Reintegration and Social Inclusion of Child Victims of Trafficking in Bulgaria

Having suffered a severe violation of their rights, trafficked children have very specific needs when it comes to reintegration. The context of the reintegration of trafficked children in Bulgaria is characterised by the specific profiles of the children, the vast majority of whom are Bulgarian citizens. As well as children who have been trafficked, another group requiring reintegration services are children whose parents (usually mothers) have been trafficked. Some of the trafficked children and children whose parents have been trafficked are returned to Bulgaria from abroad, while others were trafficked internally within Bulgaria. Reintegration services for children are provided either at residential crisis centres or outside of centres if a child is not
accommodated at a centre, and after a child has left the centre. This Policy Brief sets out the context and key recommendations on the socialinclusion and reintegration of trafficked children in Bulgaria.

The various aspects of
social inclusion and reintegration for trafficked children that are covered in this Brief,
and which are the key outcomes of reintegration, are:
• general coordination of reintegration services;
• safe and affordable accommodation;
• legal status, legal issues and court proceedings;
• physical and psychological well-being;
• education and professional/vocational training;
• support for victims’ family and community members;
• case monitoring and follow-up.

The Policy Brief presents some key policy recommendations in these areas, based on the current context of the reintegration and social inclusion of trafficked children in Bulgaria. It draws particularly on the (unpublished) “Assessment of the Long-Term Reintegration Services and Assistance Currently Provided to Child and Adult Victims of Trafficking in Bulgaria” conducted during 2017 by Dr. Radostina Pavlova for ICMPD (Pavlova, 2018). The assessment was preceded by desk research on “International Benchmarks for Monitoring and Management of THB Cases during the Post-shelter Period” (ICMPD, 2017), which indicated the areas of reintegration to examine and listed successful practices in several countries, and the “Assessment of the Implementation of the National Mechanism for Referral and Support of Trafficked Persons in Bulgaria” (ICMPD, 2018). As well as these three documents, the Brief draws on other relevant regional and international sources (a full set of References is included at the end of this Policy Brief).