27 Health, Education and Labour Mediators from Sliven Region Took Part in a Training on Human Trafficking Issues
On 17 June 2022 The Local Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (LCCTHB) in Sliven in partnership with the Municipality of Sliven and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Bulgaria held a training on “Human Trafficking: Causes, Identification and Protection of Victims”, with the participation of 27 health, education and labour mediators from Sliven Region. The training was opened by Pepa Chilikova - Deputy Mayor "Humanitarian Activities" of the Municipality of Sliven and Chairperson of the LCCTHB - Sliven, who focused on the magnitude of the crime of human trafficking and the key role of cooperation and coordination of the actions of all institutions related to the problem for better prevention and counteraction, as well as identification and protection of victims.
The event was implemented within the project "Raising awareness of local communities in areas with a significant Roma population on asylum and migration issues", funded by the Norwegian Financial Mechanism and implemented by the IOM. The aim of the project is to contribute to raising the awareness of the Roma population in the field of legislation governing asylum and migration issues as well as the risk of abuse and exploitation in Bulgaria, the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA).
During the training the participants built their knowledge and skills on the process of prevention of trafficking in human beings with the main strategic objective of further prevention work among local communities. They received practical information on legal work opportunities in the European Union, with a focus on steps for safe migration and fair work, risks of being trafficked for labour and sexual exploitation. Emphasis was also placed on other forms of trafficking such as forced marriage, forced begging, forced criminality, trafficking of pregnant women for the sale of their newborns and trafficking for the removal of organs, body fluids, tissues and cells.
During the discussions, real cases from practice were discussed, focusing attention on how to report potential victims of human trafficking.