Economic need key risk factor of trafficking in Bangladesh: study 

Economic need is the most significant of the risk factors of trafficking in persons in Bangladesh, says the First National Study on Trafficking in Persons in Bangladesh. 

The study's finding also highlighted climate change as another emerging root cause it said, adding that traffickers targeting victims affected by environmental disasters such as floods and droughts which erode livelihoods and heighten levels of vulnerability.

The report launched on Sunday at a city hotel by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Government of Bangladesh was based on a collection of data and evidence carried out between mid-2020 and mid-2021 via desk review of existing data and information, and field research.

It said traffickers use deceptive schemes in the recruitment stage so that job offers appear as viable solutions to alleviate conditions of economic need.

While Bangladesh substantially reduced its poverty rates by nearly 30% between the early 1990s and the late 2010s, many people living in rural areas remain in poverty, with limited economic opportunities. 

Though poor districts are located all over the country, there is a concentration of these in the Western Division of Rangpur (Kurigram, Dinajpur, Gaibandha, Rangpur, and Lalmonirhat). Other districts among the poorest in the country are Bandaraban (Division of Chattogram), Magura (Khulna), Kishoganj (Dhaka), Khagrachari (Chattogram) and Jamalpur (Mymensingh), according to the report. 
Research on trafficking tactics suggests that traffickers mislead victims by resorting to deception. They can easily mislead the poor population due to lack of knowledge or information about regular migration.

Besides, people living in poverty are more vulnerable to victimisation by traffickers promising better opportunities for income generation within Bangladesh and the region, in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries and North America and Europe. 

Apart from identifying the causes and risk levels of human trafficking in Bangladesh, some recommendations were also made, including include building strong deterrence mechanisms to combat crime, ensuring legal protection for victims and developing strategies to end human trafficking and forced labour through legal channels.

According to UNODC's 2020 Global Report on Human Trafficking, 51% of people in Bangladesh fall prey to traffickers. 

The study used this report of UNODC as a data reference.

As the chief guest at the event, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said solutions would be made keeping the findings of the study in mind.

The study was under the framework of the European Union funded Global Action against Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants project (GLO.ACT-Bangladesh) and in cooperation with the Research and Trend Analysis Branch of the UNODC.

Among others, expat minister Imran Ahmed, Ambassador and Head of the Delegation, European Union, spoke at the event.