In June, the team of "Dignita" foundation launched the Women's Circles within the ERADICATING II project, where it participates in a consortium with other institutions and organizations from six countries (Germany, Poland, Greece, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania). Involving refugee women from Ukraine, the format implies an informal discussion on the problems of integration, settlement in our country, possible difficulties related to inclusion in the labour market, and the existence of exploitative practices. Thus, the aim is to extract primary information addressing the risk of labour exploitation.
Women's Circles is one of the components of a research that Dignita Foundation isundertaking in the framework of the project to assess the risks of human trafficking for labour exploitation among Ukrainian refugees. Three focus groups were held in May with participants from NGOs and humanitarian organizations working directly with refugees from Ukraine in the consortium member countries. During the discussions, participants shared their experiences and observations regarding the main risk and indicators of vulnerability faced by refugees from Ukraine in the process of integration in the host country.
In the coming months, Dignita Foundation will develop a summary analysis of the data from the women's consultations and focus groups, which will be used to prepare a set of training materials to enhance the capacity of law enforcement, labour inspectors and other professionals working on the frontline.
The EU-funded ERADICATING II project aims to increase the number of identified victims of trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation, especially among vulnerable groups such as women, children and Ukrainian refugees, and to increase the number of investigations and prosecutions at EU level. The project aims to improve the capacity of (i) law enforcement and prosecution authorities, (ii) labour inspectors and (iii) frontline practitioners to detect, identify, protect and refer victims of trafficking for support and care.
ERADICATING II consists of five law enforcement agencies and five civil society organisations from six countries (Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovenia) adopting a human rights-based and gender-sensitive approach. The establishment of the consortium has taken into account the crisis in Ukraine as well as key emerging trends in human trafficking.
