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Regarding the lack of legislations and services for women victims of trafficking, AFESIP Vietnam began in 2001 with the project to "Support women and children trafficked for sexual slavery" in Ho Chi Minh City. Within the ambit of this project, the first rehabilitation centre for women of Vietnam was opened in Ho Chi Minh City, in collaboration with the Vietnam Women's Union. This centre prepares former victims of prostitution and of trafficking for sex slavery, for rehabilitation by providing medical and psychological assistance, safe accommodation, educational and vocational training courses (e.g. sewing, embroidery, hairdressing, electronics, cooking, taxi driver's training). More than 200 diferent trainings are proposed to the residents.
Reintegrated residents are followed up for at least two years by social workers. Some former residents take on the role of “mentor” for new women arriving at the centre.
Due to the vast majority of victims originating from the South of Vietnam or the Mekong Delta, a new centre in Can Tho province opened in May 2005. These two centers was the first one model for women in Vietnam. Today, many Vietnamese ministries take our experience as a national model can be applied to the entire country.
AFESIP (founded in 1996 by Somaly MAM and Pierre Legros) exists to combat trafficking in women and children for sex slavery; to care for and rehabilitate those rescued from sex slavery; to provide occupational skills and to reintegrate those rescued into the community in a sustainable and innovative manner.
Alliance Anti Traffic: AAT was build in 2007 in order to coordinate and support repatriation of victims trafficked in foreign countries. AAT is an international cooperative network including local social organisations and individuals in more than 15 countries. In some countries, the network received support from administration as police and/or foreign embassies. Some ground activities are directly made by AAT.
NOTE: Administratively & technically, AFESIP Vietnam project is made under the responsibility of Alliance Anti Trafic international from March 2007.
Development strategy
Alliance Anti Trafic / AFESIP Vietnam support Vietnamese authorities to develop technical and diplomatic relations with countries around the world to improve the rescue and the repatriation of victims of trafficking for sex slavery. AAT/AFESIP Vietnam provides advice to the Vietnamese Government and coordinates with each NGOS involved with regards to all aspects of the repatriation process.
Alliance Anti traffic make the first one repatriation of Vietnamese victims and setting up with concerned authorities and local NGOS the repatriation road from: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Laos.
1. Rehabilitation centers:
The rehabilitation centres located in HCMC and Can Tho City, with capacity between 25 and 30 residents of each, have been established in collaboration with the HCMC Women’s Union and the National Women’s Union to receive victims of sexual abuse and exploitation and those who repatriated from other countries. The centres assist residents and prepare for integration by providing:
- Safe accommodation, food, clothes, hygienic and daily necessary items
- Healthcare through the system of clinics and hospitals in the city.
- Psychological and counselling care
- Legal counselling and intervention
- Educational and occupational training courses (electronics, embroidery, hairdressing, sewing, cooking, driving…)
- Life skills training
The rehabilitation centre based in Can Tho receives victim originating from provinces in the Mekong Delta.
 
* Vocational Training
The ultimate objective is to enable the beneficiaries to attain self-sufficiency (especially financial independence) by providing residents with the opportunity to find employment or run their own business. Vocational training offered and organized by AFESIP Vietnam is directly linked to local market opportunities and includes: traditional vocations but also all other opportunities that the market offers : for example: taxi driver, electronic operator, mobile phone repair, hospitality, manicurist and social worker
* Medical treatment
AFESIP provides adapted medical care to women and girls who both visit or reside at the centres. Particular attention is given to providing appropriate counseling for STD’s and HIV/AIDS patients. Treatment is administered by the AFESIP clinic and when necessary, through outside clinics, specialized hospitals or NGOs. AFESIP Vietnam has also supported expensive surgical operations.
2. Repatriation
Repatriation is a very important step for the trans-national trafficked victims. AFESIP collaborates with NGOs, organisations, PC14 & migration police, Vietnamese embassies and government of the relating countries to support their return in accordance with the Vietnam’s laws. In addition, AFESIP plays a mediator role between Vietnam, Lao, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore… authorities in a way to synergy their efforts of building and implementing of repatriation guideline. This work supported by Alliance Anti Traffic permit to build an efficient international network between countries and permit to organize repatriation of victims on a time under two months.
3. HIV/AIDS Prevention
AFESIP Vietnam’s Social outreach teams regularly visit sex areas, to encourage women to leave places of prostitution and to use AFESIP services but, first and foremost to identify trafficking victims and collect data. The outreach teams works in 8 provinces in Vietnam
Through the outreach activity, social workers and peer group regularly visit prostituted women. The objective aims to:
- Distribute condoms and leaflets on HIV/AIDS prevention and trained prostituted women about safe sex practice.
- Advise prostituted women to give- up prostitution and offer alternative occupation
- Gather information to identify situation of abuse and trafficking on women and children for sexual exploitation at HCMC, Can Tho City and provinces in the Mekong Delta.
4. Sexual education
AFESIP/AAT Vietnam implemented a sexual education at school pilot project in cooperation with the Committee of Development of Youth (YMCA). This pilot project aimed at lighting up children, studying in grade 8, on sexual education. The program involves students male and female of 13 to 15 years old to participate in a lesson that will last 7 hours on sexual education. After the training, evaluation and control of the knowledge acquired are made with students, but also with parents, in order to identify the impact at the community level.
Results of this pilot project will permit us to build an adapted sexual education program for each level and to submit it to the Vietnamese Ministry of Education.
Increasing knowledge on sexuality will, besides, permit children to identify tentative of sexual abuse. This program is a sexual education program and not a gender or HIV prevention one
 
5. AFESIP Fair Fashion
A garment factory has been established in HCMC to provide sewing training to residents and create jobs for those who finish sewing course. The head of this entity is a good tailor who has years of experiences in sewing. The sale director has 20 years experience with some famous French companies as regional sale director. Today Fair Fashion regularly exports its products to Europe.
Information can be consulted at: www.fairfashionvn.org
6. Follow-up of reintegration
The main objective is to support the reintegration of victims to their communities, through sustainable financial independence after the rehabilitation process. Alternative AFESIP activity searches employment opportunities for ex-residents. In order to facilitate reintegration, AFESIP provides a “starting kit” in kind for micro-business utilized as a source for income generating activities to avoid the being re-trafficked.
The reintegration elements include:
- Family tracing.
- Family assessment and reunification.
- Supporting family income generation opportunities.
- Independent resettlement of girls/women in the communities.
- To follow cases up to 2 years.
7. Database
The Database takes into account information gathered from sex sectors, prostituted women, and routes of traffic as well as all process of reintegration of each individual. This database will be used to have a better understanding of the situation at national and regional level.
8. Documents offering guidance
AFESIP Vietnam publish research documents, training manuals and hand books offering guidance to other organizations or state agencies, based on the organization’s practical working experiences.
This work is coordinate by a researcher, and under the supervision of universities in Asia and Europe. A training team train and support other NGOs or governments to implement similar projects in Vietnam or other countries.
9. Funding
Currently, AFESIP Vietnam receives funds from various donors, including:
- ANESVAD Spanish Foundation
- AECID Spanish Ministry of Cooperation
- MANOS UNIDAS Spanish Foundation
- FELM Finland Foundation
- ECPAT Italia Italian Foundation
- NOMADI Italian rock group
- SKN Netherland Foundation
10.Staff:
In March 2009, the AFESIP/ AAT Vietnam staff is 86 persons.
Office & administration staff is 9 persons.
AFESIP/AAT Vietnam partners:
Cooperation partners:
National Women Union (as Ministry), HCMC Women Union, HCMC Committee, Can Tho Women Union, Can Tho Popular committee.
Local partners : Local Women Unions, Ministry of Police, Ministry of Labour & Social affairs, Ministry of Foreign affairs.
International partners : UNICEF, ECPAT (Royaume Uni, Italie), ANESVAD (Espagne), AECI (Espagne).
International partners of AFESIP VN: (basis on network SEA)UNIAP (SEA), Action Aid (SEA), IOM (SEA), Médecin du Monde Canada (VN), Save the Children UK (SEA), USAID (SEA), Save our Daughters Network (AFESIP Thailand, CPCR (the Center of Protection of Child Rights), Friend of Women (Thailande), TENAGANITA (Malaisie), WAO (Women Aid’s Organization) (Malaisie), SUHAKAM Human Right Commission of Malaysia (Malaysia), HOME (Singapour), Think Center (Singapour), ECPAT Royaume-Uni, ECPAT Italie, The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, UNIFEM (Singapour)
Other partners : Embassies / consulates : France, Spain, United States, England, Cambodia.
Vietnamese embassies : Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, ACWO (Asean Confederation of Women Organizations ), COMMIT (Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative Against Trafficking).
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