The shelter for victims of trafficking in human beings in Sofia is reopened
The project "Ensuring Sustainability of Specialized Support for Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings" was launched with an opening conference.
On July 23, 2020 at the Center for Education, Science and Culture "Project Lab", Europe Hall, Sofia. An opening conference was held under the project "Ensuring the sustainability of specialized support for victims of trafficking in human beings in Bulgaria", implemented by the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (NCCTHB), within the framework of procedure BG65ISNP001-5.015 "Developing IT solutions to enhance information exchange with other Member States. Training courses on collection and analysis of data. Support to law enforcement authorities", part of the National Programme of Bulgaria for assistance from the Internal Security Fund 2014-2020.The amount of the financial support is BGN 450 000. (75% EU and 25% national co-financing). The duration of the project is 30 months.
The event was opened by Ms. Dobriana Petkova, Acting Secretary of the NCCTHB, and the conference was attended by representatives of various interested state institutions and NGOs.
The Project activities were presented by Ms. Mariana Mladenova, expert to the NCCTHB and Project Manager, and Ms. Maria Dimitrova, expert to the Commission and Project Coordinator. The main objective of the Project is to ensure sustainability and improve the quality of the provision of specialized support and care for victims through the implementation of key activities, including: resumption of the functioning of the service "Shelter for temporary accommodation and center for protection and assistance to victims of trafficking in human beings" in the town of Sofia; Increasing the qualification of the team of specialists who will work in the service; Increasing the efficiency of the work of the staff in the services of the NCCTHB by creating and implementing a modern model for registering, tracking and storing information on the work on each specific case of a victim who received support.
In a separate module Ms. Anna Nikolova, Manager of the “SOS - Families at Risk” Foundation and Director of the Shelter for Temporary Accommodation ofvictims of trafficking in human beings, Sofia and Ms. Diana Videva, member of the Board of the Association "Demetra", executor of the service Shelter for Temporary Accommodation of victims of trafficking in human beings, Varna, touched upon the topic of specialized support for victims of crime, as well as focused on the challenges and main aspects of the work of the services.
The resumption of the functioning of the Shelter contributes to the establishment of a comprehensive network of services for victims of trafficking in human beings, ensuring wider geographical coverage for the provision of specialized support to the representatives of the target group.
The protection, recovery and reintegration of victims of trafficking in human beings are key priorities of Bulgaria's anti-trafficking system. In the past year, 25 persons were cared for in the Commission's services. Depending on the specific needs, humanitarian, psychological, social, medical assistance as well as legal counselling is provided. The services run reintegration programmes for the victims, including assistance with paperwork, finding employment for the adults, retraining courses and/or reintegration into the education system. All persons cared for and assisted in the shelters of the NCCTHB cooperate with the law enforcement authorities in solving the crime, which means that the effective protection and support of the victims also has an effect on the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators.
*This document has been produced with the financial support of the Internal Security Fund, co-financed by the European Union. The entire responsibility for the content of this document lies with the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and under no circumstances can it be assumed that this document reflects the official position of the European Union and the Responsible Authority.