heavily on civil society support to assist trafficking victims.
WHI's Solution
WHI believes that supporting the emotional healing process of a trafficked survivor is vital for their optimal recovery. Our model is built upon the guiding principle that people are harmed in relationship and are also healed in relationship. In order to cultivate such healing, since 2012, with financial support provided by the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, WHI has been operating a first of its kind Recovery Centre for Survivors of Human Trafficking. The Recovery Center serves as the first stop on the path of restoration for victims removed from the horrors of labor and sex trafficking. By offering survivors a path towards healing through immediate and holistic aftercare services, the Recovery Center restores to survivors the opportunity to live lives of dignity and hope.
WHI has also played an instrumental role in drafting and revising Sierra Leone’s Anti- Human Trafficking Act that was passed in 2005 and has a strong record as an effective catalyst for establishing anti-trafficking networks, having developed 58 Village Parent Groups (VPGs) around the country, all trained to identify and respond to human trafficking and linked with local law enforcement. WHI also serves as a member of National Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Task Force and maintains excellent working relationships with key members of the national police and federal government ministries.
Drawing on this wealth of experience and expertise, in late 2017 began a three-year project targeting human trafficking and forced labor with funding European Commission’s European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights. In partnership with GOAL and Sierra Leone Labor Congress, WHI is working to further build local and national level capacity to combat trafficking and forced labor across Sierra Leone, and ensure victims access the social, emotional, and legal supports needed to fully recover from trauma and abuse.
The Impact
Through the RC, WHI is helping survivors of trafficking and sexual exploitation access holistic and comprehensive aftercare services. This includes (a) safe residential care for six to twelve months; (b) short-term clinical care that addresses survivors' physical and spiritual health, as well as psychological and social needs; (C) legal support and (d) reintegration support and case management services. In the end, WHI is helping clients to stabilize, gain coping skills, process the harm they have experienced, reclaim self-direction in their lives, and eventually be reintegrated back into community life with family and friends.
Similarly, through their work with the European Commission and local and international partners, WHI is ccontributing to 1) a reduction in prevalence and acceptance of the worst forms of child labor and human trafficking and 2) the achievement of decent work and human rights for women and youth in the informal economy in Sierra Leone.
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