ACTIVATE

ACTIVATE: enhAnCing the anti-Trafficking Identification, preVention And supporT mEchanisms

ACTIVATE goal is to make the anti-trafficking response system to work better and produce better results.

Grant Agreement Number: 957948

Funded by: AMIF        Duration: 01/10/2020 – 30/09/2022

  

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Challenge

Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) is a serious crime and major violation of individual fundamental rights and dignity. THB is prohibited by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. THB is addressed through a legal and policy framework which places focus on the need for human rights-based and gender-specific approaches, given that its most commonly reported form within the EU is for sexual exploitation (67%), with the majority of victims being women and girls (95%).

Despite improvements made on combatting THB during the last years, various gaps still need to be faced. Some of the needs include: better coordination among all relevant stakeholders in each national context but also at the European Level, enhancement of identification mechanisms especially in the reception and identification centres in light of the recent migratory flows to Europe since many cases remain underreported (both for adults and minors), improvement of lawyers’ capacity to better support VoTs since most of the times victims do not have access to qualified lawyers with specific expertise on trafficking.

Innovation

ACTIVATE aims at enhancing the prevention, identification and support mechanisms against trafficking in human beings (THB), with a special focus on Victims of Trafficking for sexual exploitation, through the development of a holistic approach including the 4P’s stages (prevention, protection, prosecution, partnership).

Action

Based on desk research and extensive consultation with the relevant stakeholders to map the existing training needs, a comprehensive training material will be developed for professionals working in reception and identification. The target group varies from social workers, psychologists, to administrative staff members and other support staff and includes all professionals who might get in touch with (presumed) VoTs among newly arrived refugees and migrants.

The goal of the capacity building program is to enable professionals to understand the signs of trafficking and know what to do and how to react, specifically in order to protect victims and combat the misuse of the Common European Asylum System by traffickers.

Lawyers often play a significant role in the process of protection and support of VoTs, since legal remedies and legal compensation for the VoTs are not easily accessible.

Based on desk research and extensive consultation with the relevant stakeholders to map the existing training needs, a comprehensive training material will be developed for lawyers, especially those who support asylum seekers during asylum process, and those who will potentially support VoTs in the future.

The trainings will include different modules such as: legislation on asylum and trafficking, cultural elements, methodologies on how to approach VoTs through a gender-sensitive and victim-centred approach.

The above mentioned training material will be redesigned as an e-learning tool, targeting both the professionals working in the reception and identification centres and lawyers working with presumed and potential VoTs of sexual exploitation.

KMOP in collaboration with National Centre for Social Solidarity and other stakeholders participating in the National Referral Mechanism will create a digital toolkit including referral mechanisms, guidelines, relevant reports, tools and any other interesting material for members to access.

4 different digital toolkits will be developed, one in each country (Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany).

The guide will be based in specific cases and how they were supported, enriching the existing resources on anti-trafficking support mechanisms. This is a much needed tool since most of the times, the Public Support Systems (e.g. services provision) only focus on one specific condition/type of vulnerability (e.g. alcohol/drug use, mental health issues, asylum seeker status, lgbtq status) disregarding the complexity and multi-variable/multi-disciplinary approach that needs to be adopted in order for the victim to receive appropriate support.

The aim of the National Campaigns will be to challenge existing stereotypes for VoTs Third Country Nationals, which hinder their social acceptance and thus remain an obstacle to their integration in the long-term.

AMIF

European Commission’s support for the production of this content does not constitute an endorsement of the contents, which reflect the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

Project Partners

KMOP – Social Action and Innovation Centre (Project Coordinator)
Animus Association Foundation AAF (Bulgaria)

Solwodi Deutschland EV (Germany)

Differenza Donna Associazione Di Donne Contro La Violenza Alle Donneonlus DD (Italy)

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