Our partnership is 14 years old!

This year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) celebrates its 65th anniversary since its establishment, as well as 20 years of activity in Belarus. The partnership between the NGO "Club of Business Women" and the IOM began in 2002 with the joint implementation of a project to combat human trafficking. Since then, our cooperation has not stopped, moreover, we have been jointly strengthening our positions in the field of work, and we would like to recall all the stages of joint work, projects, and interactions.

The main work was carried out in the direction of combating human trafficking. Such a problem, which, at first glance, did not knock on every door. Perhaps, in part, because there are specialists who are working on this comprehensively. All work is divided into 3 components. The first is preventive activity — that is, work aimed at preventing and preventing. This includes all formats of information influence — from conversations and trainings among risk groups to the direct operation of the hotline for safe travel abroad and combating human trafficking. As experience shows, the saying "measure seven times, cut once" is also relevant in this area. Collecting and verifying information, preparing for departure can максимально reduce the risk of getting into a problematic situation. Each of us has traveled somewhere, trips are always shrouded in a haze of hope for better changes, and charged with these emotions, a person forgets about safety measures. Perhaps they simply do not know what to do, where to look for information. This aspect is taken into account. Entire information campaigns have been created and tested.

With the support of the International Organization for Migration, starting from 2004 until today, lecture courses on combating human trafficking have been held. The target group of this project includes students of grades 9-11 of schools in Brest and the Brest region, students of secondary specialized schools, higher education institutions, construction workers, unemployed people, cultural workers improving their qualifications in courses, etc. Informationally, we always try to cover all risk categories — both people at the crossroads of looking for work and those who may soon find themselves at this crossroads of choice "where to go".

In 2009–2010, trainings were held with military personnel in the Brest region. The project drew the attention of military personnel to the problem of human trafficking. The project contributed to the policy of eradicating the causes of human trafficking, and awareness of persons at risk increased.

In 2010-2011, together with our partners, we organized and conducted a series of events on the issue of human trafficking, where the audience consisted of clergy and representatives of various religious denominations from Brest and the Brest region. Representatives of religious denominations had the opportunity to organize work in churches and parishes to identify victims of human trafficking and provide them with assistance in interacting with international and public organizations, as well as to conduct preventive measures to raise the level of awareness among parishioners, taking into account the specifics of their ministry and purpose. Equally important is the preventive method of operating a hotline for safe travel, stay abroad, and combating human trafficking, which has been functioning at the NGO "KDJ" for nearly 14 years and has received over 34,000 calls. That's over 34,000 questions and just as many lives affected.

The second component of the work is providing rehabilitation and reintegration assistance to victims of human trafficking. This is complex, multi-stage, individualized work. Behind the complex terms here lies the work of returning victims to life in society — this is psychological and advisory support for the person. There are no simple cases in helping victims of human trafficking. This work has been ongoing since 2003 to the present. Among the more than 340 people assisted by specialists from the NGO "Club of Business Women", most are women, including 42 girls. These are mainly victims of labor or sexual exploitation. The problem of pedophilia and the spread of pornography remains no less important. Reintegration assistance includes a range of services: medical, psychological, legal assistance, document restoration, transportation, training, housing rental, and employment assistance. This is hard, costly, responsible, well-coordinated work that requires strong competence and personal involvement.

Thanks to the effective partnership between the NGO "Club of Business Women" and the Representation of the International Organization for Migration in the Republic of Belarus, real results have been achieved, creating an active, highly effective mechanism for referring victims throughout the Republic of Belarus to other NGOs and state structures to provide reintegration assistance to victims of human trafficking and citizens who may have suffered from human trafficking. In addition, a manual has been published titled "Combating Human Trafficking: Current State and Possible Interaction of Law Enforcement Agencies and Public Organizations," and informational calendars and leaflets on combating human trafficking have been produced for distribution among target groups and at-risk groups.

Preventing human trafficking through the expansion of economic opportunities is the third component of the work. Simply put, it is promoting self-employment and effective employment so that people do not look for a "better" life abroad. Launched in 2008 and still ongoing. The work is carried out with women and men aged 16–35 without permanent employment or with low incomes, students of higher educational institutions in Brest, students of secondary specialized institutions, and temporarily unemployed young people. Over the 8 years of functioning of this program, about 20 trainings have been conducted, thanks to which 153 people found employment. Each figure of such indicators is a specific person who has fallen into trouble and coped with it thanks to the involvement of our employees in solving the problem.

In 2014, a new initiative was launched — strengthening the national mechanism for referring victims of human trafficking, where the target group was representatives of executive committees, councils of deputies, departments of education and healthcare, employees of the inspectorate for minors' affairs, the fund of district departments of social protection of the population, local police inspectors of the district police department, and representatives of the media. A total of 192 people were involved in the intensive roundtables, and each of them works with a large number of citizens every day, and the information can be useful and even vital every day.

A completely new turn in the development of working relations was the creation and development of a volunteer detachment in November 2010. Currently, it has become a tangible support and a flexible effective tool in interactive work. The volunteer club "Elpis" was created on the basis of hostel No. 4 of the educational institution "Brest State University named after A.S. Pushkin". Thanks to a sincere, creative, informal approach to work, the detachment successfully copes with its goal — involving young people in combating human trafficking and solving socially significant problems of youth.

The International Organization for Migration in Belarus and the NGO "Business Women's Club" continue their cooperation and are reliable partners and allies in the fight against human trafficking. Thanks to joint efforts, various projects and plans are being implemented, assistance is provided to people, and a contribution is made to the development of civil society in our country.

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