Tip Report 2020
Every year the US Department of State releases a Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks countries from Tier 1 (most compliant in meeting minimum standards for eliminating trafficking) to Tier 3 (failure to comply with minimum standards for eliminating trafficking).
This annual report is a tool that can be used to encourage countries to acknowledge trafficking within their borders and take action to eradicate it.
C A M B O D I A | TIER 2
Rapha International believes the most effective way to combat human trafficking is by empowering local staff. We have been honored to stand alongside the Khmer people by providing healing, hope and freedom to survivors - one child at a time. Rapha International Cambodia’s most significant development of 2019, which was the finalization of our registration with the Cambodian government as a local organization. In transferring our status from an International NGO to a local NGO, this deeper partnership with local government communicates our intention to develop a long-term sustainable organization that will thrive into the next generation and beyond. Rapha International also launched a transitional home in Cambodia for older girls who are ready to leave our aftercare program, but for whom it is unsafe to return to their own communities.
H A I T I | TIER 2
Through massive collaborative efforts throughout 2019, Rapha International, in partnership with the Internet Watch Foundation and in collaboration with the Haitian government through the National Committee against Trafficking in Persons (CNLTP), and the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM), officially launched the first portal for reporting and dealing with online child sexual abuse images in Haiti on May 6, 2020. This critical reporting mechanism makes it possible for Haitian citizens to be empowered to take action, and it protects children and their futures. Haiti has gained ground in combating trafficking and sexual exploitation through this endeavor, and Rapha International is grateful to have played an instrumental role in making this possible.
T H A I L A N D | TIER 2
Rapha International is proud of the Royal Thai Police’s work and the Royal Thai Government for their commitment to combat trafficking within their borders, and we are grateful to stand with them in their efforts! Last year we were awarded a new license in Thailand as an approved “Child Protection Center”, which allows law enforcement to rescue survivors and bring them directly to our gates. Over the past two years, our legal team has successfully helped prosecute court cases for seven of the girls we serve. Twenty-one convicted persons are collectively serving more than 305 years in prison for the trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors. In 2019, we worked harder than ever before to gain partnerships with other organizations facilitating anti-trafficking work in Thailand, as well as with the Royal Thai Police. These collaborative efforts have led to a new contract, signed at the beginning of 2020, which allows our social workers to assist with police-led raid and rescue efforts in order to bring immediate care to survivors. In the first quarter of 2020 our social workers were involved with a major human trafficking raid in the south of Thailand where more than 35 Cambodian nationals were rescued - 17 of those survivors being minors.
