Throughout the Russian Federation the expertise on the special needs of child victims of commercial exploitation is not widespread. The majority of social workers and psychologists in governmental and non-governmental child care and child protection centres and institutes who encounter child victims of commercial sexual exploitation lack special skills and knowledge. There is an urgent need to improve the care for children who have been sexually exploited. Russian institutes and centres for child care, child protection and rehabilitation lack special knowledge and skills to work with children who are commercially sexually exploited. Professionals working with this group of children need a methodology to effectively help these children to recover and reintegrate into society.

The overall objectives of the project "Improvement of the quality of the care, protection and rehabilitation services for children who have been commercially sexually exploited in Russia" are:

1. Improvement of the position of children who have been commercially sexually exploited in the Russian Federation

2. Improvement of the child protection system for children who have been commercially sexually exploited in the Russian Federation

1. A methodology for the child care, child protection and rehabilitation institutions for the identification and the psychosocial rehabilitation of children who have been commercially sexually exploited;

2. Improved competence and skills of child professionals working for child care, child protection and rehabilitation institutes and organizations (governmental and non governmental) in three regions of the Russian Federation.

3. A training of trainer (ToT) system to train Russian child care, child protection and rehabilitation professionals on the methodology for the identification and the psychosocial rehabilitation of children who have been commercially sexually exploited;

4. Introduction and dissemination of the methodology for the identification and the psychosocial rehabilitation of children who have been commercially sexually exploited in the Russian Federation.

In January 2008 started this three-year project to improve the quality of care, protection and care of children who are commercially sexually exploited in Russia. ECPAT works together with Stellit in the project. The project is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Matra program. ECPAT Netherlands and Stellit have been working together since 2001 in several European multilateral projects related to conducting research and developing training in the field of tackling child trafficking for sexual purposes.