Shelters for human trafficking victims have recorded a large drop in the number of women seeking their help.
So far this year only 21 women have arrived at the shelters - as opposed to 160 throughout the whole of 2011, according to Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.
Sara Shuheil, the executive director of Iwaa (shelter) centres, said the drop was a result of the "mechanisms that have been put in place by the authorities, in terms of investigation and oversight and the application of deterrent sentences against human trafficking criminals".
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