IJM and World Vision Receive $10 Million Child Protection Grant from U.S. State Department for Romania

Wednesday, September 18, 2024, WASHINGTON, DC — International Justice Mission (IJM) and World Vision have been awarded a US$10M Child Protection Compact (CPC) grant from the U.S. Department of State to address child trafficking in Romania. This historic, five-year partnership was developed jointly by the U.S. government, the Romanian government, and civil society organizations grouped into two consortia under IJM and World Vision.

IJM will work with its consortium partners – People to People, the Association for Victims of Sexual Crimes, and the Center for Legal Resources – to strengthen Romania’s efforts to combat child trafficking in a coordinated, victim-centered, and systematic manner. In addition to child trafficking and forced labor, the scope of the work also includes programming to address online child sexual exploitation.

“This commitment includes the establishment of two national centres focusing on child digital safety and combating online child sexual exploitation, which will be supported by the CPC partnership,” the State Department said.

“As technology-facilitated human trafficking continues to rise, IJM is eager to expand its work to address related crimes, including online grooming, sextortion, and the underage webcam modeling industry,” said James Foster, IJM’s director of U.S. Government Affairs. “Together with our partners, this grant will accelerate a significant and lasting impact on this critical problem in Romania.”

The objectives of the grant include:

• Ensure preventive measures to reduce the impact of risk factors and vulnerabilities for child trafficking.
• To provide accessible protection services to victims and survivors of child trafficking using a child-sensitive, trauma-informed, and victim-centered approach.
• Ensure that justice sector actors investigate cases effectively so that perpetrators of child trafficking can be prosecuted and convicted.
• Promote coordination between relevant agencies, civil society and local communities.

Child trafficking remains a significant challenge in Romania. Officials identified 451 victims of trafficking in 2023(1), and estimates place the overall prevalence at around 7.5 per 1,000 people(2). Nearly 1 in 2 identified victims of trafficking in Romania are children, including nearly 3 in 5 who are sex trafficked(3). Forced child labour is likely underreported due to limited knowledge of trafficking and coordination issues among local police and social services. Children from socially and economically marginalized households are at greater risk of trafficking, and 41.5% of children in Romania live at risk of poverty or social exclusion(4).

About IJM
International Justice Mission works with local authorities in 33 program offices in 19 countries to combat slavery, violence against women and children, and police abuse. IJM’s mission is to protect people in poverty from violence by rescuing victims, bringing criminals to justice, returning survivors to safety and empowerment, and helping local law enforcement build safe, lasting futures. For more information, visit: IJM.ca.

(1) ANITP (National Agency against Trafficking in Human Beings), Brief Analysis of Trafficking in Human Beings in 2023, 2024.
(2) Walk Free, Global Slavery Index 2023: Romania, 2023.
(3) ANITP, 2024.
(4) Eurostat, 2023