Human
Rights Promotion and Trafficking Prevention Project (HRPTPP)
It is a recognized fact that, promotion and protection of human
rights in general and women's and child rights in particular has
been one of the key focal areas of BDPC's programming directions
in national as well as local level programming. Under these directions,
protecting human beings, mainly poor and destitute women and children,
from trafficking and human rights violation has been a big challenge
for human rights organizations like BDPC in Bangladesh. BDPC has
been working for protection of human rights since 1994 by way
of human rights education, advocacy campaign and providing legal
counseling and support. Legal support activities included Salish
or Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) and support for court
cases. Besides education and awareness campaign against human
trafficking was another key component of BDPC human rights activities.
BDPC conducted a research study on human trafficking in Bangladesh
during 2003 and 2004.
The Human Rights Promotion and Trafficking Prevention Project (HRPTPP) is a newly revised project format for BDPC activities in the fields of human rights and trafficking prevention following the study on human trafficking. Key components of the project are a) monitoring, information collection and campaign against human trafficking, women and child trafficking in particular, b) rescue and rehabilitation of trafficking victims, c) human rights education, awareness raising, advocacy and social mobilization, d) legal counseling and support to victims of human rights violation with particular focus on women and children, e) education and parental awareness for protection of children from sexual abuse, f) education and awareness against acid throwing at women and children, g) support to grassroots level women’s rights groups, and h) counseling and legal support to commercial sex workers.
The project is in implementation in 11 (eleven) districts of Bangladesh. These districts include 10 (ten) districts of Khulna division and the Dhaka district that includes the capital city. Activities in Dhaka district also extends to the Gazipur district though Gazipur was not among the districts that were included in the project plan. The ten districts of Khulna division are Jessore, Khulna, Jhenidah, Narail, Magura, Chuadanga, Kushtia, Satkhira, Bagerhat and Meherpur. A Field Manager-cum-Paralegal Counselor heads each of the field offices in these districts.
Besides, the project has local networking linkages in 11 (eleven) districts of Barisal division and greater Faridpur region for education and awareness campaign against human trafficking.
The HRPTPP project works very closely with the district committees of the (government) National Legal Aid Providing Organization of the Ministry of Law Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. BDPC has membership with this committee in 3 districts.
The uniqueness of the project is that it operates in remote rural districts and outreaches the destitute in remotest areas. The project directly benefits the most distressed and vulnerable population group, particularly destitute women and children. There are very few projects in the country that allows so much access to legal services for the people in need in the remote areas. The project has helped hundreds of women to get back family in cases where they were on the verge of divorce and/or permanent separation.
The project is financially supported by Katholische Zentralstelle fur Entwicklungshilfe e.V. (KZE) and MISEREOR, Germany.
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