Duration of the Project: 01/09/2011 – 30/04/2012
The project organizers: NGO „Shelter. Safe House”, US Embassy in Riga, the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs and Welfare, the Latvian State Police, and the State Prosecutors office.
Project justification: Latvia is making a significant effort to combat human trafficking. State-financed rehabilitation and reintegration assistance is provided to victims of trafficking, and victim identification training has been organized for various specialists like social workers, law enforcement officials, etc. Unfortunately, there are very few Latvian-language resources currently available to educate the general public – and especially at-risk young people - about the evolving forms and methods of human trafficking. To effectively combat all forms of trafficking, it is essential to raise societal awareness of the risks posed and tactics used by traffickers, and it is especially important that these efforts focus on young people, who are most at-risk and who often lack sufficient life experience to avoid the lures used by traffickers.
The goal of the Project: to raise awareness in all segments of Latvian society – but especially among at-risk young people (ages 13-20) - about the potential risks and forms of human trafficking.
Project activities:
1) Development of a short documentary providing an overview of human trafficking and three video clips about specialized forms of trafficking: sexual exploitation, forced labor and fraudulent marriages.
2) Training presentations for students in 25 schools around Latvia.