JULY 21, 2022- BENIN CITY, EDO STATE. In an effort to strengthen and enhance the network and coordination of CSOs in Edo State to better serve survivors of sex trafficking, Pathfinders Justice Initiative (pursuant to its The Justice Project) organized a 2-day stakeholders’ Roundtable meeting to initiate the creation of a Coordinated Care Mechanism (CCM) for survivors of human trafficking in Edo State. The CCM will ultimately assist service providers’ efforts to be better coordinated, to generate transparency and to work more efficiently in the manner in which they care for survivors. It will further serve to avoid and reduce duplication of stakeholders’ efforts and ensure continuity of support.
Day 1 of the Roundtable began with a survivors’ panel which outlined the experiences survivors have working with service providers, the challenges they encounter, aspects of their experiences other service providers should replicate as well as suggestions/recommendations to service providers concerning coordinated care. To further develop the CCM, service providers were grouped to brainstorm on acceptable standards of care for survivors, information sharing and reporting between service providers, expectations for timing, as well as the potential tools and resources needed for a successful CCM. Terminology to be used was also agreed during a plenary session.
Day 2 focused on developing the CCM roadmap with stakeholders brainstorming on screenings/needs assessment, service delivery, and safety planning. Pathfinders’ Hub of Economic Resources for Survivors (HERS) Africa, which is the continent’s first and only digital ‘one-stop’ resource hub to address the unique and complete needs of African survivors of trafficking, was also introduced and greatly lauded by stakeholders. Action steps will now focus on drafting a Code of Ethics as well as standard operating procedures (SOPs), which will be agreed to by stakeholders who are willing to be included in the CCM at upcoming working group sessions on August 3rd and August 17th 2022.
We are grateful to all stakeholders who honoured our invitation to attend and to the French Embassy to Nigeria’s PISCCA program, which makes The Justice Project possible. To learn more, please email us at info@pathfindersji.org. Thank you.
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