Long-term support for survivors of human trafficking in focus at ODIHR event

Victims of human trafficking are often hidden in plain sight, with only a fraction ever identified due to fear, or manipulation and coercion by traffickers. Even after identification, survivors face long and complex challenges that go far beyond immediate support.

At a side event of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) stressed the need to upscale proactive identification of victims and the need for comprehensive, survivor-centred and trauma-informed assistance to ensure their long-term recovery and reintegration in society.

“With the majority of victims remaining unidentified or facing difficulties in accessing and navigating complex protection systems, we must ask ourselves what we can do better and find innovative and survivor-led solutions,” said Jeanne Celestine Lakin, Chair of ODIHR’s International Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council (ISTAC).

Speakers highlighted the importance of independent advocates to help victims and survivors navigate protection and support services, as well as trauma-informed approaches in interacting with victims, including children, to encourage them to offer their testimonies. Broad cooperation is also needed to help survivors rebuild their lives.

ISTAC members also presented ODIHR’s recently published Survivor-Informed Indicators for the Identification of Victims and Survivors of Trafficking in Human Beings, a practical tool for frontline professionals to spot signs of trafficking and improve identification.