On 25 November, IOM and the Ministry of Justice of Georgia organized an online course dedicated to the psycho-social aspects of assistance provided to victims of trafficking in human beings. This course gathered 38 participants in an online environment, who represent various ministries and agencies that are involved in direct victim assistance, social work and witness assistance during court proceedings. A Georgian expert guided the participants through the specific aspects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder that victims of trafficking face and shared practical recommendations how social workers and psychologist could best deal with this issue.

A representative of the IOM office in Kyrgyzstan detailed the specific challenges that victims of trafficking face when they return home from Georgia and try to reintegrate in society and get back on their feet. Over the last decade, women originating from Central Asian countries have been heavily represented among identified victims of trafficking and Georgian practitioners often struggle to communicate with those victims and gain their trust.

In 2021, when conditions allow, IOM plans to schedule a follow-up course on this topic, bringing together practitioners from Georgia’s law enforcement and social care agencies, NGOs and subject matter experts in an interactive course.

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”.