SafeBorders – Strengthening Judicial expertise and Frontline support to combat Child Trafficking (ISF-2023-TF2-AG-OC/ 101188335) is an EU-co-funded project aimed at strengthening the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of child trafficking through enhanced cross-border cooperation and capacity-building for judicial authorities and frontline professionals.
The project is coordinated by the Centre for European Constitutional Law – Tsatsos Foundation in Greece, in collaboration with 9 partners from eight EU Member States: Greece, Bulgaria, Belgium, Poland, Portugal, Italy, Romania, and Finland. Its activities also involve judicial authorities and frontline professionals from the Western Balkan region, thereby supporting broader regional cooperation and the exchange of expertise.
SafeBorders runs from January 2025 to December 2026.
The project’s key activities include:
- Development of a Practical Handbook on Challenges and Best Practices in Combating Child Trafficking, identifying common trends, systemic gaps, operational challenges, and promising practices across the participating countries.
- Training activities for prosecutors, judges and frontline professionals, aimed at strengthening their knowledge, practical skills, and capacity to identify, investigate, and respond effectively to cases of child trafficking.
- Development of an AI-supported platform, designed to analyse official data and assist relevant authorities in identifying trafficking patterns, high-risk targets, and criminal networks involved in child trafficking.
- Implementation of an awareness-raising campaign, disseminated through entry points in the participating countries and across social media platforms, to increase public understanding of child trafficking risks, warning signs, and available support mechanisms.
- Organisation of community workshops providing accessible information on the realities of trafficking, prevention measures, and pathways for seeking assistance.
- Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding among specialized prosecutors, and organisation of networking activities to strengthen institutional cooperation, facilitate the exchange of experience, and promote dialogue among key actors at national, regional, and EU level.