CITATION: Erulkar, Annabel, Galan Bekuma, Lemi Negeri, Getachew Teshome Eregata, Musie Tilahun, Getu Asnake, Getahun Semeon, and Weyneshet Gezahegn. 2026. "Hiding in plain sight: Trafficking persons with disabilities for begging in Ethiopia," final report. Addis Ababa: Population Council. https://knowledgecommons.popcouncil.org/hubs_humanitarian/59/
ABSTRACT
Adults and children with disabilities are at increased risk of human trafficking for begging because of extreme poverty and high rates of illiteracy; cultural norms and stigma leading to low status; lack of social and legal protection; and their reliance on others for sustenance and help with movement, especially in cities which are fraught with risks. Despite this, trafficking of persons with disabilities for begging has received very little attention from researchers, human rights groups or disability advocates. This report presents findings from among the first studies to focus on trafficking of persons with disabilities for begging.
Global Health Now comments:
- Traffickers often convince parents to allow them to take their children to urban areas like Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, and Mekelle—promising education or medical care.
Extreme abuse: Once trafficked, the children are often forced to beg for long hours, often under “cruel and inhumane” conditions including near-starvation, minimal sleep, and constant threats of physical violence and abandonment.
- “I would go out crawling on my hands since I didn’t have a wheelchair,” reported one female survivor with a physical disability, adding that if she returned with too few earnings her trafficker “insults me and hits me.”
- Most were too afraid or dependent upon traffickers to seek help, and the police rarely provided a pathway out.
Calls for intervention: Researchers say trafficking can be prevented and reduced through:
- Stigma reduction, including inclusive education and jobs for those with disabilities.
- Safer reporting mechanisms and tailored law enforcement response.
- Support systems after rescue, informed by survivor experience.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org