History of the non-profit organization

Samilia organization was created in 2019, following in the footsteps of the Samilia Foundation, which has existed since 2007. The aim of both structures is to combat human trafficking (THB).

Since its creation, Samilia organization has developed several awareness campaigns aimed at the general public:

• in 2024: Campaign on the operational risks associated with the organization of major sporting events, carried out in partnership with the British organization It’s a Penalty, as part of the UNODC Blue Heart Campaign.

→ Objective: to raise awareness of the increased risks of trafficking and exploitation during major sporting events, particularly the Olympic Games (labor exploitation, sexual exploitation, begging and forced crime, in particular).

• in 2023: Campaign on exploitation linked to the nail sector. Human trafficking is developing mainly in sectors of economic activity exploiting low-skilled labor, often in the shadows of our daily lives. Among these, nail salons/nail bars have become a particular point of vigilance.

→ Objective: inform consumers (reduce demand, pay attention to what type of salon, etc.)

• in 2022: campaign on economic exploitation linked to domestic work

→ Objective: to raise public awareness of forms of domestic exploitation (housekeeping and cleaning services, “au pairs” and nannies, etc.) as well as the indicators. This campaign echoes the findings of Frédéric Loore in his survey “Black Holes in the World of Work”.

• in 2022: Exhibition “Life under condition: a political pass” in collaboration with the FWB, the CSC and Moc Brussels

→ exhibition of photographs dedicated to the reality of many workers, with or without papers, economically exploited. Their rights and dignity are affected, as are their physical and psychological integrity, by the scourge of human trafficking, which is rife in Belgium as in many other countries.

• in 2020: “Not all fairy tales have a happy ending”

→ Awareness video on the LoverBoy phenomenon directed by Agustin Eguia and produced by “87 secondes” with the support of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles International and the FWB Culture Service. It features a young woman of Romanian origin facing a Loverboy and more specifically the latter’s “modus operandi” to place the victim under his control.

• in 2019: “Lal Batti Express” as part of the UNODC Blue Heart Campaign (// Kranti association);

Kranti is an Indian NGO that empowers young women, former victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, and their children, to become agents of social change in at-risk areas of Mumbai.

On tour in Europe and as part of the Blue Heart Campaign, they presented their play in which they play their own lives, illustrating the multiple trials they went through and their path to resilience.

• in 2019: awareness performance on exploitation in the Rogier metro (// artist Milva Ghenda)

Since its creation, Samilia organization has also developed prevention projects:

• Awareness raising in secondary schools in FWB (4th, 5th and 6th secondary)

→ Theme: human trafficking, focus on the sexual exploitation of minors and the risks of social networks

• pilot project 2022

• Project to resume at the end of 2024

• in 2022: training day for teaching staff and PMS centers at secondary level → awareness of the sexual exploitation of minors.

Samilia ASBL has also organized conferences/symposia:

• 2021: “Sexual exploitation: is Belgium doing enough in terms of prevention?”2021 : “Exploitation sexuelle : la Belgique en fait-elle assez en termes de prévention?”
• 2024: Conference on post-traumatic disorders (memory and dissociation) from which victims of human trafficking may suffer
• 2025 : conférence sur “Les femmes et minorités de genre migrantes face à l’exploitation sexuelle – focus sur les communautés latino-américaines” (collaboration avec le Collectif des femmes & Women Now)