GAATW releases new website for people involved in anti-trafficking work

Found this update from the La Strada Ukraine website. The Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women unveiled it's new website called "Access to Justice for Trafficked Persons: Centring Rights". The website is, in the words of the authors:

"intended to be a tool for those providing legal assistance or advocating for the rights of trafficked persons during the legal process. The site contains legal resources, relevant publications and guides as well as a forum for sharing information, strategies and experiences so that, ultimately, more individuals who have been trafficked or exploited at work or during the migration process have better recourse to justice...

Trafficked persons are often highly vulnerable and, as a general group, are usually marginalised - whether as illegal and/or low-skilled migrants in destination countries, or through social stigma and poverty in countries of origin. Achieving access to justice for victims of the crime of trafficking therefore requires comprehensive social and legal support, as well as constant analysis of the legal structures in place that make it more difficult for trafficked people to enter into and be empowered by the law. This website aims at facilitating this process."

Now, I'm not actually positive how new this site is. They have back issues of their e-bulletin (in English and Spanish) from April onward so it could be that here in Ukraine, we're slow to catch up :-) Nonetheless, the site offers useful information and discussion related to victims' rights, witness protection, the right to information (as it concerns VoTs), etc.

It also provides research material under the "Legal Resouces" section including international legal documents, protocols, conventions, guidelines, principles, resolutions, and agreements, as well as specialized articles related to legal issues in combating trafficking and assisting victims. There is a section on case law and decisions, but nothing is posted yet. Also good for research is their "Country Information" site, which breaks down by region and country (not exhaustive, of course. In fact, I was disappointed to find a lack of Ukraine) national anti-TIP legislation and their list of publications. Finally, if you need to speak to someone directly, they offer a contact list of their member legal partners in various countries.

Also useful is their interactive e-blog where people post about cases they have found to be either successful methods of combating trafficking or vice versa. The section on "Testimonies" is still blank, and it may be for good reason. Often times I've found that people want to hear specific cases of the horror trafficking victims face in order for the problem to become more real to them. However, as you can imagine, victims are very sensitive about their experiences and even anonymous or stories published with false identities put a permanence on their story that their often not comfortable with.

The point being, if you're looking for legal research or information, this site has some. I think it is far from comprehensive or rather exhaustive, but once it reaches that stage, it could prove to be an important information sharing tool.