Judicial Access to the Victims of Trafficking of Women in Nepal: An Analysis through a Buddhist Lens

Abstract

This study examines the structural, legal and ethical dimensions of justice accessibility for trafficked women in Nepal. Despite a comprehensive anti-trafficking legal framework, victims face procedural complexity, social stigma, limited legal awareness and institutional inefficiency. Integrating Buddhist ethics (compassion, non-harm and moral responsibility) with feminist legal theory and qualitative fieldwork, it proposes a context-sensitive, victim-centred framework emphasising dignity, healing and restorative justice.