On 20-21 May 2021, IOM and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia in close coordination with the Agency for State Care and Assistance to Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings organized training for 25 social workers in Tbilisi. The audience consisted of a mix of civil servants of the State Care Agency and NGO representatives who are part of mobile groups operating in Georgia’s major cities to look after the wellbeing of homeless children.

The purpose of this course was to acquaint the participants of the training with the guiding principles of providing assistance to children who find themselves in situations of exploitation in street begging, informal labour and prostitution. In 2020, with the support of the European Union, IOM supported the Government of Georgia in developing a detailed guidebook for social workers, which provides information on effective practices of assistance to exploited children, ways to engage with communities to prevent child exploitation and how social workers can coordinate their efforts with law enforcement agencies to assist children and contribute to combating this heinous crime.

This activity is part of a multi-annual project funded by the Delegation of the European Union to Georgia called “Sustaining Border Management and Migration Governance in Georgia” (SBMMG).