Red Cross project on sustainable integration of victims of human trafficking
by Catherine MALLET
On the 1st March 2017 The British Red Cross in partnership with Netherlands Red Cross, Croatian Red Cross and France Terre d’Asile as well as local UK organisations (including two Salvation Army subcontracted organisations) started a project called STEP - ‘Sustainable integration of Trafficked human beings through proactive identification and Enhanced Protection’. The Salvation Army attended a workshop designed to bring together key stakeholders in the anti-trafficking and migration sector to input into the development of these project outputs.
The project is being funded through the European Commission’s Asylum, Migration and Integration fund (AMIF) programme and was designed in the context of the refugee crisis and to address the increased migration flow across Europe. STEP aims to develop and promote a consistent approach to identification, protection and integration of Victims and Potential Victims of Trafficking (P/VoT) across the EU.
The project will produce a transnational learning and sharing platform. It will revise trafficking indicators for transit contexts, pilot trafficking awareness programmes for front line workers in transit contexts and develop materials and awareness activities targeting at-risk people on the move. In the UK and Croatia it will also pilot longer term post-NRM support programmes.
The challenges of trafficking linked with the migration crisis were highlighted including the lack of legal venues for migrants to come to Europe, dependency of migrants on smugglers, debt bondage, lack of knowledge of migrants about THB and their vulnerability and risks, lack of trust towards authorities and lack of capacities of frontline workers.
The workshop focussed on three subject areas:
- Identification of potential and actual victims of human trafficking
- Awareness raising around the risks of trafficking
- Models of integration and protection support to trafficking people
The EU Affairs Office was able to distribute our anti-human trafficking mapping report and share some of our good practice ideas during the workshop.
If you would like more information about this even/ project, please contact cmallet@armeedusalut.be
Tags: Europe