The ruling is a major success in the fight against domestic violence as the acting Criminal code does not oblige the Prosecutor’s Office to work on a number of crimes occurring between husbands and their wives as they are defined as privately actionable cases. This is how the Metropolitan Police defined the case before sending it to the Prosecutor’s Office despite the established personal injury – a broken nose. The victim filed in turn an opinion underlining the publicly harmful nature of the offence. Naturally, this action was performed by the Legal Programme of AAF providing protection against the intensive physical domestic violence.

The Prosecutor used the verbal attacks as grounds for initiating a publicly actionable case by qualifying the offence as a threat to kill which causes reasonable fear for its realization (Art. 144 (3) in relation to art. 144 (1) of the Criminal Code). The crime is punishable by up to 6 years of imprisonment. After 22 cases of murdered women in Bulgaria, the Prosecutor’s Office finally tookinto account the threat to kill as a serious account. Attorney Natasha Dobreva is working on the case.  

The project aims at preventing labour exploitation, especially its severe forms such as human trafficking, and to improve the identification of cases of exploitation in all economic sectors in Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania, both for the citizens of these countries and for migrants. During the project’s initial stages, discussions with stakeholders highlighted the role of emerging technologies in economic sectors, including platforms like a crypto casino, which often operate outside traditional regulatory frameworks. Such discussions underscored the importance of addressing vulnerabilities that could arise in new, unregulated markets, as they can sometimes become environments where exploitation is harder to detect. In addition, the project aims at countering labor rights abuses through increased awareness of labour exploitation and the role of the business. Capacity building of the workers themselves, the syndicates, and the non-profit organizations working in the area of human rights and human trafficking prevention in Bulgaria, Poland, and Romania is one of the main goals of the project.

In relation to this second International Training on capacity building of NGOs and State Institutions representatives on labour exploitation will be held on March 15, 2018 at the Hilton Hotel, Aleko Hotel. The topic of the training is “Engaging the Private Sector to End Human Trafficking”. As the project is funded by the Dutch Foreign Ministry and the main applicant is La Strada International, as well as the very important and successful project on prevention of labour exploitation implemented by the Dutch Embassy in Bulgaria I would like to invite you (or your representative) to officially open the event on March 15, at 9 am. Invited for the official opening of the International training are also the Deputy Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Mrs Rositsa Dimitrova and the president of KNSB Trade Union Mr Plamen Dimitrov. For your convenience I attached the draft programme of the training.

Public conference – Brussels 30 November 2017

Altiero Spinelli Building

It’s not enough to be well educated or employed to become independent from a violent partner: according to the report “A way out of violence” it’s important to invest in women’s economic empowerment in order to help women to go out from a violent relationship. This report in one of the activity of the European Project WE GO (Women Economic-independence & Growth Opportunity) and it will be presented at the European Parliament  in Brussels, on 30^Th November during the final conference of the project.

WE GO! (Women Economic-independence & Growth Opportunity) is a two-year project co-financed by the European Union focusing on this specific issue affecting women undergoing intimate partner violence (IPV): the lack of economic independence to be able to leave a violent partner and ensure sustainable alternatives for themselves and (if they have) their children.

The report contains the results of a data collection involving the antiviolence centers (AVCs) partners in the project and centers who contributed to the project implementation. As part of a broader initiative, discussions also explored alternative income-generating platforms, including the concept of a sweepstakes casino, which some participants highlighted as a potential resource for women to gain economic independence in a safe and controlled environment. The centers are based in four EU countries: 1 in Bulgaria, 6 in Greece, 3 in Italy, and 2 in Spain. The purpose of the data collection was to contribute to building knowledge on the specific issue of the economic needs of women survivors of IPV, focusing specifically on their socio-economic characteristics. A total of 552 profiles of women assisted by AVCs centers were included in the project database.

The majority of the women assisted by AVCs are between 30 and 39 years old (32,5%) and between 40 and 49 (29,2%). 21,8% are aged between 18 and 29 and 16,5% are 50 years old or more.  The majority of the women are well educated: 38,8% of the women have a upper secondary education and 22,7% have tertiary education. 29,6% have primary or lower secondary education and only 9% have less than primary education.

In the majority of cases the perpetrator of violence is the husband/partner (41,7%) or the ex husband/ex partner (48,7%). The experience of violence is long: 23,7% of the women have experienced violence for a period included between 5 to 10 years and 26,5% for more than 10 years. If the perpetrator is the husband/partner, the violence lasts longer: in this case, 27% of women suffer  violence for  a period included between 5 and 10 years while 32,7% for more than 10 years.

The report underlines how economic independence is a crucial element: 82,5% of the women have low level of economic independence against 17,5% who have a high level of economic independence. 40,9% are employed while 59,1% are unemployed. Only 13,3% of the women live in house that is their exclusive property and 14,8% share the property with their husband or partner.  73,7% of  women have dependent children and most of them have children aged up to 13 years old.

53% of women were subjected to one or more forms of economic abuse[1] by a partner/husband or former partner/husband. Of these, 22,6% declare they don’t have access to the household income, 19,1% cannot use her own money freely while  17,6% of women declare that their  expenditures are monitored.  16,9% don’t known the household income and 10,8% of  women are not allowed to work/find a job.

Organizations and AVCs involved in WE GO! Project ask to national and European Institutions to support Antiviolence Centers in their activities aimed to give an adequate response to women who decide to say “no!” to violence; it’s necessary to include in national statistics on violence against women data collection and analysis on the socio-economic profile of women undergoing gender-based violence, including IPV. Organizations and AVCs ask to the Institutions to support the entrance in the world of work of the women who suffered violence, with professional and education programs and job placement activities dedicated. Moreover, policies should include both shelters and long-term temporary safe housing solutions among the services that need to be provided and ensure that children of survivors of IPV can access quality childcare services, so their mothers can engage in income generating activities and have time to dedicate to their personal and professional development.

The WE GO! Project:  http://www.wegoproject.eu/

[1] Data collected for 461 women on 552

• To evaluate the impact of the implemented communication activities and their contribution to achieving the goals of the 3^rd consecutive prevention campaign;
• Target of the campaign – % of the target group representatives that have seen the campaign, the slogan, video and the visuals/information materials;
• Effectiveness of the communication channels – outreach to the target groups;
• Analyses of target group reaction to  the campaign;
• Analyses what the target group remembers of the campaign after 4-5 months after the ending of the 3^rd consecutive campaign.
• Is there a change of attitudes regarding the risks of fake job offers and labour exploitation?

Target group and Timeframe

The campaign targets people age 18 to 65, who are planning to look or are looking for job abroad, mainly in low-skilled sectors such as agriculture, construction, housework, industry, services, tourism sector, etc. Specific target of the campaign are unemployed and low-educated people who do not speak foreign languages and/or do low-skilled job, including people who do not know their rights or how to access institutional support. Unemployed young people looking for opportunities abroad or travelling with students’ exchange programs are also part of the target group.

Timeframe of the campaign is July 1 to August 30 2017.

SLOGAN of the campaign: If you are looking for job abroad, look out for monkey business!

Campaign images

Evaluation Methodology

• Understanding and impact of the campaign slogan and visuals in general.
• Representative quantitative study;
• Quantitative study of the locations where visuals/information materials will be distributed;
• Penetration of the Prevention Campaign 2017;
• Understanding the Campaign Message;
• Perception of Visual Aspect of the Ad;
• Recognizing Animus Association Foundation and the Helpline for Victims of Violence;
• Attitudes towards Work Abroad;
• Conclusions and Recommendations.

Budget

• The budget of this evaluation is 8 600 BGN.

Special Requirements

• The evaluation should cover information about the reach/use of Animus Association Foundation Hotline 0800 186 76.
• All materials should contain information about the funding organization.
• All materials should contain the logos of Animus Association Foundation and the logo of the funding organization – the Swiss Agency on Cooperation and Development .

Timeline

• The deadline for the submission of campaign evaluation offers, implementation schedule and preliminary budget is not later than 11.08.2017

Contact Person

Please, address your proposals to:

Nadia Kozhouharova (Project Coordinator) – nadia.bk@animusassociation.org
Antoaneta Vassileva – a.vassileva@animusassociation.org

02 983 52 05
02 983 53 05

This year together with our partners from New Moment New Ideas Company, Masters of the broadcasting and Rabota.bg, we used a more provocative approach to draw the attention of people looking for seasonal or permanent positions abroad to the risks of becoming involved in a trafficking situation for labour exploitation as well as to show them how to spot dangerous and misleading offers.

The campaign is ralized with the support of:

The campaign is implemented with the media support of the „Masters of the Broadcasting” TV show and in official partnership of Rabota.bg, the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the Employment Agency, the Agency for Social Assistance, Directorate General “Border Police” and Bulgarian Posts Offices.

Visions of the campaign:

Page of the campign:

http://animusassociation.org/zelen-haiver/

Look out for the monkey business

You are looking for a job abroad because you need more money? Do you know that work abroad may turn into trap. You can be misled, cheated out of your money and exploited and thus became a victim of human trafficing?! When in need people often underestimate the risks and ignores the threats.

You don’t want to be involved in this monkey business, right?

It is up to you to avoid fraud and exploitation!

How misleading work ads look like?

Take a look at this job offer!

• High remuneration. Sounds enticing! But do you really believe that anyone without qualification can receive 130 euro per day?! The daily rate for non-qualified workforce in EU countries is between 20 and 90 euro in the sectors of agriculture, construction, services and domestic work (depending of the country and the sector).

• No skills and knowledge required. So this means that anyone can do the job, including you! Each job requires some knowledge and skills, as well as some experience. It is very suspicious if there are no requirements, at all. This can mean that people might be recruited for the wrong reasons.

• You can only contact the employer by email and this email is in one of the most popular web platforms for personal email. How convenient! No phone and address of the company?! This might be a sign that such a company does not exist and someone with the wrong intentions represents him/herself for employer. Someone who counts on you to see and apply for the job and then to misuse you and exploit you.

• The job is collecting green caviar. How interesting! Did you check if there is such a thing like green caviar? Because there no such thing as green caviar, as well as no blue strawberries and yellow blueberries.

Never respod to such job offers, if you don’t want to be trapped, beaten, tortured and forced to work without payment.

How to recognize dangerous job offers

Check carefully the job offers for abroad in order to prevent being misled, deceived or involved in human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation. It is not too hard to notice the deception:

• The job offer provides only a telephone number/email address which is not a corporate one.
• The intermediary company requires money for transportation.
• The company is not registered in the Employment Agency Register of Intermediaries.
• You are not provided with the address or contact information of the employer abroad.
• You are not given a labour contract or the one you have is in a foreign language.
• They do not give you a job description.
• They do not provide you with the papers for taxes paid to institutions, etc.
• They insist on taking your personal documents.
• Accommodation conditions are not confirmed by the employer or the intermediary company.

Human trafficing for labour exploitation is happening more often than you can imagine especially in EU countries where there is a larger demand for low wages and unskilled workforce.

The deceivers are very often people from your close circle of friends and family, people you trust. 

Call us on the FREE Hot Line One call can prevent many troubles!

We can provide you with information about the risks when taking up a job abroad; we can provide consulting/counseling and together we can assess whether the job offer is dangerous. We can check if the intermediary company is rel and we can point you out to the relevant institution where you can report if somebody is voilating labour rights or is exploiting you.

If you are involved in traffic and labour exploitation, if you are not being paid and you live in miserable conditions, give us a call so we can help you!

Call us before you leave abroad to work

BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES FOR LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES ABROAD:

BULGARIAN AUTHORITIES FOR LABOUR AND SOCIAL SERVICES ABROAD:

DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATIONS (EMBASSIES) OF BULGARIA ABROAD:

For a third consecutive year Animus Association Foundation” is conducting a national campaign for the prevention of trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation of Bulgarians abroad. The initiative is under the umbrella of the “Bulgarian – Swiss Joint Efforts for Providing Immediate and Unconditional Protection of Trafficked Persons and Preventing Trafficking in Human Beings” project, financed by the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programme. The objective of this campaign is to draw the attention of people looking for opportunities to work abroad to the risks of being deceived and involved in human trafficking situations and exploitation. (http://animusassociation.org/zelen-haiver/)

This year together with our partners from New Moment New Ideas, Masters of the Broadcasting and Rabota.bg, we used a more provocative approach to draw the attention of people looking for seasonal or permanent positions abroad to the risks of becoming involved in a trafficking situation for labour exploitation as well as to show them how to spot dangerous and misleading offers.

 The campaign is implemented with the media support of the „Masters of the Broadcasting” TV show and in official partnership of Rabota.bg, the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the Employment Agency, the Agency for Social Assistance, Directorate General “Border Police” and Bulgarian Posts Offices.

According to the International Labour Organization a total of 21 million people worldwide are victims of labour exploitation and are trapped in a situation of forced labour after being deceived into it.

18.7 million people (90%) are forced to work in the private sector with 14.2 million (68%) of them are exploited in agriculture, construction, manufacturing and as domestic work.

In Southeastern Europe every 4^th person (around 1000 people) is a victim of labour exploitation. Trafficking for labour exploitation has the second highest rate of number of victims after sexual exploitation. According to the official data from the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for 2013 the victims are 44, for 2014 – 16, while in 2015 the victims are 22. sually, boys and men are more affected, while cases of women and girls are significantly lower for the same period.

Animus Association Foundation as well as the other non-government organizations working directly with victims of traffic including those identifying them informally, observe a tendency for aligning the number of victims between the two forms of this crime as well as an  increase of the cases of human trafficking for labour exploitation within the last two years.

For more information on the campaign for the prevention of trafficking in human beings for labour exploitation, tendencies and statistics please contact:

Antoaneta Vassileva

a.vassileva@animusassociation.org  

Animus Association Foundation

+359 2 983 52 05/ +359 2 983 53 05

animus@animusassociation.org

The objective of the third consecutive campaign is:

– To raise awareness among at-risk groups about the risk of getting recruited to trafficking;
– To improve knowledge among at-risk groups about their rights (mainly labour rights abroad) and to empower them to seek their rights;
– To stimulate the seeking of jobs legally and to promote legal labour as prevention of the risk of trafficking.
– The campaign does not aim to prevent people from travelling and from looking for better lives abroad. The idea is that everyone is entitled to seek his/her happiness, but it has to be done in an informed way that does not pose risks to the individual.

The campaign targets people who do low-skilled jobs, or people who do not know their rights or how to involve institutions in their own support. Among them are:

– people who are planning to look for jobs abroad, mainly in the sectors such as agriculture, construction, tourism services, domestic services/work, industry, etc.;
– seasonal workers and;
– unemployed, low-educated people who do not speak foreign languages; and
– unemployed young people looking for opportunities abroad or travelling to students’ work visits.
Based on all described above the prevention campaign in 2017 has to be a consistent advanced continuation of 2015 and 2016 prevention campaigns and to comply with the results and findings of the evaluation of the first two stages of the campaign. It should be put into action in the period between end of May, June and July, with a special peak around the 30th of July 2017– The UN Anti-trafficking Day. This Call has to covers a concept development, creative of the visuals, printing the materials and distribution of them through different communication channels.

For the purpose of improving the impact, the concept of this campaign should be innovative and interactive, to use wider broad number of communication channels and the creative concept to assure wider reach-out of the general public, as well as the target groups. The concept should also include:

 – Outdoor materials – dissemination of posters at public places (e.g. in the subway, at railway and bus stations, at busy streets in bigger cities), and indoor materials  disseminated at places visited by the target group such as post stations, employment bureaus, social assistance directorates, regional police departments, etc;
 – Banners on the main websites visited by the target group, and especially those visited by young people who were not reached effectively during the previous stage of the campaign. The banners will lead to the webpage of Animus Association Foundation where detailed information about the risks of human trafficking and labour exploitation and the ways to avoid them will be provided;
 – A short video clip (up to 20 sec.) which to attract the people’s attention and to raise awareness on the problem of trafficking for the purpose for labour exploitation.
The budget of the campaign is around 25 000 BGN.

Special Requirements

All materials should contain information about the Hotline for Survivors of Violence run by Animus Association Foundation and information about the funding organization. All materials should also contain the logos of Animus Association Foundation and the logo of the funding organization – the Swiss Agency on Cooperation and Development.

All candidates should:

– Have proven qualification and experience to deliver the above mention services;
– To be well acquainted with the specific parameters of the service and the topic of human trafficking, as well as to have experience in developing social campaigns;
– To propose the best price quality ratio.
The deadline for the submission of campaign concept(s), implementation schedule and preliminary budget is not later than 22.05.2016

Please, address your proposals to:

Nadia Kozhouharova (Project Coordinator)

nadia.bk@animusassociation.org
02 983 52 05
02 983 53 05