Ending Trafficking Begins with us. Das Ende des Menschenhandels beginnt mit uns. Terminarea traficului incepe cu noi.Dhënia fund e Trafikimit Fillon me NE. Az emberkereskedelem vége velünk kezdődik! It-tmiem tat-traffikar uman jibda minna stess. Ukončenie obchodovania začína od nás. Крајот на Трговијата започнува со нас. Terminar com o tráfico começa por nós. Fine tratta comincia da Noi. Oprirea traficului de persoane începe cu noi. Położenie kresu handlowi ludźmi zaczyna się od nas. Het einde van mensenhandel begint bij ons. Mettre fin à la Traite : à nous d’abord de nous y mettre. Konec trgovanja z nami. Припинення торгівлі людьми починається з нас. Kova prieš prekybą žmonėmis prasideda nuo mūsų. Acabar con el tráfico humano empieza con NOSOTROS. At gøre ende på menneskehandel begynder hos os. Cilēku tirdzniecības beigas sākas ar mums. KONEC OBCHODOVÁNÍ S LIDMI ZAČÍNÁ NÁMI! KRAJ TRGOVANJA POČINJE S NAMA! PRESTANAK TRGOVANJA LJUDIMA ZAPOČINJE S NAMA! Краят на трафика на хора, започва с нас
On the occasion of World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, 30th July 2023, Sr. Stanka Oršolić, Croatia, gave a short interview to the reporter Emina Dabo Hunjak about the abuse, exploitation and trafficking of children for the National Croatian Television Station. The interview was broadcast one month later on the religious program “Peace and All Good” on 3rd September 2023. This date was the same as the release date for the movie “The Sound of Freedom” in Croatia.
The following news items were published by the Freedom Fund, a global anti-trafficking Fund which conducts regular research and lobbying of policy makers to drive systemic change against trafficking, as well as partnering with frontline organisations to fight modern slavery in its many forms. More information can be found on their website.
Experts urge the inclusion of people with lived experience in modern slavery research The Freedom Fund, the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, and the Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre released a joint post-conference report. The ‘Equity in Evidence’ conference brought together 93 anti-trafficking experts from 30 countries to discuss the necessity of involving people with lived experience in modern slavery research. The report outlines good practices for collaborating with slavery-affected communities, including the principle of equal partnerships between researchers and people with lived experience for mutual learning and effective solutions to tackle slavery.
The impact of education interventions on child workUNICEF Innocenti published a rapid evidence assessment report (REA) examining the impact of educational policies and programs on child work and child labour in low- and middle-income countries. The REA covered 29 published studies, including 10 experimental studies (all randomised control trials) plus 11 quasi-experimental studies. It found that scholarships and educational remittances considerably reduced the likelihood of children working – but it depended on the program design. For example, only scholarships above a certain amount, or provided in combination with other cash transfers, proved to be effective.
Survivors’ choice not to disclose as a form of agencyUniversity of Victoria in Canada conducted a systematic review of 25 studies to explore the reasons for non-disclosure by female survivors of child sexual violence. Children often chose not to disclose sexual violence to protect themselves from further abuse and harm. Studies from Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe have shown that girls who report sexual violations risk being blamed, physically punished, disowned by family, forcefully married, or even killed. The study highlighted a significant gap in engaging survivors as co-creators in research on violence and acknowledging children’s agency.
Evaluating the effect of awareness-raising on irregular migration in West AfricaThe International Organization for Migration (IOM) measured the impact of awareness-raising activities on irregular migration in Gambia, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal. The cluster randomised controlled trial involved a total of 13,968 individuals aged 17 to 30 to assess knowledge, perceptions, intentions, and attitudes on irregular migration. Improved perceptions of risks associated with physical injuries, illness, or death related to irregular migration were observed in Gambia, Guinea and Senegal. However, the study did not find that the intervention had a statistically significant effect on young people’s intention to migrate irregularly.
Heightened risk of statelessness among children born to migrant domestic workers in LebanonResearchers from the University of Melbourne examined the risk of statelessness among children born to migrant domestic workers in Lebanon. The study reviewed nationality and birth registration laws in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Lebanon, Nepal and the Philippines, supplemented by 13 informant interviews. Lebanon’s kafala system, inability to speak the local language, cost and time barriers were cited as main reasons why migrant workers did not register the birth – leading to their children’s statelessness. Gender-discriminatory provisions in nationality laws, particularly in Bangladesh and Nepal, created further obstacles for women to transfer their nationality to their children.
On the very first day of the 2023/2024 school year, the students from 6th to 8th grade (ages 12 to 14) in the school in Posavski Podgajci, had the opportunity to reflect on the topic of human trafficking. The school was visited by a former employee of the school, L. Šimić, who taught English for several generations and as a nun, has been involved in preventive work against human trafficking for years.
Even at the beginning of the meeting, the students demonstrated basic knowledge about the various forms of exploitation of victims of human trafficking, like the illegal sale of organs, forced begging or drug selling, labor exploitation and the like.
Through work in five groups, each of which received a different quote from a victim of human trafficking, students had the opportunity to learn even more deeply about this issue through concrete, true examples. Most students conscientiously and responsibly participated in the group work and answered the questions related to each quote, and after working in a group, they presented their answers to the whole group.
Each student also received a leaflet with some additional information about human trafficking, such as the World Anti-Trafficking Day July 30 and the European Anti-Trafficking Day October 18th. The leaflet also contains a few thoughts on “How to stay safe on the Internet?”. It brings an interpretation of “The Blue Heart” campaign – an international anti-trafficking program launched by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Students can also read on the leaflet what human trafficking is, and some estimates at the world level about the victims themselves. On the back of the leaflet there is some information about Saint Bakhita, and a Prayer to her.
In the end, the children were encouraged to obey their parents and teachers, in order to first protect themselves from this serious crime, since today there are tens of millions of people around the world who are victims of human trafficking, even a third of whom are children.
For those who wanted to do more for the victims, Sr. Victoria, who led the meeting, encouraged them to pray the Prayer to Saint Bakhita.
Later, the conversation on the topic of human trafficking continued in a pleasant atmosphere in the Staff room with the teachers of the School in Posavski Podgajci.
IOM and Harvard University investigated global patterns of child trafficking, drawing on IOM’s Victims of Trafficking Database (VoTD) that holds data on 69,000 identified victims. 18 percent were children aged 17 or younger. The analysis shows that 43 percent of child victims were trafficked for forced labour and 20 percent for sexual exploitation, with over half (57 percent) being trafficked within their own countries. It also found that children with lower levels of education were 23 times more likely to be trafficked compared to those who attended high school.
In August, Caritas Ukraine continues its work on prevention of human trafficking with focus on prevention among children and youth. The information and preventive measures were implemented for children of different ages and in various locations like summer camps, art schools, rural communities. Moreover, in August Caritas also started a new prevention project in remote areas of 5 different regions. These activities are conducted in small towns and villages where people are less informed and more vulnerable. We also continue our work for screening of potential victims and providing them with comprehensive assistance.
Caritas also conducted a social experiment and created a short film demonstrating how easily children could be trapped or kidnapped, link below:
Update from Natalja Kurčinskaja, Director of Missing Person’s Families Support Centre, Lithuania.
On the 22nd August 2023, the Missing Persons’ Families Support Centre Lithuania, together with the National Association Against Human Trafficking conducted a training session for Lithuanian airport staff on how to recognise cases of trafficking in human beings. This training included information on how to recognise potential victims, where to go for help, and how the disappearance of children can be linked to human trafficking. It was deemed a highly successful training!
To mark July 30 th , SOLWODI ran awareness activities around World Day Against Trafficking in Persons in several locations. In Koblenz, we had a stall to provide information and a display of empty shoes to symbolize the victims of trafficking. The shoes had a paper attached that looked like a price tag to demonstrate that women are treated like a commodity. However, on the paper people found a QR code that led to a description of individual cases of women.
While it was unfortunately quite a rainy day in Koblenz, somewhat reducing the number of people being around and engaging with us, it was conceptually a great activity and well received.
A current study by Plan International on the topic of “the tension between masculinity” is our current topic of discussion. Young men between the ages of 18-35 were informed about their attitudes towards themselves and in their partnerships. There has been some criticism of the representativeness of the study, but even if one assumes a certain distortion of the results, these are still alarming.
For around a third of men it is acceptable if there is a quarrel in the relationship, that sometimes a “shakey hand slips”. Just as many men said they actually already have done this towards women “to instill respect”.
The study also reveals otherwise frightening proportions of patriarchal and hierarchical settings. This is how 52% of the young men perceive their role in work to earn enough money. For all of the housework, their partner is responsible. 49% would like tohave the final say in decisions and 39% expect their partner to make claims of their own to cover the men’s backs. 37% want to be with as many women as possible and have sex, but at the same time, half of men reject a relationship with a woman who has had many sexual partners. 47% of respondents say that provocative behaviour by women as request cannot be understood.
The numbers of the study are quite consistent with other surveys. According to the Federal Criminal Police Office(BKA), reported cases of intimate partner violence increased by 3.4 percent from 2016 to 2021, with almost 80% of the suspects being male. According to studies, every third woman has been a victim of violence in a partnership – which, by implication, means that actually every third man has already used violence.
SOLWODI also advises and accompanies several hundred women who suffer violence in close social circles every year. For many of these women, it is difficult to break out of violent relationships. Some feel ashamed and blame themselves, as “not a good wife”. Others come from patriarchal contexts and have never learned to live independently and responsibly. Especially for women with a migration or flight context, working with those affected by intimate partner violence requires a high level of sensitivity towards the origin traditions. The SOLWODI social workers must find the balance between efforts to integrate and a respectful approach to personal values and goals.
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