In 2020 the UN declared that,

'Trafficking in persons remains one of the largest human rights violations exacerbated in times of crises where the humanitarian community does not have a predictable, at-scale way to respond.'

Today - when the world is experiencing multiple crises with devastating humanitarian consequences, and a record 362 million people are identified to be in need of humanitarian assistance - what, if anything, has changed? Our report, Anti-trafficking in humanitarian settings: gaps and priorities for a more systematic response, presents a new and significant primary data set, which together with our analysis, shines a light on the very urgent need for a more robust, systematic anti-trafficking response.

Drawing on new in-depth qualitative data, the report provides an analysis of heightened vulnerability in humanitarian settings; details of the growth in awareness and visibility of the issue; core challenges related to specialist anti-trafficking capacity; gaps in frontline and back- end capacity; dynamics of the relevant funding contexts; and a focus on wider areas of concern (including, the traffickers and formal identification processes). These findings are also fleshed out through a further case study of Ukraine - examining the anti-trafficking responses following the full-scale Russian invasion.

Throughout the report emerging and promising practices are also highlighted.