2004-2005:
Prevention of Prostitution and Trafficking in Two Bulgarian
Municipalities
On September 1, 2004 starts the new one-year project of WAD Foundation funded through the Democracy Commission of US Embassy in Bulgaria. The objective
of the project is to limit the danger of prostitution and trafficking of children from social groups at risk in two cities,
Targoviste and Sandansky. That's the third WAD project of this type and the organization concentrates its efforts
fully on prevention of such phenomena. Trafficking in people continues to be a problem in Bulgaria. Even after the adoption of the Act on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings on the local level there still are neither strategies nor structures that can prevent or counter trafficking. The problem is especially severe in municipalities with high unemployment and economic issues, such as Targoviste and Sandansky. The project is rooted in the fact that both cities lack regional and/or municipal programs addressing prevention of prostitution and trafficking. It has two main components: one is an information campaign that includes distribution of materials for raising public awareness about the seriousness of the problems and the need for counter measures; the second is composed of a series of education seminars. The young people participating in the project will be trained on three modules: human rights; anti-trafficking and motivation and acquisition of every-day life skills. The project also includes a summer school for the youth where they will be involved in cultural and sports activities containing preventive elements. The kids will be co-authors of the contents and will be provoked to implement what they have learnt at the seminars.
Representatives of NGO's, teachers and professionals coming from the target regions will also be trained in programs for prevention of trafficking and work with kids at risk. That's an element of the first phase of the project and there will be capacity building for the professionals and for those directly involved with the implementation.
The project activities are developed on the basis of our understanding of trafficking as violation of human rights and the rights of children and as a phenomenon resulting from marginalization of big social groups due to poverty. After the conclusion of the project the two cities will have teams of trained specialists with practical experience who will continue work on prevention. There will also be groups of young people aware of the threat of trafficking who will become the nucleus of a local front against trafficking. Partners of WAD are Ideas and Values Foundation in Sandansky and Naia Association in Targoviste.
Donor:Democracy Commission of US Embassy
