Public organisation “Save the Children (“Gelbėkit vaikus“)”, in collaboration with UAB ProBaltic Consulting, has successfully developed and implemented the project financed under the European Social Fund, which aims to enhance social inclusion through the reduction of discrimination and prevention of social issues.
Pursuant to the United Nations Human Rights Committee’s recommendation, stating that Lithuania should provide for sufficient measures for the protection of abused persons, including women and children, assess the current human trafficking programmes, and take all measures on human exploitation prevention, such a s preventive training for professionals and potential victims, the key objective of the project was to reduce the extent of human trafficking in Lithuania and to increase the level of implementation of human trafficking prevention measures.
Under the project, public information and education measures, as well as activities for the prevention of child trafficking were arranged at institutional, children and the general public levels. Trainings were held to improve vocational skills of professionals who address child trafficking issues; round-table meetings were organised in municipal governments, aimed to discuss shortcomings of the child trafficking prevention system and possibilities for improving it, the meetings were attended by interdisciplinary specialists to make comprehensive solution to the problem; in view of international cooperation in the field of prevention of child trafficking, an international conference was held to run the “best practice” session involving interdisciplinary foreign organisations; in order to strengthen methodological capabilities of specialists working with children in the child trafficking prevention field, there was published methodological guidance on methodological tools to be applied for introducing children to protection against abuse means in acceptable ways. Furthermore, there were was held training to introduce children to the human trafficking signs, capacity to protect themselves, and preventive measures, for this purpose, there were published informative publications for children with practical tasks on prevention of child trafficking; publications for peer leaders contained advice how to avoid becoming victims of trafficking; child trafficking prevention tips were published in youth publications. Seeking to familiarise the general public with the issue of child trafficking, to raise the profile of this issue, and to increase public awareness, to encourage involvement in addressing the child trafficking problems, and to introduce the sale of children preventive measures, there were national and regional television and radio broadcasts arranged, outdoor advertising disseminated, information distributed by other public means. In view of interdisciplinary cooperation in solving the issues of child trafficking, the supervision covered all regions of Lithuania.
As a result, the project enhanced vocational skills of professionals working in child trafficking prevention, the comprehensive solution to the child trafficking problem speeded up the prevention at the inter-institutional level, victims, potential victims and society became more aware of human trafficking cases, the child trafficking prevention was improved, and a number of cases of identified attempts in child trafficking increased.