Dushanbe, Tajikistan, January 30-31, 2014 – The IOM Mission in Tajikistan delivered a two-day training for 25 NGO partners aimed at providing information and training materials on ways to identify and assist victims of trafficking (VoT). To lead the training session, IOM invited the head of the Department of Social Protection of the Population from the Ministry of Health and Social Protection of the Population (MHSPP) of the Republic of Tajikistan.

Topics of the training workshop have been identified and discussed, in advance, with all participants who encountered common problems on the issues of social accompaniment for VoT while providing rehabilitation and reintegration assistance and the issues related to the existent national legislation regulating the social sphere as well as cooperation between NGOs and social services at local level.

The training participants also discussed the issues related to the international and national legislation with a focus on victims' identification and referral mechanisms, underlying principles of work with those in need of services, the code of ethics setting values and standards to guide social workers' conduct while assisting the victims of trafficking and the strategies of coping with problems related to stress and burnout among social workers.

The training evaluation showed that most of the participants assessed (44 per cent) said that forced labour is widespread in the country and 32 per cent indicated that forced prostitution is occurring at a high rate while domestic servitude was rated the third that exposes persons to risks of human trafficking.

The evaluation also concluded that 56 per cent think men and women are most vulnerable to human trafficking and only 8 per cent of participants assessed said that children represent a high-risk group, whilst the remaining identified both adults and minors being vulnerable to human trafficking.

"The assessment report also provides important data on the knowledge and awareness of NGOs about overall anti-TIP (Trafficking in Persons) efforts of the government and international agencies. The complexity and clandestine nature of human trafficking in Tajikistan highlights the importance to keep strengthening NGOs capacity to enable them to efficiently respond to the needs of the population vulnerable to human trafficking," said Gulchekhra Ibragimova, IOM Tajikistan Legal and Reintegration Support Consultant.

The training was organized within the framework of the IOM regional project "Empowering victims of trafficking, vulnerable migrants, their families and communities in Central Asia", with funding from the Government of the Kingdom of Norway, aiming to contribute to the efforts of the Central Asian Republics to address trafficking in human beings by promoting and reinforcing gender-sensitive prevention and protection measures for victims of human trafficking.