As part of the UNHCR AHT in Mixed movement project activities, Caritas Nigeria conducted a town hall meeting at the Ekiadolor/Iguodia community in Ovia N/East LGA of Edo state on Friday, 25th July 2023. This formed part of efforts to reawaken the minds of community members and gatekeepers on the issue of human trafficking and forge new ways forward in the fight. This
meeting was designed to be a follow-up on an initial meeting and as such, participants were expected to show how they have put the previous knowledge and capacity to good effect and make more recommendations.
On progress made since the last town hall meeting, the community members confirmed that they have mobilized community action to tackle human trafficking cases in the communities; by watching out for suspicious activities of traffickers and potential traffickers and reporting such cases to the police. However, the unfortunate part is that after doing so much as a community, parents of the victims insist on not going further with prosecution, which often leads to increased vulnerability and trafficking of victims. They also reported several incidences of Domestic violence, child labour, and child abuse in the community.
In response, community members were encouraged to institutionalize local laws and procedures that would ensure that traffickers face justice, irrespective of the cooperation of the parents of victims. They were also referred to the appropriate authorities to handle domestic violence cases such as the Ministry of Gender Issues and Social Development. Community members were further advised to maintain the Anti-Human Trafficking community structures and also continue the community-led awareness and sensitization campaigns, as a way of sustaining existing efforts. Reporting mechanisms for cases of trafficking were made known to them, including to Caritas Nigeria and the NAPTIP 627 toll-free line.
The event had in attendance about 50 participants, including Caritas Nigeria community volunteers, heads and members of artisan groups, businessmen and women, local security committee members, civil servants, religious leaders, and music artists.
