Source: UNODC Press Release
At any given time, an estimated 2.4 million people are trapped in modern-day slavery – human trafficking. Women, children and men across the globe find themselves being enslaved in forced labour and domestic servitude, sexually exploited or used as child soldiers. A global enterprise worth in the region of US$32 billion, human trafficking affects nearly ever country in the world and has become a major concern.
In a bid to provide help and support to those most affected by trafficking the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking has launched a Small Grants Facility aimed at helping victims of human trafficking. This is the first initiative of the Trust Fund. It aims to provide tangible support, through established channels, to victims of trafficking in persons. Coinciding with the centenary of International Women’s Day, the event was co-hosted by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Human Trafficking.
Administered by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Victims’ Trust Fund will support actual, on-the-ground humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of trafficking. The 2011 Small Grants Facility is intended to serve as a major avenue for the channelling funds to the front-line organisations working on the ground to fight human trafficking through a range of avenues, including governmental, inter-governmental and civil society organizations.
With the growing international recognition of the Blue Heart as a symbol of unity against human trafficking, the Victims’ Trust Fund has adopted the Blue Heart as its emblem. The Blue Heart Campaign will also lend its support to the Victims’ Trust Fund in raising the profile of this cause and in furthering public knowledge around human trafficking.
Soroptimist International wholeheartedly supports the establishment of the 2011 Small Grants Facility and welcomes the victim centred approach the UN has decided to take in its design.
To find out more about the blue heart campaign and the Trust Fund, visit: http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/
Click here to read more about the work of SI on Human Trafficking.