Key sectors of Jordan’s economy rely on migrant workers from Africa and South and Southeast Asia, including construction, tourism, textiles, agriculture, and domestic work. These migrant workers are vulnerable to trafficking in persons (TIP) due to the visa sponsorship system that binds them to their employer; unscrupulous employers exploit the non-transferability of residency permits to control, manipulate, or abuse workers. Survivors and counter-trafficking organizations report victims of trafficking in Jordan experience non-payment of wages, withholding or confiscation or passports or other identity documents, unsafe living conditions, and long hours without rest, and verbal, physical, and emotional abuse. Between 2022- 2023, the Government of Jordan’s (GOJ) Counter Trafficking Unit investigated 36 cases of trafficking, 26 cases and 28 traffickers were convicted (with 11 acquitted on appeal). Over the past year, ABA ROLI has worked with the GOJ’s National Committee to Counter Trafficking to increase the number of systematized prosecutions and investigations and develop new and/or strengthen existing enforceable policies, laws, agreements, or mechanisms related to human trafficking through the US State Department Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons-funded Building a National and International Trafficking in Persons Response program.
Building a National and International Trafficking in Persons Response
Launched in 2020 and concluded in 2023, the program delivered awareness raising and training on trafficking laws, indicators, referrals, and investigation and prosecution techniques to 363 judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, government officials, and civil society representatives. In early 2023 and to expand the program outside Amman, ABA ROLI’s partner, Da’em Observatory for Consultation and Training, delivered outreach sessions in Southern Jordan to 75 government officials, civil society representatives, and healthcare professionals. Most of the participants in these sessions were unfamiliar with TIP laws. These trainings ensured potential first responders know what trafficking could look like, their responsibilities under the law, and how best to refer potential victims for protection services.
Based on ABA ROLI’s extensive experience implementing counter-trafficking programming in Jordan (and elsewhere), we have identified the lack of empathy for migrant workers and survivors of trafficking as a major barrier to successful identification, investigation, and prosecution. To address this, in June 2023, ABA ROLI hosted a three-day immersive multimedia art exhibition in Amman (see here and here) that invited audiences to delve into the lives of migrant workers and survivors of trafficking in Jordan, shining a spotlight on their hopes and dreams, resilience, and perseverance. Over 600 people visited the exhibition and a further 10,000 were reached online through the press and a radio interview with ABA ROLI’s Program Manager. Paintings, audio stories, installations, photography, a short film, and a dance performance worked to build empathy among audiences that will increase understanding, compassion, and a sense of shared humanity.
This program is now closed, but its impact continues. An evaluation of the program concluded in September 2023 noted “the program achieved its objective of reshaping judicial processes, prompting judges to recalibrate their focus toward victim protection and the judiciary’s role in trafficking cases.” The impact of program’s work with survivors has also gone beyond the life of the project, with survivors and migrant workers who participated in the exhibition using it as an opportunity to connect with their communities, develop links with international organizations, and donors on counter-trafficking initiatives. Speaking about their participation in the exhibition, artists and storytellers from the Filipino community in Jordan (such as Renalou, a representative of the Filipino artists, and PintaKultura, a visual arts group) acknowledged the transformative effect of the program, stating that it had established a “dynamic platform for ongoing dialogue, education, and the cultivation of awareness.”