Caritas Slovakia  within the STOP Trafficking Project has been providing care to victims of trafficking for 10 years. By running the helpline it takes on another important role in terms of prevention as well as working with the potential victims of trafficking.

Since September we managed to identify 3 victims of trafficking through the National Trafficking Victims Helpline. Their family members called the helpline and a quick intervention was needed. Immediately we contacted a police deputy in England, who then contacted the local police. In a short time, they made the raids and rescued the victims. We secured their safe return to Slovakia, currently they are back home and entered the Programme for Support and Protection of victims of Human Trafficking that entitles them to be provided with complex, long-term care in the hands of Caritas Slovakia.

About the National Helpline.

The main task of the National Helpline is to provide help and information once contacted by people who have or could have been in a risky situation. When identifying and assisting in such cases, the helpline provides contact with organizations providing professional assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings.

Helpline services are further focused on preventing and eliminating the risks of working abroad. Helpline serves as a tool to prevent the risks associated with labor migration and the unprotected work of vulnerable groups of the population.

The main helpline activities are:

• First contact with potential victims of trafficking in human beings;
• Identification of victims of trafficking in human beings;
• Professional advice on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings;
• Assisting institutions and organizations in identifying cases of trafficking in human beings and on any issues related to the issue of trafficking in human beings;
• Providing information on the possibilities of assistance under the Programme for the Support and Protection of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings;
• Consultancy and verification of agencies for jobseekers abroad;
• Providing relevant contacts and information available to combat trafficking in human beings.

Operating hours:

week days – 08.00 to 20.00In addition, continuous monitoring of incoming calls is ensured by the answering machine where the caller has the option to leave a message and be contacted back.

The helpline is toll free within Slovakia.

The main partners of the helpline are the Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic and Slovak Telekom, a.s.

More at:  http://www.charita.sk/

Adapted by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

On the occasion of the 18 October, 2018, our RENATE colleagues at Caritas Slovakia share the wonderful news they have officially opened their new shelter, named ‘Bakhita House.’

The refurbished house has been transformed into a warm, bright and inviting space where Human Trafficking survivors can access a wide range of supports as they recover and try to regain their independence.

Full report at: https://obchodsludmi.sk/mame-dom-sv-bakhity/

The Netherlands has continued to make progress in the area of combating trafficking in human beings, says the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) in a report published today, whilst calling on the Dutch authorities to take further action in several areas.

The positive steps taken by the Netherlands include the setting up of a national network of regional co-ordinators of assistance provided to victims of trafficking and the increased funding for police and prosecution services dealing with trafficking cases, as well as for the labour inspectorate SZW which is competent to detect and investigate cases of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. The creation of the Victim Identification Board, an independent multidisciplinary body tasked with the identification of victims of human trafficking, is another welcome development. Further, the report commends the awareness-raising campaigns concerning trafficking for different forms of exploitation and the steps taken to strengthen co-operation in the field of labour migration. Particular attention has been paid in the Netherlands to victim compensation and there have been many decisions by courts ordering perpetrators to pay compensation to victims of trafficking.

However, GRETA notes that some issues continue to give rise to concern. GRETA urges the Dutch authorities to ensure that assistance provided to foreign victims of trafficking is not dependent on investigations or prosecutions carried out, and to make sure that all possible foreign victims are consistently offered a recovery and reflection period during which they are allowed to stay in the country. Moreover, GRETA calls upon the Dutch authorities to adopt a new National Action Plan against trafficking in human beings, following the expiry of the previous one in 2014.

GRETA notes with concern the decreasing number of prosecutions and convictions for human trafficking offences in recent years and asks the Dutch authorities to proactively investigate such offences and ensure that they are prosecuted and result in proportionate and dissuasive sanctions.

Moreover, GRETA considers that the Dutch authorities should make further efforts to improve the identification of and assistance to child victims of trafficking, in particular by developing a National Referral Mechanism for child victims of trafficking.

https://www.coe.int/en/web/anti-human-trafficking/home?desktop=true

Complete Report: https://rm.coe.int/greta-2018-19-fgr-nld-en/16808e70ca

EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO HOUSING : Leave no one behind!

STRASBOURG 17 OCTOBER 2018

To celebrate the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (17 October 2018), the Conference of INGOs of the Council of Europe held a working session on Article 31 of the European Social Charter which states that everyone has the right to housing. We know that this fundamental right is far from being achieved in many member states of the Council of Europe.

This is therefore why access to housing is of concern not only to us and policy makers, social workers and landlords… but above all, those who have a right to housing, irrespective of age and family status including young people, single mothers and children. The lack of respect for the right to housing has serious impact on the health of those concerned, on their access to the labour market, education, protection, privacy and autonomy. In other words, it impedes them from living a dignified life. Article 31 is therefore a cornerstone, the respect of which guarantees the fundamental rights laid down in the European Social Charter.

The working session is organized by the transversal working group “Poverty”, coordinated by the Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Committee, Miguel Cabral de Pinho. We had the opportunity to exchange points of view to build a vision of the constraints and progress made and to propose courses of action to all the actors concerned.

The meeting took place on 17 October 2018, from 9 am to 1 pm in room 3 of the Council of Europe Palais.

It is the goal of our organizations is to give voice to and share the stories of those who have lived or currently live in poor housing; who do not have access to housing or who have precarious housing.

So, we heard ATD4World (Spain), “Médecins du Monde” (France), Caritas Luxemburg, a special witness on collective complaints, as 14 States only approved art 31of the Charter. The work of FEANTSEAT (www.feantsa.org), and two more from Alsace: Caritas ”4walls and a roof” and a female physician in Haguenau, who explained her work with Roma Families Housing.

Others in the group shared on how to be efficient and the last woman to speak was a person living on the margins, telling us how difficult it was to live with so little income.

At the end of the meeting, we stood up and read together the citation (text on the photo), which is on a plaque here in Strasbourg, in front of the Council of Europe Building.

Marie Hélène Halligon.

RENATE member, Magdalena Eichinger, SSpS, shares her news about a forthcoming Symposium on the theme ‘’Trafficked Persons; Invisible or entitled to rights?’’ which will be held from 09:00 – 17:00 on 6 November 2018 at the Juridicum Wien, Schottenbastei 10-16, 1010 Vienna.

This is the inaugural Symposium organised by the ‘’Platform against Exploitation and Human Trafficking,’ of which Solwodi and Magdalena’s congregation (Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit) are members. Ms. Myria Vassiliadou, E.U Anti-Trafficking Coordinator will officiate at the Symposium as guest speakers consider themes such as ‘Exploitation and its various guises’; ‘Support to trafficked persons and access to their rights free from prosecution’; ‘European minimum standards re. identification, rights and support to trafficked persons.’

Admission is free and all are welcome to attend, but please register at: www.gegenmenschenhandel.at

Please see Flyer’s attached (English and German) for full Symposium details.

Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

In Padua, to mark the 18 October 2018 (European Day against Trafficking in Human Beings) the N.A.Ve Project (Anti-Trafficking Network for Veneto) with whom RENATE member Tina Ventimiglia(Franciscan Association with the Poor) collaborates, organized various initiatives to raise awareness in schools and for citizens.  One such initiative was a highly successful Flash Mob event at Piazza del Commune in Padua.It was a tremendous success, with heightened awareness and increased interest from the public, enquiring about how they can play a role in supporting the work to combat Human Trafficking and Exploitation.

You can view Tina speaking about her work to support survivors of Human Trafficking at: https://www.tgpadova.it/pages/743733/attualita/tratta_padova_record_negativo.html

Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.

Our newest RENATE members from Athens, Greece, send us their latest news about their supports to survivors of human trafficking and exploitation. The most recent event was on 11 October, when a day of fasting and prayer was held.

You can also read about their cooperation with i58, their partner organisation based on the island of Lesvos, where Moria, the largest refugee camp in Greece is located. Although the camp was originally intended to keep refugees safe, many continue to experience traumas as they are vulnerable to familial abuse, forced marriages and more.  You can read about how Damaris House has become a support to one of the refugees, who now shelters in DAMARIS House, in Athens.

Damaris House is a healing community that seeks to provide shelter and Safe-House accommodation to victims of human trafficking. Committed to restoring a quality of life to the girls in a caring and supportive community, Damaris House provides supports such as vocational trainings, therapies and life-skills courses, all within a safe and secure setting. Such supports gradually restore self-esteem and confidence, enabling the girls to participate independently in society once more.

Damaris House also works at trafficking awareness-raising in the community,  thereby offering people the opportunity to play their part in bringing an end to Human Trafficking.

To learn more about their ministry to trafficking and exploitation survivors on Athens, log on to http://damaris.gr/en/

Prepared by Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.