Reducing human trafficking vulnerabilities caused by climate change-induced migration in Bangladesh

Climate change-affected populations are at significantly heightened risks of human trafficking. Droughts, floods, and other climate events disrupt livelihoods, increase pressures to migrate, and provide fertile ground for trafficking and related forms of labor and sex exploitation in both source and destination areas for migrants. Bangladesh, a country highly exposed to climate change, may be particularly affected by climate-induced human trafficking. However, little is known about the effects of human trafficking preventive interventions targeted specifically at populations affected by climate change-induced dislocation, displacement, and migration.

This five-year project (2022-2027), funded by the US Department of State’s Program to End Modern Slavery (PEMS), and implemented by Winrock International, seeks to identify effective interventions to mitigate human trafficking risks in this context. PDRI-DevLab researchers will carry out a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impact of Winrock’s local-level counter-trafficking program activities on the prevalence of climate change-induced human trafficking and associated risk factors.