Date | 29 January 2026
Location | Live Online via Microsoft Teams
Human trafficking remains a high-profit, low-risk crime due to persistent failures in identification of victims, survivor support and prosecution of traffickers.
This webinar brings the survivor-leader perspective to expose where systems fall short and how exploitation is sustained.
Designed for financial-crime, compliance, and risk professionals, it explores how trafficking appears in financial activity, why it is often missed by traditional AML approaches, and how financial institutions can disrupt trafficking networks, prevent exploitation, and support survivor reintegration through responsible financial practices.
When finance acts, exploitation becomes harder to sustain.
Speakers
Founder & CEO Step Up Stop Slavery | Human Trafficking Compliance Consultant
Katerina Stephanou is an international human trafficking expert and modern slavery compliance consultant. She is the Founder & CEO of Step Up Stop Slavery, which includes the Step Up Survivors of Trafficking Advisory Council and Step Up Youth. The organization is dedicated to promoting the effective implementation of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) in Cyprus and across the EU. It delvers anti-trafficking awareness and prevention workshops, hosts conferences and supports survivors of trafficking in partnership with multi-agency stakeholders. Step Up Youth also produces educational films for the purposes of human trafficking prevention and promotion of online safety. With a professional background as a corporate and maritime lawyer in both the UK and Cyprus, and as an ACAMS certified anti-money laundering specialist, Katerina Stephanou introduced the OSCE’s ‘Follow the Money’ project on financial investigations into human trafficking to Cyprus and she provides advisory, consultation and training services to the finance sector on human trafficking compliance. She is a contributing author for “The Palgrave Handbook on Modern Slavery” on ‘The Role of the Finance Industry in Ending Modern Slavery.’ (Springer 2025)
Irene Che
Survivor Leader, Chair Step Up Trafficking Survivors Advisory Council, Project Officer and Cultural Mediator Synthesis Centre for Research
Irene Che is actively involved in advocacy, awareness raising and education initiatives across Europe that support migrants. She leads workshops and training sessions that foster leadership, resilience, and social inclusion, particularly among migrant women and survivors of trafficking. She has served as a Cultural Ambassador for the Nicosia Municipality, supporting initiatives that promote and train on diversity, intercultural dialogue, and community engagement. As Project Officer and Cultural Mediator for the Synthesis Centre for Research and Education she acts as a media spokesperson, chairs discussions and develops materials for anti-trafficking initiatives. At Room of Hope, she provides outreach support and resources for newly arrived women who are in refugee camps in Cyprus.