Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern Europe• Consultants to the IOM prevention campaign;• Training for local and foreign NGOs, law enforcement agencies, socialworkers and lawyers;• Prevention lectures at schools;• Press and Lobby Campaign to inform the general public about theissue of trafficking and to achieve the recognition of trafficking inwomen as a violation of their human rights;• Monitoring of the press, including an archive of press cuttings;• Fact Sheets, published bimonthly, distributed to more than 130 institutions,which aim to provide information on the trafficking and antitraffickinginitiatives from the human perspective;• A helpline for trafficked women and women who want to migrate. In2000, there were 476 calls related to trafficking.BulgariaActivities of other local NGOs, such as Women Alliance for Development andthe Bulgarian Gender Research Project, include campaigns to raise awarenessand to prevent violence against women, reports on the situation of women inBulgaria and violations of their human rights, projects to assess, report andrecommend on the situation of women in the labour market. Local NGOs fromoutside Sofia have developed campaigns to raise awareness and to preventviolence against women.The Health and Social Environment Foundation is doing outreach work withprostitutes in Sofia and in Petritch at the Greek border. The programme isfocused on HIV/AIDS prevention and harm reduction and includes STI and HIVtests, visits to gynaecologists and venereal disease specialists, distribution ofthe birth control pill, lubricants and condoms, and distribution of needles andsyringes for injecting drug users.2.4. Victim assistance and supportIOM started its Assisted Return to and from Bulgaria Programme in 2000. Itincludes safe transportation assistance, pre-departure and arrival assistance,documents procurement, escort in transit, financial support and a reintegrationprogramme.In 2001, IOM has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SECI and anagreement with the Bulgarian Government, according to which trafficked personsreturning to Bulgaria via official channels are referred to IOM. IOM is alsothe referral agency that assists foreign nationals to return from Bulgaria totheir countries of origin. IOM is supporting only those trafficked persons whoagree to sign the IOM questionnaire and answer questions referring to pretraffickingand trafficking circumstances.Between March 2000 and August 2001, IOM assisted 63 trafficked persons,including 35 of Bulgarian origin and 28 foreigners. All 35 Bulgarian womenreceived reintegration assistance – financial support (US$150) paid in threeinstalments, medical care and psychological counselling, if needed. Sixty percentof the women took part in vocational training, and three were helped tofind a job.Until the end of 2001, IOM did not have its own shelter but provided safeaccommodation for transit people and returned Bulgarians in need of specialprotection or referred women to shelters run by local NGOs. In 2001, IOM wasin the process of developing a local structure for a full reintegration programme.As in other countries of the region, IOM is developing its programmesin conjunction with existing ones developed by NGOs. The IOMshelter for the trafficked women became operational at the beginning of 2002.57