Description

In 2000, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (UN Trafficking Protocol). The Protocol obliged states to criminalise human trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and assist victims. Twenty years later, it is one of the most ratified UN instruments and human trafficking is a major issue of international concern and activism. However, it has also attracted considerable criticism for leading to serious human rights violations of trafficked persons and other vulnerable groups.

In 2020, to mark the 20th anniversary of the Protocol, the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women partnered with Sharmila Parmanand to lead a series of conversations about the Protocol and anti-trafficking work more broadly, their successes and failures, and opportunities for improvement.

In this episode, we speak with Marija Andjelkovic from the Serbian NGO ASTRA - Anti-Trafficking Action. Marija reflects on the changes in the situation with human trafficking in Serbia - trends in the recruitment and exploitation of victims, as well as the responses by the government and NGOs - since 2000. She emphasises the need for the government to implement its obligations in practice, as well as to strengthen the protection of victims.

Find out more about ASTRA's work at https://astra.rs/.

Description

In the first session of Practices in Participatory Grantmaking, we speak to Carmen Dupont from FundAction and Mina Jaf who is the founder of Women Refugee Route and presently, Community Coordinator at Hibiscus in UK. They are both part of the FundAction, an activist-led participatory and feminist fund in Europe. It is a network of 250 activists in 30 countries doing grassroots activism, supporting deep system change and developing alternative solutions. The participants in the webinar shared their questions about participatory grantmaking and processes that the two speakers. The webinar was moderated by Srishty from GAATW.

Episode Description

Ahead of #InternationalMigrantsDay, listen to experts on labour migration talk about experiences of South Asian women during the onslaught of COVID-19. How did conditions of stigmatization, discrimination, and social exclusion affect women migrant workers in the countries of origin and destination? What role did they play in the macro and micro economy before and during the crisis? Did they have access to services, social protection, and welfare that recognized and met their needs as workers?

Episode Description

If migrants supply substantial labour for countries of destination, why don’t they have access to the same social welfare benefits as local workers? And if they yield income for their countries of origin, why don’t their governments arrange social security schemes that would meet their needs whenever and however they want it? Where are the women’s voices in leveraging migrant workers’ access to social security funds?

Episode Description

For many years now, civil society has been calling for a better understanding of the gendered nature of labour migration. In Sri Lanka, data on the remittances sent by migrant workers remain aggregated. This reveals the government’s lack of information and recognition of women’s contribution to the macroeconomy. This has affected its investment in women workers' welfare. But this lack of recognition and social safety net does not only happen in Sri Lanka. It happens even in the countries of destination which substantially benefit from migrant workers’ labour.

Episode Description

When Bangladeshi women migrate for labour, they are helping their households' income and their country's economic development. But what do they get in return? Do they have a voice in financial decisions in their households? How is the Bangladeshi government using their remittances for their health benefits and social welfare?

Episode Description

When political processes maintain the status quo-- especially the exclusions and expulsions in society-- what kind of social change comes with adding "inclusion" in the policy objectives? How can laws be "inclusive" if they are oblivious of the structural inequalities  produced and reproduced by economic growth?

Episode Description

The labour migration of women is replete with negatives. They have no decent work opportunities at home and yet they are banned from working abroad. As Nepali women provide migrant labour in the global care economy, what kinds of intervention will guarantee them their human rights as workers? How would policy actions based on the fundamental recognition of women's paid and unpaid work look like?

To learn more about the WOREC and GAATW study Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 on Returnee Migrant Women Workers, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHaO9tbQAUY