BELGRADE, 14 July 2011 (Beta) – The state does not provide sufficiently efficient and systemically organized support to trafficking victims is the conclusion of the Ten-Year Report on Human Trafficking in Serbia presented by NGO ASTRA on Thursday.
Representative of the Delegation of the European Commission Yolanda san Jose said that the EU monitors how all potential member states fight human trafficking. She estimated that Serbia had accomplished a lot, but better organized and comprehensive support to trafficking victims was necessary.
In the Report on Trafficking in Human Beings in Serbia for the Period 2000-2010, it is said that one of the greatest challenges faced by trafficking victims is insufficient physical safety and impossibility to find a job after getting out of the trafficking chain and thus provide for themselves and their families. One of the recommendations of this Report is also to simplify the procedure for victims’ obtaining financial social assistance and to improve their access to health care.
“If we put aside salaries of the employees in institutions, budgetary allocations for victim assistance do not exist”, said one of the authors, Ivana Radović. She said that for trafficking victims the hell does not end when they get out of the trafficking chain.
“Trials against traffickers are too long, making it difficult for victims to rebuild their lives after the traumatic experience they have survived”, said Radović. According to her words, victims are under great pressure “since they are expected to recover instantly from everything they have survived, testify against the traffickers and make them go to jail”.