FROM PAGE 3

Many survivors, she added, find it easier to share sensitive issues with peers who have lived through similar harm rather than with family members or supervisors.

With consistent support, survivors gradually recover, regain confidence and begin planning their futures, she said.

“The most emotional moment is when many say they want to be like me,” Ferdousi said, describing this shift as the real measure of progress.

The workshop concept note said survivor aftercare has traditionally been led by professional social workers and service providers. However, evidence shows that models strengthened by people with lived experience can improve trust, engagement, continuity of care and long-term reintegration.

It added that, in the absence of scalable best-practice models, rescued survivors have often faced dropouts, re-trafficking and displacement.

Under the model discussed, trained peer facilitators with lived experience work as skilled professionals delivering structured, trauma-informed aftercare, including counselling, peer mentoring, psychosocial support and life skills development.

The programme also provides leadership training, vocational skills and income-generating support, along with family counselling to aid reintegration. It coordinates rescue, repatriation, rehabilitation and health services through local providers and has introduced a Digital National Referral Mechanism in partnership with the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Chief guest M Jashim Uddin Khan, additional secretary at the home ministry, said the model is important because people with lived experience understand problems in ways others often cannot.

He said systems can produce many experts, but those who have lived through exploitation know where the real pain points lie. He also stressed the need to distinguish clearly between “victim” and “survivor” and outlined stages of support -- rescue, reintegration and restoration -- emphasising that restoration is essential, as reintegration alone may not always be sufficient.

Special guest Tahera Jabeen, social development adviser at the British High Commission, said the dialogue provided space to reflect on how the model could inform future policy and programme design.

She cited global figures showing nearly 50 million people affected by modern slavery, with women and girls comprising 54 percent of victims, and nearly 80 percent of those trafficked for sexual exploitation being female. She said survivor leadership makes services more practical and respectful.

Salma Parvin of the University of Dhaka said recovery is often underestimated by those who have not experienced exploitation, and that rebuilding a life is a far more complex process than many assume.

Justice and Care Country Director Mohammed Tariqul Islam delivered the closing remarks.