The Finnish Presidency of the CBSS Expert Group on Children at Risk prioritised combatting child trafficking and counteracting violence against children. During the presidency, the Expert Group on Children at Risk (EG CAR) and CBSS Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB) cooperated on a joint project “Best practices to prevent child trafficking and violence against children in the CBSS countries”.
The Presidency’s initiatives included three Expert Group meetings and joint expert group workshops with the CBSS Task Force Against Trafficking in Human Beings, and an international conference where the main results of the joint project were presented and discussed.
The cross-cutting themes of the Finnish Presidency of the CBSS were comprehensive security, crisis preparedness and resilience.
Expert group meetings and joint workshops
On 30 November-1 December 2023, the EG CAR met in Rovaniemi for the first meeting under the Finnish Presidency.
A joint workshop with TF-THB focused on best practices to prevent and identify child trafficking and violence against children with a specific focus on the role of social services and child protection in trafficking cases. Presentations covered foster care and runaways, the non-punishment principle, exchanges about how to identify child trafficking among children in vulnerable situations, and how to best support a victim of child trafficking.
On 13-14 February 2024, the EG CAR met in Helsinki for the second meeting under the Finnish Presidency.
A joint workshop with TF-THB focused on preventing exploitation of Ukrainian refugee families through successful integration and support services. Presentations covered best practices from Finland to support the employment and integration of Ukrainian people and integrate Ukrainian children in the Finnish school system, differences and dilemmas of the reception of Ukrainian refugees in Europe, the link between integration and labour exploitation, and how to support Ukrainian children and their best interest.
On 13-14 May 2024, the EG CAR met in Helsinki for the third meeting under the Finnish Presidency.
The joint workshop with TF-THB focused on the dynamics of human trafficking, including online. Presentations centred on procedural and legal issues concerning child trafficking: a report on cases of child trafficking in Finnish courts by the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and examples of human trafficking case studies involving psychological control by a Finnish prosecution’s office. The groups also heard a presentation from a forensic psychologist about the dynamics of control and what makes children vulnerable to control.
International conference on youth criminality and its connection to human trafficking
The international conference focused on a theme that emerged during the project and in the report: Youth criminality and its connection to human trafficking.
The conference launched the report, compiled as part of the project, on the best practices for combating trafficking in children and young people in the Baltic Sea countries and for identifying and supporting victims. The report is based on a literature review, online questionnaire for experts, selected expert interviews and outcomes of the first joint workshop held in late 2023. It compiles essential information and is intended to be a practical tool of best practices for professionals who encounter potential victims of child trafficking in their work.
Ongoing projects during the Presidency
- Promoting inclusive and resilient child protection systems, including in crisis and emergency, enhancing the ability of national child protection systems to work effectively on transnational cases, which often involve children in the most precarious of situations, and supporting excellence in the practice of Barnahus. Read more…
- Strengthening the sustainability and impact of child participation mechanisms in decision-making processes at both national and local levels with a specific focus on decisions and action to build safe and secure societies, including their resilience and ability to prevent, prepare, respond, and adapt to different types of hazards and emergencies. Read more…
- Ensuring a safe and informed pathway through Barnahus for children who are presumed victims of violence. This involves designing, piloting, and evaluating a replicable, safe and informed pathway from initial report to long-term recovery and protection through the involvement of a child liaison. Read more…
- Promoting specialised interventions in cases of online sexual violence, provided in multidisciplinary and interagency models for child victims and witnesses of violence. Read more…
- 2Know – gathering data on online violence against children – improving national and international data collection on violence against children by developing a sustainable and replicable data collection model suited to gathering information about online violence against children. Read more…
- Multidisciplinary interagency services for child victims of trafficking – Addressing the specific needs of child victims of trafficking and exploitation by developing standards and guiding principles for national and transnational referral mechanisms incorporating a specific focus on child victims including a multidisciplinary response for child victims of trafficking. Read more…
- Promoting multidisciplinary and interagency justice and response for child victims and witnesses of violence, to ensure the rights of child victims of violence to justice, protection and recovery in Bulgaria and EEA Norway target countries to achieve excellence in practice, through training and bilateral exchange and technical support. Read more…
- Evaluating the impact of the Barnahus model in the criminal justice system, through an evidence-based tool to measure the impact of Barnahus in supporting the rights and the needs of child victims of sexual abuse. Read more…
Events
Child Trafficking: Justice, Healing & Protection conference – This end conference, organised in collaboration with the CBSS Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings and Child Circle, was held in the context of the PROMISE TRM project. Around 85 participants met to discuss crucial topics to strengthen collective efforts and build more dynamic and resilient systems to ensure justice, healing, and protection for child victims of trafficking.
Speakers included Ylva Johansson, European Commissioner for Home Affairs; Benoit van Kiersbilck, Member of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; Prof. Siobhán Mullally, UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially in woman and children; Petya Nestorova, Executive Secretary of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings; Dr. Kari Johnstone, OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Human Trafficking.
Four parallel workshops were held on:
- The significance of intergovernmental cooperation in combating child trafficking
- The need for child-centred procedures to protect and support victims
- The nexus between institutionalisation of children and child trafficking
- The involvement of youth, and informing and educating children and youth about child trafficking
Publications
- Handbook for forensic child interviews in presumed cases of trafficking. The aim of the handbook is to support professionals in carrying out investigative interviews in presumed cases of trafficking in children. Based on research and experiences of practitioners, the handbook provides case examples and interview excerpts. Drawing on evidence-based interview protocols, it also introduces general core principles and features likely to be particularly relevant when investigating suspected cases of trafficking in children. Read more…
- ISA: Acute Crisis Intervention. This publication introduces an approach for acute crisis support, “ISA”, developed to address the specific needs for crisis support that may arise with child victims of trafficking for sexual purposes, sexual exploitation, and technology-facilitated sexual abuse, in the first critical days after a disclosure or a child investigative interview. Read more…