A TEDDY BEAR ┃ Carried in his paws the fear of children whose vulnerability was taken advantage of in the ugliest of ways... Almost every child had a teddy bear.Maybe you still remember yours. He was a little ruffled, maybe he was missing a button or his fur was a little worn out because he was held too much in your arms. He would sleep next to you, he would go with you to your grandparents, on vacation and if you went somewhere, it was too important to be left alone at home. Wasn't he? For an adult, teddy bears are just ordinary fluffy bears that color the lives of their children. For a child, it's a whole world. He is someone he can take in his arms when he is afraid. Someone who doesn't laugh at him, doesn't scold him and is always by his side when he's sad. The child squeezes him to his chest and he seems to know how to soothe him in a way that only teddy bears know how to do it. He is there when the child does not feel like talking to anyone and perhaps, he is the first to tell a story to him in the evening, before falling asleep.Children get to trust their teddy bears a lot, which is why those soft and silent souls get to know almost everything that a per-son's childhood is about. Sometimes, a teddy bear ends up in places where we would like no child to be. In an interview room. In a psychologist's office. In a support center. Next to a child who tries to say, per-haps for the first time what happened to him. In those mo-ments, the teddy bear is no longer a toy, but a support. Children don't always find the right words. Sometimes they are afraid. Other times they think no one will believe them. But they squeeze the teddy bear to their chest and find the strength to speak. Throughout the 25 years of assistance provided to child victims, "La Strada" has learned that child protection begins with a seemingly simple thing: creating a space where the child feels safe. A space in which he is not judged, is not rushed, is not exposed to factors that would retraumatize him and is not forced to bear alone the burden of what happened to him. The teddy bear asks no questions. He doesn't promise to solve everything. But it reminds children that they are not alone. Over time, a much bigger change has been built around this simple gesture: child-friendly interview methods, specialized services, trained professionals, and systems that try to put the best interests of the child before any procedure.A society changes when it understands that before asking a child to talk, it must give him a reason to trust.And sometimes, that reason starts with a teddy bear.In its 25 years of activity, "La Strada" has contributed to the development of a safer child protection system, promoting prevention, multidisciplinary response and child-centered approaches in cases of abuse and exploitation. 1.124 children, victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, benefited from legal and psychological assistance during criminal proceedings. Hundreds of years of conviction for sexual predators, in cases of sexual abuse and exploitation in which the victims were legally assisted by the lawyer from “La Strada”. 500+ interviews under special conditions, conducted by “La Strada” psychologists-interviewers. 400+ psychological evaluation reports, prepared by “La Strada” specialists.     

THE PASSPORT ┃ It crossed borders with people's hopes, then returned home with them, where it was safer... A passport is usually a good thing.You take it out of the drawer when you are about to go some-where. You check it a few times before your trip, so that you don't forget it at home or to check if it hasn't already expired. You keep it in your pocket, in your bag or in a safe place and most of the time, you associate it with something that is about to start: a trip, a job opportunity, a visit to relatives, a vacation or maybe even a better life abroad.For thousands of Moldovans, especially after the 2000s, the passport meant exactly that: the hope that somewhere, across the border, a new opportunity awaits them. But for some, the same cherry red cover was the beginning of an entirely differ-ent story, because a passport can open up the world, but once in the wrong hands, it can do just the opposite."La Strada" has known, over the years, countless stories in which a simple passport was no longer proof of someone's identity, but a tool through which someone else controlled someone's life. Built around it, were fake promises, scams, sophisticated forms of exploitation and journeys that did not lead to where people thought they would. Sometimes, it was confiscated immediately after crossing the border and used as a tool of control: without papers, the victim was no longer free to leave, to ask for help or even to prove who she was.On the surface, a passport is just a piece of paper. In reality however, it means a person. A young woman who wanted a job. A man who wanted to support his family. A mother who hoped that by leaving for a while, she could give her children a better future. People who before leaving, collected a few clothes, said goodbye to their loved ones and started off with the hope that things would be better.For all of them, the passport was the freedom to leave and the assurance that no matter how far the journey will take them, there is always a way back. For 25 years, "La Strada" has been striving to make sure that there is this way back. A road back to safety. To their loved ones. Towards freedom. Towards one's own life. Over the past two and a half decades, "La Strada" has helped hundreds of thousands of people make informed decisions about migration and exercise their right to safe migration, helping to prevent human trafficking and labor exploitation.To be able to go anywhere with hope and full of dreams. To arrive safely. To return free. This is what we believe in and what we fight for, day after day.   217.540 calls were related to advice on safe migration. 33.786 young people participated in seminars to promote safe migration. 21.639 nationals of the Republic of Moldova were legally employed abroad with the support of “La Strada”. 120.000+ visitors annually to the information portal www.migratiesigura.md.

An effective response to cases of sexual violence requires not only investigating the offence, but also a trauma-informed intervention that respects the victim’s rights and ensures cooperation among the professionals involved. This was the objective of the “Integrated Response and Multidisciplinary Team Intervention in Cases of Sexual Violence against Adult Victims” Training of Trainers, held today in Chișinău. The training brought together around 40 professionals from different fields and aimed to develop a shared set of competencies that would subsequently enable participants to disseminate knowledge and good practices among local-level specialists responding to cases of sexual violence. The programme addressed the legal, psychological and forensic-medical dimensions of intervention, with a particular focus on the need for a coordinated response among the institutions involved. Speaking at the event, Galina Nița, Acting Head of the Professional Training and Methodological Support Division within the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, noted that the participants were attending the second training session and would subsequently train local multidisciplinary teams. This cascade approach will contribute to transferring knowledge to approximately 7,000 specialists across the country who are on the frontline of contact with victims. “Through this cascading mechanism, the training aims to strengthen, at national level, a common, coordinated and victim-centred response,” said Galina Nița. Eugenia Berzan, Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) Programme Analyst at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Moldova, stressed that sexual violence is one of the most serious forms of human rights violation, while the associated risks and vulnerabilities are exacerbated during times of crisis. “The first 72 hours are crucial when responding to a victim of sexual violence. Some of the consequences of this traumatic experience can be prevented or reduced if the person receives timely access to the support and services they need. That is why frontline professionals need to know how to act promptly, appropriately and in a way that protects the victim. UNFPA Moldova supports the capacity-building of these professionals so that every person affected by sexual violence can receive a coordinated response from the very first hours after the incident occurs or is disclosed,” said Eugenia Berzan. Cristina Deliu, Programme Director at the International Centre “La Strada”, highlighted the sensitive and complex nature of sexual violence cases, as well as the importance of a professional response from the very first contact between a victim and the support system. “Every day, the Women and Girls’ Trust Line 0 8008 8008 receives calls from women experiencing different forms of violence, and our team also provides support and assistance to victims of sexual violence. From this experience, we know how important it is for a woman seeking help to encounter a professional who knows how to listen to her, believe her and guide her appropriately to the next steps. We hope that this training will also become a platform for communication and cooperation among professionals. Specialists at the local level should be among the first people a victim can turn to with confidence and receive a prompt, competent response, without being judged or re-traumatised.” Throughout the day, participants discussed victims’ rights and safeguards, the effects of trauma and trauma-response mechanisms, as well as the myths and prejudices that can influence perceptions of sexual violence and the way a case is handled. An important component of the training focused on developing trauma-informed communication and interviewing skills. Professionals were trained to recognise the psychological, emotional and physical effects of traumatic experiences and to adapt their communication to the condition and needs of the person seeking help. The training also included a session dedicated to consent to sexual activity. Participants explored the differences between a culture of consent and rape culture and discussed the myths and prejudices that can influence the understanding of consent and the assessment of situations involving sexual violence. Another key component of the programme was multidisciplinary cooperation. In managing a case of sexual violence, different professionals may be involved at different stages, including police officers, prosecutors, doctors, forensic specialists, psychologists and support service providers. The training addressed victims’ entry points into the system, cooperation among professionals, the collection and management of forensic evidence, as well as referral mechanisms to specialised services. The training also covered the relevant national legal framework, including provisions of the Criminal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, the Standardised Clinical Protocol “Clinical Management of Rape Cases”, and other relevant legal and regulatory instruments. This activity was organised by the National Agency for Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence under the National Training and Specialisation Programme for Professionals in the Field of Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in Moldova and UNICEF, within the joint programme “Breaking the Cycle of Violence against Women and Children”, implemented by the International Centre “La Strada” with financial support from the Government of the United Kingdom.

At first glance, it may not seem like much. It is a corded telephone, the kind you might still see in old offices, in films or, if you are lucky, at your grandparents’ house. It has no touchscreen, takes no photographs, does not count the number of steps you have taken in a day, and cannot do all the things we have grown accustomed to asking our phones to do. It simply rings when someone on the other end of the line has something to say. For us, this telephone was the first point of contact with people who needed help at some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Every time it rang, we knew that somewhere — in the country or abroad, somewhere behind the walls of a home, in a bathroom, at the end of a street, in a stairwell, under a blanket or at a railway station — there was someone who needed us right then. In the early mornings, when the city was only beginning to wake up; on late, chilly nights; on holidays, when our own families were gathered around the festive table; during the pandemic, when the world seemed to have come to a standstill; on days when everything seemed to change from one hour to the next; and in all those moments that were never written down anywhere and that perhaps no one will ever know about... the telephone rang. People needed to put their lives back together, to regain their sense of safety and to no longer have to live with suffering, whatever form it might take. Some calls lasted only a few minutes. Others began in the evening and ended only in the morning. Sometimes, that was all callers needed: to tell their story to the very end, to cry, to pause, to gather their thoughts and find the courage to take the next step, knowing that they were not alone and that someone was there for them. This telephone also came to know the voices and emotions of people who called again after several years. For some callers, life had moved forward, only to bring them back to a point where they no longer knew what to do. We know that this is trust. When things become complicated, people know where they can turn — and that someone will still be there for them. But the hardest part is always at the other end of the line, when a victim picks up the phone and tells a stranger things they may not have had the courage to tell even those closest to them. To admit that a choice they made did not turn out the way they had imagined. To say that they no longer know what to do. That they are afraid. That they do not know whether they can go on. That they want to leave. Or simply that they need someone to tell them what they can do next. For the people we support, this telephone has been, for many years, a test of courage. It has heard and felt an extraordinary amount of courage. So much courage. When the Anti-Trafficking Hotline was launched by La Strada, human trafficking was something people spoke about in whispers — or not at all. For many women, calling the Hotline was the first moment when they dared to say out loud what was happening to them. Sometimes, it was the first time anyone had listened to them. Over the years, this telephone has witnessed thousands of stories of courage: the courage of a woman who decided to call us after years of suffering; the courage of a counsellor who remained calm while someone on the other end of the line desperately searched for a way out and could no longer see a way forward because of their suffering; and the courage of an entire team that understood that change sometimes begins with a simple: “Hello, how can we help you?” Twenty-five years later, telephones have changed almost completely. Cords have disappeared, handsets have slipped into our pockets, and calls have been joined by online messages and other forms of communication. But the essence remains the same: every call is an act of trust. And every response from us is a promise that no one should have to face violence, exploitation or abuse alone. After 25 years, the telephone still rings — and we continue to answer. For La Strada, the telephone remains a symbol of an idea that has stayed unchanged for a quarter of a century: sometimes, a life can change in the very moment someone answers the phone when you need them and tells you: “It’s not your fault.” Over 25 years of work, the Safe Migration and Anti-Trafficking Hotline (0 800 77777) has become one of the most important sources of support for people affected by human trafficking and for those seeking information about safe migration. For 25 years, this telephone has carried out its mission with great responsibility. 266,828 times. That is how many calls have been received through the Safe Migration and Anti-Trafficking Hotline (0 800 77777). The calls kept coming. Sometimes, one handset was simply not enough. So we began answering several phones at the same time. And as people’s needs evolved, so did our services. In 2009, we launched the Women and Girls’ Trust Line — the first and only specialised service of its kind in the Republic of Moldova dedicated to victims of domestic violence. Today, almost 17 years later and after more than 33,520 calls, the telephone continues to ring. Women and girls call us when they are experiencing domestic violence, abuse, sexual exploitation or digital violence. Behind these hundreds of thousands of calls are people who, one day, gathered all their courage and said: “Hello... I need help.” And on the other end of the line, our people answered.That is what we have been doing for 25 years. We answer.   266,828 calls received through the Safe Migration and Anti-Trafficking Hotline (0 800 77777). 33,520 calls received by the Women and Girls’ Trust Line (0 8008 8008). 7,707 calls providing assistance to presumed victims of human trafficking. 11,659 women, victims of domestic and sexual violence, received counselling through the service.