CBSS Launches New Guidance on Strengthening Child-Centred Anti-Trafficking Cooperation
The CBSS and Child Circle have published a new guidance aimed at enhancing child-centred cooperation between anti-trafficking and child protection systems in the Baltic Sea Region, offering practical recommendations for Member States to better identify, support and assist trafficked children.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), in partnership with Child Circle, has recently published a new guidance document aimed at strengthening child-centred cooperation between anti-trafficking and child protection systems in the Baltic Sea Region.
The guidance, titled “Creating a Cycle of Protection – Guiding Principles and Key Considerations for Developing Comprehensive, Child-centred Cooperation to Identify, Support and Assist Trafficked Children” provides practical recommendations for CBSS Member States to improve the identification, support and assistance of trafficked children, particularly during criminal and child protection proceedings.
It encourages CBSS Member States to develop robust systems that prioritise the needs and rights of trafficked children. Specifically, it addresses the issues of early identification of victims, appropriate support during investigations and protection procedures, and prevention of child trafficking through stronger national frameworks and cross-border cooperation.
The development of this guidance was informed by a series of national dialogues held in six Baltic Sea states – Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Sweden. These dialogues brought together key stakeholders, including representatives from various state agencies and local Barnahus services, to identify challenges in child protection and anti-trafficking cooperation.
The release of this guidance is part of the CBSS’s broader efforts to combat human trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region and protect children from all forms of violence.
Published under the PROMISE TRM project, which focuses on developing child-friendly, multidisciplinary services for children in vulnerable situations – such as victims of violence or trafficking – and in which both CBSS and Child Circle are partners, the new guidance builds on the findings of the report In Need of Targeted Support, commissioned by the CBSS from Child Circle.