Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern Europe• Legal Assistance for trafficked women to provide them with legal representationduring legal procedures;• Victims Advocacy Conference organised in Priãtina in December2001;• Advocating special intermediate secure facilities for witnesses wherewitnesses to trafficking could acquire short-term safe housing whilethey testify and make other decisions about their future.The UNAdministeredProvince ofKosovoIn addition, OSCE has given repatriation and reintegration assistance directlyto 23 women, consisting of organisation and payment for travel to the countryof origin. This was carried out even during the time when IOM could not assistwomen served with deportation orders, and during a period when IOM had tofreeze activities. Currently, IOM assists persons served with deportationorders who still express a willingness and desire to return home voluntarily.IOM is taking active part in assistance work, as in preparing a draft on “DirectAssistance to Internally Trafficked Victims”, in co-operation with OSCE andTPIU.IOM is also providing direct assistance for voluntary return and reintegration.Assistance is given on a voluntary basis and includes:• Direct assistance prior the woman’s return to her country of origin:case screening, acquisition of valid travel document, Fit-To-Travelmedical examination, travel arrangements from departure point inKosovo or Macedonia, procurement of travel supplies, assistance andmedical escort at transit points, data gathering and analysis;• Psychosocial support prior the woman’s return to her country of origin:psychosocial counselling and anti-trafficking awareness activitiesin the shelter;• Reintegration assistance upon the woman’s return to her country oforigin: travel arrangements from arrival point to home town or, ifrequired, alternative sheltering facilities, provision of a reinstallationgrant, and tailored reintegration schemes including monitoring andfollow up.Since July 2000, an international NGO UMCOR has been managing a shelterfor trafficked women who come under the IOM repatriation programme. Dueto the security risks of women being able to identify the location and compromisethe integrity of the shelter, the shelter, in principle (although there aresome exceptions), does not accept victims of internal trafficking or womenwho are willing to testify against traffickers. Victims of internal trafficking areeither placed in a shelter run by the Centre for Protection of Women and Children,supported by other NGOs or not recognised as such at all. Witness statementsare taken in the regions or at the central UNMIK TPIU interview locationin Priãtina, before women are placed in the shelter.Since the beginning of UMCORs operation in July 2000 until the end of September2001, the shelter has provided support to 232 foreign traffickedwomen, including basic medical care and medical counselling, psychosocialsupport (from Sept. 2001 a Romanian IOM psychologist has also been conductingcounselling sessions at the shelter) and vocational training (computerskills, English lessons). Sexually transmitted infection (STIs) and HIV/AIDStests are not provided, as there is no HIV/AIDS testing in Kosovo. 114 The sheltercan accommodate up to 15 women and an average stay is two weeks.114.The shelter is providing a voluntary presumptive treatment for syphilis, gonorrhoea, andtrichonomas. Trafficked women are in a high risk group for STIs, and because there is notesting, it is ‘presumed’ that they may have an STI and are voluntarily treated, with no sideeffects. Information from UMCOR, 18 January 2002.103