Survivors of human trafficking face a long and complex journey toward recovery. Many live with deep physical and emotional scars. They often feel isolated and struggle to rebuild trust in themselves and in others.
To address these challenges, KMOP has launched a new initiative: RECOVER, a project funded by the Erasmus+ programme and implemented in partnership with organisations in Cyprus, Spain, Lithuania, Italy, and Portugal. Through RECOVER, KMOP aspires to promote sport as a safe and empowering tool that supports survivors’ psychological recovery and social reintegration.
Practical tools for professionals
As part of this initiative, KMOP is developing three practical tools to equip professionals who work with survivors of trafficking:
- A training programme for sports coaches, trainers, and frontline professionals. This programme builds their capacity to create safe, inclusive, and supportive environments. It covers trauma-informed approaches, ways to engage diverse survivors, and techniques to foster meaningful participation in sport.
- A digital guide offering clear instructions and hands-on strategies for integrating sport into recovery and reintegration work. It complements the training with interactive, gamified content that supports real-life application.
- An awareness-raising toolkit that showcases the positive role of sport in survivors’ healing journeys. It includes insights for organisations interested in adopting sport-based approaches in their support services.
Research-Informed Design
To develop these tools, KMOP mapped key needs and challenges in using sport as a recovery pathway. Key findings from Greece show that sport can:
- help survivors process trauma,
- rebuild trust and self-esteem,
- strengthen connection to the community.
However, the research also highlights key barriers. Survivors often face overlapping challenges: legal, financial, psychological, and cultural. These are rooted in broader systems and require coordinated, long-term solutions. A major gap is the lack of trauma-informed training for sports professionals. Many are not equipped to support survivors safely. At the same time, collaboration between the social, health, and sport sectors remains limited.
The full Common Analysis Report will be available on the project website by the end of August.
If you are a sports professional or work with survivors of trafficking and are interested in participating in the training activities, please contact us for more information at [email protected].