The State of Women and Children Trafficking in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is considered as a source and transit country for men and women and children trafficking for the purposes of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and children are trafficked to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation. Recently it has emerged as one of the most profitable illegal trades in Bangladesh. But little efforts have been made to gain a meaningful understanding of the local dynamics of the problem though Government as well as many non-governmental and international organizations are working in Bangladesh on the issue. The task is very difficult and involves delving into a complex area of legal issues, social attitudes, economic interests, and illicit activities. The aims of this review paper were to know the state of women and children trafficking in Bangladesh by reviewing different efforts of various organizations working on the issue in order to articulate some recommendations for the concerned. For the purpose of the study different annual reports of various organizations, published and unpublished research reports found on the internet, journal articles and different websites of various organizations were reviewed. The recommendations of this paper may be of interest to the policy makers as well as the organizations working on the issue.