Holding safe spaces for women and girls’ empowerment
An AMIF initiative committed to empowering and facilitating the social and labour integration of third-country national women and girls facing vulnerability, including survivors of violence and trafficking.
Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a horrifying reality and human rights violation rooted in gender inequalities. The most recent findings of the fifth EU-wide data collection on THB for the years 2017-2018 show that 14.145 victims were registered by EU member states, of these over half were trafficked for sexual exploitation (60%) and nearly three quarters (72%) were female.
In Greece, sexual exploitation is the main form of trafficking and, according to the recent National Referral Mechanism’s report for 2021, 73 victims (VoTs) were identified, among which there were 50 women and girls and the majority of VoTs were from Africa and Asia.
Rising numbers are evident, fueled by the Ukraine refugee crisis, with the UNHCR reporting over five million refugees, 90% women and children, fleeing Ukraine, escalating the risk of trafficking and gender-based violence (UNHCR, 2022). Research has underlined the need for the creation of women and girls’ safe spaces (WGSS) as a key strategy for the protection and empowerment of VoT women and girls.