2022-10-18

Pressrelease:

Ten European organisations receives international award for their work against sexual exploitation

On 18 October, the EU Anti-Trafficking Day, ten European civil society organisations received the Child10 Award at the Royal Castle in Stockholm, Sweden. The organisations were selected from over 130 nominations across Europe and the Award acknowledges their impactful work against human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children, The Award was presented by Her Majesty Queen Silvia.

According to the UNODC Global Report on Trafficking, one in three victims of trafficking is a child. Human trafficking is now ranked as the world’s third most profitable crime category after drugs and weapons. The organisations recognised and receiving the Award today all work in extremely challenging environments in a field that is under-resourced and often hidden due to the nature of the crime.

– In the wake of the pandemic and with the climate crisis, wars and ongoing conflicts, children today are more vulnerable than ever. Collaboration and impactful solutions are, therefore, of the utmost importance to protect children and secure their rights in one of the most challenging issues of our time. The organisations honoured today demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a world where no child is a victim of trafficking and exploitation and in doing so, underline the crucial role of civil society to protect vulnerable children, both in Sweden and in Europe, says Jacob Flärdh, Secretary General of Child10.

The Child10 Awarded Members have been working together throughout 2022 to identify best practices, develop effective and durable solutions to joint challenges and find a collective voice to do stronger advocacy together. They have also received capacity-building support to develop their organisations and make their operations more efficient and sustainable. All awardees receive a prize of 100,000 SEK each from HM Queen Silvia’s Care About the Children Foundation.

– This year’s winners are all dedicated experts in the fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in Europe. It is an extremely impressive group that has worked together during the year and we are proud to have them as part of our network, says Therese von Blixen-Finecke, CATCH’s Director of Operations.

Child10 Awarded Members 2022:

ACPE, France

ATINA, Serbia

APRAMP, Spain

Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Croatia

Child Focus, Belgium

Gender Alternatives Foundation, Bulgaria

Network Against Human Trafficking, Germany

Protect Children, Finland

Society Ključ, Slovenia

Storasyster, Sweden