BANDUNG, INDONESIA, 14-15 April 2018 – Together with the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP), the NEXUS Institute held a Multi-Disciplinary Team Coordination Meeting, focused on sharing experiences and lessons learned from village-based Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) in West Java under the NEXUS pilot project to increase human trafficking victim identification in Indonesia.

The pilot project, implemented in three villages in the districts of Cianjur, Cirebon and Sukabumi, aims to increase communication, cooperation and competency among police and village stakeholders to effectively and appropriately recognize signs of human trafficking and refer previously unidentified trafficking victims for formal identification.

The coordination meeting was attended by members of the three MDT teams as well as district stakeholders from law enforcement and other government officers, namely the Women and Children Services Unit of the Indonesian Police (Unit Pelayanan Perempuan dan Anak or UPPA), the Integrated Service Center for Women and Children (Pusat Pelayanan Terpadu Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Anak or P2TP2A) and the Ministry of Manpower (Dinas Tenaga Kerja or Disnaker).

The model and approach piloted in this project are applicable beyond Indonesia, offering guidance that can lead to an improved ability to identify trafficked persons, thereby strengthening the criminal justice response and the provision of assistance and protection to further victims’ recovery.

The pilot project is supported by the Australian Government through the Australia-Asia Program to Combat Trafficking in Persons (AAPTIP).