About us

NGO Atina is fully dedicated to the respect of victims’ human rights, cooperation and participation of victims throughout the process of influencing root causes of trafficking, such as: relations in the primary and secondary family, poverty, previous experiences of marginalization and discrimination, deprivation from basic rights, unemployment and educational deprivation.

Above listed objectives are being fulfilled through rendering different types of assistance (until the full inclusion is achieved):

  • help in meeting basic needs (including accommodation);
  • mediation in exercising the corresponding rights (including help in obtaining personal documents, cooperation with relevant institutions, school enrolment, help in employment);
  • providing psychosocial, legal and medical assistance;
  • family mediation and consultation service;
  • engagement in all relevant fields for the full recovery and integration of victims

Beneficiaries of NGO Atina's program are young people, men, women and children, citizens of Serbia and foreigners - victims of human trafficking, sexual and labour exploitation, as well as their families and those from their close surrounding, as indirectly affected by the status of the victims.

 

Mission and goals

NGO Atina’s aim is to support the transition process in Serbia towards development of society which will fully respect the rights of women and children. It stands for establishment of equal status of all members of society in public and private spheres, through identification of, and struggle against, gender-based marginalization, discrimination and violence, and provision of direct assistance and support in reintegration of victims of trafficking and sexual and labour exploitation.

More specifically, the aim of Atina's work is to create a sustainable system for the social inclusion of marginalized and multiple discriminated groups (above all - victims of trafficking and other forms of exploitation).

 

 

Activities to achieve this objective are carried out on four specific levels:

  • empowerment and support to the inclusion of victims themselves;
  • capacity building of local communities to more efficiently respond to problems of prevention, identification and reintegration of victims of human trafficking and other forms of exploitation;
  • strengthening capacities of relevant institutions and organizations at local and national level;
  • working on the fight against prejudice, marginalization and discrimination, and provision of direct assistance and support to victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation.

History

NGO Atina was founded in 2004, as a response of women’s movement in Serbia to the problem of human trafficking, and non-existence of adequate programs of long-term support for the victims and help in their social inclusion.

NGO Atina’s idea was to transfer focus from the basic assistance programs (which are completely insufficient to make long-term effects in taking care, and inclusion, of identified victims of human trafficking) toward more general approach, based on the awareness and respect of human rights, mainly rights determined by the Convention on elimination of all forms of discrimination of women, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, through prevention of gender based violence, influence on causes for entering the trafficking situation and empowerment of victims of this form of violation of human rights.

Due to the lack of standards for the estimation of successfulness of the existing programs, and the results of the research of causes why victims refuse different assistance programs, Atina’s main standpoint is the creation of program activities according to the needs and wishes of victims. In that way, it became the program of SOCIAL INCLUSION, contrary to the existing REHABILITATION programs with indications of (RE)INTEGRATION. The main difference, among others, is that NGO Atina strives to influence the causes of entering the trafficking situation - causes in the primary and secondary family, poverty, marginalization, discrimination, inability to realize basic rights, etc. All this is done with the full participation, agreement and cooperation of Atina’s beneficiaries.

NGO Atina stands for obtaining equal status of all female and male members of the society, in the spheres of private and public life, through identification and fight against gender based marginalization, discrimination and violence.

To be more specific, the aim of Atina’s work is the creation of sustainable support mechanism to all marginalized and multiple discriminated groups (mainly women and children who are victims of human trafficking). Activities in reaching this goal are carried out on five specific levels: a) empowerment and support in the inclusion of the victims; b) connection with local communities in order to respond to the problems of identification, referral and social inclusion in the most successful manner; c) enforcement of the capacities of relevant institutions and organizations at local and national level; d) fight against prejudice, marginalization and discrimination; e) providing direct assistance and support to the victims of human trafficking.

NGO Atina’s mission is to support the transition processes in Serbia, which will lead to creation of the society with full respect of the human rights of women and children. In that way, Atina stands for equal treatment of all members of the society in public and private sphere through naming social problems and fight against gender based marginalization and discrimination.
 

  • NGO Atina’s direct assistance activities are carried out through three sections:
  • Transition house
  • Open club-Reintegration centre
  • Field support team
  • Српски