The case of the migrant women who survived human trafficking and became activists in an advocacy group in Serbia is an encouraging example of how local as well as international anti-trafficking policies might be improved.
Victims of human trafficking can tell us a lot. But are we ready to hear their voices? And why is it important to listen to them? In Serbia, like in many other countries, most victims of human trafficking are citizens of the country although the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection in Belgrade has over the past few years also received reports that some migrants living in the country may have been trafficked. Considering that overcoming the trauma of being trafficked can last several years, and that that period is longer and the healing is more complex if survivors are refugees, the experience of those people deserve special attention.
After the traumatic experience of being trafficked, life literally starts from scratch, especially for women or children who experienced exploitation by people who are very close to them—their parents, acquaintances, and friends; people from whom they expected support or who were role models for them. “For refugee women victims of gender-based violence or human trafficking, recovery takes even more time,” says Lidija Đorđević from the NGO ATINA—Citizens Association for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and All Forms of Gender-Based Violence.
“Everyone must have their right to accurate information about the procedure of obtaining asylum, but also about education, work, medical assistance, and many other things. I didn’t know that myself,” says a girl from Burundi who survived human trafficking and is now living in Serbia. She describes how protracted asylum procedures slow down the integration process for women having to restart their lives from scratch in Serbia. “Waiting for a final decision on asylum is exhausting. In addition, women need special support for their personal development, away from their daily routine. Life in a camp is not real life.” Envisioning a future in which women’s voices are heard, she joined Women on the Way, an advocacy group for migrant women supported by ATINA. In it, she says, “the voice of refugees, of those who survived various forms of violence, is heard, recognized, and respected. Strength lies in all of us and we must support each other.”
Women on the Way consists primarily of female activists who gravitate around ATINA. They share the difficult experience of refugees who escaped not only from war but also from discrimination, violence, and oppression just because they are women. “They set out to reach a place where they would live their lives as they want, have their rights respected, have the right to education and dignified work. That is what they have in common and what makes the core of their struggles and ideas,” explains Đorđević.
ATINA provides every victim in Serbia with safe and secure housing, medical assistance, and psychological and material support. Đorđević says: “If legal proceedings are ongoing, we try to provide legal aid and support as well as the right to a recovery period. Unfortunately, the material support and aid from the state that, according to the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, should be regular is missing. The establishment of a special fund for victims is something we have been working on for a decade. However we have not succeeded to this day in establishing it in Serbia.”
Referring to the Serbian legal framework, Mitar Đurašković, formerly the country’s national anti-trafficking coordinator, remarks that, although Serbia still does not have a fund for human trafficking survivors, the legislation has been improved in recent years. “I think that it is in line with international legal requirements, it even exceeds them,” he said. “In November 2021, we got a new institution, the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, which now monitors the implementation of and respect for the human rights of victims of human trafficking. That is an excellent legislative approach.”
However, since the retirement of the last national anti-trafficking coordinator in August, this important position remains vacant. It is not clear when the next occupant will be appointed by the minister of interior—this is expected to happen after the long-awaited formation of the new Serbian government in October.
Melita Gruevska Graham, the head of the Anti-trafficking Department in the International Centre for Migration Policy Development in Vienna, regrets the lack of systematic consideration and inclusion of the voice of victims and survivors of human trafficking at the European level. Mentioning that advocacy groups of women are involved in Serbia’s National Referral Mechanism, a very good practice thanks to ATINA, she notes that such national-level efforts are very rare. She points out, however, that it is not enough just to listen to the victims and to learn from their experience; it is also necessary to include them in anti-trafficking responses. “They must be involved as equal stakeholders in the development of anti-trafficking tools and mechanisms, sometimes even in operational responses such as providing direct assistance and protection to trafficking victims,” Gruevska Graham concludes.
Helmut Sax from the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute of Fundamental and Human Rights in Vienna reports on a good practice he came across during his visit in Spain as part of the Council of Europe Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. “We had a meeting with survivors of human trafficking who actually had found jobs there. This NGO did not only provide counselling services. Survivors really could work in a clothing business, in potteries, they could sell their own products. They also attend public events, report their own stories, and advocate raising awareness for human trafficking, pointing out that it is not a matter of the nineteenth century but a common phenomenon basically in all societies in the world.”
Violent conflicts, food insecurity, energy crises, climate change, and environmental disasters have been and will remain major drivers of people fleeing countries around the world. Melita Gruevska Graham considers mobility a coping mechanism: “They are left with no viable option in their country of origin, therefore they need to look for a better life abroad. Closed borders increase the need for smuggling services, which in turn has a direct impact on peoples’ vulnerabilities to exploitation and trafficking.” Mitar Đurašković adds: “If half the planet lives on less than $5 a day, if almost a billion people live on less than $2.5 a day, if 700 million people go to bed hungry, these are all at-risk people who, unfortunately, in order to survive and feed their family accept risky offers.”
When it comes to the questions of how to close the gap between principles and practice, and of what to do to overcome problems that persist notwithstanding any apt legal framework that may be in force, Helmut Sax suggests, “you need to involve different stakeholders including survivors of human trafficking; you can also include children to get feedback in order to develop recommendations how to improve anti-trafficking policies. We need to listen to their voices because otherwise we will remain in the realm of theory without having any effects on the ground!”
Milica Kravić Aksamit is a journalist and co-author of the feminist Radio show Žena u kutiji at the Public Broadcasting Service Radio-television of Vojvodina. She was a Milena Jesenska Fellow at the IWM in 2022.
