Human Trafficking Is Everyone's Concern - GhCSO-TOC Calls For Collective Action

Story by Fada Amakye

The Ghana Civil Society Coalition Against Transnational Organized Crime (GhCSO-TOC) has called on Ghanaians to confront human trafficking in all its forms, saying it is a violation of human dignity that affects everyone.

In a statement issued in Accra, the Coalition said human trafficking is not only about moving people across borders, but can happen through deception, threats, abuse of vulnerability and coercion, leading to sexual exploitation, forced labour and forced criminality.

The Coalition urged public institutions, law enforcement agencies, the media, civil society, the private sector and communities to strengthen their response to trafficking and the organised networks that profit from it.

“Every case matters because every case represents a person whose freedom and safety may have been taken away,” the statement said.

GhCSO-TOC expressed concern that persons found in scam operations may have been forced into such activities, but are often described only as criminals, while those who organised and profited from the exploitation escape scrutiny.

The Coalition urged journalists and authorities to look beyond the immediate scene and ask who recruited the people, who controlled them and who profited.

It said possible victims must be carefully identified and assessed before conclusions are drawn about their culpability, adding that survivors must be treated with dignity and their privacy safeguarded.

GhCSO-TOC emerged after the national forum “Trapped Behind the Scam” held online on 30 July 2026 by GYAN Ghana, the Democratic Network for Action (DNA) and Transnational Mobility Pathways (TMP) to mark the UN World Day Against Trafficking in Persons.

The Coalition said the fight against trafficking requires prevention, public awareness, responsible reporting, victim screening, legal and psychosocial support, cross-border cooperation and accountability.

It noted that the observance of EU Anti-Trafficking Day on October 18 offers a moment for reflection, but the responsibility to act must continue throughout the year.

As part of its activities from now to the end of the year, the Coalition said it will undertake media training, community outreach programmes and engagements with traditional and religious leaders to deepen public understanding and encourage safe reporting of suspected cases.

It called on the public, media, community leaders and stakeholders to join the fight to make it harder for traffickers to exploit others.