Shop

The Samilia Foundation is currently carrying out an awareness-raising project on sexual exploitation among young people in schools, supported by the Equal Opportunities Directorate of the Ministry of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles. This project aims primarily to inform and raise awareness, but also to prevent a relatively young audience from becoming involved in human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and the loverboy phenomenon. Young people represent a particularly vulnerable target group on these issues. In practical terms, our interventions take place over two consecutive class hours, which can be organized by the class teacher or any teacher interested in addressing this topic.

Awareness Campaign on Economic Exploitation in Nail Bars / 2023

Human trafficking tends to develop in economic sectors that rely on low-skilled labour. By reducing the demand for goods or services produced by trafficked workers, it is possible to fight concretely against this exploitation of human beings.

You can help drive change by avoiding nail bars where workers are exploited. Here are some indicators that may help you identify them:

– A particularly strong smell of products: often harmful and combined with poor or insufficient ventilation, making it unbearable for workers to breathe throughout the day. The products used do not always comply with EU standards → the label should appear on the packaging. – Poor hygiene practices: tools are not sterilised → risk of infections for clients. – Excessive speed of work: because workers must perform as many services as possible → stress increases the risk of injury for clients. – (Almost) unlimited availability: workers are there 7 days a week, outside official hours, with appointments made via SMS/WhatsApp. For example, during COVID, workers solicited clients in the street on weekends or evenings, even when salons were officially closed. – Employees’ clothing reflects poverty. – The worker does not speak French or English: communication is difficult or impossible without another worker translating. – Very low prices: intended to attract a maximum number of clients, served in rapid succession. Workers are forced to work continuously, often without breaks to eat.- Workers soliciting customers outside: employees from different nail bars compete openly to pull in potential clients. – Presence of both men and women: unusual in the beauty sector, which is typically dominated by women.

Awareness campaign on economic and domestic exploitation / 2022

As part of its awareness campaign on human trafficking entitled “Not All Fairy Tales Have a Happy Ending”, the NGO Samilia is organizing a screening and debate of the short film “La Boucle”, directed by Agustin Eguia. The film retraces the journey of a young Romanian woman exploited by her boyfriend who, against her will, ends up being exploited in the prostitution sector.
The screening will be followed by a debate between the audience and our speakers:

• Jean-Sébastien Jamart, former President of the Council of Europe’s Ad Hoc Committee on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

• Charles-Eric Clesse, Samilia Board Member and Labour Auditor of Hainaut

• Sophie Jekeler, President of Samilia

• Sandrine Cnapelinckx, Director of Samilia

• Agustin Eguia, film director

→ Evening schedule:

• 6:00 pm: Welcome of participants

• 6:30 pm: Opening remarks by the President of Samilia

• 6:40 pm: Screening of the short film

• 6:50 pm: Introduction of the director and experts

• 6:55 pm: Remarks by Agustin Eguia

• 7:05 pm: Remarks by Charles-Eric Clesse

• 7:20 pm: Remarks by Jean-Sébastien Jamart

• 7:35 pm: Discussion and debate with the audience

• 8:30 pm: Informal drink

Health measures will be observed: wearing a mask is mandatory.
A bar will be open before and after the screening.

Awareness Campaign on Sexual Exploitation / 2020

Short Film

Watch here the full version of the short film directed by Agustin Eguia, who joined our efforts to combat sexual exploitation — a severe violation of human rights. This video was produced by the Belgian company 87 seconds, with the support of Wallonia-Brussels International and the Culture Department of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. The video also received the patronage of the UNODC Blue Heart Campaign.

On 10 June 2020, Samilia received the First Prize — in the category “organizations active in the social profit sector” — at the Video Experience Day organized by AP Hogeschool Antwerp.

“I Say Stop” Awareness Campaign

Since its creation, Samilia has been an active member of the STOP GROUP, which works to combat the sexual exploitation of children and brings together other civil society actors such as ECPAT Belgium, Child Focus, Plan International Belgium , as well as the Federal Public Service Justice, Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, the Federal Judicial Police, Defense, the Tourism Federation, and FEBETRA.

We are now launching the new awareness campaign “I SAY STOP”, aimed at reporting situations where the exploitation of minors is clearly identified, even abroad.

October 18 marks the European Anti-Trafficking Day.
For the occasion, Samilia is partnering with artist Milva Ghenda for an exhibition denouncing dehumanization and human trafficking in this pandemic period.

COVID-19 has had devastating consequences on fundamental rights, especially for people in vulnerable situations such as victims of human trafficking. For Samilia, it was essential to collaborate with a committed artist in order to address the issue of trafficking in an artistic and sensitive way.

The exhibition dates will be announced as soon as health measures allow it. Stay tuned!

#EUAntiTraffickingDay #traitedesêtreshumains #TEH #Samilia #MilvaGhenda #Endhumantrafficking #HumanRights

Chocolate: We all love it, but we often ignore the bitter realities behind its production.

Raising awareness and acting ethically can make a difference. For every visitor supporting our initiative, we will plant a virtual cocoa tree. The image is symbolic, but it represents your invaluable commitment.

On the occasion of World Day against Trafficking in Persons, on July 30, 2019, Samilia ASBL is organizing an exceptional and unique performance in Belgium: the theatre play “Lal Batti Express”.

The newly created Samilia ASBL aims to implement field projects for awareness-raising and prevention of human trafficking in Belgium.

This initiative aims to highlight the dark side of an extraordinary sporting event: human exploitation and trafficking. This campaign is in no way intended to be directed against the World Cup or any other sporting event. It is a campaign that denounces the crimes committed in the shadows. The World Cup attracts millions of fans. Unfortunately, most of these supporters are unaware that behind the smiles, the celebrations, and the breathtaking skills, some unscrupulous individuals take advantage of the situation to commit appalling atrocities: forced begging, forced prostitution, forced labor, and human trafficking. This campaign juxtaposes the thrill of the game with the horror of human exploitation. It contrasts the excitement of sports betting with the despair of human trafficking victims. The tone is deliberately provocative: betting on human suffering is horrific, we all agree. But this approach allows us to confront realities that will coexist for a month: the reality of the World Cup and that of individuals who treat others as merchandise, as currency for their own profit.