Sophie Jekeler

A lawyer by training, Sophie Jekeler has worked for 20 years on issues of human trafficking, prostitution, sex tourism, and child sexual exploitation.

Twelve years spent meeting with and providing legal, psycho-medical, and social support to people involved in prostitution have given her an in-depth understanding of the realities on the ground in these areas.

In 2007, the scale of human trafficking motivated her to create the Samilia Foundation to combat this new form of slavery in its two main dimensions: sexual exploitation and economic exploitation.

Thanks to her frontline experience working with people involved in prostitution and her mastery of the Belgian and European legal framework, she is regularly invited to participate in symposiums, conferences, network training sessions, expert groups, and media interviews.

Prioritizing awareness and information on human trafficking, Sophie has organised numerous colloquiums, conferences and study days on the subject, aimed at both the general public and specialized audiences such as magistrates, parliamentarians, journalists, employers’ representatives…

Sylvie Bianchi

Sylvie Bianchi is a Play Therapist. She studied at the Roehampton Institute in London and worked in the field of systemic therapy in the context of family violence for 12 years as a therapist and manager of European projects. She worked at the Marlborough Family Service in St John’s Wood with Dr. Asen and his team in the Family Day Unit, where she developed her knowledge of systemic and multi-family therapy. She then introduced multi-family therapy at the Child Protection Center in Gosselies. She wrote and managed two European Daphne projects in the area of ​​violence against women and children in the family context. She has extensive experience working with vulnerable individuals and at-risk groups in terms of domestic violence. She has also worked as an independent therapist, providing support to children experiencing emotional difficulties while collaborating with their parents in this context. She has organized various conferences and workshops on domestic violence and co-authored a European report (UK, Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Poland) on multi-family therapy in the context of domestic violence, as well as a training DVD on multi-family therapy for professionals (systemic therapists). She also collaborated with Doctors of the World as a Regional Manager on a project addressing violence against women and improving access to healthcare for women working in maquiladoras in Guatemala.

Sylvie has been working with the Samilia Foundation for two years and is now a member of its Board of Directors. She works for Samilia as a consultant on projects related to social inclusion, prevention in countries of origin, and raising awareness about human trafficking. She also engages in fundraising and submits projects to the European Commission. She also holds a degree in English-Russian Translation from the Higher Institute of Translators and Interpreters in Brussels, as well as a diploma in Prenatal and Infant Emotional Support.

She currently works part-time for ECPAT Belgium, where she manages the Belgian component of the European Daphne project “Make-IT-Safe,” which raises awareness and provides training for young people (12-18) on internet safety using the peer-to-peer methodology. The target audience for this project includes unaccompanied minors and students in schools.

Myria Vassiliadou

Ms. Myria Vassiliadou has been in charge of the Anti-Trafficking Coordination for the European Commission since March 2011.

The position of European Anti-Trafficking Coordinator was initially established by the “Stockholm Programme” within the European Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Directive 2011/36/EU.

The European Anti-Trafficking Coordinator is responsible for improving coordination and coherence between European institutions, agencies, Member States, and international actors. The coordinator must also develop existing and new European policies concerning human trafficking.

The Anti-Trafficking Coordinator must also ensure and oversee the implementation of the new European strategy  « EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings (2012-2016) »  and to propose a political orientation strategy for the European Union’s foreign policy in this area.

Ms. Vassiliadou holds a degree in Sociology and Social Research as well as a PhD in Sociology from the University of Kent at Canterbury, United Kingdom. She was a researcher at the Ash Salomon Centre for the Study of Ethno-Political Conflicts at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Vassiliadou served as Secretary General of the European Women’s Lobby, the largest network of women’s organizations in Europe. She was a founding member of the think tank at the Mediterranean Institute for Gender Studies, where she served as Director for seven years and subsequently as Chair of the Board. For over ten years, Ms. Vassiliadou worked as a Sociology Assistant at the University of Nicosia and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Sociology.

Ms. Vassiliadou previously worked for the European Commission as a National Expert in the Research Department. Furthermore, she has served as a member of various councils and expert groups, and has consulted at both national and international levels. She has worked extensively in the field of fundamental rights, given their connection to issues of human trafficking, gender, migration, ethno-political conflicts, and media. Her work has been published in numerous books and journals, she has led seminars and workshops, and she has been deeply involved in various think tanks, research projects at the European level, and both governmental and non-governmental organizations. She is trained as a counselor on domestic violence against women and as a facilitator and mediator in conflict transformation and negotiations.