Udruženje građana Atina
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Mission Statement
Women and girls - independent, empowered, and with the possibility to have free choices and stand up for them are Atina’s main aim to achieve. The work of the organization is guided by the needs of women and girls survivors of trafficking in persons, exploitation and gender-based violence, and is created together with them. The programme is fluid, allows space for change and provides chances for women and girls to develop. It is a direct response to the non-existence of adequate, long-term support programmes which respect gender perspective and which are based on the invaluable experience of women’s movement activists. Atina is bringing feminist perspective and principles to all respective actors, affects the causes of human trafficking and violence against women, improves the position and protection of survivors, strengthens gender equality, and contributes to wider social cohesion. Through its advocacy initiatives, Atina is a constant reminder to state institutions and strongly influences them to change their opinions and practices concerning the position of women and women's rights. Also, the organization Atina is a founder and the owner of the social enterprise Bagel Bejgl. Bagel initiative is an effort of NGO Atina to provide economic future and sustainability of its programs dealing with social inclusion of victims of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, and it was established in 2015.
About This Cause
Atina is a women's feminist organization, founded in 2003 in Belgrade, Serbia, with the intent to upgrade the fight against human trafficking and all forms of gender-based violence, improve the protection and position of victims, strengthen gender equality and contribute to wider social cohesion. Atina is implementing programs of long-term social inclusion of victims of trafficking with specific efforts to provide support in a comprehensive and systematic way, with the active involvement of state institutions and the full participation of the beneficiaries themselves, so that the system of support becomes a viable solution for their full recovery and (re)integration. Addressing the root causes of becoming a victim of human trafficking and other types of exploitation – relations in the primary and secondary family, poverty, previous marginalization and discrimination, inability to exercise the basic rights, unemployment and lack of access to education, we can say that during the years it became clear that this method of assistance is the only guarantee for successful programmes and sustainable social inclusion of victims of human trafficking. In this regard, Atina has designed and maintains the following activities: 1. Transition House for Victims of Human Trafficking and exploitation; this safe accommodation is the only one of its kind in Serbia, and over the last 20 years, hundreds of victims of human trafficking have recovered there. 2. As victims of human trafficking also need other types of assistance, Atina developed a Reintegration Center and a Field Support Team. Within the Reintegration Center, numerous and varied services are provided for the victims as well as for their loved ones (children, partners, family members), such as mediation in exercising their rights (from assistance in obtaining personal documents, through cooperation with relevant institutions, to enrollment in schools and employment assistance); provision of psychosocial, legal, medical assistance; family mediation and counselling; engagement in all other areas relevant to the full recovery and integration of victims. Through its Field Support Team, Atina is available 24/7 throughout Serbia, as most victims do not live in the capital but in other local communities. In 2013, Atina initiated the establishment of Local Teams for the Prevention and Support to Victims of Human Trafficking in seven cities in Serbia, comprised of all relevant actors who come or may come into contact with victims of trafficking (prosecutors, police inspectors, social workers, the Red Cross, citizens' associations, local structures...). These teams are also active today and they are the driving force behind the actions to prevent human trafficking at the local level. The importance of these local teams has been recognized by the Ministry of the Interior which initiated the creation of 10 local teams with the tendency for each self-government in Serbia to have its own team in the future, which will be a key point of development of this topic and the bearer of changes at the local level. 3. As the biggest lack of support programs in Serbia was the inability to employ and the poor economic empowerment of victims of human trafficking, Atina has developed an authentic concept of Bagel Bejgl Shop - a social enterprise for the production and sale of bagel pastry. Bagel Bejgl is a pioneering step in the training of hard-to-employ social groups in Serbia, and its successful business indicates that it represents a good model that needs to be followed and further developed. This, as well as all other direct support activities, has been created and implemented in accordance with identified needs of beneficiaries and with their explicit consent. Through all 4 direct support programs (Temporary House, Reintegration Center, Field Support Team and Economic Empowerment Program for Victims of Human Trafficking), Atina currently supports over 150 primary and secondary victims of human trafficking, our fellow citizens who have survived this type of traumatic experience. In its ranks, Atina counts licensed professional workers, and we are also currently in the process of licensing the "assisted housing" service for victims of trafficking. 4. Since 2015, Atina has also been engaged in combating the consequences of the refugee-migrant crisis by providing direct assistance in the field, ensuring safe accommodation for all those migrant and refugee women, girls and boys who have survived trafficking and gender-based violence. Considering the challenges related to the refugee crisis, Atina has opened three new temporary shelters as part of its Support Program to Migrant and Refugee Women and Girls. Atina has been present through the work of its mobile teams in the asylum and reception centers and has established cooperation with various local actors throughout Serbia and the region, in order to improve the position of refugees and migrants. Long before the refugee-migrant crisis erupted, together with other organizations, Atina introduced the concept of "children on the move" into the public discourse, and created a program of cultural mediation, which today exists in the form of numerous helpers in direct work with migrants and refugees in Serbia; Atina's mission in the refugee-migrant crisis is to work with women and girls among this population so they can recognize and respond to violence, equally participate in decision-making, but also have unhindered access to education and employment. Also, Atina gives assistance to the system to prevent violence, but also to recognize and support all those with similar experiences, and victims of trafficking in particular. 5. In addition to providing direct assistance to victims, as a separate program unit, Atina also organizes trainings and education for professionals from various fields in order to strengthen the capacities of institutions and organizations to provide adequate support to identified victims of trafficking. As part of the capacity-building process of institutions and policy-making in this area, Atina also participates in research and analysis programs on the phenomenon of human trafficking and similar phenomena, as well as in the formulation of advocacy mechanisms and good practice policies in the field of social inclusion. Through its many years of work, Atina has established itself as one of the leading civil society organizations in the fight against human trafficking and various forms of violence, and the protection of victims, both in Serbia and in the region. Atina's greatest strengths are its friendships and partnerships with various civil society organizations, as well as state institutions at the local, national, regional and international levels, but also in the private sector. All of them, including active citizens in Serbia, represent our allies in the fight against human trafficking. Since its foundation, Atina has grown and developed and has provided professional training and employment for dozens of young people of different professional orientations. For our past work, our organization has been awarded and publicly praised on several occasions. Atina is the winner of international awards: * Catalyst award by the Global Fund for Children from the United States for its contribution to working with children victims of human trafficking; * With and for Girls Award granted by the UK STARS Foundation for its long-term dedication and contribution to improving the position of women and girls, victims of human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence; * #WeEmpower certificate within the WE Empower UN SDG Challenge for relentless efforts and continuous search for new ways to ensure support to women and girls survivors of human trafficking, and for innovative social enterprise Bagel Bejgl, as a business model that emerged from grassroots women organization; * Child10 2022 International Award for its work on the protection of children and youth victims of sexual exploitation. Numerous publications that we have published either individually, or in cooperation with different partners, also speak about our work. Although it is still believed that human trafficking, as a phenomenon, is something "that can happen to everyone", the experience of us who are in daily contact with victims, is that social exclusion is the key factor for entering into a human trafficking situation. Although it does not "happen to everyone" in practice, IT CONCERN US ALL! Join our action.