J1094N Operation Aegis

The Situation 

According to the US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report (2020), Global Law Enforcement identified 105,787 human trafficking victims in 2019, up from 85,613 in 2018. And according to the International Labour Organisation, 40.3 million people were victims of human trafficking in 2016, including 15.4 million in forced marriage. Of the 24.9 million people in forced labour, 4.8 million persons are in sexual exploitation. The development need in Indonesia is a focus on eradicating human trafficking through education, employment, prevention and intervention such as hard rescue (arrests and convictions). With a specific focus on child sex trafficking.

The Objective 

Shield of the Children exists to eradicate child sex trafficking through prevention, intervention and aftercare. Prevention includes education, economic empowerment and collaboration with government and non-government entities. Intervention is focused on hard rescue, whereby children are rescued from child sex trafficking, and perpetrators are put behind bars for as long as possible. Aftercare is holistic and Shield does not currently operate anywhere that doesn’t have sufficient aftercare to see these survivors through until the point where they can reintegrate in to society. Long-term, Shield intends to establish organic aftercare in a remote part of South-East Asia in partnership with other aftercare subject matter experts.