Scoping Counter Trafficking Program Opportunities in Timor Leste 

This week, our Director of International Programs Jean Stewart commenced on a three weeks' counter trafficking program scoping trip in Timor-Leste. Jean has been extremely passionate about improving the human trafficking situation in Timor-Leste and embarked on a journey to determine the correlation between human trafficking and disasters.  

Timor-Lest is a destination country (demand), as well as an origin country (supply) for human trafficking, and frequently experiences natural hazards, such as cyclones, earthquakes, tsunamis, bushfires, flooding and severe weather. Timor-Leste is listed under the Tier 2 Human Trafficking Watch List, which translates to a considerable human trafficking problem in combination with a failure of the government to show progress towards combatting this illicit trade. Only a few days before Jean's arrival, Timor-Leste was hit by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake, which fortunately did not result in any casualties.