Qatar Foundation Launches Project to Study Public Awareness of Human Trafficking Issue

Doha, August 16 (QNA) - Qatar Foundation for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (QFCHT) has launched a research project to assess the level of public awareness on the issue of human trafficking.
This project is within the framework of the Arab initiative for building national capacities to combat human trafficking, hosted by Qatar at the Doha Foundation Forum earlier this year, under the auspices of HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser in association with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which aims to strengthen the capacities of Arab countries to combat trafficking in human beings.
The results of the project will provide insights to the Foundation to plan campaigns against human trafficking in the Middle East and North Africa region.
It is necessary to begin the initiative with focused and precise information on various countries' understanding the real meaning of trafficking in humans, the Foundation said and added that it would then be possible to measure community's awareness of the issue.
The Foundation has taken the opinion of 426 respondents in Qatar to prepare a database on the community's perception of the problem.
The institution's staff and volunteers held meetings in Arabic and English languages with citizens and residents in different public places, hospitals and industrial zones.
Results of the project will be presented and discussed at a media conference, the Foundation said.
The Foundation endeavours to work towards consolidating the society's full awareness, propose policies, create national work plans and activate special legislations on combating human trafficking.
Human trafficking especially in women and children is a major challenge facing the 21st century. To counter such a challenge all efforts on local, regional and international levels should be pooled.
From the perspective of establishing the principle of human dignity derived from the Islamic Sharia which clearly states that human trafficking as well as the exploitation of women and men in practices which the Islamic Sharia deemed as sinful, such as prostitution and others, are prohibited. (QNA)