Described by Pope John Paul II as a “shocking offence against human dignity and a grave violation of human rights”, human trafficking remains one of the world’s most lucrative trades, alongside illegal weapon and drug trade. The International Labour Organisation estimates that as many as 2.4 million men, women and children fall victim to unscrupulous traffickers each year.

While some victims are kidnapped or handed over in payment of family debt, most are lured by promises of well-paying jobs and opportunities abroad. After providing transportation and false travel documents for overseas “jobs” as domestic workers, au pairs, models, etc., traffickers often charge exorbitant fees, lending way to life-long debt bondage situations. More often than not, trafficking victims are often subjected to cruel mental and physical abuse, including beating, rape, starvation, forced drug use, confinement and seclusion.

ICMC has witnessed the indelible marks that such experiences leave on both trafficking survivors and their families and, since 1999, has worked in countries of origin, transit and destination to combat trafficking and provide protection and assistance to those affected. From the Balkans to Asia and the Middle East, ICMC has earned a solid reputation for its work in trafficking prevention and protection, assisted voluntary return and reintegration, and coordination of services.

In addition to providing a variety of direct services─ranging from temporary shelter to psychosocial counselling, legal aid and livelihood and reintegration assistance─ICMC actively engages with local communities and NGOs in high-risk villages to strengthen their capacity to improve protection for survivors and better prevent future cases of trafficking.

Dedicated to pursuing holistic and sustainable solutions, ICMC also works to improve the implementation of anti-trafficking laws and better protect victims by establishing effective networks and cross-border counter-trafficking task forces among local authorities and representatives from government ministries of health, education, employment, defence, justice and social welfare.