\u201cWe run awareness sessions about human trafficking in schools, organizations and parishes,\u201d said Good Shepherd\u00a0Sister Marie Claude Naddaf<\/a> (1<\/a><\/sup>), regional coordinator and founder of Wells of Hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organization reached 3,220 people with its awareness sessions in Lebanon last year and assists trafficked persons, as well as vulnerable populations at risk of being trafficked, with medical care, education and employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n CNEWA-Pontifical Mission has been supporting Wells of Hope since 2020. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ms. Arslanian reported \u201cmore sex trafficking and child labor in recent years.\u201d Migrant domestic workers have become a group especially at risk of trafficking, either through forced labor or sexual exploitation, she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While there is no comprehensive data on human trafficking in Lebanon, the U.S. Department of State\u2019s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report indicates organizations across Lebanon identified around 1,100 people who requested assistance, including shelter, legal and cash assistance, and repatriation to their home countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 160,000 and 250,000 migrant women, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, are estimated to be in Lebanon, according to a report by Migrant Workers\u2019 Action, which advocates for a just immigration and labor system for migrant workers in the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These women come to Lebanon under a sponsorship system (\u201ckafala\u201d in Arabic) that excludes them from the protections in Lebanon\u2019s labor law and gives their sponsor almost complete control over their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This system \u201ccreates a power imbalance between the employer and the worker, which allows for forced labor to happen,\u201d said Ghina al-Andary, who works in the anti-trafficking unit of Kafa, an organization dedicated to the elimination of gender-based violence and exploitation. Kafa also operates a shelter and a hotline for domestic workers abused by their employers and offers case management. <\/p>\n\n\n\n These organizations have been working in a context of reduced funding since January 2025, when the U.S. administration drastically cut foreign assistance, from $77 billion in obligations for 2024 to $13 billion for 2025. European countries, including the United Kingdom, France and Germany, also announced drastic cuts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have observed a general decrease in funding, especially on migration, labor rights and community-led programs,\u201d said Dara Foi\u2019Elle, who works as a policy and communications manager with Migrant Workers\u2019 Action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that of the organizations that received funding termination notices, women led 80 percent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She said the lack of funding hinders the efforts of \u201ccommunity and migrant-led groups that successfully self-organize\u201d and limits \u201clegal assistance and cash assistance for medical care, already available only for limited periods of time.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMost types of funding are responding to humanitarian emergencies, rather than providing long-term services,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which also combats human trafficking, reported cutting 43 percent of its programs in its Middle East and northern Africa region in response to the U.S. freeze in foreign assistance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n UNHCR is among the funders of Caritas Lebanon, the social service organization of Lebanon\u2019s Catholic churches, which operates two shelters for migrant domestic workers and one for refugees in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThankfully our anti-trafficking activities were not affected [by these cuts], and we turned to other Caritas offices to close the gaps in funding,\u201d said Noha Roukoss, Caritas Lebanon\u2019s advocacy manager.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, UNHCR\u2019s cutbacks \u201cresulted in budget cuts\u201d at Kafa and \u201ca shift in activities, which makes our work harder,\u201d Ms. Andary said. While none of Kafa\u2019s services had been discontinued at the time of publication, Ms. Andary warned fewer services will be available to women if the organization is unable to secure additional funding, \u201cas the Lebanese state does not provide those services.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As well, smaller initiatives that rely on Kafa\u2019s services soon may no longer be able to do so. Franciscan Missionary of Mary Sister Wardeh Kayrouz<\/a>, assists 50 vulnerable people per month in the underprivileged neighborhood of Nabaa, on the outskirts of Beirut. Some are survivors of sex trafficking or organ trafficking. She helps them access medical care, education and provides them with infant formula and diapers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn the past, I have referred women to the shelter that Kafa operates,\u201d she said, adding that she has been receiving more requests for financial assistance since the funding cuts in January.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Group](\"https:\/\/cnewa.org\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/07\/20250207T1646-WASHINGTON-ROUNDUP-2-7-17897031-1024x682.jpg\")