In 2016, LWOB received a U.S. State Department funded grant, “The Improving Prosecution and Capacity through Training on TIP” (IMPACT TIP-TAN) to improve efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons (“TIP”) in Tanzania. Over the past three years, the IMPACT TIP-TAN program improved TIP investigations and prosecutions in Tanzania through capacity building training and materials development for criminal justice participants.
LWOB built capacity among Tanzanian magistrates, judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement officers through its signature trial advocacy TIP trainings. LWOB’s Support Through Trial Advocacy Training (STTAT) model is a five-day program that runs through every aspect of a trial. LWOB employs its “learning by doing” methodology and provides participants with an opportunity to practice skills in a mock trial setting. Over the last three years, LWOB’s Regional Trainings increased capacity among magistrates, prosecutors, police officers, immigration officers, social welfare officers, NGOs, and community leaders to coordinate together and improve the identification, investigation, and prosecution of TIP cases.
The TIP-TAN program conducted 15 trainings across 13 regions in Tanzania, which have strengthened the capacity of stakeholders to investigate, prosecute, and combat human trafficking. The TIP-TAN program trained 362 individuals, and engaged participants in meaningful dialogue on topics such as challenges implementing Tanzania’s Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and ensuring a victim-centered approach to investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases.
LWOB next intends to increase efforts to raise social awareness of human trafficking and community resilience through a community dialogue project. LWOB will also introduce new training materials on stakeholder collaboration; study the impact of COVID-19 on human trafficking in Tanzania; and introduce new prosecutor- and judiciary-focused manuals.