In an effort to raise awareness among young law students of human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, the action „Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia“ organised on 21 May 2021 an online meeting with anti-trafficking professionals, representatives of state bodies as well as civil society organisations. The event was part of the interactive HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) online course, which is built upon the standards developed in the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and takes place for law students from the Belgrade University from April to July 2021.
The National Anti-Trafficking Co-ordinator, Mitar Đurašković, introduced the students to the national Strategy for suppression of human trafficking and protection of victims, especially women and children. He also spoke about the action’s campaign to raise citizens' awareness of the problem of human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation. He explained what every citizen can do to contribute to the fight against trafficking. The students were especially interested in information on fair trade and the certification of consumer goods in the production of which no exploited labor force and victims of human trafficking were used in any segment. One of the questions they asked was: "What indicators indicate that a certain product was created as a result of labor exploitation?"
Miroslav Jovanović presented the work of the Center for the Protection of Victims of Trafficking and the support it provides to victims. He mentioned that the Center is an innovative and unique such institution in Serbia, with its two organisational units - the co-ordination service and the shelter for accommodation of victims. He emphasised that there was a significant increase in the number of identified victims in 2020, as a result of numerous training courses and campaigns conducted by civils society organisations and international projects.
Representatives of the two civil society organisations, ASTRA and ATINA, also spoke to the students about their activities. Lidija Đorđevic from ATINA introduced the students to 12 key points in the process of reintegration of victims. She also talked about how support works in practice.
Janja Marić from ASTRA presented the activities of the organisation and drew the students' attention to the verdict of the Constitutional Court of Serbia, which, after a seven-year trial, stated the violation of the constitutional rights of a victim of human trafficking. The students were interested in how long the support for victims in the reintegration process lasts and what percentage of victims manage to fully reintegrate after the traumatic experiences they went through. One of the participants stated: "People are generally unaware of the seriousness of the problem. Is there any possibility of informing parents and children about the seriousness of this problem? "
At the end of the meeting, the participants expressed gratitude to the organisers and speakers for all the information received that will be of great use to them in their future professional work.
The action on „Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia“ is part of the joint European Union/Council of Europe programme Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Turkey 2019-2022.
