What is the role of schools in the prevention of child trafficking? Can education of students and their families help reduce the occurrence of child trafficking? Is partnership between education professionals and anti-trafficking actors important?

Responses to those questions were sought during the two-day training, which was organised on 26-27 October 2021, by the action "Preventing and combating trafficking in human beings in Serbia". Representatives of all School Boards in Serbia and representatives of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Social affairs, as well as representatives of civil society organisations Atina and Astra gathered to exchange on risk factors for child trafficking, detection of “warning signs”/usage of indicators and relevant services to be contacted for consultation and follow-up of potential cases.

“Schools should be safe places for students, and even more so for those whose lives are characterised by lack of safety and security. Every member of the school community - teacher, psychologist, pedagogist, maintenance personnel and other — can learn how to protect and advocate for children who are distressed and exploited. Although the school plays a crucial role, education professionals cannot and should not address child trafficking and exploitation on their own. Effective responses to these complex issues require increased awareness and clearly defined procedures. Our first task is to increase our knowledge and capacities to be able and proactive to fight against child trafficking”, highlighted the participants in the training.

Although, for many, human trafficking in community is difficult to comprehend, the participants considered that schools are one of the best places to detect potential trafficking cases or children at risk. Timely communication and reporting to the Centre for Human Trafficking Victims’ Protection, Social Care Centres and police remains of first importance.

By the end of the year, Guidance for usage of the revised indicators for preliminary identification of children, potential victims of trafficking in human beings, will be developed and disseminated to all School boards and school personnel. This guidance will facilitate the detection of and assistance to potential child victims of trafficking. Another tool that was developed with a prevention purpose by CSOs Child Rights Centre and Atina is the digital prevention platform for children and youth “How to protect yourself from human trafficking”.

The action „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”.