GFEMS and Terre des Hommes Netherlands partner to tackle child sex trafficking
Terre des Hommes Netherlands is pleased to announce our collaboration with the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS). As a part of the Global Fund’s partnership with the U.S. Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, GFEMS and Terre des Hommes Netherlands have launched two new projects to tackle child sex trafficking. The projects are based in Kenya and Uganda with a focus on skills development and livelihoods for survivors and community-based prevention of sexual exploitation of children (SEC), respectively.
Kenya: Building a future
In Kenya, the partnership will focus on implementing community-based prevention methods, formal education for young survivors (9-15 years), vocational skills training, apprenticeships and job skilling for older survivors (16-18 years), and improvement of household livelihoods for the most vulnerable families of survivors of sexual exploitation (SE). Targeting known hotspot locations for child sex trafficking in the Kenya coast, the project works to address both the supply of vulnerable children and the enabling environment that allows sex trafficking to persist.
Uganda: Community action
In Uganda, GFEMS and Terre des Hommes Netherlands are focusing on community-based prevention of sex trafficking by establishing and enforcing child protection regulatory frameworks from the national level to the community level. Targeting the Karamoja region, the project aims to reduce the supply of children vulnerable to sex trafficking and address the enabling environment in the region.
Incorporated into the programming agenda, throughout the course of the projects, GFEMS and Terre des Hommes Netherlands will seek to understand whether targeted community engagement can effectively promote positive behaviour change.
This article was made possible through support provided by the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery under a Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. Department of State. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of GFEMS or the U.S. Department of State.