Counter Trafficking

Shelters for Victims of Trafficking in Tajikistan

IOM Tajikistan operates two shelters for victims of trafficking. In 2005, IOM opened the Dushanbe Shelter for Victims of Human Trafficking with the support of the US Department of State Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL). Several months later, IOM opened a shelter in Khujand which caters specifically to the needs of minor victims of trafficking, operated with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Since 2005, the Dushanbe shelter has provided return, rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to 156 VoTs, and the Khujand shelter has provided for the needs of 64 minor victims.

The shelters were the first of their kind and are the only structures in Tajikistan which provides a complete package of assistance, including medical, psychological and legal aid to returned victims of trafficking (VoTs). As part of the social services network, the shelters accept referrals from relevant law enforcement agencies, other state structures, and from non-governmental and international organizations in Tajikistan and abroad. VoTs may also apply for assistance directly. The shelter residents receive a package of assistance services including secure accommodation, food, medicine, voluntary testing for STIs and TB, hygienic supplies, seasonal clothes. VoTs are also referred to other international, governmental and non-governmental organizations as needed. Victims are encouraged to report their cases to law enforcement agencies and to participate in investigations and court hearings. When leaving the shelter, VoTs receive travel support as well as some pocket money, and shelter staff regularly monitor former residents’ progress via phone calls, house visits, and other methods. Shelter staff are carefully selected, and participated in capacity-building workshops in Tajikistan as well as trainings abroad in Moldova (2007), Kazakhstan (2007), Ukraine (2008), and Iran (2008).