Programme “La Strada”

Since January 2003 YWCA of Belarus runs Programme “La Strada: Prevention of Trafficking in Persons in Central and eastern Europe” and one of the co-founders of International Association of NGOs “La Strada”, which includes 9 countries - the Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, FYR Macedonia and Bosnia and Hercegovina.

“La Strada” understands the problem of trafficking as a severe violation of human rights, in order to solve which a complex interdisciplinary approach should be applied, involving cooperation of state bodies, NGOs and international community. As in all partner countries Programme “La Strada” in Belarus develops its activity in three main directions.

Information and Lobby

Information and Lobby Campaign is aimed at raising significance of the problem among public and international community through attraction of the attention of state bodies and international community as well as general public. Cooperation with mass media plays an important role in overcoming stereotypes about human trafficking as an issue of prostitution, spreading the information about the dangers of trafficking and rules of safe migrant behavior.

To attract the attention of the broad audience Programme “La Strada” staff members organize press-conferences for journalists, give interviews, send out press-releases about the activities, participate in seminars and international conferences, as well as research projects. A constant monitoring of changes in national and international legislation in human trafficking combating domain is being held. To provide the access of the specialists, researchers, students to the thematic literature the information resource center has been organized on the basis of “La Strada” Programme, which includes  a library (In Russian) and an Internet resource. The library contains over 900 printed editions (books, magazines, bulletins, reports etc.) in Russian, Ukrainian, English, German and Polish languages.

Prevention and Education

Prevetion and Education Campaign works with risk groups, organizing lectures, seminars and trainings. Since 2002 “La Strada” staff provided over 300 meetings in secondary, vocational and higher educational institutions, which were attended by over 9 000 persons. The large-scale information campaign is organized for young people, video classes, Open Doors Days in small towns in Belarus, which always attract huge interest.

Specialists of “La Strada” elaborate information materials (leaflets, brochures, posters booklets, pocket calendars etc.) and video materials for different target groups. On the stage of the development the focus groups with representatives of the target groups are organized to take into account their needs in specific information and the desirable design. To the end of December 2006 over 150 000 printed materials were distributed through the network of NGOs, educational institutions, departments of state bodies. 

Another direction of Prevention and Education Campaign is conduction seminars for specialists of various  professional groups: teachers, social pedagogues, psychologists, representatives of state structures (employment services, migration services and so on) and other persons that might be involved into preventive activities. In frames of “La Strada” programme with the support of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in 2004 the network of specialists of NGO's and state structures which organize information activities in regions of Belarus. To the end of February 2007 the trained specialists had conducted 852 classes for about 21 200  participants. In 2006 a network of peer educators-students of different higher educational establishments, colleges and professional schools, which also conduct educational and informational activities among their peers.

Since 2003 YWCA of Belarus also organize annual contest of scientific papers on the issue of human trafficking for graduate and post-graduate studies students from universities of the country with the aim to attract their attention to the issue. The winners are awarded with scholarships  for three months.

“La Strada” specialists are authors of research materials, which are widely used in Belarus, creating the opportunities to improve the preventive strategies. Our great accomplishment is creation of the manual “Organization of activities on prevention of trafficking in persons”, which is recommended by the National Institute of Education of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Belarus. The manual was printed in 2004 with the support of International Organization for Migration. In 2005 with the support of SDC and Ministry of foreign Affairs of the Netherlands the book “Prevention of Trafficking in persons in the Republic of Belarus”/the Handbook for information work with risk groups, was printed.

The important part of the Programme is  hotline activity , which was started in 2001 as a first national hotline on the issues of safe travel and stay abroad. Up till March 2007 the hotline has received over 12 000 calls.

In April 2004 the hotline started to work as a toll-free number, free of charge on the whole territory of Belarus. It was open as a part of the project of European Commission and UNDP project “Combating Trafficking in Women in the Republic of Belarus”. Besides, the forms of providing consultations were developed and include now also e-mail counseling and mail counseling. 

Hotline consultants provide the clients with the information about possibilities, conditions, rules of safe travel abroad with the purpose of employment, marriage and studies abroad. Besides, they provide informational support to the victims of trafficking, who are on their way home and relatives searching for missing people abroad. 

Special attention is paid to the ethical principles of hotline activity. All calls are anonymous. The staff adheres to the principle of confidentiality, understanding that stories told by clients belong only to them. We understand that this is the only way to earn the trust of persons who address for help and support. 

To increase the quality of services provided and the tempo of providing consultations the electronic version of reference book has been created. It contains information about marriage, labor, migration legislation of the destination countries as well as information on cultural traditions and social infrastructure of various countries. The electronic reference book includes also the useful phone numbers and addresses of organizations which provide assistance to the foreigners and contact info of embassies of the Republic of Belarus abroad.

Beside providing people with practical assistance, hotline activity facilitates studies of the tendencies in human trafficking domain: methods of recruitment, channels, forms of coercion. Due to 6 years of experience it is now possible to analyze main tendencies and dynamic of travel of Belarusian citizens abroad for employment, marriage, studies and so on. The press-release on the results of hotline activity is published monthly and available for all interested.

Hotline doesn't provide the assistance in finding marriage partners, places for studies or employers abroad. To find a registered company-mediator of employment or marriage abroad one can search the official web-site of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.

Social Assistance to the Victims of Trafficking

The aim of the  Social Asistance Campaign is to develop the programmes of assistance to the VoT, which include providing them medical, legal and psychological assistance for free as well as emotional support without accusations and condemnation. Since 2002 “La Strada” Programme staff received over 280 addresses from survivors and their relatives. In each case an appropriate assistance has been provided by the highly qualifies specialists. According to the statistics the main destination countries for Belarusian citizens are Russia, Germany and Turkey.

“La Strada” provides the assistance to victims of trafficking in a direct way, but also referring them to highly qualified specialists and to the specialized organizations. The social accompaniment of clients is carried out. Due to the fact that some years ago the assistance  to the given category of clients in Belarus was not provided at all, analyzing the best practices of our colleagues from abroad and our own practice, “La Strada” elaborates models of rehabilitation and re-integration programs, taking into account individual needs of victims of trafficking. All services are provided free-of-charge. In 2004 on the basis of “La Strada” the mini-shelter was open for the women-survivors of trafficking in persons where being put in safe and quiet conditions, they are able to make a decision on their life and on what kind of  help they might need.

Our main principles of work are confidentiality and anonymity. Interests and needs of victims take the central place in system of rendering assistance to victims of trafficking.  Anonymity  of services provided is also very important, as it enables victims to receive the assistance, not being afraid to be recognized. This principle is especially actual, if the victim lives in small settlement where it is difficult to keep secret the circumstances of her life. The principle of voluntary reception of the services  implies  that they are provided according to the clients outspoken wishes and readiness to accept the help they need. The victims are given the full information on available types of assistance, while the decision on when and how to take advantage of them is being left to the clients.

The mechanisms of victim's referral should work effectively regardless of their place of residence - capital, the regional or district center or a small settlement. Therefore the “La Strada” pays special attention to transfer of gained experience and  training  of experts of the Territorial centers of social services to the population, the social - pedagogical centers, employees of law enforcement bodies, psychologists, lawyers whose professional duties include rendering the qualified complex assistance  to victims of trafficking.

Assistance provided to victims of trafficking in person within the framework of the Programme “La Strada”:

• meeting the survivors on their homecoming,
• assistance in returning home (to the former place of residence) – travel costs on the territory of Belarus,
• providing (if needed) a temporary refuge in a shelter,
• financial aid,
• assistance in finding an educational institution for a professional training, re-training and employment,
• assistance in the organization of medical check,
• referral to other organizations and to competent specialists for providing psychological, legal, medical, humanitarian and other kinds of assistance,
• providing the information concerning participation of victims in criminal trial and judicial hearings, and also submissions of civil suits,
• assistance to relatives in search of family members who had disappeared abroad.

The programme “La Strada” wants to thank sponsors and partners for long-term fruitful cooperation: the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Denmark, Netherlands, Greece, the Great Britain, the Swiss Cooperation Office Belarus of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) part of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Union of Protestant Churches of Holland, the European Commission and the United Nations Development Programme, the Bureau on Democratic Institutes and Human Rights of OSCE, OSCE office in Minsk, the International organization for Migration, United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees.

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