IJM helps train 50+ police officers in Bangladesh
Summary:
IJM recently made it to the press in Bangladesh for the first time! Several reputed local newspapers covered IJM’s training event for police officers, delivered in collaboration with the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP).
Through in-depth lectures, group activities, discussions, and case studies, IJM staff trained 50+ police officers on anti-human trafficking and victim care in Bangladesh.
The initiative’s formal closing ceremony was attended by high-ranking officials from the Bangladesh Police, the American Embassy, the Anti- Human Trafficking Tribunal in Dhaka, the Ministry of Social Welfare, and the Ministry of Law and Justice.
IJM also led a ‘Training of Trainers’ session to build a pool of expert trainers within Bangladesh who can lead similar workshops in the future.
After the sessions, one police officer expressed, “This training has prepared us to fulfill our duties in a trauma-informed manner and emphasised the importance of practicing self-care. We are now trauma informed police officers.”
This is the second time since November 2023 that IJM and ICITAP have collaborated to train law enforcement officers. This collaboration and training programme helps establish IJM as a credible expert on human trafficking—laying the foundation for our new programme in Bangladesh.
Senior authorities expressed confidence in this collaboration and believe that these trainings will directly benefit victims of human trafficking in Bangladesh.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Law and Justice said, “All the relevant agencies, ICITAP and IJM should work together to bring a systematic change to ensure justice for the victims.”
This training series represents a strong start to IJM’s work in Bangladesh by establishing strong relationships with senior government authorities. IJM’s team in Bangladesh believes this will set in motion more positive collaborations to help the justice system protect vulnerable people.