Enhancing the safety and sustainability of the return and reintegration of victims of trafficking

This report follows on from the implementation of two distinct but complementary
projects implemented by IOM: Coordinated Approach for the Reintegration
of victims of trafficking returning voluntarily to any third country (CARE project)
and Transnational action – Safe and sustainable return and reintegration
for victims of Trafficking returning voluntarily to priority countries: Albania,
Morocco and Ukraine (TACT project).
The two projects involved a total of nine European Union Member States
(EU MS) – Austria, Cyprus, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and
the United Kingdom – committed to improving the return and reintegration
programmes available for Victims of Trafficking (VoTs), in order to make the
process safer and more sustainable, and to reduce the risks of re-trafficking.
Bearing this objective in mind, IOM endeavored through the implementation
of both projects to develop, implement, and fine-tune Standard Operating
Procedures (SOPs) for the Return and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking,
ensuring a continuum of care.
This joint report aims to gather and share the lessons learnt through the
implementation of both projects, suggesting a way forward for the establishment
of transnational referral mechanisms between EU MS and third countries.
The issue of transnational referral mechanisms is a key priority in the current
EU anti-trafficking efforts, as mentioned in the EU Anti-trafficking Strategy for
the period 2012–2016.1