Young people who leave alternative care are at risk of exploitation and human trafficking, according to a report by the Dignita Foundation. Executive director Kamelia Dimitrova presented it in the Aula of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski".
People from their own circle most often push them into exploitation. A common scheme is to turn an emotional bond into a way to control them. Dimitrova said these people build closeness with the young people and help them when they are in a difficult situation.
The report was presented at the conference "Young People Leaving Alternative Care: Vulnerability to Human Trafficking", held for European Anti-Trafficking Day on 18 October.
The authors link the risk to the moment a young person turns 18, when institutional support stops or drops sharply. Often this coincides with no stable family, few social contacts, weak financial security and too few skills for living alone.
In the first months after leaving care, young people look for income and housing under heavy pressure and without steady support, the specialists say. Because of this insecurity, the report notes, they more readily accept informal or risky work, often without a contract and on unclear terms.
Daniela Savekliyeva, secretary of the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, said the move to independence is hard for every young person. For those leaving alternative care it comes much more abruptly and with fewer sources of support.
Savekliyeva said threats or violence are not always where exploitation starts. Sometimes it begins with an apparently good opportunity: a job offer, promises of a better life, or money or attention from a person who seems ready to help.
National policies and strategies recognise human trafficking as a serious social problem, but "young people leaving the alternative care system are rarely identified explicitly as a specific risk group", the specialists write in the report.
A joint mentoring programme by Dignita and Sofia University supports young people from alternative care and gives practical experience to students of social work. Assoc. Prof. Vanya Bozhilova, dean of the Faculty of Education, said the programme matters because students give young people real support and gain hands-on experience and professional skills.
Deputy rector Prof. Sonya Mileva said the university is a place for conversation, exchange of ideas and good causes, and that in this way it fulfils its mission to help solve problems.
Mentors at the conference spoke about their meetings with young people from alternative care.
The report counts 144 family-type placement centres for children without disabilities, with 1,677 places in total. One family-type centre for children and young people without disabilities has 12 places.
There are 7 centres for children with disabilities, with 93 places, and 106 for children and young people with disabilities, with 1,422 places. Another 9 centres for children and young people with disabilities who need constant medical care have 73 places.
There are 23 transitional homes for children, with 182 places in total, and 23 supervised homes for young people aged 18 to 25, with 112 places.