3071-The political economy of new slavery

Arne Dormaels, Bruno Moens and Nele Praet 87
instrument to assist victims to return home in a secure and dignified
way. Based on the project outcomes, the Belgian government approved
the subsidy of another pilot project. This involves 20 victims who had
made the decision (voluntarily) to leave Belgium (Brammertz et al.,
2002).
Psycho-social support for victims of human trafficking:
experiences in practice
The central mission of Payoke is to provide support and assistance
to victims of human trafficking. Given the Belgian legal framework,
that is law and regulations concerning victims of human trafficking,
it should be underlined that this is not always an easy task to fulfil.
Social workers in this field often feel in an ambiguous position. On the
one hand they are supporting the victim with all his or her needs, yet
on the other hand they have an obligation to inform the authorities as
they are expected to give full information to the governmental agencies
concerned in respect of the individual cases. This double role often leads
to contradictory situations and it is the task of the specialist organizations
to find the right balance.
Basically, Payoke provides two kinds of services: psycho-social and
judicial-administrative support. The administrative assistance primarily
comprises application for the residence documents under the
above-mentioned residence procedure, as well as follow up. The judicial
assistance focuses on informing the clients on the criminal procedure,
follow-up of the criminal procedure and compensation claims. Psychosocial
support entails a broad range of activities such as: lodging, housing,
safety, physical health, mental health, education, employment, financial
support, and so on.
Table 4.1
Year
Number of Payoke clients: an overview
Number of clients
1996 97
1997 117
1998 127
1999 119
2000 184
2001 199
Source: Payoke, 2002: 25