Countering human trafficking: Winrock’s legacy of leadership and commitment
July 30th each year marks World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, a global observance established by the United Nations in 2013 to raise awareness of human trafficking and promote and protect the rights of its survivors. This year’s theme: “Human Trafficking is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation,” underscores the urgent need to strengthen prevention efforts — a mission that has been central to Winrock International’s work over four decades.
Winrock is a recognized global leader in countering human trafficking and advancing human rights. Our locally-led programs and projects have reached communities in dozens of countries, with particularly deep expertise across Asia. From grassroots prevention to survivor reintegration, we’ve developed and shared innovative tools and strategies to disrupt trafficking networks, helped build the capacity of governments to craft survivor-focused policies and plans to prevent it, and worked with communities and those affected.
In recent years, Winrock has emerged as a thought leader in addressing the growing threat of cyber-enabled trafficking and online scam operations — a rapidly evolving form of exploitation that preys on economic vulnerability and digital connectivity.
As part of our commitment to elevating survivor voices and informing policy, on WDATIP 2025 we’re sharing a new publication: “Survivor perspectives on combating exploitation in scamming centers and disrupting their operations: Report from a focus group discussion with
survivors repatriated from Cambodia.”
This report captures the harrowing experiences of three Bangladeshi survivors who were trafficked into online scam centers in Cambodia. Their stories reveal how traffickers exploit trust, technology, and transnational networks — and offer critical insights for prevention and protection efforts.
On World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, we reaffirm our commitment to a world where every person is free from exploitation — and where survivors’ voices and experiences are heard, shared and integrated into advocacy and counter-trafficking programming.
Related Projects
Ashshash Phase II: For Men and Women Who Have Escaped Trafficking
The second phase of Winrock International’s Ashshash project is being implemented in Bangladesh, in collaboration with local partners and governmental agencies. Ashshash is funded by the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh. The project works to ensure the protection of human trafficking survivors through various social and economic support services. And, prevent trafficking across at-risk and […]