Helpline for Victims of Human Trafficking: public-private partnership in practice
Geneva, since June 2008
The Helpline for victims of human trafficking was launched as a join project of the campaign “End Human Trafficking Now!” and an association “Friends of Humanity” on 2 June 2008 in Geneva. The main objectives of the helpline were to:
- Detect and identify potential victims of human trafficking.
- Provide specialized help and support to victims (shelter; medical, social and psychological assistance, legal counseling etc.).
- Sensitize the general public on the issue of human trafficking.
- Improve the existing network for the assistance of victims.
The assistance was provided over the phone via free and confidential number 0 800 20 80 20, in French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German and Russian. The launch was announced in the press conference and accompanied by massive awareness raising campaign. The helpline as an extraordinary example of the public-private partnership project was mostly financed by the private sector and supported by Geneva authorities.
Summary of results:
In six months, the helpline received 85 calls. Out of them, 16 were considered as potential cases of human trafficking: data 600% higher than official data of the Swiss Federal Police.
The cases confirmed the previously established profile of victims: mostly women in illegal situation, exploited for domestic work or/and sexual services.
The helpline assisted victims in assessing their situation and contacting relevant services, including scheduling appointments. In this context, the team of the helpline collaborated with a large range of institutions: shelters, hospitals, Red Cross (voluntary return service), trade unions, police and others.
The victims often showed fear of retaliation against them or against their family. Because of this, many of them didn’t contact the recommended service or did not show up to the meeting appointed. This confirms the important limits of the helpline project which will be addressed in its following phase.
The experience learned from working with the different actors confirms the existing challenges for an efficient and effective protection of victims of human trafficking:
- Unawareness or even denial of the existence of human trafficking.
- Lack of coordination between the different actors.
Awareness raising campaign
The launch of helpline was accompanied by an extensive awareness raising campaign aiming not only to reach potential victims of human trafficking but also alert the general public and giving it tools in order to identify and assist victims. Various promotional material (posters, flyers, bracelets and stickers) were developed, produced and distributed in many places (streets, public transport, social network, police stations, hostess bars, cabarets, shops, Fan Zone during EuroFoot and during the Geneva Festival 2008). An Internet website www.trafficked.ch was launched to provide practical information for victims, witnesses and public.
Media coverage
The helpline was widely covered by media. Several newspapers and on-line newspapers published articles, including Romandie News, 20 minutes, Le Matin, Le Matin Bleu, Le Courrier, Le Temps, L’Express - L’Impartial, Tribune de Genève, lenouvelliste.ch, Swissinfo.ch, friboo.ch laliberté.ch. TVs and radio disseminated reportages, as for example Léman Bleu Channel and Radio du Lac. The daily free newspaper 20 minutes has repeatedly advertised the helpline number. The coverage still continues as the helpline is receiving requests from media to cover its success, including two proposals from the French channel M6 - the program 66 MN to include helpline in an emission about human trafficking and the TV journal, 6 Minutes. The experience of the initial three months suggests that the helpline gained recognition by the network. For example, the helpline team provided training on human trafficking to staff members of an organization frequently dealing with sex workers. The helpline team also established contacts with the network of other French speaking cantons and nearby France.
Follow-up
The results of the initial phase of the project justify its continuation with a few modifications in order to better identify and assist victims:
- If required by victims, the helpline team will meet victims personally and accompany them to meetings with specialized services. This will ensure that specific assistance will be provided to victims and situations will be followed-up under single “case management”.
- The awareness campaign and network strengthening will be extended to the whole French speaking Switzerland.
- Local NGO will be identified to carry on the project with the support of the campaign End Human Trafficking Now and Friends of Humanity.
Acknowledgments & Awards
The helpline project has been selected to be show-cased and awarded by:
- Philias foundation which organizes its 3rd edition of Humagora. On this occasion, an article about the helpline will be published in prestigious magazine BILAN and the helpline will be awarded a special prize.
- Ashoka France for the Concours Impact 2008.
Press
here to visit the helpline.