3.2 Examples From the Field

Title: 

Reducing Barriers to Participation Through Adapted, Supportive Sport Sessions (Lithuania)

Context: Consultations with professionals showed that victims of trafficking often face psychological, structural, and emotional barriers when engaging in sport activities. These include fear, low motivation, and discomfort in mixed-gender settings.

Action: To address these challenges, professionals adapted sport sessions to better match participants’ needs. This included organizing female-only groups, offering flexible scheduling, and ensuring that psychologists or social workers were present during activities.

Examples include:

• Female-only sessions to increase feelings of safety
• Flexible scheduling to respect emotional readiness
• Involvement of psychologists to support both participants and coaches

Outcome: Participants reported feeling safer, better supported, and more motivated to attend sessions. Over time, trust grew, emotional connection strengthened, and participation became more consistent.

Transferability: This approach can be applied in different contexts by combining gender-sensitive formats, flexible organization, and professional support, with attention to both emotional and physical safety.