Association led by IJM Romania awarded U.S. Department of State Grant
Human TraffickingSeptember 2024
An association led by IJM was recently awarded a 10 million dollar grant to address child trafficking in Romania, alongside an association led by World Vision.
IJM will work together with partner NGOs - People to People, the Association for Victims of Sexual Crimes and Centre for Legal Resources - to strengthen Romania’s efforts to combat child trafficking in a coordinated, victim-centered, and systemic manner.
This is a five-year Child Protection Compact (CPC) Partnership developed jointly by the US Government, the Romanian Government and the two associations.
At the signing ceremony, US Ambassador in Romania Kathleen Kavalec stated:
“I would like to convey our special appreciation to the NGO consortium that will serve as implementing partners through the CPC Partnership. Your expertise and experience will be critical in achieving the goals, objectives, and activities of this programme.
“We see the signing today of the CPC Partnership as an important step forward in our common effort to eliminate child trafficking, to protect children, and bring traffickers to justice.”
Since 2020, IJM Romania has:
- directly collaborated with Romanian officials on 60 trafficking cases;
- assisted over 125 survivors with psychosocial support, legal aid, safeguarding and reintegration;
- trained over 500 police officers, prosecutors, and judges.
This collaborative casework offers IJM a unique perspective on the key gaps in the response to child trafficking, which remains a significant challenge in Romania.
Romanian officials identified 451 victims of trafficking in 2023. Nearly half of the identified victims are children, including nearly 3 in 5 victims of sex trafficking.
Almost half of Romania’s children live at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Children from socially and economically marginalized families are at greater risk of trafficking, particularly children in institutional care.
Learn more about IJM’s work to stop trafficking in Europe >>