This chapter is intended to outline the literature on trafficking issues from global, regional and

Bangladeshi context, however, the main focus is on Bangladesh. This chapter will help
to understand the purpose and reasons for trafficking and its impact on survivors. The last
section will depict the studies dealing with reintegration process and the contribution of this
study.

2.1Purpose and Factors influence trafficking:

Several studies on trafficking in women and children in South Asia have been
conducted. Trafficking in women occurred for various purposes but prostitution is one of the
main reasons why women are trafficked. Penttinen (2000) says that globalization is not only
increasing the marginalization but also the chance to get involved in international prostitution.
The factors influence trafficking are categorized in two groups. One is push factor that
includes the conditions to traffic people from one country to another country. Another group is
pull factor and it supports the demand of trafficked people.

Push factors are known as

poverty, low per capita income, lack of employment, lack of education, lack of awareness,
family structure, easy divorce, dram of better living, large family size, over population,
inadequate, insufficient and corrupted law enforcement authority (, UNICEF, 1997: 10). Push
factors work strongly to motivate women to migrate in cities or abroad to change own situation.
The same study described the pull factors as urbanization, industrialization, migration, tourism
and development of road links. Again, deception, misrepresentation, exploitation, force,
coercion are often used as the means for trafficking (Bangladesh Country Report, 2007).
These factors create the demand for women and push factors help to supply women all over
the world for sexual exploitation.

2.2 Impact of traficking:

Trafficking has a major impact on health and socio-economic life of a
survivor. Violence is closely connected to prostitution. In a study of Nepalese
women trafficked for prostitution in Indias brothels, Human Rights
Watch/Asia documents that "most girls and women start out in these cheap

brothels where they are 'broken in' through a process of rapes and
beatings"(Human Rights Watch/Asia, 1995: 34). While working as a
prostitute, they experience several health impacts like anxiety, insomnia,
depression, traumatic stress or disorder that weaken their self confidence
and self power to live a normal life. The living condition of prostitutes in
brothel leads them to get infected with diseases (see more in chapter 5).
Lives in brothels often harm the survivors physically and psychologically
and damage their reproductive organs and increase the risk of other
communicable diseases (TIP, 2004). Moreover, transmission of HIV/AIDS
endangers womens