With 80,000 members in 132 countries, Soroptimist International fights for the rights and opportunities of women and children. Since 2016, “Förderfonds Sor­optimist Aalen/Ostwürttemberg”, one of Soroptimist’s local development funds in Germany, has been con­ducting a campaign at schools in Romania to raise aware­ness of human trafficking. The institution per­sua­ded Manfred Paulus, an author and former police com­missioner, to speak to the school students. Paulus has many years of experience policing red-light districts and conducting cross-border criminal investigations. He was commissioned by the EU to investigate the nature and causes of human trafficking in eastern Europe and carried out research into how women are transported to Germany like commodities.

With our support, a new awareness campaign is started in Moldavia in 2019, with infor­mation events to be held at six schools in three different cities. The aim is to raise awareness of the methods of recruitment, smuggling and exploitation among those aged 14 and upwards. Prevention is the overriding goal.

Moreover it is intended to establish contacts with local NGOs and to discuss with the authorities what has been achieved to date in the fight against human trafficking and what further options there are for the future. It is planned to extend the campaign to social media.