Expert meeting: “Victims of trafficking in human beings: interview techniques (including the interviewing of children)”

On 16 and 17 April experts on issues relating to human trafficking met in Ilidza, Sarajevo to discuss “Victims of trafficking in human beings: interview techniques (including interviewing of children)”. The meeting took place in the framework of the project “Promoting a Victim-Centred Approach in Trafficking Cases in Albania and Bosnia-Herzegovina”.

The expert meeting was held with the aim of improving the status and treatment of victims of human trafficking. The focus lay on the methods of interviewing victims, including children. Several Dutch experts, highly experienced in conducting interviews, were invited for the meeting. Besides this, 32 participants attended the expert meeting, including representatives of judicial academies in Bosnia-Herzegovina, as well as judges and public prosecutors.

During the meeting, the importance of recognizing children as a special category of vulnerable witnesses was recognized. As a result, when interviewing children, one has to carefully prepare and design the program of interviews, but should also be prepared for a change of approach during the interview, as they depend on the reaction of the child. Amongst other things, the importance of sustaining education and training of professionals in the field of victims of human trafficking was highlighted with the aim of improving cooperation between relevant stakeholders in the protection of victims of human trafficking.

The main goal of this project is to support judges, prosecutors and judicial academies in making sure the rights of victims are guaranteed during judicial procedures related to human trafficking. At the same time, the project will strengthen the monitoring function of civil society.

You can read more about the project here.