{"id":10605,"date":"2022-10-19T19:52:40","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T19:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zadecu.org\/?p=10605"},"modified":"2022-10-19T19:52:42","modified_gmt":"2022-10-19T19:52:42","slug":"her-majesty-queen-silvia-of-sweden-presented-an-award-to-atina%ef%bf%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zadecu.org\/en\/her-majesty-queen-silvia-of-sweden-presented-an-award-to-atina%ef%bf%bc\/","title":{"rendered":"Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden presented an award to Atina\ufffc"},"content":{"rendered":"

Atina received an international Child10 Award for its work on the protection of children and youth victims of sexual exploitation<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n

On the European Anti-Trafficking Day, the\u00a0organization\u00a0Atina<\/u><\/a>\u00a0received\u00a0Child10 Award<\/u><\/a>\u00a0at the Royal Castle in Stockholm, Sweden. The award was presented to the director of Atina, Marijana\u00a0Savi\u0107,\u00a0by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden\u00a0as an acknowledgement of impactful work\u00a0against human trafficking and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children\u00a0and youth.<\/p>\n

On that occasion, Marijana Savi\u0107 said that it is really a great honour for Atina to be recognized as an organisation that makes changes in the lives of women and children it serves, recognized for advocating women\u2019s and girls’ rights and its fight for a just world. This award, she added, came at the time when NGO Atina celebrates 20 years of existence. “The work of the organization Atina is guided by the needs of survivors of human trafficking, exploitation, and gender-based violence and is created together with them”. Thanking Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, her Care About the Children Foundation, Child10, and all other partner organizations, she said that “the biggest thank you comes from all those children we supported, for the opportunity to be children again, as once one of our 14-year-old beneficiaries wished for; to live a life free of violence and to finally be loved, respected and satisfied within their communities”.<\/p>\n

Organisation\u00a0Atina is among this year’s awardees,\u00a0selected from over 130 nominations across Europe.\u00a0Other 2022 Child10 awardees are:\u00a0<\/u>ACPE<\/a><\/u>\u00a0France,\u00a0APRAMP<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Spain,\u00a0Center for Missing and Exploited Children<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Croatia,\u00a0Child Focus<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Belgium,\u00a0Gender Alternatives Foundation<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Bulgaria,\u00a0Network Against Human Trafficking<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Germany,\u00a0Protect Children<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Finland,\u00a0Society Klju\u010d<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Slovenia, and\u00a0Storasyster<\/a><\/u>\u00a0Sweden.\u00a0\u201cThe 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.\u00a0In the wake of the pandemic and with the climate crisis, wars and ongoing conflicts, children today are more vulnerable than ever.\u00a0Collaboration and impactful solutions are, therefore, of the utmost importance to protect children and secure their rights. The role\u00a0of civil society organisations in the\u00a0protection of vulnerable children, both in Sweden and in Europe, is crucial,”\u00a0said\u00a0Jacob Fl\u00e4rdh, Secretary General of Child10.<\/p>\n

Human trafficking represents a serious threat in Europe, but globally as well. According to the\u00a0Council of Europe data on human trafficking<\/u><\/a>, 66% of identified victims in the Western Balkan are children. In Serbia, the situation is similar when it comes to children and youth trafficking victims. They are the targets of human traffickers for the purpose of sexual and labour exploitation, forced begging or forced criminality. Practice shows that victims of human trafficking are most commonly 11-17 years old girls, as well as young women under 30 years of\u00a0age. Girls often suffer multiple exploitation\u00a0– sexual, labour,\u00a0and there are those who survived forced marriages, or who are exploited for pornographic purposes. Boys also suffer sexual exploitation, despite the deeply rooted prejudice that such situations do not occur. Human traffickers are adept at\u00a0manipulating children and controlling them through a combination of deception, lies, false emotions, threats and violence, and because of this, some children are particularly vulnerable<\/p>\n

During its 20 years of work in the area of providing protection to victims of human trafficking,\u00a0organisation\u00a0Atina received the\u00a0Global Catalyst a<\/a>ward<\/u>\u00a0for its contribution to working with children victims of human trafficking awarded by the\u00a0Global Fund for Children<\/u><\/a>;\u00a0\u201cWith and For Girls Award\u201d<\/a><\/u>\u00a0given by the\u00a0UK STARS Foundation\u00a0for\u00a0its long-term dedication and contribution to improving the position of women and girls, victims of human trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence,\u00a0WE Empower UN SDG<\/a><\/u>\u00a0award for\u00a0efforts on advancing Sustainable Development Goals and improving the position of women and girls in our society and globally,\u00a0as well as\u00a0Hyatt Thrive Leadership<\/a><\/u>\u00a0award.<\/p>\n