Harare—Zimbabwe has not been spared the scourge of Trafficking in Persons (TiP). The country has been identified as a source, transit and destination country of men, women and children who are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour.

“Trafficking is real in Zimbabwe and Victims of Trafficking have varied needs including repatriation, medical, mental health, psychosocial and income generating support. There is need to improve coordination, awareness raising and documentation of trafficking cases to effectively respond to these needs,” said Mrs Susan Ngani, the Provincial Social Welfare Officer, Harare.

Between 2015 and 2018, some 160 Zimbabwean victims of trafficking were identified and assisted by the Government of Zimbabwe (GoZ) with support from partners such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM). To further support the GoZ in its efforts, the IOM last week conducted a five-day capacity building Training of Trainers (ToT) workshop on victim protection and coordination for Government officials and Civil Society.

The workshop was attended by participants within the Zimbabwe Anti Trafficking Ministerial Committee (TiP Protection Pillar), that is, those Government Ministries, Departments and Civil Society dedicated to assisting victims of trafficking. The training took place in Darwendale, Mashonaland West Province from 29 July to 2 August 2019. Those trained will pass their newly acquired skills on to shelter staff, Government officials and Civil Society personnel in various provinces in the country, also with IOM support.

The GoZ through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare will coordinate provincial trainings to address any gaps and help standardise the country’s responses to trafficking while strengthening protection services to identified VoTs in Zimbabwe.

Added Mrs Ngani: “This workshop has assisted us as stakeholders involved in the caring of trafficked persons with practical guidance on understanding the short and long-term needs of VoTs and consider appropriate approaches to care for them within the human rights framework.”

The GoZ, through the Anti Trafficking Inter Ministerial Committee has made significant strides to combat trafficking through the implementation of the National Action Plan of Action (NAPLAC) on TiP, this includes the launch of five provincial anti-trafficking task teams with four expected to be launched by end of September 2019. These efforts by the GoZ have seen the country being elevated on the global TiP report for 2019 from Tier 2 watch list to Tier 2 consistent with countries whose Governments are making significant efforts to comply with standards outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.

The capacity building workshop was supported within the implementation frameworks of the U.S. Department of State (DoS) Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP) project Combating Trafficking in Zimbabwe through Prevention, Protection and an institutionalized National Referral Mechanism project. IOM will continue to support the GoZ and Civil Society to enhance their efforts to coordinate anti trafficking responses and protect VoTs.

For more information please contact Varaidzo Mudombi at IOM Zimbabwe telephone +263242704285 email: vmudombi@iom.int