IOM builds and refurbishes shelters for survivors of trafficking

Survivors of human trafficking will have more comfortable accommodation at State-run shelters thanks to support from IOM Port of Spain.

On January 22, IOM Head of Office, Jewel Ali, led site visits to five State-run shelters that IOM is establishing or renovating and outfitting - two in Tobago and three in Trinidad.

Some of these shelters are designated for children, while others will serve adults. Some of the shelters also house survivors of abuse.

Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Secretary for Health, Wellness and Social Protection, Dr. Faith B.Yisrael, UN Resident Coordinator in Trinidad and Tobago, Joanna Kazana, the Directorate of the Counter Trafficking Unit of the Ministry of National Security, Mr. Allan Meiguel and Dane-Marie Marshall, and management of the different shelters were among those who attended.

The shelter upgrades fall under two IOM projects: Heal, Empower, Rise - Counter-Trafficking in Persons (HER CTIP) project, a US $950,000 initiative with USAID Eastern and Southern Caribbean, and the US $2.6m venture called the Access, Support and Coordination (ASC) Programme, which is funded by the UN’s Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MPTF). Both projects strive to standardise the operating framework for shelter management, regardless of which State agency administers the shelter, and to improve the infrastructure, services and resources used in the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking survivors.

RC Kazana said, "We commend the Government for strengthening national capacity to respond to cases of trafficking in persons. We are encouraged to see serious Government efforts to provide longer term solutions- including suitable shelters for trafficking victims."

Editor's Note: to protect the identities and safety of the survivors of trafficking who are currently being housed at the shelters, and to prevent easy identification of the locations where shelters are currently in operation or are set to become operational in the near future, exact locations have not been shared and easily identifiable photographs of the buildings have not been published.