Date of publication:

01/08/2026

United Republic of Tanzania (the)

Do domestic laws and policies establish measures to provide protection and assistance to victims of trafficking?

ANALYSIS

Assessment by population

Refugees
Asylum-seekers
Analysis

Tanzania serves as a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking, affecting men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sexual exploitation. Internally, individuals from rural areas are often trafficked to urban centers for domestic servitude, mining, agriculture, and the informal business sector. Forcibly displaced and stateless persons are particularly vulnerable due to their lack of legal status, limited access to resources, and social marginalization. These factors increase their susceptibility to various forms of exploitation, including forced labor and sexual abuse. The Tanzanian government has recognized these challenges and has enacted laws such as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2008 to combat trafficking and provide protection to victims. Despite these efforts, significant gaps remain in effectively safeguarding forcibly displaced and stateless individuals from trafficking, violence, and exploitation.​ 

    LAW & POLICY

    Related provisions of domestic law or policy

    The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act

    Legal provision

    Section 18.1 - Protection and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking

    The Minister shall, in consultation with the Minister responsible for social welfare services, put in place appropriate mechanisms to ensure the provision of basic material support, appropriate housing, counseling and information, medical, psychological and legal assistance to victims of trafficking in persons.

    Section 4.1 - Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons

    A person commits an offence of trafficking in person if that person - (a) recruits, transports, transfers, harbors, provides or receives a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment, training or apprenticeship, for the( of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labour; slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (b) introduces or matches a person to a foreign national for marriage for the of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading the person in order that person be engaged in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (c) offers or contracts marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading a person in order that person be engaged in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labour or slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (d) undertakes or organizes sex tourism or sexual exploitation; (e) maintains or hires a person to engage in prostitution or pornography; (0 adopts or facilitates the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexua lexploitation, forced-labour and slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (g) recruits, hires, adopts, transports or abducts - (i) a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud, deceit, violence ,coercion or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of organs of the person; or a child or a disabled person for the purposes of engaging the child or the disabled person in armed activities.

    Penal Code

    Legal provision

    Section 139.1 - Slave Dealing

    Any person who imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, disposes of, traffics, or deals in slaves, or persons intended to be dealt with as slaves, or who places or receives any person in servitude as a pledge or security for debt, commits an offense and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding seven years.

    Constitution of the United Republic of Tanzania

    Legal provision

    Article 12.1 - Equality of human beings

    All human beings are born free, and are all equal.

    Article 12.2 - Equality of Human Beings

    Every person is entitled to recognition and respect for his dignity.