Supporting the Reintegration of Trafficking Victims in Albania: A Reintegration Guide Series for Practitioners
Implementing Agencies: NEXUS Institute and Different and Equal
Years: 2020-2021
Project Summary: Trafficking exploitation has very serious impacts on the physical, psychological, emotional, and economic well-being of trafficking victims. Trafficking impacts family relationships and relations within the wider community. In addition, many trafficking victims faced problems in their lives before trafficking and other problems may emerge in their lives and relationships after trafficking ends.
The process of reintegration tackles the myriad challenges and issues faced by victims in their lives after trafficking. It is the process of recovery and economic and social inclusion following a trafficking experience. It involves addressing the impact of trafficking on victims and their families as well as pre- and post-trafficking vulnerabilities and problems. It also involves leveraging sources of resilience and support in their lives and wider environment.
Successful reintegration includes:
- settlement in a stable and safe environment
- access to a reasonable standard of living
- mental and physical well-being
- opportunities for personal, social and economic development
- access to social and emotional support
Reintegration practitioners play a critical and often lifesaving role in supporting the recovery and reintegration of trafficking victims. However, they are often without the practical tools and resources needed to guide their work. There is only a very limited body of research on victim reintegration and practitioners often do not have time or access to this research. Also lacking is a robust body of tools, resources and guidance to be used in daily work, particularly to address the very many challenges and issues that emerge over the course of recovery and reintegration.
This project is a first step in filling this gap by developing reintegration guides for practitioners to use in their work. These guides are based on two decades of frontline reintegration work in Albania, as well as the experiences of trafficking victims, and explain and offer guidance on how to address key issue and obstacles in the reintegration of trafficking victims in Albania and further afield. The series is comprised of reintegration guides on different aspects of recovery and reintegration. Each guide is a stand-alone, practical resource for reintegration practitioners, addressing a specific issue and related challenges, for use in day-to-day reintegration work.
The target audience is reintegration practitioners in Albania, including social workers and social assistants, psychologists and counselors, child protection workers, healthcare providers, lawyers and paralegals, shelter staff, public administrators, educators and school administrators, professionals working on economic empowerment, and others. The guides are also relevant for reintegration practitioners in other countries who are constrained in their daily work by the lack of practical tools and resources for tackling this complex issue.
This Reintegration Guide Series is prepared by NEXUS Institute and Different and Equal (D&E) in the framework of the project Providing comprehensive reintegration services and improving the protection framework for victims of trafficking in Albania.
Publications
Stages of recovery and reintegration of trafficking victims. A reintegration guide for practitioners (2022)
Available in Albanian
Recovery and reintegration after a trafficking experience is far from an easy or smooth transition. It is often a complex, taxing and complicated process that involves significant challenges for victims, as well as their family members, and which is impacted by the family and community environments into which they reintegrate. This reintegration guide outlines the three stages of trafficking victims’ recovery and reintegration – 1) crisis phase, 2) transition phase and 3) reintegration and inclusion phase – based on the experiences of trafficking victims and reintegration practitioners in Albania. The guide begins with an explanation of reintegration, outlining the three stages of reintegration. It then goes into further details about each of the stages, providing an overview of the specific phase, victim feelings and behaviors in this phase, and what assistance and support is typically needed and provided in this phase. Each section then concludes with a checklist of suggestions for reintegration practitioners as guidance for their daily work.
Supporting children of trafficking victims. A reintegration guide for practitioners (2022)
Available in Albanian
To date, little attention has been paid to the reintegration of children of trafficking victims. These children – those who were left behind, those who were trafficked with their parent(s) and those born from a trafficking situation – face serious and diverse challenges, not only while their parent is trafficked, but also after trafficking ends and their recovery and reintegration is underway. Equally, service providers face a range of constraints in effectively supporting the safety, well-being, and long-term reintegration of these children, not least given the complexity and diversity of their assistance needs. Based on the experiences of trafficking victims and reintegration practitioners in Albania, this reintegration guide offers an enhanced understanding of the experiences and needs of children of trafficking victims, to effectively and appropriately support the inclusion of these children into their families and communities and to ensure their access to the rights and opportunities that they are entitled to and which are vital for their healthy development. It offers guidance and suggestions for reintegration practitioners to support them in their daily work with children of trafficking victims and their families.
Mentoring of victims of trafficking. A reintegration guide for practitioners (2022)
Available in Albanian
Recovery and reintegration after trafficking is a taxing and complicated process that involves significant challenges for victims, as well as their family members. Service providers play an important and sometimes lifesaving role in supporting recovery and reintegration. This includes mentors who provide trafficking victims with emotional and social support, serve as a positive role model and an example of a healthy, and supportive relationship. Mentors also work with trafficking victims to build their trust, confidence, and self-esteem. This reintegration guide equips practitioners with information about mentoring trafficking victims during their recovery and reintegration. The guide begins with an overview of recovery and reintegration after a trafficking experience. It then goes on to explain the mentoring model and the role of mentors in supporting recovery and reintegration. It also explains how to establish mentoring relationships, different stages in the mentoring process, and challenges faced in mentoring. The guide concludes with guidance for mentors and reintegration practitioners when employing a mentoring model to support trafficking victim reintegration.