In a ceremony this week in the Ecuadorian city of Machala, Province
of El Oro, IOM and the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) handed over the Shelter Pilot Programme for
victims of trafficking to the provincial representatives of the
Ministry of Social and Economic and Inclusion (MIES by its Spanish
acronym).

El Oro was chosen by IOM and USAID because of its high incidence
of trafficking for sexual exploitation, because of its lack of
economic opportunities and its location close to the Peruvian
border. 

"The effectiveness of the police and prosecutors of El Oro in
rescuing victims and securing prison sentences for the traffickers
was also a factor for choosing Machala.  And the experience of
the Quimera Foundation in assisting victims of trafficking assured
the success of the programme," explains Alejandro Guidi, IOM Chief
of Mission in Ecuador.

The IOM Shelter Pilot Programme, funded by USAID, began in
October 2007 in the provinces of Pichincha and El Oro.  In
Machala, the capital of El Oro, the activities developed by the
Quimera Foundation focused on building the capacity of local
partners to provide vital protection to victims of trafficking,
reduce the vulnerability of potential victims, and increase the
coordination between service providers, civil society
organizations, local law enforcement and government officials.

MIES will provide the economic resources needed to manage the
new shelter and the Rotary Club has agreed to provide the
furnishings. Quimera Foundation staff will be responsible for
operating the shelter during its first year.

The IOM-run programme has rescued 12 young women, victims of
sexual exploitation and one young man, a victim of child
pornography. Twelve were from Ecuador and one from Peru.

The victims assisted received individual, group, and family
therapy, as well as career counseling and legal support.  They
and their children also received health care, medicine, clothing
and personal hygiene supplies.

As part of the hand-over ceremony, IOM and local officials
visited three micro-credit projects that the parents of the victims
created with the support of the IOM Shelter Pilot Programme.

In 2005, with financing from USAID, IOM started a programme to
support the Ecuadorian government in the fight against human
trafficking. The programme's main objectives are to contribute to
the implementation of the Government's National Plan to Combat
Human Trafficking and Other Forms of Violence; to raise awareness
of the crime and to support the prevention, protection and
prosecution activities that complement the National Plan.

For further information please contact:

Ana María Guzmán

IOM Ecuador

Tel: +593.2.225.3948

E-mail: "mailto:aguzman@iom.int">aguzman@iom.int