{"id":4632,"date":"2020-06-06T09:00:47","date_gmt":"2020-06-06T09:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/the-samilia-foundation-wins-first-prize-for-its-short-film-on-human-trafficking-for-sexual-exploitation\/"},"modified":"2020-06-06T09:00:47","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T09:00:47","slug":"the-samilia-foundation-wins-first-prize-for-its-short-film-on-human-trafficking-for-sexual-exploitation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/the-samilia-foundation-wins-first-prize-for-its-short-film-on-human-trafficking-for-sexual-exploitation\/","title":{"rendered":"The Samilia Foundation Wins First Prize for Its Short Film on Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>The Samilia Foundation Wins First Prize for Its Short Film on Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation<\/h1>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4141\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires-400x225.jpg 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-la-boucle-photo-partenaires-600x338.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Samilia Foundation was awarded First Prize in the category of \u201corganizations active in the social profit sector\u201d at the Video Experience Day competition organized by AP Hogeschool Antwerpen, for its short film dedicated to human trafficking for sexual exploitation, with a particular focus on the phenomenon of Lover boys.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">This short film, directed by Agustin Eguia and produced by the Belgian production company 87 Seconds, with the support of Wallonie-Bruxelles International and the Culture Service of the F\u00e9d\u00e9ration Wallonie-Bruxelles, is intended to be used as part of a large-scale awareness campaign on human trafficking for sexual exploitation, which will be launched in September 2020.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">A teaser of the short film is, however, already available today on Samilia\u2019s social media channels.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Teaser &#039;La Boucle&#039;  version FR\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/n02EzdqF3-c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Samilia emphasizes the urgent need to better prevent and protect potential victims of sexual exploitation, who are recruited through various manipulative techniques. The recruitment method illustrated in the short film, better known as the \u201cLover boy\u201d phenomenon, remains a cunning trap widely exploited by human traffickers today. <\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The Lover boy phenomenon acts as a lure, through which traffickers seduce young, vulnerable women \u2014 often those with weakened family ties or at risk of dropping out of school \u2014 by creating a romantic attachment through promises of an illusory future together. The trafficker then gradually leads the young woman into prostitution networks. After a few weeks of apparent romance, the lover boy will pressure her to \u201csacrifice herself\u201d by engaging in prostitution under the pretext of temporary financial problems or the need to accumulate capital for the couple\u2019s \u201cshared dream.\u201d<br \/>Caught in a spiral of emotional and psychological dependence, these young women are often unaware of their status as victims of human trafficking and find it extremely difficult to escape. It is also very common for a lover boy trafficker to have multiple girls \u201cworking\u201d for him in organized prostitution, generating substantial criminal profits.   <\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">The phenomenon of Lover boys is widespread in Eastern European countries, such as Romania, which is one of the main sources of human trafficking victims in Belgium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">However, current events show that the Lover boy trap is now being used against young girls residing in Belgium and France, as evidenced by the January 2020 arrest of several members of a Brussels gang who sexually exploited multiple young girls through online ads, one of whom had been sold to the network by her \u201cboyfriend.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Following the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19, which has increased vulnerability and school dropouts, the Samilia Foundation fears that the social isolation of some young girls will provide traffickers with new opportunities, potentially leading to a worrying rise in human trafficking, particularly for sexual exploitation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\"><strong>For this reason, public awareness and targeted prevention for at-risk populations are essential to effectively combat this form of crime and sexual violence, as also required by European and international obligations imposed on Belgium in the fight against human trafficking.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4145\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1050\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1.jpg 1050w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1-400x178.jpg 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1-1024x455.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1-768x342.jpg 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-1-600x267.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1050px) 100vw, 1050px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4149\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1105\" height=\"473\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2.jpg 1105w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2-400x171.jpg 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2-1024x438.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2-768x329.jpg 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/teaser-2-600x257.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1105px) 100vw, 1105px\" \/><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4157\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1310\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-400x205.jpg 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-1024x524.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-768x393.jpg 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-1536x786.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-2048x1048.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-1170x600.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/87seconds_logo_whiteondark-600x307.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4161\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1695\" height=\"666\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo.png 1695w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo-400x157.png 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo-1024x402.png 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo-768x302.png 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo-1536x604.png 1536w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/blue-heart-logo-600x236.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1695px) 100vw, 1695px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-4153\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_logo_site_wbi.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"714\" height=\"357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_logo_site_wbi.png 714w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_logo_site_wbi-400x200.png 400w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/image_logo_site_wbi-600x300.png 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 714px) 100vw, 714px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2436\" src=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1382\" height=\"1325\" srcset=\"https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB.jpg 1382w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB-300x288.jpg 300w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB-1024x982.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB-768x736.jpg 768w, https:\/\/samilia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/FWB-600x575.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1382px) 100vw, 1382px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Samilia Foundation Wins First Prize for Its Short Film on Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation The Samilia Foundation was awarded First Prize in the category of \u201corganizations active in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4632","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4632","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4632"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4632\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4632"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4632"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samilia.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4632"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}