Multi-stakeholder approach for dealing with Trafficking in Persons: The case of Ghana

Abstract

Trafficking in persons has posed challenges to governments and security agencies globally. Advocacy, investigative and prosecutorial attempts have been deployed by specialised agencies in an attempt to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks that perpetuate trafficking. However, the ‘silo’ approach has yielded limited results. Using mainly qualitative research methods among representatives of government ministries, departments and agencies as well as officials from non-governmental organisations, civil society organisations and development partners, we argue that multi-stakeholder collaborations are essential for the co-creation of a coherent solution to the menace of Trafficking in Persons (TIP). We conclude that multistakeholder collaborations and the ‘4 Ps’ strategy of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership within the Ghanaian context have shown that adequate resourcing of the national plan and close monitoring and evaluation of implementation activities could provide the best possible pathway to dealing with these seemingly intractable societal problems. Moreover, we conclude that the multi-stakeholder approach potentially offers access to more resources by drawing on the full range of technical, human, knowledge, physical and financial resources embedded in all sectors and among all actors.