Our projects
Coordination and counseling center against trafficking in human beings
Ban Ying coordination and counseling center provides support for women who have been affected by human trafficking on two levels: At the practical level with advice, counseling and supervision provided by social workers, and at the theoretical level with an analytical, political and educational approach.
At the practical level, we offer advice and counseling for women who are vulnerable to, or who have been directly affected by, human trafficking. Our approach is tailored towards the individual needs of each woman. Our aim is to make these women aware of their rights and the possibilities open to them, to empower them in their decision making, and to support them in their actions. Our services are free of charge and legal assistance is available as required.
So far we have provided counseling and advice to women from more than 70 countries and four continents in their native language. We also arrange self-help groups in the Thai and Filipino languages, and regularly organise events where information is provided by experts on diverse social and legal topics.
In the public sphere, we offer training seminars for students and public sector employees on human rights topics. We contribute towards the social and political discourse through our public relations and advocacy work. Our long-standing network of international contacts also enables us to conduct lobbying and collaborate on research studies at both a regional and a global level. Our advocacy work takes a gender and human rights oriented approach.
The combination of these various areas of activity at our coordination and counseling center results in an interrelationship between theory and practise which enables us to develop innovative, cooperative and relevant approaches in campaigning for the rights of those affected by human trafficking.
Women's shelter
Ban Ying’s women's shelter offers an anonymous, protective living space for women who have been affected by human trafficking, as well as for the domestic workers of diplomats. The shelter is staffed by two female social workers and two language mediators for Thai and Filipino. Language mediators for other languages are brought in on a case-by-case basis.
The supervision in the shelter centres around the needs and requirements of the residents. The women are supported in learning to live as independently as possible and in asserting their legal rights.
The staff at the shelter support our clients in the following ways:
- Accompanying them to appointments with the authorities
- Addressing a range of psychosocial problems through counseling
- Finding them lawyers, doctors and therapists as required
- Arranging German language classes and training courses
- Organising language mediators for their native language