Protection
The government’s efforts to protect victims of trafficking during the reporting period were notable, though it continued to suffer from a lack of resources. Government officials regularly relied on three NGOs to provide shelter, counseling, and rehabilitation for victims of trafficking. Government authorities referred trafficking victims to these NGOs in regions where victim assistance was available. For instance, in the second quarter of 2007, one NGO shelter received 23 female trafficking victims; 17 were referred by police and one by a social worker. In January 2008, the Anti-Human Trafficking Unit changed its policy of requiring trafficking victims to go to a police station to make a statement; now a plain-clothes female police officer visits shelters to obtain sex trafficking victims’ statements in a more private setting. The Unit also hired a female police sergeant to better facilitate its interactions with female victims.
A 24-hour crime hotline staffed by Tanzania police officers is available for citizens to make anonymous reports about suspected trafficking victims. While still severely constrained by lack of funding, the Ministry of Labor budgeted approximately $60,000 to its Labor Administration and Inspection Services for child labor inspections. In 2007, the Ministry of Labor withdrew nearly 1,100 victims from forced child labor situations, most of whom were provided the opportunity to compensate for their missed education by enrolling in one the Ministry of Education’s 305 Community Learning Centers. The government generally encourages victims’ assistance in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, but the lack of national procedures for victim protection likely led to the deportation of most foreign victims before they were identified or able to give evidence in court. Foreign victims are not offered legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they would face hardship or retribution. In a few cases, the lack of adequate shelter facilities forced Tanzanian officials to house potential trafficking victims in prisons.
Read more about this topic: Human Trafficking In Tanzania
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—James Madison (1751–1836)