Organizations that support victims of human trafficking in emergency situations

“It is urgent to finance the houses. Right now, the situation is a complete emergency. It is an emergency for children’s basic needs and so that people can receive wages,” the director of the Akto Association – Human Rights and Democracy told Lusa news agency , Sofia Figueiredo.

Akto manages an emergency shelter for women and girls victims of gender-based violence and the only shelter in Portugal for children and young people identified as victims of human trafficking, said Sofia Figueiredo, adding that both are at capacity. (10 people each) and experiencing serious problems due to delays in reimbursements for projects financed by community funds.

“The first absolute mistake is to have permanent responses with temporary financing”, criticized Sofia Figueiredo, arguing that the financing must come from the State Budget and be monthly.

These criticisms and concerns are shared by Sara Rocha, executive director of the Association for Family Planning (APF), which manages five Specialized Multidisciplinary Teams and the reception and protection center for women victims of human trafficking and their minor children.

The two responsible explained that the problems are increasing due to problems on the Balcão dos Fundos — Portugal 2030 platform, through which institutions present their project applications.

“The problem is that we have to present expenses, ask for reimbursements, but the platform is blocked, it doesn’t work yet, so I can’t even present my October expenses, but I can’t tell the children: look, they won’t eat now, no they are going to take a hot shower because the platform doesn’t work”, lamented Sofia Figueiredo, venting that her life has been “trying every day to meet the basic needs of children that are the responsibility of the Portuguese State”.

For Sofia Ficaredo, it is already a question of “violence and disrespect” towards the institutions that are on the ground: “I don’t sleep, I have people asking me to answer for not receiving a salary and I don’t know what else to do”, she lamented .

“I’m the director of an organization where I have employees who don’t get paid, are about to be evicted, employees who don’t buy medication or who don’t pay their car insurance and can’t drive because I can’t afford it. It’s not acceptable that for seven two houses have been operating for months without having a cent of support”, criticized Sofia Antunes, who has been warning about this situation.

About three weeks ago Akto received 10% of the financing for the projects, but the person in charge noted that it was not enough to pay the debts, “let alone the future of wages, rent, current electricity and water expenses, food for the children “.

Sara Rocha said, for her part, that APF only received the first advance for the project six months after it began.

“At this moment, we don’t even have any indication of the rules to be able to request reimbursements for these projects, which for an IPSS [Instituição Particular de Solidariedade Social] it is absolutely unbearable. It’s not just us who are in this situation, there are several IPSS”, she highlighted.

For Sara Rocha, there must be “a political decision” that allows new rules to be created so that associations and, above all, the people supported are not harmed because of “an IT platform that does not work as it should”.

The APP director warned of the fragile situation of the three Specialized Multidisciplinary Teams, which are in this situation and which, last year, supported 494 presumed victims of human trafficking and answered 2,161 calls on their emergency lines.

“If these teams do not have funding, their operation is at risk”, he warned.

To be able to maintain the projects, the APF has used its resources, which translates into an accumulation of debts, particularly to the State, which then prevent access to funds, creating “a vicious circle”.

“The associations have to choose whether they want to pay their employees or the State and Social Security. And let’s face it, failing to pay any of them is bad,” he declared.

The APF, Akto and other organizations will request a meeting with the guardianship this week because, said Sara Rocha, “there has to be a political response to this impasse because it cannot be the organizations and people they support who suffer the fact that there are bureaucracies that don’t work.”