Hope for Justice has delivered a successful training course in the Republic of Cyprus, designed to create broader awareness around modern slavery and human trafficking.
Forty delegates from Cyprus’s anti-trafficking units, labour inspectorate and social worker groups attended the training in December, learning more about the tell-tale signs of human trafficking and modern-day slavery, and understanding how it occurs through real-life case studies.
Eleni Michael, head of the Republic of Cyprus anti-trafficking unit, praised it as a “highly successful training session”.
Awareness surrounding these issues is especially crucial in the Republic of Cyprus, which has the second highest rate of migration per capita in Europe. With this rate of migration through the country, it is particularly susceptible to trafficking and modern slavery.
The Republic of Cyprus currently has a Tier 1 status in anti-trafficking standards, conferred by the US State department in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, known as the TIP Report. This is in recognition of the country “fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”. The Republic of Cyprus continues to take strides to fortify its anti-trafficking response; Hope for Justice’s training is in keeping with this effort.
Hope for Justice’s Training Manager in the UK, Alister Bull, said: “It was a hugely fruitful experience. It was fantastic to see the high-level engagement of the delegates. It also provided a great opportunity for Hope for Justice to best adapt its training materials to the Republic of Cyprus context.”
Hope for Justice created some bespoke awareness materials in the Greek language especially for the delegates on the course to use in the future.
As with so many things, raising awareness and education concerning issues such as modern slavery and trafficking is one of the primary tools to remedy and eradicate them. Knowledge is power and providing this knowledge through training serves as a crucial part of achieving our overall goal: to end modern-day slavery.
