Training on trafficking in human beings as part of the CCM-GBV project tackling gender-based violence of refugee women

The training and mutual learning workshop were aimed at giving counsellors from the partner organization new skills and tools in assisting refugee women who have been victims of violence, as well as sharing good practises and lessons learned. Based on the CCM-GBV project data collected so far 30 % of the GBV victims identified by the partner organizations have been victims of trafficking. Based on preliminary findings of the project data collection victims identified in the project have encountered several forms of violence prior to being trafficked. There seems to be a trend of trafficking victims having a history of forced marriage and/or domestic violence in their home countries. In other words, gendered violence seems to be one of the push factors for women’s migration and there is a risk of falling victim to trafficking during the journey to Europe.

In the training, the risk and vulnerability factors for trafficking victims in general and in the refugee population, in particular, were discussed. One of the highlights of the training was the “Human Game" in which the training participants were given the role of a trafficking victim or a trafficker in order to understand the complexities of trafficking and the difficulty in recognizing the different forms of exploitation. The “Human Game" is a roleplay developed by the Council of the Baltic Sea States Task Force against Trafficking in Human beings, and it is a recommended tool for any training on trafficking in human beings. Also, myths and misconceptions related to trafficking, forms of exploitation, identification and assistance were discussed in the training. The training material can be found at the HEUNI open access e-learning platform.