The Fund for Assisting Victims of Trafficking in Persons continued implementing its awareness-raising action plan, launching its second year in Ismailia Governorate, followed by Port Said Governorate, by organizing awareness-raising workshops that targeted 240 cadres working in the community protection sector across various relevant entities in the two governorates. This comes as part of the Fund’s national role in raising awareness of human trafficking and its risks and strengthening protection and prevention mechanisms.
The awareness-raising workshops covered diverse groups of community cadres, targeting Social Women Leaders at the Ministry of Social Solidarity, social observers, social workers working at observation centers, Imams and Female Religious Preachers at the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments-Awqaf, as well as priests representing the Coptic Orthodox Church, personnel working at the specialized national councils and social protection committees, labour inspectors, and personnel working in the Human Rights Department across both governorates.
The training programmes were designed to align with the work of each target group and included specialized workshops for Social Women Leaders on their role in raising families’ awareness of the risks of human trafficking and the mechanisms for safe reporting through the Fund’s hotline. They also included workshops for social observers and social workers to enhance their skills in identifying victims of human trafficking and preparing technical reports in accordance with national and international standards. In addition, specialized workshops were held for Muslim and Christian religious leaders to enable them to deliver effective awareness messages through religious platforms, as well as other workshops for partners from the branches of the councils, protection committees, and labour inspectors to strengthen networking and institutional cooperation to support and protect victims. This contributes to building an integrated network of community cadres capable of early identification and safe referral.
The Fund continues its efforts to provide support and assistance to victims through the hotline (17616), which serves as a secure channel for receiving reports, complaints, and handling them in accordance with the national referral mechanism overseen by the National Coordinating Committee for Combating and Preventing Illegal Migration and Trafficking in Persons.
This intensive activity comes as part of the Egyptian state’s commitment to protecting human rights and preserving the dignity of the most vulnerable groups, and in implementation of the Fund’s mandate set out in Article 3 of Presidential Decree No. 349 of 2024. These responsibilities include providing assistance to victims, establishing development projects to empower them, developing programmes for care, training, rehabilitation, funding research, studies, and awareness-raising programmes. This contributes to building an integrated protection system and reflects Egypt’s firm commitment to combating human trafficking in all its forms and manifestations.
