Switzerland - Libertà

 

Projet name: Libertà
Status: in progress
Start date: June 2008
End date: to be determined 
Project initiator: Graziella Zanoletti
Budget 2009-2011: 1'150'000CHF
Donors:  Elite Rent-a-Car, Graziella Zanoletti, Etienne Lachat, Eurocall, Mrs Vardinnoyannis, Locatelli, Manpower, Lloyds Bank, Faisal Private Bank, Himex, Orascom, DCAF, UNODC.
Contact and information: go to the contact page 
Donations: go to the donations page  

The vision of Libertà is of a world where human trafficking no longer exists.

 

Human trafficking, the third criminal activity worldwide, generates 2.45 million victims every year and concerns almost every country. Switzerland is not an exception. Indeed, according to the Federal police's estimations, 1500 to 3000 victims are on Swiss territory.

 

And yet, in French speaking Switzerland, there exists no service providing the specific assistance that victims need. Based in Geneva since June 2008, Libertà aims to fill this gap.

 

Libertà's activities take into account French speaking Switzerland's specific context and answer the problems existing in the protection process of victims of human trafficking. To reach an effective protection in French speaking Switzerland the following main challenges must be addressed:

  • Denial or unawareness of human trafficking, by the general public and the actors involved in the protection process.
  • The actors in contact with the populations at risk have a limited capacity to identify victims.
  • The actors that can ensure the recognition, stay and assistance do not always have the knowledge or capacity to provide effective assistance to victims.
  • The lack of coordination between the involved actors hinders the efficiency of the protection process.
  • The funding possibilities of the stay in Switzerland or return to the country of origin are limited.

 

Libertà was launched in June 2008 with a six month pilot phase that included an awareness campaign in Geneva and the setting up of a free and confidential helpline for victims of human trafficking. This phase confirmed the existence of human trafficking in Geneva and attested the efficiency of the awareness campaign. The results obtained confirm the necessity to set up a specialized regional service for the victim's protection in French Speaking Switzerland.

 

The need and usefulness of setting up such a service have also been stated by the main actors concerned, all of which have given their support to the project:

  • The Swiss Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (SCOTT)
  • Authorities of Geneva canton (Department of Institutions) 
  • FIZ Makasi, sole Swiss service specialized in the assistance to victims of human trafficking (active only in German speaking Switzerland)

 

The innovative aspect of Libertà has already been recognized during two events:


Visit www.trafficked.ch for more information.

 

Various documents on Libertà are available for download:

 

 

Every donation counts.

 

Here are just some of the ways that we put your contributions to work


CHF 10: sponsors  an awareness raising poster for a week.
CHF 70: sponsors a poster for an 8 week period.

 

If you would like to make a contribution to help victims of human trafficking: