The Tafteesh Resilient Communities (TRC) project is focused on preventing human trafficking through community-led interventions in the trafficking-prone regions of North and South 24 Parganas, West Bengal. Uniquely, TRC integrates carefully designed strategies that connect the underlying causes and risk factors of trafficking with targeted prevention strategies, creating a comprehensive approach that goes far beyond conventional methods. Born out of extensive research, including the "Secondary Research on Global Prevention of Human Trafficking, 2021" and the "Preventing Trafficking: Sustainable Developmental Solutions to Combat Trafficking, 2021-2022", TRC addresses the complex, nuanced challenges of human trafficking with a bold, community-resilient framework.
Why TRC?
The researches highlight that the theory of change in anti-trafficking work varies depending on the perspective from which trafficking issues are addressed. It’s common to hear that trafficking persists simply due to a lack of awareness, but the research demonstrates that awareness alone doesn’t significantly prevent trafficking from happening. The community-based research carried out by survivors and social workers brought to light the deeper vulnerabilities that drive trafficking. They identified that emotional disconnect between parents and adolescents serves as one of the primary vulnerabilities to trafficking, emphasising the importance of strengthening family bonds. Absence of a clear prevention policy leaves duty-bearers and organisations uncertain about their roles and responsibilities in trafficking prevention. Specific groups, such as gender-variant children and SC/ST/minority communities, face unique risks due to social and economic marginalisation, making them particularly vulnerable. In response to these findings, TRC is designed to foster resilience within communities by focusing on some of these key aspects pointed out in the researches.
What Makes TRC Unique : Prevention Beyond Awareness
TRC goes beyond traditional approaches by working closely with communities to create sustainable, localised solutions. Rather than solely disseminating information, TRC engages communities in transformative ways that build long-lasting resilience. TRC aims to customise its strategies to the specific vulnerabilities and needs of its community, fostering not only awareness but a proactive defence against trafficking risks. While awareness educates people about risks and rights, prevention requires a deeper engagement with communities to address the root causes of vulnerability. Awareness alone cannot prevent trafficking, prevention requires long-term, carefully crafted, meaningful investment in families, social bonds, and supportive community structures.
TRC’s partners are dedicated to building these protective networks and fostering accountability within communities, working toward a future where resilience and community-led prevention are the norm. What TRC aims to achieve is more than an immediate solution. It is a model that could redefine the decades of prevention work that has happened in India.This commitment to empowering individuals, transforming community structures, and strengthening protective bonds aims not only to inform but to transform lives, helping communities take ownership of their futures and protect against trafficking on a foundational level.