Abstract
Trafficking in persons which is akin to contemporary slavery is highly prevalent across the world.
It is affecting thousands of persons in all corners of the globe. While men and boys can be
exposed to trafficking, the women and girls constitutes a significant majority of victims of
trafficking. Uganda is among source countries of many women and girls exposed to trafficking.
Each year thousands of Ugandan women and girls are trafficked across international border to
mainly Middle East countries for labor and sexual exploitation purposes. Ugandan women are
subjected to multiple human rights abuses in destination countries. Thus, this thesis seeks to
examine the violation of women rights and advocacy tools or measures adopted in Uganda to
counteract trafficking in women.
The study identifies that there are two dominant approaches to counteract trafficking in persons
including women trafficking. These are: criminal justice approach and human rights based
approach antitrafficking response. It argues that criminal justice approach which views
trafficking as crime and immigration issues resolvable by prosecution of traffickers alone is
losing currency. It fails mainly to address the root causes trafficking in persons in addition to
lack of protection to victims of trafficking {VaT). As a result, human rights based approach that
considers trafficking in women as human rights issues deeming a human rights oriented
interventions is gaining ground in anti trafficking discourses. The study addresses not only the
process and consequences of trafficking but also it seeks to dismantle the structural root causes
such as poverty, lack of education, unemployment and discrimination against women that feed
trafficking in women. Accordingly, anti trafficking encompasses prosecution of trafficking cases,
protection of VaT and prevention of trafficking in holistic manner. Thus, the purpose of this
research is to assess whether anti trafficking adopted in Uganda are in line with human rights
based approach standards. The thesis reveals that while there are some positive initiatives and efforts, anti trafficking measures adopted in Uganda fall short of Human Rights Based Approach anti trafficking standards. The lack of legislative, policy and institutional frameworks coupled with deficiencies in prosecution, protection and prevention strategies prove this assertion. Therefore, it is a high time to adopt A Human Rights Based Approach anti trafficking response in the country to see the effective and meaningful eradication of the trafficking in women. Key terms; trafficking in persons, women, criminal justice approach, human rights, a human rights based approach, prosecution, protection, prevention, victims of trafficking
