ICAT’s New Guidance Reinforces the Need for Ethical Survivor Inclusion in Anti-Trafficking Responses

The release of the Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) Issue Brief on Ethical Survivor Inclusion marks an important milestone in strengthening survivor leadership within the global anti-trafficking movement.

At Footprint to Freedom, we welcome this guidance as an important step towards ensuring that survivors are not only invited into conversations but are engaged safely, ethically, meaningfully, and as valued experts whose lived experience strengthens policy and practice. The guidance reflects principles we have long championed through our grassroots programmes and the African Survivor Coalition (ASC).

Key Messages

• Survivor inclusion must be ethical, trauma-informed, and voluntary.
• Lived experience is expertise and should be recognized accordingly.
• Survivor participation should move beyond storytelling to meaningful leadership, decision-making, and systems change.

We welcome ICAT’s contribution and encourage governments, civil society organizations, donors, and international agencies to integrate these principles into anti-trafficking responses.