Description
Lithuania is a source, transit and destination country for women and girls subjected to sexual trafficking. NGOs estimate that 40% of identified Lithuanian victims of trafficking in persons (TIP) are women and girls subjected to sexual trafficking within the country. Nevertheless, there is yet no functional mechanism of aid services delivery to victims. Project aims to develop a model of sustainable multidimensional aid provision to victims of TIP by teams composed of trafficking/GBV experts from NGOs, local police officers, prosecutors, social workers, child rights protection officers, and representatives of municipalities. Caritas Lithuania with partners from Donor States NGO ROSA Oslo and Oslo Police shall create the teams and provide the aid needed, as well as develop its own capacities to effectively participate in policy and decision-making processes related to the rights of the victims of TIP within local and national government. The project shall empower vulnerable groups through development of joint initiatives by NGOs and law enforcement agencies on human rights sensitization with special focus on treatment of girls and women - victims of TIP
Summary of project results
The general aim of the project was to create and to apply a well functioning model of psychosocial and legal help to the victims of human trafficking. We have foreseen that the cooperation with Norwegian partners NGO ROSA and Oslo Police as well as the Lithuanian partners Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Social Security and Labour will allow us to benefit from the positive experience of the partners and serve us an example while creating such model. The overall objective of the project and results: - The growing involvement of Caritas Lithuania in policy and decision-making processes related to the rights of the victims of human trafficking with local, regional and national Governments; - Improved providing of the psychosocial services and the developed model of providing support to the victims of trafficking in the municipalities; - The empowerment of the vulnerable groups: Caritas Lithuania and law enforcement institutions prepare joint initiatives on human rights sensitization with special focus on treatment of victims of trafficking Role of partners implemented: - to participate in the creation of the above mentioned model; - to provide the trainings to the expert teams; - to supervise and to evaluate the functioning model; Tasks and activities completed: 1. 6 interdisciplinary teams (from local police officers, prosecutors, social workers, child protection agency, municipality, NGOs representatives) created for the purpose of investigation of trafficking in human being crimes and the monitoring of support to the victims (step I); 2. trainings on anti-trafficking provided to those interdisciplinary teams following the practice of Norwegian partners (step II); 3. model of systematic support and cooperation in anti-trafficking fields in Lithuania created (step III); 4. model of systematic support and cooperation applied in practice in the municipalities of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys and Marijampolė (step IV). This Project revealed the importance of interinstitutional cooperation and partnership that is vital if there is an ambition to provide the services of high rank and to develop the teams. The cooperation is important not only to secure the quality of the services but it‘s also a possibility to earn the human resources and to develop them. 40 victims of THB and/or prostitution received legal, social, psychological servines during the course of the project.
Summary of bilateral results
The Project was implemented together with the Associated partners that were responsable for the concrete activities-tasks in the Project: - NGO ROSA (Norway, Oslo) – took part in the trainings for 6 interdisciplinary teams (sharing their experience in Norway) also in the creation process of the psychological-juridical model of support; the evaluation of this model by the experts; - Oslo police (Norway) - took part in the trainings for 6 interdisciplinary teams (sharing their experience in Norway) also in the creation process of the psychological-juridical model of support; Joint initiatives together with Caritas Lithuania to create the THB identification criteria (according Norway example); ; the evaluation of this model by the experts; Partners from Norway were chosen because of their practical experience and the added value to the Project. The model they apply to support THB victims in Norway enabled the practices of our organization to become stronger and to join together the forces of NGO and GO sectors. The Norwegian partners – Oslo Criminal police and Oslo Crisis center NGO ROSA – held the trainings for the participants of the Project in Vilnius. During these trainings all the discussions, reports, practical tasks were organized and provided with big respect to the audience, encouraging to speak up and to look for the best solutions.