Where to start work on combating human trafficking

This event was held at the beginning of December, designed to improve the conditions for work on combating human trafficking in Ukraine.

Thus, on December 7-10, a training "Combating human trafficking. National mechanisms of interaction" was implemented in the city of Irpin. Participants from all over Ukraine were invited to continue the actions towards peace building.

Work on combating human trafficking at the local level requires special attention, which, in its turn, is associated with structural changes in connection with the development of territorial communities. Thus, the transfer of powers from central to local authorities requires informational support, because some of the newly created united communities do not fully understand what activities on combating human trafficking they are authorized to carry out from now on. Trainers from La Strada have been paying increased attention to this information during the four training days.

Since about fifty percent of participants were representatives of local self-government authorities, a significant part of the time was devoted to the analysis of the relevant documents that regulate and clarify what exactly is their competencies and what direct support they can provide to people affected by human trafficking.

An important part was the work in small groups, in which participants were asked to process the given cases and develop their own action algorithms. Such exercises made it possible to share expertise and make one to delve deeper into realities faced by specialists in various fields during their work.

Finally, the group focused on the fact that the trainers managed to gather fragmentary knowledge into a single structure and supplement it with clear plan of actions, which provides an understanding on what activities participants can start to carry out in their communities after returning home.

The event was held in the frames of the "Peace Building and Conflict Resolution in Ukraine – Step Forward" project, implemented with the support of the German Federal Foreign Office’s funds by IFA (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen), Funding programme zivik.