August 2001

Trafficking and Human Rights in Nepal: Community Perceptions and Policy and
Program Responses

In Chitwan, western Nepal, women enrolled in an empowerment program sponsored by the Asia Foundation gather to study a legal literacy curriculum that includes trafficking as a key topic. The women are wearing matching saris to signify their solidarity.

In recent years, millions of women and girls have been trafficked across national borders and within countries, a global industry that generates up to US $7 billion annually (Widgren 1994). The trafficking problem is particularly acute in Nepal, one of the least developed countries in the world, with 42 percent of its citizens living below the poverty line.

While there are no reliable data on the magnitude of the trafficking problem in Nepal, the most widely quoted sources estimate that 5,000 to 7,000 girls are trafficked from Nepal to India and other neighboring countries every year, primarily for prostitution, and 200,000 Nepali girls and women are currently working in the sex industry in India (UNIFEM 1998).¹

The occurrence of trafficking in Nepal is generally attributed to widespread poverty, low status of girls and women, and social disparities rooted in ethnic and caste groupings. Women living in an environment of restricted rights, limited personal freedom, and few employment opportunities may decide that out-migration is their only hope for achieving economic independence and a higher standard of living. Those who are victimized by traffickers instead experience abuse, exploitation, and greater vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.

How effective are Nepal’s policies and programs in shaping a cohesive and effective national anti-trafficking strategy? What are the underlying attitudes and values about trafficking that inform these efforts, and what effect do these assumptions have in practice? Are prevention, care, and support activities for trafficked women and girls appropriate and respectful of their human rights?

A recently completed operations research project undertaken in Nepal by The Asia Foundation and the Horizons Program examines these questions and recommends approaches to strengthen anti-trafficking interventions in the region and provide effective care and support to trafficked women and girls. The researchers assess Nepal’s efforts through a human rights lens, focusing not only on the abuse of fundamental rights that trafficking represents but also on the need to protect women’s right to freedom of movement and to employment.

¹These reports are not based on empirical data and have not changed since they were first quoted in 1986.

• Study Methodology
• Key Findings
• Intervention Responses to Address Trafficking in Nepal
• Learning from HIV/AIDS Policies and Programs in Nepal
• Study Recommendations
• References
• PDF format (222.75 KB)

Study investigators include Pankaja Bhattarai and Nick Langton of The Asia Foundation, Kathmandu; Catrin Evans, Jyoti Sanghera, Ratna Kapur, and Siobhan Crowley, consultants; and Vaishali Sharma Mahendra and Celine Costello Daly of Horizons.

About Horizons

Horizons conducts global operations research to improve prevention, care, and support program. Horizons is implemented by the Population Council under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Agency for International Development. Horizons partners are the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH), the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Tulane University.

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Copyright © 2001 The Population Council

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19 Oct 2007