ASSIST - Gender Specific Legal Assistance and Integration Support for Third Country National Female Victims of Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation
The ASSIST project aims to develop and deliver gender-specific legal assistance and practical support to trafficked migrant women in EU Member States in order to contribute towards their integration.
About the ASSIST project
The ASSIST project is funded by the EU’s Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund. Its aim is to develop and deliver gender-specific legal assistance and practical support to trafficked migrant women in EU Member States in order to contribute towards their integration. The project partners, comprising support organisations and independent law centres, have delivered legal assistance, information and overall support to more than 50 trafficked migrant women to date – in areas central to their integration in the respective EU Member States.
In particular, this work focuses on addressing special legal needs; on the availability and accessibility of material assistance and safe and appropriate housing, through designated shelters or mainstream services; specialised psychological support; access to training and employment; and overall integration support. Survivors of trafficking play a central role in both the conceptualisation and the implementation of the project.
The project partners are the Immigrant Council of Ireland; SURT in Barcelona / Catalonia; BeFree, based in Rome; JustRight in Glasgow; SOLWODI in Bonn; and the European Network of Migrant Women, based in Brussels.
The priority activities for the ASSIST project include:
- Providing direct assistance to victims, including an individual assessment of the trafficked victim and their circumstances (e.g. identification status, residency status, personal circumstances, stage of the recovery process) and legal assistance and advocacy support to the victims;
- The establishment of a pilot survivor mentor programme, whereby survivors who have recovered and integrated will be recruited and trained as peer mentors to recently identified victims of trafficking;
- The development and production of information materials to inform victims of their rights and the available supports and services;
- The development and production of a compendium of best practice guidelines and principles in the provision of gender-specific assistance and support to facilitate integration, based on the learning from the project.
Assisting Trafficked Women: Best Practice Guide
Survivors of sex trafficking need a range of tailored gender-specific supports to integrate into the societies in which they live according to the best-practice guide on supporting women who have been trafficked into EU countries for sexual exploitation.
The principles were developed by the member organisations of ASSIST.
Webinar: Assisting Trafficked Women report launch
On 24 November 2020 the Immigrant Council hosted an online presentation of key findings from the ASSIST project across all European partners.
Brian Killoran - Introduction & Welcome to Assisting Trafficked Women report launch webinar
Jennifer Okeke Campbell - ASSIST project’s innovative ideas
Mary Henderson - Providing gender specific legal assistance to trafficked migrant women
Dr Myria Vassiliadou - Latest advances in understanding human trafficking as form of GBV in the EU
Deaglán O Briain - State’s response to trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation
Linda Latham - Gender-specific medical needs and individual care plans for trafficked women
Barbara Condon - Practical support to trafficked women in Ireland
Noeline Blackwell - Overcoming repeat sexual violence reflections
Anna Zobnina - Trafficking of migrant women in Europe: Present challenges
Denise Charlton - Lessons from the ASSIST project reflection from an External Evaluator
Beatrice: Peer to peer support to trafficked migrant women: A survivor’s perspective
Framework: Peer-to-Peer Mentoring provided by survivors of human trafficking
The ASSIST project is committed to supporting the integration of third country national female victims of trafficking. The project focuses on developing best practice approaches to gender-specific services provision that is geared towards the integration of trafficked women recovering from sexual exploitation and abuses. For the purposes of achieving maximum effect, the project will explore the involvement of survivors in the delivery of integration supports to trafficked women.
This document outlines some theoretical justification and practical guidance developed by the Immigrant Copuncil of Ireland and endorsed by the project partners that covers the following areas: theoretical justification, selection, recruitment, mentoring approach, sample contracts and training materials. It is intended as a Framework on Peer-to-peer mentoring assisting organisations in the
participating EU Member States.
Download our report: Peer-to-peer Mentoring Framework for trafficked women
Related news
- Launching new trans-European anti-trafficking project to assist trafficked migrant women
- ASSIST: Improving supports for victims of trafficking across Europe
- New UN Resolution recognises vulnerability of migrant women in cases of trafficking
- Immigrant Council calls for gender-specific legal, housing and psychological supports for survivors of sex trafficking