Citation

Getu M. Transformation 2006; 23(3): 142-156.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Michigan State University Press)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This essay considers the potential of microfinance, or the provision of financial services to poor or low-income persons, as a means for countering human trafficking. Exacerbated by globalization, human trafficking is causing immense social degradation within and across national borders. It is particularly serious in the parts of the world where microfinance is widely implemented: Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America. With its inherent ability to offer employment and income opportunities to poor women and young adults who are vulnerable to traffickers, microfinance is a powerful anti-human trafficking tool. As such, microfinance institutions could and should make a significant contribution in the fight against human trafficking.