IOM - Trafficking in Women: Assistance to Victims and Support for Social Workers

The project was comprised of two activities: 1) provision of assistance to trafficking victims; and 2) provision of psychological support to experienced social workers through 'group supervision.' These activities made up the final stage of a Finnish Government funded assistance project for victims of trafficking from the Baltic States that began in 2002, providing assistance for approximately 50 victims of trafficking and enabling IOM to establish a coordinated system of assistance for victims of trafficking from the Baltic States.

Throughout this project, IOM assisted approximately 20 victims of trafficking from the Baltic States to voluntarily return home to their countries of origin. IOM took care of transportation costs and made travel arrangements for all the victims. On arrival in their home country, the victims were provided with rehabilitation and reintegration assistance, including psychological counselling, shelter, medical assistance, and assistance in finding employment or vocational training. All assistance to victims was provided on a voluntary basis and was strictly confidential.

In the group supervision for social workers component of the project, a seminar was organized by IOM Vilnius to provide emotional and psychological support for experienced social workers who deal with victims of trafficking. A trained psychologist or an experienced social worker was contracted by IOM to facilitate the group supervision, in which the social workers were able to share their experiences of working with vulnerable women and children and learn about coping strategies for the emotional and psychological impact of this work, and methods for providing assistance more effectively. Participants in the seminar came from IOM’s partner NGOs, municipality social departments, and other assistance providers.