In the last 30 years, over one million women and children were smuggled abroad and many of them ended up becoming prostitutes, domestic helps, camel jockeys and beggars.

The figures were presented at a press conference jointly organised by the American Centre and Action Against Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Children (ATSEC), a USAID-funded international NGO, in the city yesterday.

The American Centre and the ATSEC also arranged a two-day anti-trafficking video film festival beginning at the Shishu Academy auditorium today.

Director of American Centre Karl Fritz, human trafficking specialist Mathew Friedman, Project Director of ATSEC Khadija Bilkis and Director of Uddipan, an NGO, M Emranul Huq Chowdhury spoke at the press conference.

They said Dhaka and Jessore are the most traffic-prone routes in Bangladesh, followed by Rajshahi, Lakshmipur and Satkhira.

Currently, some 24 national and international NGOs are working together under a network to combat trafficking in women and children and sexual exploitation in the region.

The ATSEC has a plan to strengthen the NGO network by incorporating small NGOs working in 460 upazilas across the country.

ASTEC Bangladesh is working to combat trafficking in women and children through advocacy, campaign and social mobilisation, research, networking and support to national and regional level prevention programmes.

Human trafficking specialist Mathew Friedman said the US government had taken the women and children trafficking issue as a matter of great concern of human rights violation.

"It's a major area of human rights violation, torture and repression, which our government can't accept. So the US government wants to work actively on this issue," he said.

ATSEC Bangladesh achieved remarkable successes through partnerships with NGOs and other stakeholders at regional, national and grassroots level. Up to March 2003, ATSEC and its networking NGOs rescued and returned 462 trafficked women and children to the country.