Mobile
services, education and anti-trafficking interventions for vulnerable groups in Bulgaria.
An IPPF Innovation Fund project implemented by the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association
Quotes
Mrs. Pakize Rasim, Mayor of the village of Bazun, Rousse region:
‘I met for the first time the Member Association project team in November 2006. We started to work on this project since January 2007. The ROSE project was a benefit for our municipality, the services are free of charge, the educational sessions with the young women are free of charge too. We are happy to work with the Member Association.’
Why is this work important?
Bulgaria is a country of origin and transit for trafficking for sexual exploitation. The most vulnerable are young, unemployed women, particularly those from the Roma community, with low educational levels and without supportive family networks.
Nearly half of all those surveyed in the project areas in 2007, knew of young women trafficked for sexual exploitation from their area.
Among those from Roma communities this rose to over 70%.
The underlying economic factors pushing young people to seek opportunities abroad are strong.
Consequently, many young people are prepared to migrate, despite the risks involved. At the same time, practical information and relevant services that make the links between trafficking and sexual and reproductive health, are often inaccessible or simply unavailable.
What is innovative about this project?
This project seeks to empower young women who are vulnerable to trafficking, or affected by it, to realise their sexual and reproductive rights.
While many anti-trafficking initiatives focus solely on prevention, this project addresses the realities faced by women before, during and after they experience trafficking.
For the first time in Bulgaria, a model is being developed to integrate trafficking, gender issues, sexual rights and sexual and reproductive health.
- Sexual and reproductive health information and mobile services are being provided to young people in rural areas who are vulnerable to, or affected by, trafficking.
- Young people in boarding schools, and those without parental care are being empowered to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and rights and reduce their risk of being trafficked
- The project is raising the profile of sexual and reproductive health and trafficking issues and building support to address these among local authorities and communities.
How is the strategy working?
The project is being implemented in the Rousse and Pleven regions of Bulgaria. Close to the border with Romania, these regions are both a transit and a source area for trafficking.
Sexual and reproductive health services and information are provided through mobile teams including:
Service providers are trained to integrate issues around gender, rights and trafficking into their work.
Criteria were developed to select the villages and small towns most vulnerable to trafficking including age structure, ethnic profile, educational status and employment levels.
Local Task Forces, including specially trained women from each community, were established in each area to publicise the services through word of mouth. This approach has proved extremely effective and over 10,700 services were provided to rural women in 2008.
A second key vulnerable group identified by the project is young people in Government boarding schools who have criminal records or who cannot be cared for by their families.
The project is training peer educators in these schools, as well as teachers and school nurses. Information is provided to empower young people to identify the ‘work opportunities’ that traffickers use to recruit people for sexual exploitation.
They also learn how to protect their own sexual and reproductive health and rights, including in a trafficking situation.
What next?
In the final year of the project, the Bulgarian Family Planning Association is stepping up its advocacy activities to demonstrate the value of the services provided to Government.
Some further donor funding has already been secured but the long term sustainability of this vital work depends upon convincing local authorities of the need to invest in sexual and reproductive health as part of the battle against trafficking.
Want to find out more?
Contact
innovation@ippf.org
IPPF European Network
The Bulgarian Family Planning Association