Technology for Good: How Digital Innovation is Shifting the Fight Against Human Trafficking

By Alexa Duffy, United Nations Association of the National Capital Area Graduate Fellow; in collaboration with Dr. Leila Hanafi, UNA-NCA Director at Large

The gap between men and women in accessing technology and the internet — known as the digital gender divide — presents a significant barrier to the promotion of gender equality. This year’s United Nations International Women’s Day 2023 theme, “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality,” aims to recognize the role of transformative technology in promoting gender equality while also educating communities on the risks of technology gaps in perpetuating systemic inequity.

For Hasina Kharbhih — human rights defender, social entrepreneur, and founder of Impulse NGO Network — the idea of “DigitALL” is a core element in her fight against human trafficking. Kharbhih developed the Impulse Model, an innovative and comprehensive approach to address unsafe migration and human trafficking. This tool formalized collaborative relationships between government agencies, law enforcement, lawyers, and NGOs to cohesively address injustices in this area.

Critically, as part of the Impulse Model, Kharbhih developed the Impulse Case Management Center (ICMC), enabling faster communication and enhanced data management. These systems of web alerts and email chains allow for a quicker response to internal and cross-border human trafficking claims. By connecting public and private organizations, Kharbhih contributes to education and intervention, helps enforce existing laws, and quickens identification and location of human traffickers.

These tools have also revolutionized the lives of women in rural communities working with Kharbhih through the hybrid Impulse Social Enterprises program. As part of a weaving initiative spearheaded by the program, women can develop their own products and enhance their economic security. Through the Impulse Empower brand, women are able to market their products, earning nearly $100 U.S. dollars a month for several hours of work. For many women in rural communities, economic independence is essential to preventing unsafe migration and human trafficking. In addition to these effective prevention mechanisms, the program provides women who are reintegrating into society with a pathway toward sustainable independence. For the women Kharbhih works with, “the fact that [they] can earn is empowering.”

The Impulse NGO Network has accomplished its work with the support of partners, including multinational technology companies like Meta, who provide training for women to use this technology through the She Means Business initiative. Using a WhatsApp Bot, women receive instruction to use technology effectively and responsibly, a crucial step toward closing the digital gender gap.

Successful partnerships have also opened the door for the Impulse NGO Network to address the concerns of advocates regarding the risk that digital human traffickers pose to vulnerable groups. Kharbhih noted that technology has changed the way her organization thinks about human trafficking; for example, online traffickers are often challenging to locate and use modernized marketing tools to target populations online rather than in person. Instead of seeing technological developments as an impediment to the fight against human trafficking, Kharbhih sees these as a vehicle for initiating a larger discussion around human trafficking and a calling card for increased collaboration. By improving online safety and protection measures, Impulse NGO Network leverages the power of technology to build capacity and create systems that are more responsive to threats.

For Kharbhih, Impulse NGO Network, and its beneficiaries, technology serves as a change agent; a resource that enables positive change.

Kharbhih’s commitment to providing the tools and technology to close the digital gender divide are making an impact and changing the game to combat human trafficking. In her words, “when women lead in innovation and embrace a ‘digital for all’ mindset, they can promote real change. They can transform the way we solve problems.”

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