War and displacement bring with them an increased risk of people being exploited in prostitution and human trafficking. Women and children are at particularly high risk when families are separated as a result of war. New international support material has therefore been produced to support Swedish and foreign diplomatic missions in their efforts to combat human trafficking.
Together with the Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS), Child10 and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Sweden has developed updated support material in the form of a handbook for diplomatic missions that come into contact with human trafficking in various forms.
“To combat human trafficking, it’s necessary to focus on preventive efforts, which is where the support material and training initiatives are important,” says Anna Ekstedt, Sweden’s Ambassador against Human Trafficking.
Minister for Justice Gunnar Strömmer delivered the opening speech at a seminar when the new handbook was launched in Stockholm. Ambassadors and other representatives from some 80 foreign diplomatic missions in Sweden took part. Representatives of Swedish government agencies such as the Swedish Police Authority, the Swedish Migration Agency and the Swedish Gender Equality Agency – the latter of which is the agency responsible for coordinating national efforts against human trafficking – also attended the seminar.