Every day work to prevent the exploitation and trafficking of vulnerable young people
Between September 2023 – March 2025, A.L.E.G. carries out the project “Effective prevention of exploitation and trafficking of persons among vulnerable young people” aimed at improving practices in the field of child protection in order to better respond to the needs of preventing exploitation and trafficking of young people from vulnerable groups such as institutionalized youth. Those who work with these young people (up to 18 years old) will learn how to contribute to greater safety every day through educational activities, but also through how they react in risky situations. The project will also facilitate an exchange of experience with specialists from Great Britain who help trafficked young people from Romania. Those who can prevent a young person from being trafficked will meet with those who help in the recovery of young people who have become victims, and the communication between Romanian and British specialists will hopefully lead to a better mutual understanding of the causes and effects of exploitation, and the impact in the long term be the reduction of the suffering of young people.
In Great Britain, most victims of human trafficking from an EU member state are from Romania, which is why the British Government finances a program aimed at preventing and combating modern slavery and human trafficking for several countries, including Romania . According to data published by the National Agency Against Human Trafficking in Romania, Sibiu County was in 2022 among the top 5 in the country in terms of the number of registered victims, with Great Britain being among the top 3 destination countries. Young people in foster care are a vulnerable category, being deprived of parental care and more exposed to socio-economic deprivation and multiple discrimination, which often makes them targets of organized crime networks.
Our project is carried out in partnership with the Asociatia de Poveste, an organization that for several years has been carrying out educational activities in the foster care centers in the county in collaboration with the General Directorate of Social Assistance and Child Protection Sibiu (DGASPC Sibiu), but also the eLiberare Association, specialized in combating human trafficking. The results we are pursuing together through this project are:
- Elaboration of a training package and recommendations for institutional practice in support of the prevention of human trafficking, based on a needs assessment at the local level, involving the management of the Sibiu County Council and DGASPC Sibiu, employees from the centers and case managers, young people who were part of the protection system.
- Implementation of a training for 60 educators from the centers and from the NGOs that collaborate with the DGASPC Sibiu centers, including assistance in carrying out practical educational activities with the young people from the centers, to implement the new knowledge and working methods assimilated in the course . The trainers who will deliver the training for educators are accredited trainers with expertise in either human trafficking prevention or human rights, and will include a British trainer with experience of working with vulnerable groups of young people.
After the training activity, the project includes funds for running creative information campaigns on the topic of preventing human trafficking with the involvement of young people, for example sketch, videos, collages, etc., to be able to support innovative work methods such as education from equal to equal.
- Replication of training and prevention activities in Brașov county, with the involvement of DGASPC
- Dissemination of lessons learned in a national conference, with the involvement of ANPDC
In the long term, the project aims to lead to the rooting of healthy practices, integrated in the action plans of the DGASPC and in the day-to-day activity of the centers, which will reduce the vulnerability of young people to all forms of modern slavery.
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The project “Effective prevention of exploitation and human trafficking among vulnerable young people” is carried out by A.L.E.G. with funding from the British Government through the British Embassy in Romania.
