Tblisi's Banksy Helps IOM Mark European Anti-Trafficking Day in Georgia

To mark European Anti-Trafficking Day and raise awareness about forced child begging, IOM Georgia teamed up with a street artist with a conscience and the Ministry of Justice to highlight the invisible dangers faced by child beggars.

The most common forms of child exploitation in Georgia are forced begging and sexual and labour exploitation of minors. Children, often below the age of 10, can be forced to beg by their parents, siblings, guardians, or by criminal gangs. Child beggars work long hours and are often abused. Migrant children are among the victims of the trade in forced begging.

To connect with the broad public, including youth, IOM partnered with Gagosha, a Tbilisi-based street artist, whose work raises awareness on social issues, including forced begging and lack of access to education for children. The painting done by Gagosha for IOM was transformed into the posters, that carry crucial awareness-raising messages and information. On 18 October IOM installed the posters at several bus stops in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. Banners with the same image and messages were placed in the Courthouses of Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, Telavi and Rustavi. A targeted awareness-raising video was developed and broadcast by commercial and public TV stations and through social media channels. With this multi-media campaign IOM is determined to lift the curtain on the dangers that young beggars face and show the negative consequences that ensue from our misinformed actions.

The activity was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway.