Slovakia

The Slovak Republic (or Slovakia) is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. The majority of victims of trafficking in Slovakia are women subjected to sex trafficking in Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, and other European countries. Slovak women of Romani descent are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking and are commonly transported to the UK by force or deception to facilitate benefit fraud and to marry third country nationals attempting to avoid deportation by marrying EU citizens. Many of these women then become victims of sex and labour trafficking. Slovak men and women are subjected to forced labour in agriculture and construction in Western Europe, primarily in the UK.

Ukrainian, Moldovan, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Vietnamese men and women are forced to work in the Slovak Republic. Eastern European women are also reportedly transported to and through the Slovak Republic and forced into prostitution within the country and throughout Europe. Slovak children of Romani descent are subjected to sex trafficking within marginalized communities in the Slovak Republic and forced criminal behaviour in the UK. Slovak men, women, and children of Romani descent are subjected to forced begging throughout Western Europe. Roma from marginalized communities are disproportionately vulnerable to human trafficking, as they are often underemployed and undereducated, due to a lack of access to quality education in segregated schools. Traffickers, particularly prominent individuals in Romani communities, find victims through family and village networks, preying on individuals with disabilities or large debts. NGOs have reported that children who leave institutional care facilities lack sufficient support and are vulnerable to human trafficking.

Slovakia is rated as a Tier 1 Country by the US Department of State’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report indicating that the Government of the Slovak Republic fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

WATCH THE FILM IN SLOVAKIAN

'The majority of victims of trafficking in Slovakia are women subjected to sex trafficking in Germany, Austria, the UK, Ireland, Switzerland, Poland, and other EU countries.'

WATCH THE FILM IN ROMANI FROM SLOVAKIA

'Slovak women of Romani descent are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking and are commonly transported to the UK by force or deception.'

Caritas Slovakia

Caritas Slovakia, as a non-profit NGO, provides charitable, social, healthcare and educational services to people in need, without regard to their race, nationality, religion or political orientation.

Who does Caritas help?

Diocesan charities help abandoned children and young people, families in need, the handicapped, the ill, the elderly, the dying, the homeless, immigrants and asylum seekers, pregnant women, and mothers in need.

The Caritas Slovakia Seretariat coordinates nation-wide projects, supports the diocesan charities in the legal, media and international fields, and organizes humanitarian and development projects.

Humanitarian and structural aid

Caritas Slovakia offers humanitarian aid in the event of natural disasters or other catastrophes, such as earthquakes and floods, and also runs fund-raising projects to support people in underdeveloped or war-torn areas.

These activities are managed by Caritas Slovakia's president, general secretary, communications manager and project manager.

Our vision

Although we know it is not possible to completely eliminate poverty in Slovakia and around the world, we still aim to fight against it to the greatest extent possible.

The vision of Caritas Slovakia is, to the extent that we can and through the professional help we offer people in need and thanks to the support of our donors, to decrease the number of people in Slovakia and abroad who find themselves in any kind of need, be it material, social or both at the same time.

We also try to realize our vision through educating and informing the public, so that they do not exclude people in need, influence lawmakers, and cooperate with foreign charities so that our work will be as effective as possible.

Caritas' goals are:

To offer effective help to every person in need
To free people from dependency on outside aid and help them return to a life of dignity
To be witnesses of love in the spirit of the Gospel to every person in need
To encourage society to be sensitive to the needs of the people around them
To teach, because often times those who receive help themselves learn how to help others
To offer help wherever we find holes in the state's “social net”
To influence the lawmaking process in support of the needy
Together with other NGOs, to be a guarantee of democracy in our country
Through our work, to be an expression of the life of the Church and contribute to the spiritual renewal of society
To inject a spirit of acceptance and honest love into the daily rush of modern life
To be close to all

KEY CAMPAIGN ACHIEVEMENTS

Young people reached in colleges and universities total 461
There has been wide distribution of materials some of which were directed to NGOs, Roma organisations, government ministries and schools.
To download the incredible teachers pack please follow this link: http://www.obchodsludmi.sk/dvemaledievcata/na-stiahnutie.php
The Film festival Together Against Trafficking took place on 17th of October 2014. The TLG film was screened in both the morning and afternoon section. There were approximately 402 young people in total some aged between 11-24 years and 25-64 years.

The Two Little Girls campaign in Slovakia will run until summer 2015. We will continue to post updates and information about the campaign as it progresses. For further information about the campaign please email emma@twolittlegirls.org