Trafficking in human beings from a gender perspective directive 2011/36/EU : European implementation assessment.
Date: 2016-05-11
Institutions: Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services
Subjects: child protection, directive (EU), fight against crime, fundamental rights, help for victims, legality, slavery, trafficking in human beings, woman

Trafficking in 
Human Beings from 
a Gender 
Perspective 
Directive 
2011/36/EU 

European Implementation 
Assessment 

STUDY 

EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service 
Authors: Amandine Scherrer and Helmut Werner 
Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
PE 581.412 - April 2016 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

 Trafficking in Human Beings  
from a Gender Perspective 
Directive 2011/36/EU 
European Implementation Assessment 

In  April  2015,  the  European  Parliament’s  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and  Gender 
Equality (FEMM) notified the EP Conference of Committee Chairs about its intention to 
draw  up  a  report  on  the  implementation  of  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  5  April  2011  on 
preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims from a 
gender  perspective.  Catherine  Bearder  (ALDE,  United  Kingdom)  was  appointed 
rapporteur. 
Implementation  reports  by  EP  committees  are  routinely  accompanied  by  European 
Implementation  Assessments,  drawn  up  by  the  Ex-Post  Impact  Assessment  Unit  of  the 
Directorate  for  Impact  Assessment  and  European  Added  Value,  within  the  European 
Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services.  

Abstract 

Trafficking  in  human  beings  (THB),  in  all  its  forms,  is  a  serious  crime  affecting 
fundamental  rights,  health,  social  life,  economy  and  justice.  THB  knows  no  boundaries 
and  most  reported  victims  are  female  EU  nationals  from  Central  and  Eastern  Europe. 
THB  can  be  tackled  effectively  only  through  a  coherent  approach  at  the  levels  of 
legislation  and  executive  powers  and 
through  strategic  policy-making.  Proper 
investigation  and  prosecution  are  important  and  enhance  victim  protection  and 
assistance as well as prevention.  However, taking into account the gender dimension of 
THB  is  essential  to  ensure  adequate  support  for  the  victims  as  well  as  effective 
prevention.  The  2011  EU  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  represents  a  landmark  piece  of 
legislation in that respect.  

The  Ex-Post  Impact  Assessment  Unit  of  the  European  Parliament  has  asked  several 
groups of experts to analyse the implementation and application of the Directive, from a 
gender  perspective,  in  12  Member  States:  Bulgaria,  Cyprus,  Finland,  Germany,  Greece, 
Ireland,  Lithuania,  the  Netherlands,  Romania,  Sweden,  the  UK  and  Spain.  The 
contributions received point to an uneven implementation of the Directive's requirements 
across the EU Member States.  

The findings emphasise the need to improve the identification of victims, which is key for 
granting  them  protection,  to  establish  better  training  on  the  gender  aspects  of  the 
different  forms  of  human  trafficking  for  front-line  officers,  to  enhance  cooperation 
between  public  administration  and  competent  NGOs,  and  to  expand  prevention  via 
public awareness campaigning.  

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European Implementation Assessment 

AUTHORS of the introduction: 
Amandine Scherrer, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit  
Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 

The research papers contained in this study have been written, at the request of the Ex-
Post  Impact  Assessment  Unit  of  the  Directorate  for  Impact  Assessment  and  European 
Added  Value,  within  the  Directorate-General  for  Parliamentary  Research  Services  (DG 
EPRS) of the European Parliament, by: 
- 
- 
- 

Denise Charlton and Nusha Yonkova, on Ireland;  
Josie Christodoulou, on Cyprus and Greece; 
Ryszard Piotrowicz, Bärbel Uhl, Klara Skrivankova, Marjan Wijers, on  
Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the UK; 
Venla Roth, on Finland;  
Genoveva Tisheva and Nusha Yonkova, on Bulgaria; 
Viviana Waisman and Gema Fernandez Rodriguez de Liévana, on Spain. 

- 
- 
- 

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATORS 
Amandine Scherrer and Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAsessment@ep.europa.eu 

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER 
This paper has been compiled by the Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit of the Directorate 
for  Impact  Assessment  and  European  Added  Value,  within  the  Directorate–General  for 
Parliamentary Research Services of the Secretariat of the European Parliament.  
To contact the Unit, please email EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@ep.europa.eu  

LANGUAGE VERSIONS 
Original: EN 

This document is available on the internet at: www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank   

DISCLAIMER 
The  content  of  this  document  is  the  sole  responsibility  of  the  authors  and  any  opinions 
expressed  therein  do  not  necessarily  represent  the  official  position  of  the  European 
Parliament.  It  is  addressed  to  the  Members  and  staff  of  the  EP  for  their  parliamentary 
work.  Reproduction  and  translation  for  non-commercial  purposes  are  authorised, 
provided the source is acknowledged and the European Parliament is given prior notice 
and sent a copy. 

Manuscripts completed in April 2016. Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

PE 581.412 
ISBN: 978-92-823-9130-3 
DOI: 10.2861/15880 
CAT: QA-04-16-368-EN-N 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

CONTENT 

   INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 5 

1. General Context of the assessment ....................................................................................... 5 
1.1. The gender dimension angle and the scope of the assessment ................................... 5 
1.2. The provisions of the Directive ....................................................................................... 6 

2. The different forms of human trafficking ............................................................................ 7 
2.1. Sexual exploitation ............................................................................................................ 7 
2.2. Other forms of trafficking and the gender perspective .................................................. 9 
2.3. Child victims ......................................................................................................................... 9 

3. The objectives and transposition of the Directive ............................................................. 10 
3.1. The objectives and its historical framework ................................................................... 10 
3.2. The transposition ................................................................................................................ 12 
3.3. Follow-up on compliance.................................................................................................. 12 

4. Related EU actions and approach against human trafficking supporting the Directive

................................................................................................................................................... 13 
4.1. The EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator ............................................................................. 13 
4.2. The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016
................................................................................................................................................... 15 

5. Presentation of key findings ................................................................................................ 17 
5.1. Transversal issue: the identification of victims and gender dimensions monitoring17 
5.2. Assistance and support for victims ................................................................................. 18 
5.3 Protection of victims in criminal investigations ............................................................. 19 
5.4. Assistance, support and protection measures for child victims .................................. 20 
5.5 Compensation for victims .................................................................................................. 21 
5.6. Prevention ........................................................................................................................... 21 

6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 23 

Annexes 

ANNEX 1 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Bulgaria ...................................................................................................................................... 25 
ANNEX 2 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Cyprus and Greece.................................................................................................................... 59 
ANNEX 3 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Finland ........................................................................................................................................ 83 
ANNEX 4 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK ........................... 115 
ANNEX 5 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Ireland ....................................................................................................................................... 170 
ANNEX 6 : Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender perspective in 
Spain ......................................................................................................................................... 212 

ACRONYMS 

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European Implementation Assessment 

CEPOL  

European Police College 

EASO                 European Asylum Support Office 

EIGE  

European Institute for Gender Equality 

EU ATC  

EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator 

EU MS               EU Member States 

Eurojust  

EU agency for judicial co-operation in criminal matters 

Europol  

European Police Office 

FRA  

Fundamental Rights Agency 

FRONTEX  

European Agency for the Management of Operational  

Cooperation at the External Borders 

NGOs     

Non-Governmental Organisations 

OCGs    

Organised Criminal Groups 

TCN  

THB  

Third Country Nationals 

Trafficking in Human Beings 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

INTRODUCTION 

1. General Context of the assessment 

When  the  European  Parliament’s  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and  Gender  Equality 
(FEMM) undertook to draw up a report on the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU 
of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting 
its  victims  from  a  gender  perspective,  the  Ex-Post  Impact  Assessment  Unit  of  the 
Directorate  for  Impact  Assessment  and  European  Added  Value,  within  the  European 
Parliament's Directorate-General for Parliamentary Research Services, was called upon to 
provide a 'European Implementation Assessment' on this Directive. 

1.1. The gender dimension angle and the scope of the assessment  

The  approach  adopted  for  this  assessment  consisted  of  gathering  expertise  in  the  fight 
against  trafficking  in  human  beings  (THB)  and  in  the  protection  of  its  victims,  with  a 
focus  on  the  implementation  to  date  of  the  Directive.  For  the  purpose  of  the  study,  six 
research  papers  were  commissioned,  covering  twelve  Member  States  (MS)  (Bulgaria, 
Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain, 
Sweden and the United-Kingdom). 

Our  objective  was  to  provide  an  assessment  of  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  in 
representative  subsets  of  MS,  i.e.  small-big,  east-west,  north-south,  but  also  those 
considered  as  source,  target  and/or  transit  countries  of  THB.  Furthermore,  the  selected 
sample  accounts  for  various  forms  of  trafficking  experienced  in  the  EU:  sexual 
exploitation, 
forced 
pickpocketing, sham marriages, organ harvesting, and selling of babies.  

labour  exploitation,  domestic 

forced  begging, 

servitude, 

All experts selected are  very  familiar  with the  European legal framework as well as the 
respective national laws. All are dedicated to, and aware of, the need to consider gender 
aspects  in  order  to  be  able  to  meaningfully  address  the  different  forms  of  THB. 
Furthermore, by choosing different groups of authors we received assessments based on 
different  approaches  –  something  which  is  not  without  importance,  given  the 
controversial  debates  amongst  experts  on  the  libertarian  vs.  abolitionist  approaches 
towards prostitution.1  

When  considering  the  gender  dimension  of  the  Directive,  the  research  papers  assessing 
its  implementation  underline  in  particular  the  difficulties  of  identifying  victims  of 
trafficking,  as  well  as  the  uneven  level  of  protection  and  assistance  offered  to  them, 
including  in  criminal  investigations.  The  key  findings  of  this  set  of  research  papers  are 
presented in Section 5, and the research papers themselves can be found in the Annexes.  

1 On the libertarian and abolitionist approaches see Venla Roth 2016, chapter 3.1. 

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1.2. The provisions of the Directive 

Article  2  of  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  5  April  2011  on  preventing  and  combating 
trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims  provides  a  comprehensive 
definition of THB which covers many forms of trafficking: 

‘Offences concerning trafficking in human beings  

1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the following intentional 
acts are punishable:  

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or reception of persons, including the 
exchange or transfer of control over those persons, by means of the threat or use of force or 
other forms of coercion, of abduction,  of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a 
position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the 
consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.  

2. A position of vulnerability means a situation in which the person concerned has no real 
or acceptable alternative but to submit to the abuse involved.  

3. Exploitation shall include, as a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or 
other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, including begging, slavery or 
practices  similar  to  slavery,  servitude,  or  the  exploitation  of  criminal  activities,  or  the 
removal of organs.  

4.  The  consent  of  a  victim  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  to  the  exploitation,  whether 
intended or actual, shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in paragraph 1 has 
been used.  

5.  When  the  conduct  referred  to  in  paragraph  1  involves  a  child,  it  shall  be  a  punishable 
offence of trafficking in human beings even if none of the means set forth in paragraph 1 has 
been used.  

6. For the purpose of this Directive, ‘child’ shall mean any person below 18 years of age’ 

The Directive is recognised to be an important piece of legislation, which adopts a holistic 
approach  to  THB  with  a  strong  gender  focus.  The  European  Parliament  has  repeatedly 
stressed the need to tackle THB effectively.2 According to its Article 22, the Directive was 
to be transposed into national law by 6 April 2013. Thus, three years after this deadline 
for transposition, its implementation can now be reasonably assessed.  

The Directive stipulates in its Article 23(1) that: 

‘The Commission shall, by 6 April 2015, submit a report to the European Parliament and 
the  Council,  assessing  the  extent  to  which  the  Member  States  have  taken  the  necessary 
measures  in  order  to  comply  with  this  Directive,  including  a  description  of  action  taken 
under Article 18(4), accompanied, if necessary, by legislative proposals.’ 

2  e.g.  European  Parliament  resolution  of  10  February  2010  on  preventing  trafficking  in  human 
beings  (T7-0018/2010);  European  Parliament  legislative  resolution  of  14  December  2010  on  the 
proposal  for  a  directive  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  on  preventing  and 
combating  trafficking  in  human  beings,  and  protecting  victims,  repealing  Framework  Decision 
2002/629/JHA 
(COM(2010)  0095,  2010/0065(COD),  T7-0471/2010);  European  Parliament 
resolution of 25 February 2014 with recommendations to the Commission on combating Violence 
Against Women (2013/2004(INL), P7_TA(2014)0126). 

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With that in mind, the Commission has commissioned an external contractor to conduct a 
compliance study for this Directive. The final results of the study have been announced 
for  'the fourth  quarter  of 2016'. This assessment does  not, therefore, seek to  prejudge in 
any way the findings of the Commission in that respect.  

2. The different forms of human trafficking 

In February 2016 Europol published its Situation Report on 'Trafficking in human beings 
in the EU',3 showing that human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is the 
most  reported  form  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  (THB)  in  the  EU  and  that  most 
reported  victims  are  female  EU  nationals  from  Central  and  Eastern  Europe.  The  report 
underlines  that,  in  most  cases,  THB  is  driven  by  seemingly  economic  mechanisms  of 
demand  and  supply,  and  that  'push',  'pull'  and  'facilitating'  factors  keep  THB  growing. 
The report also emphasizes a strong involvement of Organised Crime Groups (OCGs):  

 

 

 

 

90% [of Europol contributions received from the MS] concerned THB for sexual 
exploitation 

5.6% concerned cases of labour exploitation  

1.9% concerned forced sham marriages  

0.3% concerned forced criminality and begging  

  Of all contributions, 1.9% involved trafficked minors, most of whom were young 
girls  forced  into  prostitution  and  children  forced  to  beg  and  commit  property 
crimes. 

However, as nuanced by Venla Roth in her paper: 'Although organised crimes groups can be 
involved, human trafficking is often carried out by the victim’s family members, friends, relatives, 
boyfriends, husbands and ordinary employers. This close relationship between the victim and the 
perpetrator is an instrumental part of the dynamics of human trafficking, which, in fact, resembles 
that of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence.' 

Human trafficking, as shown by the  related statistics,4 is an enduring phenomenon that 
affects all the EU Member States and has both internal and external dimensions.5 

2.1. Sexual exploitation 

THB  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  is  very  significant,  not  only  in  terms  of 
numbers of victims, but also in terms of the severity of the moral and psychological (as 
well as physical) traumas it involves. Venla Roth argues that ’human trafficking is seldom a 
question  of  momentary  deals  but  rather  a  process  of  exploitation  and  submission  in  which  the 
perpetrator  gradually  deprives  the  victim  of  her  sexual  self-determination,  bodily  integrity  and 
freedom by humiliating and manipulating the victim and subjecting the victim to his/her will. In 
reviewing cases of human trafficking for sexual exploitation discovered in Finland, the victims are 

3 Situation Report, Trafficking in human beings in the EU, Europol, February 2016.  
4 Eurostat, Trafficking in Human Beings, 2015 Edition. 
5 See: OECD Report, Illicit Trade, April 2016, Chapter 2, Trafficking in persons 

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European Implementation Assessment 

under  the  control  of  the  offenders  despite  leading  apparently  normal  lives.  The  victims  have  not 
realistic possibility of discontinuing the exploitative activity, to protect themselves or to seek help. 
Experts  in  psychiatry  and  traumatisation  giving  evidence  on  the  dynamics  of  exploitation  have 
explained  this  by  various  psychological  phenomena,  which  are,  in  fact,  very  similar  to  those  of 
intimate  partner  violence  or  other  forms  of  sexual  violence  and  abuse.  In  order  to  overcome  this 
problem  in  victim  identification,  more  attention  should  be  paid  to  the  psychological  means  of 
exploitation both in legislation and in practice.'  

It  is  therefore  not  surprising  that  much  of  the  focus  has  been  put  on  this  form  of 
trafficking.  However,  the  ways  in  which  THB  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  is 
tackled  vary  widely  across  the  EU  and  continue  to  be  the  subject  of  heated  debates, 
particularly on how to address demand reduction.  

Some argue that criminalising the purchase of sex results in a decrease  in trafficking. In 
November  2015,  Detective  Sergeant  Jonas  Henriksson  from  Stockholm  explained  to  the 
FEMM  committee  the  approach  and  methods  of  the  Swedish  police  for  getting  hold  of 
both  traffickers  and  buyers  of  sex.  He  argued  that,  thanks  to  the  Swedish  legal  tools 
available  (criminalisation  of  the  purchasing  of  sex),  the  police  works  effectively  and 
efficiently,  contributing  to  a  decrease  in  human  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation. 
Manfred Paulus, a former German principal police commissioner and expert on THB at 
international  level,  deplores  the  increase  in  the  number  of  registered  victims  of  THB 
between 2008 and 2010 (23 623 in the EU), despite a decrease in the number of convicted 
perpetrators.6 As an explanation, he refers to a 2012 study,7 conducted by the Universities 
of Göttingen and Heidelberg, according to which the legalisation of prostitution results in 
an increase in demand and, therefore, an increase of 'human trafficking inflow'.  

However, recent debates in France over the criminalisation of the purchasing of sex have 
shown  once more  that  positions are polarised on this matter, the  French 'Défenseur des 
droits' (the equivalent of a national human rights ombudsman), along with some NGOs 
working  with  victims  of  trafficking,  openly  opposed  to  prohibition  (in  the  sense  of 
penalising the purchasing of sex), arguing that far from protecting the victims, this could 
increase  their  vulnerability  to  further  violence  and  exploitation.  The  Défenseur  also 
pointed  to  the  Swedish  model,  arguing  that  there  are  no  reliable  statistics  to  show  a 
correlation between prohibition and a decrease of trafficking for sexual exploitation.8  

As  recalled  by  Venla  Roth,  the  debates  between  abolitionists  (who  support  the 
criminalisation  of  purchasers  of 
the 
sex)  and 
legalisation/decriminalisation  of  prostitution),  have  been  a  long  lasting  point  of 
contention and have often led to compromise in international legislation, such as the UN 
Trafficking  Protocol.  She  underlines,  however,  that  'a  large  proportion  of  the  victims  of 
human trafficking subjected to sexual exploitation have knowingly entered prostitution and some 
of  them  have  also  sold  sex  before  and  some  of  them  continue  to  sell  sex  after  the  criminal 
procedure.'  This  raises  significant  challenges,  including  as  regards  the  identification  of 

libertarians 

support 

(who 

6 Paulus M., Organisierte Kriminalität Menschenhandel, Ulm 2014, p. 40; Paulus refers here to the 
2013 Eurostat report on HT and states that the real number of HT victims in Europe is a multiple of 
the number of the registered victims. 
7  Cho,  S.-Y.,  Dreher,  A.  and  Neumayer,  E.,  Study  'Does  Legalized  Prostitution  Increase  Human 
Trafficking?', Economics of Security Working Paper 71, DIW Berlin, June 2012.  
8 Défenseur des droits, Avis n°15-28 du 16 décembre 2015 sur la proposition de loi n°3350 visant à 
renforcer la lutte contre le système prostitutionnel et à accompagner les personnes prostituées. 

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victims  of  trafficking,  and  opens  up  the  question  of  the  legal  boundaries  between  so-
called  voluntary  and  involuntary  prostitution.  The  research  papers  gathered  for  the 
purpose  of  this  assessment  on  that  matter  converge  in  identifying  real  difficulties  in 
ensuring proper identification of victims of THB and strongly argue for a need to ensure 
better training for officials likely to come into contact with victims, which would include 
stronger gender-sensitive components. 

2.2. Other forms of trafficking and the gender perspective 
The  focus  on  sexual  exploitation  should  not,  however,  underestimate  the  scale  of  other 
forms  of  THB  across  the  EU.  In  particular,  the  research  papers  accompanying  this 
assessment  mention  many  instances  of  labour  exploitation,  domestic  servitude,  forced 
begging, forced pickpocketing, sham marriages,  organ harvesting, and selling of babies. 
Moreover, the current refugee crisis has made the issue of trafficking even more relevant 
and  raises  significant  challenges,  including  the  blurring  of  the  distinction  between 
trafficking and smuggling, and increased risks of those fleeing violence becoming victims 
of traffickers and smugglers.9  

All  victims  of  trafficking  suffer  from  various  traumas  and  face  significant  difficulties  to 
be recognised as victims, to be provided with assistance and to be reintegrated in society. 
The  Directive,  which  is  victim-centred,  is  thus  critical  to  ensure  consistent  and  effective 
responses  across  the  EU.  The  gender  dimension  of  the  Directive  is  also  crucial,  since 
women  and  men  can  have  very  different  experiences  of  trafficking.  In  that  respect, 
Piotrowicz  et  al.  provide  insightful  examples  illustrating  how  gender  can  increase  an 
individuals'  vulnerability  to  trafficking,  from  the  perspective  of  both  women  and  men. 
The  research  papers  furthermore  underline  growing  and  emerging  forms  of  trafficking 
that  affect  women  and  men  differently.  Labour  exploitation,  for  instance,  is  a  growing 
phenomenon  that  affects  mostly  men.  In  addition,  it  is  noted  that  protection  offered  to 
male  victims  of  trafficking  is  often  very  scarce:  even  with  regard  to  trafficking  for  the 
purpose  of  sexual  exploitation,  a  number  of  the  papers  regret  that,  in  most  cases,  no 
shelters are provided for male victims. 

2.3. Child victims 
Eurostat  2015,  based  on  data  for  the  period  2010-2012  from  17  MS,  found  that,  of  all 
registered  victims,  2%  were  aged  0-11  years  and  17%  aged  12-17  years,  of  whom  over 
1 000 child victims trafficked for sexual exploitation. The number of registered victims is 
certainly  only  the  tip  of  the  iceberg,  since  children  are  more  likely  to  escape  proper 
identification  as  victims.  In  April  2016,  Europol  reported  on  about  5 000  disappeared 
refugee  minors  in  Germany  and  10 000  in  all  MS.  There  are  growing  concerns  that  a 
substantial number of them may become exploited.10 

9  Voronova,  S.,  Radjenovic,  A.,  The  gender  dimension  of  human  trafficking,  EPRS  Briefing, 
European Parliament, February 2016. 
10  The  issue  of  missing  under-aged  migrants  is  currently  widely  discussed  at  the  European 
Parliament.  Representatives  of  Europol,  the  FRA  and  the  NGO  Missing  Children  were invited  to 
present the situation at the LIBE Committee on 21 April 2016. Missing Children recently published 
a Handbook for professionals working with unaccompanied migrants. See also EPRS blogpost on 
the issue.  

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According to Article 2.6 of the Directive, any person below 18 years of age is considered a 
'child'. Under EU law and the law of all MS, the purchase of sex with a child is illegal as 
are, in fact, all types of human trafficking of children and minors. 

As  pointed  out  above,  THB  for  sexual  exploitation  is  very  significant  in  terms  of  the 
severity of the moral and psychological trauma it causes - even more so when it comes to 
the  trafficking  of  children  for  sexual  exploitation.  But  trafficking  of  children  for  other 
types  of  exploitation  also  represents  serious  crime.  This  includes  trafficking  of  children 
for criminal acts such pickpocketing, burglary and robbery, for organ harvesting but also 
for  begging  and  labour.  The  severity  of  trafficking  of  children  is  reflected  in  several 
recitals of the Directive and in special rules concerning the definition of THB (Article 2.5 
and  2.6),  the  penalties  (Article  4.2(a)),  the  prevention  (Article  18.2)  and  protection 
(Articles 13 to 16).11 

The research papers which are the basis of this assessment give accounts of particularly 
difficult  situations  for  women  and  children.  According  to  Waisman  and  Fernández 
‘women  are  often  forced  to  give  up  their  children  or  forced  to  cross  borders  with  other  women’s 
children, as per the orders of the mafias’. Tisheva and Yonkova report that ‘Bulgarian women 
and  children  are  subjected  to  internal  as  well  as  external  sex  trafficking  in  Europe,  Russia,  the 
Middle East, and the United States. (...)  Apart from sex trafficking, other forms encountered in 
Bulgaria and/or by Bulgarian citizens are labour trafficking, forced criminal activities, organised 
begging  and  trafficking  of  pregnant  women  for  baby  selling.  The  newer  forms  of  human 
trafficking, such as forced begging, forced pickpocketing and selling of babies are usually problems 
linked to the lower socio-economic status of the sizeable Roma community in Bulgaria. Victims of 
these  crimes  are  predominantly  women  and  children  of  Roma  ethnicity.’  Roth  estimates  the 
number of trafficked children in Europe to be tens of thousands. Charlton and Yonkova 
emphasise  that  statistics  in  Ireland  for  the  period  2009  to  2014  show  that  30%  of  the 
(recognised) trafficking victims are children.  

3. The objectives and transposition of the Directive 

3.1. The objectives and its historical framework 
The aim of the 2011 Directive was to ensure a more coherent EU framework for tackling 
human  trafficking  and  to  address  the  existing  loopholes  in  the  international  legal 
framework  in  that  field  in  order  to  protect  its  victims  in  the  MS.  The  Directive  was 
particularly  intended  to  replace  the  Framework  Decision  2002/629/JHA  on  combating 
trafficking in human beings, which was seen as particularly weak in addressing the issue 
of assistance to victims. 

The 2009 Commission Impact Assessment accompanying the proposal for a directive (i.e. 
Directive 2011/36/EU) on human trafficking repealing the Council Framework Decision 

11  It  should  be  noted  that  Directive  2011/92/EU  on  combating  the  sexual  abuse  and  sexual 
exploitation of children and child pornography suggests in its recital 7: This Directive should be fully 
complementary with Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 
on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. 

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2002/629/JHA,12  underlined  the  need  for  such  an  instrument.  The  Impact  Assessment 
refers  in  this  respect  to  the  Commission's  2006  report  on  the  implementation  of  the 
Framework  Decision  2002/629/JHA.13  This  found  that,  despite  a  satisfactory  level  of 
transposition  of  the  Decision's  requirements  by  the  MS,  this  was  insufficient  to 
implement  a  comprehensive  policy  at  EU  level,  in  particular  in  the  following  areas: 
effectiveness of law enforcement activities aimed at detecting and prosecuting trafficking; 
victims  protection  and  assistance;  monitoring  of  trafficking  trends  and  anti-trafficking 
policy.14 

In addition, the 2000 UN Palermo Protocol15 (ratified to date by all MS, as well as the EU) 
and  the  2005  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human 
Beings  (ratified  by  all  MS  except  the  Czech  Republic)  -  the  key  international  legal 
instruments  in  the  field  of  THB  -  allowed  for  reservations  in  crucial  areas  such  as 
extraterritorial jurisdiction.16  

The  2002  Decision  and  the  international  instruments  available  therefore  seemed 
inadequate  to  guarantee  that  criminals  were  brought  to  justice,  that  victims  received 
adequate  assistance,  protection  and  compensation,  and  that  proper  monitoring  of  the 
situation was ensured.17  

Thus, the overall operational objectives of the 2011/36/EU Directive were to facilitate the 
prosecution  of  trafficking,  to  protect  victims'  rights  and  to  prevent  trafficking.  The 
Directive adopted an 'integrated, holistic, and human rights approach to the fight against 
trafficking in human beings' (Recital 7). It also takes into account the gender dimension in 
THB,  gender  occupying  a  prominent  place  in  the  Directive.  As  noted  by  Charlton  and 
Yonkova (2016), the Directive 

‘has  a  well  expressed  gender  awareness  dimension.  It  recognises  that  this  is  a  gender-
specific phenomenon, affecting women and men in different ways as they are trafficked for a 
different  purpose  and  have  separate  experiences.  The  Directive  obliges  member  states  to 
attend to victims with special needs. Such special needs, in particular, may derive from the 
victim’s  health,  disability,  mental  or  psychological  disorder,  case  of  pregnancy,  and/or 
serious forms of psychological, physical or sexual violence. Attending to such special needs 
is an acknowledgment of the particular harm experienced by female victims of trafficking.’ 

In  principle,  the  Directive  was  a  welcome  step  in  the  enhancement  of  an  EU  wide  and 
coherent policy, taking into account the gender dimension of trafficking.  

12  EC  Impact  Assessment  accompanying  the  proposal  for  a  Council  Framework  Decision  on 
preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings,  and  protecting  victims,  repealing 
Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, SEC(2009) 358, p. 11.  
13 COM(2006) 187 
14 Report based on Article 10 of the Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, COM (2006) 287 Final. 
15  Protocol  to  Prevent,  Suppress  and  Punish  Trafficking  in  Persons  Especially  Women  and  Children, 
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, adopted in 2000.  
16  EC  Impact  Assessment  accompanying  the  proposal  for  a  Council  Framework  Decision  on 
preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings,  and  protecting  victims,  repealing 
Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA, SEC(2009) 358, p. 11.  
17 Ibid., pp.11-12. 

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3.2. The transposition 
The  Directive  was  to  be  transposed  into  national  law  by  6  April  2013.18  To  date,  apart 
from Germany (which has not yet notified the Commission of full transposition, but has 
informed of legislative actions tabled) and Denmark (which opted out), all the  MS have 
notified the Commission of the full transposition of the Directive.  

Concerning  Germany,  Piotrowicz  et  al.  confirm  that  a  parliamentary  procedure  to 
transpose the Directive is under way, based on the draft law (BT-drs 18/4613) as set forth 
by the German government in April 2015. The draft law proposes to enhance the criminal 
code on human trafficking with the elements ‘exploitation of criminal activities’, ‘forced 
begging’ and trafficking for the purpose of ‘removal of organs’. In addition, the Federal 
Ministry  of  Justice  and  Consumer  Protection  announced  a  proposal  to  amend  the 
criminal law significantly in order to amend the penal code on human trafficking in line 
with international standards. 

However,  as  described  in  the  research  papers  gathered  for  the  purpose  of  this  analysis 
and as compiled in Section 5 below, even in the MS which have in principle implemented 
the Directive's requirements, its effective implementation on the ground appears uneven. 
This  is  particularly  true  when  one  takes  into  account  its  gender  dimension,  despite  the 
fact  that  this  is  an  important  element  of  the  Directive  as  stipulated  in  its  Article 1.  The 
research  papers  in  particular  highlight  significant  challenges  for  ensuring  early 
identification of victims, which is a prerequisite for giving them support, assistance and 
protection.  Even  if  these  challenges  are  the  result  of  various  shortcomings  often 
dependent  on  specific  national  contexts  (inadequate  training  of  frontline  officers, 
insufficiently funded programmes, priority given to prosecution over protection, absence 
of referral mechanisms), the authors agree  on the fact that a lack of gender approach in 
the fight against THB prevents the victims of THB to be recognised as such and prevent 
them from receiving adequate support and assistance.  

3.3. Follow-up on compliance 
According to the findings of our assessment, the European Commission, as 'Guardian of 
the Treaties', has yet to verify in depth the compliance of the MS in terms of application 
of  Union  law,  according  to  Article  17(1)  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union.  It  has  at  its 
disposal  the  tool  of  infringement  action  under  Article  258  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union.  In  May  2013,  a  month  after  the  transposition 
deadline,  the  Commission  opened  thirteen  infringement  procedures  based  on  non-
communication. In November 2013, the Commission sent four Reasoned Opinions as part 
of  infringement  proceedings  for  non-communication  to  Spain,  Luxembourg,  Italy  and 
Cyprus. As mentioned above, to date only Germany has not yet transposed the Directive.  

The 2014 Commission mid-term report on the implementation of the EU strategy towards 
the eradication of trafficking in human beings19 considers the following: 

18 The current situation of transposition of this Directive can be seen under the NIM tab (National 
Implementation Measures) in the Eur-Lex record of this Directive.  
19 European Commission Staff working document, Mid-term report on the implementation of the 
EU  strategy  towards  the  eradication  of  trafficking  in  human  beings,  SWD(2014)  318  final, 
17.10.2014.  

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‘The milestone Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating THB and protecting its 
victims is the first act at EU level to address THB in a comprehensive and integrated way, 
focusing  equally  on  the  protection  of  victims,  the  prosecution  of  traffickers  and  the 
prevention of the phenomenon in the first place.’ 

The  Commission  furthermore  assured  that  it  'is  currently  analysing  the  information 
received  and  will  report  in  2015,  in  accordance  with  Article  23  of  the  Directive,  on  the 
state of transposition across all Member States.' As underlined above, this report has not 
yet been published, and is expected later this year (2016). 

Such  reporting  and  follow-up  action  is  of  particular  importance  in  the  area  of  the  fight 
against  THB  and  for  the  protection  of  its  victims.  In  the  absence  of  a  coherent 
implementation of all elements  of the  Directive in the MS, the  perpetrators  of THB  will 
continue  to  exploit  legal  loopholes,  as  well  as  any  lack  of  decisiveness  in  the  area  of 
prosecution, to the detriment of the victims. Furthermore, protection of the victims can be 
assured  only  by  coherent  implementation  of  dedicated  mechanisms  and  the  effective 
application of protection and prevention measures. 

This Directive would in fact be a landmark piece of legislation, at international level, for 
effectively fighting against THB and for effective protection of the victims, if it were fully 
implemented  and  diligently  applied  by  all  actors  in  the  field:  legislators,  judges, 
prosecutors, police and public administrations. Proper training of all these actors is key, 
as are preventive awareness raising campaigns.  

At  the  genesis  of  this  Directive,  the  European  Parliament  played  an  important  role  by 
insisting  on  the  comprehensive,  holistic  and  human  rights  approach,  focusing  on  the 
protection of the victims. From the contributions received for this assessment, it appears 
that the framework of this Directive is indeed already very sound but that it needs to be 
applied in practice. 

4.  Related  EU  actions  and  approach  against  human  trafficking 
supporting the Directive 

4.1. The EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator  
The establishment of an EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (EU ATC) was provided for by 
the  Stockholm Programme (setting out the  EU priorities for  the  area of justice, freedom 
and  security  for  the  period  2010-14),  which  was  adopted  by  the  Council  in  December 
2009.20  Directive  2011/36/EU  further  elaborated  on  the  mandate  of  the  Coordinator, 
which consists of (Recital 29): 

‘improving  coordination  and  coherence,  avoiding  duplication  of  effort,  between  Union 
institutions  and  agencies  as  well  as  between  Member  States  and  international  actors, 
contributing to the development of existing or new Union policies and strategies relevant to 
the fight against trafficking in human beings or reporting to the Union institutions.’ 

20  See:  The  Stockholm  Programme  -  an  open  and  secure  Europe  serving  and  protecting  citizens, 
2010/C  115/01,  Section  4.4.2.  on  trafficking  in  human  beings:  'The  European  Council  therefore 
invites the Council to consider establishing an EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (EU ATC) and, if it 
decides so, to determine the modalities therefore in such a way that all competences of the Union 
can be used in the most optimal way in order to reach a well coordinated and consolidated Union 
policy against trafficking in human beings.'  

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This  mandate  requires  improved  exchange  of  information  between  the  MS  and  the  EU 
Coordinator. The Directive provides for the following on this matter:  

  Article  19  requires  the  MS  to  adopt  necessary  measures  to  establish  national 
rapporteurs or equivalent mechanisms: 'The tasks of such mechanisms shall include 
the carrying out of assessments of trends in trafficking in human beings, the measuring 
of  results  of  anti-trafficking  actions,  including  the  gathering  of  statistics  in  close 
cooperation with relevant civil society organisations active in this field, and reporting.'  

  Article  20  underlines  that  Member  States  will  facilitate  the  tasks  of  the  anti-

trafficking coordinator, by transmitting all relevant information. 

According to the Directive, the ATC was thus to rely partly on EU National Rapporteurs' 
inputs.  

As recalled on the EC ATC website,21 an informal EU network of National Rapporteurs or 
equivalent mechanisms was set up by the Council Conclusions, adopted on 4 June 2009.22 
In  line  with  the  newly  adopted  Directive  36/2011,  the  National  Rapporteurs  are 
responsible  for  monitoring  the  implementation  of  anti-trafficking  policy  at  the  national 
level and 'play a key role in data collection on trafficking in human beings at national and 
EU Level'.  

However,  despite  the  importance  of  the  role  of  these  rapporteurs  in  ensuring  better 
monitoring  of  human  trafficking  in  the  EU,  implementation  of  the  Directive  is  uneven 
across  the  EU.  The  Commission  website  contains  details  of  the  various  set-ups  of 
National  Rapporteurs  or  Equivalent  Mechanisms.23  Although  all  MS  have  designated 
contact points involved in THB and participating at the meetings of the EU Network, the 
status and structure of the  National Rapporteurs or equivalent differs  widely across the 
MS:  from  independent  coordinator  and  rapporteur  (The  Netherlands,  Finland),  to 
representatives  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  (Poland),  Justice  (Ireland)  or  of  the 
Department for Equal Opportunities (Italy).   

Moreover, as regards  the  gender  dimension of trafficking, the research papers  gathered 
for  the  purpose  of  this  analysis  underline  discrepancies  in  the  implementation  of 
monitoring  of  gender  dimensions  at  the  MS  level  as  required  by  Article  19  of  the 
Directive.  For  instance,  Piotrowicz  et  al.  note  that  while  in  some  MS  (UK,  The 
Netherlands) data related to trafficking are disaggregated by age and gender, the gender 
dimension is rarely treated as a separate issue. In other MS, such as Lithuania, no specific 
data  related  to  THB  are  available.  According  to  Christodoulou,  a  gender  approach  is 
completely missing in the implementation of the Directive in Cyprus and Greece. 

21 European Commission website EU Network of National Rapporteurs or equivalent mechanisms, 
accessed on 25 April 2016. 
22  Council  conclusions  on  establishing  an  informal  EU  Network  of  National  Rapporteurs  or 
Equivalent Mechanisms on Trafficking in Human Beings, 2946th Justice and Home Affairs Council 
meeting, Luxembourg, 4 June 2009.  
23 European Commission website checked on 29 April 2016. 

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4.2. The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human 
Beings 2012–2016 
As an addition to the Directive and to the establishment of the EU ATC, the Commission 
adopted in 2012 the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 
2012-2016.24  The  strategy  was  elaborated 
transposition  and 
implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU, bring added value and complement the work 
done  by  governments,  international  organisations  and  civil  society  in  the  EU  and  third 
countries.  

to  support 

the 

The  implementation  of  the  strategy  is  monitored  by  the  EU  ATC  and  identified  five 
priorities for the EU: 

 

 

 

Identifying, protecting and assisting victims of trafficking 

Stepping up the prevention of trafficking in human beings 

Increased prosecution of traffickers 

  Enhanced coordination and cooperation among key actors and policy coherence 

 

Increased  knowledge  of  and  effective  response  to  emerging  concerns  related  to 
all forms of trafficking in human beings. 

For each one of these priorities, the Commission committed itself to develop various tools 
to support MS. In its 2014 mid-term report on the implementation of the EU strategy,  25 
presented  at  the  European  Parliament  in  December  2014  by  the  EU  ACT  Myria 
Vassiliadou, appointed in 2010, the Commission reported back on some of these tools. 

In relation to data collection taking into account the gender dimension of THB, the mid-
term report states that:  

‘For  the  first  time  at  EU  level,  the  Commission  collected  statistical  data  on  THB.  In  line 
with  the  EU  Strategy,  a  Eurostat  working  paper  on  THB  was  published  in  April  2013, 
which includes data for 2008-10 on the total number of victims disaggregated by gender, 
age, form of exploitation, citizenship, and type of assistance and protection received. This is 
a  working  paper  looking  at  statistical  data  as  gathered  and  submitted  by  national 
authorities. In this respect, it is a unique undertaking in this field at EU level. The paper 
also includes statistics on suspected, prosecuted and convicted traffickers disaggregated by 
gender, citizenship and form of exploitation. (...) Applying lessons learnt from the first data 
collection  exercise,  Eurostat  has  compiled  data  for  2010-12  and  its  second  THB  working 
paper  is  being  published  alongside  this  report.  The  paper  is  based  on  the  questionnaire 
asking Member States for more specific information, including breakdowns of victims’ and 
traffickers’ ages, different sectors in which THB takes place, etc. (...) Encouraging progress 
has been achieved in terms of availability of data. The second working paper reaffirms the 
need for further improvement, as more comprehensive and comparable data will allow for a 

24  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European 
Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions, The EU Strategy towards the 
Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012–2016, COM(2012) 286 final, 19.6.2012.   
25 European Commission Staff working document, Mid-term report on the implementation of the 
EU  strategy  towards  the  eradication  of  trafficking  in  human  beings,  SWD(2014)  318  final, 
17.10.2014.  

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more accurate assessment of the nature of the problem, as well as more accurate conclusions 
at EU level.’ 

The  Commission  furthermore  committed  to  develop  knowledge  on  the  gender 
dimensions of human trafficking, including the  gender specificities of the  way men and 
women  are  recruited  and  exploited,  the  gender  consequences  of  the  various  forms  of 
trafficking  and  potential  differences  in  the  vulnerability  of  men  and  women  to 
victimisation  and  its  impact  on  them.  In  2016,  the  EC  released  a  study  on  that 
perspective,26 which addresses the following issues: victim assistance, demand reduction, 
JHA agencies, emerging cyber technology.  

As regards the JHA agencies, even though the study underlines some real improvements 
in  taking  into  account  THB  in  coordination  and  training,  'the  gender  perspective  remains 
unevenly  embraced'  within  JHA  agencies.  FRONTEX,  for  instance,  the  role  of  which 
includes  the  identification  of  victims  of  trafficking,  adopts  a  gender-neutral  language. 
Furthermore,  according  to  the  study,  the  identification  of  potential  victims  emerges  as 
neither  a  priority  nor  a  practical  possibility.27  Europol,  despite  recognition  of  the 
importance  of  a  gender  perspective  in  law  enforcement,  fails  to  make  clear  if  and  how 
this translates into anti-trafficking operations.28 CEPOL training in the area of trafficking 
in HB does not at present have an explicit gender dimension.29 EIGE does not incorporate 
trafficking  data  in  its  Gender  Equality  Index.30  Eurojust  does  not  specifically  thematise 
gender issues.31 In contrast, EASO is reported to be the only JHA agency involved in the 
issue of trafficking to have deployed specialised officers focusing on gender.32 

As an addition, the  study noted that EU policy to eradicate trafficking in human beings 
could  be  'more  deeply  embedded  in  the  wider  strategy  of  the  EU,  especially  the  fuller 
implementation  of  its  gender  aspects.  This  includes  the  strategies  on  security,  equality  between 
men and women, economic growth, cybersecurity, migration and external relations'.33  

26  Study  on  the  gender  dimension  of  trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Final  Report,  European 
Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, 2016.  
27 Ibid., p. 145. 
28 Ibid., p. 148. 
29 Ibid., p. 150. 
30 Ibid., p. 151. 
31 Ibid., p. 149. 
32 Ibid., p. 150. 
33  Study  on  the  gender  dimension  of  trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Final  Report,  European 
Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, 2016, p. 11. 

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5. Presentation of key findings 

The following sections present the key findings gathered from the research papers, with a 
focus  on  the  articles  of  the  Directive  which  are  of  particular  relevance  from  a  gender 
perspective.  

5.1.  Transversal  issue:  the  identification  of  victims  and  gender    
dimensions monitoring 

As  regards  the  identification  of  victims  of  THB,  Articles  10,  18  and  19  of  the  Directive 
cover  the  early  identification  of  victims  (Article  10),  the  training  for  officials  likely  to 
come into contact with victims (Article 18) and the establishment of national rapporteurs 
or equivalent mechanisms to carry out data collection and assessments of trends in THB 
(Article 19).  

Most MS under scrutiny show low numbers of identified victims. However, this does not 
necessarily reflect the realities of trafficking, but rather the challenges the authorities are 
facing in identifying victims, as well as the challenges faced by victims to be recognised 
as  such.  As  a  result,  many  of  the  victims  of  THB  are  never  identified  and  referred  for 
assistance,  let  alone  compensated  and  redressed.  Furthermore,  the  low  numbers  of 
identified  victims  often  lead  to  the  assumption  that  trafficking  is  a  marginal 
phenomenon. As noted in the research papers: 

  Some MS do not have formalised indicators for authorities to identify trafficked 
persons.  Furthermore,  even  though  operational  indicators  have  been  developed 
to assist the identification process based on international standards in some MS, 
there is a general lack of training for frontline officers that takes into account the 
gender specificities of THB.  

  Third  countries  nationals  (TCN)  in  particular  who  are  victims  of  THB  escape 
proper  identification.  TCN  are  often  deported  without  a  screening  process  that 
could identify them as victims. 

 

 

 

In the MS under scrutiny, formal identifications by state authorities often require 
cooperation of the victims in the investigation. This means that there is a danger 
that victims who do not wish to cooperate with the law enforcement authorities, 
often  because  they  fear  revenge  of  traffickers  and  retaliation  from  the  'milieu', 
will be missed. 

In  most  of  the  EU  MS,  there  are  significant  gaps  in  identification  of  victims  of 
trafficking for labour exploitation, who are predominantly male. 

In  some  MS  where  a  referral  mechanism  exists,  such  mechanisms  have  been 
criticised  for  some  shortcomings,  including  the  quality  of  decision-making.  
Furthermore,  efforts  to  better  coordinate  the  fight  against  THB  are  often 
undermined by a lack of funding (Greece). 

  Some  MS  have  not  yet  established  a  National  Rapporteur  or  an  equivalent 
mechanism (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Germany, Ireland and Lithuania), despite the key 
role of such a mechanism in data collection on THB at national and EU level.  

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European Implementation Assessment 

  Where  National  Rapporteurs  have  been  established,  their  statuses  differ  widely 
across  the  MS:  from  independent  rapporteur  (the  Netherlands,  Finland)  to 
representatives  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Interior  (Spain).  These  varying  structures 
raise  the  issue  of  independence  and  the  consistency  of  the  data  collected  across 
the EU. 

  Data  gathered  by  coordination  bodies  and  agencies  across  the  MS  are  not 
systematically aggregated by gender, age and types of exploitations. In addition, 
when  gendered  data  and  indicators  on  THB  are  available,  they  are  not 
necessarily taken into account in policy planning (Spain, Cyprus). 

  The  majority  of  the  experts  who  contributed  to  this  assessment  deplore  a  one-

size-fits-all approach to victims of THB with no specific gender approach. 

  Difficulties in identifying trafficking can be partly explained by the difficulties in 

identifying and tackling gender-based violence in general. 

5.2. Assistance and support for victims  
Perpetrators  of  THB  apply  effective  methods  for  entrapping  victims  and  keeping  them 
obedient or bound by psychological methods, threats, pressures from the 'milieu' as well 
as by depriving them of papers and contacts or forcing them into complete dependence. 
Moreover,  as  underlined  above,  victims  too  often  are  not  treated  and  recognised  as 
victims.  This  is  particularly  challenging  in  cases  where  recognition  is  key  for  being 
granted  protection  measures.  Without  protection  (that  can  include  the  availability  of 
shelters  and  a  safe  social  environment  with  support,  e.g.  social  workers)  and  sufficient 
amount of time in a secure environment, victims cannot overcome their fear and mistrust, 
which is a precondition for opening up and, possibly, cooperating with law enforcement 
authorities.  However,  as  shown  in  the  research  papers,  making  full  cooperation  with 
police  a  precondition,  for  example  for  a  residence  permit  for  non  EU  nationals  or  for 
being  granted  protection,  raises  significant  concerns.  Victims  might  be  in  a  situation 
where they fear the revenge of the perpetrator, putting them (and possibly their relatives) 
at risk.  

Article  11  on  that  aspect  underlines  the  fact  that  assistance  and  support  for  a  victim 
should not be made  conditional on the  victim’s willingness to cooperate  in the  criminal 
investigation. On this aspect, some research papers argue that victims should be seen as 
right-holders, not only witnesses in the criminal proceedings.  

Furthermore,  Article  8  provides  for  a  non-punishment  clause  for  victims  of  trafficking. 
On  the  latter,  victims  of  trafficking  engaged  in  prostitution  are  reported  to  be  often 
criminalised (Bulgaria, Spain), as well as TCN victims who are treated as illegal migrants. 
As underlined above, TCN are often deported without a screening process to ensure that 
possible  victims  of  trafficking  who  are  in  custody  are  not  deported  or  sent  to  migrant 
detention centres. State authorities often assume that victims of THB are lying about their 
situation  in  order  to  avoid  deportation.  As  reported  in  Bulgaria,  Spain  and  Greece, 
inconsistencies are found between national legislation on THB and immigration laws.  

As  regards  support  measures  for  victims,  the  research  papers  find  important  gaps  and 
challenges across the MS under scrutiny:  

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

  Counter-trafficking  efforts  seem  to  give  priority  to  prosecution  over  assistance. 
Victims are often asked to cooperate with the criminal justice system before being 
given protection (Finland, Ireland, Spain). Furthermore, victims of THB are often 
not adequately informed of their rights, the assistance and support measures that 
are available to them. 

 

 

 

Specific assistance programme for victims of trafficking have been established in 
Finland,  the  Netherlands,  Sweden  and  the  UK.  However,  concerns  have  been 
expressed  concerning  victims  of  trafficking  who  are  pregnant  or  have  children, 
who  are  often  overlooked  and  for  whom  support  is  not  systemically  provided 
(the UK). 

Some  MS  show  positive  development  in  the  field  of  legal  aid  and  assistance 
(Lithuania,  Romania),  but  practical  obstacles  faced  by  women,  especially  those 
belonging to disadvantaged groups, remain (Bulgaria).  

In most of the MS, assistance to victims depends heavily on NGOs and funding is 
very  limited  (Bulgaria,  Spain,  Lithuania,  Greece).  Furthermore,  cooperation 
between NGOs and official authorities is often found to be unsatisfactory. 

  The majority of the MS have set up shelters for victims of trafficking (mostly run 
by  NGOs).  However,  some  of  them  do  not  provide  in-house  psychosocial 
support  programmes  (Cyprus).  In  Ireland,  the  policy  of  housing  victims  is 
criticised  as  unsafe  and  inappropriate  for  human  trafficking  victims:  reports 
suggest  that  the  direct  provision  hostels  are  targeted  by  men  seeking  to  buy 
sexual services, and are used by traffickers. In addition, shelters for women with 
children  are  often  inexistent  (Spain)  or  inadequate.  The  lack  of  similar  facilities 
available for male victims of THB is also deplored (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece). 

 

In Spain, the  only protection granted to victims of THB derives from legislation 
dealing  with  immigration  -  as  a  consequence,  EU  national  victims  are  often 
excluded from protection. 

5.3 Protection of victims in criminal investigations 
Article  12  of  the  Directive  covers  protection  in  criminal  investigation  and  proceedings, 
including  legal  aid,  witness  protection  programmes  and  prevention  of  secondary 
victimisation. Despite efforts deployed in training and legal assistance, the requirements 
of the Directive remain often inadequately implemented in practice: 

 

In  some  EU  MS,  trafficking  cases  are  handled  by  specially  trained  judges  (the 
Netherlands). 

  Re-victimisation as a result of having to repeat accounts of traumatic experiences 
is not necessarily prevented in some MS (Ireland, Romania, Spain). Protocols or 
guidelines  for  referral  and  exchange  of  information  related  to  THB  in  order  to 
avoid repeat victimisation are not consistently found across the MS. 

  A  range  of  provisions  to  protect  the  private 

life  and  identity  of  the 
victim/witness  during  criminal  court  hearings  exists  in  some  MS  (Germany, 
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Sweden, UK). However, victim protection measures 

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have  not  been  systematically  applied  in  practice  to  victims  of  THB  (Lithuania, 
Sweden). 

 

Some  MS  have  implemented  special  protection  programmes  for  victims  of 
trafficking (Germany). However, from a gender perspective it is crucial to allow 
security and protection during court appearances to victims without applying a 
high-level witness protection programme. As women are often the first care giver 
in  their  families,  the  participation  in  a  programme  that  would  require  a  new 
identity and the disconnection of people close to the witness has not been proven 
to be effective. 

  Where  victims  of  trafficking  benefit  from  legal  assistance,  problems  were 
reported in the exercise of victims’ rights in criminal proceedings. These include: 
lack of application of the reflection period for victims;  flaws in adequate legal aid 
and  representation  in  court;  no  specialisation  of  judges  in  trafficking  cases; 
possible  violations  of  privacy  rights  of  victims  in  criminal  proceedings 
(Romania). 

5.4. Assistance, support and protection measures for child   victims 
Articles  13,  14  and  15  of  the  Directive  specifically  address  child  victims  of  THB.  The 
research  papers  underline  that  the  obligation  to  include  both  a  gender  perspective  and 
the  perspective  of  the  rights  of  children  is  paramount.  The  papers  show  promising 
initiatives  as  regards  the  prevention  of  trafficking  in  children,  as  well  as  important 
challenges and concerns: 

  There  is  a  lack  of  a  systematic  approach  to  detect  and  identify  child  victims  of 
trafficking.  As  a  result,  child  victims  of  trafficking  are  often  inadequately 
protected. 

  Unaccompanied  migrant  children  are  increasingly  vulnerable  to  any  forms  of 
trafficking  across  the  EU.  In  the  Netherlands,  a  specific  action  plan  launched  in 
2011  targets  Roma  children,  victims  of  forced  criminal  activities  and  forced 
marriage. The plan included pilot projects, information leaflets for social workers 
and  police,  and  European  cooperation  to  exchange  information  and  share  good 
practices.    Furthermore,  the  Netherlands  has  implemented  a  special  action  plan 
to  address  the  phenomenon  of  ’lover  boys’  (where  the  trafficker  enters  into  a 
romantic  relationship  with  the  victim,  just  to  gain  her/his  trust,  and  then 
manipulates or coerces the victim into sexual exploitation). 

  The  UK  Modern  Slavery  Strategy  recognises  the  special  vulnerabilities  of 

children, but does not highlight gender as a particular vulnerability. 

 

In  Ireland,  the  draft  Sexual  Offence  Bill  includes  the  criminalisation  of  child 
grooming (which consists of establishing an emotional connection with a child to 
lower the child's inhibitions for sexual abuse). 

  There are often no specific shelters for child victims of trafficking. As a result of 
the  lack  of  specialised  care,  the  few  children  that  are  identified  as  trafficking 
victims  are  referred  either  to  general  children’s  homes,  where  they  often  flee 
within  days  of  arriving  due  to  the  pressures  of  the  mafias;  or  they  are  sent  to 

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shelters  for  adult  victims,  where  they  do  not  receive  proper  child-oriented 
assistance and protection (Spain). 

  Women victims with children often face additional distressing situations, such as 
lack of adequate support and protection (UK, Spain),  and also  the risk  of losing 
custody of their children (Spain). 

  Services for children and young women are still needed in destination countries. 
In particular, children retained in detention centres do not receive adequate care 
and protection.  

5.5 Compensation for victims 
Article 17 of the Directive provides that MS shall ensure that victims of THB have access 
to existing compensation schemes. On that matter, the research papers show that even if 
compensation  measures  are  found  in  most  of  the  MS  under  scrutiny,  there  is  a  lack  of 
viable  avenues  to  compensation  for  the  majority  of  victims  of  trafficking  (Bulgaria, 
Ireland, Germany, UK, Romania): 

  Difficulties  in  victims'  identification  result  in  preventing  them  from  being 

granted protection and assistance, as well as compensation. 

 

 

 

In Bulgaria, the established practice of excluding the possibility for compensation 
in  cases  where  a  settlement  has  been  reached  with  the  offender  considerably 
reduces the instances of compensation. Furthermore, there  is no free legal aid to 
claim compensation.  

In contrast, in the Netherlands, victims are entitled to free legal aid and they can 
claim  damages  through  criminal  proceedings  (including  compensation  for  the 
money  they  were  forced  to  earn  for  their  traffickers)  and  the  Criminal  Injuries 
Compensation Fund. 

In Sweden, state compensation can be applied for by a victim of crime, regardless 
of  their  nationality  or  residency  status.  There  is  also  a  mechanism  that  allows 
foreign victims who have returned home to access compensation from abroad. 

5.6. Prevention 
Article  18  addresses  the  issue  of  prevention:  MS  'shall  take  appropriate  measures,  such  as 
education and training, to discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation 
related to trafficking in human beings'. In addition, they 'shall take appropriate action, including 
through  the  Internet,  such  as  information  and  awareness-raising  campaigns,  research  and 
education programmes, where appropriate in cooperation with relevant civil society organisations 
and  other  stakeholders,  aimed  at  raising  awareness  and  reducing  the  risk  of  people,  especially 
children, becoming victims of trafficking in human beings'. MS also have a legal obligation to 
discourage and reduce the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation. 

As  underlined  by  some  of  the  research  papers,  tackling  demand  is  key,  in  particular  in 
the context of sexual exploitation. However, as noted in the 2016 Commission Study on 
the  Gender  Dimension  of  THB,  'regulation  [of  prostitution]  can  be  focused  on  one  of 
three aspects: the sale of sex; the purchase of sex; and the taking of profits from the sale of 

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European Implementation Assessment 

sex'.34 The Study further elaborates on two different approaches found in the EU: the one 
that favours decriminalisation of the purchase of sex (Germany and the Netherlands) and 
the one that favours the criminalisation of the purchase of sex (Sweden).  

On the first 'model', the study notes that prostitution regulations found in Germany and 
the Netherlands 

‘do not adequately regulate employment conditions and relations, and anti-trafficking laws 
do  not  provide  a  normalization  of  immigration  status  and  thus  also  do  not  provide 
alternative futures for victims of trafficking in prostitution. As a result, the current mix of 
regulations function unintentionally to reinforce insecure working conditions while failing 
to adequately encourage victims to prosecute perpetrators.’35 

On the second 'model', the study notes that the Swedish model has curtailed the growth 
of  the  sex  industry.  It  also  notes,  however,  that  this  model  might  be  difficult  to  be 
transferred  to  other  national  contexts,  where  buying  sex  could  be  'more  normatively 
acceptable  and/or  where  there  is  no  social  democratic  contract  between  state  and  citizens  with 
corruption undermining the rule of law'.36 Furthermore, as underlined above and in relation 
to  the  recent  debates  in  France,  opponents  of  this  model  hold  that  robust  data  on  the 
alleged  success  of  the  Swedish  model  is  still  lacking  and  that  victims  of  THB  are  more 
vulnerable  in  contexts  where  the  purchase  of  sex  is  criminalised.  Thus,  debates 
concerning the most efficient ways to tackle trafficking via demand reduction  continue. 
However, there  is a widespread consensus that purchasing sex  from minors should not 
only remain illegal, but must be prosecuted more effectively.  

It should also be considered that  there are only limited data with regard to demand for 
other forms of exploitation, apart from sexual exploitation. 

In  cases  of  sexual  exploitation,  most  of  the  MS  include  provisions  in  their  criminal  law 
which  criminalise  clients  who  are  aware  of  the  conditions  of  the  victims.  However,  as 
noted in all the research papers: 

  These  provisions  are  difficult  to  implement:  clients  are  often  reluctant  to  report 
victims,  the  level  of  'awareness'  is  not  easy  to  establish,  and  cases  of  trafficking 
are hard to prove.  

In terms of awareness campaigns, the research papers find the following: 

 

 

Some  MS  have  no  real  and  effective  prevention  campaigns  designed  and 
implemented (Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Spain). 

Some  MS  have  developed  targeted  awareness  campaigns  (Germany,  the 
Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, the UK). However, not all the campaigns have a 
gender-specific dimension and focus mostly on sexual exploitation. 

34 Study on the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings, Final Report, European 
Commission, DG Migration and Home Affairs, 2016, p. 93. 
35 Ibid., p. 121. 
36 Ibid., pp. 138-139. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

6. Conclusion 

The  EU  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  5  April  2011  on  preventing  and 
combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims is a landmark piece of 
legislation, at the international level, for fighting THB and for effective protection of the 
victims. 

However,  all  the  external  expertise which contributed to this  European Implementation 
Assessment shows an uneven implementation of the Directive's requirements across the 
MS. In particular: 

  The gender dimension of THB is not taken into account in the application of the 
Directive  in  some  MS.  This  would  be  essential,  however,  for  identifying  the 
victims  and  for  ensuring  adequate  support  to  them,  as  well  as  for  effectively 
preventing the crimes; 

  Trafficking of minors is particularly lacking proper prosecution; 

  The identification and protection of the victims needs to be drastically improved; 

  Prevention  should  be  ensured  more  effectively  by  public  awareness  campaigns 

and by serious measures aimed at reducing demand. 

In general terms, the Directive needs to be fully implemented, consistently and diligently 
applied  by  all  actors  in  the  field:  legislators,  judges,  prosecutors,  police  and  public 
administrations.  Proper  training  of  all  these  actors  is  important,  as  are  preventive 
awareness-raising  campaigns  and  cooperation  between  public  administration  and  the 
relevant parts of civil society. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

ANNEX 1 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a 
gender perspective in Bulgaria 

Research paper 
by Genoveva Tisheva and Nusha Yonkova 

ABSTRACT 

This  paper  examines  the  implementation  of  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the 
European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  5  April  2011  on    preventing    and  
combating    trafficking    in    human    beings    and    protecting    its    victims,    and  
replacing  Council    Framework    Decision  2002/629/JHA  in  Bulgaria  from  a 
gender perspective.  
For  this  purpose,  the  human  trafficking  response  of  the  Member  State  is 
evaluated, with a particular focus on identification, assistance and protection of 
trafficked victims with a view to establishing a gender-sensitive approach or the 
lack  thereof  applied  in  the  process  of  the  transposition  and  implementation  of 
the EU law. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

AUTHORS 

Genoveva  Tisheva  is  a  lawyer  with  extensive  experience  in  the  field  of  protection  of 
human  rights  at  national  and  international  level.  She  is  the  Managing  Director  of  the 
Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation and a Chair of the Alliance for Protection against 
Gender  Based  Violence,  the  largest  network  for  protection  of  victims  of  trafficking  in 
Bulgaria.  She  is  Board  member  of  the  European  Women  Lawyers’  Association  and  of 
Equality now.  
Nusha  Yonkova  is  the  anti-trafficking  manager  at  the  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland,  a 
licensed law centre. She is conducting an employment based post-graduate research with 
the  University  College  Dublin,  sponsored  by  the  Irish  Research  Council,  exploring 
gender-sensitive  approaches  to  the  assistance  of  trafficked  victims.  Nusha  has  been 
working exclusively in the area of human trafficking for the last 9 years and has authored 
a range of reports as well as coordinated national and transnational research teams.  

This  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and 
Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and 
do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for  non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided 
the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in March 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

CONTENT 

ABBREVIATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 28 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ......................................................................................................... 29 

CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................... 32 
I - Background ........................................................................................................................... 32 
II - Objectives ............................................................................................................................. 33 
III – National Context ............................................................................................................... 33 

1. 
2. 
3. 
4. 

CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................... 35 
I - Identification of victims of human trafficking .................................................................. 35 
Definitional issues .................................................................................................. 35 
Identification procedure ........................................................................................ 36 
Requirement for cooperation ................................................................................ 37 
Identification of third country nationals ............................................................. 37 
II - Gender sensitive assistance to victims ............................................................................. 38 
Safe accommodation and material assistance .................................................... 38 
Secondary victimisation ........................................................................................ 40 
III – Protection ........................................................................................................................... 40 
Non-punishment .................................................................................................... 40 
Compensation ......................................................................................................... 41 

1. 
2. 

1. 
2. 

CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................... 43 
I – New forms of trafficking..................................................................................................... 43 
II - Prevention through demand reduction ........................................................................... 44 
BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 47 
APPENDIX 1 - STATISTICS .................................................................................................... 50 
APPENDIX 2 - ASSISTANCE .................................................................................................. 52 

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European Implementation Assessment 

List of Abbreviations 

NCCTHB 

National Commission for Combatting Trafficking in Human 

Beings 

CEDAW 

UN  Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  All  forms  of  Discrimination 
against Women 

GRETA       

Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human      Beings 

CSO 

TCN 

TIP 

MS 

NGO 

Civil Society Organisations 

Third Country Nationals 

US Department Trafficking in Persons Reports 

Member States 

Non-governmental organisations 

APGBV 

Alliance for Protection from GBV 

GBV                  Gender- based violence 

VAW                 Violence against Women 

TRP 

Temporary Residence Permit 

VoT                    Victims of Trafficking 

PC                       Penal Code 

NSI                     National Statistical Institute 

NRM                  National Referral Mechanism 

UPR                    Universal Periodic Review   

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

The  Republic  of  Bulgaria  has  ratified  and  implemented  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the 
European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on  preventing  and  combating  
trafficking    in    human    beings    and    protecting    its    victims,    and    replacing  Council  
Framework    Decision  2002/629/JHA.  The  European  law  has  a  clearly  distinguished 
gender dimension in its provisions, which is a reflection of the gendered phenomenon of 
the crime of human trafficking. The present paper presents an independent evaluation of 
the Directive’s implementation by the Member State from a gender perspective, keeping 
a  particular  focus  on  identification,  assistance  and  protection  of  trafficked  victims  and 
prevention of the crime with a view to establishing the extent of gender-sensitivity in the 
taken approach. Even though trafficking for various purposes exists, the  major  problem 
in Bulgaria lies with trafficking of women for sexual exploitation. The prevalent profile of 
victims are national citizen women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation. For 
the  above  reasons,  with  regard  to  assistance  of  victims  and  prevention  of  the  crime  in 
Bulgaria,  the  present  paper  pays  particular  attention  to  the  situation  with  women 
susceptible to trafficking. 

The  MS  has  established  a  national  coordination  body  (NCCTHB)  and  has  developed  a 
national referral mechanism for victims of trafficking, in cooperation with NGOs. There is 
a  functioning  legislation  criminalising  human  trafficking  and  putting  assistance  and 
protection of statutory basis. The Bulgarian authorities launch a considerable number of 
investigations, with a high proportion resulting in successful prosecutions and efforts are 
being made to combat the  complicity of public officials (TIP 2015).  NGOs working with 
women victims of GBV and their children remain the main resource for the protection of 
the  rights  and  the  delivery  of  assistance  to  women  and  girls  who  have  experienced 
human  trafficking  (Alliance  for  Protection  from  GBV).  The  same  NGOs  also  ensure  the 
gender-sensitive approach to assistance in the state. There are two specialised shelters for 
adult female victims operated through the national commission. The majority of services, 
and especially counseling centers are not financed via a state-delegated budget. 

Despite  all  the  positive  achievements,  there  are  areas  of  concern  identified  by  the 
international  monitories.  The  second  evaluation  report  of  GRETA  (2016)  contains 
extensive recommendations to the Bulgarian government in relation to the core problems 
of identification and assistance to victims of trafficking, and to the full realization of their 
rights. While acknowledging the  positive developments in the  field of the  legal aid, the 
CEDAW  Committee (2012) expresses concern regarding the  practical obstacles faced by 
women,  especially  those  belonging  to  disadvantages  groups  in  accessing  redress,  legal 
counselling  and  services.  Bulgaria  is  designated  to  Tier  2  by  the  recent  annual  US 
Department  TIP  reports,  indicating  the  minimum  standards  in  addressing  human 
trafficking  have  yet  to  be  reached,  and  in  addition  put  on  the  ‘TIP  Watch  List’  due  to 
disruptions  of  the  system  of  assistance  in  2014/15  as  a  result  of  administrative 
irregularities.  

Bulgaria has emerged as one of the primary source countries of human trafficking in the 
EU, and Bulgarian women and children are subjected to internal as well as external sex 
trafficking in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States. The gravity of the 
problem is evident in the key findings of the Eurostat (2014) reporting that most victims 

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detected  in  EU  Member  States  are  citizens  from  Bulgaria  and  Romania.  Apart  from  sex 
trafficking, other forms encountered in Bulgaria and/or by Bulgarian citizens are labour 
trafficking,  forced  criminal  activities,  organised  begging  and  trafficking  of  pregnant 
women for baby selling.  The newer forms of human trafficking, such as forced begging, 
forced pickpocketing and selling of babies are usually problems linked to the lower socio-
economic status of the sizeable Roma community in Bulgaria. Victims of these crimes are 
predominantly women and children of Roma ethnicity.  

The legal definition of human trafficking has a peculiarity in that the element of ‘means’ 
is  not  included  alongside  ‘action’  and  ‘exploitation’,  which  provides  a  wide  scope  for 
interpretation resulting in prosecutions. Some argue that the same broad interpretation is 
not applied in assessing individuals who are victims of the same crime. The identification 
of  victims  of  trafficking  occurs  on  two  levels,  whereby  the  higher  level  (formal 
identification)  requires  endorsement  by  certain  state  authorities  and  confers  greater 
privileges. The formal identification procedure risks leaving out victims who do not wish 
to  cooperate  with  the  investigation.  The  involvement  of  NGO’s  and  the  possibility  for 
self-identification  are  positive  albeit  leading  to  quite  limited  assistance.  Services  are 
obliged to report to the authorities the accommodation of victim of trafficking within the 
first 24 hours. 

More  than  50%  of  the  asylum  seeking  population  in  Bulgaria  are  women  and  children. 
The  system  for  international  protection  does  not  offer  gender-sensitive  approach.  Cases 
of  human  trafficking  involving  TCN  are  rarely  identified.  Inconsistencies  between  the 
national legislation on human trafficking and the national immigration laws expose TCN 
victims to arbitrariness, according to independent scholars. 

There are specialised shelters for assistance of victims of human trafficking that are run 
by  contracted  independent  service  providers  with  expertise  in  violence  against  women 
and children, which is positive arrangement in light of the prevalent victim profile. There 
are no similar facilities for male victims of trafficking. There are centres for child victims 
of crime  with  no  specialisation  in relation to  human trafficking.  Full level  of assistance 
and  protection  is  designated  to  trafficked  victims  identified  by  the  authorised  statutory 
bodies. The assistance to victims depends heavily on NGOs and the state funding is very 
limited. 

According  to  international  monitoring  bodies  (US  TIP,  GRETA),  there  are  not  enough 
measures  protecting  victims  against  secondary  victimisation.  The  provision  for  non-
punishment of victims is put on statutory footing, however more training is required for 
judges  and  prosecutors  in  order  to  give  real  effect  to  this  unique  immunity.  Some 
concerns exist in relation to the criminalisation of women involved in prostitution, and in 
particular  the  attribution  of  too  much  weight  on  the  initial  decision  to  engage. 
Compensation is possible but it is rarely utilised. The established practice to exclude the 
possibility  for  compensation  in  cases  where  a  settlement  has  been  reached  with  the 
offender, considerably reduces the instances of compensation. 

Based on the trends and statistics of trafficking in Bulgaria, the prevention of trafficking 
for  sexual  exploitation  and  the  tackling  demand  that  fosters  this  crime  calls  for  priority 
considerations on the part of the Bulgarian Government. Presently, this is not the case as 
no  real  and  effective  prevention  measures  had  been  designed  and  implemented  in  the 

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last  three  years.  Similarly  to  other  forms  of  trafficking  featuring  a  strong  gender 
component, such as the sale of babies for example, the necessary preventative initiatives 
and programmes are almost entirely absent. Arguably, the compliance with the Directive, 
in particular with regard to Art.18, appears to be the weakest point in the performance of 
the State. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

Chapter 1 

I - Background 

The issues at stake in the  present report which  offers an independent assessment of the 
compliance  of Bulgarian legislation and practice with the EU Anti- trafficking  Directive  
have been  in the focus of different monitoring procedures at international level, of which 
the  Council  of  Europe  (GRETA  2016)  and    the  conclusions  of  the  CEDAW  Committee 
(2012)  merit  particular  attention.  The  recent  second  evaluation  report  of  GRETA  (2016) 
contains extensive recommendations to the Bulgarian government in relation to the core 
problems  of  identification  and  assistance  to  victims  of  trafficking,  and  to  the  full 
realization of their rights,  particularly by  guaranteeing their right to compensation.  The 
Committee monitoring the implementation of CEDAW considered the combined fourth, 
fifth, sixth and seventh periodic report of Bulgaria at its 1045th and 1046th meetings, on 12 
July  2012.  The  concluding  observations  from  August  of  the  same  year  covered  several 
aspects  of  the  situation  in  the  country  relating  to  trafficking  and  available  legal 
mechanisms for victims assistance37. 

The CEDAW Committee (2012) noted the positive development in the legal aid system in 
the country: the enactment of a law on legal aid and the establishment of a national legal 
aid bureau.  However, concern was expressed regarding the  practical  obstacles faced by 
women seeking redress and the insufficient counselling and legal aid services available to 
women,  especially  those  belonging  to  disadvantaged  groups.  CEDAW  (2012)  urged  the 
government  of  Bulgaria  to  provide  women  with  effective  access  to  legal  aid  by 
strengthening  the  legal  aid  facilities  in  place  and  ensuring  that,  when  pursuing  legal 
remedies, women are sufficiently informed of their rights during proceedings. Under the 
section  “Trafficking  and  Exploitation  of  Prostitution”,  the  committee  further  expressed 
concern  of  “the  inadequate  assistance  and  protection  provided  to  victims  and  the  lack  of 
rehabilitation  procedures,  of  compensation  and  of  funding  for  non-governmental  organisations 
that provide assistance and temporary shelter to victims”. The recommendation in this respect 
urged the government of Bulgaria to: Provide adequate assistance and protection to all women 
victims  of  trafficking,  increase  the  number  of  shelters  for  victims,  expedite  efforts  to  establish 
compensation mechanisms for victims and strengthen programmes for victims’ reintegration into 
society”.  

We note that Bulgaria continues to be in Tier 2 and, in addition, was put on the Watch list 
in  the  2015  TIP  report,  due  mainly  to  some  problems  affecting  the  institutional 
framework in 2014-2015 by causing disruption in the provision of services in the shelters 
for VoT, funded by the state and managed by specialized CSOs. These problems will be, 
hopefully, overcome and the governmental bodies in cooperation with CSOs will be able 
to  meet  the  commitments  to  more  effective  prevention  of  trafficking  and  protection  of 
victims.  

37 Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 
at: 
Bulgaria, 
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/co/CEDAW-C-BGR-CO-4-7.pdf 

CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7, 

available 

2012, 

9-27 

July 

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II - Objectives 

This  paper  examines  the  implementation  of  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the  European 
Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  5  April  2011  on    preventing    and    combating    trafficking    in  
human    beings    and    protecting    its    victims,    and    replacing  Council    Framework    Decision 
2002/629/JHA  in  Bulgaria  from  a  gender  perspective.  For  this  purpose  the  human 
trafficking  response  of  the  Member  State  is  evaluated,  with  a  particular  focus  on 
identification, assistance and protection of trafficked victims with a view to establishing 
the  gender-sensitive  approach  or  the  lack  thereof  applied  in  the  process  of  the 
transposition and implementation of the EU law. Bearing in mind the gendered nature of 
the  phenomenon  and  the  high  proportion  of  Bulgarian  women  affected,  this  paper 
explores in greater details their experiences in navigating the provisions put in place for 
victims, while male  victims are acknowledged in the course especially where  particular 
issues have arisen for them.  

III – National Context 

National and international reports suggest that Bulgaria is a source and, to a lesser extent, 
a  transit  and  destination  country  for  men,  women,  and  children  subjected  to  sex 
trafficking  and  forced  labour  (TIP  2015,  GRETA  2011  and  NCCTHB  2014).  Bulgaria  has 
emerged  as  one  of  the  primary  source  countries  of  human  trafficking  in  the  EU,  and 
Bulgarian women and children are subjected to internal as well as external sex trafficking 
in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and the United States (TIP 2015). The gravity of the 
problem is evident in the key findings of the Eurostat (2014) reporting that most victims 
detected  in  EU  Member  States  are  citizens  from  Bulgaria  and  Romania.  Europol  (2016) 
recently  reports  that  Bulgarian  citizen  victims  are  among  the  most  often  recurring 
profiles in both sexual and labour exploitation in the EU.  

The  main  destinations  of  sex  trafficking,  according  to  Petrunov’s  (2014)  research  are 
Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, while  destinations 
for labour trafficking are Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic and also northern Europe. 
The Bulgarian authorities acknowledge that Bulgaria is also, to some extent, a country of 
transit and destination for trafficked persons, although the official statistics do not reveal 
the real scale of the problem. For instance, only three foreign victims of trafficking were 
identified in 2008-2009 (GRETA 2011).  

According to TIP (2015) reports, some CSOs believe that the internal trafficking is on the 
rise,  and  GRETA  (2011)  estimates  that  nearly  40%  of  the  victims  of  trafficking  in  the 
period  2008-2009  were  internally  trafficked.  Eurostat  (2014)  reports  that  even  more 
Buglarian  citizen  victims  are  registered  externally  in  other  EU  Member  States.  A 
relatively large number of victims are reported in Bulgaria on an annual basis albeit the 
TIP  (2015)  reports  some  decrease  in  detection  in  both  prevalent  forms  of  trafficking, 
sexual  and  labour  exploitation  respectively.  Comparatively,  a  very  small  number  of 
foreign national victims are reported every year. 

The main form of crime is trafficking for sexual exploitation, both abroad and within the 
country  (GRETA  2011,  Petrunov  2014).  A  recent  study  also  suggests  that  the  prevalent 
form of recruitment used is ‘intimate relationship or boyfriend’ (Petrunov 2014).  Women 

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European Implementation Assessment 

constitute  the  prevalent  majority  of  victims  and  there  are  sizeable  and  concerning 
proportions  of  child  victims  detected  (GRETA  2011).  According  to  the  US  TIP,  (2015) 
Bulgarian  men,  women,  and  children  are  also  subjected  to  trafficking  for  labour 
exploitation  in  Belgium,  Cyprus,  the  Czech  Republic,  Germany,  Greece,  Israel,  Italy, 
Lithuania, 
the  UK,  and  Zambia, 
predominantly  in  agriculture,  construction,  and  the  service  sector  (TIP  2015).  Petrunov 
(2014) reports that  labour  trafficking  mostly  involve  single traffickers, not  organisations 
or  partnerships,  and  that  Bulgarian  nationals  are  trafficked  mostly  to  work  in  the 
agriculture or food processing industry. 

the  Netherlands,  Norway,  Spain,  Sweden, 

Considering the more recently recognised forms of human trafficking, Bulgarian children 
and adults with disabilities are forced into street begging and petty theft within Bulgaria 
but also  in Austria,  Greece, Italy, Sweden, and  the  UK. Romanian girls are subjected to 
sex trafficking in Bulgaria, while government corruption creates an environment enabling 
some trafficking crimes (TIP 2015). In 2010, six cases of trafficking for organ removal were 
reported  (GRETA  2011).  From  2009  to  2010,  25  cases  involving  pregnant  women  with 
arranged  illegal  adoption  were  reported.  More  recent  investigative  reporting  exposes 
again  the  phenomenon  of  ‘babies  for  sale’,  which  was  first  uncovered  through  a  BBC 
sting  in  2006.  It  continues  to  occur  across  the  Greek-Bulgarian  border  and  pregnant 
Bulgarian  women  travel  to  Greece  to  sell  their  babies  to  Greek  couples  who  want  to 
adopt  (Koleva  and  Kallergis  2015).  Victims  of  this  type  of  trafficking  are  usually  Roma 
women  from  extremely  poor  Roma  ghettos  and  the  main  form  of  recruitment  is  a 
promise of material benefits (Petrunov 2014).  

Further information of the available national statistics is available in Appendix “National 
Statistical data” (APPENDIX 2). 

The  Bulgarian  authorities  launch  a  considerable  number  of  investigations,  with  a  high 
proportion resulting in successful prosecutions. Regarding investigations in 2014, out of 
81  for  sexual  and  6  for  labour  exploitation  respectively,  the  authorities  prosecuted  and 
convicted 53 sex traffickers and one labour trafficker (TIP 2015). Some criticism exists in 
relation  to  the  proportion  of  those  convicted  who  receive  a  prison  sentence,  which  is 
about  34  percent.38  Another  type  of  criticism  in  relation  to  the  prosecution  of  human 
traffickers in Bulgaria stems from certain definitional peculiarities in the national context 
allowing for a broader range of situations to be legally interpreted as human  trafficking 
crimes (Stoyanova, 2013b).  

38  The  European  Commission  technical  report  SWD(2016)15  of  1.2.2016  on  Progress  in  Bulgaria 
under  the  Co-operation  and  Verification  mechanism,  on  p.27:  'In  quite  some  cases  plea  bargain 
agreements  have  been  concluded  with  the  defendants,  resulting  in  suspended  or  relatively  short 
prison sentences (less than 3 years).' and: 'Over the years since its accession to the EU Bulgaria has 
seen a change in the nature of organised crime. The traditional hierarchical criminal organisations 
vying  for  control  of  specific  territories  have  to  some  extent  been  replaced  by  looser  networks 
working  across  borders.  These  developments  are  partly  linked  to  general  factors  influencing  the 
risks and  opportunities  facing  organised  crime  groups,  which  are  naturally  focusing  on  the  most 
lucrative forms of criminal activity carrying the lowest risk. Organised crime is therefore arguably 
less visible today than a few years ago.125 Organised crime groups reportedly remain active in a 
number  of  fields,  including  facilitation  of  irregular  migration,  VAT  and  excise  fraud,  public 
procurement  fraud,  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  drugs,  smuggling  of  cigarettes,  credit  card 
fraud, etc. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

While  in  general,  the  TIP  2015  report  puts  Bulgaria  on  the  Watch  list  as  not  complying 
with  the  minimum  standards  for  combatting  human  trafficking,  the  authors  praise  the 
government’s  efforts  to  combat  complicity  of  public  officials,  noting  that  in  2014  the 
police  investigated  seven  police  officers  accused  of  soliciting  bribes  from  pimps. 
However, according to the same report, observers alleged that the police and prosecution 
rarely  pursue  high-profile  traffickers  and  that  government  corruption  creates  an 
environment enabling some trafficking crimes.  

The legal framework of responding to human trafficking crimes and its victims rests with 
two pieces of legislation. The criminal law regime is based on Section IX of the Bulgarian 
Criminal  Code,  while  the  protection  and  assistance  regime  rests  on  the  Trafficking  Act 
2003  (Stoyanova,  2013a).  Bulgaria  prohibits  both  sex  and  labour  trafficking  through 
Article  159  of  its  Criminal  Code,  which  prescribes  penalties  of  between  2  and  15  years 
imprisonment  for  convicted  offenders.  The  TIP  2015  considers  the  penalties  to  be 
sufficiently stringent and commensurable with those prescribed for other serious crimes, 
such  as  rape  for  example.  GRETA  (2011)  points  out  that  in  2009  the  use  of  services  of 
victims of trafficking was criminalised and the penalties for trafficking increased.   

Chapter 2  

I - Identification of victims of human trafficking 

1. Definitional issue 

Key finding: 

The  legal  definition  of  human  trafficking  in  Bulgaria  has  some  specificities.  In  the  first 
place, it contains only two of the three elements commonly constituting the crime, which 
results in broader legal interpretations. Secondly, the exploitation of pregnant women for 
the  pruposes  of  sale  and  adoption  of  babies  is  defined  explicitly  as  a  form  of  human 
trafficking. 

There  are  concerns  that  human  trafficking  in  the  national  law  creates  definitional 
ambiguity  and  it  is  not  compatible  with  the  definition  from  the  Palermo  protocol  (UN 
2000).  The  national  interpretation  excludes  the  ‘means’  dimension  of  the  international 
definition,  which  is  one  of  the  three  elements  commonly  accepted  as  constituting  the 
crime  of  trafficking  in  human  beings.  This  is  viewed  as  beneficial  by  the  Court  of 
Cassation  because  the  number  of  prosecutions  and  convictions  can  be  easily  increased 
and  thus  there  is  a  ‘trend  favouring  expansive  interpretation  of  the  crime  of  human 
trafficking’  (Stoyanova,  2013a).  This  trend  is  also  applied  to  the  legal  understanding 
embedded  in  Bulgarian  law  with  regard  to  ‘sexual  exploitation’  and  ‘forced  labour’, 
which both appear broader than the commonly agreed standard interpretations.  

Furthermore,  a  particular  feature  of  the  national  law  in  this  area  is  the  inclusion  of 
‘selling  the  child  of  a  pregnant  women’,  which  is  interpreted  as  a  form  of  exploitation 
regardless  of  the  consent  of  the  woman.  However,  due  to  ambiguities,  the  concept  of 

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European Implementation Assessment 

exploitation  does  not  preclude  the  victimisation  of  women  who  actively  participate  in 
and benefit from the whole transaction (Stoyanova, 2013a).  

GRETA  (2011)  has  a  different  take  on  this  definitional  issue  in  that  it  believes  that  by 
including  in  the  definition  of  human  trafficking  the  ‘irrelevance  of  the  consent  of  the 
victim’, the Bulgarian legislations  provide wider opportunity for a larger scale of right’s 
approach  to  victims,  including  services  and  rights,  in  addition  to  wider  prospects  for 
investigations.  Some  scholars  disagree  by  agruing  that  while  the  definition  for  the 
purposes of investigation is unusually broad the definition of victim in trafficking under 
the  Trafficking  Act  is  more  narrow,  whereby  the  ‘means’  matter,  as  will  be  explained 
further in the paper.  

2. Identification procedure 

Key finding: 

identification  procedure 

in  Bulgaria  comprises  of  two  stages  – 

The 
informal 
identification,  which  could  involve  a  self-referral  or  an  NGO  regerral  and  a  formal 
identification,  which  requires  the  endorsement  by  certain  statutory  authorities.  Both 
stages  of  identification  confer  different  level  of  protection  and  assistance.  A  victim 
recognised in another EU MS has to request endorsement from the  national authorities. 
The involvement of NGO’s and the  possibilities for  self-identification are positive  albeit 
leading to limited assistance.  

The issue of identification of victims in Bulgaria is narrowly linked to the problems with 
the definition. There appear to be two definitions of human trafficking, for the purposes 
of  criminalisation  on  the  one  hand  and  for  the  purposes  of  identifying  individuals  as 
victims  for  affording  them  protection  and  assistance  on  the  other.  Both  have  different 
scopes, resulting  in a situation where  the  individual  could be deemed simultaneously  a 
victim and not a victim for the purposes of prosecution and victim assistance respectively. 
This  raises  the  serious  question  as  to  whether  victims,  from  the  perspective  of  the 
criminal  trial,  will  receive  adequate  assistance  in  their  capacity  as  victims  of  human 
trafficking (Stoyanova, 2013b) 

identification  procedure 

in  Bulgaria  comprises  of  two  stages  – 

The 
informal 
identification,  which  could  involve  a  self-referral  by  a  potential  trafficked  victim  and  a 
formal identification, which requires the endorsement of the pre-trial authorities and the 
prosecutor,  or  of  the  Ministry  of  Interior  in  the  cases  of  third  country  nationals  (TCN). 
The informal identification, which can also be carried out by a CSO or any institution as a 
matter  of  fact,  leads  to  access  to  a  specialised  shelter  for  the  period  of  10  days,  which 
could be extended up to 40 days with the permission of the local branch of the NCCTHB 
(Dottridge 2010). 

The formal identification procedure concludes with the granting of a ‘special protection 
status’. The Bulgarian authorities have indicated that the status of a victim of  trafficking 
issued  by  another  MS  is  recognised  in  Bulgaria  subject  to  a  procedure.  A  victim  of 
trafficking  can  request  a  special  protection  status,  but  cannot  receive  it  automatically 
solely  on  the  basis  of  having  been  given  the  status  of  a  victim  of  trafficking  in  another 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

country.  None  of  the  authorities  making  decisions  with  regard  reasonable  grounds  are 
independent organisations but rather bound by the State’s interest in prosecution.  

3. Requirement for cooperation 

Key finding: 

The identification procedure risks leaving out victims who do not wish to cooperate with 
the investigation. 

Art 11.3 Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure that  assistance  and  
support  for  a  victim  are  not  made  conditional  on  the  victim’s  willingness  to  cooperate  in  
the  criminal investigation,  prosecution  or  trial,  without  prejudice  to  Directive 2004/81/EC  
or  similar  national  rules.  

The  GRETA  (2011)  report  points  out  that  the  identification  system  in  Bulgaria  is  not 
sufficiently effective as it risks to leave out those who do not want to co-operate with the 
authorities  and  take  part  in  the  judicial  proceedings  against  the  alleged  traffickers.  The 
identification of victim according to Stoyanova (2013b) is regulated at the  national level 
with one sole objective in mind vis-à-vis criminal investigation and prosecution.   

The present system of identification precludes victims of trafficking from the  possibility 
to be identified on the grounds of personal circumstances or vulnerabilities, and this has 
direct  implications  for  the  implementation  of  the  provision  of  Directive  2011/36/EU 
pertaining  to  attention  to  victims  with  ‘special  needs’.  In  this  regard,  the  TIP  (2015) 
reports  that  the  police  have  not  proactively  searched  for  signs  of  trafficking  among 
women  detained  for  prostitution,  which  is  linked  to  the  prevalent  form  of  trafficking 
crime in the national context. 

4. Identification of third country nationals 

Key finding: 

More  than  50%  of  the  asylum  seeking  population  in  Bulgaria  are  women  and  children. 
The system for international protection does not offer a gender-sensitive approach.  Cases 
of  human  trafficking  involving  TCN  are  rarely  identified.  Inconsistencies  between  the 
national legislation on human trafficking and the national immigration laws expose TCN 
victims to arbitrariness, according to independent scholars.  

Based  on  the  common  assumption  that  victims  of  trafficking  are  primarily  Bulgarian 
nationals  returned  from  Western  EU  MSs,  the  situation  with  third  country  national 
victims  TCN  is  less  prominent  and  lacking  in  clarity.  As  the  country  is  on  the  external 
borders of the EU, it is expected that the authorities encounter many TCN on the border 
and  others  are  returned  to  Bulgaria  under  the  Dublin  II  Regulations  (2003).  More  often 
than  not  TCN  would  not  have  legal  grounds  to  stay  in  Bulgaria  (Dottridge  2010). 
Similarly  to  the  legal  framework  on  international  protection,  the  human  trafficking 
framework is of great importance, particularly to those who’ve encountered exploitation 

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and abuse as part of their migration experience. According to a legal opinion, however, 
the inconsistencies between the national legislation on human trafficking and the national 
immigration laws expose victims to arbitrariness (Stoyanova, 2013b).  The author  argues 
that the  state appears to be  in violation  of its international  obligations in the  absence  of 
clear provision for a recovery and reflection permit, which among other matters serves to 
prevent the removal of the possible victims from the country. A provision for a recovery 
and  reflection  period  would  give  legal  grounds  for  the  suspension  of  deportation 
proceedings,  which  might  have  already  started  with  respect  to  a  victim  of  trafficking. 
This  is  particularly  concerning  TCN  victims  who  are  awaiting  deportation  in  detention 
because it restricts their  opportunity to seek  legal aid (Stoyanova, 2013b). However, the 
situation  of  the  asylum  seeking  victims  who  are  not  in  detention  is  not  much  different, 
since  the  national  legislation  does  not  establish  any  basis  for  cooperation  between  the 
refugee agency and the centre for trafficked victims’ protection.  

In the report from 2011, GRETA urges Bulgarian authorities to pay more attention to the 
identification of persons detained as  irregular  migrants and provide additional training 
to staff who come in contact with such persons. The TIP (2015) concurs on this point by 
reporting that victims, particularly among the vulnerable refugee populations, could not 
be  effectively  identified  by  the  law  enforcement.  The  same  report  also  indicates  that 
border police, refugee authority officials, and consular officials have not referred victims 
to care providers. 

According  to  an  UNHCR  commissioned  report  on  sexual  violence  and  other  forms  of 
GBV violence in the context of international protection in Bulgaria, it was established that 
among the asylum seeking population for the second half of 2014, over 50 percent were 
women  and  children,  which  is  a  trend  that  has  been  observed  since  2013  (Tisheva  and 
Nikolova  2014).  It  is  reported  that  no  sensitivity  and  special  skills  exist  among  those 
professionals dealing with persons in process of international protection. There  were no 
cases  of  human  trafficking  identified,  including  unaccompanied  minors,  while  the  staff 
and  experts  appeared  overwhelmed  with  pressing  humanitarian  tasks  and  the  need  for 
general counselling. 

II - Gender sensitive assistance to victims 

1. Safe accommodation and material assistance 

Key finding: 

There are specialised shelters for assistance of victims of human trafficking that are run 
by  contracted  independent  service  providers  with  expertise  in  violence  against  women 
and  children.  However,  there  are  no  similar  facilities  for  male  victims  of  trafficking. 
There  are  centres  for  child  victims  of  crime  with  no  specialisation  in  relation  to  human 
trafficking.    Full  level  of  assistance  and  protection  is  designated  to  trafficked  victims 
identified by the  authorised statutory bodies.  The assistance to victims depends heavily 
on NGOs and the state funding is very limited. (See Appendix 3 “Assistance to victims”) 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

There are two specialised shelters for female victims of trafficking in Bulgaria, each with 
capacity  of  6  adult  women.  In  2014,  they  accommodated  a  total  number  of  16  female 
victims,  which  a  decrease  from  29  victims  in  2013,  according  to  the  TIP  2015.  It  also 
reported  that  Specialised  CSO  provided  victims  with  services  such  as  medical  and 
psychological support, assistance with reintegration and preparations for job interviews. 
In addition, the government also operated 15 centres for child victims, which could also 
provide  accommodation,  medical  and  psychological  assistance  to  children.  However, 
none of these centres were specialised for child victims of trafficking (TIP 2015). 

In the period from September 2014 until the end of 2015, the two government sponsored 
shelters  for  victims  of  trafficking  were  closed39,  and  the  women-centred  CSOs,  mostly 
members  of  the  Alliance  for  Protection  from  GBV(APGBV),  provided  the  services  to 
victims sent by the NCCTHB, IOM and others agencies. In 2015, CSOs provided support 
to about 55 victims in eight Bulgarian towns, with more than half of the victims receiving 
support  in  their  counselling  centres.  These  services  are  not  specifically  recognized  and 
funded  by  the  state  as  specialised  services  to  victims  of  trafficking.  In  the  beginning  of 
2016, two state-funded shelters reopened that are run by members of the aforementioned 
Alliance,  one  in  Varna  operated  by  Alliance-SOS  and  another  in  Bourgas  operated  by 
Demetra. 

The threshold for accessing the two specialised shelters appears to be low, and allows for 
self-referral  by  a  potential  victim.  This  is  considered  a  period  of  informal  identification 
and allows for 10 days of recovery in the shelter, with a possibility of 30 days extension 
sanctioned by the local Trafficking Commission or pre-trial proceeding authorities or by 
the Court. The criteria for extension are not publically known, and it is unclear if they are 
linked in any way with the Directive’s reference to victims with special needs. It is further 
unclear,  whether  the  granting  of  an  extension  by  the  authority  amounts  to  formal 
identification, also referred to a 'special protection status'.   

One  way  or  another,  the  period  of  30  days  allows  the  victim  availing  of  this  service  to 
reflect  and  recover  and  to  take  an  informed  decision  about  the  future,  including  with 
regards  possible  cooperation  with  the  investigation  of  the  crime  committed  against  the 
victim.  Stoyanova  (2013b)  finds  controversy  in  the  requirement  assigned  to  the  shelter 
service  to  notify  the  pre-trial  proceedings  authorities  about  the  accommodation  of  a 
possible  victim  within  the  first  24  hours  from  access  to  the  shelter.  The  immediate 
submission  of  information  to  the  authorities  irrespective  of  the  will  of  the  victims,  the 
author  argues,  renders  the  shelters  a  ‘decoy,  designed  in  furtherance  of  the  state’s 
principle  objective  of  initiating  criminal  proceedings  and  obtaining  convictions,  as 
opposed  to  being  bona  fide  instruments  of  social  policy’.  The  author  also  raises  alert 
about the  dangers prior  to or  during the  criminal proceedings, which might undermine 
the level of the assistance offered.  

The  formal  identification,  which  entails  conferral  of  ‘special  protection  status’  leads  to 
clear  entitlement  to  safe  accommodation  in  the  shelters,  and  it  is  granted,  as  specified 
earlier, only on condition of cooperation with the investigation authorities.  

39 The shelters were closed due to irregularities with the public teder process and suspicion of 
corruption. http://www.novinite.com/articles/167502/Secretary+of+Bulgarian+Anti-
Human+Trafficking+Commission+Charged+with+Corruption  

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There are no specialised shelters for male victims of trafficking entailing also appropriate 
services, such reintegration, which are offered to female victims. In its report from 2011, 
GRETA urges the government to provide all male victims with shelter care and services, 
including reintegration assistance and legal services. 

There  are  centres  for  protection  and  support  of  victims  of  trafficking  who  are  formally 
identified. They offer provision of information regarding the relevant administrative and 
judicial  proceedings,  referrals  to  medical  and  psychological  assistance  and  also  re-
integration  programmes.  There  are  no  provisions  within  the  national  legislative 
framework for  assistance to victims who have refused to cooperate  in the  investigation, 
and therefore cannot be formally identified. (See Appendix 3 “Assistance to victims” for 
further information). 

2. Secondary victimisation  

Key finding:  

According to international monitoring bodies, there are not enough measures protecting 
victims against secondary victimisation 

The US TIP 2015 reports that prosecutors and judges lacked sensitivity when interacting 
with victims trafficked for sexual exploitatiion:  

Victims were often required to give testimony in the presence of the alleged trafficker, and alleged 
traffickers  were  permitted  to  confront  victims  in  court  and  question  them  through  the  judge, 
including inquiries into victims’ previous sexual relationships.  

This  is  in  direct  violation  of  Art  12.4  of  the  Directive  providing  that  the  parties  shall 
ensure  that  victims  are  protected  against  secondary  victimisation  though  visual  contact 
with  the  accused,  testimonies  in  open  court  and  unnecessary  questioning  into  their 
private life. Another international body recommend to Bulgaria, among other matters, to 
provide sensitivity training to prosecutors and judges working with victims trafficked for 
sexual exploitation (GRETA 2011). 

III – Protection 

1. Non-punishment  

Key finding: 

The provision for non-punishment of victims is put on statutory footing, however more 
training is required for judges and prosecutors in order to give real effect to this unique 
immunity.  Some  concerns  exist  in  relation  to  the  criminalisation  of  women  involved  in 
prostitution, and in particular the attribution of too much weight on the initial decision to 
engage. 

The  provision  for  immunity  from  prosecution  of  victims  of  trafficking  has  been  put  on 
legislative basis by the amendment of the Penal Code with a view to giving effect to the 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Directive.    According  to  Article  16a,  a  person  who  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  is  not 
considered  guilty  for  crimes  committed  by  her/him  under  duress  and  in  direct 
connection with the status of a trafficked victim. According to the opinion of the Supreme 
Court  of  Cassation40,  the  application  of  this  provision  is  not  yet  a  stable  practice  in  the 
judiciary.  This  new  legal  construction  is  considered  a  challenge  for  the  practitioners,  as 
the  hypothesis  differs  considerably  from  the  traditional  cases  of  using  a  minor  or  an 
incapacitated  person  for  committing  a  crime.  According  to  a 
judge  from  the 
Administrative court of Sofia, there have not been such court cases yet and the challenge 
would be the  establishment of the  fact that the  accused person is a victim of trafficking 
and  that  the  crimes  committed  by  this  person  are  in  direct  connection  with  this  status. 
Based on these facts, criminal responsibility will be excluded. 

For the purposes of an EC sponsored survey41, Bulgarian judges responded that they are 
unaware  of  any  prosecution  against  trafficked  victims  but  representatives  of  the 
Bulgarian police force answered positively to this question (Dobreva 2013). In this regard, 
it  is  of  particular  concern  that  those  engaged  in  prostitution,  possibly  including  victims 
trafficked  for  sexual  exploitation,  are  being  systematically  criminalised  on  the  grounds 
that  their  activities  are  not  beneficial  for  the  society  and  that  they  live  off  of  immoral 
earnings  (Wijers  2015,  p.18)42.  Similarly  exposed  to  the  possibility  for  prosecution  are 
pregnant women implicated in a situation of baby selling, which is considered a human 
trafficking crime, whereby the trafficker is a different person.  

An  EC  sponsored  publication  reports  on  cases  of  criminalisation  of  female  victims  of 
trafficking  in  Bulgaria  (Dobreva  2013).  In  one  case,  the  woman  was  criminalised  for 
confronting  a  judge  with  an  accusation  of  corruption,  which  was  insinuated  by  the 
accused trafficker as part of a threat he managed to direct at her outside of the court room 
(Dobreva 2013). The same report expressed concern about the situation of sex trafficked 
victims  and  the  weight  attributed  to  their  ‘consent  to  prostitution’  by  the  prosecution 
authority, even though the ‘means’ of compelling victims to exploitation are irrelevant in 
national law.   

2. Compensation 

Key finding: 

Compensation is possible but it is rarely utilised. The established practice to exclude the 
possibility  for  compensation  in  cases  where  a  settlement  has  been  reached  with  the 
offender,  considerably  reduces  the  instances  of  compensation.  Free  legal  aid  to  claim 
compensation by the State is not available. 

40  Letter  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Cassacion  to  the  Bulgarian  Parliament  from  December  2014, 
justifying the needs for amendment of the Penal Code 
41  Natasha  Dobreva,  Animus  Association,  Report  under 
HOME/2011/ISEC/AG/4000002581, ”Protection of the Rights of victims of trafficking” 
42  Wijers  refers  to  the  following  piece  of  law:  “A  full  age  person  who  continuously  remains 
uninvolved  in  publicly  useful  labour,  receiving  non-labour  income  in  a  forbidden  or  immoral 
manner, shall be punished…”  

funded  project 

the  EU 

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According  to  TIP  (2015),  no  victims  received  compensation  during  2014,  whereby 
opinions  were  expressed  that  the  procedure  continues  to  be  overly  bureaucratic  and 
authorities  do  not  always  inform  victims  of  their  right  to  apply  for  compensation  and 
legal aid. The problem of the lack of effective compensation came into focus at the second 
round of evaluation by GRETA (2016). 

For the purposes of a comparative analysis of Bulgarian and Greek laws and practices in 
handling trafficking cases, including legal representation and compensation to victims, 99 
cases in the inventory of 10 courts in Bulgaria were examined (EC ISEC 2014). 77 of these 
cases were resolved by approving settlement agreements with the offender by the court, 
while  verdicts  were  issued  in  only  22.  In  only  five  of  the  cases  examined  civil  actions 
were  brought  by  victims.    This  low  number  is  partially  due  to  the  fact  that  78%  of 
trafficking cases are decided with the approval of a settlement, where participation of a 
civil  claimant  is  excluded  as  part  of  this  settlement43.  In  other  words,  victims  of 
trafficking were entitled to acquire a civil claimant status in the proceedings in 22 of all 
reviewed  cases,  while  this  right  was  exercised  in  5  of  them.  Both  material  and  non-
material  (moral)  damages  were  sought  in  all  of  the  civil  actions.  Two  of  the  five  first-
instance sentences were revoked in the civil part by the higher court. 

The  research  and  interviews  conducted  (EC  ISEC  2014)  show  that  among  the  major 
reasons for  the  low percentage  of civil claims by victims in criminal proceedings is that 
victims of trafficking prefer to participate in criminal proceedings solely as a witness. The 
reasons for this vary:  coercion by the trafficker to withdraw, strong willingness to move 
on and forget the rough past, unawareness of legal rights, mistrust of the judicial system 
and  fear  of  stigma,  which  sometime  leads  to  change  of  testimonies  ‘clearing’  the 
perpetrator.  

The  mentioned  research  established  that  the  amounts  of  damages  awarded  in  criminal 
proceedings for  trafficking are low. Of  particular  interest are the  settlement  agreements 
between the defendant and the prosecution as they occur in the majority of cases. In none 
of  the  77  cases  of  settlement  examined  in  the  report  (EC  ISEC  2014),  compensation  for 
material  damages  was  made  as  such  damages  could  not  be  proven.  It  should  be  noted 
that  under  the  rules  of  criminal  procedure,  establishing  the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
damage  in  the  pre-trial  procedure  is  the  responsibility  of  public  prosecution.44  The 
National Council for Assistance and Compensation to Victims of Crime at the Ministry of 
Justice adopted a practice whereby victims in cases ending with plea bargain do not have 
the right to claim compensation by the state, thus depriving the victims of the possibility 
to receive any compensation.  

Provided  that  the  vast  majority  of  criminal  cases  of  human  trafficking  end  up  with 
settlements,  the  established  practices  of  the  National  Council  for  Assistance  and 
Compensation to Victims of Crime constitute a serious barrier to financial compensation 
for the majority of victims of trafficking and should be abolished. The Council proposes a 
possibility  for  introduction  of  an  earlier  payment  of  financial  compensation  to  victim, 

43 Theoretically, in criminal proceedings resolved by a verdict, special rules may have been applied 
refusing the joining of a civil action, for example in fast or immediate trial proceedings, but in the 
preparation of this report, no such cases were found and examined. 
44 Article 103, para.1 in conjunction with Article 102, item 2 CPC. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

even  before  the  criminal  process  has  ended.  45    Another  practice  that  may  improve  the 
access  to  compensation  is  to  regulate  the  possibility  for  victims  to  apply  electronically 
(EC ISEC 2014). 

Other  shortcomings  of  the  system  are  that  pain  and  suffering  are  still  not  compensated 
and free legal aid to claim compensation by the State is not permissible. 

Chapter 3 

I – New forms of trafficking 

Key finding: 

The newer forms of human trafficking, such as forced begging, forced pickpocketing and 
selling  of  babies  are  usually  problems  linked  to  the  lower  socio-economic  status  of  the 
sizeable Roma community in Bulgaria. Victims of these crimes are predominantly women 
and  children  of  Roma  ethnicity.  The  trafficking  usually  takes  place  in  destination 
countries  in  Central  and  Western  Europe,  while  the  preparations  take  place  in  Bulgaria 
and  the  traffickers  are  often  Roma  men,  who  hold  powerful  status  in  these  almost 
exclusively patriarchal communities. 

Trafficking  in  women  for  the  sale  of  unborn  babies  represents  a  particular  problem  in 
Bulgaria  and  has  been  acknowledged  as  a  form  of  severe  exploitation  and  a  form  of 
trafficking in human beings. Destination countries for Bulgarian victims of this crime are 
Greece, France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, however, over the years Greece has become the 
primary  destination  (Petrunov  2014).  The  networks  involved  in  the  crime  are  elaborate 
and  involve  recruiters,  intermediaries,  families  and  doctors  in  the  destination  country. 
The  profile  of  victims  are  mostly  Roma  women  living  in  extremely  poor  ghettos,  some 
already with children of their own, often illiterate and unemployed (Koleva and Kallergis 
2015).  Some  victims  of  this  form  of  trafficking  have  also  been  involved  in  prostitution, 
which they are forced to exercise  in some  cases up to the point  of the  birth of  the  baby 
(Petrunov  2014).  It  is  common  in  case  of  pregnancy  for  the  pimp  to  organise  illegal 
adoption of the baby with a view to profiting further from the victim. In some cases the 
victim stayed with the  adoptive family,  as the  pregnancy progressed but the  conditions 
were nonetheless abusive. The adoption rights are usually secured by listing the adoptive 
father as the biological father, forcing the victim to sign a statement waiving her maternal 
rights,  and  at  a  later  stage  the  adoptive  mother  formalises  adoption  of  the  baby.  The 
prices the adoptive parents participating in the scheme paid as high as tens of thousands 
of euro, while the victim mother would receive up to 5 or 6 thousand euro, in some cases 
less than 2 and yet in other cases nothing.   

Trafficking for the purposes of criminal activity mostly involves organised pickpocketing, 
carried out by minors up to the age of 14. According to Petrunov (2014), pickpocketing in 
Bulgaria is feminised, indicating that the children are trained by the women of the clan, 

45  Minutes  of  meeting  of  a  session  of  the  National  Council  for  Assistance  and  Compensation  to 
Victims of Crime of 19.12.2012 

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European Implementation Assessment 

which  has  been  skill  exercised  as  a  way  of  life  for  decades.  The  profits  from  this  crime 
could be enormous and the risks are low as minors are subject to lesser legal punishment 
and they are usually coached to refuse to give evidence against their families.  

Organised  begging  primarily  involves  children  and  adults  of  Roma  ethnicity.  In  some 
cases  the  victims  are  people  with  disabilities  and  sometime  the  begging  has  been 
exercised individually as a way of living prior to the recruitment in the organise scheme. 
Petrunov  (2014)  reports  that  traffickers  transport  and  accommodate  the  victims  in 
deplorable  conditions  in  the  destination  country,  and  they  typically  confiscate  the 
victims’  identification  documents.  The  methods  of  control  exercised  by  the  traffickers 
involve  severe  physical  violence  and  brutality  and  a  punishment  occurs  whenever  the 
amount  of  money  collected  appears  low  or  an  attempt  to  escape  the  organisation  is 
present.  

II - Prevention through demand reduction 

Key finding: 

Based on the trends and statistics of trafficking in Bulgaria, the prevention of trafficking 
for  sexual  exploitation  and  the  tackling  demand  that  fosters  this  crime  calls  for  priority 
considerations on the part of the Bulgarian Government. Presently, this is not the case as 
no  real  and  effective  prevention  measures  had  been  designed  and  implemented  in  the 
last  three  years.  Similarly  to  other  forms  of  trafficking  featuring  a  strong  gender 
component, such as the sale of babies for example, the necessary preventative initiatives 
and programmes are almost entirely absent. Arguably, the compliance with the Directive, 
in particular with regard to Art.18, appears to be the weakest point in the performance of 
the State. 

The  Bulgarian  Penal  Code  contains  a  provision  (adopted  in  2009  and  last  amended  in 
2013)  criminalizing  the  acts  of  those  who  knowingly  use  the  services  of  victims  of 
trafficking, including sexual services (Art. 159 /c /PC). The penalty envisioned is form 3 
to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 10 000 to 20 000 BGN. 

The  judicial  statistics  from  the  National  Statistical  Institute  (NSI),  indicate  that  the 
convicted  persons  under  the  “Trafficking  in  persons”  crime  section  for  2014  were  41 
persons,  33  of  which  were  male  (NSI  2014).  It  remains  unclear  if  any  convictions  have 
been  obtained  under  Art.159/c/PC  and  no  other  indication  that  this  provision  was 
applied at all since its adoption in law.  Therefore, it appears that the adoption of such a 
provision on its own is insufficient.  

This position is supported in recent research findings. A study in the field of demand for 
sexual  exploitation  was  implemented  by  Bulgarian  NGOs  in  the  framework  of 
partnership initiatives on EU- funded projects. For example, under the  EC ISEC funded 
project  "Stop  Traffick:  Tackling  Demand  for  Sexual  Services  of  Trafficked  Women  and 
Girls”,  a  transnational  study  was  conducted  in  5  EU  MSs  and  involved  the  Bulgarian 
Gender  Research  Foundation  as  a  national  level  research  team  (Yonkova  and  Keegan, 
2014). The national research comprised 37 in-depth interviews with male buyers of sexual 
services,  while  in  total  763  buyers  participated  in  either  in-depth  interviews  or  on-line 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

surveys  in  the  five  MSs  (71  in-depth  interviews  and  692  online  survey  results).  The 
findings indicate that buyers of sex are overwhelmingly male. The vast majority are well 
educated  and  in  some  type  of  employment  and  over  50%  are  married,  many  with 
children.  It  is  notable  that  buyers  in  all  countries,  including  Bulgaria,  report  that  they 
encounter women who appear controlled and underage. 

The  findings  from  the  in-depth  interviews  in  Bulgaria  suggest  that,  irrespective  of  a 
buyers’ knowledge of human trafficking as a crime and as a phenomenon, it is unlikely 
they  will  consider  the  possibility  that  a  seller  may  be  a  victim  of  trafficking  when 
purchasing  sex.  Similarly,  knowledge  of  existing  laws  specifically  targeting  buyers  of 
sexual  services  from  victims  of  trafficking  appear  to  have  no  impact  on  buyers’ 
consideration of human trafficking in the act of purchasing of sex. Moreover, the portion 
of buyers who reported encountering sellers they believed were being exploited did not 
consider contacting the authorities to report such fears. In this situation, the buyers still 
consider  the  act  of  buying  sex  in  all  cases  a  transaction  between  two  consenting 
individuals. 

Efficient deterrents of demand, as indicated by the Bulgarian respondents themselves, are 
fears  about  their  personal  safety  and  health,  publicity  in  the  local  media  or  on  the 
internet, letters of disclosure sent to their families and  criminal sanctions (Yonkova and 
Keegan, 2014). 

The findings of the  same report suggest  that criminalising the  end  users (the  buyers) of 
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation remains a controversial issue. Under Article 
18(4)  of  the  Directive,  knowledge  of  exploitation,  on  the  part  of  the  buyer,  is  required, 
and this is how the law has been transposed into the Penal Code of Bulgaria. In order to 
prosecute  buyers  who  have  purchased  sex  from  a  victim  of  trafficking,  the  state  must 
prove that the ‘customers’ were aware of the status of the seller. However, this relies on 
non-material  evidence  that  is  difficult  to  prove  and  by  now  it  is  established  that  the 
identification of victims itself represents a challenge even for trained professionals. 

It  is  believed  that  knowledge  of  this  legal  sanction  will  cause  buyers  to  show  greater 
concern for the status of the seller, including for the possibility of human trafficking.  

Therefore  the  existing  provision  of  Article  159/c/PC  is  not  a  sufficient  measure  for 
achieving the preventative goals embedded in the Directive. Additional measures should 
be  taken  by  the  Bulgarian  government,  such  as  targeting  specifically  men  who  buy  sex 
and  enforcing  criminal  responsibility  for  such  men.  These  measures  should  be 
supplemented by initiatives tackling the rootcauses of trafficking for sexual  exploitation 
in the state. 

The results of the research carried out under the EU- funded project echo research results 
from  studies  of  the  Bulgarian  Gender  Research  Foundation  on  the  characteristics  of  the 
profile of prostitution and demand (BGRF 2006).46 

46  The  BGRF  implemented  the  first  social  science  research  on  the  links  between  trafficking  and 
prostitution  in  Bulgaria  in  cooperation  with  MBMD.  This  research  was  based  on  qualitative  and 
quantitative social research, including surveys among women in prostitution and among men users 
of  sexual  services,  and  including    in-depth  interviews  with  experts  and  review  of  legislation  and 
policy.  

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According  to  the  latest  annual  report  of  the  NCCTHB  (2014),  the  prevention  activities 
implemented by the government are defined as actions in three areas: informational area 
- directed at the society as a whole and at some specific target groups; educational area - 
building capacity of professionals and other target groups, such as students, volunteers; 
and direct area - work with victims or potential victims and their families. In the report 
itself  only  one  campaign  for  general  awareness  of  the  society  is  reported,  which  was 
conducted in partnership with  the media and NGOs and consisted in the dissemination 
of  postcards  with  the  message  “Not  for  sale”.  The  postcards  were  disseminated  in  the 
network  of  Smart  media  and  Ambient  media  pool.  No  other  substantial  campaign  was 
organized and no trainings of professionals on the prevailing forms of trafficking and its 
gender aspects were conducted. 

We note  that the National Programme for 2015 envisaged  awareness campaigns against 
trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  and  against  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation,  which 
could not be implemented due to administrative disruptions. 

The  NCCTHB  report  (2014)  identifies  root  causes  and  factors  for  trafficking  in  human 
beings,  such  as  poverty  in  certain  geographical  areas,  lack  of  educational  opportunities 
for  some  marginalized  groups,  vulnerability  of  women  and  children  from  some  ethnic 
groups as well as mental disabilities. Regretably, this sound analysis fails to be translated 
into  specific  prevention  actions  and  interventions.  Furthermore,  the  analysis  calls  for 
preventative  measures  exceeding  the  planned  three  prevention  priorities  linked  to 
information,  education  and  direct  work  with  victims,  as  mentioned  earlier.  It  requires 
constant  and  concrete  steps  for  strengthening  and  enforcing  human  rights,  and  in 
particular socio- economic rights. 

In  order  to  counteract  the  prevailing  form  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  serious 
interventions have to be designed targeting primarily the demand, the internal trafficking 
and  re-trafficking,  the  lack  of  exiting  policies  for  sellers  of  sex,  and  the  reintegration  of 
victims of trafficking. 

It  is  in  the  broader  context  of  human  rights  that  the  performance  of  the  Bulgarian 
government in the field of trafficking is measured in the process of the Universal Periodic 
Review (UPR).47 Namely, by October 2015 the government of Bulgaria accepted a number 
of recommendations in the field of prevention of trafficking addressed to the government 
in the process of the Second UPR of the country- strengthening the preventive measures 
on sexual exploitation of women and children, expand anti-trafficking measures from the 
large towns to the rural neighbourhoods and highly populated Roma communities so as 
to protect the most vulnerable groups of society. 

The level of prevention activities implemented by the State is not in compliance with the 
Anti-trafficking Directive and does not meet the pressure posed by the high incidence of 
trafficking in Bulgaria. 

 © Tisheva, G. and Yonkova, N. 2016  

47 http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPR 

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GRETA, Council of Europe (2016) Report concerning the implementation of the Council of 
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Stoyanova, V.  (2013a) The Crisis of a Definition: Human Trafficking in Bulgarian 
Law. Amsterdam Law Forum, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 1, p. 64-79, mar. 2013. ISSN 1876-8156. 
Available at: http://amsterdamlawforum.org/article/view/307 . [Accessed 15/02/16] 

Stoyanova, V.  (2013b) The crisis of a legal framework: protection of victims of human trafficking 
in Bulgarian legislation, The International Journal of Human Rights, Vol 17, Issue 5-6, 
pages 668-668 Available at: w.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13642987.2013.832217 
[Accessed 15/02/16]  

Dobreva, N. (2013) Protection of the Rights of Those Affected by Human Trafficking, Sofia: 
Association Animus , EC ISEC HOME/2011/ISEC/AG/4000002581 Project: Promotion of 
the Rights of Trafficked Persons in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia with Emphasis on 
Legal Support 

Wijers, M. (2015) Position of victims of trafficking in human beings in criminal and other 
proceedings in Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania, Sofia: Netherlands Helsinki Committee , EC 
ISEC HOME/2011/ISEC/AG/4000002581 Project: Promotion of the Rights of Trafficked 
Persons in Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia with Emphasis on Legal Support 

European Union, Eurostat (2014) Eurostat: Trafficking in Human Beings, Publication Office 
of the EU, Luxembourg: EU.  

PE 581.412 

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European Implementation Assessment 

NCCTHB  (2014), National Commission for Combating Traffic in Human Beings, Report 
on the actions taken to combat Trafficking in Persons in 2014, Available at: 
http://antitraffic.government.bg  [Accessed 14/02/16]  

O’Connor, M. (2015) Upholding Rights: Early Legal Intervention for Victims of Human 
Trafficking, Immigrant Council of Ireland. Available at: www.earlylegalintervention.eu  
[Accessed: 14/02/16] 

Yonkova, N and Keegan, E. (2014) Stop Traffick! Tackling of Sexual Service from Trafficked 
Women and Girls. Available at: www.stoptraffick.ie [Accessed: 14/02/16] 

Tisheva, G. and Nikolova, A. (2014), UNHCR Monitoring report on sexual violence and other 
forms of Gender- based violence in the context of international protection in Bulgaria. Available 
at: http://www.unhcr-
centraleurope.org/_assets/files/content/where_we_work/_pdf_en/bulgaria/sgbv_exec
utive_summary_2015.pdf   [Accessed 15/02/16] 

UN CEDAW (2012), Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of 
Discrimination against Women, Bulgaria,  9-27 July 2012, CEDAW/C/BGR/CO/4-7, 
Available at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cedaw/docs/co/CEDAW-C-
BGR-CO-4-7.pdf   [Accessed 13/02/16] 

EC ISEC (2014),”Lawyers against trafficking: Towards improved access to justice and 
compensation for victims of trafficking in Bulgaria and Greece”, Project of the BGRF, EWLA 
Bulgaria and KEPAD Greece HOME/2011/ISEC/THB/4000002259 

APGBV, 2016. Alliance for Protection Against GBV: Report to the Anti- trafficking Commission, 
January 2016. Sofia: APGBV. For more information: http://bgrf.org/  

NSI 2014, National Statistical Institute. Available at: 

http://www.nsi.bg/bg/content/3762/осъдени-лица-по-брой-на-извършените-
престъпления-пол-и-възраст  [Accessed 19 March 2016] 

BGRF 2006, Available in Bulgarian. For more information: some sources referring to the 
report in English. Availabe at:  
http://www.dnevnik.bg/bulgaria/2006/04/10/256529_v_bulgariia_ima_izkljuchitelna_
tolerantnost_kum/ and http://news.ibox.bg/news/id_1352814693   [Accessed 19 March 
2016] 

Supreme Court of Cassacion (2014), Letter of the SCC to the Bulgarian Parliament from 
December 2014, justifying the needs for amendment of the Penal Code. For more 
infroamtion: http://bgrf.org/  

UPR (2015) Report submitted in accordance with paragraph 5 of the annex to Human Rights 
Council resolution 16/21 Available at:  
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/BGSession22.aspx [Accessed 19 
March 2016] 

UN (2000), United Nation Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 
especially Women and Children supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational 
Organised Crime. New York: UN. 

Government of Bulgaria. Penal Code (2009) Sofia: State Gazette.  

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Dottridge, M (201)) E-notes: Report on the implementation of anti-trafficking policies and 
interventions in the 27 EU member states from a human rights perspective (2008 and 2009), 
Teramo: Associazione On the Road 

Europol (2016). Situation report: Trafficking in Human beings in the EU. The Hague: Europol. 
Available at:  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/situational_report_trafficking_in_human_beings-
_europol.pdf    [Accessed 16 March 2016] 

_____________________ 

Referenced in Appendix: 

EC ISEC project “Early Legal Intervention for Victims of Trafficking” , Available at: 
www.earlylegalintervention.eu [Accessed 19 March 2016] 

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 Appendix 1 - Statistics 

Available  Statistics  about  Bulgaria 

 Gender 
 Information about identified victims from the Supreme Court of Cassation48 

     Information about identified victims by gender from Eurostat 2014 

Year49 

Total 
victims 

number 

of 

victims/ 
000 

THB 
100 
population 

Male victims/  
100 
population 

000 

Female victims/  
100 
population 

000 

2010 

580 

2011 

541 

2012 

579 

7.8 

7.3 

7.9 

1.2 

2.6 

2 

14.1 

11.9 

13.5 

48 Source: Based on  Petrunov(2014), Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Cassation 
49 Source: EUROSTAT  Trafficking in Human Beings 2014 

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Age50 

 1. Main types of trafficking51. 

50 Source: Based on  Petrunov (2014), Supreme Prosecutor's Office of Cassation 
51 Source: US TIP reports 2008-2014 – based on available data 

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EXAMPLE BOX 
Appendix 2 - Assistance 

Assistance  to  victims  of  human  trafficking  and  a  women-centred 
approach  

1. Infrastructure of services to victims 

In  Bulgaria,  non-governmental  organisations  (NGOs)  working  with  women  victims  of 
GBV and their children remain the main resource for the protection of the rights and the 
delivery of assistance to women and girls who have experienced human trafficking. It has 
been recognized by the Anti-Trafficking Commission in its Annual national reports.52 The 
Commission  confirms  that  the  NGOs  with  which  it  cooperates  for  the  placement  of 
victims  of  trafficking  are,  in  the  first  place,  the  leading  NGOs  which  manage  the 
specialized  shelters  for  trafficking.  The  Commission  recognizes  also  that  it  cooperates 
with NGOs which manage crisis centres for women and children victims of violence and 
trafficking and that the major NGOs in this field make part of the Alliance for protection 
from Gender- based violence. The same NGOs also ensure the gender-sensitive approach 
to assistance in the state.  

The  majority  of  services,  and  especially  counseling  centers  are  not  financed  via  a  state-
delegated  budget53  .  Such  centers  are  more  flexible  with  regard  to  the  provision  of 
services and have a qualified team with extensive experience in working with victims of 
violence  and  trafficking.  The  majority  of  such  NGOs  are  members  of  the  Alliance  for 
Protection from Gender Based Violence (APGBV):54 

“SOS-families at risk” Foundation, Varna 

“Demetra” Association, Burgas 

Bulgarian Gender Research Foundation (BGRF), Sofia and Haskovo 

Association “Open Door Centre”, Pleven 

“NAYA” Association, Targovishte 

“Ekaterina Karavelova” Association, Silistra 

“Pulse” Foundation, Pernik 

Bulgarian Fund for Women, Sofia/ does not provide services/ 

“Dinamika Centre” Association, Russe 

Foundation “H&D gender perspectives”, Haskovo and Dimitrovgrad – associated member 

The greater part of the  organizations run service crisis centers for  women and children, 
victims of violence. Such centers are managed by organizations in Varna, Burgas, Silistra, 
Pleven, Pernik, Ruse, Dupnitsa. The newest centre and the biggest one at the moment is 
the  BGRF  branch  in  Haskovo.  The  centre  is  located  near  Haskovo,  in  the  town  of 

52 http://antitraffic.government.bg/wp-content/uploads 
53 These are funds for social services from the national budget through the local budgets 
54 Referred henceforth as the Alliance or as the APGBV. www.alliancedv.org  

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Dimitrovgrad.  With  this  latest  centre,  the  overall  capacity  of  the  centers  of  the 
organizations of the APGBV reaches 100 places.  

The  most  recent  tenders  of  the  Bulgarian  National  Commission  on  Combatting 
Trafficking in human Beings (NCCTHB)55 resulted in financing and authorisation of two 
specialised  centres  in  the  cities  of  Varna  and  in  Bourgas  for  the  delivery  of  assisted 
accommodation to victims of human trafficking, which will be operated by the members 
of the Alliance. Other smaller scale centres for services to trafficked victims are operated 
by  Animus  Association,  IOM  Bulgaria  and  Nadya  centre.  Experience  shows  that  the 
majority  of  the  female  victims  of  trafficking  identified  and  those  returned  from  abroad 
are  being  predominantly  referred  by  the  NCCTHB  to  the  centers  of  the  Alliance,  to  the 
IOM or other organisations based in Sofia.  

The NGOs also operate helplines for victims of violence, which are available to victims of 
trafficking as well. In late 2015, a specialized and free of charge 24-hour telephone line for 
victims  of  trafficking  was  launched  by  the  Bulgarian  branch  of  Campaign  21,  which  is 
privately funded. Statistical information is not yet available from this initiative. 

2. Funding mechanism for services to victims 

The  social  services    provided  by  the  Alliance  organizations,  are  governed  by  the  social 
assistance  legislation  in  relation  to  adults  and  children  respectively  (the  Law  on  Social 
Assistance  and the Regulation for the application of the  Law on Social Assistance ; the 
Law  on  Child  Protection  ),  while  the  specialized  shelters  for  trafficked  victims  are 
governed by the anti-trafficking legislation (the Law on combating trafficking in human 
beings  and  respective  regulatory  acts  regarding  requirements  for  shelters  for  victims  of 
trafficking).  The  social  services  in  the  community  are  decentralized  in  that  the 
municipalities  identify  the  needs  and  develop  services  on  their  territory,  including 
services for victims of violence. They propose to the central government the financing of 
such services and tender for service providers in the community to receive the allocated 
funds. This is the mechanism through which NGOs can obtain funds for their services.  

3. Specialized shelters and crisis centres for victims 

The existing mechanism for funds allocation is functioning, although the existing services 
for  victims  of  violence  and  trafficking  are  insufficient  and  under-funded.  The  two 
specialized shelters for  trafficked persons are organized through tenders from the  Anti-
Trafficking  Commission  and  funded  through  the  special  state  budget  of  the  same 
commission. Crisis centers that are municipally funded to provide services to victims of 
violence,  including  trafficked  victims,  operate  in  the  towns  of  Sofia,  Pleven,  Pernik, 
Silistra, Russe, Varna, Bourgas. In the latter two towns, crisis centers for women victims 
of  GBV  and  their  children  exist  separately  from  the  specialized  shelters  for  trafficked 
persons.  Crisis  center  is  defined  as  a  residential  service  providing  a  complex  of  social 
services  for  persons  suffering  from  violence,  human  trafficking  or  other  form  of 

55 Referred henceforth as the Commission or as the NCCTHB  

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exploitation,  referred  there  for  individual  help,  shelter,  covering  basic  needs  and  legal 
consultation or psycho-social help.  

It  should  be  noted  that  the  two  shelters  for  trafficked  persons  funded  through  the 
Commission  are  only  for  adult  female  victims  of  trafficking.  Other  female  victims  of 
trafficking  under  18  years  of  age  as  well  as  mothers  with  their  children  can  be 
accommodated in the NGO crises centres. 

The  services  of  the  women’s  NGOs  in  the  crises  centres  of  some  towns,  like 
Dimitrovgrad, Dupnitza are not sponsored by the state. It is problematic that victims of 
trafficking  referred  to  the  NGO  crisis  centres  of  the  NGOs  are  not  provided  with 
additional  funding  (subsistence)  corresponding  to  their  specific  needs,  and  similarly 
there  is  no  provision  for  additional  staff  costs  for  delivery  of  specialised  services  for 
trafficked victims. Victims often remain long periods in the crisis centres (up to 6 months 
which  is  the  maximum  permitted  duration).  They  require  intense  support  and 
accompaniment to multiple appointments, including health services. 

Comparison table demonstrating the differences and similarities between specialized 
trafficked shelters and crisis centres 

CRISIS CENTRES56 
for victims of violence and trafficking 

SHELTERS  
for  temporary  accommodation  of  victims  of 
trafficking in human beings 

Established  according  the  Low  for  social 
assistance  

Established  according  the  Law  combating 
trafficking in human beings  

Target groups: 
victims of domestic violence 
victims of trafficking  
women and children  

Target group: 
victims of trafficking 
18 + 

Coordination and accommodation: 
 Structure  of  State  Agency  for  social 
assistance   

Coordination and accommodation: 
National  Commission  to  fight  trafficking  in 
human beings and Local commissions to fight 
trafficking in human beings  

Duration  of  accommodation  and  social 
services/support providing: 
6 months  

Duration  of  accommodation  and  social 
services/support providing: 
10 days or related to the duration of the penal 
lawsuit, 
court 
procedures,  for  the  rest  of  the  cases  it 
depends to their readiness for re-integration 

including  pre-trail  and 

56 These are the centres where currently also trafficked victims are placed. The divisions are based 
on  different  criteria:  existing  crisis  centres  of  NGOs  members  of  the  Alliance,  then  crisis  centres 
sponsored  by  the  state  and  in  which  also  victims  are  placed.  In  addition  to  the  crisis  centres  in 
Varna and Burgas, there are the special shelters for victims under the special law. 

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Private  social  services  providers  are  
registered with the  Register of Agency for 
Social Assistance  

social 

services  providers 

Private 
are  
registered  with  the  Register  of  National 
Commission  to  fight  trafficking  in  human 
beings  

Geographical  location  of  crisis  centres 
where also trafficked victims are  placed : 
In  the  towns  of  Sofia,  Pleven,  Pernik, 
Silistra, Russe, Varna, Bourgas  

location 

Geographical 
trafficked victims: 
In Varna and Bourgas 

of 

shelters 

for 

4. Consultative centres for victims 

Largely  underfunded  and  often  completely  unfunded  are  the  services  run  in  the 
consultative centres of women’s NGOs. All members of the Alliance and other women’s 
NGOs have consultative centres for victims of GBV. This is a complex of social services 
that  is  not  explicitly  regulated  by  the  Law  on  Social  Assistance  in  its  constitution.  The 
consultative centres offer programs for psychological, social and legal counseling as well 
as legal representation, where needed, in addition to referrals to institutions, services and 
other  NGOs.  Most  of  the  centers  offer  services  through  a  helpline.  Consultative  centers 
provide  “entrance”  to  the  other  services  as  well  as  a  “supportive  unit”  after  leaving  a 
crisis  center.    The  counseling  services  of  women’s  NGOs  are  crucial  for  upholding  the 
rights of victims of trafficking. They offer independent legal counselling and early legal 
intervention for  trafficked  victims. The practice shows that expenses incurred by NGOs 
for specialized services for trafficked victims, including for legal representation in some 
isolated cases, are sometimes reimbursed from the budget of the Commission but there is 
no  reliable  and  sustainable  mechanisms  for  financing  such  important  services,  even 
though they play an essential role in the process of recovery of the victim. 

5. Coordination and referrals 

Women-oriented  NGOs  play  important  role  in  the  mechanisms  for  coordination  and 
cooperation  of  institutions,  linking  assistance  and  services  for  victims  of  violence  and 
trafficking.  Such  mechanisms  are  the  National  Referral  Mechanism  (NRM)  for  protection 
and  assistance  for  victims  of  trafficking,  the  Co-  ordination  mechanism  for  unaccompanied 
minors upon their return from trafficking and exploitation abroad, the Special coordination 
mechanism for children at risk and crisis situations. The role of women’s NGOs in the NRM 
is  especially  relevant  in  its  sections  on  “Protection  and  support”  and  on  “Social 
inclusion”.  

6. Protection and support offered to victims 

Crisis intervention 

 A package of urgent measures for  protection and care  giving  of victims. The  following 
activities are covered: 

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  Emergency psychological support 

  Continuous psychological consultations 

  Providing of humanitarian aid 

  Health services 

  Assistance in renewing or issuing documents 

Support during reflection period  

  Consultation about possibility to collaborate in the investigation process 

  Physiological  consultation  related  to  decision  to  collaborate  for  revealing  of  the 

crime 

  Legal consultations 

Long term psychological and social support 

  Psychological consultation/psychotherapy 

  Programs: 

  Program  “Parental  capacity”  (for  victims  that  need  to  provide  care  for  their 

children) 

  Program „Occupational orientation and assistance in finding a job” 

  Program “Budget management” 

  Program  “Gender equal relationship” 

  Assistance and support in continuing education and professional qualification  

 

 

 

Social advocacy and communication with institutions 

Improving of health status 

Investigation and preparation of the environment,  where the victim may be re-
integrated 

 Safe return 

  Providing all needed documentation for the travelling  

  Collaboration with institutions/NGOs cooperation on the return 

  Consultation of safe traveling 

  Organization on the departure 

  Collaboration with authorities and institutions on the arrival 

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7. Major gaps in the system of assistance  

As  key  providers  of  services  to  victims  of  trafficking  the  members  of  the  Alliance 
identified  a  number  of  gaps  in  the  obligations  of  the  government  with  regard  to 
assistance and support of victims of trafficking57. Among these gaps are:  

 

 

 

 

a lack of  financial packages for  social assistance to victims of trafficking;  

an  ad  hoc  social  assistance,  which  is  dependent  on  presenting  evidence  for 
permanent address presenting a considerable obstacle; 

a lack of financial assistance over time;  

a lack of mechanisms and opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship;  

  problems  regarding  interrupted  medical  insurance  rights  and  refusals  for 

hospitalization;  

 

 

lack  of  possibility  for  extended  stay 

a 
in  the  shelters,  of  transitional 
accommodation  places,    and  of  continuous  support    with  social  services  for 
victims, including support to victims in taking care of their children;  

special concern in relation to victims with mental and other disabilities who need 
specialized support and long-term care, and special accommodation. 

8. Legal counselling without delay 

The NGOs dealing with the assistance and support of victims of trafficking  point at the 
non-  implementation  by  the  government  of  the  obligation  provided  for  in  Article  12  of 
the  Directive  2011/36/EU  requiring  legal  counseling  to  victims  of  trafficking  without  delay. 
This provision has not been transposed and as yet it is not a part of the existing NRM.  

The EC ISEC funded transnational project “Upholding rights! Early legal intervention for 
Victims of Human Trafficking” with the participation of the Bulgarian Gender Research 
Foundation and other partners in Ireland, Croatia, UK-London, UK-Glasgow, Lithuania 
and Finland showed the importance of adopting such an approach to legal aid. It further 
showed the importance of the cooperation between NGOs and governmental institutions 
in the best interests of the VoT.58  In the case of Bulgaria the initiative supported models 
of such cooperation and several cases of trafficked women could receive counseling and 
representation, which would not have been possible otherwise.  

The  main  recommendations  from  the  project  apply  to  the  situation  in  Bulgaria.  These 
refer  to  the  need  to  enhance  and  formalize  the  role  and  input  of  specialized  NGOs  in 
identifying potential victims, proactively screen for indicators of trafficking, provision of 
early legal intervention as soon as there is indication of trafficking in human beings, increased 
cooperation  between  law  enforcement  and  NGOs,  ensuring  eligibility  of  victims  for 
services  irrespective  of  criminal  proceedings,  risk  assessment  of  immediate  protection 
needs,  early  collection  of  all  relevant  evidence  and  documentation,  working  in 

57 Alliance for Protection from GBV detailed letter to the new management of the Anti-Trafficking 
Commission with the main problematic areas observed to date, June 2015. 
58 
www.earlylegalintervention.eu 

for  Victims 

Intervention 

Trafficking” 

project 

“Early 

Legal 

ISEC 

EC 

of 

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partnership with other stakeholders and supporting and accompanying  victims in order 
to prevent re-traumatisation. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

ANNEX 2 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender 
perspective in Cyprus and Greece 

Research paper 
by Josie Christodoulou 

ABSTRACT 

The  following  report  is  an  analysis  of  the  transposition  and  implementation  in  Cyprus 
and in Greece of the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and the Council 
on  preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims, 
from a gender perspective. 
It critically examines whether Cyprus and Greece are implementing the directive using a 
gender sensitive approach and whether gender is a basic principle of national legislation, 
policies and practices in relation to trafficking in human beings. Based in thus analysis, it 
is evident that although both Cyprus and Greece are making significant efforts to combat 
THB in recent years, the gender perspective is completely lacking from all their actions.  

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AUTHOR 

Josie  Christodoulou  is  Policy  Coordinator  at  the  Mediterranean  Institute  of  Gender 
Studies [MIGS], Nicosia, Cyprus.  

This  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and 
Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and 
do not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for  non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided 
the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in March 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Content 

Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 63 

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 66 

Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 67 

Cyprus ........................................................................................................................................ 67 
Identification of victims of Trafficking ............................................................................... 68 
Protection and support to victims of trafficking ................................................................ 70 
Preventative measures in combating trafficking in human beings ................................ 72 
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 73 

Greece ......................................................................................................................................... 74 
Identification of Victims of THB .......................................................................................... 74 
Protection and support to victims of trafficking ................................................................ 75 
Principle of non-punishment ................................................................................................. 76 
Preventative measures in combating trafficking in human beings ................................ 77 
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 78 

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 80 

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ABBREVIATIONS 

NR 

National Rapporteur 

TIP report 

Trafficking in Persons Report of the US Department of State   

NAP 

NRM 

THB 

EC 

GRETA 

NGO 

CEDAW 

National Action Plan 

National Referral Mechanism 

Trafficking in Human Beings 

European Commission 

Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings 

Non- Governmental Organisations 

Convention  on  the  Elimination  of  all  Forms  of  Discrimination 
Against Women 

ISP 

Initial Screening Process 

EKKA   

National Centre for Social Solidarity- Ministry of Labour 

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Executive Summary 

Trafficking in human beings (THB) is a complex, often transnational phenomenon rooted 
in  vulnerability  due  to  poverty,  lack  of  democratic  cultures,  gender  inequality  and 
violence  against  women,  conflict  and  post-conflict  situations,  lack  of  social  integration, 
lack  of  opportunities  and  employment,  lack  of  access  to  education,  child  labour  and 
discrimination (EU Strategy 2012-2016). Trafficking is a human rights violation of global 
proportions,  with women  and children being the majority of  those trafficked. A gender 
sensitive  approach  to  trafficking  in  human  beings  recognizes  the  similarities  and 
differences in the experience of trafficked persons, especially women and children, rooted 
in their unequal social situation (D’Cunha 2002). 

The  current  research  paper  aims  to  provide  a  detailed  and  critical  examination  of  the 
application  of a gender  specific  and gender  equality  approach to the  implementation of 
the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive in Cyprus and in Greece, with specific reference to: 

-  Victim identification and the provision of victim support services; 
-  The principle of non- punishment with regards to victims of THB; 
-  The effectiveness of preventive measures taken. 

In addition to human trafficking for sexual exploitation and for labour exploitation, this 
research  paper  focuses  wherever  possible  on  the  different  forms  of  THB  such  as  forced 
begging,  forced  marriages,  sham  marriages  and  organ  harvesting.  For  the  purposes  of 
this report literature review was carried out through desk research as well as a secondary 
analysis  of  policy  documents,  legal  instruments,  media  reports  and  available  statistical 
data. Telephone interviews with relevant stakeholders in Cyprus and in Greece were also 
carried  out  to  gain  additional  information  and  insight.  In  relation  to  Greece  the  writer 
was provided with unpublished reports and documents.  

Cyprus 

Cyprus  transposed  the  EU  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  2011/36/EU  in  2014  with  Law 
60(I)/2014 on the  Prevention and Combating of Trafficking and Exploitation  of  Persons 
and the Protection of Victims. However, although the new legislation is comprehensive it 
lacks gender perspective in that it does not recognize the different needs and experiences 
of women and men victims of trafficking although it is child specific.   

Cyprus  is  mainly  a  destination  country  for  THB  with  the  majority  of  victims  being 
foreign  nationals  (GRETA  report  2015).  The  most  common  forms  of  THB  are  for  sexual 
and  labour  exploitation,  while  there  has  been  a  recent  increase  in  THB  for  sham 
marriages.  

Cyprus has demonstrated increased commitment to combat trafficking in human beings. 
The  Anti-Trafficking  Police  Unit  have  developed  formal  operational  indicators  to  assist 
the  identification  process  based  on  international  standards,  which  take  into  account  the 
gendered characteristics of trafficking flows, and potential victims. However, there is no 
evidence  to  suggest  that  professionals  involved  in  the  identification  procedure  receive 
adequate training and whether such training takes into account the gender specificities of 

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THB. There  is also  no evidence to suggest that other  governmental services such as  the 
Labour Department are actively involved in victim identification processes.  

In relation to the provision of victim support and protection of the victims of trafficking, 
there  is  currently  a  lack  of  a  comprehensive  and  holistic  approach  to  ensure  that  the 
victims of THB  are provided with adequate services that take into account their specific 
needs,  and  address  the  short  and  long-term  impact  of  trafficking.  Only  one  shelter  of 
victims  is  currently  in  operation,  which  does  not  provide  any  in-house  psychosocial 
support  programmes.  Furthermore,  despite  the  number  of  men  identified  as  victims  of 
THB (mainly for labour exploitation), there is no state shelter open to men. 

In terms of prevention, despite the recent criminalization of use of services by victims of 
trafficking  in  2014  and  despite  the  implementation  of  a  campaign  focusing  on  demand 
reduction,  this  has  not  shown  any  quantitative  or  qualitative  positive  impacts,  and  the 
gender dimension of demand, particularly for sexual exploitation, is not addressed in any 
systematic  manner.  Efforts  are  mainly  sporadic  and  ill-planned,  with  no  follow-up  or 
evaluation as to their effects. 

To  conclude,  Cyprus  is  not  adequately  implementing  Directive  2011/36/EU  from  a 
gender  perspective.  Sadly,  in  all  efforts  to  prevent  and  combat  THB  the  gender 
dimension  is  missing,  with  the  exception  of  the  identification  processes  of  the  police 
where a gendered approach is partly incorporated.  In relation to victim and protection, 
the  gendered  dynamics  and  root  causes  of  THB  are  largely  ignored  and  (re)integration 
programmes are non-existent. Furthermore, gendered data and indicators on THB are not 
taken  into  account  in  policy  planning  and  implementation,  and  therefore  the  different 
and specific needs of both women and men are not taken onto account. 

Greece 

Greece  transposed  the  2011/36/EU  Directive  with  the  Law  4198/2013  (215/A΄/2013) 
setting  a  new  legal  framework  for  the  prevention  and  protection  of  victims  of  THB. 
Greece is considered to be a transit and destination country for victims of THB, primarily 
sexual and labour exploitation (EU Anti Trafficking Website) but also for forced begging.  

Data available shows a significant decrease in the number of identified victims in Greece 
in  recent  years.  The  low  number  of  identified  victims  in  Greece  demonstrates  the 
challenges the authorities are facing in taking proactive action. It is not clear whether the 
Police  are  investigating  trafficking  cases  on  a  systematic  basis  and  taking  a  proactive 
approach to the identification of victims. There is no evidence to suggest that the Police 
incorporate  a  gender  perspective  in  their  work,  or  if  their  identification  indicators  take 
into account the gender specificities of THB.  

Despite the above, there is evidence that Greece is making substantial efforts to prevent 
and combat THB. For example, front-line professionals who are in a position to identify 
potential  victims  of  trafficking  are  being  trained.  Another  positive  development  is  the 
establishment  of  a  National  Rapporteur  who  is  in  the  process  of  developing  a  national 
referral  mechanism  as  a  road  map  for  successful  victim  identification,  referral  and 
support,  as  well  as  the  setting  up  of  national  coordination  mechanism  for  all  state 
agencies.  

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In  relation  to  victim  support  and  protection,  there  is  currently  no  state  shelter  to  assist 
and  protect  victims  of  THB  specifically,  although  women  victims  of  trafficking  have 
access  to  shelter  for  victims  of  violence.  There  is  no  state  shelter  of  male  victims  of 
trafficking. Furthermore, NGOs play a crucial role in the state’s efforts to combat THB as 
the  cooperation  between  the  National  Rapporteur  and  NGOs  is  being  formalized  and 
NGOs are providing those services that are not currently offered by the state.   

In terms of prevention, as mentioned above the National Rapporteur is in the process of 
developing the  national referral mechanism which will assist in the identification of the 
victims,  as  well  as  promote  a  more  coordinated  approach  to  victim  support  and 
protection,  as  well  as  prevention  measures.  However,  there  is  currently  no  National 
Action  Plan  that  would  help  in  formulating  a  concrete  strategy  with  specific  targets, 
allocated budget, and outcome indicators.  

To conclude, the gender perspective is absent from all efforts currently being undertaken 
by Greece to combat THB on all levels, starting from legislation, policy, and practice. This 
has  impeded  efforts  to  effectively  identify  victims,  and  offer  support  services  that  are 
tailored to the specific needs of women and men.  There is a one-size-fits-all approach to 
victims of THB, with no analysis or assessment of available data that would promote an 
understanding of the different forms of THB, and enable policy, legislative, institutional 
and  programmatic  initiatives  appropriate  to  women’s  and  men’s  specific  concerns  and 
needs.  

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Introduction 

lack  of  access  to  education,  child 

Trafficking  in  human  beings  (THB)  is  a  complex  transnational  phenomenon  rooted  in 
vulnerability  to  poverty,  lack  of  democratic  cultures,  gender  inequality  and  violence 
against  women,  conflict  and  post-conflict  situations,  lack  of  social  integration,  lack  of 
opportunities  and  employment, 
labour  and 
discrimination  (EU  Strategy  2012-2016).  THB  is  a  human  rights  violation  of  global 
proportions, with women and children being the majority of those trafficked. According 
to  Eurostat  data  for  2012,  women  and  girls  are  overwhelmingly  (96  %)  the  victims  of 
trafficking  for  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  and  the  majority  (75  %)  of  victims  of 
trafficking  for  all  purposes,  while  being  26  %  of  those  trafficked  for  labour  exploitation 
and 52 % of those trafficked for  other forms  of exploitation (Eurostat,  2014). Due  to the 
global face of trafficking in human beings as a form of transnational organized crime and 
an  underground  economy,  it  is  very  difficult  to  have  a  clear  picture  of  its  scope  and 
prevalence (EU Strategy 2012-2016).   

A gender perspective acknowledges that women and men, girls and boys are trafficked 
while recognizing the similarities and differences in the respective experiences which are 
rooted  in  their  unequal  social  situation.    A  gender  perspective  also  recognizes  that 
women  and  men,  girls  and  boys  may  experience  different  gender-based  human  rights 
violations  and  that  the  short  and  long-term  consequences  of  trafficking  may  differ 
substantially. As such, policy and programme interventions will have differential impacts 
and  effects  on  women  and  men.  According  to  D’Cunha  (2002),  a  gender  sensitive 
approach  to  THB  holds  that  “these  differences,  that  disadvantage  women  and  children 
the  most, are grounded in  their  more  marginalized social locations  – gender, age, class, 
ethnicity”  and  that  policy,  legislative,  institutional  and  programmatic  initiatives  should 
empower potential victims, and those trafficked, especially women and children to access 
remedies  and  claim  rights  (D’Cunha,  2002).  According  to  the  EC  report  on  the  gender 
dimension, “the distinction between gender neutral and gender-specific has implications 
for the design of best practice in the provision of services and other forms of intervention 
to  assist  victims  and  prevent  trafficking  in  order  to  ensure  that  these  are  carefully 
designed  according  to  need  and  relevance.”  (Walby  et  al.  2016).  The  same  report 
underlines  that:  “The  harms  from  trafficking  are  gender  specific.  The  harms  from 
trafficking  for  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  are  different  from  the  harms  from 
trafficking for purposes of labour and other forms of exploitation...”  

This  research  paper  is  one  of  the  pieces  of  expertise  accompanying  the  own  initiative 
report  from  the  European  Parliament’s  Committee  on  Women’s  Rights  and  Gender 
Equality  (FEMM)  on  the  Implementation  of  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  5  April  2011  on 
preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims from a 
gender  perspective.  The  Ex-  Post  Impact  Assessment  Unit  (IMPT)  of  Directorate  C- 
Impact  Assessment  and  European  Added  Value  (Within  Directorate  General  for 
European Parliament  Research Services, DG EPRS) has been called to provide expertise 
on the implementation of this directive. 

This  research  paper  will  look  at  the  cases  of  Cyprus  and  Greece.  Cyprus  transposed 
Directive 2011/36/EU in 2014 and Greece in 2013. One major commonality between the 

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two countries is that both  have been  identified as destination countries of trafficking in 
human  beings,  with  sexual  and  labour  exploitation  being  the  forms  of  trafficking  most 
often identified. In contrast to the case of Cyprus, Greece is also considered to be a transit 
country for victims of trafficking.59 

Methodology 

The  current  research  paper  aims  to  provide  a  detailed  and  critical  examination  of  the 
application  of a gender  specific  and gender  equality  approach to the  implementation of 
the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive in Cyprus and in Greece, with specific reference to: 

-  Victim identification and the provision of victim support services; 
-  The principle of non- punishment with regards to victims of THB; 
-  The effectiveness of preventive measures taken. 

The  research  paper  will  also  look  at  different  forms  of  trafficking  in  human  beings,  in 
addition  to  sexual  exploitation  and  labour  exploitation  such  as  forced  begging,  forced 
marriages,  sham  marriages  and  organ  harvesting.  For  the  purposes  of  this  report 
literature review was carried out through desk research as well as a secondary analysis of 
policy  documents,  legal  instruments,  media  reports  and  available  statistical  data. 
Telephone  interviews  with  relevant  stakeholders  in  Cyprus  and  in  Greece  were  also 
carried  out  to  gain  additional  information  and  insight.  In  relation  to  Greece  the  writer 
was provided with unpublished reports and documents.  

Cyprus  

Key findings: 

  Cyprus  is  not  adequately  implementing  Directive  2011/36/EU  from  a  gender 
perspective.  Sadly,  in  all  efforts  to  prevent  and  combat  THB  the  gender 
dimension is missing.  

  Gendered  data  and  indicators  on  THB  are  not  taken  into  account  in  policy 
planning and implementation, and therefore the different and specific needs of 
both women and men are not taken onto account 

On 15 April 2014 Cyprus adopted the Law 60(I)/2014 on the Prevention and Combating 
of Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons and the Protection of Victims, which provides 
the legal framework for the prevention and combating of trafficking and exploitation of 
human beings, as well as the protection of victims. This law is quite comprehensive and 
in  line  with  Directive  2004/81/EC  and  Directive  2011/36/EU  and  replacing  previous 
trafficking  legislation,  notably  Law  87(I)2007.  However,  although  the  new  legislation  is 
comprehensive  it  lacks  gender  perspective  in  that  it  does  not  recognize  the  different 

59 Informal EU Network of National Rapporteurs; https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/national-
rapporteurs/greece 

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needs  and  experiences  of  women  and  men  victims  of  trafficking  although  it  is  child 
specific.   

Identification of victims of Trafficking  

Key findings: 

  There 

is  no  evidence  to  suggest  that  professionals 

in  the 
identification  procedure receive  adequate  training and whether such  training 
takes into account the gender specificities of THB.  

involved 

  Other governmental  services such as the  Labour  Department are not actively 

involved in victim identification processes.  

According  to  the  second  evaluation  report  of  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against 
Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  (GRETA)  of  the  Council  of  Europe,  Cyprus  is  mainly  a 
destination country for THB with the majority of victims being foreign nationals (GRETA 
report  2015).  The  most  common  forms  of  THB  are  for  sexual  and  labour  exploitation, 
while there has been a recent increase in THB for sham marriages. Statistics show that the 
number of THB victims identified in 2015 had increased slightly to 46 compared to 42 in 
2014. A closer look at the  data by gender shows that in 2015, 22 identified victims were 
men, of which 21 were victims of THB for labour exploitation and one victim of THB for 
criminal activities. A total of 20 women were identified as victims, 9 of which were for the 
purpose of sexual exploitation, 6 for labour exploitation, 2 for sham marriages, 3 for both 
labour and sexual exploitation, and one for adoption purposes.  In 2014, women were the 
majority of THB victims identified (25 out of 42 victims in total).  According to the Anti-
Trafficking Unit of the Cyprus Police which is the responsible body for the identification 
of victims in Cyprus60, the main countries of origin for THB victims are Vietnam, India, 
Bulgaria and Romania.  

According  to  the  data  available,  although  in  the  past  the  majority  of  THB  victims  were 
trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation (mainly from Eastern Europe) in recent 
years  the  number  of  victims  trafficked  for  the  purpose  of  labour  exploitation  has 
increased  substantially.  In  its  second  report,  GRETA  notes  the  increasing  number  of 
identified  victims  of  THB,  including  the  growing  number  of  victims  trafficked  for  the 
purpose  of  labour  exploitation.  In  2013,  victims  of  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation 
accounted for one-third of all identified victims; in 2014, for half of the victims, and in the 
first  seven  months  of  2015,  for  two-thirds  of  all  victims.  This  significant  increase,  is 
partially due  to the abolition of the so called “artiste  visa”61 in 2008 which resulted in a 

60  According  to  the  article  45(I)  on  Prevention  and  Combating  of  Trafficking  and  Exploitation  of 
Persons  and  the  Protection  of  Victims,  Law  60(I)/2014,  the  Cyprus  Police  is  the  competent 
authority to determine and identify whether a person is a victim of THB. 
61 In Cyprus, women netering the country under the status of ”artiste” were forced into prostitution 
by traffickers who fraudulently recruit victims for work as ‘entertainment’ dancers in cabarets and 
nightclubs  on  short-term  ‘artiste’  or  ‘entertainment’  visas.  See  more  Mapping  the  realities  of 
Trafficking in Women for Sexual Exploitation in Cyprus, Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies 
(2007) 

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high  number  high  risk  establishments62  for  sex  trafficking  (such  as  cabarets  and 
nightclubs) shutting down. However, a small number of cabarets continue to operate as 
well as other establishments considered high risk such as bars where potential victims of 
THB can be found. What can also affect the number of victims of sex trafficking identified 
is the notable decrease in the number of operations carried out by the police on such high 
risk establishments for sex trafficking.  

Furthermore, according to the NGO STOP Trafficking International in Cyprus, due to the 
shutting down of cabarets and nightclubs, trafficking and sexual exploitation now largely 
take place in massage parlors and private  apartments. According to the  police this shift 
has  made  access  to  sites  where  trafficking  and  exploitation  are  potentially  taking  place 
more difficult. However, a striking and ethically questionable method used in Cyprus for 
the identification of THB cases and potential victims of THB is the use of ‘collaborators’ 
by  the  Police.  When  the  police  receive  information  in  relation  to  possible  cases  of 
prostitution  or  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  the  police  recruit  a  ‘collaborator’  who 
will  visit  the  site  where  possible  exploitation  is  taking  place  and  proceed  with  buying 
sexual  services,  using  marked  money  as  well  as  the  used  condom  as  evidence. 
Condemning  the  practice,  the  Cyprus  Ombudsman  stated  that  “what  should  guide  the 
actions  of  the  police  in  this  matter  is  to  avoid  any  action  or  behavior  that  may  give 
potential  victims  the  impression  that  the  police  directly  or  indirectly  encourages  ‘client 
behaviour’  which  can  result  in  the  victim  losing  faith  and  trust  in  the  criminal  justice 
system and refuse to provide information or cooperate with the police.  

This practice also ignores the physical and psychological effects of trafficking and sexual 
exploitation,  which  are  gender  specific.  As  underlined  by  the  recent  EC  study,  the 
“Identification  of  victims  of  trafficking  needs  to  take  account  of  this  gender  specificity. 
Victims  of  trafficking  for  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  can  be  hidden  within  mixed 
populations  of  independent,  exploited  and  coerced  prostitutes  and  in  mixed  migration 
flows. They are fearful of both traffickers and authorities. Gender expertise is needed to 
provide  gender-sensitive  processes  of  victim  identification  in  these  circumstances”. 
(Walby et al. 2016) 

In relation to labour exploitation, statistics show that the majority of identified victims are 
men  working  in  construction,  in  the  agricultural  sector  and/or  tourism,  with  many  of 
them  been  undocumented  migrants.  A  recent  study  carried  out  by  the  Mediterranean 
Institute  of  Gender  Studies  (University  of  Nicosia  Press  2015),  shows  however  that 
documented  female  migrant  domestic  workers,  a  population  of  more  than  30,000  in 
Cyprus  63,  are  also  at  high  risk  for  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation  in  domestic  work 
and that “elements of trafficking, specifically deceptive recruitment and exploitation, are 
present and easily identifiable in the domestic work sector, a highly gendered sector, in 
Cyprus”.  Nevertheless,  very  few  domestic  workers  have  been  identified  as  victims  of 
trafficking for labour exploitation. This is due to two main factors:  

62  “High  risk  establishments”  shall  mean  all  licensed  cabarets  and  pubs  that  “recruit”  women  on 
“artiste”  visas.  This  categorization  is  drawn  from  the  Cyprus  Government  report  to  the  CEDAW 
Committee 2006, p.33. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/35sess.htm   
63 According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, Demographic Report 2014, the population of Cyprus 
is 847.000 

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1.  The  vast  majority  of  domestic  workers  live  and  work  in  the  home  of  their 
employers, and labour inspections are prohibited in households because they are 
private domains. 

2.  When  domestic  workers  file  complaints  with  the  Labour  Department  of  the 
Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance in relation  to labour  disputes, 
labour  officers  do  not  investigate  potential  cases  of  trafficking.  This  is  mainly 
because of lack of training to such officers on identification of THB.  

As  mentioned  above,  there  has  been  a  recent  increase  in  cases  of  THB  for  sham 
marriages.  According  to  the  Anti-Trafficking  Unit  of  Police,  between  2010  and  2015  22 
women  were  formally  identified  as  victims  of  trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sham 
marriages.  The  women  identified  were  EU  nationals  deceived  or  forced  to  marry  third 
country  nationals,  with  a  view  to  enabling  them  to  acquire  EU  residency.  Women  are 
often  deceived  through  the  offer  of  free  holidays  in  Cyprus  and  are  subsequently 
threatened  and/or  locked  up.  According  to  media  reports,  a  number  of  victims  were 
simultaneously sexually exploited.  The lack of harmonization of EU legislation regarding 
the crime of sham marriage, as well as legislative loopholes and differences among MS, 
result  in  the  misrepresentation  of  the  real  scale  of  this  crime  area  which  affects  mostly 
women (Situation Report Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU, 2016). 

According  to  the  Asylum  Unit  in  Cyprus,  a  positive  development  in  Cyprus  is  that 
“victims  of  THB  may  now  be  detected  during  the  process  of  asylum  as  part  of  the 
screening procedure or interview with the competent asylum officer. The Asylum Service 
co-operates  with  the  police  in  identifying  possible  victims  of  trafficking  and  has 
established  an  Initial  Screening  Process  (ISP)  for  asylum  applications  for  identification 
purposes”. According to both the Asylum Unit and the Police, potential victims of THB 
have the option to be interviewed by an officer of the same sex, in order to create a safer 
space and promote trust. 

Lastly,  it  should  be  noted  that  the  Anti-Trafficking  Police  Unit  have  developed  formal 
operational  indicators  to  assist  the  identification  process  based  on  international 
standards, which take into account the gendered characteristics of trafficking flows, and 
potential victims.  However, there  is no evidence to suggest that professionals involved 
in the identification procedure receive adequate training and whether such training takes 
into account the gender specificities of THB.   

Protection and support to victims of trafficking  

Key finding: 

There  is  currently  a  lack  of  a  gendered,  comprehensive,  and  holistic  approach  to 
ensure  that  the  victims  of  THB  are  provided  with  adequate  services  that  take  into 
account  victims  specific  needs,  and  address  the  short  and  long-term  impact  of 
trafficking. 

In relation to the provision of victim support services, according to the Anti-Trafficking 
Unit  of  the  police  “when  possible  female  victims  are  identified,  accommodation  is 
secured  in  the  state  shelter”,  which  hosts  female  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual 

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exploitation,  or  are  offered  secure  accommodation  through  NGO  services.  However, 
according to NGO reports, the state shelter operates more as a hostel rather than a shelter 
as  no  victims  support  services  are  offered  on  site.  There  are  currently  no  state  or  NGO 
shelters  for  male  victims  of  THB.  However,  the  police  ensure  that  male  victims  are 
secured safe accommodation.  

Although  victims  of  trafficking  receive  basic  psychological  and  other  support  by  the 
different state  authorities and services,  victims do  not receive  a holistic,  human  centred 
approach  and  therefore  do  not  receive  adequate  witness  protection  schemes  nor  are 
trained  to  support  their  cases  during  the  court  hearing.  Such  an  approach  could  be 
ensured trough the operation of a National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which is still not 
in  place  in  Cyprus.64  According  to  GRETA’s  second  report  on  Cyprus,  a  NRM  would 
“have the status of secondary legislation, describing the procedures to be followed at all 
stages and in more detail than Law 60(I)2014”. Given that the Cyprus legislation on THB 
is gender neutral, a robust NRM could ensure that a gender perspective and approach is 
integrated at all levels of victims support and protection. 

As far as tertiary prevention is concerned, the state has not adopted an official integration 
plan  or  policy  for  victims  of  trafficking  and  vocational  training  or  other  tertiary 
prevention programmes are not offered to victims of trafficking. “The Ministry of Labour, 
Welfare  and  Social  Insurance  is  currently  examining  the  possibility  of  participation  of 
[THB]  victims  in  specially  designed  Greek/  English  language  learning  programs, 
operated by the Ministry of Education and Culture or vocational and training programs” 
(GRETA report 2015). Although there have been efforts to secure employment for victims 
of trafficking in Cyprus, the Labour Department is not taking the necessary measures to 
do  so.  For  example,  victims  of  trafficking  hold  an  identification  certification  or  a 
temporary  residence  under  the  status  of  “visitor”  for  6  months  making  it  almost 
impossible to secure employment. Specifically in relation to gender, rather than offering 
employment  to  female  victims  of  THB  that  would  address  the  gendered  aspects  of 
vulnerability,  in  the  past  the  labour  department  has  provided  stereotypically  female 
employment  options  to  women  of  THB,  such  as  domestic  work  without  taking  into 
consideration  their  specific  qualifications  and/or  skills.  This  has  effectively  placed  THB 
victims  in  precarious  employment  sectors  that  do  not  take  into  account  their  best 
interests. 

Principle of non- punishment  

The new anti-trafficking law 60(I)2014 Article 29 provides that victims of THB are not to 
be prosecuted and subject to sanctions for their involvement in criminal activities where 
such  involvement  is  a  direct  consequence  of  the  fact  that  the  persons  were  victims  of 
THB.  According  to  the  Cypriot  Assize  Court  during  their  meeting  with  GRETA,  a 
number  of  victims  of  trafficking  were  not  charged  with  illegal  entry  and  residence  in 
Cyprus.  However,  there  is  anecdotal  evidence  that  following  police  raids,  potential 
victims  of  trafficking  are  subsequently  deported  without  being  identified.  According  to 

64 At the moment the document of the NRM is with the Press and Information Office (PIO) of the 
government for editing. 

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media  reports65,  following  a  police  raid  of  the  so-called  “Aphrodite  Temple”,  out  of  17 
women  foreign  nationals  involved  in  prostitution  activities,  16  were  deported  to  their 
countries.  

Preventative measures in combating trafficking in human beings  

Key findings: 

  Cyprus has recently criminalized the use of services by victims of trafficking in 

2014.  

  However  and  despite  the  implementation  of  a  campaign  focusing  on  demand 
reduction, this has not shown any quantitative or qualitative positive impacts, 
and  the  gender  dimension  of  demand,  particularly  for  sexual  exploitation,  is 
not addressed in any systematic manner.  

  Efforts are mainly sporadic and ill-planned, with no follow-up or evaluation as 

to their effects. 

In relation to prevention of THB, one of the improved measures undertaken in Cyprus is 
in the inclusion of article 17 in the new legislation of THB, to address the demand side of 
THB. Article 17 criminalizes the use of services provided by victims of trafficking  where 
the user of such services should reasonably have been able to conclude or suspect that the service 
was  provided  by  a  victim  of  trafficking.  Although  this  is  considered  a  very  positive  step 
forward in the direction of criminalizing all parties to the crime  of THB, there is still no 
case  law  under  this  provision  and  there  have  been  practical  difficulties  in  its 
implementation.  Some  NGOs  in  Cyprus66  believe  that  the  relevant  article  should  be 
revised  to  hold  responsible  the  user  of  services  by  victims  of  trafficking  regardless  of 
their knowledge, and that in this way the Cyprus state would demonstrate zero tolerance 
to THB, particularly in cases of sexual exploitation.  

Also  in  relation  to  demand  reduction,  a  media  campaign  was  implemented  by  the 
Ministry  of  Interior,  the  Multidisciplinary  Group  on  combating  trafficking  in  human 
beings67  and  the  National  Machinery  for  Women’s  Rights  focusing  on  the  sexual  and 
labour  exploitation  and  the  demand  side  of  both  forms.  The  campaign  was  visible 
through ad boards, as well as radio and TV clips and was implemented in 2013 for two 
months.  Although  the  focus  of  this  campaign  was  demand  reduction,  a  gender 
perspective  was  not  apparent  in  the  campaign  message,  despite  demand  for  sexual 
exploitation  being  a  highly  gendered  phenomenon  and  rooted  in  historically  unequal 
power relations between women and men.  

65 http://cyprus-mail.com/2014/10/04/aphrodites-temple-trial-to-go-ahead-despite-threats-of-
revelations/ 
66  STIGMA  NGO  http://www.stigma-organisation.org/#!activities/c132w    and  Mediterranean 
Institute of Gender Studies, www.medinstgenderstudies.org  
67 The Multidisciplinary Group was created under the 2007 Law on Combating Trafficking in 
Human Beings and it is chaired by the coordinator, the Minister of Interior and it is composed by 
all relevant ministries as well as four NGOs 

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Other  preventative  activities  have  included  awareness  raising  on  THB  in  schools  under 
the  thematic  priorities  on  human  rights  on  the  initiative  of  the  Pedagogical  Institute  in 
Cyprus.  However,  there  is  no  evidence  to  suggest  that  such  school-based  activities 
incorporate a gender perspective or address the root causes of THB. 

The provision of information to migrant workers in Cyprus has also been identified as a 
strategy  to  prevent  THB.  The  Ministry  of  Labour,  Welfare  and  Social  Insurance  have 
drafted  informational  leaflets  in  relation  to  the  rights  and  obligations  of  third  country 
nationals  working  in  Cyprus  that  are  available  in  six  languages  including  English, 
Russian, Sri-Lankese, Arabic and Romanian. However, there is no information available 
on where these leaflets have been disseminated and the extent to which migrant workers 
receive  them  upon  entering  Cyprus.  Furthermore,  questions  however  remain  as  to  the 
extent to which information on THB is included, and whether such information takes into 
account the specific experiences and vulnerabilities of women and men. 

In  relation  to  migrant  workers,  it  is  worth  making  special  reference  to  female  migrant 
domestic workers that comprise the majority of migrant workers in Cyprus. Despite this 
sector  being  highly  unregulated  and  highly  precarious,  it  has  been  largely  ignored  in 
anti-trafficking  policy  in  Cyprus.  The  contract  of  employment  for  domestic  workers  is 
particularly revealing in this respect. Firstly, the contract is drafted by the Civil Registry 
and  Migration  Department  of  the  Ministry  of  Interior  without  substantial  consultation 
with the Ministry of Labour, Welfare and Social Insurance that would ensure and clearly 
define labour protections and recourse for domestic workers. Furthermore, according to 
an  officer  from  the  Office  of  the  Commissioner  for  Administration  “…the  contract  was 
created in such a way  that instead of clearly and adequately defining labour rights and 
duties…it treats the employee in a derogatory manner, paternalistically…and imposes an 
absolute  connection  between  the  residence  and  work  permit  with  one  specific 
employer…and in total it maintain a status of fear and subordination.”  

Conclusion 

Following  Cyprus’s  conviction  by  the  European  Court  of  Human  Rights  in  the  case  of 
Oxana  Rancheva  in  2010  (Case  of  Ranchev  VS  Cyprus  and  Russia)  for  having "violated 
the girl's right to life and right to protection under the law”, Cyprus has been stepping up 
efforts  to  combat  THB.  On  a  legislative  level  Cyprus  has  ratified  the  Convention  of  the 
Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and 
transposed  the  EC  Directive  on  preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings 
and protecting its victims. Governmental officers and especially the Anti-Trafficking Unit 
of the Cyprus Police as well as NGOs are gaining experience and expertise on the issue 
and are in a better position to face the challenge of THB in Cyprus in a more coordinated 
fashion.  

Without minimizing such efforts undertaken by Cyprus to combat trafficking in human 
beings it  should be underlined that a lot  still needs to be done in order to implement a 
gendered approach to THB as per the directive.  Women remain a particularly high risk 
group for THB for all forms of exploitation, while little attention is paid to the specificities 
of men’s experiences. Cyprus should urgently incorporate a gender sensitive approach in 

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all its policies and actions on THB in order to meet the specific needs of women and men 
victims  based  on  their  specific  experiences  and  needs,  as  well  as  adopt  a  more 
coordinated  approach  towards  the  prevention  of  THB  and  protection  of  victims  by 
“enabling  policy,  legislative,  institutional  and  programmatic  initiatives  appropriate  to 
women’s and men’s specific concerns” (D’Cunha, 2002). 

Greece  

Key findings: 

  The  gender  perspective  is  absent  from  all  efforts  currently  being  undertaken 
by  Greece  to  combat  THB  on  all  levels,  starting  from  legislation,  policy,  and 
practice.  

  This  has  impeded  efforts  to  effectively  identify  victims,  and  offer  support 

services that are tailored to the specific needs of women and men.   

Greece  transposed  the  2011/36/EU  Directive  with  the  Law  4198/2013  (215/A΄/2013) 
setting  a  new  legal  framework  for  the  prevention  and  protection  of  victims  of  THB. 
Greece is considered to be a transit and destination country for victims of THB, primarily 
sexual and labour exploitation (EU Anti Trafficking Website) but also for forced begging. 
According  to  the  Trafficking  in  Persons  Report  by  the  U.S  State  Department,  Greece  is 
also “to a very limited extent, a source country for women and children subjected to sex 
trafficking and men, women, and children are subjected to forced labor (TIP Report 2015). 
This is also evident from the statistics provided by the Greek police that show that since 
in  2015  there  were  four  Greek  recognized  victims  of  trafficking,  one  man  and  three 
women. 

As will be discussed further below, Greece has only recently (since 2013) begun stepping 
up its efforts toward a more coordinated and comprehensive approach to combating THB 
and the setting up of relevant mechanisms.  

Identification of Victims of THB 

Key findings: 

  There is a significant decrease in the number of identified victims in Greece in 

recent years.  

  The low number of identified victims in Greece demonstrates the challenges the 

authorities are facing in taking proactive action.  

  There is no evidence to suggest that the Police incorporate a gender perspective 
in  their  work,  or  if  their  identification  indicators  take  into  account  the  gender 
specificities of THB.  

The most recent statistical data for Greece (2015) shows a decrease in the identification of 
victims. In 2014 the  number  of identified victims reached 99, as compared to 64 in 2014 
(TIP Report 2015). In 2015, 50 victims of THB were identified (11 victims of forced labour, 

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30 victims of sexual exploitation, nine of forced begging). Victims for sexual exploitation 
are  overwhelming  women  with  the  majority  coming  from  Bulgaria  (11),  followed  by 
Moldova (4), Ukraine (4) and Romania (4).  According to the Greek Police, trafficking for 
sexual  exploitation  takes  place  mainly  in  illegal  brothels,  strip  clubs,  massage  parlors, 
and in the streets. A new trend that has been identified is that of transporting victims to 
rural  areas  as  seasonal  workers  where  they  are  in  fact  sexually  exploited.  Seven  child 
victims of THB were identified in 2015, of which four were girls exploited in prostitution. 
Children victims of trafficking were in 2015 7 in total were 4 girls were victims of sexual 
exploitation,  2  boys  and  1  girl  were  victims  of  forced  begging.  In  relation  to  labour 
exploitation  most  identified  victims  were  men  in  rural  areas.  Despite  the  above 
mentioned  forms  of  exploitation,  recent  research  by  the  Centre  for  Gender  Studies  of 
Panteion  University  has  shown  that  domestic  workers  are  a  group  particularly 
vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation (University of Nicosia Press, 2015). Despite this, 
the Greek authorities do not make the link between trafficking and labour exploitation in 
domestic work, a highly gendered sector, where female migrant workers are particularly 
vulnerable  to  THB  because  of  the  ways  that  they  are  recruited  by  recruitment  and 
employment agencies. Exacerbating the issue is the fact that THB is framed as a security 
threat  rather  than  a  human  rights  issue,  which  hinders  the  possibility  of  integrating  a 
gendered and victim-centered perspective.   

The  low  number  of  identified  victims  in  Greece  demonstrates  the  challenges  the 
authorities  are  facing  in  taking  proactive  action.  It  is  not  clear  whether  the  Police  are 
investigating  trafficking  cases  on  a  systematic  basis  and  taking  a  proactive  approach  to 
the identification of victims. There is no evidence to suggest that the Police incorporate a 
gender perspective in their work, or if their identification indicators take into account the 
gender specificities of THB.  

Protection and support to victims of trafficking  

Key finding: 

  There  is  no  state  shelter  to  assist  and  protect  victims  of  THB  specifically, 
although  women  victims  of  trafficking  have  access  to  shelter  for  victims  of 
violence 

According to Greece National Rapporteur (NR)68 there have been intensive efforts to fight 
THB  in  Greece,  following  a  comprehensive  approach  that  includes  legislative  reforms, 
inter-agency  coordination,  protection  of  victims,  public  awareness  campaigns  and 
cooperation  with  stakeholders  from  international  institutions,  as  well  as  countries  of 
origin,  transit  and  destination.  A  positive  step  by  the  office  of  National  Rapporteur  are 
efforts  for  the  development  and  implementation  of  a  National  Referral  Mechanism 
(NRM) as a road map for successful victim identification, referral and support, as well as 
the setting up of national coordination mechanism for all state agencies.  According to the 
NR it has been agreed with the National Centre for Social Solidarity- Ministry of Labour 
(EKKA) that  the  latter will assume a leading role as the  principal state  agency that will 
compile information and coordinate all  stakeholders  and partners of the  NRM.  Further, 

68 Telephone interview with the Greek NR, dated 29 February 2016. 

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EKKA will coordinate the NRM for successful inter-agency cooperation on issues such as 
identification, support, protection and promotion of the rights of victims (including presumed 
victims) of trafficking in Greece. The NR clarified69 that the NRM is anticipated to be fully 
operational in 2016.  

Additionally,  the  NR  is  in  the  process  of  setting  up  a  national  data  base  for  victims’ 
assistance  and  for  prosecutions  in  collaboration  with  the  national  statistical  service,  to 
promote  large  scale  training  for  competent  authorities  and  partnerships  with  all 
stakeholders including the private sector academia. Importantly, however, in the specific 
articles  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Law  on  the  establishment  of  the  NR,  gender 
mainstreaming is invisible even as a matter of principle, leaving it to the discretion of the 
person who will take the position of the NR.    

According to the TIP report 2015, due to the economic crisis and fiscal measures imposed 
on  Greece  as  part  of  the  country’s  bail  out  “NGOs  expressed  concerns  regarding 
government  funding  shortfalls”  as  well  as  “the  Government  was  not  in  position  to 
determine  how  much  funding  was  spent  exclusively  on  victim’s  assistance”.  According 
to  the  office  of  the  NR,  victims  as  well  as  potential  victims  of  trafficking  receive 
psychological  support,  medical  care  and  free  legal  aid70,  however  it  is  not  clear  from 
available  information  whether this  support is gender  blind  or  whether it incorporates a 
gendered perspective.   

The  NR  noted  that  the  “General  Secretariat  for  Gender  Equality  in  cooperation  with 
municipalities  all  over  Greece  has  launched  the  establishment  of  shelters  for  women 
victims  of  violence,  including  victims  of  trafficking.  Currently,  21  shelters  are  in 
operation  and  3  more  are  operated  by  EKKA  offering  assistance  to  more  than  55  cases 
from 2012-2014 (1 of them is emergency shelter, in Athens and Thessaloniki). EKKA has 
cooperation  agreements  and  Memoranda  of  understanding  in  place  with  3  NGOs  to 
house, protect and assist children in danger and women, victims of violence” in general. 
The privately funded NGO A21 Campaign in Thessaloniki runs a shelter exclusively for 
women  THB  victims.  The  A21  Campaign  and  NGO  PRAKSIS,  both  important  NGOs 
partners of the Office, have also opened another emergency shelter in Athens for women 
victims of trafficking. According to the NR, A21 Campaign offers psycho-social support, 
psychotherapy,  medical  care,  vocational  guidance  and  legal  representation  or  the 
facilitation of repatriation.  It should be noted that the shelter is provided independently 
of the cooperation of the victim with the authorities.  

In  relation  to  re-integration  of  victims,  there  is  no  evidence  to  suggest  that  integration 
programmes are being implemented by the Greek authorities, thus the gender dimension 
of this important aspect of victim support and protection cannot be evaluated.  

Principle of non-punishment 

According  to  the  Anti-Trafficking  legislation  4198/2013,  article  4  exempts  victims  of 
trafficking  from  punishment  for  unlawful  acts  committed  as  a  direct  result  of  being 

69 Complimentary Telephone conversation with Greek NR, dated 8 March 2016. 
70 According to the National Rapporteur, his office has agreed with an NGO (A21 Greece) free legal 
aid  for  victims  of  trafficking  that  will  be  provided  by  the  law  team  of  the  aforementioned  NGO. 
This  collaboration  is  taking  place  within  the  priority  of  the  National  Rapporteur’s  Office  for  the 
creation of the functional National Referral Mechanism.  

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subjected to trafficking. At the same time, according to information provided by the NR, 
“the  police  report  that  they  have  adopted  a  screening  process  to  ensure  that  possible 
victims of trafficking in custody are not deported or  sent to migrant detention centers”. 
At  the  same  however,  the  TIP  report  claims  that  “Greek  authorities  reportedly  arrested 
and  detained  trafficking  victims  for  prostitution  offences  without  screening  for  signs  of 
trafficking” (TIP Report 2015).    

One  positive aspect  in relation to THB in Greece  is that the  Greek state  is at some  level 
showing  zero  tolerance  towards  corruption  in  THB  cases.  According  to  the  police  there 
were  two  cases  in  2015  where  public  officers  were  involved  in  trafficking  in  human 
beings. Once case was at the level of local government and where an official was accused 
of  bribery,  producing  false  documents  and  distortion  of  information  among  other 
offences,  and  other  case  involved  a  police  officer  who  was  accused  of  involvement  in  a 
criminal organization, trafficking, and pimping. There were also other cases in 2013 were 
the  police  reported  “suspending  several  corrupt  police  officers  involved  in  bribery, 
blackmail, and the exploitation of women, although the women were not confirmed to be 
trafficking victims” (TIP Report 2015).   

Preventative measures in combating trafficking in human beings 

Key Findings: 

  A national referral mechanism is in the process of being established 

  There is no formal National Action Plan for combating THB leaving all actions 
with no concrete strategy, with specific targets, budget and indicators towards 
the elimination of THB  

One  limitation  in  Greece  is  that  there  is  no  National  Action  Plan  (NAP)  on  specific 
actions, objectives, target groups, results as well as evaluation and specific budget needed 
on the actions and efforts in combating THB. This puts into question the political will of 
the Greek Government to preventing and combating THB. The lack of an NAP leaves the 
responsibility  to  the  National  Rapporteur  who  is  in  the  process  in  creating  a  national 
referral  mechanism.  It  further  leaves  the  responsibility  to  the  discretion  of  relevant 
authorities  without coordination and  specific  targets. Despite  this,  according to  the NR, 
there  have  been  efforts  to  raise  awareness  on  THB  among  the  general  public,  as  well 
among  frontline  professionals  dealing  with  possible  cases  of  THB  on  victim 
identification. Further the government of Greece is also taking action to raise awareness 
among  potential  victims  and  more  specifically  among  women  victims  of  violence  more 
generally through the operation of a hotline where (potential) victims can seek assistance. 
Further the office of the NR has plans to promote an awareness raising campaign among 
the general public specifically addressing the demand side of THB. However, there is no 
evidence  as  to  the  methods  used  in  order  to  achieve  the  above  and  it  is  apparent  that 
gender sensitive approaches towards preventing THB is absent. 

Some  noteworthy  examples  that  are  promising  in  relation  to  addressing  the  gender 
specificities  of  THB  in  prevention  activities,  include  a  conference  in  Athens  on 
“Prostitution and Trafficking in Greece” organized by the NR in collaboration with both 
state authorities and NGOs including the General Secretariat on Gender Equality.  Given 

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the discussions taking place at EU level on the connection between prostitution and THB, 
this event was timely and the focus was on women in prostitution and how the system of 
prostitution and THB are linked. 

Another  noteworthy  example  is  the  awareness  raising  festival  on  modern  day  slavery 
entitled  “Break  the  chain”,  implemented  by  the  NR.  The  aim  was  “to  inform  and  raise 
awareness  to  the  general  public  on  Human  Rights,  Immigration,  and  Human  rights 
Violations with emphasis  on THB and  modern day slavery and to combine  culture and 
art  with  awareness  raising  and  social  activism”.  Despite  gender  equality  not  being 
included in the main aims of the festival, the festival had as its core philosophy demand 
reduction  and  human  rights  education  –  focusing  on  sex  merchandizing  and  how  it  is 
linked  to  sex  stereotyping  -  in  schools  targeting  young  people.  The  campaign  was 
successful in that approximately 3.000 people visited the festival, 80 people participated 
as  speakers,  and  many  musicians,  photographers,  performers,  NGOs  and  other 
stakeholders participated. According to the NR the campaign had “a considerable impact 
in  public  awareness,  since  the  police  reported  a  rise  in  the  number  of  telephone  calls 
received from people denouncing cases of potential THB victims”. 

In relation to demand reduction, Greece has criminalized the use of services from victims 
of trafficking. More specifically paragraph 3 of Article 323A of the penal code states that 
“Whoever knowingly accepts the labour of the person, who is subjected to the conditions 
described in paragraphs 1 and 2, or the proceeds from the begging of that person, shall be 
punished  with  imprisonment  of  at  least  six  months”71.  Furthermore,  according  to 
paragraph 3 of article 351 of the penal code, “Whoever knowingly acts indecently with a 
person  who  is  under  the  conditions  described  in  paragraphs  1  and  2  shall  be  punished 
with imprisonment of at least six months”72. However, as in the case of Cyprus, there is 
no evidence of case law demonstrating the effectiveness of the criminalization provision.  

Conclusion 

Since the transposition of the EC directive, Greece is indeed making more serious efforts 
to combat THB by adopting a more comprehensive approach towards the phenomenon. 
It  is  evident  that  with  the  creation  of  the  National  Rapporteur,  Greece  has  taken  more 
concrete steps in this direction. However, all the information received from Greece shows 
that  the  gender  dimension  is  not  taken  into  account  at  any  level  and  legislation,  policy 
and  action  on  THB  are  largely  gender  blind  and  ignore  the  gender  specificities  of  THB 
and the different experiences and needs of women and men, treating victims of THB as a 
homogenous  group.  Official  indicators  for  the  identification  of  victims  need  to  be 
developed with a robust gender approach, and this should be accompanied by systematic 
training of the police and other frontline officers in a position to identify victims of THB.  
NGO  as  well  as  state  shelters  should  also  be  in  a  position  to  offer  adequate  support  to 
victims  of  THB  by  taking  into  account  the  gender  dimensions  of  the  different  forms  of 
trafficking and  their  short- and long-term impact on  victims. Furthermore, police  needs 

71 Penal Code, article 323A, paragraph 3, authors translation. Όποιος εν γνώσει δέχεται την εργασία 
προσώπου,  το  οποίο  τελεί  υπό  τις  συνθήκες  που  περιγράφονται  στις  παραγράφους  1  και  2,  ή  τα 
έσοδα από την επαιτεία του προσώπου αυτού, τιμωρείται με φυλάκιση τουλάχιστον έξι μηνών".  
72 Penal Code, article 351, paragraph 3, authors translation. Όποιος εν γνώσει ενεργεί ασελγή πράξη 
με  πρόσωπο  το  οποίο  τελεί  υπό  τις  συνθήκες  που  περιγράφονται  στις  παραγράφους  1  και  2 
τιμωρείται με φυλάκιση τουλάχιστον έξι μηνών 

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to  be  more  proactive  in  identifying  other  forms  of  exploitation  including  the  highly 
gendered  sector  of  domestic  work.  A  gender  perspective  would  address  changes  in 
gender blind institutional rules, procedures, mind-sets and practice at all levels and in all 
spheres of society, among women and men. This is to ensure actual equality of access and 
effective  results  –  real  and  substantive  equality  which  does  not  seem  to  be  the  case  in 
Greece. 

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2016]    

European Commission. (June 2012). The EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in 
Human Beings 2012–2016 [pdf]. Brussels. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/home-
affairs/doc_centre/crime/docs/trafficking_in_human_beings_eradication-
2012_2016_en.pdf [Accessed 21 March 2016]. 

Europol. (February 2016). Situation Report on Trafficking in human Beings in the EU [PDF]. 
Hague. Avaiable at https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/situational_report_trafficking_in_human_beings-
_europol.pdf   

European Commission. Trafficking in Human Beings [2013]. Eurostat Methodologies and 
Working Papers, Luxembourg [pdf]. Available at https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/trafficking_in_human_beings_-_dghome-
eurostat_en_1.pdf   

Eurostat, Statistical Working Papers: Trafficking in Human Beings. European Union, 
Luxembourg, 2014 [pdf]. Available at: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs/what-is-
new/news/news/docs/20141017_working_paper_on_statistics_on_trafficking_in_huma
n_beings_en.pdf  

Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, GRETA [2015]. Report 
concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking 
in Human Beings by Cyprus, Second Evaluation Report. [online[ Available at: 

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http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/2nd_eval_round/G
RETA_2015_20_FGR_CYP_w_cmnts_en.pdf [Accessed 21 March 2016] 

United Nations, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against 
Women CEDAW [2004] Consideration of reports submitted by States parties under Article 18 of 
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women on Cyprus. 
[online] Available at:  http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/35sess.htm 
[Accessed 20 March 2016]  

U.S Department of State. [July 2015] Trafficking in Persons Report [pdf]. Available at: 
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/243559.pdf [Accessed 19 March 2016] 

U.S Department of State. [July 2015] Trafficking in Persons Report [pdf]. Available at: 
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/243558.pdf [Accessed 19 March 2016] 

Walby. S, et al. 2016. Study on the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings. European 
Commission. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/study_on_the_gender_dimension_of_trafficking_i
n_human_beings._final_report.pdf   

Websites  

ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/content/nip/Greece [2012], European’s Commission 
official website on General Information on Greece. [online] Available at:  
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/content/nip/Greece#1 [Accessed 21 March 2016].  

ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/content/nip/Cyprus [2012], European’s Commission 
official website on General Information on Cyprus. [online] Available at:  
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/content/nip/Greece#1 [Accessed 21 March 2016].  

Legislation  

Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence permit issued to third-country 
nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action 
to facilitate illegal immigration, who co-operate with the competent authorities. 

 Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on 
preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing 
Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA.  

Law Number 3064, Greece   

Law Number. 3875, Greece  

Prevention and Combating of Trafficking and Exploitation of Persons and the Protection of 
Victims, Law 60(I)/2014 

Penal Code (2013), Articles 323 A and 351 Π. Greece  

Books  

Agathanglelou, M. A., Christodoulou, J., Zobnina, A., Kambouri. N, Parsanoglou, D., 
Touri, V., Butkeviciute, R,. Masalskiene, D,. Alexanian, A,.  Gutierrez,. S. L., and I Casals, 
C. M. (2015). I thought I was Applying as a Care Giver: Trafficking in Women for Labour 
Exploitation. University of Nicosia Press, 2015. 

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Anthias Floya, Maria Kontos and Mirjana Morokvasic-Müller, Paradoxes of Integration: 
Female Migrants in Europe. Dordrecht: Springer, 2012. 

Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies. [2007] Mapping the realities of Trafficking in 
Women for Sexual Exploitation in Cyprus [pdf]. Nicosia. Available at 
http://www.medinstgenderstudies.org/wp-content/uploads/migs-trafficking-
report_final_711.pdf   

Media Reports  

Andreaou., E. (2015) Sham-marriage brides the latest trafficking victims. Cyprus Mail 
Newspaper [Online]. Available at http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/02/18/police-
investigate-sham-marriage-claim/ [Accessed 15 March 2016].  

Psillides., S. (2014) ‘Aphrodite’s Temple’ trial to go ahead despite threats of revelations. 
Cyprus Mail Newspaper [Online]. Available at  http://cyprus-
mail.com/2014/10/04/aphrodites-temple-trial-to-go-ahead-despite-threats-of-
revelations/  

Court Decisions  

European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Case of Ranchev VS Cyprus and Russia 
(Application No. 25965/04), Judgment, Final 10 May 2010. Available at: 
https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/cooperation/economiccrime/corruption/Projects/CAR_S
erbia/ECtHR%20Judgements/English/RANTSEV%20v%20CYPRUS%20%20RUSSIA%2
0-%20ECHR%20Judgment%20_English_.pdf  

Other 

Cyprus Statistical Service, Demographic Report 2014, Available at: 
http://www.mof.gov.cy/mof/cystat/statistics.nsf/populationcondition_21main_en/po
pulationcondition_21main_en?OpenForm&sub=1&sel=4 [Accessed 18 March 2016] 

Ministry of Interior, Civil Registry And Migration Department , Contract of Emplymenr. 
Available at: 
http://www.moi.gov.cy/moi/crmd/crmd.nsf/447C9F246384E0F0C2257D230031D0C9/
$file/DOMESTIC%20WORKER%20ContractOfEmploymentEN.pdf [Accessed 10 March 
2016] 

National Action Plan, on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, Cyprus 2013-2015 

Position  of  the  Commissioner  for  Administration  and  Human  Rights  as  National 
Independent  Authority,  in  relation  to  the  undercover  collaborators  used  by  the  Police 
during  the  prosecution  and  combating  trafficking  in  persons  for  exploitation,  October 
2015. 

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ANNEX 3 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender 
perspective in Finland 

Research paper 
by Venla Roth 

Abstract 
Several  international  and  regional  legal  instruments  have  been  adopted  against 
trafficking  in  human  beings.  The  implementation  of  these  instruments  has, 
however, proved to be challenging all around the world. Perhaps, the most serious 
challenge  of  the  current  anti-trafficking  strategies  and  activities  is  the  large 
disparity between the estimated number and the actual amount of identified and 
assisted victims of human trafficking.  
The  identification  of  trafficking  is  of  crucial  importance:  without  proper 
identification, the bottom easily drops out of the other counter trafficking efforts, 
too.  This  paper  seeks  to  analyse  the  reasons  why  the  counter  trafficking  efforts 
have been so ineffective from a gender perspective.  
The  author  argues  that  the  difficulties  in  counteracting  human  trafficking 
especially for the purpose of sexual exploitation may be explained by factors such 
as the legal history on prostitution and the continuum of violence against women. 
The  difficulties  can  also  be  found  from  the  politics  of  prostitution  and  the 
complexity  of  the  legal  definition  of  human  trafficking,  as  well  as  the  lack  of  a 
human  rights-based  approach  to  human  trafficking.  Finally,  the  author  presents 
some recommendations for improvement. 

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AUTHOR 

Dr Venla Roth works as an advisor in human trafficking matters in the Office of the Non-
Discrimination  Ombudsman/National  Rapporteur  on  Trafficking  Human  Beings  in 
Finland. She graduated as a Doctor of Laws from the University of Turku on the subject of 
human rights impacts of the  action against human trafficking. Her dissertation  ”Defining 
Human  Trafficking  and  Identifying  its  Victims:  A  Study  on  the  impact  and  future 
challenges  of  International,  European  and  Finnish  legal  responses  to  prostitution-related 
trafficking”  has  been  published  by  Martinus  Nijhoff  Publishers  in  2012.  Roth  was  a 
member  of  the  Group  of  Experts  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  of  the  European 
Commission in 2011-2015. 

This  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and 
Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do 
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction  and  translation  for  non-commercial  purposes  are  authorized,  provided 
the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in March 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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Content 

Executive summary .................................................................................................................. 86 

1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 89 

2. From law to practice: state of play ..................................................................................... 92 
2.1. Law ....................................................................................................................................... 92 
2.2. Practice................................................................................................................................. 96 

3. Analysis and Discussion ..................................................................................................... 98 
3.1. Definition of Human Trafficking, Its Relation to Prostitution and the Dynamics of 

Exploitation ............................................................................................................................. 98 

3.2. Lack of a Human Rights-Based Approach to Human Trafficking: Prosecution over 

Protection............................................................................................................................... 101 

3.3. Trafficking for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation as a Form of Gender-Based 

Violence ................................................................................................................................. 103 

4. Conclusions and Recommendations .............................................................................. 107 

Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 111 

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Executive summary 

Several international and regional legal instruments have been adopted against trafficking 
in human beings. In terms of human rights law, these legal instruments are powerful and 
remarkable achievements, as persons identified as victims of human trafficking are entitled 
to assistance and protection measures provided by the state. The implementation of these 
legal  instruments  has,  however,  proved  to  be  challenging  all  around  the  world.  These 
challenges are manifested by the large disparity firstly between the estimated number and 
the  actual  amount  of  identified  and  assisted  victims  of  human  trafficking  and  secondly 
between the estimated trafficking cases and investigated or prosecuted offences.  

The  identification  of  human  trafficking  is  of  crucial  importance:  without  proper 
identification, the bottom easily drops out of the other counter trafficking efforts, too. The 
low  number  of  identified  trafficking  victims  and  cases  may  give  the  authorities  and 
politicians  the  impression  that  human  trafficking  is  a  marginal  phenomenon,  which  does 
not deserve attention. From the individual's point of view, it is  of crucial importance that 
she  becomes  identified  as  a  victim  of  human  trafficking,  as  only  victims  of  human 
trafficking are usually entitled to assistance and protection measures under the law.  

This paper discusses the reasons why human trafficking related to sexual exploitation is so 
difficult to identify and tackle. The paper concentrates on Finland but the author believes 
that  many  of  the  findings  can  be  generalised  to  other  European  countries.  The  author 
argues that the difficulties in counteracting human trafficking especially for the purpose of 
sexual exploitation may be explained by various reasons. Firstly, it can be explained by the 
definition of human trafficking, its relation to prostitution and the inability of the criminal 
justice system to identify and recognise the psychological dynamics of exploitation.  

It was not easy to reach agreement on the definition of human trafficking while negotiating 
the  UN  Trafficking  Protocol,  the  first  modern  international  legal  instrument  against  the 
phenomenon. The most serious disagreements concerned the relationship between human 
trafficking  and  prostitution.  The  definition  in  the  Protocol  is  a  compromise  between 
different views on prostitution. When assessed in legal terms, the definition does not take a 
stand  on  the  national  regulation  of  pandering  or  prostitution  but  it  covers  in  addition  to 
forcing  a  person  into  prostitution  using  violence  and  deception,  more  subtle  means, 
namely, abuse of power and a vulnerable position of the victim. The definition is, however, 
open  to  interpretation:  the  question  of  when  the  exploitation  occurring  as  part  of 
prostitution or other forms of commercial sex is of such nature that it meets the definition 
of human trafficking arises whenever possible trafficking victims are encountered. 

The  criminal  justice  system  seems  to  be  unequipped  to  deal  with  the  dynamics  of 
exploitation  and  the  psychological  means  of  committing  an  offence  of  human  trafficking. 
The  author  argues  that  human  trafficking  is  seldom  a  question  of  momentary  deals  but 
rather  a  process  of  exploitation  and  submission  in  which  the  perpetrator  gradually 
deprives  the  victim  of  her  sexual  self-determination,  bodily  integrity  and  freedom  by 
humiliating  and  manipulating  the  victim  and  subjecting  the  victim  to  his/her  will.  In 
reviewing  cases  of  human  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  discovered  in  Finland,  the 
victims are under the control of the offenders despite leading apparently normal lives. The 
victims  have  not  realistic  possibility  of  discontinuing  the  exploitative  activity,  to  protect 
themselves  or  to  seek  help.  Experts  in  psychiatry  and  traumatisation  giving  evidence  on 

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the  dynamics  of  exploitation  have  explained  this  by  various  psychological  phenomena, 
which  are,  in  fact,  very  similar  to  those  of  intimate  partner  violence  or  other  forms  of 
sexual violence and abuse. In order to overcome this problem in victim identification, more 
attention should be paid to the psychological means of exploitation both in legislation and 
in practice.  

Secondly, the difficulties to tackle human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation 
can be explained by the legal history: women in prostitution and other fields of commercial 
sex have always been considered to be threats to society. Prostitution has traditionally been 
regarded  as  a  problem  that  first  and  foremost  endangers  societal  and  general  interests, 
such  as  morality,  public  health,  public  order  and  security.  Throughout  the  modern  legal 
history, prostitution has induced legal responses that seek to control women in prostitution 
rather than protect them from violence and abuse. This is the case also in Finland.  

The  anti-human  trafficking  framework  intends  to  change  this  way  of  understanding  by 
introducing assistance and protection measures for the most vulnerable people. One of the 
most  important  problem  here  is,  however,  that  the  role  of  the  victim  assistance  and 
protection  is  often  marginalised  and  granted  only  an  instrumental  value  for  the 
functioning criminal justice system both in the national legislation and in practice. In other 
words, victim assistance and protection is often dependent on the criminal process and the 
ability and willingness of the trafficking victim to report what has happened to her. As a 
consequence, many of the trafficking victims choose not to be identified and referred to the 
assistance  and  protection  measures.  In  order  to  identify  more  victims,  they  should  be 
assisted and  protected  irrespective  of their willingness or  ability to  testify in the criminal 
proceedings.  

Thirdly,  it  is  important  to  analyse  the  difficulties  to  tackle  human  trafficking  from  a 
broader  perspective  of  violence  against  women,  as  these  difficulties  resemble  closely  the 
difficulties that the legal system has with regard to other forms of sexual violence. Feminist 
authors  have  widely  argued  that  Finnish  women,  equal,  strong  and  economically 
independent, are perceived as “responsible selves”: they are easily held responsible for the 
violence  occurred.  This  “responsibility”  seems  to  be  reflected  onto  sexually  exploited 
victims of human trafficking in the criminal justice system. Victim characteristics (the fact 
that the person has sold sex), as well as the social and interactional contexts in which the 
violence occurs (commercial sex) seem to have an emphasised impact on the interpretative 
frameworks: if the  women have contributed to becoming victims by entering prostitution 
knowingly, they are not credible victims of exploitation in the eyes of the criminal justice 
system. This kind of behavioural responsibility is not expected from the victims of labour 
exploitation.  The  Finnish  National  Rapporteur  on  human  trafficking,  who  is  an 
independent  public  authority,  has  stated  that  the  counter  trafficking  efforts  in  Finland 
have, in fact, discriminatory impacts on the basis of the victim’s gender.  

Moreover, the experiences of the Finnish National Rapporteur suggest that many sexually 
exploited women and girls identified in Finland suffer from poor societal and economical 
status  or  they  are  otherwise  at  a  risk  of  becoming  excluded  in  the  society  due  to  mental 
health  problems,  for  example.  Foreign  victims  of  human  trafficking  are  often  poorly 
educated, even illiterate, and economically dependent on their male relatives. This kind of 
structural inequality makes it difficult for the victims themselves to question their status or 
the violence and exploitation occurred. This inherent vulnerability causes serious problems 

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for the criminal justice system which is based on an idea of a rational, autonomous and free 
individual, capable of standing for rights and claim damages.  

In  addition,  countries  from  which  trafficking  victims  often  come  from  have  rather  weak 
social security system, which fails to provide women with sufficient social security against 
unemployment,  long-term  sickness  or  single-parenting.  Weak  social  security  combined 
with a low level of equality between men and women seem to increase the vulnerability of 
women and girls to human trafficking. 

This paper provides with some recommendations which seek to improve the identification 
of trafficking victims and the prevention of human trafficking. The recommendations seek 
to  strengthen  the  understanding  that  victims  of  human  trafficking  are  right-holders  and 
that human trafficking should be tackled by using various political and legal instruments, 
such  as  social  and  gender  policy.  In  addition,  the  recommendations  seek  to  contribute  to 
the  understanding  that  the  core  of  the  offence  of  human  trafficking  is  psychological  of 
nature (hence the  dynamics of exploitation) and that  human trafficking closely resembles 
other forms of gender-based violence. The recommendations additionally take into account 
those  aspects  in  the  society  which  contribute  to  the  existence  and  potential  increase  of 
human  trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation,  such  as  the  demand  for 
commercial  sex.  Finally,  the  recommendations  emphasise  that  the  countries  should 
carefully evaluate the impacts of their counter trafficking efforts from a gender perspective 
and make amendments to the legislation where needed. The EU institutions have a major 
role in this process, as the EU has a strong mandate to adopt legislation in this area.    

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1. Introduction 

Human trafficking  is considered among the  most  serious human rights challenges of  our 
time. Only rough estimates of the number of victims of human trafficking in the world can 
be given. Government sources and various organisations put the global number of victims 
between  half  a  million  and  four  million  each  year.  It  is  estimated  that  in  Europe  alone, 
there are hundreds of thousands of victims of human trafficking each year and that ten per 
cent of them are children.  Finland is a country of destination and transit for  hundreds of 
victims annually. Cases of internal trafficking have also been identified in Finland. 

As a consequence of international and regional legal instruments, countries have adopted 
legal  measures  to  counteract  human  trafficking:  human  trafficking  has  been  defined  by 
law, the victims of human trafficking can be identified and referred to assistance, granted a 
reflection period/residence permit and protected against the perpetrators. In addition, the 
perpetrators  can  be  brought  to 
justice.  The  law  has  had  an  important  role  in 
conceptualising  human  trafficking  as  a  serious  crime  and  in  creating  a  framework  to 
counteract  trafficking  in  human  beings.  The  implementation  of  these  laws  has,  however, 
proved to be challenging all around the world.  

Perhaps,  the  most  serious  challenge  of  the  current  anti-human  trafficking  strategies  and 
activities is the large disparity firstly between the estimated number and the actual amount 
of identified and assisted victims of human trafficking and secondly between the estimated 
trafficking  cases  and  investigated/prosecuted  offences.  Indeed,  despite  the  increasing 
trend  on  the  global  level,  the  number  of  identified  trafficking  victims  and  cases  remains 
low. The recent statistics in Europe suggest that the number of investigated and prosecuted 
trafficking  offences  is  modest.73  Although  part  of  this  discrepancy  may  be  explained  by 
exaggerated  estimations,  the  studies  show  that  the  vast  majority  of  potential  trafficking 
victims and trafficking offences are not identified.74 

The  identification  of  human  trafficking  is  of  crucial  importance:  without  proper 
identification, the bottom easily drops out of the other counter trafficking efforts, too. The 
low number of identified trafficking victims and cases may give authorities and politicians 
the impression that human trafficking is a marginal phenomenon, which does not deserve 
attention. From the individual's point of view, it is of crucial importance that she becomes 
identified as a victim of human trafficking, as only victims of human trafficking are usually 
entitled  to  assistance  and  protection  measures  provided  by  the  state.  In  the  Finnish  legal 
system, being identified as a trafficking victim is even more crucial for sexually exploited 
victims than for victims of labour exploitation due to their different procedural position in 
the criminal proceedings. 

Human  trafficking  is  a  gender-specific  phenomenon.  Firstly,  women  and  girls  become 
victims  of  human  trafficking  more  often  than  men  and  boys.  According  to  the  European 
Commission,  the  majority  (68%)  of  the  identified  victims  in  the  EU  are  women;  17%  are 
men, 12% are girls and 3% are boys. Almost two third of the victims (62 %) are subjected to 
sexual exploitation, and the majority of the victims of labour exploitation are also women 

73  Eurostat/European  Commission  2013  and  2015  http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-
statistical-working-papers/-/KS-TC-14-008-1  
74 See more on Roth 2012.  

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and  girls.75  In  addition  of  the  sex  industry,  women  and  girls  are  often  exploited  in  the 
domestic  work  and  other  related  sectors,  which  regulation  and  supervision  are  scarce. 
Often  sexual  and  labour  exploitation  are  connected:  women  and  girls  are  exploited  both 
sexually and economically. 

Secondly,  the  aspects  which  make  women  and  girls  vulnerable  to  human  trafficking  are 
gendered and related, for example, to the poor level of equality between women and men 
especially in the countries of origin and the tendency to marginalise and trivialise the issue 
of  violence  against  women  in  the  destination  countries.  To  explain,  trafficking  in  human 
beings is often primarily perceived as a problem of illegal immigration, people smuggling 
and transnational organised crime. This can be illustrated by the fact that in most countries 
ministries of internal affairs and sections of national security, organised crime or migration 
have  the  major  role  in  implementing  counter  trafficking  efforts.  They  focus  primarily  on 
targeting  traffickers/smugglers  and  putting  an  end  to  the  illegal  immigration.  Victims  of 
human trafficking are often instrumentalised to that aim. 

However,  the  connection  with  illegal  immigration  and  transnational  organised  crime  has 
been  questioned  and  does  not  always  coincide  with  the  reality  of  human  trafficking. 
Although organised crimes groups can be involved, human trafficking is often carried out 
by  the  victim’s  family  members,  friends,  relatives,  boyfriends,  husbands  and  ordinary 
employers.76  This  close  relationship  between  the  victim  and  the  perpetrator  is  an 
instrumental  part  of  the  dynamics  of  human  trafficking,  which,  in  fact,  resembles  that  of 
domestic  violence  and  other  forms  of  gender-based  violence,  as  will  be  demonstrated  in 
this paper. 

In  addition,  most  of  the  victims  identified  in  the  EU  are  citizens  of  EU  Member  States 
(61%).  In  other  words,  about  two  thirds  of  the  human  trafficking  in  the  EU  is  internal.77 
Many  of  the  foreign  victims  have  resided  and  worked  legally  in  the  country  where  they 
have been identified as victims of human trafficking. Moreover, cases of internal trafficking 
have  been  identified  in  Finland  and  many  other  EU  countries.  For  example,  the  Finnish 
National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, who is an independent monitoring 
authority,  has  expressed  her  concern  about  the  increasing  number  of  sexually  exploited 
trafficking  victims  of  Finnish  nationality.  The  victims  are  usually  girls  or  young  women, 
who are at risk of exclusion, suffering from mental health problems. Some of the victims, 
however,  have  only  been  too  young  and  full  of  confidence  on  the  other  people  and  own 
opportunities  in  life,  and  have,  therefore,  been  vulnerable  to  deception  and  exploitation 
(i.e. professional modelling career as a dream). As the system of victim assistance has been 
established under the Ministry of the Interior and the law has been based on an idea that 
victims of human trafficking are of foreign origin, the Finnish trafficking victims have been 
at real risk of falling outside the assistance system. 

Perceiving trafficking in human beings primarily as a problem of people smuggling, illegal 
immigration or transnational organised crime, makes the countries of destination to believe 

75 Eurostat/European Commission 2013; United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2009.  
76 Coster van Voorhout 2007.  
77  According  to  the  statistics,  the  next  most  common  form  of  abuse  is  human  trafficking  for  the 
purpose of labour exploitation (25%). Other purposes includes the organ trade, coercion into criminal 
activity  and  trafficking  in  children  (14%).  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  Eurostat/European 
Commission 2013.  

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that trafficking in human beings would not exist unless brought from outside. This is a part 
of a process of alienation: human trafficking is not considered as a domestic problem  but 
concerns  merely  foreign  women  in  prostitution  who  have  often  knowingly  entered 
prostitution  and  are  therefore  at  least  partly  responsible  for  the  violence  occurred.  In 
addition,  the  demand  for  sex  is  created  in  the  destination  countries.  It  is  easy  for  the 
countries  of  origin,  too,  to  close  their  eyes  from  those  aspects  in  the  society,  such  as 
inequality  and  racism  (i.e.  Roma  women),  which  create  opportunities  for  human 
trafficking. To counteract human trafficking effectively, the countries should not withdraw 
their  affections  or  attention  from  the  fact  that  there  are  structural  aspects  in  the  societies 
which have an impact on the prevalence and increase of human trafficking. 

Third, sexual exploitation has gendered impacts on the victims, their children and life. The 
majority  of  sexually  exploited  trafficking  victims  identified  in  Finland  have  suffered 
serious,  mainly  psychological  trauma  as  a  result.  Medical  reports  and  psychological 
evaluations of victims in Finland indicate that a multitude of mental health disorders have 
been diagnosed in victims as a consequence of exploitation, including post-traumatic stress 
disorder, (severe) depression, anxiety disorder, psychotic episodes, insomnia, panic attacks 
and  severe  suicidal  tendencies.  A  significant  percentage  of  the  victims  have  received 
medical  treatment,  medication  and  in  many  cases  long-term  therapy  to  cope  with  such 
damage.  The  damage  inflicted  is  of  a  lasting  nature,  and  in  some  cases  exploitation  has 
been  found  to  cause  a  permanent  impairment  to  the  victim’s  mental  health  and  to  their 
ability to take care of their children.78 Sexual exploitation is more traumatising than mere 
labour exploitation, as sexual exploitation seriously violates victim’s bodily integrity. 

This paper discusses the reasons why human trafficking related to sexual exploitation is so 
difficult to identify and tackle. The paper concentrates on Finland but the author believes 
that many of the findings can be generalised to other European countries. First, the author 
discusses the situation of human trafficking in Finland, the special status of the trafficking 
victims  and  the  legal  protection  enjoyed  by  them,  and  the  points  of  criticism  about  the 
counter  trafficking  laws  and  practice.  She  then  discusses  the  reasons  that  could  explain 
why efforts against human trafficking have been so ineffective and insufficient. The author 
argues that the difficulties in counteracting human trafficking especially for the purpose of 
sexual  exploitation  may  be  explained  by  factors  such  as  the  legal  history  on  prostitution, 
the continuum of violence against women and the fact that the objectionability of violence 
seems  to  depend  on  the  context  in  which  it  occurs,  as  well  as  the  politics  of  prostitution 

78 National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings: Report 2014, Assessment of the current state 
of action against human trafficking and of the fulfilment in criminal of the rights of victims of human 
trafficking  subjected  to  sexual  exploitation.  Ombudsman  for  Minorities  2014.  Under  the  law,  the 
Finnish National Rapporteur a) monitors phenomena relating to human trafficking, the fulfilment of 
international  obligations  and  the  effectiveness  of  national  legislation,  b)  issues  proposals, 
recommendations,  opinions  and  advice  relevant  to  the  fight  against  human  trafficking  and  to  the 
realisation  of  the  rights  of  victims,  and  c)  keeps  contact  with  international  organisations  in  human 
trafficking issues. The National Rapporteur must submit an annual report to the Government and a 
report  every  four  years  to  Parliament  concerning  human  trafficking  and  related  phenomena.  The 
National  Rapporteur  may  assist,  or  appoint  a  subordinate  official  to  assist,  a  victim  of  ethnic 
discrimination  or  a  possible  victim  of  human  trafficking  in  securing  the  person’s  rights  or,  if 
necessary, obtain legal assistance for the person for this purpose if she considers that the matter is of 
considerable importance for preventing ethnic discrimination or for securing the rights of a possible 
victim of human trafficking. 

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and the complexity of the legal definition of human trafficking. Finally, the author presents 
some recommendations for improvement from a gender perspective.   

2. From law to practice: state of play 

2.1. Law 

Trafficking in human beings as such is not a new issue on the international legal agenda. 
There  have  been  international  efforts  to  combat  slave  trade  and  slavery  since  the  19th 
century.  The  Convention  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Traffic  in  Persons  and  of  the 
Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, adopted by the United Nations in 1949, obligated 
the  state  parties  to  ban  trafficking  in  women,  procuring  (pandering)  and  keeping  of 
brothels. 

The  disintegration  of  the  Soviet  Union  and  the  armed  conflicts  in  the  area  of  the  former 
Yugoslavia in the late 1980s and the early 1990s put human trafficking on the agenda of the 
international  community  after  a  break  of  many  years.  This  was  mainly  caused  by  an 
increase in immigration within Europe and the organised crime groups that were argued 
to  be  behind  the  phenomenon  and  that,  it  was  feared,  could  threaten  public  order  and 
security  in  individual  countries.  The  threat  of  cross-border  crime  galvanised  the 
international community into closer cooperation. It was felt that the existing international 
conventions  were  no  longer  adequate  to  combat  organised  crime  and  the  human 
trafficking and human smuggling associated with it. 

After many years of negotiations, the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime 
was adopted by the UN in December 2000. The purpose of the Convention is to promote 
cooperation to prevent and combat transnational organized crime more effectively (Article 
1).  The  Convention  was  supplemented  with  a  Protocol  to  Prevent,  Suppress  and  Punish 
Trafficking  in  Persons,  Especially  Women  and  Children  (UN  Trafficking  Protocol).  The 
purpose of the Protocol is to prevent and combat trafficking in persons, protect and assist 
the victims of such trafficking and to promote cooperation among state parties in order to 
meet those objectives (Article 2). The Protocol applies to the prevention, investigation and 
prosecution of human trafficking offences when those offences are transnational in nature 
and  involve  an  organised  crime  group,  and  the  protection  of  victims  of  such  offences 
(Article 4). This framework of criminal justice condemns trafficking as a serious crime but 
has been criticised for ignoring human rights aspects of the phenomenon.79 

Agreeing on the definition of human trafficking is the most important achievement of the 
negotiations  leading  to  the  UN  Trafficking  Protocol.  The  definition  is  sought  to  promote 
the  prevention  and  identification  of  human  trafficking,  assistance  and  protection  of  the 
victims  and  the  bringing  of  those  guilty  of  human  trafficking  to  justice.  The  definition 
covers  women,  children  and  men  as  potential  victims  of  human  trafficking  and  all 
purposes  of  human  trafficking.  The  definition  incorporated  into  the  UN  Trafficking 
Protocol has since been adopted as the basis for numerous other international and regional 

79 See e.g. Gallagher 2006. 

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legal instruments to combat human trafficking, such as those introduced by  the European 
Union and the Council of Europe. 

In  order  to  be  considered  as  human  trafficking,  the  criminal  activity  referred  to  in  the 
Protocol  and  instruments  based  on  it  must  meet  the  definition  of  human  trafficking.  The 
Trafficking Protocol defines human trafficking using three basic elements: activity, means 
and  purpose.  All  these  criteria  have  to  be  fulfilled  in  order  for  the  offence  to  constitute 
human trafficking. It is important to note that the consent of the victim is irrelevant if any 
of  the  means  listed  in  the  Protocol  have  been  used  for  acquiring  it.  If  a  child  has  been 
recruited, transported, transferred, harboured or  received for  the  purpose  of exploitation, 
the child in question is always regarded as having been trafficked even if the means listed 
in the Protocol have not been used. A child is defined as any person under 18 years of age. 
Under the UN Protocol on Trafficking in Persons, human trafficking means: 

1.  recruitment,  transportation,  transfer,  harbouring  or  receipt  of  persons  for  the 

2. 

purpose of exploitation (activity/method); 
the  threat or  use  of force  or  other forms of coercion,  abduction, fraud, deception, 
the  abuse  of  power  or  a  position  of  vulnerability,  or  the  giving  or  receiving  of 
payments  or  benefits  to  achieve  the  consent  of  a  person  having  control  over 
another person (means); 

3.  Activity  regarded  as  exploitation  includes,  at  minimum,  exploitation  of  the 
prostitution  of  others  or  other  forms  of  sexual  exploitation,  forced  labour  or 
services,  slavery  or  practices  similar  to  slavery,  servitude,  and  the  removal  of 
organs (purpose). 

Whereas  the  UN  Trafficking  Protocol  included  only  discretionary  provisions  on  victim 
protection and assistance, the later documents, such as the Council of Europe Convention 
on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  adopted  in  2005,  pays  more  attention  to 
the  rights  and  needs  of  the  trafficking  victims.  The  Convention  is  a  human  rights 
instrument  and  it  recognises  that  trafficking  in  human  beings  constitutes  a  human  rights 
violation.  It  provides  mandatory  provisions  as  regards  assistance  and  protection  of 
trafficking victims but the provisions are essentially connected with the improved criminal 
justice responses to trafficking. 

The  Council  of  Europe  Trafficking  Convention  is  the  first  international  legal  instrument, 
which contains a provision on victim identification (Article 10). The Convention recognises 
that  a  correct  identification  of  victims  is  a  prerequisite  for  counter  trafficking  efforts:  a 
failure to identify the victims probably leads not only to denial of a victim’s rights but also 
to unsuccessful criminal proceedings. The ”reasonable grounds to believe that a person has 
been  victim  of  trafficking  in  human  beings”  create  sufficient  reason  not  to  remove  the 
person  in  question  from  the  territory  of  the  receiving  state.  Until  the  completion  of  the 
identification  process,  the  person  in  question  is  to  be  provided  with  the  necessary 
assistance  measures  provided  for  in  Article  12  and  issued  with  a  reflection  period  and  a 
residence permit under the conditions provided for in Articles 13 and 14. 

The Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing 
and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims  (the  Human 
Trafficking  Directive)  stipulates  that  Member  States  must  take  the  necessary  measures  to 

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information,  and 

ensure  that  a  person  is  provided  with  assistance  and  support  as  soon  as  the  competent 
authorities have a reasonable-grounds indication for believing that the person might have 
been subjected to a human trafficking offence (Article 11). The assistance and support shall 
include  at  least  standards  of  living  capable  of  ensuring  victims’  subsistence  through 
measures  such  as  the  provision  of  appropriate  and  safe  accommodation  and  material 
assistance,  as  well  as  necessary  medical  treatment  including  psychological  assistance, 
counselling  and 
interpretation  services  where 
appropriate. Member States shall attend to victims with special needs, where those needs 
derive, in particular, from whether they are pregnant, their health, a disability, a mental or 
psychological  disorder  they  have,  or  a  serious  form  of  psychological,  physical  or  sexual 
violence they have suffered. Article 12 states that Member States must ensure that victims 
of  trafficking  in  human  beings  have  access  to  legal  counselling  and  legal  representation, 
including  for  the  purpose  of  claiming  compensation.  Member  States  shall  ensure  that 
victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  receive  appropriate  protection  on  the  basis  of  an 
individual risk assessment. Separate provisions on assistance and support for child victims 
with regard to their individual needs are laid down in Article 14. 

translation  and 

In  Finland,  it  was  the  disintegration  of  the  Soviet  Union  in  the  1990s  which  changed  the 
field  of  prostitution  and  procuring.  Procuring  of  foreign  women  became  more 
international,  organised,  professional  and  profit-oriented  in  nature.  80According  to 
researchers  and  the  police,  procurers  had  started  using  different  types  of  pressure  and 
coercion  methods  for  restricting  the  freedom  of  movement  of  the  women  in  prostitution 
and  for  preventing  them  from  leaving  prostitution.  The  position  of  the  women  in 
procuring  had  become  substantially  weaker:  the  women  were  forced  to  surrender  an 
increasing proportion of their income to procurers and their negotiating position in matters 
concerning  the  rules  and  conditions  of  prostitution  had  weakened.  Telephone  operators 
made the controlling of women easier as it allowed the procurers to manage the operations 
from abroad and to expand them throughout the country. 

Even though the field of prostitution and procuring had changed, it was long thought that 
human  trafficking  is  not  a  problem  in  Finland.  It  was  believed  that  foreign  women  in 
prostitution entering Finland were “fully aware of the nature and terms and conditions of 
their work”: the  belief  was that foreign  women  were  not  smuggled  into Finland “against 
their will” and that it was rather a question of procuring benefiting both the  women and 
their procurers. The chances of tackling organised procuring using the Criminal Code were 
questioned,  however,  and  in  a  number  of  studies  it  was  recommended  that  a  separate 
human trafficking provision should be added to the Criminal Code.81 

The  ratification  of  the  UN  Trafficking  Protocol  and  the  adoption  of  the  EU  framework 
decision  on  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  in  2002  prompted  the  Ministry  of 
Justice  to  start  the  preparation  of  human  trafficking  provisions  and  other  necessary 
statutory changes in Finland, so that the combating of prostitution, procuring and human 
trafficking  could  be  made  more  effective.  In  addition  to  the  provisions  on  human 
trafficking,  the  statutory  definition  of  aggravated  procuring  was  added  to  the  Criminal 
Code,  giving  pre-trial  investigation  authorities  a  wide  range  of  coercive  powers  when 
investigating  procuring  offences.  Furthermore,  an  act  prohibiting  the  abuse  of  victims  of 

80 Lehti and Aromaa 2002; Leskinen 2002. 
81 Kimpimäki 1997; Pärssinen 2003. 

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prostitution entered into force in October 2006. The act does not prohibit all purchases of 
sex as it defines the victims of procuring and human trafficking as victims of the sex trade. 
Under chapter 25, section 3, of the Criminal Code of Finland (39/1889), a person who 

1.  by  abusing  the  dependent  status  or  vulnerable  state  of  another  person  or  by 

coercing another person, 

2.  by deceiving another person or by abusing a mistake made by that person, 
3.  by paying remuneration to a person who has control over another person, or 
4.  by accepting such remuneration 

takes  control  over  another  person,  recruits,  transfers,  transports,  receives  or  harbours 
another person for purposes of sexual abuse referred to in chapter 20, section 9, subsection 
1, paragraph 1, (procuring) or comparable sexual abuse, forced labour or other demeaning 
circumstances  or  removal  of  bodily  organs  or  tissues  shall  be  punished  for  trafficking  in 
human beings. 

Under  chapter  25,  section  3a  of  the  Criminal  Code,  if  in  trafficking  in  human  beings,  1) 
violence, threats or deceitfulness is used instead of or in addition to the means referred to 
in  section  3;  2)  grievous  bodily  harm,  a  serious  illness,  or  a  state  of  mortal  danger  or 
comparable  particularly  grave  suffering  is  intentionally  or  through  gross  negligence 
inflicted on another person; 3) the offence has been committed against a child younger than 
18  years  of age  or  against  a  person  whose  capacity  to  defend  himself  or  herself  has  been 
substantially diminished; or 4) the offence has been committed within the framework of a 
criminal organisation referred to in chapter 17, section 1a, subsection 4, and the offence is 
aggravated  also  when  considering  as  a  whole,  the  offender  shall  be  punished  for 
aggravated  trafficking  in  human  beings.  A  person  guilty  of  trafficking  in  human  beings 
shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a minimum of four months and a maximum of six 
years and a person guilty of aggravated trafficking in human beings to imprisonment for a 
minimum  of  two  and  a  maximum  of  ten  years.  The  primary  object  of  protection  in  the 
penal provisions is freedom. 

The adoption of the international and European obligations led to the amendments of the 
laws under  which  the victims  of  human trafficking can now receive  assistance  through a 
system  for  victim  assistance  in  Finland.  Under  the  Act  on  the  Reception  of  Persons 
applying for International Protection (746/2011), services and other support  measures can 
be provided to person who can, considering the circumstances, be deemed to be a victim of 
human trafficking or in need of special assistance in connection with an investigation of a 
human  trafficking  offence.  The  purpose  of  the  assistance  is  to  take  care  of  the  victims  of 
human  trafficking,  ensure  their  means  of  support,  help  them  to  recover  and  to  support 
their functional capacity. The assistance system for victims of human trafficking provides 
the  victims  with  services  tailored  to  their  needs.  The  assistance  may  include  housing 
arrangements,  social  and  health  care  services,  legal  advice  and  assistance,  security 
arrangements,  supported  return  and  other  support  measures  required  by  the  victim.  The 
Child  Welfare  Act  may  also  be  applied  to  minor  victims  of  human  trafficking  and  the 
children of the victims. The aim of the assistance is to help the victims to recover, integrate 
into Finnish society or help them to return safely to their home countries. This far around 
400 victims have been assisted by the system of victim assistance of Finland. 

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Amendments to the Aliens Act (301/2004) prompted by international obligations have also 
improved  the  status  of  victims  of  human  trafficking  residing  illegally  in  Finland.82 
Provisions allowing the  granting of a  reflection period and the  issuing of a  temporary or 
continuous residence permit to victims of human trafficking have been added to the Aliens 
Act.  During  the  reflection  period,  the  victim  of  human  trafficking  must  decide  whether 
he/she  will  cooperate  with  the  authorities  so  that  those  suspected  of  carrying  out  the 
human trafficking can be apprehended. The victim of human trafficking may reside in the 
country  legally  during  the  reflection  period  and  may  not  be  removed  from  the  country 
during  the  period.  A  victim  of  human  trafficking  is  issued  with  a  temporary  residence 
permit if the residence of the victim in Finland is justified on the grounds of the pre-trial 
investigation  of  the  human  trafficking  offence  or  court  proceedings,  if  the  victim  is 
prepared to cooperate with the authorities so that those suspected of human trafficking can 
be  apprehended  and  if  the  victim  no  longer  has  any  ties  with  those  suspected  of  human 
trafficking.  The  residence  permit  may  be  issued  on  a  continuous  basis  and  regardless  of 
whether  the  requirements  referred  to  above  are  met,  if  the  victim  is  in  a  particularly 
vulnerable position. In such cases, too, the requirement is that the victim has broken all ties 
with those suspected of human trafficking. 

2.2. Practice 

When the first plan of action against human trafficking was being prepared in Finland in 
the  middle of  the  last decade, the  impression was  that in  Finland, too,  human trafficking 
was  mainly  a  question  of  prostitution  and  other  types  of  sexual  exploitation.83  Unlike  in 
other EU Member States, however, cases of human trafficking identified in Finland mainly 
concern  labour  exploitation.  As  many  as  3  out  of  4  clients  of  the  assistance  system  for 
victims of human trafficking, established in 2007, are victims of human trafficking  for the 
purpose of labour exploitation. Another significant group of victims consists of those who 
have become victims of sexual exploitation abroad, mainly in the Mediterranean, and who 
seek asylum in Finland. The  situation begs the  question  of whether there  is actually very 
little  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  in  Finland  or  whether  such  cases  fail  to  be 
identified, and if so, why? 

In the first comprehensive report Eurojust, the European Union’s judicial cooperation unit, 
has  noticed  that  criminal  activities  with  the  characteristics  of  human  trafficking  are  often 
investigated  as  offences  other  than  human  trafficking  in  many  Member  States  of  the 
European Union.84 According to the report, an important reason for this is the complexity 
of  the  definition  of  human  trafficking  and  the  fact  that  the  main  players  of  the  criminal 
justice system do not have a clear idea of what human trafficking actually means and what 
the  differences  between  human  trafficking  and  offences  associated  with  it  (such  as 

82  These amendments are based on the Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the 
residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or 
who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with 
competent authorities.  
83 Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland 2005.  
84 De Jonge 2005. 

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procuring) are. Applying the statutory definition when considering the dependent position 
(abuse of power) and vulnerability of the victim is seen as particularly difficult. 

This  is  indeed  the  case  also  in  Finland.  The  first  evidence-based  report  of  the  Finnish 
National  Rapporteur  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  who  is  an  independent  public 
authority  under  the  law,  was  issued  to  the  Parliament  of  Finland  in  2010.  The  report  is 
based on the trafficking-related procuring cases heard by courts in 2004 – 2009.85 The report 
shows that many of the criminal cases investigated as procuring also contained features of 
human trafficking. According to the material used as a basis for the report, procurers often 
violate  the  rights  of  women  in  prostitution  and  control  them  using  a  variety  of  means. 
Violations  of  individuals’  legal  rights  are  not,  however,  deemed  to  meet  the  statutory 
definition of the means referred to in the penal provisions on human trafficking.  Neither 
are  such  violations  of  legal  rights,  serious  violations  of  sexual  self-determination  or 
violations  of  freedom  or  bodily  integrity  separately  investigated  as  other  offences  on 
persons, such as extortion or abuse. 

In the 2014 report, the Finnish National Rapporteur stated there is more human trafficking 
taking place in Finland than has hitherto been identified. Judging by the material reviewed 
(cases of procuring and human trafficking between 2009 and summer 2013), cases of sexual 
exploitation  with  characteristics  of  human  trafficking  are  mainly  treated  in  investigation, 
prosecution  and  conviction  as  procuring  offences.  The  Rapporteur  noted  that  this  non-
identification  in  the  criminal  proceedings  clearly  has  an  impact  on  the  assistance  system: 
the number of victims of human trafficking objected to sexual exploitation in Finland who 
are  referred  to  the  assistance  system  has  remained  low.  In  the  worst  case  the  potential 
victims  of  human  trafficking  are  removed  from  the  country  without  being  offered  any 
assistance at all. The National Rapporteur noted that action against human trafficking may 
have discriminatory impacts on the basis of victim’s gender.   

Furthermore,  the  National  Rapporteur  noted  that  the  decisions  made  in  the  assistance 
system  indicate  that,  even  for  a  person  accepted  into  the  system,  assistance  is  often 
terminated when a criminal investigation stalls, an offence other than human trafficking is 
selected in the investigation, or no conviction is achieved for a human trafficking offence in 
the matter. The National Rapporteur also noted that asylum seekers in Finland who have 
become victims of human trafficking in another country are in a problematic situation. The 
discovery  of  indications  of  human  trafficking  may,  in  an  application  of  the  Dublin 
procedure,  lead  to  the  termination  of  the  investigation  process  and/or  the  return  of  the 
victim to the country where he or she first became a victim of human trafficking. 

Although  countries  may  have  other  criteria  for  victim  identification,  assistance  and 
protection,  as  well,  the  definition  of  human  trafficking  in  the  criminal  law  and  its 
application and interpretation in the criminal proceedings has become an important factor 
to  determine  what  trafficking  is  all  about  and  who  victims  of  human  trafficking  are.  The 
criminal law-based definition of human trafficking and its application/interpretation in the 
criminal proceedings seem to have a great impact on who are considered to have a right to 
receive assistance and protection under the national law. The same applies to the process 
of issuing a residence permit. The law enforcement, prosecution and judiciary seem to play 
a decisive role beyond the criminal justice system.                          

85 Ombudsman for Minorities/Finnish National rapporteur on trafficking in Human Beings 2010.  

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3. Analysis and Discussion 

3.1. Definition of Human Trafficking, Its Relation to Prostitution and the 
Dynamics of Exploitation 

While negotiating the UN Trafficking Protocol, it was not easy to reach agreement on the 
definition  of  human  trafficking.  The  most  serious  disagreements  concerned  the 
relationship  between  human  trafficking  and  prostitution.  The  negotiators  were  roughly 
split  into  two  main  groups:  abolitionists  and  libertarians  (those  supporting  the 
legalisation/decriminalisation  of  prostitution).  Abolitionists  defended  the  provisions 
contained  in  the  Convention  on  Trafficking  in  Persons  adopted  by  the  UN  in  1949  and 
referred to above under which all prostitution is objectionable and that no distinction can 
be made between human trafficking and different forms of prostitution (forced prostitution 
or other types of prostitution). In short, abolitionists are of the view that all prostitution is 
violence  and  slavery  that  is  not  in  accordance  with  human  dignity.  In  their  opinion, 
women  must  be  protected  against  all  exploitation  and  that  a  society  accepting  or 
condoning prostitution cannot be equal.   

According to the libertarians, prostitution may also be on a voluntary basis and be carried 
out as sex  work. In this view, a distinction must be made between these two concepts on 
the one hand and forced prostitution and human trafficking on the other. Libertarians are 
of  the  view  that  voluntary  prostitution  carried  out  by  adult  women  and  men  cannot  be 
prohibited.  According  to  the  libertarians,  prostitution  as  such  does  not  violate  against 
human  dignity  and  the  free  will  of  individuals  must  be  respected.  They  believe  that 
defining  prostitution  as  work  would  lessen  the  stigma  attached  to  it  and,  consequently, 
make  prostitutes  less  marginalised  in  society.  Libertarians  are  of  the  view  that  legalising 
prostitution and recognising it as a form of employment would protect prostitutes against 
violence and exploitation better than the approach supported by abolitionists.86 

The  definition  of  human  trafficking  incorporated  in  the  UN  Trafficking  Protocol  is  a 
compromise.  When  assessed  in  legal  terms,  it  does  not  take  a  stand  on  the  national 
regulation  of  procuring  or  prostitution.  According  to  the  Interpretative  Notes  to  the 
Protocol,  the  Protocol  only  applies  to  exploitation  for  the  purposes  of  prostitution  and 
other  sexual  exploitation  in  connection  with  the  regulation  of  human  trafficking.87  The 
Protocol  does  not  define  exploitation  for  the  purpose  of  prostitution  or  other  sexual 
exploitation and thus, according to the Interpretative Notes,  the Protocol does not have a 
bearing on how the State Parties regulate prostitution in their national legislation. 

On the other hand, however, the consent of the victim is regarded irrelevant if any of the 
means listed in the definition have been used for acquiring it. This means that it may also be 
a case of human trafficking when the  perpetrator  has persuaded the  victim  to  sell sex  by 
using  the  inappropriate  means  referred  to  in  the  definition,  even  if  the  victim  had 
originally consented to prostitution. In terms of the  means  used, the  definition of human 
trafficking  covers  in  addition  to  forcing  a  person  into  prostitution  using  violence  and 
deception, abuse of power and the exploitation of the vulnerable position of the victim. However, 
according to the Interpretative Notes to the Protocol, it is only a question of exploiting the 

86 Agustin 2004; Balos 2004; Barry 1984; Doezema 2001; Farley 2004; MacKinnon 1993; Pheterson 1989. 
87  Report  of  the  Ad  Hoc  Committee  on  the  Elaboration  of  a  Convention  against  Transnational 
Organized Crime on the work of its first to eleventh sessions. 

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vulnerable position of the victim when the victim has no real or acceptable alternatives to 
submitting to exploitation. 

When  assessed  in  legal  terms,  the  definition  of  human  trafficking  contained  in  the  UN 
Trafficking  Protocol  and  its  relationship  with  prostitution  are  open  to  interpretation.  It  is 
clear  that not all prostitution  is  human trafficking.  However, the  question is:  when is the 
exploitation occurring as part of prostitution of such nature that it meets the definition of 
human  trafficking  in  international  law  or  the  statutory  definition  of  human  trafficking  in 
the national criminal law? 

Stereotypical  situations  in  which  the  victim  of  human  trafficking  has  been  persuaded  to 
sell sex  using violent  means or  in which the  victim has been deceived as to the  nature of 
the  work  easily  fit  the  definition  of  human  trafficking.  In  such  situations,  the  victim  has 
believed that she  would be able  to work as a model, waitress or  a housemaid or  in other 
similar  professions.  However,  the  perpetrators  have  then  forced  the  victim  into 
prostitution  or  other  commercial  sex  using  violent  means  or  deprived  the  victim  of  her 
freedom. 

According  to  studies  on  the  topic,  however,  a  large  proportion  of  the  victims  of  human 
trafficking subjected to sexual exploitation have knowingly entered prostitution and some 
of them have also sold sex before and some of them continue to sell sex after the criminal 
procedure.88  In  these  situations,  the  means  concerning  the  abuse  of  power  and  the 
exploitation of the vulnerable position of the victim could be useful. They have, however, 
proved  difficult  to  apply  and  interpret  in  the  criminal  procedure:  when  is  the  victim  so 
vulnerable or so dependent on the perpetrator that it is a question of human trafficking? In 
criminal law, one problem is to determine when the victim was unable to act in any other 
manner  and  when  the  perpetrator  should  have  understood  this  (requirement  for  intent, 
mens rea). 

Consequently, the debate on the nature of prostitution and its relation to human trafficking 
continues  on  the  national  level  and  has  an  impact  on  who  is  considered  as  a  victim  of 
human  trafficking:  where  the 
legal  boundaries  between  so-called  voluntary  and 
involuntary prostitution are to be drawn? Who are protected under the  law and who fall 
outside  of  the  protection  schemes?  The  question  arises  whenever  possible  victims  of 
human  trafficking  are  encountered,  for  example,  in  the  criminal  procedure  and  when 
victims of human trafficking are identified, referred to the assistance system or granted a 
residence permit. 

Position  of  women  involved  in  commercial  sex  seems  to  be  challenging  for  the  legal 
systems  around  the  world.  International  studies  show  that  women  in  prostitution  are 
particularly  vulnerable  to  sexual  and  physical  violence  but  that  it  is  difficult  for  legal 
systems to identify violence and react to it in a manner that safeguards the victims’ rights.89 
In  Finland,  too,  it  has  proved  difficult  to  identify  violence  in  commercial  sex.  Threat  of 
violence  and  other  pressure  and  the  submissive  status  are  often  deemed  to  be  a  natural 
part  of  commercial  sex,  particularly  when  it  is  question  of  a  foreign  woman.  The  legal 
practice  concerning  human  trafficking  seems  to  represent  a  view  that  persons  that  have 
opted for commercial sex are already aware of the risk of becoming subjected to violence. If 
the  risks  are  realised,  the  women  are  themselves  responsible  for  the  consequences.  The 
context  of  the  violence  and  who  is  targeted  for  violence  thus  seem  to  determine  how 
unacceptable the violence is. These women are rarely seen as victims of human trafficking 

88 Kligman and Limoncelli 2005; Skilbrei and Tveit 2005; Vocks and Nijboer 2000. 
89 O'Connell Davidson 1998. 

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or  any  other  offence.90  It  seems  that  victims  of  human  trafficking  are  expected  to  be 
innocent,  passive  and  helpless.  If  they  have  contributed  to  becoming  victims  by  initially 
agreeing  to  engage  commercial  sex,  they  are  not  credible  victims  of  human  trafficking  in 
the eyes of the justice system and may therefore find it difficult to seek or receive assistance 
and support.91 

The  criminal  justice  system  seems  to  be  unequipped  to  deal  with  the  dynamics  of 
exploitation. As human  trafficking  is  not a question  of momentary deals but a process  of 
exploitation and submission in which the perpetrator often gradually deprives the victim 
of  her  (sexual)  self-determination,  bodily  integrity  and  freedom  by  humiliating  and 
manipulating the victim and subjecting the victim to his/her will, it is often difficult for the 
victims themselves to identify the actual moment when they were no longer undertaking 
the  activity  voluntarily  and  the  moment  when  they  simply  caved  in  to  the  offender’s 
control.  It  is  a  key  feature  of  the  dynamics  of  subjugation  that  the  victims  never  even 
consider that they might be able to negotiate with the offender concerning their situation. 
The victims see no possibility of protecting themselves against exploitation or of escaping 
from the offender. The Finnish National Rapporteur describes the dynamics of exploitation 
as follows:  

“[i]n  reviewing  cases  of  human  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  discovered  in  Finland, 
one is struck  by a conspicuous characteristic  found in all of them: the victims seem to  be 
completely under the control of the offenders despite leading apparently normal lives. They 
move  among  other  people,  use  public  transport,  are  not  confined  to  their  accommodation 
and  indeed  often  live  in  their  own  homes;  yet  they  have  no  realistic  possibility  of 
discontinuing  the  exploitative  activity,  to  protect  themselves  from  exploitation  or  to  seek 
help  for  their  plight.  It  is  often  difficult  for  outsiders  to  identify  or  comprehend  such 
complete absence of self-determination, even though the dynamics of sexual exploitation are 
very similar to those of intimate partner violence or sexual exploitation/violence generally. 
The characteristics that enable the offender to exploit the victim are usually not discernible 
by an objective outside observer. Human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is 
a process of depriving victims of their right of self-determination and bodily integrity and 
subjugating them so that the victims gradually submit. It is often difficult for the victims 
themselves  to  identify  the  actual  moment  when  they  were  no  longer  undertaking  the 
activity voluntarily and the moment when they simply caved in to the offender’s control. It 
is  a  key  feature  of  the  dynamics  of  subjugation  that  the  victims  never  even  consider  that 
they might be able to negotiate with the offender concerning their situation. The victims see 
no possibility of protecting themselves against exploitation or of escaping from the offender. 
Exploitation establishes a hierarchy of power between the offender and the victim, with the 
offender possessing all the power, even over matters concerning the victim. There are many 
factors that facilitate this. Experts in psychiatry and traumatisation giving evidence on the 
dynamics  of  exploitation  at  trials  describe  the  submission  of  the  victim  as  evolving  for 
instance  as  a  result  of  the  manipulation  of  the  victim  by  the  offender.  The  manipulator 
emphasizes  his  position  in  relation  to  the  victim,  although  initially  he  may  ingratiate 
himself and appeal to the victim in ways that are not normal. Gradually, the manipulation 
becomes  belittling,  oppressive,  threatening  and  sometimes  violent.  The  offender 
manipulates  the  victim  into  believing  that  the  victim  herself  is  responsible  for  the 
exploitation. The victim then believes that she has brought the exploitation on herself, and 
the  sense  of  guilt  feeds  her  shame.  Shame  and  guilt  are  what  eventually  silence  victims: 
they are often silent and do not talk to anyone about what has happened to them, possibly 
not  even  in  psychiatric  care.  A  victim’s  mind  develops  various  survival  mechanisms  in 

90 See also Roth 2007. 
91 See also on victims of other sexual violence Honkatukia 2011. 

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order  to  cope  with  the  unbearable  emotional  state  brought  on  by  the  exploitation.  The 
victim  establishes  a  parallel  reality  of  sorts,  attempting  to  deal  with  the  experiences  that 
have  fractured  her  mind.  The  victim  may  block  out  memories,  numb  her  mind  or  detach 
herself  from  unbearable  emotional  states.  It  is  also  characteristic  of  the  dynamics  of 
exploitation  that  the  victim  exposes  herself  to  new  exploitation  situations.  This 
phenomenon  has  been  clinically  verified  in  various  cases  of  abuse  and  exploitation, 
including  domestic  violence  and  sexual  abuse  of  children.  By  doing  so,  the  victim  is 
attempting to cope with traumatising memories and bad experiences in the belief that the 
new  such  situation  might  end  more  favourably.  She  seeks  a  corrective  experience  and  in 
doing so may develop a compulsion to repeat the trauma. While this is ultimately a survival 
technique in which the victim’s mind seeks to control the traumatic experience, it will lead 
to serious psychological trauma whose symptoms will worsen as the exploitation continues. 
Regardless of such trauma, the exploitation may last for a long time.”92 

As  the  control  of  a  victim  can  and  often  does  emerge  through  the  use  of  psychological 
means, more attention should be paid to the dynamics of exploitation and the subtle means 
of exploitation both in laws and their application/interpretation. In addition, more training 
needs  to  be  directed  at  the  law  enforcement,  prosecution  services  and  judiciary  on  the 
dynamics of sexual exploitation and violence. It is important to understand the  dynamics 
of exploitation also because the mental consequences of exploitation for the victim in order 
to  succeed  in  the  criminal  proceedings.  This  should  be  taken  into  account  in  criminal 
investigations and at trials by creating an environment conducive to the victim feeling safe 
enough to describe what happened to her. Furthermore, it is important to understand the 
dynamics  of  exploitation  in  order  to  be  able  to  refer  the  victims  to  the  kind  of  assistance 
and treatment that she needs for recovery. 

3.2.  Lack  of  a  Human  Rights-Based  Approach  to  Human  Trafficking: 
Prosecution over Protection 

One  of  the  reasons  that  may  explain  the  difficulty  to  tackle  human  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation  is  historical:  women  in  prostitution  and  commercial  sex  have  always  been 
considered  to  be  threats  to  society.  Prostitution  has  traditionally  been  regarded  as  a 
problem  that  first  and  foremost  endangers  the  societal  and  general  interests,  such  as 
morality,  public  health,  public  order  and  security.  Throughout  the  modern  legal  history, 
prostitution has induced legal responses that seek to control women in prostitution rather 
than  protect  them  from  violence  and  abuse.  The  control  has  taken  various  forms: 
prostitution has been criminalised, women in prostitution have been obligated to undergo 
regular medical examinations in order to prevent the spread of venereal diseases, and they 
have been controlled through the supervision of vagrants. 

When  the  number  of  foreign  women  in  prostitution  in  Finland  increased  in  the  1990s, 
prostitution  was associated with  organised crime. Prostitution became  primarily a matter 
involving foreigners and security. Attempts were made to control prostitution by making 
the purchasing and selling of sex in public places a punishable act (section 7 of the Public 
Order Act) and by adding a provision to the Aliens Act (section 148), which made it easier 
to remove foreign prostitutes from the country. Both legal amendments have been heavily 
criticised by the  NGOs for making people  in prostitution  more vulnerable  to exploitation 

92 The Finnish National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings 2014, pp. 108-110.  

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and  violence  from  the  side  of  sex-buyers  and  the  procurers/traffickers.  It  should  be 
additionally  noted  that  in  comparison  with  Finland,  in  the  other  Nordic  countries 
prostitution  has more frequently been identified as an issue  which concerns equality and 
human rights. 

The  anti-trafficking  framework  intends  to  change  this  way  of  dealing  with  the  issue  by 
introducing assistance and protection measures. It seems, however, that it fails to make use 
of the opportunities to protect the most vulnerable people. The context of criminal justice 
system,  identifying  the  prosecution  of  traffickers  and  the  intensification  of  cross-border 
cooperation among the law enforcement authorities as its main objectives carries a risk of 
ignoring the fact that victims of human trafficking are, in fact, human beings, who deserve 
and need protection irrespective of their willingness or ability to cooperate in the criminal 
proceedings. The tendency that the  victims  have to deserve  the  assistance and  protection 
measures  is  certainly  not  in  line  with  the  human  rights-based  approach  to  human 
trafficking. 

While drafting international and European legal instruments on human trafficking, states 
probably believed that trafficked persons are waiting for being rescued out of the hands of 
the traffickers and, thus, will gratefully accept the help of the authorities who render them 
a  hungered-for  victim  status  and  provide  them  with  services.  This  understanding  has 
proved to be too simplistic in many of the countries that struggle with the problem arising 
from the low number of identified victims of human trafficking. One of the most important 
problems here is that the role of victim assistance and protection is often marginalised and 
granted  an  instrumental  value  for  the  functioning  criminal  justice  system.  In  order  to 
receive  assistance  and  protection,  victims  of  human  trafficking  are  required  to  cooperate 
with  the  law  enforcement,  prosecution  services  and  judiciary.  In  other  words,  victim 
assistance  and  protection  is,  in  practice,  often  dependent  on  the  criminal  process  and  the 
ability and  willingness  of the  trafficking victim to report what has  happened to  her. This 
follows  from  the  understanding  that  trafficking  is  primarily  a  problem  of  illegal 
immigration and transnational organised crime, threatening state sovereignty, rather than 
an issue of human rights, human dignity and equality between women and men. 

It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  the  criminal  justice  system  starts  with  an  assumption  of  a 
rational, autonomous and free individual, who has a power and ability to claim her rights 
in the criminal proceedings. The law on sexual offences, for example, protects sexual self-
determination/sexual  autonomy.  The  right  has  been  violated  if  the  litigant  has  not 
consented  to  the  sexual  relation  or  act.  The  litigant  has  in  these  circumstances  a 
responsibility  to  prove  that  the  relation  or  act  has  been  committed  against  the  litigant’s 
will.  Sometimes  victims  of  human  trafficking,  however,  have  lived  under  the  (male) 
domination  and  control  for  a  long  time,  perhaps  their  whole  life.  Consequently,  they  do 
not  necessarily  have  that  kind  of  a  legal  subjectivity,  which  is  often  imperative  for 
successful criminal proceedings. This makes it difficult, even impossible, for the victims to 
claim  rights.  They,  thus,  do  not  necessarily  adopt  a  self-image  as  a  victim  of  a  crime,  let 
alone  of  human  trafficking.  In  addition,  the  perpetrator  can  be  close  to  the  victim,  which 
makes it even more difficult for her to claim rights in the criminal proceedings. 

Furthermore,  the  criminal  proceedings  can  end  with  a  termination  of  investigation,  an 
acquittal  or  a  sentence  for  another  offence  than  human  trafficking  even  when  the  victim 
has been willing to testify. In individual cases, this can lead to the termination of assistance 

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and protection, as well, and to the removal from the country. Often this means even greater 
risk for victims and their families, as the victims has had a courage and ability to stand for 
her rights against the perpetrator. The fear of retaliation is real and well-founded especially 
when  organised  crime  is  involved.  In  fact,  it  seems  that  many  of  the  trafficking  victims 
choose  not  to  be  identified  and  referred  to  the  assistance  measures  as  the  trafficking 
framework does not offer the trafficked persons sufficient certainty of and guarantees for 
the future. 

Traffickers need to be brought to justice but the victims of exploitation should more often 
be seen as right-holders, not only as witnesses of a crime and as tools for the functioning 
criminal justice system. The current situation should be improved by making use of the full 
potential  of  the  trafficking  framework  and  by  balancing  protection  and  prosecution.  This 
can  be  done  in  numerous  ways  but  it  seems  that  one  of  the  most  important  practical 
measures is to transfer some of the power to determine what human trafficking is and who 
are  assisted  and  protected  from  the  criminal  justice  system  to  the  social  and  health  care 
workers,  in  other  words  to  those  responsible  for  assistance.  The  same  applies  to  the 
migration  services,  which  should  be  able  to  issue  a  residence  permit  on  the  basis  of 
humanitarian  reasons.  The  tendency  to  see  the  law  enforcement  as  an  only  competent 
authority to identify trafficking victims and  to decide who are eligible (and how long)  to 
assistance and protection under the law seriously hampers the anti-trafficking work. 

Moreover,  the  recent  information  of  the  Europol  and  UNHCR  suggests  that  the  current 
migration crises seems to increase human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation 
in  Europe.  There  is  a  risk  that  European  Union  fights  against  illegal  immigration  and 
people  smuggling  without  paying  enough  attention  to  the  possibility  that  many  of  the 
women and children can be exploited on their way to Europe or at the destination. It is of 
utmost importance to identify potential victims of human trafficking and to refer them to 
assistance and protection measures. To prevent human trafficking, channels for legal and 
safe migration for women and children should be created. The idea of humanitarian visas, 
for  example,  could  be  one  way  of  decreasing  the  risk  of  exploitation.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  countries  of  destination  have  to  ensure  that  the  migrant  women,  who  have  been 
granted  legal  residence,  have  access  to  language  education  and  other  means  of  social 
integration in order to exercise their rights as citizens. 

3.3.  Trafficking  for  the  Purpose  of  Sexual  Exploitation  as  a  Form  of 
Gender-Based Violence 

In  many  international  legal  instruments,  trafficking  in  women  (human  trafficking  for  the 
purpose  of  sexual  exploitation)  is  considered  a  form  of  violence  against  women.  In 
international  law,  violence  against  women  is  an  infringement  of  human  rights,  and 
governments  as  states  parties  to  human  rights  conventions  are  obliged  within  their 
territories  to  ensure  that  they  do  not  engage  in  infringements  of  human  rights  by 
commission  or  omission.  Also,  governments  must  guarantee  the  fulfilment  of  rights  by 
ensuring that no non-governmental actors are guilty  of infringing these rights.  Known as 
the  ”due  diligence” principle, this includes the  responsibility of preventing, investigating 
and  punishing  infringements  committed  by  private  individuals,  and  compensating  their 
victims. It is, thus, important to examine human trafficking and the difficulties connected 

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to  the  low-level  of  victim  identification  from  a  broader  perspective  of  violence  against 
women.  The  perspective  provides  with  an  added  explanation  for  insufficient  counter 
trafficking efforts. 

As  mentioned  above,  trafficking  in  human  beings  has  emerged  in  the  societal  discussion 
less due to the domestic awareness than the developments in the international legal arena. 
The same applies to the other forms of violence against women in Finland. Irrespective of 
the awareness of the traditionally high rate of male violence against women in Finland, it 
was  the  international  pressure  which  finally  forced  Finland  to  address  violence  against 
women, including human trafficking, and take measures so as to prevent and combat it. 

The  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women  (CEDAW),  for 
example, has repeatedly expressed its concern about the high incidence of violence against 
women  in  Finland,  including  the  increased  incidence  of  trafficking  in  women,  and 
recommended the government to increase and strengthen its efforts to combat the violence 
against  women.  The  observations  of  CEDAW  have  contributed  to  the  recognition  of 
violence against women in Finland as a societal problem that requires special attention.93 

The  difficulty  to  recognise  the  issue  of  violence  against  women  may  seem  peculiar.  The 
international  comparisons  on  gender  equality  carried  out  by  the  United  Nations 
demonstrate that Nordic women are more equal in respects of education, their position in 
society  and  health  than  women  in  almost  any  other  countries.  Relatively  high  gender 
equality enjoyed by Nordic women is a result of the extensive welfare policies aimed at the 
reduction  of  differences  and  social  inequalities.  Although  the  welfare  state  has  promoted 
women’s economic independence and emancipation,  the  gender-neutral  welfare state  has 
made  certain  gender  specific  inequalities  and  forms  of  discrimination  more  difficult  to 
recognise and conceptualise. These include issues such as the violence against women.94  

Feminist  authors  argue  that  the  gender-specific  questions  have  long  been  treated  in  a 
gender-neutral  way  due  to  the  consensus-based  equality  policy  which  seeks  to  avoid 
confrontations  and  maintain  the  illusion  about  the  already  existing  equality  between 
women  and  men.95  The  gender  neutral  equality  policy  has  avoided  the  polarisation  of 
genders, thereby contributing to keeping gender issues secondary to other dividing issues, 
such  as  class.96  As  “gender  equality  is  firmly  established  as  a  labour  market  and  social 
welfare  issue,  rather  than  as  an  inalienable  right  to  non-discrimination”,  the  scope  of 
equality politics has been difficult to extend into the private area, such as bodily integrity.97 
The Nordic equality model has been argued to impede the recognition of differences and 
disadvantage at the level of the individual. The protection of human rights and privacy has 

93  The  most  recent  is  the  Concluding  observations  of  the  seventh  periodic  report  of  Finland. 
Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Discrimination  against  Women.  The  CEDAW  has  encouraged 
Finland, for example, to ensure that women and girls who are victims of trafficking have access to 
medical  care,  legal  and  psychosocial  counselling,  adequate  housing,  education,  income-generating 
opportunities  and  rehabilitation  and  reintegration  programmes,  regardless  of  their  ability  or 
willingness to testify against traffickers. 
94 Piispa et al. 2006.  
95 Pehkonen 2003.  
96 Pylkkänen 2001. 
97 Nousiainen 2008.  

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become  a  domestic  agenda  due  to  the  adherence  to  international  and  regional  human 
rights conventions and the European Union.98 

While feminist authors consider the Nordic criminal policy to be successful in general, they 
criticise  it  for  being  gender-blind  and  reluctant  to  recognise  violence  against  women. 
Indeed, the Nordic countries have responded to violence against women at a relatively late 
stage compared to other Western countries.99 Finland, nevertheless, differs from the other 
Nordic  countries  in  respect  to  its  tardiness  in  the  recognition  and  conceptualisation  of 
violence  against  women  as  a  social  problem.  For  example,  rape  within  marriage  was 
criminalised  only  in  1994  and  the  possibility  for  a  restraining  order  was  enacted  in  1999. 
Furthermore,  the  prosecution  for  an  assault  in  a  private  place  was  dependent  on  the 
victim’s report and request for prosecution up until the mid-1990s, and the prosecution for 
rape needed a request of the victim in order to go forward until 1999.100 

The  difficulties  with  human  trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  closely 
resemble  the  difficulties  that  the  legal  system  has  with  regard  to  the  offence  of  rape 
especially if the victim has initially agreed to meet, join or even marry the perpetrator. The 
difficulties have been documented by numerous studies. In the 1980s, Viitanen studied the 
way  that  reported  offences  of  rape  were  dealt  with  by  the  judiciary  and  why  rape  was 
often not reported to the police or did not proceed to court. She found widespread victim-
blaming attitudes in Finnish society in general and in the judiciary. The victims themselves 
were  often  held  responsible  for  having  been  raped,  and  the  consequences  of  rape  to  the 
victim were not considered to be serious. Producing evidence of rape was difficult, and the 
raped women were often required to prove their “innocence”.101 

Sulavuori  has  noted  in  her  study  published  in  1992  that  the  police  and  judiciary  often 
perceive  the  raped  woman  as  having  provoked  the  rape  and  connived  in  the  situation 
afterwards especially when her rapist was known to her before the situation  or the rapist 
was an acquaintance whom she had met in a restaurant. In this situation, the woman either 
“asked for it” or deserved being raped. In order to convict the rapist, there must be solid 
evidence of rape, in other words, evidence  of physical force and violence  must be found. 
Sulavuori  has  described  the  criminal  procedure  as  a  “rack”  for  the  raped  women  and 
concluded  that  the  criminal  procedure  is  a  part  of  the  patriarchal  exercise  of  power  by 
which women’s possibilities and choices as sexual beings are restricted.102 

This unfortunate situation has not changed much since the early 1990s, as also more recent 
studies indicate similar attitudes in the legal system towards rape. Kainulainen has noted 
that the authorities often view that the victim carries  a certain responsibility for  the rape, 
especially  when  the  litigant  has  known  the  perpetrator  personally  before  the  crime  has 
been  committed.  Many  police  officers  were  reported  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  women 
should  behave  in  a  manner  which  prevents  men  from  raping  them.103  Also  Hahto  has 
argued that the victim seems to play “a contributory role” in rape: a person behaving in a 
pertinent  manner  does  not  become  a  victim  of  crime.  As  distinct  from  robbery,  for 

98 Svensson et al. 2004.  
99 Niemi-Kiesiläinen 2001.  
100 Niemi-Kiesiläinen 2001; Pehkonen 2003.  
101 Viitanen 1982.    
102 Sulavuori 1992.  
103 Kainulainen 2004.  

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example, the prior consent of the litigant is an especially significant factor when evaluating 
whether an alleged rape has taken place, and if  it has, how reprehensible  the  offence has 
been.104  Feminist  authors,  thus,  argue  widely  that  Finnish  women,  equal,  strong  and 
economically independent as they are, are perceived as ”responsible selves”, and are thus 
easily held responsible for the violence they have faced. 

This  “responsibility”  also  seems  to  be  reflected  onto  victims  of  human  trafficking  in  the 
criminal  justice  system.  As  mentioned  above,  the  trafficking  victims  seem  to  carry  some 
level  of  “responsibility”  for  exploitation  and  carry  the  blame  for  not  avoiding  the  risk  of 
exploitation.  Victim  characteristics  (the  fact  that  the  person  has  sold  sex),  as  well  as  the 
social and interactional contexts in which violence  occurs (commercial sex), seem to have 
an emphasised impact on the interpretative frameworks: if the women have contributed to 
becoming victims by entering prostitution, they are not credible victims of exploitation in 
the eyes of the criminal justice system and may therefore find it difficult to seek or receive 
assistance  and  support.  The  gender  of  the  victim  seems  to  be  significant  in  terms  of  the 
existing  expectations  of  this  “behavioural  responsibility”  for  avoiding  the  social  contexts 
commonly associated with potential violence. This kind of behavioural responsibility is not 
expected  from  the  victims  of  labour  trafficking.  As  combating  human  trafficking  seem  to 
resemble  the  difficulties  with  other  gender-based  forms  of  violence,  it  is  important  to 
discuss and implement measures that address violence against women in general in order 
to prevent and combat trafficking in human beings, in particular.   

Moreover,  according  to  the  experiences  of  the  Finnish  National  Rapporteur  on  human 
trafficking,  many  sexually  exploited  victims  of  human  trafficking  identified  in  Finland 
seem  to  have  one  feature  in  common.  These  women  and  girls  have  had  only  few 
opportunities. In both cross-border trafficking cases and in cases of internal trafficking, the 
identified victims suffer from poor societal and economical status or they are otherwise at a 
risk of becoming excluded in the society. 

In  more  concrete  terms,  foreign  victims  of  human  trafficking  are  often  poorly  educated 
(even  illiterate)  and  economically  dependent  on  their  male  relatives.  Sometimes  they  are 
completely under the control of their male partners or relatives under the cultural norms. 
This  kind  of  structural  inequality  makes  it  difficult  even  for  themselves  to  see  and 
condemn  the  violations  occurred  and  therefore  to  seek  help.  Violence  and  exploitation  is 
not always questioned, as these women and girls  have understood that they do not  have 
same  rights  as  men  and  that  the  men  have  an  overruling  power  over  the  women.  In 
addition,  countries  from  which  they  come  from  have  rather  weak  social  security  system, 
which often fails to provide them with sufficient protection against unemployment, long-
term  sickness  or  single-parenting.  Weak  social  security  combined  with  a  low  level  of 
equality  between  men  and  women  in  the  society  seem  to  increase  the  vulnerability  of 
women and girls to human trafficking and related sexual exploitation. 

With  regard  to  the  cases  of  internal  trafficking,  it  seems  than  many  of  the  identified 
trafficking  victims  of  Finnish  nationality  have  been  vulnerable  to  exploitation  due  to 
mental disorders or poor economic situation. These women and girls have had few options 
for  life  and  are,  therefore,  at  risk  of  becoming  marginalised  in  the  society.  Sometimes, 
however, only the young age together  with low self-esteem and trust in other people can 

104 Hahto 2004. See also Jokila 2010.  

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lead to exploitation (i.e. trafficking  in  the  modelling  business). To prevent exploitation  in 
these  situations,  sexual  education  at  school  must  be  strengthened,  including  sexual 
education about bodily integrity and knowledge about the (psychological) consequences of 
sexual  violence.  Blaming  attitudes  of  women  for  sexual  violence  should  be  discussed 
already at school. Trafficking in  human beings should, thus,  be recognised as an issue  of 
gender equality and social policy.    

Irrespective of the political opinion on prostitution one must additionally take into account 
those  aspects  in  the  society  which  contribute  to  the  existence  and  potential  increase  of 
human  trafficking  in  the  countries  where  exploitation  occurs.  It  is  therefore  of  utmost 
importance  to  discuss  the  aspects  which  create  a  favourable  environment  for  the 
exploitation. One of these aspects is the demand for commercial sex.  

The  UN  Trafficking  Protocol  has  a  provision  under  which  the  state  parties  shall  take 
legislative  and  other  measures  to  discourage  the  demand  that  fosters  all  forms  of 
exploitation of persons, especially women and children, that leads to trafficking (Article 9). 
The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings obliges 
the  State  Parties  to  consider  making  the  use  of  services  which  are  the  object  of  human 
trafficking  as  criminal  offences  (Article  19).  The  EU  directive  2011/36/EU  on  preventing 
and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims  also  encourages 
Member  States  to  take  measures  to  establish  as  a  criminal  offence  the  use  of  services  of 
trafficked persons (Article 18). 

Finland has criminalised buying of sex from the victims of sex trade, including victims of 
human  trafficking.  It  seems,  however,  that  the  criminalisation  has  not  worked  as 
intended.105 A partial ban on buying sex is not well suited to human trafficking situations, 
being  insufficient  for  preventing  or  curbing  human  trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual 
exploitation or for protecting victims of the sex trade effectively. As a consequence, Finland 
has amended the provision so that the exploitation of a victim of sex trade is  a punishable 
offence even if committed through negligence. The purpose of the proposal is to improve 
the protection of victims of prostitution in criminal proceedings and to reduce the demand 
for paid sex. 

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have 
recently recommended a ban on buying sex  as being  a significant policy measure  against 
prostitution. Both international representative bodies consider a ban on buying sex to be an 
effective and needed means for  addressing the  demand that fuels human trafficking, and 
thereby an instrument for  curbing and preventing human trafficking itself and associated 
crime. This kind of prostitution policy is also considered to promote gender equality.106 

4. Conclusions and Recommendations 

Trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation is a gender-specific phenomenon: the 
reasons why women and girls are trafficked, the impacts that sexual exploitation have on 

105 Ministry of Justice of Finland 2013.  
106 Parliamentary Assembly 2014; European Parliament 2014. 

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the  victims,  and  the  explanations  why  counter  trafficking  efforts  have  largely  been 
ineffective  as  of  today  are  also  gendered.  This  paper  has  sought  to  analyse  and  discuss 
human  trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  from  a  gender  perspective  by 
using Finland as a case study. The author believes, however, that many of the findings can 
be generalised to other European countries, as well. 

There are many reasons to explain why counter trafficking efforts have not been successful. 
First,  the  international  legal  definition  and  the  national  criminal  laws  based  on  it  are 
complex, in particular with regard to the more subtle means of committing the offence of 
human  trafficking,  i.e.  abuse  of  a  position  of  power  and  victim’s  vulnerable  position. 
Furthermore,  the  relation  of  the  trafficking  definition  to  prostitution  is  problematic  and 
leaves room for interpretation. 

Secondly,  the  counter  trafficking  efforts  seem  to  overemphasise  prosecution  over 
protection.  Trafficking  victims  are  often  instrumentalised  to  the  functioning  criminal 
justice  system  which  is  not  in  line  with  a  human  rights-based  approach.  The  anti-
trafficking  framework  fails  to  induce  victims  of  human  trafficking  to  resort  to  the 
authorities  which  makes  it  difficult  to  use  the  opportunities  of  the  anti-trafficking 
framework to protect the most vulnerable people. 

Third,  trafficking  in  human  beings  is  often  perceived  as  a  problem  of  illegal  migration, 
people smuggling and transnational organised crime. Its dimensions as a form of gender-
based  violence  and  as  an  issue  of  inequality  between  women  and  men  get  easily 
overridden.  Trafficking  in  human  beings  should,  thus,  be  prevented  and  combated 
through social and equality policy, too. 

In this context, it must be noted with certain concern that the equality policy in the Western 
societies is increasingly influenced by the ideology of neoliberalism. The neoliberalism can 
be  argued  to  underline  the  priority  of  individual  responsibility  over  the  protection 
obligation of the state, focusing on the relationship between the market and the individual, 
rather than the political system and the individual. The protection of privacy and negative 
rights to freedom are at the core of the ideology. 

While it is true that individualism offers considerable positive consequences in the form of 
increased individual rights, it also makes identification and dismantling of gender-oriented 
power  structures  difficult.  An  individualistic  approach  has  limited  opportunities  to  solve 
the  complex  problems  in  the  society  or  to  eliminate  injustices  in  the  structures  of  society 
and  thereby  to  foster  true  equality.  While  freedom  is  emphasised,  we  need  to  make  sure 
that it becomes with real opportunities.107 

According  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  the  EU  has  a  strong 
mandate to adopt legislation in the areas of particularly serious crime with a cross-border 
dimension,  including  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  sexual  exploitation  of  women  and 
children.  The  implementation  of  the  adopted  obligations,  such  as  the  2011/36/EU 
directive, has,  however, remained ineffective. The anti-trafficking strategies and activities 
can possibly achieve their goals, if states adopt a victim-centred approach to trafficking, as 
well as regularly evaluate the effect these strategies and activities have on the human rights 

107 See more on Tasa-arvo toisin nähtynä 2012.  

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of  trafficking  victims.  In  more  concrete  terms,  this  paper  has  provided  with  some 
recommendations: 

●  To  improve  victim  identification,  the  EU  Member  States  should  effectively 
implement  the  anti-human  trafficking  laws,  including  the  criminalisation  of 
human  trafficking  and  the  assistance  and  protection  of  trafficking  victims.  In 
addition,  they  should  ensure  that  the  application  and  interpretation  of  the 
provisions  on  trafficking-related  offences  (i.e.  procuring)  or  the  migration  laws 
(Dublin  procedure,  for  example)  do  not  annihilate  the  anti-human  trafficking 
legislation. 

●  To  improve  victim  identification  and  the  identification  of  the  subtle  means  of 
trafficking, the criminal justice system (law and practice) should concentrate more 
on  the  dynamics  of  exploitation,  and  the  law  enforcement,  prosecution  services 
and judiciary should be carefully trained on the issue. 

●  To improve victim identification and the victim’s ability to resort to the authorities, 
the laws should be modified so that the victims of human trafficking can be seen as 
right-holders  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  The  victims  of  human  trafficking  should  be 
entitled to the assistance and protection measures even if the case is not successful 
in the  criminal proceedings. More power  to determine  what  human  trafficking is 
and  who  are  assisted  and  protected  under  the  law  should  be  given  to  the  social 
and health care workers, as well as to the migration services. 

●  To  prevent  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  people  smuggling,  it  is  important  to 
create  channels  for  legal  and  safe  migration  for  women  and  children  (i.e. 
humanitarian visas). On the other hand, the countries of destination have to ensure 
that the migrant women, who have been granted legal residence in the countries of 
destination,  have  access  to  language  education  and  other  means  of  social 
integration in order to exercise their rights as citizens. 

●  To  improve  victim  identification  and  prevention  of  human  trafficking,  it  is 
important  to  recognise  human  trafficking  as  a  form  of  gender-based  violence.  As 
preventing and combating human trafficking seem to resemble the difficulties with 
other  forms  of  gender-based  violence,  it  is  important  to  discuss  and  implement 
measures that address violence against women, in general, in order to prevent and 
combat trafficking in human beings, in particular.   

●  To  improve  victim  identification  and  prevention  of  human  trafficking,  it  is 
important  to  recognise  trafficking  in  human  beings  as  a  matter  of  inequality 
between women and men and to take measures in the fields of social and equality 
policy.  These  measures  should  aim  at  making  less  and  less  people  vulnerable  to 
human trafficking.   

●  To  prevent  human  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  the  politics  of  prostitution 
must strive for making environment unfavourable for prostitution and commercial 
sex, in general.  Therefore, it  is  important to address  the  demand for commercial 
sex and to consider criminalising the purchase of sex.     

●  To prevent human trafficking and to strengthen the inviolability of bodily integrity 
of  women  and  girls,  blaming  attitudes  of  women  for  sexual  violence  and  abuse 
should  be  discussed  already  at  school  and  in  the  society,  in  general.  Sexual 
education,  which  takes  into  account  the  female  perspective,  should  be  increased 
and strengthened. 

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●  To  evaluate  anti-trafficking  strategies  and  activities  and  to  improve  counter 
trafficking efforts, countries should appoint an  independent  National  Rapporteur 
on  human  trafficking  who  has  a  right  under  the  law  to  report  directly  to  the 
national Parliament and make recommendations for improvement. 

●  To improve counter trafficking efforts in the European Union, the EU institutions 
should carefully evaluate the implementation of the EU legislation in the Member 
States, and to take added legislative and other measures when needed. 

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Nordic  Feminist  Legal  Studies  at  a  Crossroads.”  In  Nordic  Equality  at  a  Crossroads. 
Feminist Legal Studies Coping with Difference, ed. Eva-Maria  

Svensson, Anu Pylkkänen and Johanna Niemi-Kiesiläinen, 1-16. Aldershot: Ashgate 2004. 

toisin  nähtynä.  Oikeuden 

ja 
Tasa-arvo 
yhdenvertaisuuteen,  eds.  Johanna  Kantola,  Kevät  Nousiainen  and  Milja  Saari.  Tallin: 
Gaudeamus 2012. 

ja  politiikan  näkökulmia 

tasa-arvoon 

United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime  (UNODC):  Global  Report  on  Trafficking  in 
Persons. Vienna: UNODC 2009. 

Viitanen, Pirkko: Raiskaus. Helsinki: WSOY 1982.   

Vocks,  Judith  and  Nijboer,  Jan:  “The  Promised  Land:  A  Study  of  Trafficking  in  Women 
from  Central  and  Eastern  Europe  to  the  Netherlands.”  European  Journal  on  Criminal 
Policy and Research, Vol. 8, No. 3, 2000, pp. 379-388. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

ANNEX 4 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender 
perspective in Germany, Lithuania, Romania, Sweden, the 
Netherlands and the UK 

Research paper 
by Prof. Ryszard Piotrowicz, Ms Klara Skrivankova, Dr 
Baerbel Uhl and Ms Marjan Wijers 

Abstract 
This  paper  outlines  and  analyses  the  implementation  by  six  EU  Member 
States:    Germany,  Lithuania,  Romania,  Sweden,  the  Netherlands  and  the 
UK  of  selected  obligations  arising  under  Directive  2011/36/EU,  from  a 
gender  perspective;  and  makes  proposals  intended  to  facilitate  the  full 
compliance  with  the  duty  to  take  into  account  the  gender  perspective  in 
the implementation of the Directive. 

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AUTHORS 

Ryszard  Piotrowicz  of  Aberystwyth  University,  is  member  of  the  Council  of  Europe’s 
Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and  member  of  the 
European  Commission’s  Group  of  Experts  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  from  2008-
2015. 
Klara  Skrivankova  is  Programme  Advisor  to  the  Joseph  Rowntree  Foundation  and 
member of the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human Beings 
from 2008-2015. 
Baerbel  Heide  Uhl  is  independent  consultant  on  anti-trafficking  policies  and  member  of 
the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human Beings from 2003-
2011 (chaired the Group from 2008-11). 
Marjan Wijers is independent consultant and researcher on human rights and trafficking 
and chair of the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Trafficking in Human Beings 
from 2003-2006.  

This  report  was  written  in  two  stages.  Stage  one  (November-December  2015)  examined 
three  Member  States:  Germany,  Lithuania and Sweden.  Stage two (February-March 2016) 
examined  the  Netherlands,  Romania  and  the  United  Kingdom.  Piotrowicz,  Skrivankova 
and  Uhl  contributed  to  stage  one;  all  four  authors  contributed  to  stage  two.  The  authors 
welcome  the  recent  publication  by  the  European  Commission  of  a  study  on  the  gender 
dimension of human trafficking. This extensive document was published in the very final 
stages of the drafting of this report and it was beyond the scope of this assignment to take 
its findings into account. 

This  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and 
Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 
Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 
Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 
The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the author and do 
not  necessarily  represent  the  official  position  of  the  European  Parliament.  The  views 
expressed  in  this  report  are  personal  to  the  authors  and  do  not  necessarily  reflect  the 
views of any organisation with which they are or have been associated. 
Reproduction  and  translation  for  non-commercial  purposes  are  authorized,  provided 
the source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in March 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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  Table of Contents 

List of Acronyms .................................................................................................................... 119 
Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... 120 
I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 123 
II. Gender perspective in the prevention of trafficking in human beings .................. 124 
Article 18: Preventing and discouraging demand .............................................................. 129 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 129 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 132 
Romania.................................................................................................................................... 134 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 135 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 135 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 136 
III. The gender dimension of assistance, support and protection of victims.............. 137 
Article 11: Assistance and support for victims of trafficking in human beings ............. 138 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 138 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 140 
Romania.................................................................................................................................... 143 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 144 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 144 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 145 
Article 12: Protection of victims of trafficking in criminal investigations ....................... 146 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 146 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 146 
Romania.................................................................................................................................... 148 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 148 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 149 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 149 
Article 17: Compensation for victims ................................................................................... 150 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 150 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 150 
Romania.................................................................................................................................... 152 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 152 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 153 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 154 
IV. Assessment of other gender sensitive measures taken to address trafficking in 
human beings ......................................................................................................................... 154 
Article 19: Monitoring of gender dimensions in the implementation of Directive 

2011/36/EU .......................................................................................................................... 154 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 154 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 155 
Romania.................................................................................................................................... 155 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 155 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 155 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 156 
V. General assessment of measures taken to address the gender dimension of 
trafficking in human beings in the implementation of the Directive .......................... 156 
Recommendations .................................................................................................................. 158 
Annex 1: Country Summaries .............................................................................................. 162 
United Kingdom ..................................................................................................................... 162 
The Netherlands ...................................................................................................................... 162 

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Romania.................................................................................................................................... 163 
Lithuania .................................................................................................................................. 163 
Sweden ..................................................................................................................................... 164 
Germany ................................................................................................................................... 164 
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................... 166 

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List of Acronyms 

ANITP  Agenţia  Naţională  împotriva  Traficului  de  Persoane  (National  Agency  against 
Trafficking in Persons) (Romania) 

CoMensha   

Coordination Centre for Human Trafficking (Netherlands) 

COSM   Centre for Reception of Trafficked Persons (Netherlands) 

ECPAT  End  Child  Prostitution,  Child  Pornogrpahy  and  Trafficking  of  Children  for 
Sexual purposes 

GLA  

Gangmasters Licensing Authority (UK) 

GRETA  
Human Beings 

Council  of  Europe,  Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in 

KOK   Koordinierungskreis  gegen  Menschenhandel  (Netwrok  against  Trafficking  in 
Human Beings) (Germany) 

SIDA  

STPO  

Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sweden) 

Slavery and Trafficking Protection Orders (UK) 

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European Implementation Assessment 

Executive Summary  

The  report  focuses  on  the  implementation  from  a  gender  perspective  of  Directive 
2011/36/EU of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and 
protecting  its  victims.  It  assesses  the  compliance  of  six  EU  Member  States:  Germany, 
Lithuania, the Netherlands, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Germany has yet 
to  fully  transpose  the  Directive;  the  parliamentary  procedure  to  make  the  necessary 
amendments to the criminal code was underway at the time of writing. 

The report covers several gender aspects of the Directive, including prevention, assistance, 
support  to  and  protection  of  victims.  It  also  analyses  other  gender  dimension  elements, 
including monitoring procedures and compensation. 

Supply  of  people  willing  and  needing  to  migrate  for  work  (either  internally  or 
internationally) and demand for the labour and services of exploited individuals are both 
understood as drivers of human trafficking. Understanding the gender dimension of these 
situations,  as  well  as  the  understanding  of  what  constitutes  demand,  will  assist  Member 
States  and  EU  institutions  to  develop  more  appropriate  measures  to  help  tackle  the 
underlying causes of human trafficking. 

Available  EUROSTAT  data  suggests  that  there  is  a  significant  gender  split  between 
different  forms  of  trafficking,  with  women  and  girls  being  documented  as  the  highest 
number  of  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  while  men  are  mainly  trafficked 
for  labour  exploitation.  This  does  not  apply  to  labour  exploitation  in  domestic  servitude, 
where victims are mainly women and girls. 

According  to  the  EU  Fundamental  Rights  Agency  (FRA),  however,  trafficking  cases  have 
been  identified  in  an  increasing  range  of  industries:  agriculture,  food  processing, 
construction, domestic work, manufacturing, care, cleaning and the service sector. 

Article 18 of the EU Directive obliges Member States to take action to prevent trafficking in 
human  beings,  including  to  discourage  and  reduce  demand  that  fosters  all  forms  of 
exploitation,  to  raise  awareness  among  groups  at  risk,  to  train  officials  to  better  identify 
victims,  and  to  consider  the  establishment  as  criminal  offences  of  the  use  of  services 
qualifying under the trafficking legislation, where it is known to the user that the provider 
of the service has been trafficked. 

Lithuania  has carried  out  a number of initiatives and programmes  to raise awareness for 
victims of trafficking, including victims of forced prostitution. Germany and Sweden have 
founded  their  activities  in  prevention  of  trafficking  upon  a  solid  women’s  rights 
background.  Sweden  is  recognised  for  its  high  regard  for  gender  equality  and  diversity. 
However,  some  research  suggests  that  measures  that  would  follow  an  equality  and 
diversity  approach,  such  as  those  that  would  strengthen  the  position  and  rights  of 
populations vulnerable to trafficking, have been applied only in a limited way. Conversely, 
criminal justice approaches, such as the criminalisation of the purchasing of sex, have been 
favoured. 

Germany‘s anti-trafficking strategy originates from a women’s rights framework. In 1999, 
the first national action plan against trafficking was part of the action plan against violence 

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against  women.  Specific  measures  to  discourage  demand  for  services  of  the  victims  of 
trafficking  for  the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  are  being  implemented.  Within  the 
framework  of regulating prostitution, the  German  government has proposed a  new draft 
law that foresees, among other measures, the mandatory registration of all sex workers in 
Germany,  combined  with  mandatory  health  and  social  counselling,  as  well  as  a  new 
regulation of brothels. 

In  the  UK,  a  host  of  new  legislation  was  introduced  across  its  three  jurisdictions  in  2015 
addressing  modern  slavery,  human  trafficking  and  exploitation.  Northern  Ireland  is  the 
only jurisdiction to have introduced a provision on the criminalisation of the buying of sex 
in  its  new  anti-trafficking  legislation.  A  committee  of  the  UK  Parliament  has  recently 
concluded a consultation on regulatory arrangements around prostitution, the outcomes of 
which  are  yet  to  be  published.  In  its  response  to  the  consultation,  the  UK  government 
expressed  a  view  that  there  is  not  unequivocal  evidence  that  any  one  approach  is  more 
effective in tackling trafficking and exploitation.  

Until  recently,  prostitution  was  defined  as  a  criminal  offence  in  Romania.  This  has  been 
changed into an administrative offence. In the Netherlands,  a law was introduced of local 
licensing  systems,  requiring  brothels  to  meet  certain  standards:  planning;  hygiene,  fire 
safety  and  management  (e.g.  no  forced  drinking,  no  unsafe  sex,  no  minors,  no 
undocumented  workers  and  no  trafficking).  In  both  countries,  measures  to  discourage 
demand  for  trafficked  labour  and  services  are  being  targeted  mainly  at  exploitative 
situations in the sex industry. 

Article  11  of  the  Directive  obliges  Member  States  to  provide  assistance  and  support  for 
victims  of  trafficking.  The  Lithuanian  government  funds  several  NGO  projects  on 
provision of assistance to victims of trafficking and forced prostitution. The infrastructure 
on  support  capacities  has  a  strong  focus  on  female  victims.  Different  types  of  assistance 
provided by NGOs are financed by the state budget and are not dependent on co-operation 
with the law enforcement authorities. Sweden’s efforts to provide assistance to victims of 
trafficking  have  been  mainly  aimed  at  victims  of  sexual  exploitation.  In  recent  years, 
however, Sweden has begun focusing more on cases of trafficking for forced labour; there 
is concern regarding a lack of accommodation and assistance for male victims. 

 In  Germany,  there  is  a  wide  range  of  decentralized  assistance  infrastructure,  mainly 
operated by NGOs. Similar  to Sweden and Lithuania, the  main target groups are women 
and  girls.  While  not  explicitly  stated  in  the  UK  government  strategy,  the  UK  applies 
equality  and  diversity  approach  support  provisions,  which  are  available  for  all  victims, 
regardless  of  the  purpose  for  which  they  have  been  trafficked.  For  several  years,  the 
majority of potential victims identified had been trafficked for purposes other than sexual 
exploitation. Recent research however suggested that more regard needs to be given to the 
specific  needs of certain victims, particularly trafficked women who are pregnant and/or 
have children.  

In  the  Netherlands,  the  statistics  make  clear  that  the  focus  is  still  dominantly  on  women 
and  the  sex  industry,  although  the  number  of,  predominantly  male,  (potential)  victims 
reported by the Labour Inspection is slowly but steadily growing: from 39 in 2010 to 72 in 
2014.  The  Romanian  authorities  also  report  that  the  majority  of  identified  trafficking 
victims are women exploited in prostitution. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

The  report  documents  flaws  in  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  with  regard  to  the 
protection of victims in criminal investigations (Article 12), the compensation of victims for 
material and immaterial damages (Article17), and the monitoring of gender dimensions in 
the implementation of the Directive (Article19). 

The report concludes that there is a lack of consistent and systematic monitoring of gender 
implications for the Directive’s application. 

The  authors  recommend  engaging  in  a  practical  discussion  about  the  specifics  on  gender 
implications in an overall anti-trafficking approach. For instance, identification procedures 
need  to  implement  more  anonymous  counselling  possibilities  in  order  to  counter  the 
stigma  a  victim  of  trafficking  may  experience  due  to  sexual  violence.  Compensation 
schemes for victims should cover also material damage claims that would reflect the loss of 
earnings of victims while they were trafficked. Sexual violence should be treated as severe 
injury  for  the  purposes  of  compensation.  At  the  same  time,  the  severity  of  lasting 
psychological damage in victims that have not been subject to harsh physical violence, but 
systematic psychological terror and harassment, must not be underestimated.  

The  report  found  a  continued  lack  of  coherent  understanding  of  the  term  “demand” 
among  the  examined  Member  States  and  in  EU  institutions.  Moreover,  there  are  only 
limited  data  on  implementation  with  regard  to  demand  for  other  forms  of  exploitation 
apart  from  sexual  exploitation.  The  report  further  recommends  that  a  comprehensive 
strategy be elaborated to translate policies designed to curb “demand” into practical action. 

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I. Introduction 

[1] In 2011 a new instrument on the regulation of trafficking in human beings (THB) in the 
European  Union  was  adopted.  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of 
the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and 
protecting  its  victims,  and  replacing  Council  Framework  Decision  2002/629/JHA  (the 
Directive)108 was a new attempt by the EU to establish a legal framework that would more 
effectively  enable  criminal  prosecutions  against  traffickers  but  also  –  crucially  –  to  better 
protect  the  victims  of  THB,  and  reduce  the  vulnerability  of  possible  victims  to  being 
trafficked.  

[2] In the words of Recital (1) of the Preamble, “[t]rafficking in human beings is a serious 
crime, often committed within the framework of organised crime, [and] a gross violation of 
fundamental  rights”.  The  Directive  adopted  “an  integrated,  holistic,  and  human  rights 
approach to the fight against trafficking in human beings” (Recital (7)).  

[3]  An  essential  element  of  this  approach  is  the  appreciation  of  the  gender  dimension  in 
THB:  that  gender  must  be  fully  taken  into  account  in  assessing  people’s  vulnerability  to 
THB  if  the  human  rights-based  approach  to  THB  is  to  be  fully  and  effectively 
implemented. Accordingly, gender occupies a prominent place in the Directive. 

[4] Recital (3) of the Directive provides: 

“This Directive recognises the gender-specific phenomenon of trafficking and that women 
and men are often trafficked for different purposes. For this reason, assistance and support 
measures  should  also  be  gender-specific  where  appropriate.  The  ‘push’  and  ‘pull’  factors 
may be different depending on the sectors concerned, such as trafficking in human beings 
into the sex industry nor for labour exploitation in, for example, in construction work, the 
agricultural sector or domestic servitude.” 

[5] Recital (12) provides, regarding assessment of the  vulnerability of victims that gender 
should  be  taken  into  account.  Recital  (18),  on  assistance  and  support,  states  that  such 
measures  should  be  implemented  “on  the  basis  of  an  individual  assessment”  and    “take 
into  account  the  circumstances,  cultural  context  and  needs  of  the  person  concerned”. 
Furthermore,  according  to  Recital  (20),  “victims  of  trafficking  should  during  criminal 
investigations  and  proceedings  receive  treatment  that  is  appropriate  to  their  individual 
needs”. 

[6]  This  report  assesses  the  compliance  of  six  EU  Member  States:  Germany,  Lithuania, 
Romania, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, with their duty to ensure that the gender 
dimension is taken fully  into account in the exercise of their obligations arising out of the 
Directive. 

[7] These countries’ compliance with the Directive may also be assessed to some extent in 
light  of  other  relevant  international  instruments,  in  particular  the  Council  of  Europe 
Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  to  which  all  six  States  are 
party. Article 5.3 of that instrument provides: 

108 Official Journal of the European Union, 15.4.2011. L 101/1. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

“Each  Party  shall  promote  a  Human  Rights-based  approach  and  shall  use  gender 
mainstreaming  …  in  the  development,  implementation  and  assessment  of  all  the  policies 
and  programmes  referred  to  in  paragraph  2.”  Paragraph  2  refers  to  policies  and 
programmes to prevent THB. This is based on the  view of the  drafters that these policies 
and programmes be based on, inter alia, gender mainstreaming.109 

[8]  Germany  has  not  yet  fully  transposed  Directive  2011/36/EU,  even  though  the 
transposition  deadline  expired  in  April  2013.  Currently,  the  parliamentary  procedure  to 
transpose  the  Directive  is  based  on  the  draft  law  (BT-drs  18/4613)  as  set  forth  by  the 
German government in April 2015.110 The draft law proposes to enhance the criminal code 
on  human  trafficking  with  the  elements  ‘exploitation  of  criminal  activities’,  ‘forced 
begging’ and trafficking for the purpose of ‘removal of organs’.111 In addition, the Federal 
Ministry of Justice and Consumer Protection announced a proposal to amend the criminal 
law  significantly  in  order  to  amend  the  penal  code  on  human  trafficking  in  line  with 
international standards.112 NGOs and academics have criticised the draft law, as well as the 
suggested  amendment  of  the  Federal  Ministry  of  Justice,  for  not  taking  fully  into 
consideration  the  rights  of  trafficked  victims  and  focussing  rather  mainly  on  penal  and 
criminal procedure law.113 

[9] Moreover, the German government has proposed a new draft law on prostitution, the 
Prostitutes’  Protection  Act,  (‘Prostituiertenschutzgesetz’),  that  foresees  among  other 
measures  the  mandatory  registration  of  all  prostitutes  in  Germany,  combined  with 
mandatory  health  and  social  counselling  as  well  as  a  new  regulation  of  brothels.114  The 
discussions  about  the  draft  law  are  proving  controversial  among  civil  society,  academics 
and governmental stakeholders.115 

II. Gender perspective in the prevention of trafficking in 
human beings 

[10]  There  is  a  positive  duty  upon  States  to  adopt  measures  to  prevent  and  discourage 
demand.  Recital  (25)  of  the  Preamble  to  the  Directive  stipulates  that,  in  these  initiatives, 
“Member States should adopt a gender perspective”. 

1. 

2015, 

Dezember 

109 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, Explanatory Report, 
para 104. 
110 See: http://dip21.bundestag.de/dip21/btd/18/046/1804613.pdf 
111  KOK  e.V.:  Informationsdienst  2015,  Aktuelle  rechtliche  Entwicklungen  mit  Bezug  zu 
http://www.kok-gegen-
Menschenhandel. 
menschenhandel.de/fileadmin/user_upload/medien/Informationsdienst/Informationsdienst.2015.r
echtliche_Entwicklungen.pdf 
112 KOK e.V.: Informationsdienst 2015, p. 8. 
113 KOK e.V.: Informationsdienst 2015, p. 8. 
114  See  http://plattform-frankfurt.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/150204_Vereinbarung-und-
Eckpunkte_Prostituiertenschutzgesetz.pdf 
instance  the  statements  of  Deutscher  Juristinnenbund:  https://www.djb.de/st-
115  See  for 
pm/st/st15-10/; 
Solwodi. 
http://www.solwodi.de/fileadmin/_medias/pdf/Politik/Stellungnahme_zum_Referentenentwurf_
des_Prostituiertenschutzgesetz.pdf 

statement 

page 

See: 

and 

the 

of 

7. 

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[11] A gender perspective on the prevention of THB needs to reflect the understanding that 
individuals  might  be  at  risk  of  being  trafficked  because  of  their  personal  vulnerability 
and/or because of their gender. For example, a person is more likely to be targeted because 
they have a disability, such as learning difficulties, rather than because of their gender. By 
the  same  token,  a  woman  or  a  man  from  a  particular  background  is  more  likely  to  be 
targeted  because  of  the  way  they  have  been  socialised  into  their  gender  roles.  The  two 
examples116  below  illustrate  how  gender  can  increase  an  individual’s  vulnerability  to 
trafficking: 

R grew up in a poor background in a country in south Asia. Since her childhood, the family treated 
her and her sisters very differently to their brothers. It was made clear to her that as a girl she is a 
burden, she is of a lesser value than the boys in her family and that her role is to serve and to follow 
the  orders  of  her  parents/brothers.  When  she  was  about  ten  years  old,  she  was  sent  to  work  as  a 
domestic help to a wealthier family that provided her with room and board. She made small amounts 
of money that were sent to her parents and went to support one of her brothers’ schooling. None of 
the sisters in the family were ever sent  to school.  When R reached the age of 17, her elder brother 
brought her back and told her that she was to travel to the Middle East with him where he found a 
job for her. Because their parents were old now, they needed medical care which was expensive, and 
R was to make money to contribute to the costs of hospital treatment. In the Middle East she was 
put  to  work  in  a  house  of  a  local  business  man.  She  suffered  horribly  in  that  household;  she  was 
subject to regular beatings and verbal abuse, slept on the floor and was given only leftovers to eat. 
She was also assaulted sexually. All the time she was there she believed that money was being sent 
back  to her brother to support the treatment  of the parents. She felt it was her duty to endure the 
situation to support her parents.  

The family R was “working” for owned several properties in England. They travelled regularly to 
London to spend some time there, and R was required to travel with them and serve them. On one of 
the  visits  to  London,  she  was  beaten  by  her  employer’s  wife  so  badly  that  she  needed  medical 
attention.  A  doctor  in  the  hospital  emergency  department  who  treated  R  spoke  her  language  and 
identified that she was a victim of trafficking for labour exploitation and referred her to assistance of 
a support organisation in London.  

R never questioned the behaviour of her parents or her  brother. As a  girl,  she was socialised to be 
submissive and to learn her place in the world. This learned role made her susceptible to exploitation 
and trafficking – and was abused by her brother to put her to work in the Middle East. Even after R 
had  left  the  situation  of  exploitation  and  was  staying  in  a  safe  house,  she  kept  cleaning  up  after 
everyone and tried to serve. It took a long time in counselling for her to understand where the line is 
between a job duty and exploitation and to learn to how to say no.  

[12]  The  case  of  R  is  illustrative  of  a  situation  where  gender  is  a  form  of  vulnerability.  A 
man of the same background as R would have been socialised in a very different way and 
hence his gender would not have been a form of vulnerability in the same way as R’s was.  

[13]  Equally,  the  different  role  ascribed  to  men  in  a  society/community  can  also  make 
them  vulnerable  to  exploitation.  Case  study  no.  2  is  an  example  where  gender  was 
exploited as a form of vulnerability in a man from Eastern Europe.  

116  The  cases  studies  and  commentary  are  reproduced  from:  Trafficking  for  Labour  Exploitation  – 
Gender. Anti-Slavery International, CCME, ITUC. Brussels, 2015 pp 8-9. 

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P was a skilled engineer and worked in a factory producing machinery in a rural part of a country in 
Eastern  Europe.  He  had  a  wife  and  two  small  children.  He  grew  up  in  a  community  where  the 
expectation on the man is to provide for his family and to be the backbone of the household. At some 
point,  the  factory  where  he  worked  was  sold  off  to  another  company  that  decided  to  move  the 
production  outside  of  the  EU  to  reduce  the  costs  of  labour  and  closed  the  premises  down.  P  and 
many of his friends lost their jobs. He was no longer able to bring in the main income for his family, 
and  his  wife’s  part-time  job  was  not  sufficient  to  sustain  all  of  them.  A  former  workmate  of  his 
suggested that they go to work abroad and that he had a cousin in Germany who could get P work 
repairing tractors and other agricultural machinery. P was delighted about the offer, as has he was 
getting concerned about being seen as a failure, a “loser” by his friends and community, as someone 
who could not provide for his family. Unfortunately, things in Germany did not turn out the way 
that he was promised. When he arrived, he was told that his job was not going to be engineering, but 
he was to work in an asparagus field. He was supposed to work seven days a week and given a quota 
that he needed to meet every day. If he failed to meet his quota, he would be fined. He was also told 
by his former workmate that he had a debt to pay for arrangement of the job and cost of the travel 
and that this money will be offset against his pay for the first three months. If P were to refuse, his 
wife would be made to pay the debt.  

P  felt  he  had  no  option  but  to  submit  to  what  was  being  asked  of  him.  He  worked  every  day,  no 
matter what the weather, to make sure he  met his quota. He lived in tents with the other workers, 
with  only  one  dry  toilet  for  all  15  workers  and  one  water  tap  for  washing.  Food  was  delivered  to 
them three times a day and money for it deducted from their pay. The little money he had left he sent 
home  to  his  family.  When  he  spoke  to  his  wife  once  a  month,  he  mentioned  nothing  about  the 
conditions he was enduring. He was too ashamed to admit that he was being exploited and that he 
worked as a worker in the field. All he wanted to do was to get through his day and send money back 
home.  When  the  asparagus  season  in  Germany  finished,  he  was  sent  by  his  former  workmate  to 
England to work in a chicken factory.  

There,  the  conditions  were  even  worse,  as  the  gangmaster  in  charge  of  them  was  violent  and 
subjected him to verbal and physical abuse. It was then that P started to use alcohol as a means to 
survive. Because of his dependency on alcohol, he was dismissed and became homeless. He was later 
identified  as  a  victim  of  trafficking  by  a  homeless  charity  in  London  and  referred  to  a  specialised 
service.  P  was  very  difficult  to  deal  with  at  the  beginning;  he  was  heavily  alcohol  dependent  and 
suicidal.  

Eventually, he was able to overcome his dependency and accept counselling to help him deal with the 
sense of  shame and his perception that he was a failure. An NGO assisted him in getting work in 
decent conditions as an engineer, and he has been able to bring his family over to England to join 
him.  

P was socialised into understanding his role as a man is to provide for his family. Showing weakness 
or  being  incapable  of  supporting  your  family  meant  in  his  view  failure  to  fulfil  his  role.  It  is  also 
likely that if he were indeed unable to support his family, it would have led to him being ostracised 
by his community. P has taken very long to be able to admit to himself that it was not his fault that 
he was exploited and eventually decided to undergo counselling. Still, none of his family and friends 
back home know what happened to him. The way that P was socialised into his role as a man within 
his  family  and  community  was  his  gender  vulnerability  –  vulnerability  that  was  abused  by  his 
workmate who was from the same community and knew about this vulnerability.  

[14] The cases of R and P are both examples of gender as a form of vulnerability that make 
individuals susceptible to trafficking. At the same time, in each case it is important to note 

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that it was their gender combined with further circumstances that gave rise to trafficking. 
In R’s case it was poverty; in P’s case it was loss of income. While gender on its own can be 
a form of vulnerability, it is often abused when particular circumstances arise.  

[15]  Supply  of  people  willing  to  and  needing  to  migrate  for  work  (either  internally  or 
internationally)  and  demand  for  labour  and  services  of  exploited  individuals  are  both 
understood as drivers of human trafficking. Understanding the gender dimension of these 
situations  as  well  as  the  understanding  of  what  constitutes  demand  will  assist  Member 
States  and  the  EU  to  develop  more  appropriate  measures  to  help  tackle  the  underlying 
causes  of  human  trafficking.  While  gender  may  be  a  factor  contributing  to  someone’s 
vulnerability, it is not an inherent feature.117 For example, not all women are trafficked, but 
many  of  those  who  are,  have  previously  been  victims  of  violence.  Gender  related 
vulnerability  tends  to  be  the  outcome  of  structural  discrimination.  Consequently,  anti-
trafficking measures should not only focus on reducing vulnerability, but enhancing rights, 
especially  the  right  to  non-discrimination,  addressing  structural  violence  against  women, 
but also enhancing the protection of workers in workplace through promoting freedom of 
association and collective bargaining, the right to protection and the right to a remedy and 
compensation in cases of trafficking, as well as enhancing the individual’s ability to act on 
their  own  behalf,  take  autonomous  decisions  and  remove  restrictions  on  mobility  and 
access to work. 

[16] Measures designed to prevent trafficking (and re-trafficking), including those targeting 
demand, need to be gender sensitive and enhance peoples’ access to their rights in order to 
be effective.  

[17]  Available  data  on  trafficking  in  the  EU118  suggests  that  there  is  a  significant  gender 
split  between  different  forms  of  trafficking.  Women  and  girls  are  the  highest  cohort  of 
identified victims and tend to be trafficked mainly for sexual exploitation, while  men are 
mainly trafficked for  labour  exploitation, with the  exception  of domestic servitude  where 
victims are predominantly female.119 The data further shows that most identified victims in 
the EU are trafficked for sexual exploitation. 

[18]  However,  the  gender  split  as  well  as  incidence  of  a  particular  type  of  exploitation 
among  identified  cases  of  trafficking  reported  by  Member  States  largely  reflects  the 
effectiveness of the respective States in addressing trafficking in all its forms. 

117 http://www.womenlobby.org/Call-for-tenders-European-Commission-Addressing-demand-in-
anti-trafficking; 
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/work_programme_2013_en_1.pdf 
(on page 45) 
118  Eurostat  Report  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  2015  Edition.  Eurostat,  2015.  Global  Report  on 
Trafficking in Persons, UNODC, 2014. 
119  In  this  paper  we  use  the  terms  “sexual  exploitation”  and  “labour  exploitation”  as  these  are 
commonly  used.  It  should  however  be  noted  that  the  Committee  of  Experts  of  the  International 
Labour Organization (ILO) has always dealt with forced prostitution as a form of forced labour. As 
stated by the 2007 International Labour  Conference: “While a certain distinction has been drawn in 
the  above  definition  between  trafficking  for  forced  labour  or  services  and  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation, this should not lead to a conclusion that coercive sexual exploitation does not amount to 
forced labour or services, particularly in the context of human trafficking”. ILO, Eradication of Forced 
Labour (2007), p. 42.   

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[19] Demand in the context of human trafficking is not clearly defined in EU law or policy, 
which  may  complicate  the  implementation  of  this  element  of  the  Directive  by  Member 
States. The EU recognised the need to understand what constitutes demand in this area – in 
2013,  the  European  Commission,  Directorate  General  for  Research  &  Innovation  issued  a 
tender  for  a  research  project  on  “Addressing  demand  in  anti-trafficking  efforts  and 
policies”.  The  multi-year,  multi-disciplinary  study120  on  the  topic  is  currently  underway 
and is expected to be finished in the second half of 2017. 

[20] In assessing the implementation of Article 18 to prevent and discourage demand, the 
Commission  ought  to  consider  that  demand  in  the  context  of  trafficking  ought  not  to  be 
perceived  as  an  economic  term,  as  human  trafficking  is  not  a  purely  economic  issue,  but 
also a social and political one.  

[21] In applying the Directive requirements to prevention and demand reduction, Member 
States ought  to  be encouraged to consider  why is the demand for certain  types  of labour 
and services of trafficked persons met by traffickers? Is it the demand that pulls vulnerable 
persons  into  situations  of  exploitation?  Or  is  it  created  in  reaction  to  the  supply  of 
individuals  pushed  by  their  circumstances,  lack  of  work  and  opportunities,  to  seek 
alternatives  away  from  home?  Given  the  distinctive  sectors  into  which  men  and  women 
are trafficked, more research from a gender perspective is also needed into the question as 
to which factors make particular sectors vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.  

[22] Demand in the context of trafficking in persons has previously been described at three 
levels:   

• Employer demand (employers, owners, managers or subcontractors).  

•Consumer demand (clients (sex industry), corporate buyers (manufacturing), household 
members (domestic work)).  

•  Third  parties  involved  in  the  process  (recruiters,  agents,  transporters  and  those  who 
participate knowingly in human trafficking at any stage of the process).121  

In the EU context, a fourth level ought to be added to the list: 

Demand for decent work and better opportunities by women, men and children who are 
pushed  by  their  circumstances  to  migrate  to  seek  better  economic  or  education 
opportunities.   

[23]  Underpinning  this  is  the  impact  of  gender  inequality  and  discrimination  (gender  as 
well  as  other  forms  of  discrimination)  in  the  countries  from  which  many  of  the  victims 
trafficked  to  and  within  Europe  come.  The  burden  of  poverty,  impact  of  conflict  and 
violence  disproportionately  affect  women,  leading  to  feminisation  of  migration.  Many  of 
these  women  are  particularly  vulnerable  because  of  their  position  in  the  community  and 
society they come from, and as a consequence end up being trafficked.122  

120 http://www.demandat.eu  
121 The Mekong Challenge: Human Trafficking – Re-defining Demand. ILO, Bangkok 2005, p. 4. 
122 Andrijasevic, R., “Beautiful dead bodies: gender, migration and representation in anti-trafficking 
campaigns”, (2007) 86 Feminist Review. 

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[24] The increase in identified cases of trafficking for forced labour reported by a number of 
Member States123 suggests that demand for exploited workers (women and men) in many 
industries is significant across  the  EU. In the  anti-trafficking discourse, demand  has been 
too often seen narrowly in terms of sexual exploitation and forced prostitution. However, 
both the globalised nature of the world economy, the need to cut costs following the recent 
economic  crisis  and  the  flexibilisation  of  labour  market  relationships  through  increased 
sub-contractinghas led to, and increased demand for, disposable, low-skilled labour.  

[25] There is an increasing list of industries where cases of trafficking or risk of trafficking 
have been identified in the EU: agriculture, food processing, construction, domestic work, 
manufacturing,  care,  cleaning  and  the  service  sector.  Lack  of  access  to  opportunities, 
combined with the demand for disposable, easily controllable labour, leads to trafficking of 
workers into and across the EU. It is not surprising that the majority of victims from within 
the EU come from the poorer countries of the EU, such as Bulgaria and Romania.124  

[26]  Eurojust  has  found125  that  most  prevention  measures  and  those  targeting  demand  in 
Europe  have  focused  on  awareness-raising  and  only  to  some  extent  also  employed 
enforcement measures. 

[27]  Measures  to  reduce  the  demand  for  trafficked  labour  need  to  focus  both  on  the 
demand  and  the  circumstances  that  facilitate  exploitation  in  the  place  of  destination,  as 
well as the conditions that push people to move in the first place. A gender lens needs also 
to be applied in developing these measures to address the vulnerabilities that arise from a 
combination of individual circumstances and gender. These should include, in particular, a 
combination  of  awareness-raising,  education  and  socio-economic  measures,  and  the 
enforcement of labour law protections developed with a variety of stakeholders, including 
the private sector, civil society and trade unions. 

Article 18: Preventing and discouraging demand  

United Kingdom 
[28] The response to modern slavery and human trafficking is governed by legislation and 
policies at the central government level and in the devolved administrations. In 2015, three 
new pieces of legislation were introduced in the UK – the Modern Slavery Act, the Human 
Trafficking  and  Exploitation  (Scotland)  Act  and  Human  Trafficking  and  Exploitation 
(Criminal  Justice  and  Support  for  Victims)  Act  (Northern Ireland).  While  some  of 
provisions in the Modern Slavery Act (hereafter MSA) apply to the whole of the UK (such 
as  the  establishment  of  the  UK  Independent  Anti-Slavery  Commissioner  and  the 
Transparency  in  Supply  Chains  provision),  most  provisions  apply  to  England  and  Wales 
only.  Consequently,  there  are  variations  in  the  way  the  individual  countries  of  the  UK 

123 Eurojust, Prosecuting THB for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation, The Hague, 2015. 
124  EU  Fundamental  Rights  Agency,  Severe  labour  exploitation:  workers  moving  within  and  into  the 
European Union., Vienna, 2015.  
125 Eurojust, Prosecuting THB for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation, The Hague, 2015. 

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define  human  trafficking,  and  while  Scotland  and  Northern  Ireland  detail  victims’ 
entitlement to protection in law, England and Wales do not have these guarantees.  

[29]  The  UK  Modern  Slavery  Strategy  follows  four  strands:  Pursue,  Prevent,  Protect, 
Prepare.  With  regard  to  the  prevention  and  discouraging  of  demand,  the  Prevent  and 
Protect  strands  are  key.  The  UK  has  historically  combined  awareness  raising  and 
regulatory  approaches  to  prevention  and  demand  reduction.  This  is  described  in  some 
detail  in  the  2012  GRETA  report  on  the  UK’s  compliance  with  its  obligations  under  the 
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.  

[30]  Since  the  appointment  of  the  first  UK  Independent  Anti-Slavery  Commissioner,  the 
UK  has  begun  to  focus  strategically  on  prevention  of  trafficking  from  key  countries  of 
origin.  In  his  2015-2017  strategic  plan,126  the  Commissioner  identified  three  priority 
countries: Romania, Vietnam and Nigeria.  

[31] As regards the prevention of demand for services of trafficked and exploited victims, 
the Policing and Crime Act 2009 introduced an offence of paying for the sexual services of 
a prostitute subjected to force, deception, threats or any other form of coercion. According 
to  the  UK  authorities,  the  offence  is  difficult  to  prove  and  is  generally  charged  when 
accompanying more serious offences.127   

[32] The table below shows charges for offences of paying for sexual services of a prostitute 
subjected to force.128 

2009-2010 

2010-2011 

2011-2012 

2012-2013 

2013-2014 

2014-2015 

0 

40 

7 

8 

0 

3 

Sexual 
Offences 
Act 
{53A}129 

2003 

[33] In 2015, Northern Ireland, the only country of the UK to do so, decided to implement 
the so-called Nordic model and introduce the offence of paying for sexual services of another 
person under its Human Trafficking and Exploitation Act.  

[34]  In  January  2016,  the  Home  Affairs  Committee  of  the  UK  Parliament  launched  an 
inquiry into prostitution and invited written submissions on: 

Whether criminal sanctions in relation to prostitution should continue to fall more heavily 
on those who sell sex, rather than those who buy it; 

What  the  implications  are  for  prostitution-related  offences  of  the  Crown  Prosecution 
Service’s recognition of prostitution as violence against women; 

126 Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Strategic Plan 2015-2017. 
127  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the UK, 12 September 2012, para 316, Council of Europe. 
128  Annex  B,  Written  evidence  by  the  Home  Office  to  the  Home  Affairs  Committee  inquiry  on 
prostitution, February 2016. 
129  In  2010  a  new  offence,  S53A  of  the  Sexual  Offences  Act  2003,  criminalised  those  who  make  or 
promise payment for sexual services from a prostitute who is subject to force or exploitation. 

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What impact the  Modern  Slavery Act 2015 has had to date  on trafficking for  purposes  of 
prostitution,  what  further  action  is  planned,  and  how  effectively  the  impact  is  being 
measured; 

Whether further measures are necessary, including legal reforms, to: 

Assist those involved in prostitution to exit from it 

Increase the extent to which exploiters are held to account. 

[35] The inquiry attracted a wide range  of responses expressing a variety of views on the 
issues raised. As the inquiry closed only on 18 February 2016, no inquiry findings report is 
available at the time of writing. 

[36]  In  its  submission  to  the  inquiry,  the  Home  Office  affirmed  that  the  UK  Government 
remains  of  the  view  that,  while  it  is  aware  of  differing  legislative  approaches  in  other 
countries,  there  is  not  unequivocal  evidence  that  any  one  approach  is  more  effective  at 
tackling harm and exploitation and that the new provision in Northern Ireland “provides 
an  opportunity  to  observe  the  implementation  and  impact  of  such  a  change.”130  It  also 
highlighted that the Home Office supported the establishment of the national “Ugly Mugs” 
Scheme  aimed  at  protecting  people  involved  in  prostitution  from  violent  and  abusive 
individuals  and  encouraging  sex  workers  to  report  incidence  of  violence.  In  the  Home 
Office  submission,  the  Crown  Prosecution  Service  stated  that  “it  does  not  promote  the 
need to end prostitution and that voluntary engagement in sex work is a matter of personal 
choice.”131 

[37]  The  2015  laws  in  all  three  UK  jurisdictions  have  introduced  new  Slavery  and 
Trafficking  Prevention  Orders  (STPO),  which  allow  the  court  to  restrict  the  behaviour  of 
those convicted of modern slavery offences anywhere in the world, in order to prevent re-
offending.  Twelve  STPOs  have  been  successfully  obtained  to  date,  including  one  with 
extraterritorial application in collaboration with another EU Member State. 

[38]  With  regard  to  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation,  the  UK  has  successfully 
implemented  prevention  through  regulatory  means.  Since  2005,  the  Gangmasters 
Licensing  Authority  (GLA)  has  been  regulating,  through  a  licensing  scheme,  labour 
providers in agriculture, horticulture and shellfish gathering and some related processing 
industries.  The  scheme  was  introduced  to  prevent  exploitation  of  workers  following  the 
tragic deaths of 21 Chinese cockle pickers. As a result of the GLA’s operations, the situation 
has markedly improved in the industries which it regulates.132 

[39] In 2014, the Home  Office conducted a major campaign focused on public awareness-
raising about modern slavery133. It included TV campaign, alongside a website informing 
about the signs to look out for and a helpline has been launched as well. Initial spike in the 
calls to the helpline during the campaign has declined and an enhanced helpline is to be re-
launched later this year. 

130  Written  evidence  by  the  Home  Office  to  the  Home  Affairs  Committee  inquiry  on  prostitution, 
February 2016. para 27. 
131 Ibid. Para 12. 
132  A.  Balch,  Regulation  and  Enforcement  to  Tackle  Forced  Labour  in  the  UK:  A  Systematic  Response?, 
Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2012. 
133 www.modernslavery.co.uk. 

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[40] An Immigration Bill, currently before the UK Parliament, will introduce a new Labour 
Market  Enforcement  Agency,  which  is  hoped  will  further  contribute  to  the  prevention  of 
worker  exploitation.  The  new  bill  includes  proposed  reform  of  the  GLA,  which  would 
enable its functions to be extended to other industries. 

The Netherlands 
[41] In 2000 the Dutch Parliament lifted the ban on brothels which was in place from 1911. 
Since then the Dutch Penal Code no longer treats organising the prostitution of  

adult  persons  as  a  crime,  provided  it  is  done  with  the  consent  of  the  sex  worker.  This 
allowed  regulating  the  sex  industry  under  administrative  and  labour  law  and  the 
treatment  of  sex  work  as  a  form  of  labour,  while  by  separating  punishable  and  non-
punishable forms of (exploitation of) prostitution it was expected that trafficking and other 
associated criminality could be combatted more effectively. At the same time “undesirable 
forms of prostitution”, such as the exploitation of involuntary prostitution and of minors, 
became more strictly penalised, as were the clients of minors. 

 [42]  A  key  element  of  the  change  of  law  was  the  introduction  of  local  licensing  systems, 
requiring  brothels  to  meet  certain  standards:  planning;  hygiene,  fire  safety  and 
management  (e.g.  no  forced  drinking,  no  unsafe  sex,  no  minors,  no  undocumented 
workers and no trafficking). If the operator violates the requirements he or she can be fined 
or the brothel can be shut down. 

[43] The licensing system is part of the so-called ‘barrier model’ which aims to throw up as 
many  barriers  as  possible  for  traffickers  through  a  combination  of  (regulatory, 
administrative, fiscal and other) measures.134  

[44] At the time of writing a draft bill was pending to tighten the regulation of prostitution 
and harmonise the local licensing systems.135 If passed, the bill would raise the minimum 
age for working in prostitution from 18 to 21 years. Moreover, the licensing system would 
be expanded to include home-based sex workers and independent escorts, making it illegal 
operate  as  an  independent  worker  without  a  license.  The  latter  two  elements  have  been 
criticised  by  both  sex  workers  and  organisations  working  with  sex  workers  because  of 
concerns about the protection of privacy, safety and independence of sex workers.136  

[45]  Measures  to  discourage  demand  are  mainly  aimed  at  trafficking  and  exploitation  in 
the  sex  industry  and  predominantly  consist  of  awareness-raising  campaigns  aimed  at,  in 

134 Response of the Netherlands to the Questionnaire for the evaluation of the implementation of the 
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the parties, First 
evaluation round May 2012, pp.4-5. 
https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Source/Public_R_Q/GRETA_RQ_NLD_en.p
df.  
135 Bill to regulate prostitution and to suppress abuses in the sex industry, no. 32 211. 
136  See  e.g.:  Letter  to  the  Second  Chamber  of  Parliament,  SOA  AIDS,  Rutgers  Expertise  centre 
sexuality,  Association  Women  and  Law,  TAMPEP  European  Network  for  HIV/STI  prevention  and 
health  promotion  among  migrant  sex  workers,  SHOP  Assistance  and  support  to  victims  of 
trafficking, Swexpertise 21, Platform for the improvement of the position of sex workers, 5 October 
2015; Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, PROUD, Dutch Union of Sex Workers, 4 October 
2015. 

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particular,  (male)  clients  to  encourage  them  to  report  possible  cases  of  trafficking.  One 
example  is Crime  Stoppers campaigns  on trafficking  and forced prostitution encouraging 
clients  to  anonymously  can  report  suspicions  of  trafficking.137  Crime  Stoppers  inform 
clients  about  signs  of  trafficking  through,  for  example,  banners  on  erotic  websites  and 
encouraged  them  to  report  suspicions  of  abuse.  In  several  cases  this  has  led  to  the  arrest 
and conviction of traffickers.138 The Crime Stoppers campaigns also aim to raise awareness 
on trafficking amongst the general public and professionals working with sex workers.  

include  awareness-raising  campaigns  about 

[46]  Other  preventive  measures 
the 
phenomenon of so-called “loverboys” in schools and among parents, trainings to prevent 
youth prostitution for social workers, police officers, local and provincial governments and 
schools, and websites where young people can chat with social workers on topics such as 
loverboys,  online  sexual  abuse  or  relationships.139  In  addition,  since  2008  various  exit 
programmes are funded to support sex workers who want to change work.140  

[47]  A  draft  bill  is  pending  on  the  criminalisation  of  clients  of  sex  workers  who  knew  or 
ought to have known that the sex worker is a victim of trafficking.141 The bill, however, has 
been  criticised  by  sex  workers’  organisations,  organisations  working  with  sex  workers, 
academics and jurists, especially in regard to the element of “should have known”.142 There 
are also concerns that clients will be less willing to report possible cases when it is unclear 
whether  they  risk  being  prosecuted  themselves.  Recent  research  has  shown  that  almost 
70%  of  clients  feel  responsible  for  abuses  in  the  sex  sector.  About  40%  are  willing  to 
actually  report  abuses.  As  factors  that  encourage  reporting  they  mention  guarantees  of 
anonymity  and  safety;  ease  and  a  low  threshold  for  reporting;  and  transparency  on  how 
reports are dealt with.143  

[48]  In  certain  circumstances,  clients  who  knowingly  make  use  of  the  services  of  a 
trafficked sex worker can be penalised also under existing legislation (Art. 273f para 1(6) of 
the  Criminal  Code:  intentionally  benefitting  from  the  exploitation  of  another  person)  or 
under the provision on rape. Clients of minor prostitutes are punishable under Art. 248b of 
the Criminal Code. 

[49] In recent years, attention has been growing to trafficking in other sectors than the sex 
sector, though the focus is still dominantly on women and the sex industry. In 2014, about 
60% of  the  reports on (possible) victims concerned exploitation in the  sex  industry, while 
20%  concerned  exploitation  in  other  industries,  such  as  forced  criminality,  agricultural 
labour,  the  hospitality  sector,  transport  and  domestic  labour.  Almost  20%  of  the  reports 

See: 

https://www.meldmisdaadanoniem.nl/blog/2015/06/15/recordaantal-meldingen-na-

137 See: http://gedwongenprostitutie.meldmisdaadanoniem.nl/english/  
138 
campagne-mensenhandel/  
139  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 110, Council of Europe. 
140  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 120, Council of Europe. 
141 Bill to criminalise abuse of prostitutes who are victims of trafficking in human beings, no. 34 091.  
142  See  e.g.:  Letter  to  the  Second  Chamber  of  Parliament,  Dutch  Association  Women  and  Law, 
October, 15 2015; Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, Proud, Dutch Union for Sex Workers, 
August 11, 2015. 
143  ‘In  gesprek  met  de  klant’;  een  onderzoek naar  klanten  van  prostituees  en  hun rol  bij  de  aanpak 
van misstanden. GGD Amsterdam (E&G reeks 2014/3; ISBN: 978-90-5348-226-1).   

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concerned  (possible)  male  victims.144  Due  to  increased  scrutiny  the  number  of  identified 
cases of these forms of exploitation is steadily growing.  

[50]  Initiatives  to  prevent  trafficking  and  exploitation  in  high  risk  industries,  such  as  the 
construction  industry  and  agriculture,  include  information  cards  in  different  languages, 
produced by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, to provide migrant workers 
with information on signs of exploitation and where they can go for help. Other activities 
include  awareness-raising  campaigns  targeting  the  general  public,145  employers  and 
employees  in  high-risk  sectors,  information  sessions  for  municipal  inspection  services, 
conferences  focussing  on  victims  of  labour  exploitation  and  their  needs,  and  information 
materials and  meetings with the  embassies of the  22  most important source  countries for 
trafficking.146  

[51] A special Action Plan  against the  exploitation  of Roma children in criminal  activities 
and  forced  marriage  of  under  aged  girls  was  launched  in  2011,  consisting  of  knowledge 
improvement, pilot projects to solve problems faced by Roma families, information leaflets 
for  social  workers  and  police,  and  European  cooperation  to  exchange  information  and 
share good practices.147 

Romania 
[52] According to the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP), Romania is 
mainly  a  country  of  origin.  Therefore,  ANITP  has  implemented  numerous  awareness-
raising campaigns to inform vulnerable groups in Romania about the risks of trafficking in 
human  beings.148  GRETA  recommendations  of  its  first  evaluation  report  on  Romania 
include raising awareness “on the  question of equality between women and men and the 
principle of non-discrimination as a preventive measure against THB”.149 

[53]  According  to  the  Romanian  authorities,  ANITP  implemented  from  the  period  2012-
2013  91  campaigns  (12  national  and  79  at  regional/local  level)  on  targeting  all  forms  of 
trafficking.150  Those  campaigns  included  preventive  action  for  minors  at  risk,  Roma 
communities,  homeless  people,  as  well  as  preventing  sexual  exploitation  and  discourage 

144  National  Rapporteur  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and  Sexual  Violence  against  Children 
(2015). Trafficking visible and invisible. Update figures possible victims 2010-2014, The Hague: BNRM. 
145 For example by the NGO Fairwork: http://www.fairwork.nu/mensenhandel.html. 
146  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 111-114, Council of Europe. 
147  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 121, Council of Europe; Letter of the 
Minister  of  Justice  and  Security  to  the  Second  Chamber  of  Parliament  on  Integration  Policies  and 
Human Trafficking, 32 824 and 28 638 no. 92, 14 April 2015. 
148  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Romania, 31 May 2012, para 91, Council of Europe.. 
149  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Romania, 31 May 2012, para 99, Council of Europe.. 
150  Council  of  Europe,  Committee  of  the  Parties  to  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Report  submitted  by  the  Romanian  authorities  on  measures 
taken to comply with Committee of the Parties Recommendation CP(2012)7 on the implementation of 
the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, p. 13. 

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demand.  Information  materials,  including  posters  with  contact  details  of  hotlines  are 
visibly displayed in transportation hubs, including at major airports in Romania.  

[54]  In  2013,  ANITP  in  cooperation  with  Caritas  Association  Bucharest  carried  out  a 
prevention campaign entitled “Indifference makes us accomplices”, that targeted potential 
clients of  victims of trafficking for  sexual exploitation and people active in  so-called “sex 
tourism”.151 In addition, campaigns   have also been targeted at providing information  on 
labour exploitation. 

Lithuania 
[55] While a number of initiatives and programmes were implemented in Lithuania in the 
years  2012-14,  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  emphasis  on  the  gender 
dimension.  The  Klaipeda  Social  and  Psychological  Support  Centre  ran  a  project  entitled 
“Social  Assistance  to  Victims  of  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and  Forced  Prostitution, 
Their  Integration  into  the  Society  and  the  Labour  Market”,152  which  was  a  series  of 
seminars  for  young  people.  It  is  not  clear  how  many  seminars  there  were,  how  many 
people took part, and what were the outcomes and impact. 

[56]  These  programmes  do  not  appear  to  have  been  systematic  and  were  more  about 
raising  awareness  than  discouraging  demand.  GRETA  recommended  that  the  Lithuanian 
authorities  “should  continue  to  implement  awareness-raising  activities  on  THB  and 
provide  information  to  the  general  public  on  emerging  trends  in  THB,  such  as  for  the 
purpose  of  labour  exploitation,  forced  criminality,  and  marriages  of  convenience  which 
result in exploitation”.153 

[57] Lithuanian  law  includes an  offence  of the  use of forced labour  or  services,  including 
sexual services, when a person using them knew or should have known that these services 
were obtained as a result of exploitation of a victim of trafficking. 

Sweden 
[58] Sweden has applied a gender perspective on its actions by concentrating primarily on 
preventing  women  and  children  form  becoming  victims  of  sexual  exploitation.  It  carried 
out several awareness-raising measures,  including campaigns targeting women who are at 
risk  of  sexual  exploitation  and  helping  victims  escape  (the  campaign  was  entitled  “Safe 
Trip”  and  measured  by  YouGov  survey),  and  a  campaign  to  alert  travellers  to  sexual 

151  Council  of  Europe,  Committee  of  the  Parties  to  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Report  submitted  by  the  Romanian  authorities  on  measures 
taken to comply with Committee of the Parties Recommendation CP(2012)7 on the implementation of 
the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, p. 16. 
152  GRETA, Report concerning the implementation  of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 86, Council of Europe. 
153  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 88, Council of Europe. 

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exploitation of children (“Don’t Look Away” campaign implemented in partnership with 
NGO ECPAT).154 

[59] The evidence of the impact of this measure is conflicting, with positive accounts given 
by some law enforcement and government agencies, while other research, such as the one 
by the  Swedish Council for  Crime  Prevention Council that evaluated the  implementation 
of  the  Swedish  National  Action  Plan,  found  that  the  impact  is  not  unequivocal.  It 
concluded  that  it  is  not  possible  to  assess  whether  prostitution  and  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation has decreased in Sweden as a result of the national action plan, as there was 
not sufficient information to allow for such assessment to be made.155 

[60] Sweden is recognised for its high regard for gender equality and diversity. However, it 
appears that this have been less influential in initiatives to combat human trafficking and 
has rather favoured criminal law measures, such as the criminalisation of the purchasing of 
sex,  rather  than  pro-active  empowerment  measures  to  strengthen  the  position  of 
vulnerable migrant workers and enable them to access their rights.156  

[61] By  contrast,  SIDA,  the  Swedish  International  Development  Cooperation  Agency,  has 
supported  numerous  anti-trafficking  projects  in  Europe  and  beyond,  that  included 
vocational  training,  micro-credits  and  education  programmes  for  at-risk  population. 
Education and empowerment programmes for  women and girls are key in  strengthening 
their  position  in  the  society,  reducing  discrimination  and  thus  risk  of  exploitation  and 
human trafficking.157  

 [62] Swedish law does not criminalise the knowing use of the services of a victim. Sweden, 
having  taken  the  view  that  countering  demand  for  sexual  exploitation  is  fundamental  to 
combating  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  has  since  1999  criminalised  the  purchase  of 
sexual services. 

Germany 
[63]  As  for  prevention  of  trafficking,  several  initiatives  cover  prevention  and  awareness-
raising  in  Germany  within  a  broader  framework  of  anti-trafficking  themed  activities, 
including  information  dissemination  in  schools,  specialized  information  targeted  at 
migrant  workers’  rights  and  risks  of  communicating  in  the  cyber  space.158  The  German 
authorities identify those activities also to discourage and to reduce demand according to 
Article18. 

[64]  Specific  measures  to  discourage  demand  for  services  of  persons  trafficked  for  the 
purpose  of  sexual  exploitation  are  implemented  by  several  civil  society  organizations. 

154  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, paras 104-105, Council of Europe. 
155  Johansson,  I.,  Swedish  Anti-Trafficking  Policy,  Official  Framework  and  Local  Practices,  University  of 
Malmö, 2014, p.41. 
156Johansson,  I.,  Swedish  Anti-Trafficking  Policy,  Official  Framework  and  Local  Practices,  University  of 
Malmö, 2014, p.41. 
157  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, para. 97, Council of Europe. 
158  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015 paras 97-99, Council of Europe. 

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These  include  awareness-raising  campaigns  aiming  at  clients  of  prostitutes  and  at 
prevention of sexual violence perpetrated by tourists.159 

[65] The introduction of a general minimum wage of  €8,50 per hour on 1 January 2015 in 
Germany  can  be  regarded  as  a  tool  to  discourage  demand  for  labour  exploitation  as  it 
tackles all labour sectors. 

[66]  Germany's  comprehensive  anti-trafficking  strategy  originates  from  a  women's  rights 
framework. In 1999, the first national action plan against trafficking in women was part of 
the  national  action  plan  against  violence  against  women.  To  the  present  day  the  national 
coordination  group  on  trafficking  in  human  beings  is  chaired  by  the  Ministry  of  Family 
and Women’s Affairs.160 

III. The gender dimension of assistance, support and 
protection of victims  

[67]  The  idea  to  set  up  a  system  to  identify  victims  within  a  complex  anti-trafficking 
strategy  was  introduced  years  after  the  adoption  of  the  Palermo  Protocol  in  2000.161  The 
first  international  instruments  containing  language  of  identification  are  the  OHCHR 
guidelines on human rights and human trafficking (2002)162 and, later, the OSCE/ODIHR 
handbook  on  the  National  Referral  Mechanism  (2004).163  From  a  human  rights  point  of 
view, identification procedures were meant to transform a migrant with an irregular status 
into  a  valid  claimant  of  rights.  Since  then,  identification  procedures  have  become  a  core 
measure  in  anti-trafficking  politics;  helping  to  establish  a  highly  bureaucratic  system  of 
qualification for presumed victims to benefit from assistance and support structures.164 

[68]  The  gender  dimension  of  outreach  to  victims  of  trafficking  includes  taking  into 
consideration that it is a very diverse group of victims. Female victims of trafficking often 
face  sexual  violence  and  other  forms  of  severe  suffering  that  often  bear  a  social  stigma. 
Victims often remain silent about their sufferings. 

[69] From a gender perspective, identification procedures should undergo a critical review 
of  based  on  existing  knowledge  and  research  on  most  appropriate  ways  of  outreach  to 
victims,  including  victims  of  sexual  violence  and  domestic  violence.  Taking  into 

159 GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, paras 107-108, Council of Europe. 
160 http://www.bmfsfj.de/RedaktionBMFSFJ/Abteilung4/Pdf-Anlagen/gewalt-aktionsplan-gewalt-
frauen-ohne-vorwort,property=pdf,bereich=bmfsfj,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf. 
161 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, 
supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, 2000, UNGA 
Resolution 55/25. 
162 See http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/Traffickingen.pdf 
163 OSCE/ODIHR, National Referral Mechanism. Joining the Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked 
Persons. A Practical Handbook. Warsaw, 2004. See http://www.osce.org/odihr/13967?download=true 
164 B.H. Uhl, Die Sicherheit der Menschenreche: Bekämpfung des Menschenhandels zwischen 
Sicherheitspolitik und Menschenrechtsschutz (2014); P. Roth, B. Uhl, M. Wijers, W. Zikkenheiner, Data 
protection challenges in anti-trafficking action, (2015), http://www.datact-
project.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/datAct_engl_Online.pdf  

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consideration the sensitivities around these crimes, the predominant approach to allowing 
victims  to  access  support  structures  is  rooted  in  a  strategy  that  provides  victims  with 
anonymous  and  low-threshold  access.  Therefore,  the  current  registration  system  that 
accompanies the identification of trafficking victims should be examined. 

[70]  With  regards  to  male  (and  female)  victims  of  trafficking  exploited  outside  of  the  sex 
industry, procedures of identification should be an integral strategy of all labour inspection 
activities.  

[71]  In  addition,  the  following  measures  of  anti-trafficking  response  should  be  critically 
reviewed  and  checked  against  existing  women’s  rights  standards:  high-security  shelter 
concepts;  gender-sensitive  accommodation,  including  respective  specialised  shelters  for 
male  victims,  female  victims  and  children;  counselling  for  labour  opportunities  to  be 
included as a core counselling topic for all victims, including victims of sexual exploitation. 
Provisions  ought  to  also  be  made  to  take  into  account  other  gender  identities,  as  some 
member states, like the UK, begin to identify trans-gender victims.  

Article  11:  Assistance  and  support  for  victims  of  trafficking  in  human 
beings  

United Kingdom 
[72]  In  the  UK,  a  National  Referral  Mechanism  was  introduced  in  2009.  Until  2014,  some 
6,800 individuals were referred into the system.165 The  NRM  has been criticised for  some 
shortcomings,  including  the  quality  decision-making,  which  resulted  in  an  evaluation  of 
the  system.  The  evaluation,  published  in  November  2014166  made  a  number  of 
recommendations for improvements, including the need to professionalise the process and 
ensure that support is provided based on the needs of individual victims. In summer 2015, 
a year-long pilot testing a possible new system was launched in England. The NRM pilot 
includes  a  multi-agency  decision  making  process, 
in  which  a  panel  reaches  a 
positive/negative  identification  rather  than  that  decision  being  made  by  a  single 
competent authority, as it is under the current system.  

[73]  In  2015,  there  were  3266  potential  victims  referred  to  the  NRM,  with  labour 
exploitation  (including  exploitation  for  forced  criminality  and  domestic  servitude)  being 
the  most  prevalent  form  of  exploitation  recorded.  The  number  of  women  referred  was 
slightly higher: 1744 females (53%) compared to 1518 males (46%) and 2 (<1%) recorded as 
transsexual  and  in  a  further  2  (<1%)  cases,  the  gender  was  not  recorded.167  Women  and 
girls still represent the  majority of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation and domestic 
servitude.  

165https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/467434/Revi
ew_of_the_National_Referral_Mechanism_for_victims_of_human_trafficking.pdf, p.8. 
166https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/467434/Revi
ew_of_the_National_Referral_Mechanism_for_victims_of_human_trafficking.pdf  
167 http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-mechanism-
statistics/676-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-end-of-year-summary-2015/file  

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[74]  The  anti-trafficking  legislation  in  Scotland  and  Northern  Ireland  guarantees  specific 
and detailed victim protection and assistance provisions, whereas the Modern Slavery Act 
does not include such measures, only a provision that enables the introduction of statutory 
victim  assistance  provisions  at  a  later  stage.  The  difference  in  approaches  to  victim 
assistance  across  the  UK  raises  a  concern  of  potential  varying  standards  in  entitlements 
and provision of victim support. 

[75]  Under  the  National  Referral  Mechanism,  the  support  providers  are  contracted  by 
authorities  of  the  respective  countries,  to  support  victims  who  have  been  referred  to  the 
NRM.  Provision  is  made  for  both  women  and  men,  who  receive  accommodation  and 
support  for  at  least  45  days  (the  duration  of  the  recovery  and  reflection  period)  while 
children are cared for by local authorities. 

[76] The UK Modern Slavery strategy recognises the special vulnerabilities of children, but 
does  not  highlight  gender  as  a  particular  vulnerability.  The  Strategic  Plan  of  the  UK 
Independent  Anti-Slavery  Commissioner  does  recognise  that  gender  can  be  a  form  of 
vulnerability in the context of human trafficking.168 

[77]  A  report,  published  by  the  Anti-Trafficking  Monitoring  Group  in  February  2016,169 
found  that  victims  of  trafficking  who  are  pregnant  or  have  children  are  “systematically 
overlooked” in the UK’s anti-trafficking response and identified that support to meet their 
special needs, such as access to safe and appropriate accommodation, childcare, access to 
specialist  healthcare  and  support  for  their  children,  is  not  systematically  provided.  It 
further found that no official data is recorded on pregnancy and parenthood of victims of 
trafficking, but the research indicates that as many as half of those trafficked in the UK are 
pregnant  or  have  children.  The  conclusions  of  this  report  raise  a  question  whether  the 
victim  protection  provisions  implemented  by  the  UK  sufficiently  apply  a  gender  lens,  in 
particular with regard to female victims who might be pregnant prior to exploitation, as a 
result  of  exploitation  or  become  pregnant  after  they  have  been  identified  but  remain 
vulnerable.  

[78] Of particular concern from a gender perspective is the situation of overseas domestic 
workers  in  the  UK,  most  of  whom  are  women.  Domestic  workers  work  in  private 
households and come to the UK accompanying their employer on a special visa. The risk of 
abuse of domestic workers is well known and many are identified as victims of trafficking 
and  servitude.  There  has  been  a  debate  over  the  past  two  years  in  the  UK  over  the 
protection of this category of victims and in particular prevention of their abuse. Between 
1998  and  2012  women  who  came  to  the  UK  as  overseas  domestic  workers  were  able  to 
change  employer  within  the  same  visa  category,  empowering  them  to  leave  an  abusive 
employer  without  repercussion.  Changes  to  the  visa  in  2012  tied  workers  to  their 
employers, removing the  protection from these vulnerable  women. In December 2015, an 
independent inquiry commissioned by the UK Government found that a “tie to a specific 
employer and the absence of a universal right to change employer and apply for extensions 
of the  visa are incompatible  with the  reasonable  protection  of overseas domestic workers 
while  in  the  UK”,  and  recommended  that  “all  overseas  domestic  workers  be  granted  the 

168 Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Strategic Plan 2015-2017, p. 8. 
169http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2016/a/atmg_time_to_deliver_repo
rt_for_web_final.pdf  

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right  to  change  employer  and  apply  for  annual  extensions,  provided  they  are  in  work  as 
domestic workers in a private home.”170  

The Netherlands 
[79]  In  the  Netherlands  CoMensha,  the  Coordination  Centre  for  Human  Trafficking,  is 
responsible  for  coordinating  the  primary  reception,  care  and  assistance  of  (potential) 
victims of trafficking and for providing information and advice to service providers, police 
and other professionals. In 2014, 173 (potential) victims were referred to them for primary 
reception,  of  whom  115  were  women  and  28  men  (in  30  cases  the  gender  is  not 
registered).171 As soon as a victim is placed in one of the shelters, CoMensha transfers the 
coordination of the assistance to one of the 10 regional coordinators.172 The coordination of 
assistance to minor victims is done by the youth care service.  

[80]  CoMensha  also  registers  reports  of  (possible)  victims  of  trafficking  in  order  to  get 
insight  into  the  scale  and  nature  of  trafficking  and  to  identify  trends,  problem  areas  and 
success factors in the implementation of trafficking policies.173 Most reports come from the 
(border) police (2014: 64%) who are obliged to report (possible) victims of trafficking at the 
slightest  indication;  other  reports  mainly  come  from  the  regional  coordinators  and  other 
service providers (2014: 22%). A small percentage comes from the Labour Inspection (2014: 
4%).  

[81] In 2014, 1.561 (possible) victims were reported at CoMensha: 1.314 reports concerned 
women,  247  men.  Around  18  %  of  the  reported  cases  of  (possible)  victims  concerned 
minors. About 30% (468) of the reported (possible) victims in 2014 have Dutch nationality; 
the other most common nationalities were Romania (216), Bulgaria (154), Poland (99) and 
Hungary  (96).  Around  39%  of  all  reported  (possible)  victims  come  from  EU  countries. 
Despite the increase in the number of reported (possible) victims, the  number of requests 
for shelter has remained more or less stable over the years.  

[82]  Most  of  the  reports  on  female  (possible)  victims  concerned  exploitation  in  the  sex 
industry  (77%);  most  of  the  reports  on  male  (possible)  victims  concerned  exploitation  in 
other  sectors  (58%).  The  latter  concerned,  in  particular,  the  hotel  and  catering  sector 
(21.6%), domestic labour (14.3%), the shipping and transport sector (12.7%) and agriculture 
and  the  fishing  industry  (9.3%).  The  following  table  indicates  the  different  sectors  of 
exploitation for female and male (possible) victims. 

170https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/486532/OD
WV_Review_-_Final_Report__6_11_15_.pdf, p.5 
171 The number of victims for whom CoMensha is asked to arrange a shelter does not provide insight 
into  the  total  number  of  (potential)  victims,  as  reception  can  also  be  arranged  through  other  ways 
and not all (presumed) victims need to be in a shelter.  
172 
http://mensenhandel.nl/files/jaarverslag_comensha_2014.pdf. 
173 Unless otherwise indicated the figures are based on the 2014 report of CoMensha (Annual report. 
The  picture  of  2014).  CoMensha  reports  to  the  National  Rapporteur  who  uses  the  (anonymous)  data 
for analyses and policy recommendations.  

CoMensha 

available 

Annual 

(2015), 

picture 

report. 

2014, 

The 

at 

of 

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Sector 
Sex industry 
Other industries 
Forced criminality 
Not yet worked 
Unknown 
Not victim but witness 

Female/percentage 
77 
8 
2 
2 
11 
0 

Male/percentage 
12 
58 
4 
0 
25 
1 

Of  the  female  (possible)  victims,  216  were  reportedly  victims  of  so-called  “loverboy 
techniques”.174  The  majority  (187)  had  Dutch  nationality;  43%  (92)  were  minors,  mostly 
between  15  and  17  years  (78).  Of  the  male  (possible)  victims  the  largest  group  were 
Filipinos (53), who were mainly exploited in (inland) shipping. The largest group of male 
(possible) victims was aged 31-40 (68), the  largest  group  of female (possible) victims was 
aged 24-30 (380).  

[83] While the number of reported (possible) victims has considerably increased since 2000, 
it  is  difficult  to  interpret  these  figures,  as  the  increase  in  reports  can  be  both  a  signal  of 
successful (better detection and identification of victims) and failing policies (more victims) 
or  simply  indicate  that,  in  particular,  the  (border)  police  more  consistently  report 
indications  of  trafficking,  as  they  are  obliged  to  do  since  2012.  Moreover,  the  figures 
concern  “signals  of  possible  victims”,  which  can  vary  from  “the  slightest  indication”  to 
actual cases. On the basis of these figures it is therefore impossible to establish the actual 
number of victims.  

[84]  The  statistics  make  clear  that  the  focus  is  still  dominantly  on  women  and  the  sex 
industry, although the number of, predominantly male, (potential) victims reported by the 
Labour Inspection is slowly but steadily growing: from 39 in 2010 to 72 in 2014.175 In recent 
years there have been more targeted initiatives against trafficking and exploitation in other 
sectors,  in  particular  after  several  large-scale  cases  in  the  agricultural  sector  were 
discovered.  

[85]  Currently  there  is  no  formal  identification  procedure  for  victims  of  trafficking;  the 
police only decide whether there are sufficient indications to start a criminal investigation. 
Following recommendations of GRETA, the National Rapporteur and research by Intervict, 
there is a pilot ongoing with multi-disciplinary identification teams.176  

[86] GRETA has pointed out the need to improve the identification of victims of trafficking 
and exploitation outside the sex industry and among asylum seekers, especially in regard 
to unaccompanied minors.177 Other concerns, identified by the Special Rapporteur, are the 

174  Under  Dutch  legislation  this  falls  under  “trafficking”.  Under  other  legislations  this  might  fall 
under ‘pimping’. 
175 National Rapporteur (2015), Trafficking in human beings visible and invisible. Update statistics potential 
victims 2010-2014, The Hague: National Rapporteur. 
176 Letter of the Minister of Justice and Security to the Second Chamber of Parliament on a National 
Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014. 
177  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 152, Council of Europe. 

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identification  of  minor  Dutch  and  EU  victims,  as  well  as  the  continued  assistance  of 
unaccompanied foreign minors in protected reception centres when they turn 18.178 

[87] There are three specialised shelters (COSMs) with 70 places for the initial reception of 
victims of trafficking who do not have Dutch nationality/are from outside the EU and are 
in the reflection period; 16 of these places are allocated for male victims. In other cases, a 
place  in  a  regular  women’s  or  general  shelter  is  sought,  or,  when  there  are  no  other 
options,  in  a  crisis  shelter.  Since  2015  the  COSM  shelters  are  also  open  to  Dutch  and  EU 
victims in exceptional cases. One problem is the transition after the reflection period from 
the  first  shelter  to  follow-up  reception  centres  and  the  continuity  of  psychological  and 
medical  assistance.  Also,  the  lack  of  independent  housing  for  victims  who  have  pressed 
charges  after  their  period  in  a  shelter  poses  a  problem,  despite  the  fact  that  since  2012 
municipalities have an explicit duty in this respect.179 

[88] There are specialised shelters and assistance services for young, mostly female, victims 
of  so-called  “loverboys”;  the  victims  are  predominantly  Dutch.  Unaccompanied  foreign 
minors  who  are  trafficked or  are  at risk  of  trafficking  can  be  accommodated  in  protected 
reception centres. Apart from these two situations minor victims are catered for under the 
general youth care services.  

[89]  In  2013  research  was  carried  out  on  the  needs  of  different  victims  of  trafficking  by 
Intervict.180  One  of  the  critiques  was  that  Dutch  policies  are  mainly  directed  at  female 
foreign victims in the reflection period or who have a temporary residence permit. Another 
problem,  identified  by  different  actors,  concerned  the  fact  that  the  available  services  for 
trafficked  persons  and  the  applicable  regulations  were  quite  fragmented,  which  made  it 
difficult to find appropriate assistance for each individual victim, tailored to their specific 
needs. Moreover, research showed that EU victims did not always receive the assistance to 
which they were entitled. This applied in particular to, predominantly male, EU victims of 
exploitation  outside  the  sex  industry  who  do  not  need  a  shelter  but  want  to  return  or 
continue working as soon as possible. The same applied to Dutch victims who do not need 
a shelter.181 

[90] To address the above mentioned problems and to improve identification and access to 
assistance tailored to the specific needs of different victims, a National Referral Mechanism 
has been developed since 2013, which aims to solve the identified gaps and lays down the 
different tasks and responsibilities of the different actors involved. Part of the  NRM is an 
online guidance for professionals, victims and concerned citizens on the available services 
and regulations, which was launched in 2015.182 Also, a pilot started to improve diagnostic 

178 Letter of the Minister of Justice and Security to the Second Chamber of Parliament on a National 
Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014. 
179  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, para 157 and 172, Council of Europe; 9th 
Report National Rapporteur (2013). 
180  C.  Rijken,  J.  van  Dijk  and  F.  Klerx-van  Mierlo,  Mensenhandel:  het  slachtofferperspectief.  Een 
verkennende  studie  naar  behoeften  en  belangen  van  slachtoffers  mensenhandel  in  Nederland  (Human 
Trafficking: the perspective of victims.  An explorative study into the needs and interests of victims of human 
trafficking in the Netherlands), Tilburg: Intervict, Tilburg University (2013). 
181 Letter of the Minister of Justice and Security to the Second Chamber of Parliament on a National 
Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014. 
182 www.wegwijzermensenhandel.nl 

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instruments,  especially  in  case  of  traumatised  victims,  to  ensure  adequate  treatment.  A 
commission  was  established  by  the  youth  care  institutions  to  improve  identification  and 
assistance of minor victims and (mostly female) victims of “loverboys”. In 2016 CoMensha 
will open a 24/7 helpline for victims of trafficking and professionals to make the threshold 
for reporting as low as possible. There are special Action Plans to address the phenomenon 
of “lover-boys” and the exploitation of Roma children.183 

[91] In some cities victims of trafficking in the sex industry are prohibited in the context of 
criminal  proceedings  to  continue  working  in  prostitution  under  free  conditions  if  they 
want  to  do  so,  despite  the  fact  that  sex  work  is  legal.184  This  acts  as  an  extra  barrier  to 
pressing  charges  for  this  group,  as  reporting  would  imply  giving  up  their  income,  upon 
which in many cases their families are dependent. This in particular affects women as they 
are  the  majority  of  victims  exploited  in  the  sex  industry.  Similar  requirements  are  not 
posed to (predominantly male) victims of trafficking in other industries.  

Romania 
[92]  The  Romanian  Anti-Trafficking  Act  (Art.  39)  stipulates  that  victims  of  trafficking  are 
entitled  to  a  recovery  and  reflection  period  of  90  days.  In  addition  they  have  access  to 
counselling,  medical  and  social  assistance,  as  well  as  food  and  accommodation.  Both 
national  and  foreign  victims  qualify  for  those  rights  from  the  moment  when  there  are 
reasons to believe that presumed victims have been trafficked.185 

[93] ANITP coordinates through its  Regional Centres an assistance and support structure 
for  victims  of  THB  throughout  Romania.  The  cooperation  between  NGOs  providing 
assistance and support and law enforcement agencies is not always sufficient, due to lack 
of resources and unclear mandates.186  

[94]  In  2014,  ANITP  launched  a  several  year-long  programme  to  improve  the  national 
identification  and  referral  mechanism.  The  expected  outcomes  include  improving 
indicators to identify and refer possible victims, to elaborate risk assessments for identified 
victims, and to develop return programmes for foreign victims.187 

183 Letter of the Minister of Justice and Security to the Second Chamber of Parliament on a National 
Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014. 
184 Local policies of Groningen, e.g., prohibit victims of trafficking from working in the sex industry 
for six months after they have pressed charges (Policy note on prostitution- and other sex businesses, 
Groningen, February 2016). 
185  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p. 52. 
186  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p.23 
187  Council  of  Europe,  Committee  of  the  Parties  to  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Report  submitted  by  the  Romanian  authorities  on  measures 
taken to comply with Committee of the Parties Recommendation CP(2012)7 on the implementation of 
the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, p. 20 

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Lithuania 
[95] According to the GRETA evaluation report, the Ministry of Social Security and Labour 
has  allocated  €43,442  annually  for  NGO  projects  on  provision  of  assistance  to  victims  of 
THB  and  forced  prostitution.  In  2013  tenders  were  held  and  five  NGOs  were  allocated 
funding. Additionally municipalities were reported to fund NGOs assisting victims of THB 
either  by  financing  crisis  centres  or  co-financing  services  provided  by  NGOs.188  Different 
types  of  assistance  provided  by  NGOs  are  financed  by  the  state  budget;  these  are  not 
dependent  on  co-operation  with  the  law  enforcement  authorities.189  However  it  was  not 
indicated whether gender issues were taken into account. 

[96] There is no specialised centre for victims of THB.190 Lithuanian Caritas accommodates 
trafficked  persons  in  rented  apartments  or  municipal  shelters  for  women  victims  of 
violence if there is an agreement with the municipality, usually for up to six months. State 
funding provided for this (about €17,000 per year) was reported not to be enough to cover 
all the costs.  

[97]  Klaipeda  Social  and  Psychological  Service  Centre  assists  women  victims  of  violence 
and THB; it tries to help them reintegrate by facilitating access to the labour market. It runs 
a hotline (open 11 hours per day) for reporting cases of violence against women and THB. 
It also runs a shelter offering short-term accommodation for victims of violence and THB. 
In 2013 capacity was reduced from 30 to 12 places because of lack of funding.191 

[98] The municipalities run 28 crisis centres, 71 family support centres and 56 social service 
centres with short-term accommodation for people in need, where trafficked people  may 
also be placed.192 

[99] There does not appear to be specific provision for the accommodation of male victims 
of THB. In  its report, GRETA urged Lithuania to strengthen its efforts  to assist  trafficked 
persons, especially to ensure that all trafficked persons have effective access to assistance, 
including adequate accommodation, emergency and long-term medical assistance, as well 
as social assistance.193 

Sweden 
[100]  Sweden  has  until  recently  focused  predominantly  on  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation  and  strictly  linked  its  anti-trafficking  measures  with  the  fight  against 
prostitution. As a consequence, the focus in Sweden has been on identification of this form 

188  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 115, Council of Europe. 
189  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 116, Council of Europe. 
190  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 117, Council of Europe. 
191  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 119, Council of Europe. 
192  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 123, Council of Europe. 
193  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 125, Council of Europe. 

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of  trafficking,  and  the  knowledge  and  understanding  of  the  authorities  has  been  shaped 
thus.194 In recent years however, Sweden has begun focusing more on cases of trafficking 
for  forced  labour  and  has  recorded  a  higher  number  of  cases  of  trafficking  for  labour 
exploitation than those for sexual exploitation in 2011 and 2012.195 This corresponds to the 
trends  in  other  EU  countries,  like  in  the  UK,  where  the  numbers  of  identified  cases  of 
forced  labour  surpassed  those  for  sexual  exploitation  after  the  authorities  consciously 
began focusing on trafficking for forced labour.196 

[101] According to the GRETA evaluation report, the Health and Social Care Inspectorate 
has had the responsibility for supervising the provision of social services, while provision 
of  assistance  to  persons  in  need,  including  trafficked  persons  lies  with  the  social  welfare 
committees in each of the 290 municipalities in Sweden. Municipalities often sub-contract 
NGOs to provide services to victims. Victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation can also 
access help from anti-prostitution units of municipal social services in Stockholm, Malmo 
and Gothenburg.197  

[102] Sweden does not have a formal identification and assistance mechanism for trafficked 
persons.198 The development of a National Referral Mechanism in Sweden began in 2014;199 
however, as of September 2015, a mechanism has still not been put in place.  

[103] It was also noted by GRETA, as well as trade unions and NGOs in Sweden, that while 
Sweden has developed some systems to support women trafficked for sexual exploitation, 
there are significant gaps in identification and assistance to victims of trafficking for labour 
exploitation,  who  are  predominantly  male.  For  instance,  there  is  no  specialised 
accommodation and assistance provisions for male victims of trafficking. Furthermore, the 
requirement  to  co-operate  in  the  criminal  proceedings  in  order  to  access  assistance  is 
reportedly more stringently enforced in cases of trafficking for labour exploitation than in 
cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation.200  

Germany 
[104]  In  Germany  there  are  no  formalised  indicators  for  authorities  to  identify  trafficked 
persons. Identification of victims takes place in a decentralised and diverse manner. On a 
Länder or local level, cooperation agreements between law enforcement agencies and civil 

194  I.  Johansson,  Swedish  Anti-Trafficking  Policy,  Official  Framework  and  Local  Practices,  University  of 
Malmö, 2014. p.41. 
195https://polisen.se/Global/www%20och%20Intrapolis/Informationsmaterial/01%20Polisen%20n
ationellt/Engelskt%20informationsmaterial/Trafficking_1998_/Trafficking_report_13_20130530.pdf 
196 National Crime Agency Statistics of persons referred as potential trafficking victims in 2014: 1093 
cases of trafficking for labour exploitation, including domestic servitude (670 men/423 women); 830 
case of sexual exploitation (794women/34 men/2 transgender). 
197  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 145, Council of Europe. 
198  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, para. 128, Council of Europe. 
199 http://www.icmpd.org/Completed-Projects.1677.0.html 
200  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, paras.128, 149, 150, Council of Europe. 

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society  counselling  centres  ensures  the  referral  of  presumed  victims  of  trafficking  to 
specialised counselling centres without risking deportation of a presumed victim.  

[105] Those cooperation agreements have a strong focus on referring trafficking victims for 
the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation,  while  victims  of  labour  exploitation  face  an 
underdeveloped infrastructure.201 

[106] All 38 civil society stakeholders involved  in a local or  Länder-based referral system 
are  embedded  into  a  national  network,  called  KOK  (Koordinierungskreis  gegen 
Menschenhandel).  The  KOK  offers  on  a  regular  basis  qualification  measures  for 
counselling centres and elaborates advocacy statements for the political stakeholders. It is 
rooted  in  the  German  womens’  movement  against  violence  against  women,  women 
migrants’ rights, faith-based and prostitutes’ peer groups. Strengthening women’s rights as 
an integral part of anti-trafficking activism is part of its mission statement.202 In the report 
of  GRETA  on  Germany,  the  concern  was  raised  about  a  lack  of  national  referral 
mechanisms for victims of trafficking for labour exploitation.203 

Article 12: Protection of victims of trafficking in criminal investigations  

United Kingdom  
[107] Victims are entitled to protection during criminal investigations and trials under the 
laws  of  all  three  UK  jurisdictions.  They  can  be  given  access  to  special  measures  in  court 
and application can be made to preserve their anonymity during proceedings and in court. 
Section  46  of  the  Modern  Slavery  Act  extended  the  special  measures  provisions  to  all 
victims of modern slavery.204 In Scotland, trafficked persons are categorised as vulnerable 
witnesses under the Victims and Witnesses (Scotland) Act 2014.  

[108]  While  provisions  for  special  measures  in  criminal  courts  are  available  to  victims  of 
trafficking, concerns have been raised about protections available in other courts. In 2012, 
GRETA  raised  a  concern  about  the  lack  of  protection  for  victims  in  Employment 
Tribunals.205  

The Netherlands 
[109]  Victims  of  trafficking  are  generally  heard  during  the  criminal  investigation  by  an 
investigative  judge.  It  is  possible  to  hear  the  victim  outside  the  presence  of  the 
defendant(s), who will then watch the interrogation from behind a screen and can submit 

201  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by  Germany, 3 June 2015, para 131, Council of Europe. 
202 See www.kok-gegen-menschenhandel.de 
203  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by  Germany, 3 June 2015, paras 131, 137, Council of Europe. 
204 This applies to England and Wales only. 
205  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against Trafficking in Human Beings by the United Kingdom, 12 September 2012, para  367, Council 
of Europe.  

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their  questions  to  the  judge  who  will  then  pose  them  to  the  victim/witness.  Before  the 
hearing  the  victim  will  be  offered  a  meeting  with  the  prosecutor,  who  will  explain  the 
procedure and answer any questions of the victim/witness in regard to the procedure. The 
defendant can request to have the victim/witness again examined at the trial, but this will 
only  be  granted  if  there  is  new  evidence  on  which  the  defence  could  not  interrogate  the 
victim/witness during the interview before the investigative judge. In that case, the victim 
can be heard in camera or through the use of audio-visual means.  

[110]  Since  2010,  there  are  special  guidelines  for  the  use  of  audio-visual  means  to  hear 
victim-witnesses.206  A  pilot  is  currently  going  on  to  establish  facilities  in  the  specialised 
shelters (COSMs) for interviewing victims.207 

[111]  Under  certain  conditions,  the  personal  data  of  the  victim  can  be  kept  confidential. 
Victims may give the office of their lawyer as their residence. Personal data of victims will 
never be publicised in the  verdict or in the media. In exceptional cases the victim may be 
qualified as a threatened witness and be heard anonymously by the investigative judge. If 
necessary, the  victim is provided with a telephone  number  by  which she  or  he can reach 
the  police  24/7  in  case  of  threats  or  intimidation.  If  necessary,  the  police  will  also 
accompany the victim to and from the court.  

[112] Trafficking cases are handled by specially trained judges. In addition, each court has 
a specialised prosecutor who needs to be contacted by the acting prosecutor in trafficking 
cases.  There  are  specific  binding  Guidelines  of  the  Prosecutors-General  on  how  to  act  in 
(suspected)  cases  of  trafficking.208  In  line  with  Directive  2011/36/EU,  the  guidelines 
address  the  protection  of  victims  during  criminal  proceedings  and  the  prevention  of 
secondary victimisation,209 special protection measures for minor victims and other victims 
with special needs (e.g. due to pregnancy),210 the non-punishment principle and the need 
for an integrated approach to trafficking.  

[113]  It  is  accepted  as  a  principle  that  the  criminal  proceedings  may  not  increase  the 
suffering  of  the  victim.  This  principle  has  been  strengthened  by  the  2010  Act  on 
Strengthening the Position of Victims of Crime, which lays down the rights of victims of crime 
and  explicitly  lays  down  a  responsibility  of  prosecutors  and  judges  for  the  respectful 
treatment of victims.211  

206  Aanwijzing  auditief  en  audiovisueel  registreren  van  verhoren  van  aangevers,  getuigen  en 
verdachten, Stc. 2010, nr. 11885. 
207  Letter  from  the  Minister  of  Justice  and  Security  to  the  Second  Chamber  of  Parliament  on  a 
National Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014. 
208 Aanwijzing mensenhandel, geldend vanaf 01-07-2013 t/m heden. 
209  Limitation  of  the  number  of  interrogations,  avoidance  of  unnecessary  repetition  of  interviews, 
visual  contact  between  the  victim  and  the  suspect(s),  giving  of  evidence  in  open  court  and 
unnecessary questioning on the victim’s private live. 
210  Other  special  needs  can  follow  from  the  health  situation  of  the  victim,  handicaps,  psychological 
disorders, or the severe psychological, physical or sexual violence the victim has suffered. 
211 Wet versterking positie slachtoffers, Stb. 2010, 1. 

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Romania 
[114] According to Article  44 of the  Romanian Anti-Trafficking Act, victims  of trafficking 
“benefit  from  obligatory  legal  assistance  in  order  to  exercise  their  rights  during  criminal 
procedures according to the law, during criminal trial, and to sustain all their petitions ad 
civil requests against those who committed the criminal offences mentioned in the law”.212 
Civil  society  organisations,  in  cooperation  with  international  human  rights  experts,  have 
however reported problems in the exercise of victims’ rights in criminal proceedings. These 
include: 

  Lack of application of the reflection period for victims; 

  Flaws in adequate legal aid and representation in court; 

  No specialisation of judges in trafficking cases; 

  Possible violations of privacy rights of victims in criminal proceedings.213 

[115]  In  2012,  1092  victims  benefited  from  legal  assistance  within  the  framework  of  the 
national  programme  on  victim-witness  coordination  in  penal  trials.  Of  this  number,  421 
victims were identified as trafficked in 2012 while 671 were already in the support system 
from previous years.214 The relatively low number  of victims receiving legal aid is due to 
several problems occurring during the criminal procedures: 

  The  average  duration  of  criminal  proceedings  is  3-5  years.  This  leads  to  high 

turnover of lawyers during trials. 

  There is insufficient funding to pay lawyers in due time. 

  Lack of access to information on legal aid possibilities for victims. 

  Lack of access to specialised knowledge and expertise for lawyers. 

The  majority  of  lawyers  representing  victims  in  trials  are  state  lawyers,  who  are  often 
overburdened  by  different  appointments  and  have  therefore  only  limited  resources  to 
dedicate their time to representing victims.215 

Lithuania 
[116] The Code of Criminal procedure (CCP), Article 198 allows victims of crime to apply 
for full or partial anonymity if they meet three criteria. GRETA considered this too high a 
threshold,  “given  the  sensitivity  of  the  offence  of  THB  and  the  fact  that  it  violates 

212  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p. 26. 
213  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, p. 23.  
214  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p.28. 
215  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p.30. 

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fundamental  human  rights  of  its  victims”,  and  “does  not  contribute  to  the  protection  of 
victims and witnesses of trafficking offences”.216 

[117]  The  Law  on  Protection  of  Participants  in  Criminal  Procedures  and  Criminal 
Intelligence,  Officers  of  Justice  and  Law  Enforcement  Officials  against  Criminal 
Consequences  (1996)  offers  a  witness  protection  programme  designed  primarily  for 
witnesses  of  organised  crime.  Inclusion  can  be  at  the  request  of  the  witness,  an 
investigating officer, a prison or a court. The protected person must sign an agreement to 
special protection and security measures.217 

[118]  GRETA  reported  that  victim  protection  measures  have  not  been  systematically 
applied  in  practice  to  victims  of  THB.  The  police,  prosecution  officials  and  NGOs  report 
that  only  a  few  victims  of  THB  agree  to  participate  “as  many  of  them  find  the  measures 
taken by this programme not adapted to their needs and often too invasive”.218 

[119] There is a problem of suspects who have not been detained intimidating victims and 
witnesses  of  THB  with  the  effect  that  testimony  is  changed  or  recanted,  which  interferes 
with  the  course  of  justice.  Some  victim  sand  witnesses  may  be  particularly  vulnerable  to 
this because of their gender but this does not appear to have been taken into account. 

Sweden 
[120]  Under  the  Act  of  Public  Access  to  Information  and  Secrecy,  personal  and  financial 
information of victims may be kept secret in trafficking cases, if the disclosure would cause 
harm  to  the  victims  or  their  close  relatives.  Contact  details  of  victims  may  also  be  kept 
secret during preliminary investigations if there is a risk of violence or threats to the victim. 
The court can also decide to hold hearings  in camera and impose reporting restrictions on 
those attending. GRETA reported, however, that the  identity of victims is disclosed at all 
stages  and  was  informed  that  judges  make  less  use  of  secrecy  provisions  in  trafficking 
cases than, for example, in rape cases.219 

Germany 
[121]  In  Germany,  there  is  a  flexible  range  of  provisions  to  protect  the  private  life  and 
identity  of  the  victim/witness  during  criminal  court  hearings.  While  on  a  low  profile 
programme,  victims  can  be  entitled  to  direct  protection  by  police  and  support 
organisations,  using  the  criminal  court  witness  care  unit,  providing  security-relevant 
information to the counselling centre supporting the victim and other relevant measures.220 

216  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 169, Council of Europe. 
217  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 171, Council of Europe. 
218  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action 
against Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 173, Council of Europe. 
219  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, paras. 209-210, Council of Europe. 
220  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, para 216, Council of Europe. 

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[122]  High  risk  witness  protection  programmes  are  also  open  to  victims  of  trafficking. 
Other  measures  to  protect  the  identity  of  a  victim/witness  during  court  appearances 
include to withhold the residence contact details and audio-visual recordings.221  

[123] From a gender perspective it is crucial to allow security and protection during court 
appearances  to  victims  without  applying  a  high-level  witness  protection  programme.  As 
women are often the first care giver in their families, the participation in a programme that 
would require a new identity and the disconnection of people close to the witness has not 
been proven to be effective. A flexible range of applying protection elements, however, has 
a higher acceptance by female victims/witnesses. 

Article 17: Compensation for victims 

United Kingdom 
[124]  Provisions  for  compensation  are  included  in  law.  Victims  can  obtain  compensation 
through civil proceedings, in an employment tribunal, during  criminal proceedings or by 
applying  to  a  fund  for  victims  of  crime.  However  accessing  these  options  in  practice 
remains  difficult  and  only  few  victims  seek  and  obtain  compensation,  as  found  also  by 
GRETA in 2012.222    

[125]  Even  where  compensation  has  been  awarded  by  a  court,  enforcement  of  such 
judgment  is  very  difficult  as  the  UK  does  not  provide  victims  with  any  support  in  this 
regard. Employment tribunals in particular  have found in favour  of a  number  of women 
trafficked for domestic servitude, but these are nearly impossible for a vulnerable victim to 
enforce. In one recent case, a major London law firm secured £300,000 of compensation for 
a victim, after a protracted process of attempting to enforce the judgment for four and half 
years.  This  case  demonstrates  that  even  with  the  pro-bono  backing,  specialist  skills  and 
resources of a big law firm, compensation is difficult to access for victims of trafficking.223 

[126] So far the most successful route for victims to obtain compensation has been through 
the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, but it remains accessible mainly to victims of 
sexual exploitation. The authors are not aware of any successful labour trafficking cases in 
which compensation has been obtained through this route.  

The Netherlands 
[127] Victims of serious crimes, including trafficking in human beings and sexual offences, 
are  entitled  to  free  legal  aid,  including  for  pursuing  damages.  Compensation  can  be 

221  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by  Germany,  3 June 2015, paras 218-220, Council of Europe. 
222 GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the United Kingdon, 12 September 2012, paras 290-299, Council of 
Europe. 
223 http://www.freshfields.com/en/news/Freshfields_secures_£300,000_for_trafficking_victim_-
_Protracted_case_highlights_difficulties_of_enforcing_judgements/  

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claimed in three ways: by joining a claim for compensation as a civil action to the criminal 
proceedings,  through  civil  proceedings  and  through  the  Criminal  Injuries  Compensation 
Fund.  

[128] Apart from these three mechanisms, the Act on Migrant Labour224 allows the awarding 
of  lost  earnings  to  irregular  migrant  workers  through  a  formula  based  on  the  legal 
minimum wages and the  legal assumption that the  worker  concerned has  worked for  six 
months,  unless  the  employer  can  prove  differently.  However,  as  far  as  known  this 
provision is not or hardly used in practice.  

[129]  Damages  claimed  in  the  criminal  procedure  may  include  both  immaterial  and 
material  damages.  Immaterial  damages  may  include  compensation  for  psychological  and 
physical  suffering,  but  also  for  the  stigmatisation  a  victim  might  suffer  as  a  result  of  the 
trafficking. This is especially important in the case of trafficking for prostitution. 

[130] Material damages may include costs for medical or psychological care, but also costs 
for  removing  a  tattoo  placed  under  coercion  or  money  the  victim  had  to  pay  to  the 
trafficker(s) or his/her accomplices for travel costs, housing, food, clothing etc. A key form 
of compensation is compensation for the money the victim earned and was forced to hand 
over to the trafficker or, in the case of exploitation in other work than prostitution, wages 
that  were  due  but  not  paid.  It  is  established  case  law  that  money  that  a  suspect  has 
appropriated  or  that  has  been  surrendered  to  him  must,  in  principle,  be  considered  as 
material loss.225   

[131]  From  a  gender  perspective  it  is  particularly  important  that  in  recent  years,  lawyers 
have been quite  successful in claiming compensation for  the  money victims of trafficking 
in the  sex  industry were forced to earn for  their traffickers by calculating  the  (minimum) 
number  of days the  victim worked and the  (minimum) amount of money she  earned per 
day.  Since  2011  the  Court  has  awarded  compensation  for  amounts  from  €100  up  to  €500 
per day on a regular basis; the highest amount of compensation awarded so far is €800,000. 
Amounts  of  up  to  €500  per  day  apply  especially  to  cases  in  which  it  is  plausible  that  the 
victim concerned was forced to earn extreme amounts of money, for instance by working 
double shifts. 

[132]  When  the  claim  is  awarded,  the  court  can  impose  a  compensation  order  (‘schade-
vergoedingsmaatregel’) as part of the criminal sentence, with detention if the offender fails to 
pay. This implies that the State is responsible for the collection of the damages awarded by 
the court on behalf of the victim. If the offender does not pay, the claim will be transferred 
to  a  bailiff  in  order  to  seize  corresponding  assets  of  the  offender.  If  the  offender  has 
insufficient  assets  to  cover  the  claim,  the  prosecutor  will  execute  the  order  for  substitute 
imprisonment.  This  requires  no  new  court  action.  The  execution  of  substitute  detention, 
however,  does  not  relief  the  offender  from  his/her  obligation  to  pay  the  compensation 
ordered. Since 2011 victims can seek an advanced payment from the  State  if  the offender 
was sentenced to pay damages and he/she fails to do so for a period of eight months after 
the  sentence  has  become  final.  Three  quarter  of  the  (final)  compensation  orders  in  the 

224 Wet arbeid vreemdelingen (Wav). This is in line with Directive 2009/52/EC of The European 
Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing for minimum standards on sanctions and measures 
against employers of illegally staying third-country nationals. 
225 National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings (2012). Trafficking in Human Beings, Case Law 
on Trafficking in Human Beings 2009-2012. An analysis. The Hague: BNRM, p. 141.   

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period 2010-2014 was paid under the advanced payment regulation. Amounts varied from 
€500 to more than €35,000.226 

[133] The Criminal Injuries Compensation Fund provides a financial allowance (benefit) for 
victims of violent crimes which have resulted in serious psychological or physical damage, 
including  trafficking  in  human  beings.  If  the  damages  are  not  compensated  in  another 
way,  the  Fund  can  provide  compensation  through  a  lump  sum  of  maximum  €10,000  for 
immaterial damages and €25,000 for material damages. It is not a condition of benefitting 
from  the  Fund  that  the  offender  is  prosecuted  or  sentenced.  However,  if  the  case  is 
dismissed or the suspect acquitted, it is difficult to get compensation from the  Fund as in 
that case the Fund may decide that the victimhood of the applicant is not plausible. 

Romania 
[134]  Victims  of  trafficking  are  entitled  to  claim  for  compensation  of  material  and 
immaterial damages suffered due to the crime. They may join a civil claim to the criminal 
case, start a separate civil action or apply for compensation from the state fund.227 

[135]  The  number  of  victims  who  have  received  compensation  in  Romania  is  low. 
However,  there  are  no  official  statistics  available  regarding  the  entitlements  of 
compensations.228  Often,  victims  are  not  informed  about  the  possibilities  to  obtain 
compensation.  In  addition,  in  international  trafficking  cases,  compensation  claims  are 
subject  to  highly  bureaucratic  procedures  involving  international  cooperation.229  Even  if 
victims  win  compensation  in  civil  claims,  these  are  hardly  ever  paid  as  the  perpetrators 
will have  assigned their property to other persons in order to avoid confiscations.230 

[136] In 2015, the Romania state agency against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP) conducted 
a  series  of  trainings  on  the  implementation  of  compensation  claims,  for  members  of  the 
judiciary, civil society and lawyers in Bucharest, Pitesti, Brasov, Iasi, Cluj, and Timisoara. 
These  trainings  were  implemented  in  cooperation  with  the  Council  of  Europe,  La  Strada 
International and Anti-Slavery International. 

Lithuania 
[137]  Lithuania  provides  secondary  legal  aid  (such  aid  includes  drafting  of  documents, 
defence  and  representation  in  court,  litigation  costs  incurred  in  civil  proceedings,  costs 
incurred  in  administrative  proceedings  and  costs  related  to  the  hearing  of  a  civil  action 

226  National  Rapporteur  on  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and  Sexual  Violence  against  Children 
(2015). Trafficking visible and invisible. Update figures compensation 2010-2014. The Hague: BNRM. 
227  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p. 43. 
228  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p.46. 
229  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p.49. 
230  Pro  Refugiu/Netherlands  Helsinki  Committee,  Legal  Analysis  of  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons, 
Romania, 2015, p. 40. 

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brought  in  a    criminal  case)  for  victims  of  criminal  offences  to  claim  compensation  “for 
damage suffered from criminal actions”.231 

[138] Lithuanian and EU nationals and residents of Lithuania whose property and income 
are  below  a  certain  level  are  entitled  to  secondary  legal  aid.  It  was  stated  by  the 
prosecutor’s  office  that  victims  of  crime  who  seek  compensation  often  receive  legal  aid 
irrespective of their financial situation. There is a problem in calculating exactly how many 
victims  of  THB  received  legal  aid  as  the  statistics  do  not  specify  of  which  crimes  the 
recipients had been victims.232 

[139] The Law on Compensation of Damage Caused by Violent Crimes sets out how state 
compensation  operates  regarding material and non-material damage of victims of violent 
crimes.  A  “violent  crime”  is  defined  as  “a  criminal  act  which  has  caused  intentional 
deprivation  of  the  victim’s  life,  serious  or  non-serious  health  impairment,  or  a  crime 
against  the  individual’s  freedom,  freedom  of  sexual  self-determination,  or  integrity”.  It 
includes THB, which is listed as a crime in para 147 of the Criminal Code. Victims of crime 
whose  damage  (material  or  non-material)  has  been  recognised  by  the  court  may  have 
access to state compensation after the completion of criminal proceedings, once a judgment 
enters  into  force  or  where  the  court  has  agreed  to  compensate  damage  prior  to  the 
completion of criminal proceedings.233 

[140]  GRETA  took  the  view  that  Lithuania  should  adopt  further  measures  to  facilitate 
access to compensation for victims of THB, in particular: 

Ensure that victims are systematically informed in a language they understand of the right 
to seek compensation, as well as the procedures involved; 

Enable victims to get compensation by ensuring effective access to legal aid; 

Make  it  possible  for  victims  of  THB  to  receive  State  compensation  regardless  of  whether 
criminal proceedings are initiated.234 

Sweden 
[141]  In  Sweden,  victims  of  crime  (including  human  trafficking)  are  entitled  to  free  legal 
assistance during criminal  proceedings, but this is discontinued  once the  final  judgement 
has  been  handed  down.  Although  the  legal  counsel  paid  for  by  the  state  during  the 
proceedings may lodge a compensation claim on a victim’s behalf, once there is a verdict, 
victims  are  left  without  legal  assistance  in  pursuing  their  claim.  Victims  can  apply  for 
compensation within two years after the completion of the criminal case.235  

231  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 137, Council of Europe. 
232  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 138, Council of Europe. 
233  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 141, Council of Europe. 
234  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 143, Council of Europe. 
235  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, para 176, Council of Europe 

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[142] State compensation can be applied for by a victim of crime in Sweden, regardless of 
their nationality or residency status. There is also a mechanism that allows foreign victims 
who have returned home to access compensation from abroad. According to the data of the 
Crime  Victim  Compensation  and  Support  Authority,  in  14  cases  compensation  was 
awarded to victims of trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation and only in one 
case  to  a  victim  of  trafficking  for  labour  exploitation.    Compensation  between  €8,200  to 
€33,400 was granted to victims for pain, suffering and violation of personal integrity.236 

Germany 
[143]  Victims  of  human  trafficking  are  entitled  to  claim  damages  for  material  and  non-
material  harms  caused  by  the  perpetrators.  They  can  be  enforced  by  the  victim  in  a  civil 
action or in an ‘adhesive procedure’ (Adhäsionsverfahren), which enables the victim to bring 
a  civil  claim  within  the  framework  of  criminal  proceedings.  Surveys  from  specialised 
counselling  centres  however  have  shown  that  there  have  been  only  few  successful 
compensation claims.237 

[144] In addition, there is a possibility for victims of trafficking to apply for compensation 
under  the  Crime  Victims  Compensation  Act  (Opferentschädigungsgesetz,  OEG).  All  victims 
of crime are eligible to claim from this state fund, including German citizens, EU nationals 
and Third Country nationals. There is no time limit for claiming compensation under this 
fund, and claims do not have to be linked to criminal proceedings.238 

IV. Assessment of other gender sensitive measures taken to 
address trafficking in human beings 

Article 19: Monitoring of gender dimensions in the implementation of 
Directive 2011/36/EU 

United Kingdom 
[145] All victims of human trafficking, regardless of their gender, are entitled to the same 
level  of  support  under  the  National  Referral  Mechanism.  Every  year,  the  National  Crime 
Agency publishes referral and identification data disaggregated by age and gender. While 
the  Modern  Slavery  Strategy  points  out  that  women  and  girls  are  the  majority  amongst 
victims  for  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  gender  is  not  considered  a  particular 
vulnerability and there is very little reference to gender in official government documents. 

236  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, para 177, Council of Europe. 
237  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, paras 173-174, Council of Europe 
238  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, para 173, Council of Europe 

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The exception is the strategic plan of the UK Anti-Slavery Commissioner, which recognises 
gender as a particular vulnerability that can be abused to subjugate victims.  

The Netherlands 
[146] Since 2000 the Netherlands has had a National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human 
Beings. Some years ago the Rapporteur’s mandate was extended to include sexual violence 
against  children.  The  Rapporteur  issues  annual  reports  as  well  as  thematic  reports.  The 
Rapporteur is independent and directly accountable to the Parliament. The reports do not 
address the gender dimension as a separate issue, but statistics presented are segregated by 
age and gender and, where applicable, gender implications are discussed.  

Romania 
[147]  ANITP  operates  a  national  data  base  on  all  identified  trafficking  cases  in  Romania, 
the  National  Integrated  System  to  Monitor  and  Assess  Trafficking  in  Persons  (SIMEV).239 
The  data  base  allows  the  Romanian  authorities  to  monitor  short-  and  long-term 
implications of victims’ assistance programmes in Romania as well as in-depth analysis of 
victims’ profiles. 

Lithuania 
[148]  There  is  no  national  rapporteur  on  THB  in  Lithuania.  An  Inter-Institutional 
Commission  for  the  Implementation  of  the  National  Crime  Prevention  and  Control 
Programme  was established on 1 July 2009.240 This body is responsible for  preparing and 
submitting  for  government  approval  an  Action  Plan  for  the  Implementation  of  the 
National  Crime  Prevention  and  Control  Programme  and 
its 
implementation.241 It submits annual reports to the government. These are published. This 
may include THB but there is no dedicated group or person dealing with THB as such. 

co-ordinating 

Sweden 
[149] Since 1997, Sweden has had a National  Rapporteur on trafficking in  human beings. 
The  office  is  based  under  the  National  Police  Board  and  presents  yearly  reports  to  the 
government  on  progress  in  combatting  trafficking  and  information  about  trends  and 
issues. In addition, in 2009, Sweden appointed a National Co-ordinator against Prostitution 
and  Trafficking  to  implement  the  Action  Plan  on  combatting  prostitution  and  trafficking 
for sexual exploitation.242  

239  Council  of  Europe,  Group  of  Experts  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  Report 
concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human 
Beings by Romania, 31 May 2012, para 77, Council of Europe. 
240  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 19, Council of Europe. 
241  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 20, Council of Europe. 
242  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, paras. 20-27, Council of Europe. 

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Germany 
[150] Germany does not hold a formalized National Rapporteur Mechanism on trafficking; 
however  the  Federal  Criminal  Police  Office  (BKA)  compiles  and  publishes  annually  the 
National  Situation  Report  on  Trafficking  in  human  beings.  It  represents  the  outcomes  of 
police investigations and includes statistical data on suspects and victims.243 

V. General assessment of measures taken to address the 
gender dimension of trafficking in human beings in the 
implementation of the Directive 
[151] Article 22.1 of the Directive provides: “Member States shall bring into force the laws, 
regulations  and  administrative  provisions  necessary  to  comply  with  this  Directive  by  6 
April 2013.” The Directive was adopted on 5 April 2011, and had been under negotiation 
for  some  considerable  time  prior  to  that,  so  Member  States  had  ample  time  to  take  the 
necessary steps to ensure that they were in compliance. 

[152] Member States are under a duty (Article 22.2) to transmit to the Commission the text 
of  any  provisions  that  have  the  effect  of  transposing  into  their  national  law  those 
obligations imposed upon them by the Directive, including those obligations discussed in 
this  Report.  It  is  not  clear  at  this  stage  exactly  what  information  member  States  have 
transmitted  to  the  Commission  or  indeed  whether  any  have  failed  to  comply  with  this 
duty. Compliance with this duty is closely linked to the Commission’s duty to report under 
Article 23. 

Obstacles encountered by Member States 

[153] The transposition of a Directive is not necessarily problematic. It is for each Member 
State to decide how it does so, as long as it gives full effect to the obligations contained in 
the Directive. However, the period of time required for this will vary according to the way 
in  which  individual  Member  States  give  effect  to  this  duty.  There  can  be  considerable 
variation between States. Moreover, it may be necessary not only to pass legislation to give 
effect to particular parts of the Directive but also to amend or repeal inconsistent national 
legislation. 

Reporting 

[154]  Article  23  established  several  reporting  duties.  First,  it  requires  the  Commission  to 
have  reported  by  15  April  2015  to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  with  an 
assessment  of  the  extent  to  which  Member  States  have  in  fact  taken  the  “necessary 
measures” in order to comply with the Directive.  

243 See: 
https://www.bka.de/nn_196810/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Presse/Pressearchiv/Presse__2015
/pm151001__BundeslagebildMenschenhandel.html?__nnn=true  

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[155]  Second,  this  was  to  include  a  description  of  any  action  taken  under  Article  18.4, 
accompanied  if  necessary  by  legislative  proposals.  Article  18.4  established  a  duty  for 
Member  States  “to  consider  taking  measures  to  establish  as  a  criminal  offence  the  use  of 
services  which  are  the  objects  of  exploitation  [as  referred  to  in  Article  2],  with  the 
knowledge that the person concerned is a victim of an offence referred to in Article 2” (that 
is, offences concerning trafficking in human beings). 

[156]  Regarding  the  second  reporting  duty,  practice  is  varied.  Lithuanian  law  appears  to 
criminalise the use of the services of a trafficked person (where the user is aware that the 
person  has  been  trafficked).244  The  use  of  services  of  a  victim  of  trafficking  with  the 
knowledge that the person is a victim is not criminalised as a separate offence by Swedish 
legislation.245  Germany  does  not  criminalise  the  use  of  services  of  a  person  with  the 
knowledge  that  the  person  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  in  human  beings,  except  in  the 
particular  scenario  of  the  sexual  abuse  of  juveniles  (section  182  StrafGesetzBuch).246  In  the 
UK, it is  an offence to pay for sexual services of a prostitute subjected to force, deception, 
threats  or  any  other  form  of  coercion.  In  2015,  Northern  Ireland  has  criminalised  the 
purchase  of  sexual  services.  In  Romania,  prostitution  used  to  be  a  criminal  offense.  This 
was  recently  changed  into  an  administrative  offence,  persecuting  the  people  who  offer 
sexual services.247 In the  Netherlands a draft bill criminalising clients of sex workers who 
knew  or  ought  to  have  known  that  the  sex  worker  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  is  pending. 
Making  use  of  the  services  of  a  minor  prostitute  is  already  punishable  (article  248b 
Criminal Code). 

[157]  The  first  reporting  task  does  not  appear  to  have  been  completed  on  schedule  and 
indeed  at  the  time  of  writing  has  still  not  been  done.  This  can  be  seen  as  a  failure  in 
achieving  a  harmonised  playing  field,  although  there  are  limits  to  what  the  Commission 
can do if Member States fail to comply or fail to communicate adequately about the steps 
they have taken to comply unless the Commission conducts the infringement proceedings 
rigorously and eventually refer the Member State to the European Court of Justice.  

[158] Under Article 23.2, a third reporting obligation is established. The Commission must, 
by 6 April 2016, submit a report to the European Parliament and the Council, assessing the 
impact  of  existing  national  laws  which  establish  as  a  criminal  offence  the  use  of  services 
which are the  objects of exploitation  of trafficking in  human beings, on the  prevention of 
trafficking  in  human  beings.  This  report  is  to  be  accompanied  “if  necessary,  by  adequate 
proposals”, although it is not clear what these proposals should be for. 

[159] It needs to be asked why the Commission has failed in its duty to report under Article 
23.1. This may be because States have failed to notify it of their efforts to comply. On the 
other hand it may be that there is disagreement with some States that have reported, as to 
whether they have in fact complied. Another possibility is that Member States have in fact 

244  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, para 89, Council of Europe, referring to Article 
147 of the Criminal Code, introduced on 30 June 2012 through Law No. XI-2198. See also para 152. 
245  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014, para 190, Council of Europe. 
246  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, para 192, Council of Europe. 
247  GRETA,  Report  concerning  the  implementation  of  the  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by Romania, 31 May 2012, para 188, Council of Europe. 

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transmitted  to  the  Commission,  as  required  by  Article  22.2,  the  text  of  the  provisions 
transposing into their  national  law the  obligations  imposed on them under the  Directive, 
but that the Commission has failed to deliver its report on time. 

[160]  The  reporting  stage  is  a  crucial  element  of  Member  States’  compliance  with  the 
Directive. The Commission should consider its own assessment of whether it has complied 
with its obligations, since while the State may well consider that it has complied with the 
Directive,  the  Commission  may  take  a  different  view.  The  Commission  has  been  able  to 
gather      valuable  input  from  civil  society;248  however,  consideration  should  be  given  to 
carrying out its own research, as well as referring to the research of other relevant bodies, 
such as GRETA, the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in 
Human  Beings,  which  actively  monitors  compliance  by  States  (currently  all  EU  Member 
States  except  for  the  Czech  Republic)  with  their  obligations  under  the  Council  of  Europe 
Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings,  the  country  visits  reports 
produced by the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking 
in  Human  beings,  or  those  by  the  UN  Special  Rapporteurs  on  Trafficking  and 
Contemporary Forms of Slavery.  

[161] Nevertheless it is up to Member States to notify the Commission of their progress in 
transposing  the  Directive  by  transmitting  to  the  Commission  the  text  of  the  provisions 
transposing into their national law the obligations imposed by the Directive (Article 22.2).  

Recommendations 

Elaborating  a  coherent  understanding  of  gender  implications  for  the 
anti-trafficking response 

[162]  Gender  dimensions  are  not  consistently  and  systematically  monitored  in  the 
implementation  of  EU  anti-trafficking  law,  including  the  Directive  2011/36/EU,  nor  in 
other monitoring procedures such as the Council of Europe monitoring body ‘GRETA’. 

[163]  It  should  be  emphasized  that  it  is  a  duty  of  Member  States,  and  of  the  European 
Union,  to  take  full  account  of  gender  in  their  actions  to  assist  and  protect  victims  of 
trafficking,  as  well  as  in  law  enforcement  measures  or  any  other  measures  to  address 
trafficking. 

[164]  Gender  has  been  understood  rather  narrowly  in  EU  anti-trafficking  policies.  Going 
forward  and  in  particular  in  the  post-2016  EU  Strategy,  the  understanding  must  be 
widened to take due regard of all gender identities, ensuring that all victims of trafficking 
are covered.  

[165] The EU anti-trafficking policy has so far been shaped heavily by the security agenda, 
with  the  primary  focus  on  police  and  border  control.  Law  enforcement  and  security 

248 https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/media-outreach-els/eu-civil-society-e-platform_en.  

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services are known for their often poor record in terms of gender sensitivity. To ensure that 
a  gender  perspective  is  reflected  in  the  implementation  of  the  Directive,  training  for  the 
police  and  law  enforcement  authorities  regarding  the  gender  dimension  of  human 
trafficking  should  be  considered,  in  particular  how  the  trafficking  experience  can  impact 
upon women, men and transgender individuals differently. 

[166] As policies may have different impacts on women and men, an essential element of 
gender monitoring is the consistent assessment of the distinctive impact of anti-trafficking 
measures  on  (the  protection  of  the  human  rights  o)  women,  men  and  transgendered 
persons before, during and after implementation. While this applies to all policy areas, this 
is particularly important in regard to repressive measures.  

[167] Official identification procedures should take into account the social stigma that the 
crime  of  trafficking  entails,  including  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation.  Assistance  and 
support  schemes  should  therefore  offer  anonymous  and  confidential  counselling. 
Assistance and support structures should be organized in a gender specific way, covering 
all the different needs of the individual victims. 

[168]  Victim/witness  protection  programmes  should  offer  flexible  and  individualized 
protection  schemes,  as  women  are  often  the  main  care-giver  for  their  families  and  are 
therefore not ready to participate in a programme that requires a disconnection of all social 
contacts and the adoption of a new identity. 

[169]  Compensation  schemes  for  victims  of  trafficking  should  include  material  damage 
claims that reflect realistically the remuneration of their services while trafficked. The latter 
is  particularly  important  for  female  victims  as  they  are  predominantly  trafficked  into  the 
sex industry and do not have access to labour compensation schemes. There should also be 
the  possibility to  obtain compensation for  non-material damage caused by the trafficking 
experiences.  Suffering  sexual  violence  should  be  ranged  among  severe  injuries  and  be 
compensated accordingly.  

[170]  In  addition,  more  use  should  be  made  of  Article  6(1)a  of  the  Employers  Directive 
2009/52/EC,  which  obliges  Member  States  to  ensure  that  the  employer  shall  be  liable  to 
pay  any  outstanding  remuneration  to  an  illegally  employed  third-country  national, 
whereby  an  employment  relationship  of  at  least  three  months  duration  should  be 
presumed unless, among others, the employer or the employee can prove otherwise.249  

[171] The EU benefits from multiple areas of expertise resulting from the wide portfolio of 
agendas  covered  by  its  functions.  To  address  the  underlying  causes  that  compound  the 
impact of gender discrimination  on people  vulnerable  to  trafficking, the  EU should work 
more  closely  and  involve  more  directly  the  following  bodies  in  the  development  and 
implementation of anti-trafficking policies:  

DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion; 

DG International Co-operation and Development; and 

DG Justice and Consumers (which includes a gender equality portfolio). 

249 Directive 2009/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2009 providing 
for  minimum  standards  on  sanctions  and  measures  against  employers  of  illegally  staying  third-
country nationals. 

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Elaborating a coherent understanding of the term “demand” 

[172] Article 18.4 of the Directive was introduced inter alia with the intention to reduce the 
demand  for  the  services  of  trafficked  persons  by  putting  in  place  a  criminal  offence  that 
prohibits the use of services of trafficked persons. As the Commission is required to report 
on this in 2016, little data is available on the impact of the implementation of Article 2 of 
the Directive.250 

[173] In assessing the implementation of this provision, the Commission ought to consider 
several key aspects: 1. Whether an offence  of knowing use of the  services of a victim  has 
been  introduced.  2.  Where  such  offence  has  been  introduced,  how  have  the  law 
enforcement  authorities  applied  it,  and  in  particular  how  was  this  evidenced.  3.  The 
effectiveness of applying a criminal law measure on addressing an issue caused largely by 
socio-economic factors. 

 [174] There is no consistent use of the terminology “to discourage and reduce the demand 
that foster all forms of exploitation”. While some Member States discuss the introduction of 
the  use  of  services  of  trafficked  persons  exploited  in  prostitution  as  an  element  of  crime 
into  the  anti-trafficking legislation, others, including  Sweden,  define  all use  of services of 
prostitutes as an element of crime and schedule it as a measure to discourage demand, as 
provide for in Article 18.  

[175] Accordingly, there is no common understanding among the EU Member States about 
the  activities  that  form  “demand”  for  exploitation  under  the  anti-trafficking  framework.  
Inserting  the  concept  of  demand  as  an  integral  part  of  the  anti-trafficking  criminal  code 
may result in the perpetrators getting off lightly, as investigations and prosecutions focus 
less on the violence committed as part of the trafficking crime, and more on the offense of 
demand, which carries a lesser penalty. 

[176]  In  regard  to  the  criminalisation  of  clients  of  trafficked  prostitutes,  it  should  be 
ensured that criminal proceedings do not add to the risk of secondary victimisation of the 
victims.   

[177] Moreover, discouraging demand for other forms of exploitation than sexual, also has 
strong gender implications. For instance, domestic labour and care-taking are traditionally 
labour  sectors  with a  high  level of female workers. In many Member  States,  these labour 
sectors are not illegal; however, they are to a high extent organized in an informal and not 
officially  documented  way.  Special  care  should  be  taken  that  measures  adopted  do  not 
increase  the  vulnerability  of,  in  particular,  workers  in  the  informal  sector  but  rather 
empower them to oppose and report exploitative situations.  

[178]  While  from  an  economic  and  demographic  point  of  view,  domestic  work  and  care-
taking  of  elderly  people  is  without  doubt  a  sector  with  an  increasing  demand  for  cheap 
and  affordable  labour,  too  little  attention  has  hitherto  been  paid  to  the  question  of 
discouraging demand for these economic sectors.  

250 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getAllAnswers.do?reference=E-2015-
005342&language=EN   

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[179]  In  order  to  elaborate  practical  guidelines  to  translate  the  commitment  about 
addressing  ‘demand’  into  a  consistent  strategy  and  raise  awareness  about  other  forms  of 
demand beyond the demand for sexual exploitation, the following can be a useful basis for 
discussion: 

• Employer demand (employers, owners, managers or subcontractors).  

• Consumer demand (clients (sex industry), corporate buyers (manufacturing), household 
members (domestic work)).  

•  Third  parties  involved  in  the  process  (recruiters,  agents,  transporters  and  those  who 
participate knowingly in human trafficking at any stage of the process)  

In the EU context, a fourth level ought to be added to the list: 

Demand for  decent work and better opportunities by women,  men and children who are 
pushed  by  their  circumstances  to  migrate  to  seek  better  economic  or  education 
opportunities.  

[180] Gender does not exist in isolation. EU institutions, Member States and civil society all 
need to be aware of the significance of gender for all forms of exploitation resulting from 
the crime of human trafficking.  

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Annex 1: Country Summaries 

United Kingdom 
The United Kingdom has devoted significant attention to addressing human trafficking in 
recent years. Trafficking is most commonly described by the UK Government as a form of 
modern  slavery.  The  UK  operates  a  national  referral  mechanism  (NRM)  which  provides 
potential  and  recognised  victims  with  some  assistance.  All  victims,  regardless  of 
nationality or gender are entitled to be referred to the NRM.  

In recent years, cases  of trafficking for labour exploitation (including domestic  servitude) 
have exceeded those of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The majority of those trafficked 
for  sexual  exploitation  and  domestic  servitude  are  women  and  girls.  Several  cases  of 
trafficked  transgender  individuals  have  also  been  recorded.  In  the  UK,  a  host  of  new 
legislation  was  introduced  across  its  three  jurisdictions  in  2015,  addressing  modern 
slavery,  human  trafficking  and  exploitation.  Northern  Ireland  is  the  only  jurisdiction  to 
have  introduced  a  provision  on  the  criminalisation  of  the  buying  of  sex  in  its  new  anti-
trafficking  legislation.  A  committee  of  the  UK  Parliament  has  recently  concluded  a 
consultation  on  regulatory  arrangements  around  prostitution,  the  outcomes  of  which  are 
yet  to  be  published.  In  its  response  to  the  consultation,  the  UK  government  expressed  a 
view  that  there  is  not  unequivocal  evidence  that  any  one  approach  is  more  effective  in 
tackling trafficking and exploitation.  

Without  explicitly  stating  a  gender-sensitive  approach,  the  UK  applies  a  gender 
perspective  to  anti-trafficking  provisions  to  a  large  extent  by  providing  assistance  to  all 
victims. The UK Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner recognises gender as a potential 
vulnerability.  

The Netherlands  
Since  2000  the  Penal  Code  no  longer  treats  the  organising  of  the  prostitution  of  adult 
persons as a crime, provided this  is done with their consent. At the same time the use of 
force,  deceit  or  abuse  of  authority  became  more  strictly  penalised.  Sex  businesses  are 
regulated  through  local  licensing  systems  and  have  to  meet  health  and  safety  standards. 
Measures to discourage demand mainly aim at the sex industry, e.g. by awareness-raising 
campaigns and encouraging clients to report possible cases of trafficking.  

A draft bill to criminalise clients of trafficked sex workers is pending. Prevention measures 
in  other  industries  include  information  cards  for  migrants,  awareness-raising  campaigns 
and  training  of  inspection  services.  Special  action  plans  address  the  phenomenon  of 
“loverboys” and exploitation of Roma children in criminal activities.  

The majority of reported cases concern the sex industry, but the number of cases in other 
sectors  is  increasing,  as  is  the  number  of  male  (potential)  victims.  Coordination  of  the 
primary reception of victims is done by CoMensha, the national coordination centre. There 
are special shelters for trafficking victims. A national referral mechanism exists since 2013, 
with special attention for minor, Dutch and (male) EU victims. 

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Measures are in place to protect victims in criminal investigations and for the avoidance of 
secondary  victimisation.  Trafficking  cases  are  handled  by  specialised  judges.  Victims  are 
entitled  to  free  legal  aid.  They  can  claim  damages  through  the  criminal  proceedings, 
including  compensation  for  the  money  they  were  forced  to  earn  for  their  traffickers,  and 
the  Criminal  Injuries  Compensation  Fund.  If  the  offender  has  not  paid  the  awarded 
compensation  no  later  than  eight  months  after  the  final  verdict,  the  victim  can  seek 
advance payment from the State.  

The Netherlands has an independent National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings 
who  issues  annual  and  thematic  reports.  Statistics  are  disaggregated  by  gender,  age  and 
type of exploitation.  

Romania 
The  Romanian  governmental  coordination  body  on  human  trafficking,  the  National 
Agency against Trafficking in Persons (ANITP), is part of the Romanian police. The ANITP 
considers  Romania  mainly  as  a  country  of  origin  for  trafficking  in  human  beings.  It  has 
implemented  multiple  awareness-raising  campaigns  aiming  at  identified  vulnerable 
groups on risks of trafficking in information on safe work migration. An awareness-raising 
campaign also aimed at clients of prostitutes. 

The  Romanian  Anti-Trafficking  Act  (Art.39)  stipulates  that  victims  of  trafficking  are 
entitled  to  a  recovery  and  reflection  period  of  90  days.  The  have  access  to  counselling, 
medical  and  social  assistance,  as  well  as  food  and  accommodation.  Both  national  and 
foreign victims qualify for those rights from the moment when there are reasons to believe 
that presumed victims have been trafficked. 

According  to  Article  44  of  the  Ant-Trafficking  Act,  victims  of  trafficking  have  access  to 
legal assistance in  order to exercise their rights during criminal procedures. In 2012, 1092 
victims  benefited  from  legal  assistance  within  the  framework  of  the  national  programme 
on victim-witness coordination in penal trials. 

Victims  of  trafficking  are  entitled  to  claim  for  compensation  of  material  and  immaterial 
damages suffered due to the crime. They may join a civil claim to the criminal case, start a 
separate civil action or apply for compensation from the state fund. The number of victims 
who received compensation is low. ANITP operates a national data base on all identified 
trafficking  cases  in  Romania,  including  its  victims.  The  data  base  allows  the  Romanian 
authorities to monitor short- and long-term implications of victims’ assistance programmes 
in Romania as well as in-depth analysis of victims’ profiles. 

Lithuania 
Lithuania has carried out a number of initiatives and programmes, more to raise awareness 
for  victims  of  trafficking  than  to  discourage  demand,  including  for  victims  of  forced 
prostitution;  however  there  does  not  appear  to  have  been  much  focus  on  the  gender 
dimension.  Lithuanian  law  criminalises  the  use  of  forced  labour  or  services,  including 
sexual services, where the person using such services knew or should have known that the 
services were provided through exploitation of a victim of trafficking. 

In terms of support, some funding is allocated to NGOs, but there is no specialized centre 
for victims of trafficking. Therefore trafficked persons are accommodated in  several other 

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types  of  accommodation,  but  it  is  questionable  how  well  these  meet  the  needs  of  such 
persons.  

Victim  protection  measures  in  Lithuanian  criminal  procedure  are  reported  to  be 
inadequate in practice. Compensation mechanisms are seen as ineffective. 

Sweden  
Sweden is recognised for its high regard for gender equality and diversity. In the context of 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  Sweden  has  applied  a  gender  perspective  to  its  actions  by 
concentrating  primarily  on  preventing  women  and  children  from  becoming  victims  of 
sexual  exploitation.  Consequently,  the  activities  in  prevention  of  trafficking  in  Sweden 
have  been  based  upon  a  solid  women’s  rights  background.  Some  research  suggests, 
however,  that  measures  that  would  follow  an  equality  and  diversity  approach,  such  as 
those  that  would  strengthen  the  position  and  rights  of  populations  vulnerable  to 
trafficking,  have  been  applied  only  in  a  limited  way.  Conversely,  criminal  justice 
approaches, such as the criminalisation of the purchasing of sex, have been favoured. 

Until  recently,  Sweden  had  focused  predominantly  on  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation 
and  strictly  linked  its  anti-trafficking  measures  with  the  fight  against  prostitution.  As  a 
consequence, the focus in Sweden has been on identification of this form of trafficking, and 
the knowledge and understanding of the authorities has been shaped thus. However, this 
focus has changed and Sweden has begun focusing intensively also on cases of trafficking 
for forced labour, and in some years the number of recorded cases of trafficking for labour 
exploitation has exceeded those of trafficking for sexual exploitation.  

Victim assistance measures are in effect in Sweden,  mainly for  those trafficked for  sexual 
exploitation. The development of a formal National Referral Mechanism in Sweden began 
in 2014; as of September 2015, the NRM has not been put in place.  

Germany 
Germany’  comprehensive  anti-trafficking  strategy  originates  from  a  women’s  rights 
framework. In 1999, the first national action plan against trafficking in women was part of 
the  action  plan  against  violence  against  women.  To  the  present  day  the  national 
coordination group on trafficking in human being is chaired by the Ministry of Family and 
Women’s Affairs. Specific measure to discourage demand for services of persons trafficked 
for the purpose of sexual exploitation are implemented by civil society organisations. 

Identification of victims takes place in a decentralized and diverse manner. On A Länder or 
local  level,  cooperation  agreements  between  law  enforcement  agencies  and  civil  society 
counselling  centers  ensures  the  referral  of  presumed  victims  of  trafficking  to  specialized 
counselling  centers.  All  38  civil  society  stakeholders  involved  in  a  local  of  Länder-based 
referral system are embedded into a national network, called KOK. 

There  is  a  flexible  range  of  provisions  to  protect  the  private  life  and  identity  of  the 
victim/witness during criminal court hearings. Victims are entitled to direct protection by 
police  and  support  organizations,  using  the  criminal  court  witness  care  unit,  providing 
security-relevant  information  to  the  counselling  center  supporting  the  victim  and  other 
relevant measures. 

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Victims of human trafficking are entitled to claim damages for  material and non-material 
harms caused by the perpetrators. They can be enforced by the victim in a civil action or in 
an  “connected  procedure”  (Adhäsionsverfahren),  which  enables  the  victim  to  bring  a  civil 
claim within the framework of criminal proceedings. Surveys from specialised counselling 
centers however have shown that there have been few successful compensation claims. 

Germany  does  not  have  a  formalised  National  Rapporteur  Mechanism  on  trafficking; 
however  the  Federal  Criminal  Police  Office  (BKA)  compiles  and  publishes  annually  the 
National Situation Report on Trafficking in Human Beings. This provides the outcomes of 
police investigations and includes statistical data on suspects and victims. 

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enst.2015.rechtliche_Entwicklungen.pdf 

Deutscher Juristinnenbund, Stellungnahme zum Referentenentwurf des 
Bundesministeriums für Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend eines Gesetzes zur 
Regulierung des Prostitutionsgewerbes sowie zum Schutz von in der Prostitution tätigen 
Personen,  https://www.djb.de/st-pm/st/st15-10/ ;  Solwodi, Stellungnahme zum 
Referentenentwurf des Prostituiertenschutzgesetzes, 

http://www.solwodi.de/fileadmin/_medias/pdf/Politik/Stellungnahme_zum_Referente
nentwurf_des_Prostituiertenschutzgesetz.pdf  

Trafficking for Labour Exploitation – Gender. Anti-Slavery International, CCME, ITUC. 
Brussels, 2015:  

http://www.ituc-csi.org/IMG/pdf/labour_exploitation_the_role_of_gender_en.pdf  

European Commission, Call for Tenders,  Addressing demand in anti-trafficking efforts 
and policies (deadline: 31 January 2013), http://www.womenlobby.org/Call-for-tenders-
European-Commission-Addressing-demand-in-anti-trafficking ; 
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/work_programme_2013_en_1.pdf (on page 45) 

Eurostat Report on Trafficking in Human Beings, 2015 Edition. Eurostat, 2015, 
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/trafficking_in_human_beings_-_dghome-
eurostat_en_1.pdf 

Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, UNODC, 2014, 

https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-
analysis/glotip/GLOTIP_2014_full_report.pdf 

International Labour Organisation (ILO), Eradication of Forced Labour – General Survey 
concerning the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No.29), and the Abolition of Forced 
labour Convention, 1957 (No.105) (2007), http://www.ilo.org/ilc/WCMS_089199/lang--
en/index.htm    

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International Labour Organisation, the Mekong Challenge: Human Trafficking – Re-
defining Demand. ILO, Bangkok 2005, http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---
asia/---ro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_bk_pb_29_en.pdf   

Andrijasevic, R., “Beautiful dead bodies: gender, migration and representation in anti-
trafficking campaigns”, (2007) 86 Feminist Review 26-44 

Eurojust, Prosecuting THB for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation, The Hague, 2015 
https://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/report_on_prosecuting_thb_for_the_purpose_of_lab
our_exploitation_en_1.pdf 

EU Fundamental Rights Agency, Severe labour exploitation: workers moving within and 
into the European Union., Vienna, 2015, http://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra-2015-
severe-labour-exploitation_en.pdf  

Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner Strategic Plan 2015-2017 
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4687
29/IASC_StrategicPlan_2015.pdf 

Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), Report 
concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings by the United Kingdom, 12 September 2012, Council of 
Europe 
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2012_6_FGR
_GBR_en.pdf 

Annex B, Written evidence by the Home Office to the Home Affairs Committee inquiry on 
prostitution, February 2016 

http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/
home-affairs-committee/prostitution/written/29590.html 

Balch, A., Regulation and Enforcement to Tackle Forced Labour in the UK: A Systematic 
Response?, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2012 

 https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/regulation-and-enforcement-tackle-forced-labour-uk-
systematic-response 

Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, SOA AIDS, Rutgers Expertise centre 
sexuality, Association Women and Law, TAMPEP European Network for HIV/STI 
prevention and health promotion among migrant sex workers, SHOP Assistance and 
support to victims of trafficking, SWexpertise 21, Platform for the improvement of the 
position of sex workers, 5 October 2015;  

Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, PROUD, Dutch Union of Sex Workers, 
4 October 2015 

GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by the Netherlands, 18 June 2014, Council of 
Europe, 
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2014_18_FG
R_ITA_w_cmnts_en.pdf 

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Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, Dutch Association Women and Law, October, 
15 2015; Letter to the Second Chamber of Parliament, Proud, Dutch Union for Sex Workers, 
August 11, 2015. 

‘In gesprek met de klant’; een onderzoek naar klanten van prostituees en hun rol bij de 
aanpak van misstanden. GGD Amsterdam (E&G reeks 2014/3; ISBN: 978-90-5348-226-1).   

National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against 
Children (2015). Trafficking visible and invisible. Update figures possible victims 2010-
2014, The Hague: BNRM, https://www.dutchrapporteur.nl/current/news/archief/new-
figures-on-identification-and-protection-of-victims-of-human-trafficking-and-prosecution-
of-traffickers.aspx  

GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Romania, 31 May 2012, Council of Europe, 
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2012_2_FGR
_ROU_en.pdf 

GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Lithuania, 5 June 2015, Council of Europe, 
https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2015_12_F
GR_LTU_en_w_cmnts.pdf 

GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Sweden, 27 May 2014,  Council of Europe, 
http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2014_11_FG
R_SWE_en.pdf 

Johansson, I., Swedish Anti-Trafficking Policy, Official Framework and Local Practices, 
University of Malmö, 2014. 

GRETA, Report concerning the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by Germany, 3 June 2015, Council of Europe, 
https://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/Docs/Reports/GRETA_2015_10_F
GR_DEU_w_cmnts_en.pdf 

Bundesministerium für Familien, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend, Aktionsplan der 
Bundesregierung zur Bekämpfung von Gewalt gegen Frauen, 1999, 
http://www.bmfsfj.de/RedaktionBMFSFJ/Abteilung4/Pdf-Anlagen/gewalt-aktionsplan-
gewalt-frauen-ohne-vorwort,property=pdf,bereich=bmfsfj,sprache=de,rwb=true.pdf 

OSCE/ODIHR, National Referral Mechanism. Joining the Efforts to Protect the Rights of 
Trafficked Persons. A Practical Handbook. Warsaw, 2004. See 
http://www.osce.org/odihr/13967?download=true 

Uhl, B.H., Die Sicherheit der Menschenreche: Bekämpfung des Menschenhandels zwischen 
Sicherheitspolitik und Menschenrechtsschutz 2014 

Roth, P., Uhl, B.,  Wijers, M.,  Zikkenheiner, W., Data protection challenges in anti-
trafficking action, (2015), 

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http://www.datact-project.org/fileadmin/user_upload/pdf/datAct_engl_Online.pdf 

Home Office, Review of the National Referral Mechanism for victims of human trafficking, 
November 2014, 
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4674
34/Review_of_the_National_Referral_Mechanism_for_victims_of_human_trafficking.pdf  

National Crime Agency: National Referral Mechanism Statistics - End of Year Summary 
2015, http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/publications/national-referral-
mechanism-statistics/676-national-referral-mechanism-statistics-end-of-year-summary-
2015/file 

The Anti Trafficking Monitoring Group, Time to Deliver, Considering pregnancy and 
parenthood in the UK’s response to human trafficking, 2016,  
http://www.antislavery.org/includes/documents/cm_docs/2016/a/atmg_time_to_deliv
er_report_for_web_final.pdf 

Ewins, J., Independent Review of the Overseas Domestic Workers Visa, 2015, 
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/4865
32/ODWV_Review_-_Final_Report__6_11_15_.pdf, p.5 

CoMensha (2015), Annual report. The picture of 2014, 
http://mensenhandel.nl/files/jaarverslag_comensha_2014.pdf. 

National Rapporteur, Trafficking in human beings visible and invisible. Update statistics 
potential victims 2010-2014, The Hague: National Rapporteur, 2015 

Letter of the Minister of Justice and Security of the Netherlands to the Second Chamber of 
Parliament on a National Referral Mechanism, 23 June 2014 

Rijken,C.,  van Dijk, J.,  and Klerx-van Mierlo, F., Mensenhandel: het slachtofferperspectief. 
Een verkennende studie naar behoeften en belangen van slachtoffers mensenhandel in 
Nederland (Human Trafficking: the perspective of victims. An explorative study into the 
needs and interests of victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands), Tilburg: Intervict, 
Tilburg University (2013) 

Pro Refugiu/Netherlands Helsinki Committee, Legal Analysis of the Rights of Trafficked 
Persons, Romania, 2015 

Aanwijzing auditief en audiovisueel registreren van verhoren van aangevers, getuigen en 
verdachten, Stc. 2010, nr. 11885 

Aanwijzing mensenhandel, geldend vanaf 01-07-2013 t/m heden.Wet versterking positie 
slachtoffers, Stb. 2010, 1 

National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings (2012). Trafficking in Human Beings, 
Case Law on Trafficking in Human Beings 2009-2012. An analysis. The Hague: BNRM   

National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against 
Children (2015). Trafficking visible and invisible. Update figures compensation 2010-2014. 
The Hague: BNRM 

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European Implementation Assessment 

ANNEX 5 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender 
perspective in Ireland 

Research paper 

by Denise Charlton and Nusha Yonkova 

Abstract 
The paper considers the implementation in Ireland of Directive 2011/36/EU of the 
European Parliament and the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in 
human beings and protecting its victims.  
The aim of the analysis, which is conducted from a gender perspective, is to access 
the  implementation  with  a  view  to  critically  examining  measures  that  appear 
counterproductive as well as highlighting those that fulfil the purpose of the law.  
The  paper  focuses  primarily  on  victim  identification,  protection,  assistance,  and 
prevention of the crime through demand reduction.  

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AUTHORS 

Denise Charlton has 25 years’ experience in the field of gender-based violence, inclusive 
of human trafficking, migration and integration issues.   Denise became Chief Executive 
Officer  of  the  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland  (ICI)  in  2003,  an  Independent  Law  Centre 
which  engages  in  securing  improved  rights  and  protections  for  migrants  and  their 
families. She has been involved in several European Commission projects specifically in 
the area of integration, immigration and human trafficking.  
Nusha  Yonkova  is  the  anti-trafficking  manager  at  the  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland,  a 
licensed law centre. She is conducting an employment based post-graduate research with 
the  University  College  Dublin,  sponsored  by  the  Irish  Research  Council,  exploring 
gender-sensitive  approaches  to  the  assistance  of  trafficked  victims.  Nusha  has  been 
working exclusively in the area of human trafficking for the last 9 years and has authored 
a range of reports as well as coordinated national and transnational research teams.  

This  current  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the 
Directive  2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's 
Rights and Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do 
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the 
source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in March 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

Content 

Abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... 172 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................................................................................................... 174 

CHAPTER 1 ............................................................................................................................. 178 
I - Background ...................................................................................................................... 178 
II - Objectives ........................................................................................................................ 178 
III - National context ............................................................................................................ 179 

CHAPTER 2 ............................................................................................................................. 180 
I – Legislative/policy framework for responding to human trafficking victims ........ 180 
II - Mechanism aimed at early identification .................................................................... 181 

CHAPTER 3 ............................................................................................................................. 182 
I - The provision of assistance from a gender perspective.............................................. 182 
II - Safe and gender-sensitive accommodation ................................................................ 183 
III - Attending to victims with special needs .................................................................... 184 
IV - Secondary victimisation ............................................................................................... 185 

CHAPTER 4 ............................................................................................................................. 185 
I - Legal advice without delay ............................................................................................ 185 
II - Cooperation and assistance........................................................................................... 187 
III - Non-punishment ........................................................................................................... 187 
IV - Compensation ............................................................................................................... 188 

CHAPTER V ............................................................................................................................ 189 
I – Demand in prevention work ......................................................................................... 189 
II - National Rapporteur ...................................................................................................... 189 
III - New Forms of Trafficking ............................................................................................ 190 
IV- Data Collation ................................................................................................................ 191 

CONCLUSION ........................................................................................................................ 191 

Bibliography ............................................................................................................................ 192 

APPENDIX 1 – National Statistical data .............................................................................. 197 
APPENDIX 2 – Irish NGO Submission to the European Commission ............................ 198 

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Abbreviations 

NREM   

DJE 

DJE website 

US TIP  

ASI 

AHTU 

National Rapporteur or Equivalent Mechanism 

Department of Justice and Equality 

Official website of the Irish Department of Justice and Equality dedicated 
to  the  response  to  human  trafficking,  Containing  annual  statistics  and 
other information 

Annual report of the United States Department on Trafficking in Persons 

Anti-Slavery International 

Anti Human Trafficking Unit of the  Department of Justice  and Equality 
in Ireland 

EMCDDA 

European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction 

CSO 

Civil Society Organisations 

CL (TH) Act 2008  

Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 

CL (ChT&P) Act          Criminal Law (Child Trafficking and Pornography) Act  1998  

CoE GRETA 

Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human 
Beings, Monitoring Committee   

MS (MSs) 

Member state of the EU (Pl) 

NAP 

AIA 

Irish National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Human  Trafficking in 
Ireland   

Administrative Immigration Arrangements for the Protection of Victims 
of Trafficking in Human Beings 

VAW / GBV 

Violence against women / Gender-based violence 

LAB 

Legal Aid Board, state funded legal aid agency 

An Garda Siochana 

Irish national police force 

TRP 

Temporary Residence Permit 

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 

This  report  considers  the  Directive  2011/36/EU of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  5  April  2011  on  preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and 
protecting  its  victims,  replacing  Council  Framework  Decision  2002/629/JHA.    It 
evaluates the  implementation of the  Directive in Ireland from a gender  perspective  and 
has  been  commissioned  for  this  purpose  by  the  Directorate  General  for  Parliamentary 
Research Services. The Directive has been transposed in the Irish context.  

The  report  highlights  the  various  forms  of  human  trafficking,  relevant  to  the  Irish 
perspective  and  the  responses  developed  nationally.  It  provides  a  detailed  and  critical 
examination  of  the  measures  taken,  and  considers  their  effectiveness  from  a  gender 
perspective.    It  examines  key  elements  of  implementation  such  as  the  identification  of 
victims  and  subsequent  services  provided.  It  explores  key  provisions  such  as  the 
principle  of  non-punishment,  and  considers  activities  by  key  agencies  and  stakeholders 
in relation  to the  Directive’s implementation.  The  report offers  some  recommendations 
for increased effectiveness with regards to the implementation of the Directive.   

Ireland is a destination and transition country for women, men, and children subjected to 
sex trafficking and forced labour, including forced criminal activity (US TIP 2015).  While 
trafficking for sexual exploitation remains by far prevalent, there are reports of increasing 
trends  in  trafficking  for  marriages  of  convenience  (Irish  Times  2013,  EC  ISEC  Hestia 
2015). Irish law enforcement reported an increase in suspected  victims of forced labour, 
forced criminal activity, and forced begging from Eastern Europe, particularly Romania, 
as  well  as  an  increase  in  potentiel  sex  trafficking  victims  from  Brazil  (US  TIP  2015).  
According  to  the  TIP  report  (2015)  victims  of  forced  labour  have  been  identified  in 
domestic  service,  the  restaurant  industry  and  car  washing  services.  The  same  source 
reports  cases  of  Vietnamese  and  Chinese  men  prosecuted  and  sentenced  for  cannabis 
cultivation  exhibiting  indicators  of  human  trafficking,  such  as  document  retention, 
restriction of movement, and non-payment of wages. Some domestic workers, primarily 
women,  employed  by  foreign  diplomats  on  assignment  in  Ireland,  work  in  poor 
conditions and are at risk of labour trafficking (TIP 2015, MRCI 2011).  Irish children are 
subjected  to  sex  trafficking  within  the  country  and  over  30  child  victims  of  trafficking 
were identified over a two year period (Irish Times 2015, DJE 2015). 

The State has taken some measures to ensure effective implementation of the Directive. In 
order to give effect to  some  criminal law provisions  and to bring Ireland in compliance 
with  the  Directive,  the  Irish  State  adopted  amendments  to  the  main  human  trafficking 
legislation  (CL(HT)Act  2008  and  CL(ChT&P)Act  1998)  in  2013.  These  included  the 
expansion of the  definition of the  crime  of trafficking by adding trafficking for  criminal 
activities  and  ‘begging’  to  the  definition  of  forced  labour  and  introducing  aggravating 
factors in sentencing, linked to abuse of public duties.  The amendment of the Criminal 
Law  (Human  Trafficking)  Act  2008  brings  the  definition  of  forced  labour  in  line  with 
international legal standards. 

In addition, the Irish State has developed a national referral mechanism and a specilised 
counter  trafficking  unit  located  within  the  An  Garda  Siochana.  The  Health  Services 
provide  individual  care  plans,  and  medical  assistance  is  available  to  all.  There  is  some 

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legal  information  provided,  and  access  to  certain  accommodation  arrangements  is  also 
available. 

However, advocates have highlighted some of the limitations of the above provisions and 
additionally,  some  outstanding  areas  that  need  to  be  addressed,  specifically  from  a 
gender  perspective.  The  key  recommendations,  elaborated  on  in  the  full  report  are 
outlined below: 

Legislative/policy framework for provision of assistance: 

Legislation to be drafted and enacted guaranteeing protection and assistance to victims of human 
trafficking.  In  the  interim,  a  clear  and  comprehensive  policy  document  should  be  developed, 
applicable  to  all  victims,  which  can  provide  a  blueprint 
legislation.  This 
recommendation  should  be  included  in  the  forthcoming  second  National  Action  Plan,  due  to  be 
published in 2016. 

future 

for 

Mechanism aimed at early identification:  

Reform  of  the  existing  identification  practices  with  an  introduction  of  a  non-discriminatory 
procedure  applicable  to  all  victims  of  human  trafficking,  regardless  of  their  nationality  and 
immigration status.  

The  identification  procedure  should  formally  involve  specialist  CSOs  and  independent  services, 
with clear criteria for review, inclusive of time restrictions. The review should include a gender-
sensitive and trauma-specific approach to victims.   

The provision of assistance from a gender perspective: 

Ensure that a commitment to gender sensitivity is made in an explicit manner in the draft NAP 
2016, in order to ensure an acknowledgement of the gendered nature of human trafficking and in 
particular the overwhelming presence of women among victims who have been sexually exploited. 

Review  the  services  offered  and  ensure  that  the  access  is  not  dependent  on  cooperation  with  the 
police authorities and subject to repetition of traumatic accounts. 

Ensure funding is available to specialist CSOs to provide appropriates supports and services. 

Safe and gender-sensitive accommodation: 

The submission to the Minister for Justice and Equality on the accommodation needs of victims of 
trafficking,  which  contains  detailed  analysis  and  a  range  of  discussions  and  recommendations, 
should be taken into account when determining the priorities under the new draft NAP 2016. 

The  setting  up  of  specialised  shelters  for  victims  of  trafficking  could  be  considered,  alongside 
ending of the practice of accommodating victims in centres for asylum seekers, which are limited 
in gender sensitivity, privacy and safety.  

The involvement of specialist CSOs and supported-housing providers, including the utilisation of 
the existing shelters and rape crisis centres for victims of GBV violence could also be considered. 

Attending to victims with special needs: 

The development of specific gender-aware guidelines should be considered when assessing special 
needs  of  victims.  Victims’  rights  and  specialised  support  service  organisations  should  be  closely 
involved in the development of these guidelines. 

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Avoiding secondary victimisation: 

Develop  and  formalise  protocols  for  referral  and  exchange  of  information  related  to  human 
trafficking in order to avoid repeat victimisation.   

Legal advice without delay: 

The delivery of training should be resourced highlighting the importance of timely legal aid.  The 
training toolkit on early legal intervention developed by a consortium of legal specialists from MSs 
to be used for training with police detectives, lawyers and other practitioners who may encounter 
victims (ELI 2015).  

An increase in the overall civil legal aid budget to the Legal Aid Board should be considered for the 
purposes of enhanced assistance and representation of victims of trafficking crimes. 

The provision of funding for specialised law centres should be considered and extended to include 
private practitioners providing legal services to victims of trafficking through an extension of the 
private practitioners’ scheme.  

Cooperation and assistance: 

The identification process should be established as a procedure distinguishable from investigation, 
with  involvement  of  CSOs  and  independent  services  providers,  included  in  the  establishment  of 
reasonable grounds and respective access to assistance.  

Victim identification should not be reliant on cooperation with law enforcement.  

The  grounds  for  Temporary  Residence  Permit  should  be  expanded  to  take  into  account  the 
personal circumstances of the victim, including cases where cooperation with the investigation is 
not possible.  

Non-punishment: 

Disseminate  more  explicit  guidelines  to  judges  and  public  prosecutors  in  order  to  guarantee  the 
non-punishment of victims of trafficking for their involvement in unlawful activities, committed 
in the context of the trafficking crime.  

Consider  future  amendments  to  the  Spent  Conviction  legislation,  in  order  to  provide  for  the 
expunging of criminal records of victims who have been punished due to a failure in the process of 
timely identification. 

Improve  the  identification  of  victims  and  access  to  early  legal  intervention  as  a  measure  of 
prevention against non-punishment.  

Compensation: 

Ensure  that  avenues  for  compensation  are  applicable,  as  well  as  easily  accessible,  to  trafficked 
persons.  Advocates  recommend  that  new  possibilities  for  compensation  are  explored,  such  as  the 
creation of a specialised fund or the possibility for direct compensation from the Criminal Assets 
Bureau fund (IT 2015). 

Tackling demand - prevention work: 

The  new  Government  should  progress  the  draft  Sexual  Offence  Bill,  enacting  it  as  a  matter  of 
priority.  The  draft  legislation  includes  the  criminalisation  of  child  grooming,  purchase  of  sexual 
services with explicit decriminalisation of the seller, among other provisions. 

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National Rapporteur: 

Establish  an  independent  national  rapporteur  to  review  the  effectiveness  of  the  anti-trafficking 
response  and  report  to  the  national  parliament.  Include  a  commitment  to  this  effect  under  the 
forthcoming second NAP 2016. 

New Forms of Trafficking: 

The findings and the recommendations of the forthcoming research on exploitative sham marriages 
funded by the EC should be considered as part of the second NAP (EC ISEC Hestia 2014). 

An  awareness-raising  strategy  to  strengthen  the  identification  of  trafficking  for  forced  labour 
needs to be developed and implemented. The NAP (2016) should set specific targets, actions and 
resources to combat and address criminality as a new form of human trafficking.  

Data Collation: 

Extract trends and analyse the collected statistical data from a gender perspective. 

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CHAPTER 1 

I - Background 

Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on 
preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims, 
replacing  Council  Framework  Decision  2002/629/JHA, has  a  well  expressed  gender 
awareness  dimension. It  recognises  that  this  is  a  gender-specific  phenomenon,  affecting 
women and men in different ways as they are trafficked for a different purpose and have 
separate  experiences.  The  Directive  obliges  member  states  to  attend  to  victims  with 
special  needs.  Such  special  needs,  in  particular,  may  derive  from  the  victim’s  health, 
disability, mental or psychological disorder, case of pregnancy, and/or serious forms of 
psychological,  physical  or  sexual  violence.  Attending  to  such  special  needs  is  an 
acknowledgment of the particular harm experienced by female victims of trafficking. The 
fact  that  human  trafficking  is  a  highly  gendered  crime  and  women  are  affected  by  its 
most  devastating  forms  of  exploitation,  including  sexual  assault,  merits  particular 
attention in the implementation of this Directive.  

Similarly to the EU-wide  statistics reported  by the  Eurostat 2013, the  national statistical 
data  in  Ireland  indicates  that  the  vast  majority  of  victims  of  trafficking  identified  in 
Ireland  are  women  and  girls  subjected  to  trafficking  for  the  purposes  of  sexual 
exploitation  (Appendix  2).  There  are  also  men  trafficked  for  the  purposes  of  labour 
exploitation, and a small number of boys trafficked for sexual exploitation. However, the 
number  of  female  victims  dominate  in  all  forms  of  human  trafficking  starting  from  its 
most common form in Ireland, sex trafficking, through to labour trafficking and the less 
frequently  occurring  types  of  trafficking  crimes,  such  as  exploitation  for  conducting 
criminal activities and begging, and more recently exploitative sham marriages.  

II - Objectives 

This paper  considers the implementation of the  Directive on preventing and combating 
trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims.  Its  transposition  has  been 
completed by the Irish State.  The aim of the analysis, which is conducted from a gender 
perspective,  is  to  assess  the  Directive‘s  implementation  with  a  view  to  critically 
examining measures that appear counterproductive or causing unintended effects.  It also 
highlights those that fulfil the purpose of the law. This paper focuses primarily on victim 
identification,  protection,  assistance,  and  prevention  of  the  crime  through  demand 
reduction.  

The analysis highlights the gender specific provisions of the Directive, specifically those 
related to victims with special needs, inclusive of health (reproductive health), the forms 
of violence experienced, and the resulting trauma. 

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III - National context 

Ireland is a destination and transition country for women, men, and children subjected to 
sex trafficking and forced labour, including forced criminal activity (US TIP 2015).  There 
are  reports  of  increasing  trends  in  trafficking  for  marriages  of  convenience  (Irish  Times 
2013,  EC  ISEC  Hestia  2015).    Irish  law  enforcement  reported  an  increase  in  suspected 
victims  of  forced  labour,  forced  criminal  activity,  and  forced  begging  from  Eastern 
Europe,  particularly  Romania,  as  well  as  an  increase  in  potential  sex  trafficking  victims 
from  Brazil  (US  TIP  2015).   According  to  the  TIP  report  (2015)  victims  of  forced  labour 
have  been  identified  in  domestic  services,  the  restaurant  industry,  and  car  washing 
services.  The  same  source  reports  of  cases  of  Vietnamese  and  Chinese  men  prosecuted 
and sentenced for cannabis cultivation exhibiting indicators of human trafficking, such as 
document retention, restriction of movement, and non-payment of wages. Some domestic 
workers,  primarily  women,  employed  by  foreign  diplomats  on  assignment  in  Ireland 
work under poor conditions and are at risk of labour trafficking (TIP 2015, MRCI 2011). 
Irish children are subjected to sex trafficking within the country and over 30 child victims 
of trafficking were identified over a two year period (Irish Times 2015, DJE 2015).  

The Irish CSO NREM (Appendix 3) cites figures from 2009-2013. Collated with the data 
available  for  2014,  the  combined  data  for  the  five  year  period  (2009  –  2014)  presents 
results  that  reveal  the  high  prevalence  of  trafficking  for  the  purposes  of  sexual 
exploitation  and  that  women  are  in  the  majority  of  those  affected  by  trafficking  crimes.  
The  regions  from  which  trafficking  occurs  vary  but  West  Africa  and  EU  are  the  main 
source regions. Authorities initiated investigations of 79 new trafficking-related cases in 
2014, an increase from 56 in 2013 (DJE website). Forty investigations did not result in the 
identification  of  trafficking  victims,  while  the  other  39  cases  involved  a  total  of  46 
suspected  victims.  The  majority  of  suspected  victims  in  these  cases,  namely  32,  were 
identified  as  being  sexual  exploitation.  Authorities  investigated  cases  involving  seven 
suspected victims of labour trafficking, four suspected victims of forced criminality, one 
suspected  victim  of  forced  begging,  and  one  suspected  victim  of  both  sex  and  labour 
trafficking (DJE website). 

The  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland  law  centre  has  responded  to  over  60  cases  of  human 
trafficking for sexual exploitation in the country, 19 in 2014 alone (Irish Examiner 2015).  
A recent national TV investigative piece on the sex trade in Ireland, confirmed a thriving 
industry in which women and children are trafficked (RTE 2015).  

The 2013 European Union (EU) Drug Market Report noted that Ireland has experienced 
an increase in the domestic cultivation of cannabis in the last five years (EMCDDA 2013). 
In  2015,  the  High  court  delivered  a  judgement  in  the  case  of  a  Vietnamese  national 
trafficked  for  the  purposes  of  cannabis  production  deeming  the  existing  procedure  for 
identification  of  victims  of  such  crime  inadequate  (IEHC  22).  Trafficking  for  sham 
marriages  of  exploitative  nature  is  another  emerging  phenomenon  in  Ireland  and  there 
are diverging views at present as whether such situations amount to human trafficking, 
in addition to existing definitional ambiguities. To date there has been no joined research 
examining  the  nature  or  scale  of  the  problem,  but  EC  sponsored  research  is  due  to  be 
published in 2016. 

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CHAPTER 2  

In order to give effect to some criminal law provisions and to bring Ireland in compliance 
with  the  Directive,  the  Irish  State  adopted  amendments  to  the  main  human  trafficking 
legislation  (CL  (HT)  Act  2008  and  CL  (ChT&P)  Act  1998)  in  2013.  These  included  the 
expansion of the  definition of the  crime  of trafficking by adding trafficking for  criminal 
activities  and    ‘begging’  to  the  definition  of  forced  labour  and  introducing  aggravating 
factors  in  sentencing  linked  to  abuse  of  public  duties.    The  amendment  of  the  Criminal 
Law  (Human  Trafficking)  Act  2008  brings  the  definition  of  forced  labour  in  line  with 
international legal. 

These  amendments  are  perceived  by  advocates  as  insufficient  for  full  compliance  with 
the law, which is evident both in the record of Parliamentary debates on this matter and 
from the submissions of specialist civil society organisations (ICI 2013, Oireachtas archive 
2013).  The  following  chapters  outline  in  more  detail  these  outstanding  areas  of 
implementation,  in  particular  concerning  victim  identification  and  assistance  in  the 
context of a gendered analysis. 

I – Legislative/policy framework for responding to human trafficking 
victims 

Key finding: 

There  is  an  absence  of  comprehensive  legislation,  and/or  clear  policy  guidelines, 
guaranteeing  the  rights  of  victims  of  human  trafficking  to  be  identified,  and  their 
subsequent access to services and support.  

While  the  offence of  human trafficking is criminalised in a decisive manner under Irish 
law, providing for severe penalties and imprisonment for life, there are not any statutory 
legislative  or  administrative  frameworks  that  guarantee  protection  and  assistance  to  all 
victims.   

In  2015,  a  draft  second  NAP  was  published,  with  a  consultation  process  that  was 
completed in July of that year. Interested parties were invited to make written comments 
and many specialised CSOs availed of this opportunity. Presently, the publication of the 
second  NAP  is  expected.  The  draft  national  action  plan  has  no  immediate  intention  to 
legalise or to revise the limited administrative policy document (AIA 2011), which is the 
basis for response  to (some) trafficked victims in the state  (NAP 2015). The AIA, which 
are relevant for isolated cases of undocumented third country national victims, could be 
replaced  with  a  substantial  policy  that  stipulates  the  provisions  for  identification  and 
assistance to all victims. 

Recommandations   

Legislation to be drafted and enacted guaranteeing protection and assistance to victims of human 
trafficking.  In  the  interim,  a  clear  and  comprehensive  policy  document  should  be  developed, 

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applicable  to  all  victims,  which  can  provide  a  blueprint 
legislation.  This 
recommendation  should  be  included  in  the  forthcoming  second  National  Action  Plan,  due  to  be 
published in 2016. 

future 

for 

II - Mechanism aimed at early identification     

Key findings: 

There is a lack of clarity in relation to the definition regarding victims of trafficking, with 
terms such as ‘potential’ ‘suspected’ and ‘alleged’ used interchangeably, affecting access 
to the full provisions intended by the Directive. 

Due  to  existing  policy,  the  vast  majority  of  victims,  namely  EU  citizens  and  asylum 
seekers,  remain  formally  excluded  from  the  identification  process  because  it  is 
immigration and/or nationality dependent. 

The identification of victims of trafficking is extended to a limited category of victims and 
has  no  defined  timeline.    It  is  delegated  exclusively  to  the  police  authorities  without  a 
clear structure for this process, setting any limits with regard number of interviews, times 
for  decision,  communication  and  review  of  the  decisions  or  any  minimum  criteria  in 
order to give effect to the Directive’s provision for ‘early’ identification.  

The timely identification of a victim of trafficking is a vital pre-condition for access to a 
range of rights afforded to victims of such crimes, which is further reinforced in Article 
11.4 of the Directive, requiring the establishment of a mechanism for early identification.  
Presently, the arrangement for identification of victims of  human trafficking, in Ireland, 
has been subjected to detailed critiques by  international monitories and Irish  specialists 
alike (ICI 2015, GRETA 2012, and OSCE 2012). This is further reflected in the High Court 
decision  in  the  case  of  P.  v.  The  Chief  Superintendent  of  the  Garda  National  Immigration 
Bureau  (IEHC  222),  which  further  exposes  the  need  for  urgent  revision  of  the 
identification procedure. The difficulties include the fact that the process does provide for 
the  identification  of  victims  of  trafficking  who  are  EU  nationals  and  also  excludes  all 
applicants  under  international  protection.    Furthermore,  the  process  is  affected  by  the 
decision  to  exclusively  delegate  the  identification  of  victims  to  An  Garda  Síochána, 
excluding any specialist civil society organisations and other independent services from 
the decision making in relation to reasonable ground (ICI 2015).  The resulting outcome is 
that at present there are limited numbers of individuals formally recognised as victims of 
trafficking  crimes  and  afforded  a  full  range  of  measures  for  recovery  assistance.    In 
practice, many more victims participate every year in criminal investigations without the 
benefit of a formal recognition (Yonkova 2015).  

As  a  result  of  the  High  Court  ruling,  the  State  established  a  Garda  National  Protection 
Services Bureau, which remit is yet to be clarified and publically communicated, but  the 
intent is to have an integrated and victim protection oriented police response to human 
trafficking  and  other  serious  crimes,  and  has  been  welcomed  by  advocates  (Joint  CSO 
2015). 

There is a commitment by the Government towards fundamental review of the system of 
identification  of victims of  trafficking,  which is presently being progressed (NAP 2015).  

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There  is  an  opportunity  as  part  of  this  review  to  consider  the  gender  elements  and 
variations  in  relation  to  the  identification  of  victims  of  human  trafficking,  and  to 
incorporate this into any recommended action outlined. 

Recommendations  

Reform  of  the  existing  identification  practices  with  an  introduction  of  a  non-discriminatory 
procedure  applicable  to  all  victims  of  human  trafficking,  regardless  of  their  nationality  and 
immigration status.  

The  identification  procedure  should  formally  involve  specialist  CSOs  and  independent  services, 
with clear criteria for review, inclusive of time restrictions. The review should include a gender-
sensitive and trauma-specific approach to victims.   

CHAPTER 3 

I -The provision of assistance from a gender perspective 

Key finding: 

The  gendered  dimension  of  human  trafficking  is  not  highlighted  or  referenced  in  the 
forthcoming  National  Action  Plan,  and  similarly  there  are  no  references  to  gender-
sensitive assistance to victims, in line with rec. 3 of the Directive.  

A  joint  CSO  submission  on  the  occasion  of  the  publication  of  the  second  draft  NAP 
highlights  the  lack  of  a  commitment  to  a  gender-sensitive  approach  to  protection  and 
assistance of victims of trafficking in the draft NAP (2016).  

However, some very positive measures and services have been developed that consider 
the  gender  dimensions  of  human  trafficking.    The  Government  has  delegated  the 
development of individual care plans for victims to the Women’s Health Services at the 
Health  Service  Executive.  This  is  a  unit  comprising  of  medical  practitioners  and  social 
workers  who  have  years  of  experience  responding  to  women  involved  in  prostitution 
and  the  management  of  the  unit  has  an  acute  gender-sensitive  approach  to  their  work 
and gives special attention to women exposed to sexual trauma. However, there are some 
restrictions as victims have to be referred for care planning by the police authorities, (as 
per access in general in relation to any other State-provided services). The situation with 
assistance  that  is  not  conditional  on  cooperation  with  authorities  is  reviewed  further 
below.  

The State is also funding Ruhama, a Dublin-based NGO which works on a national level 
with women affected by prostitution and other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. 

Recommendations 

Ensure that a commitment to gender sensitivity is made in an explicit manner in the  draft NAP 
2016, in order to ensure an acknowledgement of the gendered nature of human trafficking and in 
particular the overwhelming presence of women among victims who have been sexually exploited. 

Review  the  services  offered  and  ensure  that  the  access  is  not  dependent  on  cooperation  with  the 
police authorities and subject to repetition of traumatic accounts. 

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Ensure funding is available to specialist CSOs to provide appropriates supports and services. 

II - Safe and gender-sensitive accommodation 

Key finding: 

Provisions  with  regard  to  accommodation  and  material  assistance  to  victims  of  human 
trafficking  have  been  the  focus  of  criticism  by  Irish  specialists  and  international 
monitories. 

In  addition  to  the  overall  gender-specific  approach  to  service  provision  and  assistance, 
the  Directive  also  calls  for  appropriate  and  safe  accommodation  and  assistance  to  be 
provided to victims of trafficking (Art. 11.5). Ever  since a decision was taken in 2008 to 
use  the  reception  arrangements  for  asylum  seekers  in  Ireland  as  accommodation  for 
victims of human trafficking, there have been debates in the State, multiple submissions 
and criticisms regarding this policy (FLAC 2009, AkidWa 2010).   

Commonly  referred  to  as  Direct  Provision,  these  reception  arrangements  largely 
comprise  accommodation  in  hostels  dispersed  around  the  country,  offering  full  board 
and pocket money of €19.10 per week. The Direct Provision system and its suitability in 
general  to  asylum  seekers  has  been  the  subject  of  controversy  for  years,  which 
culminated in a review process in 2015 (WG 2015). Advocates had highlighted the lack of 
discussion  around  safe  accommodation  for  victims  of  trafficking  in  the  draft  NAP 
document.  

This  policy  of  housing  victims  in  Direct  Provision  coupled  with  the  restrictive 
identification is criticised as unsafe and inappropriate for human trafficking victims. This 
is particularly of concern in relation to victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, who 
await formal identification. There are a small number of victims eligible for identification 
under the AIA who are supported to move on to private accommodation. In practice, the 
vast majority of victims remain for considerable  periods of time unidentified and living 
in direct provision hostels, criticised especially women who have been sexually exploited 
(ICI/Nasc  et  al  2014,  GRETA  2013).  GRETA  (2013)  in  its  first  report  on  Ireland’s 
implementation of the CoE Convention urged the Irish authorities to ‘review the policy of 
accommodating suspected victims of trafficking in accommodation centres for asylum seekers and 
to consider the setting up of specialised shelters for victims of trafficking, with the involvement of 
NGOs as support providers’. 

There are reports251 that mixed hostels, in particular, may leave already vulnerable young 
women with a prior history of sexual abuse open to further grooming and exploitation. 
The ICI report provides evidence suggesting that the direct provision hostels are targeted 
by  men  looking  to  buy  sexual  services,  and  are  used  by  traffickers  (ICI  2011).    Further 
challenges  are  caused  by  the  issue  of  dispersal  in  the  direct  provision  system,  where 
residents,  including  victims  of  trafficking  are  randomly  moved,  which  is  mostly 
determined  by  hostels’  capacity  considerations.  Most  CSOs  highlight  that  the  intense 
level  of  support  required  initially  by  vulnerable  persons  is  thus  interrupted,  when 

251 Interview Ruhama (n 76) lines 170-173; Interview ICI (n 45) 168.   

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women  are  been  transferred  to  areas  will  limited  or  no  appropriate  services.  In  a  joint 
submission to the Minister of Justice and Equality in 2014, a group of specialist Irish CSO 
and supported  housing providers produced a detailed analysis  of the  housing situation 
with  victims  of  trafficking  calling  for  a  commitment  to  prioritise  the  provision  of 
appropriate accommodation for female victims who have undergone severe sexual abuse 
(ICI/Nasc et al 2014) . 

Recommendations 

The submission to the Minister for Justice and Equality on the accommodation needs of victims of 
trafficking,  which  contains  detailed  analysis  and  a  range  of  discussions  and  recommendations, 
should be taken into account when determining the priorities under the new draft NAP 2016. 

The  setting  up  of  specialised  shelters  for  victims  of  trafficking  could  be  considered,  alongside 
ending of the practice of accommodating victims in centres for asylum seekers, which are limited 
in gender sensitivity, privacy and safety.  

The involvement of specialist CSOs and supported-housing providers, including the utilisation of 
the existing shelters and rape crisis centres for victims of GBV violence could also be considered. 

III - Attending to victims with special needs 

Key finding: 

There  is  a  lack  of  clarity  in  the  process  of  considering  the  special  needs  of  victims  of 
human trafficking and appropriate referral. 

The Trafficking Directive calls for attention to be focused on victims with special needs. 
Article  11.7  of  the  Directive  obliges  the  MSs  to  ‘attend  to  victims  with  special  needs’, 
where those needs derive from pregnancy, health issues, disability, mental disorder or a 
‘serious form of psychological, physical or sexual violence they have suffered’. It is noted 
that the draft NAP does not contain any commitments and even references with regards 
to victims with special needs (CSO NAP 2015).  

While  the  work  of  the  Women’s  Health  Centre,  as  mentioned  above,  in  developing 
individual care plans for victims is very important, it is ultimately limited by a number of 
existing  policy  restrictions,  which  could  negate  focussed  attention  to  any  special  needs 
(Yonkova  and  Widdis  2015).  For  instance,  the  need  for  safe  and  gender-sensitive 
accommodation for sexually violated victims is virtually unmet. Only a small proportion 
of  victims  proceed  over  time  to  private  accommodation,  and  this  is  not  based  on  any 
assessment of special needs but on residence status and nationality. However, it should 
be noted that medical assistance is unconditional in Ireland, and open to everyone who 
experience exploitation, and presents to this service. 

Recommendations 

 The development of specific gender-aware guidelines should be considered when assessing special 
needs  of  victims.  Victims’  rights  and  specialised  support  service  organisations  should  be  closely 
involved in the development of these guidelines. 

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IV - Secondary victimisation 

Key finding: 

There is no apparent memorandum of understanding and protocols for data sharing and 
referrals  between  the  CSO  and  the  State  and  within  State  agencies,  which  leads  in 
practice to re-victimisation by the repetition of traumatic accounts. 

through  unnecessary 

The  Directive  (Art.12.4)  reinforces  an  obligation  to  avoid  negative  experiences  and 
interviews  during 
secondary  victimisation 
investigation,  prosecution  or  trial.  The  Directive  requires  that  States  take  measures  to 
reduce the dangers of secondary victimisation of victims cooperating with the authorities 
by preventing the unnecessary repetition of traumatic accounts. In the Irish context, there 
is  no  specific  policy  or  commitment  on  this  matter  in  Ireland,  and  there  is  no 
memorandum  of  understanding  or  protocols  between  NGOs  and  the  State,  nor  among 
the State agencies encountering victims of trafficking. 

repetition  of 

According  to  advocates,  it  is  not  uncommon  that  the  victim  gives  a  statement  to  the 
police, followed by another  account to the  Refugee Application Commissioner or  to the 
Refugee  Appeals  Tribunal  (Becker  2011).  This  is  in  addition  to  the  possible  previous 
account  given  to  the  supporting  NGO  or  agency,  when  making  the  first  referral  to  the 
police.  It  is  difficult  to  develop  measures  ensuring  that  victims  are  not  subjected  to 
secondary  victimisation  by  a  multiple  delivery  of  personal  accounts.  Researchers 
(Kelleher  et  al  2009)  have  questioned  both  the  psychological  impacts  of  continuous 
cooperation with the police, including the provision of multiple statements, on victims of 
trafficking and the risk of victims exposing themselves to associated risks of participation 
in criminal investigations  with  no official recognition as identified victims of trafficking 
crimes.   

Recommendations   

Develop and formalise the protocols for referral and exchange of information about cases of human 
trafficking in order to avoid repeat victimisation.   

CHAPTER 4 

I - Legal advice without delay 

Key findings: 

The State provision of legal advice is dependent on referral by the police and is limited to 
legal information.  

The  early  and  effective  legal  aid  to  potential  victims  of  trafficking  remains  an  area  that 
has yet to be adequately resourced in Ireland.  

In  2015,  a  pilot  project  run  by  an  independent  law  centre,  exposed  the  need  for  timely 
legal intervention as soon as anyone recognises a potential victim in the country.  

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The  training  toolkit  on  the  benefits  of  early  legal  intervention,  developed  by  Irish  and 
international  legal experts  represents a viable  opportunity for  improvement  of the  legal 
services to victims (ELI 2014, www.earlylegalintervention.eu). 

The Directive (Art.12.2) obliges the State to ensure victims have access without delay to 
counselling, and in accordance with the right of victims in the criminal justice system to 
legal  representation,  including  for  the  purpose  of  compensation.  Early  legal  aid  is 
identified within the EU as an essential mechanism for the upholding of the rights of the 
victims and for facilitating their informed decisions that ultimately assist with recovery. 

The country  narrative on Ireland in the  US TIP (2015) highlights the  need for  enhanced 
access  to  legal  aid  for  victims  and  respectively  early  legal  interventions  for  same. 
Presently, victims in Ireland have access to legal information provided by the Legal Aid 
Board.  Legal services on certain matters are provided only upon referral from the police 
following their assessment of the person’s status as a potential victim of trafficking. In the 
Irish  context,  it  is  reported  that  during  pre-identification  contact  with  the  Garda 
Siochana,  a  suspected  victim  does  not  have  access  to  legal  advice  (Becker  2009).  It  is 
argued that lack of access to legal advice at this juncture raises serious concerns in light of 
the fact that some suspected victims have ended up in jail, or applying for asylum in the 
State in situations where this may not necessarily be in their best interests (Becker 2009).  
Due to the way the Irish system operates, decisions made at the early stages by suspected 
victims of trafficking at a time of great vulnerability, will have far reaching consequences 
which  can  critically  affect  how  their  lives  progress,  their  social  recovery  and  long-term 
opportunities for those who wish to remain in the state. The ICI, which is an independent 
law  centre  in  Ireland,  led  on  an  EC  ISEC  funded  project  on  early  legal  intervention  for 
victims of trafficking, identifying a range of benefits and highlighting dangers which may 
arise  where  legal  aid  is  delayed  (ELI  2015,  Healy  2016).    As  part  of  this  initiative,  a 
transnational  research  was  conducted  identifying  guiding  principles  for  early  legal 
intervention,  which  were  subsequently  tested  within  real  life  parameters.  The  pilot 
offered  provision  of  enhanced  legal  aid  to  more  than  25  victims  of  trafficking.  This 
innovative work was overseen by a national advisory committee comprising of An Garda 
Siochana, AHTU, Legal Aid Board and individual legal experts. Training on the benefits 
future 
of  early 
(www.earlylegalintervention.ie).  

intervention  has  been  scheduled 

foreseeable 

legal 

the 

in 

Recommendations 

The delivery of training should be resourced highlighting the importance of timely legal aid.   The 
training toolkit on early legal intervention was developed by a consortium of legal specialists from 
MSs  to  be  used  for  training  with  police  detectives,  lawyers  and  other  practitioners  who  may 
encounter victims (ELI 2015).  

An increase in the overall civil legal aid budget to the Legal Aid Board, should be considered, for 
the purposes of enhanced assistance and representation of victims of trafficking crimes. 

The provision of funding for specialised law centres should be considered, and extended to include 
private  practitioners  proving  legal  services  to  victims  of  trafficking  through  an  extension  of  the 
private practitioners’ scheme. 

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II - Cooperation and assistance 

Key finding: 

In  order  to  access  assistance,  victims  of  trafficking  are  required  to  cooperate  with  the 
authorities, under the provisions of the national system for identification and support. 

'reasonable  grounds'  assessment. 

Theoretically  and  in  line  with  the  AIA,  assistance  to  victims  is  not  conditional  on 
cooperation with the authorities during the recovery and reflection permit period, which 
is granted to victims to recover and to make an informed decision on whether or not to 
cooperate in investigations. In practice, the AIA apply to a small number of third country 
national  victims  due  to  the  exclusionary  identification  policy.  The  majority  of  victims 
cannot benefit from the provisions of Art 11.2 of the Directive, as they are ineligible to be 
  Further  complication  for  the 
identified  to  a 
implementation of this aspect arises from the fact that investigation is unlimited in time 
and  reliant  on  the  investigation  process,  including  in  cases  captured  by  the  AIA. 
Furthermore,  it  is  expected  that  the  implementation  of  this  provision  will  remain 
challenging  in  the  context  of  the  present  policy  to  grant  TRP  to  victims  of  human 
trafficking  exclusively  on  the  condition  of  cooperation  with  the  investigation  into  the 
crime  committed  against  them.  The  international  optional  provision  (CoE  2005)  for 
granting TRP for personal reasons in relation to gender and other vulnerabilities has not 
been  opted  into  by  the  State.  The  almost  absolute  requirement  to  cooperate  with  the 
authorities is a result of a policy decision authorising  exclusively the police authority to 
provide access to assistance such as accommodation, subsistence and legal advice.  

Recommendations 

The identification process should be established as a procedure distinguishable from investigation, 
with  involvement  of  CSOs  and  independent  services  providers,  included  in  the  establishment  of 
reasonable grounds and respective access to assistance.  

Victim identification should not be reliant on cooperation with law enforcement.  

The  grounds  for  Temporary  Residence  Permit  should  be  expanded  to  take  into  account  the 
personal circumstances of the victim, including cases where cooperation with the investigation is 
not possible.  

III - Non-punishment 

Key finding: 

Despite  the  existing  prosecutorial  guidelines  discouraging  the  unnecessary  punishment 
of  victims  for  crimes  they  have  committed  in  the  trafficking  context,  the  prosecution  of 
victims continues to occur. 

The stated purpose of the protection from prosecution in Recital 14 of the Directive is to 
“safeguard the human rights of victims, to avoid further victimisation and to encourage 
them to act as witnesses in criminal proceedings against the perpetrators”.  

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The  Irish  courts  have  confirmed  that  there  is  no  actual  right  not  to  be  prosecuted.  The 
Director of Public Prosecution reserves discretion whether to prosecute or not and this is 
not  open  to  court  scrutiny.  Advocates  have  noted  that  applications  for  immunity  from 
prosecution  are  complex  and  require  a  legal  representative  for  the  victim  to  prepare  a 
letter  to  the  DPP  detailing  all  the  articles  of  the  law  with  respect  to  which  immunity  is 
required  (ICI  2015).  Experience  shows  that  if  victims  are  prosecuted  before  they  are 
identified as a victim of trafficking, they appear to hold a criminal record which cannot 
be  expunged  following  formal  identification.    The  issue  could  possibly  be  dealt  with 
through  possible  amendments to the  Criminal Justice  (Spent Convictions)252 law passed 
in February 2016.   

Recommendations  

Disseminate  more  explicit  guidelines  to  judges  and  public  prosecutors  in  order  to  guarantee  the 
non-punishment of victims of trafficking for their involvement in unlawful activities, committed 
in the context of the trafficking crime.  

Consider  future  amendments  to  the  Spent  Conviction  legislation,  in  order  to  provide  for  the 
expunging of criminal records of victims who have been punished due to a failure in the process of 
timely identification. 

Improve  the  identification  of  victims  and  access  to  early  legal  intervention  as  a  measure  of 
prevention against non-punishment.  

IV - Compensation 

Key finding:  

There  are  a  lack  of  viable  avenues  to  compensation  for  the  majority  of  victims  of 
trafficking  and  especially  those  affected  by  the  prevalent  form  of  crime,  namely  sexual 
exploitation. 

The Directive does not specify that existing schemes must effectively provide a route of 
compensation;  it  specifies  only  access  to  existing  schemes,  whether  or  not  these  deliver 
for victims.  

The  existing  compensation  mechanism  puts  victims  of  trafficking  at  a  disadvantage 
because in the vast majority of cases they do not have verifiable expenses or employment 
losses  in  order  to  avail  of  the  Criminal  Justice  Compensation  Tribunal.  The  draft  NAP 
presents 
issue 
recommendations.  

intentions  to  examine  the  possibilities  of  compensation  and  to 

Recommendations 

Ensure  that  avenues  for  compensation  are  applicable,  as  well  as  easily  accessible,  to  trafficked 
persons.  Advocates  recommend  that  new  possibilities  for  compensation  are  explored,  such  as  the 
creation of a specialised fund or the possibility for direct compensation from the Criminal Assets 
Bureau fund (IT 2015). 

252 Criminal Justice (Spent Conviction) Bill 2012, with expected enactment in 2016 

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CHAPTER V 

I – Demand in prevention work 

Key finding: 

There is a significant advancement in the area of prevention of human trafficking for the 
purposes of sexual exploitation in Ireland through the publication of heads of the Sexual 
Offences Bill 2014 including its provisions against child grooming and the introduction of 
a new offence of purchase of sexual services. 

The EU Directive specifically highlights the gender dimension of the crime and requires 
the  countries to adopt a gender perspective in prevention work. (See Preamble  recital 3 
and Article 1). 

Of further note is the explicit commitment in the draft NAP to progress the publication of 
the  actual Bill and its adoption  with a view to achieving synchronicity  with the  laws in 
Northern Ireland for an all-island approach to demand reduction.  

In  recent  years,  it  has  become  increasingly  clear  in  Ireland,  as  in  other  jurisdictions 
operating  similar  legislation,  that  the  criminalisation  of  the  use  of  services  from  a 
trafficked person with the knowledge that such a person is trafficked has yielded little or 
no  convictions.  While  the  declarative  message  this  sends  is  important,  only  an 
unconditional  approach  to  discourage  demand  delivers  the  desired  impact.  It  is  highly 
commendable that the published preliminary text of the Sexual Offences Bill reflects this 
position  and  complements  the  provisions  pertaining  exclusively  to  trafficked  victims, 
with broader provisions about the purchase of sexual services in general.  

Recommendations    

The  new  Government  should  progress  the  draft  Sexual  Offence  Bill,  enacting  it  as  a  matter  of 
priority.  The  draft  legislation  includes  the  criminalisation  of  child  grooming,  purchase  of  sexual 
services with explicit decriminalisation of the seller, among other provisions. 

II - National Rapporteur 

Key finding: 

Presently,  the  role  of  a  national  rapporteur  is  delegated  to  a  government  departmental 
unit coordinating the anti-trafficking response in the MS.  

Article 19 of the EU Directive provides for the establishment of a national rapporteur or 
equivalent  mechanism  that  will  be  in  charge  of  statistical  data,  extraction  of  trends  and 
evaluation of the adequacy of the national measures against trafficking in human beings. 

The  Anti  Human  Trafficking  Unit  (AHTU)  at  the  Department  of  Justice  and  Equality 
collates  the  statistics  and  presents  the  trends  in  this  crime.  However,  the  element  of 
independent evaluation cannot be provided by AHTU due to the fact that this unit is at 

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the centre of the decisions on, and implementation of, policies and measures. Advocates 
have recommended that the National Rapporteur report regularly to the Parliament. 

Recommendations 

Establish  an  independent  national  rapporteur  to  review  the  effectiveness  of  the  anti-trafficking 
response  and  report  to  the  national  parliament.  Include  a  commitment  to  this  effect  under  the 
forthcoming second NAP 2016. 

III - New Forms of Trafficking 

Key finding: 

Trafficking  for  sham  marriages  and  cannabis  cultivation  appear  to  be  among  the 
emerging forms of human trafficking.  

The 2013 European Union (EU) Drug Market Report noted that Ireland has experienced 
an increase in the domestic cultivation of cannabis in the last five years (EMCDDA 2013). 
In  2012,  there  was  substantial  media  coverage  on  raids  of  cannabis  farms  in  Ireland  as 
part of Operation Nitrogen and Operation Wireless, intelligence-led operations targeting 
cannabis  cultivation.  During  2011  there  were  500  growing  houses  located  under  the 
abovenamed operations resulting in seizure of product valued at 10.5mil Euro (ASI 2014). 
The  commercial  cannabis  industry  in  Ireland  has  been  controlled  predominantly  by 
Vietnamese and Chinese gangs, although An Garda Síochána have reported “an increase 
in the number of Irish and Eastern European gangs involved in the industry” (ASI 2014).  

Trafficking  for  sham  marriages  of  exploitative  nature  is  an  emerging  phenomenon  in 
Ireland and there are diverging views at present as to whether such situations amount to 
human  trafficking,  in  addition  to  existing  definitional  ambiguities.  The  issue  of  sham 
marriage has been the subject of much political debate  and legal controversy as  well as 
extensive media coverage in the context of various operations, such as Operation Charity 
(Smyth  2010)  and  Operation  Vantage  (O’Reilly  2015),  conducted  by  the  Irish  police  to 
investigate sham marriage operations.  The ruling in the case of Izmailovic (IEHC 2011) 
concerning  police  objection  to  a  proposed  marriage  between  an  EU  citizen  and  an 
Egyptian citizen led to important legal changes in this area. The High Court determined 
that even if well intentioned, the Irish police were not empowered to prevent suspected 
marriages of convenience (sham marriages).  As a result of the case, the Civil Registration 
Act 2004 was amended in 2015 and the Civil Registration Service now has the power to 
form an opinion on whether an intended marriage constitutes a marriage of convenience 
and, consequently, if there is an impediment to the marriage. 

In 2014, the EC provided project funding to undertake research regarding the situation in 
five  EU  countries  -  Latvia,  Lithuania,  Estonia,  Slovak  Republic  and  Ireland,  which 
appears as the only destination country included in the research project. The Irish CSO, 
the  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland,  conducted  national  research  (publication  of  report 
expected in 2016), resulting in the preliminary findings that reveal clear  patterns of males 
from  the  Indian  sub-continent  (Pakistan,  India  and  Bangladesh)  marrying  EU  national 

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females  from  Portugal  and  Eastern  European  countries  (mainly  Latvia,  Romania, 
Hungary and Estonia). 

Recommendations   

The findings and the recommendations of the forthcoming research on exploitative sham marriages 
funded by the EC should be considered as part of the second NAP (EC ISEC Hestia 2014). 

An  awareness-raising  strategy  to  strengthen  the  identification  of  trafficking  for  forced  labour 
needs  to  be  developed  and  implemented.  The  National  Action  Plan  (2016)  should  set  specific 
targets,  actions  and  resources  to  combat  and  address  criminality  as  a  new  form  of  human 
trafficking.  

IV- Data Collation 

Key finding: 

The official annual statistical trends are not analysed from a gender perspective. 

The  official  annual  statistical  trends  (DJE  website)  are  not  analysed  from  a  gender 
perspective with a view to exploring the needs of the victims and planning for necessary 
services. Only the section on statistics and the references to European documents contain 
any mention of the term gender (CSO NAP 2015).  The lack of gender lens is also evident 
in  the  State’s  submission  to  the  EC  Template  for  National  Rapporteurs  or  Equivalent 
Mechanisms  and  in  contribution  to  the  upcoming  report  according  to  Art.20  of  Directive  of 
October 2015, where no trends with regards to gender were identified (DJE NREM 2014). 
Gender  trends  were  highlighted,  however,  in  the  joint  Irish  CSO  report  (CSO  NREM 
2015).   

Recommendations 

Extract trends and analyse the collected statistical data from a gender perspective. 

CONCLUSION in view of future steps253 

Integrated, holistic and human rights approach to the fight against trafficking is needed. 

Recital 7 of the preamble to the EU Directive requires that when the instrument is being 
implemented,  Directive  2004/81/EC  on  residence  permits  for  victims  of  third  countries 
should  be  taken  into  account  as  well  as  Directive  2009/52/EC  on  sanctions  against 
employers  of  legally  residing  third-country  nationals,  with  a  view  to  ensure  that  the 
Member States adopt integrated, holistic and human rights approach to the fight against 
trafficking.  The  Irish  State  has  not  opted  into  the  two  complementary  Directives 
mentioned above and this position needs to be reviewed in order to achieve a holistic and 
integrated  approach  to  human  trafficking  in  the  transposition  of  the  EU  legal 
instruments.  

253 For the overall conclusion and key recommendations see the Executive Summary 

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APPENDIX 1 – National Statistical data 

National Statistics for the period 2009 to 2014254 

254  Information  obtained  from  CSO  NREM  report,  February  2015  and  national  statistical  data  for 
2014 available from the Department of Justice and Equality website www.blueblindfold.gov.ie  

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APPENDIX 2 – Irish NGO Submission to the European Commission 

Submission to the European Commission                    February, 27th 2015 

in response to the Template for National Rapporteurs or Equivalent Mechanisms and 
in contribution to the upcoming report according Art.20 of Directive 2011/36/EU 
compiled by 
the Irish Civil Society Organisations (CSO)  
of the EU Anti-trafficking Platform: 
Doras Luimní, Immigrant Council of Ireland and Ruhama 

The Department of Justice and Equality in Ireland assumes the functions of the National 
Rapporteur  or  Equivalent  Mechanism  (NREM).  We,  the  undersigned,  hope  that  these 
arrangements  are  temporary  and  that  the  State  will  soon  follow  the  best  practice 
examples in the European Union. 
The undersigned organisations strongly recommend the appointment of an independent 
National Rapporteur in Ireland. The lack of such an independent structure has been the 
subject  of  criticism  by  Civil  Society  Organisations  (CSO  herein)  in  press  releases  and 
submissions to the Irish Government focusing on this particular topic255.  
The  preferred  option  for  the  Irish  national  context  is  an  independent  body  with  the 
power to request information and the competence to analyse trends accountable directly 
to the Irish Parliament. A good example in this regard is the Irish National Rapporteur on 
Child Protection and his annual reports to the Parliament256.   
This  submission  follows  the  structure  of  the  formal  template  but  provides  an 
independent separate response to the questions originally put to the NREM in Ireland. As 
such the submission is structured under the following headings: 
Assessments of trends in trafficking in human beings. 
Measuring of results of anti-trafficking actions. 
Criminal Law, Investigation and Prosecution. 
Assistance and support (including protection). 
Prevention: 
Information and awareness raising campaigns, including to curb demand 
Training and education programmes 
Legislative measures on prevention and to discourage demand 
Gathering of statistics in close cooperation with relevant civil society organisations active 
in this field. 
For any further information, please contact:    
Doras Luimní: http://dorasluimni.org/  
Ruhama: http://www.ruhama.ie/ 
Immigrant Council of Ireland: http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/  

255 http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/images/PDFS/Rappa.pdf 
256 
http://www.dcya.gov.ie/viewdoc.asp?fn=/documents/Child_Welfare_Protection/SpecialRappor
teurChildProtection.htm 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

1.  Assessments of trends in trafficking in human beings. 
Assessment of THB Trends 

Measure  

Timeframe of Assessment Period 
Objectives 

Response from Irish CSO 

Present 
assessment 

and 

Future-Oriented 

forms 

Analyse  the  different  trends  of  THB 
(such  as  on  victims  and  traffickers 
disaggregated  by  gender,  age  and 
citizenship, 
of 
various 
exploitation,  new  and  emerging 
trends,  modus  operandi,  Organised 
Crime  Groups, 
and 
transnational  THB,  involvement  of 
legal persons, recruitment of victims, 
profile 
means 
used, 
trafficker/facilitator, 
risk 
sectors,  estimates  of  profit  and 
money flows, demand) 

national 

higher 

Inform actors working in the field of 
THB  (public  and  private  authorities, 
organisations, 
civil 
researchers  and  others)  in  order  to 
take adequate policy measures. 

society 

The present Irish NREM at the  Department of Justice  provides a present 
and retrospective analysis of trends in trafficking in human beings (THB). 
However, the data compiled and presented in the NREM annual report is 
published with a significant delay after the assessment period. As a result, 
finding  up-to-date  information  on  THB  trends  or  figures  in  Ireland 
remains problematic.   

As  indicated  by  the  official  NREM  report,  formal  projections  of  future 
trends have not yet been included in the NREM report for Ireland, while 
information  is  gathered  in  cooperation  with  CSOs  with  considerable 
expertise.  There  is  scant  information  in  the  NREM  report  on  traffickers. 
The  NREM  reports  do  not  include  sufficient  analysis  of  current  and 
emerging trends, modus operandi of traffickers, organised crime  groups, 
involvement  of  legal  persons,  estimates  of  profit  and  money  flows,  or 
information on higher risk sectors.  

On the basis of the data available, some trends are easily distinguishable, 
albeit unacknowledged. These is for instance the prevalence of trafficking 
for  the  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  and  the  disproportionate 
representation of women in the victim’s statistics. There is also a worrying 
trend  of  child  trafficking  for  suspected  purposes  linked  to  sexual 
exploitation, which is a reoccurring trend in the data gathered in Ireland. 
The  undersigned  CSOs  submit  that  regardless  of  the  difficulties 
experienced  in  data  collection,  it  is  safe  to  conclude  based  on  the 
knowledge available in Ireland that women and children are the primary 
target group of the traffickers and that trafficking for sexual exploitation is 
by far the most prevalent form.  

While  data  gathered  by  the  Irish  NREM  is  used  to  monitor  trends  and 
provide  an  evidence  base,  it  is  arguable  that  with  such  minimal 
disaggregated  data  THB  trends  cannot  be  sufficiently  understood  in  all 
their  aspects,  and  therefore  nuanced  preventative  measures  cannot  be 
informed.  

Details  of  assessment  –  please 
specify and elaborate in each case 
Methodology 
Inclusion of statistics 
Who  carried  out  the  assessment  and 
and/or 
organisations 
which 

Response from Irish CSOs 

The  THB  figures  collated  by  the  NREM  for  the  year  2013 and  2014  have 
yet to be made available to the general public.   

Information collection process 

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analytical 

stakeholders have been involved? 
List sources that have been used such 
law 
as 
enforcement  services,  reports  by 
CSOs,  EU 
academic 
studies,  international  organisations 
etc? 

agencies, 

reports 

of 

Dissemination  and  Use  of 
the 
Results  –  please  provide  details 
such  as  publication  on  website, 
for 
distribution 
discussion, 
to 
stakeholders etc. 

distribution 

parliament 

to 

The  CSOs  welcome  and  support  the  efforts  of  the  AHTU  to  collate 
statistics. The three organisations257 making the present submission fill in 
and submit information in the required format and then engage in further 
efforts to eliminate any duplications. 

The Irish NREM cites figures from 2009-2013, which in a collated manner 
illustrates the main stats at a glance:  

Types of human trafficking  
Sex trafficking: 202 (69%)  
Labour trafficking: 64 (22%)  
Uncategorised exploitation: 21 (7%) 
Sex and labour trafficking: 3 (1%) 
Other: 3 (1%)  
Gender  
Female 230 (79%)  
Male 63 (22%)  
Age  
Adults 205 (70%)  
Children 88 (30%)  
Regions  
Various but West Africa and EU are the main source regions.  

Response from Irish CSOs 
While  the  annual reports are very welcome, the  information is not  made 
available  in a timely manner. Presently, the  latest published report is for 
year 2012. Given that centralised information on THB trends in Ireland is 
not  available  from  alternative  sources,  these  reports  are  especially 
important.  

2. Measuring of results of anti-trafficking actions 
2.1. Criminal Law, Investigation, and Prosecution 

Measuring the result of 
Timeframe of the assessment period 
Objectives: 
Evaluate 
financial 
the  use  of 
investigations  in  THB  cases  as  a  tool 
to  detect  money  flows,  as  well  as 
enabling  the  freezing,  seizure  and 
confiscation of proceeds of crime 
Develop better gathering of evidence 
to 
in  THB  cases  with  a  view 
increasing 
and 
convictions 
dismantling 
Organised Crime Groups (OCGs) 
knowledge 
Improve 

prosecutions 
and 

crime 

on 

Financial investigations 

“No  formal  overall  assessment  of  THB  investigations  involving  financial 
investigations have been conducted” (official NREM template)  

Response from Irish CSO 

The lack of investigations and assessment of the financial side of THB in 
Ireland  is  of  concern  as  is  the  lack  of  transparency  in  criminal 
investigations into human trafficking in general.  

We  recommend  regular  updates  for  victims  in  ongoing  cases  of  the 
progress of the case or respectively its closure.  

257 Please note that the Immigrant Council of Ireland was not included in the original report but the 
Department of Justice have undertaken to amend it. 

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We recommend that investigations into THB should not be overly reliant 
on victims’ testimonies.  

gaps 

patterns in THB cases 
Expose 
anti-money 
in 
laundering  compliance  and  uncover 
liability  of  a  financial  institution  or 
other professionals 
Organisations  and/or  Stakeholders 
involved  –  please  list  and  explain 
how they were involved 

crime, 

report 

the 
cases 

Experts  could  include  those  in  the 
fields of trafficking in human beings, 
financial 
cybercrime, 
organised  crime,  prosecutors,  judges 
where  appropriate,  private  sector 
(banking, ICT) 
Details  of  assessment  –  please 
specify and elaborate in each case   
These 
include 
could 
methodology,  number  of 
evaluated, experts involved etc 
Relevant  reports–please  provide  an 
exhaustive list 
Output 
financial 
Evaluation 
that 
investigation 
includes 
the 
number  of  THB  cases  evaluated, 
meetings organised between experts, 
the  model  used,  number  of  staff 
trained (also by CEPOL) 
Conclusions  based  on  the  evaluation 
of  the  increase  of  prosecutions  (and 
eventually  convictions)  because  of 
the  use  of  financial  investigations, 
the number of OCGs dismantled, the 
information 
Europol, 
to 
cooperation with Eurojust 
Have 
formulated 
evaluation? 

in  THB  cases 
the  mentioning  of 

recommendations 
because 

been 
the 

sent 

on 

of 

in  an 

resulted 

Outcome (short and medium term) 
Has  financial  investigation  in  THB 
cases 
increased 
number of traffickers prosecuted? 
Has  it  lead  to  a  better  detection  and 
dismantling of THB OCGs? 
Has  it  resulted  in  an  increase  of  the 
freezing,  seizing  and  confiscation  of 

“Internal  An  Garda  Síochána  operational  assessments  of  2  THB 
investigations  resulting  in  confiscation  orders  being  imposed  were 
conducted” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 
We  note  that  the  formal  report  mentions  two  confiscation  orders 
involving THB cases. These instances are very important.  

The note with concern that the only available easy-to-access compensation 
mechanism in Ireland is the Criminal Justice Compensation Tribunal that 
refunds  verifiable  expenses,  which  is  not  applicable  to  victims  of 
trafficking in the majority of cases. 

We  recommend  the  establishment  of  a  fund  and  a  clear  procedure  that 
would  ensure  that  part  or  all  of  the  confiscated  assets  are  used  for  the 
compensation  of  victims  of  trafficking,  in  the  absence  of  any  other 
avenues for compensation in Ireland.  

We  recommend  the  creation  of  easy  to  access  compensation  avenues  for 
victims of trafficking. 
“Operation Abbey – confiscation order for €2 million. OCG primary and 2 
accomplices  convicted  in  UK  and  confiscation  order  made  based  on 
evidence  provided  by  An  Garda  Síochána.  Operation  Mast  -  OCG 
dismantled,  brothel  keeping  conviction,  assets  confiscation  order  made” 
(official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

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proceeds of crime? 
Has  it  lead  to  better  collection  of 
evidence  and  in  the  process  lift  the 
burden for victims to testify? 
Impact (long term) 
Has the detection and prosecution of 
THB cases increased? 
Has 
the  number  of  convictions 
increased and have more OCGs been 
dismantled? 
victims 
Has 
increased  and  has  THB  been  better 
prevented? 

compensation 

to 

There  is  a  lack  of  transparency  in  operations  or  outcomes  of  THB 
detections and prosecutions, and victims of trafficking are rarely updated 
on their cases.  

“No formal assessment of impacts carried out” (official NREM template) 
THB Related Convictions 
2010 – 5 
2011 – 4 
2012 – 6 
2013 – 9 

Response from Irish CSOs 

Despite  the  positive  trend,  we  note  the  low  level  of  convictions  for  THB 
and we acknowledge that this is a problem across the EU. The adversarial 
criminal  justice  system  as  well  as  a  lack  of  understanding  of  the  Non-
Punishment  principle  (Pursuant  to  Article  26  of  the  Convention)  often 
sees victim of trafficking prosecuted and even detained.  

We  also  note  with  concern  the  lack  of  avenues  for  compensation  for 
victims of THB as stated above.  

the 
Who  provided  funding  for 
evaluation,  who  carried  out  the 
evaluation? 

“No formal assessment carried out” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

The lack of formal evaluations with an independent monitoring body is a 
concern. For this reason, the CSO in Ireland call for the  appointment of an 
independent Rapporteur on the issues of human trafficking, which would 
reporting directly to the Parliament, following the good precedent already 
existing in the area of Child protection. 

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2.2 Assistance and Support (Including Protection) 

National referral mechanisms or other coordination mechanisms 

Measuring the result of 
Timeframe of the assessment period  2011 
Objectives:  
Evaluation  of  the  implementation  of 
the mechanism 
Expose  gaps  and  short  comings  in 
the  mechanisms  and  changes 
in 
patterns  on  identification,  assistance 
and  protection  to  victims  of  THB, 
including children 
Develop or improve the mechanisms 
in  terms  of  reacting  to  emerging 
trends of THB, including new actors, 
including transnational elements 

“A review of the National Action Plan to Prevent and Combat Trafficking 
of Human Beings in Ireland 2009-2012 (NAP)  was conducted to examine 
the implementation of the NAP and outlines the measures that have been 
undertaken in Ireland to prevent human trafficking,  support victims and 
prosecute those responsible for this crime” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

The Irish CSO, including the  present submission makers has published a 
range  of  reports  on  the  issues  of  protection  and  assistance  to  victims  of 
human trafficking. In addition, the Irish CSO made a joint submission to 
the Council of Europe (GRETA) in 2012. Many of the issues highlighted in 
the submission were reflected in GRETA’s country report on Ireland258.    

The  CSO  analysis  and  the  concerns  remain  valid  to  date,  as  no  changes 
have been implemented in Ireland. These outstanding areas cover:  

Identification  of  all  detected  victims  regardless  of  their  nationality  and 
legal  status,  and  with  formalised  input  from  the  CSO  specialist 
organisations. 

Access to national referral mechanism outside of Dublin area259. 

Ending  the  practice  of  excluding  victims  in  the  asylum  process  from  the 
possibility to be identified acknowledged and supported as victims of the 
crime of trafficking260. 

Providing gender-sensitive assistance to victims, in view of the prevalence 
of trafficking for sexual exploitation and the female victim profile. Ending 
the  policy  of  using  the  asylum  accommodation  centres  for  vulnerable 
female victims261.   

Issuing  acknowledgement  to  all  identified  victims  of  trafficking,  and 
ensuring  access  to  services  equally  to  non-EU  and  EU  victims  of 
trafficking,  through  the  provision  of  a  Temporary  Residence  Permit  and 
the exemption of EU citizens from the Habitual Residence Condition. This 
should  not  be  limited  to  cases  where  the  victim  cooperates  in  an 
investigation  but  also  for  cases  where  the  personal  circumstances  of  the 
victims so require.  

http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/index.php/research-publications/publications/771-greta-

258 
shadow-report-analysis  
259 http://dorasluimni.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/No-Chances-No-Choices-Soft-Copy.pdf  
260  http://www.immigrantcouncil.ie/index.php/research-publications/publications/523-asylum-
seeking-victims-of-human-trafficking-in-ireland  
261 
victims-of-sex-trafficking.pdf  

http://www.nascireland.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Proposal-for-housing-of-adult-

PE 581.412 

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Introducing  viable  avenues  for  compensations  for  victims  of  trafficking, 
outside  of  the  criminal  compensation  tribunal,  which  is  unsuitable  for 
most victims, and outside of court orders which have never been made.  

The  principle  of  non-prosecution  for  victims  of  trafficking  must  be 
adhered  to.  The  guidelines  issued  to  the  office  of  the  Director  of  Public 
Prosecution  (DPP),  are  insufficient  in  practice,  due  to  problems  with  the 
current  identification  procedure,  as  well  as  a  lack  of  awareness  among 
judiciary and legal practitioners.  

With regard to the efforts in upholding the rights of victims of trafficking, 
there is a leading EC ISEC funded project in the EU (led by the Immigrant 
Council  of  Ireland)  that  promotes  early  legal  intervention  for  victims  of 
trafficking, in which Doras Luimní, Ruhama and other leading CSOs and 
State agencies are included in advisory capacity262. 

We  await  the  publication  of  the  next  draft  National  Action  Plan  and  we 
are looking forward to participating in the consultations.  

We anticipate greater input into the victim identification process.  

Response from Irish CSOs 

We  appreciate  that  the  review  of  the  NAP  in  Ireland  in  2012  included 
feedback from CSOs, international organisations and civil society actors.  

However,  the  delay  in  publication  of  any  new  national  action  plan  since 
2012 is worrying. In the  absence of a  new  national strategy, the  working 
group  consultative  meetings,  which  used  to  provide  an  important  space 
for sharing of information and debate on policy and legislation, have also 
unfortunately discontinued.    

“No  formal  evaluation  was  conducted  in  regard  to  the  referenced 
outcomes” (official NREM template)    

analytical 

Details  of  assessment  –  please 
specify and elaborate: 
Methodology 
Inclusion of statistics 
Who  carried  out  the  assessment, 
what  budget  was  available  and 
which 
and/or 
organisations 
stakeholders have been involved? 
List sources that have been used such 
law 
as 
enforcement  services,  reports  by 
CSOs,  EU 
academic 
studies,  international  organisations, 
etc? 
Output:  
Evaluation 
implementation 
Persons trained. 
Outcome  
Questions:  

agencies, 

reports 

report 

the 

on 

of 

Has the mechanism raised awareness 
and increased the use by the targeted 
actors? 

Response from Irish CSOs 

262 http://www.earlylegalintervention.eu/  

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it 

victims 

received 

increased  the  number  of 

Has 
victims identified and victims? 
better 
Have 
assistance, support and protection to 
victims? 
Have more contacts been established 
with  actors  in  country  of  origin  of 
victims 
Were victims better reintegrated? 

Impact 
Questions : 
Has there been a decrease of victims 
of THB? 
Were victims of THB less damaged? 
Was  quality  of  assistance  and 
support to victims of THB better? 

Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Re  I.  The  mechanism  has  created  greater  awareness  of  THB  in  Ireland, 
particularly around media outlets and the general public.  

Re II. Unfortunately, the increased awareness in Ireland has not translated 
into an increased number of identified victims of trafficking. We attribute 
this  fact  to  the  serious  policy  shortcomings  in  relation  to  victim 
identification  in  Ireland,  namely  the  exclusion  of  victims  in  the  asylum 
process  as  well  as  EU  and  Irish  nationals  from  a  process  of  formal 
identification. We attribute this to the failure to utilise the expertise of the 
specialist  CSO  by  including  them  in  the  identification  procedure  in  a 
formalised manner.   

Re  III.  Services  for  THB  have  not  improved  as  the  majority  of  detected 
victims  remain  un-identified  and  consequently  do  not  receive  the  full 
range of protections.  The number of identified victims has decreased per 
year in the reporting period. 

Statistics from 2013 and 2014 have yet to be made available. 
“There  has  been  a  year  on  year  decrease  in  regard  to  the  number  of 
victims of human trafficking however it is not possible on the basis of the 
current data to state why this is the case” (official NREM template) 

 Response from Irish CSOs 

Re I. We would like to express our reservations in relation to the question 
of increase or decrease of victims of human trafficking in Ireland. Instead, 
we note that what could be claimed for sure is the fact that annually, there 
are  only  several  identification  procedures  carried  out  and  respectively 
very  few  R&R  permits  granted.  Yet  there  are  tens  of  detected  victims 
featuring  on  the  annual  statistical  reports  who  have  not  been  formally 
identified,  while  many  of  them  participate  in  continuous  criminal 
investigations  of  the  crime  committed  against  them.  In  addition,  we 
would like to raise a point of comparison with Northern Ireland that has 
half  the  population  of  the  Republic,  but  reports  similar  number  of 
detected victims in 2012.  

Re II. We are concerned about the process of re-victimisation of victims of 
trafficking stemming from the necessity to repeat traumatic accounts and 
also the pressure on victims to appear as a primary source of intelligence 
in trafficking  investigations. In that regard, we would repeat our call for 
more  pro-active  investigations  that  are  not  heavily  reliant  on  victims’ 
testimonies. 

Re II. Identification of victims of human trafficking does not involve input 
from  CSOs.  There  are  also  issues  around  detecting  certain  types  of 
exploitation.  Trafficking  for  forced  marriage  for  example  is  not  recorded 
and is not legislated for.  
An upcoming EC ISEC funded project involving the Immigrant Council of 
Ireland  and  the  Department  of  Justice  and  Equality,  led  by  the  Latvian 
Ministry  of  Interior  is  expected  to  provide  clarity  in  the  area  of  ‘sham’ 

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marriages in the context of human trafficking.  
Trafficking  for  criminal  activity,  particularly  in  cannabis  production263 
and  heroin  distribution,  is  not  recognised  by  the  courts  or  judiciary 
despite  the  recent  amendment  to  the  Criminal  Law  (Human  Trafficking) 
Act 2008 that expands the definition of the trafficking crime in Ireland.  
There  is  insufficient  understanding  of  the  Non-Punishment  principle 
(Article  26  of  the  Convention)  among  legal  practitioners  in  Ireland. 
Trafficking  for  forced  labour  insufficiently  detected,  and  relies  on  the 
work of CSOs.  

Prevention 
Measuring the result of 

Timeframe of the assessment period 
Objectives:  
Evaluation of campaigns 
Better  knowledge  and  effectiveness 
of  campaigns  and  identify  gaps  and 
shortcomings  in  the  campaigns,  in 
reaching  out  to  the  target  groups, 
and  in  the  tools  used  such  as  social 
networks through the internet 
Improved  campaign  materials  and 
better  use  of  the  available  tools  such 
as the internet 

Information  and  awareness  raising  campaigns,  including  to  curb 
demand 

Response from Irish CSOs 

There  has  been  a  wide  range  of  awareness  work  carried  out  in  Ireland, 
some of it sponsored by the Irish Government.  

The  Department  of  Justice  (AHTU)  in  partnership  with  Ruhama  are 
currently  (2014-15)  delivering  an  EU  PROGRESS  funded  awareness 
campaign targeting the  most vulnerable in Ireland in the commercial sex 
trade, who may be victims of THB. This project is also in partnership with 
The  Northern  Ireland  Ministry  for  Justice  as  well  as  the  police  and  key 
health and Civil Society organisations. 

The  Irish  CSO  have  been  particularly  active  in  the  field  of  prevention 
through  awareness  and  through  addressing  of  demand  that  fosters 
human trafficking. Examples of such efforts on the part of the CSO are:  
The photo exhibition “Not Natasha” in 2011, organised by the Immigrant 
Council and sponsored partially by the Department of Justice & Equality 
and Dublin City Council; 
Screening  of  the  documentary  “The  price  of  Sex”  in  various  venues 
around  Ireland,  which  was  hosted  by  Immigrant  Council,  Doras  Luimní 
and many other regional specialist organisations. 
Running  a  national  campaign  Turn  off  The  Red  Light,  aimed  at  the 
discouragement of demand that fosters the environment of sex trafficking 
(most 
Ireland). 
of 
form 
https://www.facebook.com/turnofftheredlight?fref=ts  
The  poster  campaign  “Anna  Was  14”  alerting  the  public  about  child 
trafficking and the young age of people entering prostitution, which was 
ran by the TORL sponsored by the Community Foundation of Ireland 
Research  on  demand  that  fosters  human  trafficking  “Stop  Traffick”:  
Under  the  EC  ISEC  programme,  the  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland  led  a 
transnational research based initiative  that explored the  issue of demand 
from  ‘users  of  services’  perspective  and  issued  practical  and  widely-
applicable recommendations for efficient demand reduction strategies264.  

trafficking 

prevalent 

in 

http://www.mrci.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Full-Report-Trafficking-for-Forced-

263 
Labour-in-Cannabis-Production-1.pdf  
264 http://www.stoptraffick.ie/  

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“No formal evaluations have been undertaken” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

Some  of  the  CSO  initiatives  have  been  evaluated,  which  is  often  a 
condition  for  accounting  to  the  funders  sponsoring  the  campaign.  For 
example  the  EC ISEC project “Stop  Traffick” has been evaluated and the 
recommendations  of 
the  European 
Commissioner  for  Home  Affairs,  the  EU  Anti-trafficking  Coordinator  as 
well as EU and national level politicians265.  

the  project  welcomed  by 

“No formal evaluations have been undertaken” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 
 Due to the fact that no evaluation has been undertaken of the awareness 
and  prevention  efforts  overall,  it  would  be  difficult  to  assess,  their 
effectiveness.  
It  is  hoped  that  the  eventual  appointment  of  an  Independent  National 
Rapporteur,  in  line  with  the  CSO  recommendations,  would  be  in  a 
position  to  provide  assessments  on  the  effectiveness  of  the  various 
initiatives. 
“No formal evaluations have been undertaken” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

As per the above, due to a lack of an evaluation it is difficult to assess if 
the campaigns have been successful in reaching the targeted group.  

Some campaigns will be delivered in the near future which will contain an 
evaluation component. 

“No formal evaluations have been undertaken” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

While detections of THB has decreased it is difficult to ascertain if this is 
due  to  awareness  raising  campaigns.  There  are  on-going  issues  with  the 
victim identification process.  
None provided 

Details  of  assessment  –  please 
elaborate  
Methodology 
Inclusion of statistics 
Who  carried  out  the  assessment, 
what  budget  was  available  and 
which 
and/or 
organisations 
stakeholders have been involved? 
List sources that have been used such 
law 
as 
enforcement  services,  reports  by 
CSOs,  EU 
academic 
studies,  international  organistaions 
etc? 
Output:  
Evaluation report 
Persons trained 
Persons reached by campaigns. 

analytical 

agencies, 

reports 

of 

Outcome 
Questions: 
lead  to  an 
Have  the  campaigns 
increase 
the  knowledge  and 
in 
awareness  of  THB  of  the  targeted 
group? 
How  have  the  campaigns  been  used 
by the targeted group? 
Did the targeted group identify more 
victims? 
Were  victims  better  referred  and 
assisted? 
Have campaigns prevented THB? 
Impact:  
Questions:  
Has  the  number  of  victims  of  THB 
decreased? 
Was THB prevented? 

Dissemination  and  Use  of 
Results – Please provide details 

the 

265 
Evaluation-by-Dr-Jane-Pillinger.pdf  

http://www.stoptraffick.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Stop-Traffick-Independent-

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the 

training  and 

Measuring the result of 
Timeframe of the assessment period  On-going 
Objectives 
Such as 
Evaluation  of 
education programmes on THB 
the 
on 
knowledge 
Increased 
effectiveness  of  these  programmes 
and 
identification  of  gaps  and 
shortcomings 
Improved programmes and materials 
as  well  as  better  use  of  the  available 
tools such as the internet 

Training and education programmes 

Response from Irish CSOs 

The  NREM  reports  that  An  Garda  Síochána  conduct  training  in 
conjunction  with 
society 
international  organisations 
organisations. Feedback forms at the training sessions act as a monitoring 
mechanism to evaluate the training.  

civil 

and 

A  particularly  welcome  approach  adopted  by  the  State  authorities  is  the 
regular  training  of  police  detectives  from  around  the  country  with  input 
from  non-governmental  organisations.  In  recent  past,  the  Train-the-
Trainer initiative had a wide reach among civil servants and practitioners 
who could encounter victims of trafficking. 

Details  of  the  assessment  –  please 
elaborate in each case 
Methodology 
Inclusion of statistics 
Who  carried  out  the  assessment, 
what  budget  was  available  and 
which 
and/or 
organisations 
stakeholders have been involved? 
List sources that have been used such 
as 
law 
enforcement  services,  reports  by 
academic 
CSOs,  EU 
studies,  international  organisations, 
etc? 
Output 
Such as 
Evaluation reports 
Persons trained 
Others 

analytical 

agencies, 

reports 

of 

Outcome 
Questions : 
Has the knowledge and awareness of 
THB of the targeted group increased? 
To what extend is the targeted group 
using the acquired knowledge? 
Have  more  victims  been  identified 
by the targeted group? 
Were  victims  better  referred  and 
assisted? 
Has the communication on the rights 
of victims improved? 
Have victims been better protected? 

“IOM conducted an evaluation of Garda training. Over 800 police officers 
have received this training” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

Feedback from training sessions by CSOs were made available but not of 
the overall evaluation of the entire training. 
“Improvements to implementation of training course. 
Initially  training  consisted  of  a  series  of  presentations  from  a  range  of 
different  stakeholders  (law  enforcement,  government  bodies  and  civil 
society)  however  following  a  review  of  the  feedback  and  input  from 
course  organisers  a  more  interactive  approach  was  adapted  which  also 
included  panel  discussions  and  more  time  for  questions  and  debate.  
Feedback  regarding  the  course  has  been  very  positive  indicating  that 
participants felt the course delivered on its objectives. Outcomes in terms 
of victim identification have not been assessed” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 

 It is difficult to assess whether the knowledge and awareness of THB has 
been effective with the target group – detections of THB have decreased in 
the last few years.  

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Impact:  
Questions:  
Have  the  number  of  victims  of  THB 
decreased? 
Was THB prevented? 

Additionally,  Ruhama  conducts  more  in-depth  training  with  Gardaí  on 
the issue of prostitution. 

“The number  of victims detected by/reported to An Garda Síochána has 
been decreasing in recent years however it is not possible to say with any 
certainty whether this is related to training” (official NREM template)   

Response from Irish CSOs 

The  victim  identification  process  is  problematic,  particularly  among 
certain  forms  of  THB,  such  as  trafficking  for  criminal  activity  (cannabis 
cultivation, heroin distribution)266  and for forced labour.  

Dissemination  and  Use  of 
Results – Please provide details 

the 

“Results are not publically available”. 

the 

Measuring the result of 
Timeframe of the assessment period 
Objectives:  
Evaluation 
of 
measures  on  prevention  and 
discourage demand 
Expose gaps and short comings 
Identify  best  practices  and  develop 
and/or improve legislative measures 
to better prevent THB 

legislative 
to 

Details  of  assessment  –  please 
specify and elaborate in each case 
Methodology 
Inclusion of statistics 
Who  carried  out  the  assessment, 
what  budget  was  available  and 
and/or 
organisations 
which 

Legislative measures on prevention and to discourage demand 

Response from Irish CSOs 

We  acknowledge  that  an  analysis  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  Human 
Trafficking Act in criminalising forced labour was conducted, which was 
welcome  and which subsequently led to an amendment to the  definition 
in 2013 to include a definition of ‘forced labour’.  

However,  the  effectiveness  of  the  legal  measures  to  discourage  demand 
for  the  most  widely  spread  form  of  exploitation,  sex  trafficking,  has  not 
been carried out.  

In this regard the absence of any convictions obtained under Art 5 of the 
Criminal Law (Human Trafficking ) Act 2008, specifically aimed at users 
of  services  of  trafficking  victims  has  not  been  acknowledged  and 
analysed. Nonetheless, the  futility of the provision to penalise users who 
knowingly purchase services from victims of trafficking is an established 
fact today. In light of this, the  CSOs welcome  the  Government Approval 
in November 2014 of the inclusion for unconditional penalties to users in 
the  sex  industry,  as  part  of  the  new  Criminal  Law  Sexual  Offences  Bill, 
while  the  CSOs  are  mindful  that  these  developments  occurred  after  the 
completion  of  the  official  NREM  report  by  the  State  and  therefore  were 
not included there. 
Response from Irish CSOs 

No formal evaluations of the 2008 or the 2013 acts are available.  

266 http://www.thejournal.ie/imprisoning-slavery-victims-1389053-Mar2014/  

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of 

reports 

analytical 

stakeholders have been involved? 
List sources that have been used such 
law 
as 
enforcement  services,  reports  by 
CSOs,  EU 
academic 
studies,  international  organisations, 
etc? 
Output 
Evaluation reports 

agencies, 

Outcome 
Questions: 
How  have  the  legislative  measures 
led  to  the  prevention  of  THB  in  all 
forms of THB? 
Have new measures been introduced 
and  were 
implemented 
they 
correctly? 
Have  relevant  actors  been  informed 
and trained on the new measures? 
Impact:  
Questions: 
Has THB decreased? 
Have  all 
prevented? 
Dissemination  and  Use  of 
Results – Please provide details 

forms  of  THB  been 

the 

“Neither  the  Criminal  Law  (Human  Trafficking)  Act,  2008  nor  the 
Criminal  Law  (Human  Trafficking)  (Amendment)  Act,  2013  have  been 
subject to formal evaluation as a whole” (official NREM template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 
This is would be an area of concern for Irish CSOs.  

“A  Report  of  the  examination  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  Criminal  Law 
(Human  Trafficking)  Act,  2008    Act  in  criminalising  forced  labour  was 
published  on  the  web  site    www.blueblindfold.gov.ie”  (official  NREM 
template) 

Response from Irish CSOs 
An evaluation led to the definition of forced labour being included in the 
2013 human trafficking amendment act.  

Response from Irish CSOs 
No formal evaluation of either the 2008 and 2013 pieces of legislation.  

There  has  been  no  formal  evaluation,  hence  no  dissemination  of  the 
results.  

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3. Gathering of statistics in close cooperation with relevant civil society organisations 
active in this field.  
We acknowledge that a designated anonymised template for statistical purposes has been 
developed, which the CSOs complete and submit. We also understand the efforts made 
by AHTU to eliminate any instances of duplication. These are welcome efforts and could 
represent the foundation for a very broad and valuable data collection process in Ireland. 
At  the  same  time,  we  remain  focused  on  the  areas  that  require  improvement  as 
previously outlined in this submission. 
________________________________________________________ 
© Doras Luimni, Ruhama, Immigrant Council of Ireland 2015  

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ANNEX 6 

Implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU from a gender 
perspective in Spain 

Research paper 
by Gema Fernández Rodríguez de Liévana and 
Viviana Waisman 

Abstract 
This paper provides a critical analysis of the transposition and the implementation 
of  different  elements  of  the  EU  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  focusing  on  the 
protection and promotion of victim’s rights.  
The  authors  explain  how  gender  stereotyping  is  creating  obstacles  in  the 
identification  of  victims  as  well  as  in  the  realization  of  other  State  obligations 
under  the  Directive  such  as  the  special  protection  required  for  child  victims  of 
trafficking.  The  authors  offer  information  based  on  qualitative  data  from  their 
experience investigating and litigating in  the field that demonstrates the need for 
Spain to improve its mechanisms of enforcement from a gender perspective of the 
non-punishment  principle,  data  collection  and  the  application  of  international 
protection, amongst others.  
The  paper  concludes  that  both  the  transposition  of  the  Directive  itself  and  the 
implementation  of  the  provisions  on  victims’  rights  are  inadequate  in  providing 
effective protection from a human rights and gendered approach. 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

AUTHORS 

Gema  Fernández  Rodríguez  de  Liévana  is  a  Senior  Attorney  at  Women’s  Link 
Worldwide.  She  received  her  law  degree  and  a  postgraduate  degree  in  International 
Relations:  European  Union  and  Globalization  from  the  Complutense  University  of 
Madrid  (Spain),  where  she  also  obtained  the  title  of  Equality  Agent,  granted  by  the 
university’s  Institute  of  Feminist  Studies.  She  also  holds  a  certificate  in  International 
Women’s Human Rights Protection from the Women’s Human Rights Training Institute 
(Bulgaria).   
Viviana  Waisman  Viviana  is  President  &  CEO  and  co-founder  of  Women‘s  Link 
Worldwide.  She  holds  a  Master  of  Studies  in  International  Human  Rights  Law  from 
Oxford University, a Juris  Doctorate  from the  University  of California Hastings  College 
Of Law in San Francisco and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of 
California, Berkeley. 

The authors  would like to  thank Dr Patricia Orejudo  Prieto de  los Mozos and Dr Keina 
Yoshida for their contributions and comments.  

This  paper  is  part  of  the  European  Implementation  Assessment  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU  (Trafficking  in  Human  Beings)  for  the  Committee  on  Women's  Rights  and 
Gender Equality FEMM, together with other analyses on the same issue.  

RESPONSIBLE ADMINISTRATOR 

Helmut Werner, Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
To contact the Unit, please e-mail EPRS-ExPostImpactAssessment@europarl.europa.eu 

LINGUISTIC VERSIONS 

Original: EN 

DISCLAIMER 

The opinions expressed in this document are the sole responsibility of the authors and do 
not necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. 

Reproduction and translation for non-commercial purposes are authorized, provided the 
source is acknowledged and the publisher is given prior notice and sent a copy. 

Manuscript completed in April 2016 
Brussels © European Union, 2016. 

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European Implementation Assessment 

Content 

Executive summary ............................................................................................................ 215 

I. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 215 

II. Spain’s transposition of Directive 2011/36/EU .................................................... 218 

III. Gender Perspective: gender stereotyping and trafficking ............................ 221 
A. Gender stereotyping ................................................................................................... 221 
B. Gender stereotyping and trafficking victims ....................................................... 222 
C. Gender stereotyping in the transposition ............................................................. 223 

IV. Identification of trafficking victims ..................................................................... 223 
A. Identification of trafficking victims with a gender perspective ..................... 224 
B. Cooperation with relevant support organizations and training .................... 226 
C. Identification of Child victims of THB .................................................................. 227 

V. Protection and Identification of Member States nationals............................. 228 

VI. Violation of the non-punishment clause from a gender perspective ........ 229 

VII. Due process violations restricting victims’ right to freedom of movement231 

VIII. Consequences of the crime control model ...................................................... 232 

IX. Lack of access to international protection ........................................................... 234 

X. Process and data collection from a gender perspective .................................... 235 

XI. Conclusion ...................................................................................................................... 235 

Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 237 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Executive summary 

In  this  paper  the  authors  offer  an  analysis  of  Spain’s  efforts  to  implement  Directive 
2011/36/EU from a gender perspective with a focus on the sections of the Directive that 
call for protection mechanisms. The paper focuses on the transposition of the sections of 
the  Directive  that  best  demonstrate  the  need  for  improvement  to  protect  trafficking 
victims. It does not seek to offer an exhaustive analysis of all the articles of the Directive.  

The  information  and  analysis  offered  in  the  document  derive  from  the  authors’ 
experiences  of  working  in  the  field  as  part  of  the  non-governmental  organization 
Women’s  Link  Worldwide  and  thus  is  sometimes  anecdotal  in  nature.  Included  are  a 
number  of  case  studies  that  seek  to  better  illustrate  the  realities  faced  by  trafficking 
victims  in  Spain  and  the  difficulties  that  they  frequently  have  accessing  justice  and  the 
basic rights to which they are entitled under the Directive and other norms. 

The  paper  first  provides  some  contextual  information  on  the  features  of  the  trafficking 
phenomenon in the country and the legislative actions taken by the government to tackle 
it prior to the adoption of the Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and the 
Council  of  5  April  2011  on  preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and 
protecting its victims (‘the Directive’).  

In the last several years, important efforts have been made by the State to put into place 
mechanisms  to  address  human  trafficking.  Despite  these  efforts,  there  continues  to  be 
serious  deficiencies.  The  paper  critically  analyses  the  Spanish  authorities’  efforts  to 
transpose  the  Directive  from  a  gender  perspective,  assessing  whether  the  legal 
framework  adopted  includes  a  comprehensive,  human  rights  based  approach  to 
trafficking  in  human  beings  that  includes  all  forms  of  exploitation  and  all  victims, 
regardless  of  their  nationality.  Further  it  analyses  the  harmful  role  that  gender 
stereotyping plays in the identification process and how it impacts on a potential victim’s 
possibilities  to  receive  protection.  In  this  section,  we  provide  a  case  study,  illustrating 
how the State’s myopic focus on trafficking for sexual exploitation reinforces the general 
idea that in Spain, trafficking exists only for sexual exploitation, creating a blind spot for 
State agents in relation to other cases that also affect women and girls. 

The paper also examines the identification machinery in place in Spain, concluding that it 
is neither effective nor coherent due to its focus on crime (prosecution) and immigration.  

The key findings of the report are as follows:  

Spain’s lack of a comprehensive, human rights approach in  transposing the Directive as 
well  as  the  general  lack  of  a  gender  perspective  in  its  implementation  has  led  to 
deficiencies  in  the  ability  of  the  State  to  adequately  protect  the  rights  of  trafficking 
victims.    In  this  regard,  the  State  addresses  trafficking  from  a  criminal  law  framework 
and an immigration control one, and not from a human rights framework. 

Gender  stereotypes  frequently  hamper  the  identification  of  victims  of  trafficking  in 
human beings.  This gender stereotyping manifests itself in different ways including the 
legislation’s  sole  focus  on  sexual  exploitation,  meaning  that  other  gendered  forms  of 
trafficking remain invisible and thus are inadequately combated.   

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European Implementation Assessment 

Gender  and  racial  stereotypes  often  intersect  or  function  together  to  deny  women  and 
children  their  basic  rights  to  access  justice  and  protection,  including  identification, 
recovery and reflection periods and access to international protection.   

Spain is failing in its obligations under Article  18 of the  Directive, which stipulates that 
EU member states should provide regular training for officials likely to come into contact 
with victims or potential victims of trafficking in human beings,  including (but not only) 
front-line police officers. 

In Spain the only authority responsible for  identification is the national police,  meaning 
that other State actors do not act to comply with the obligations under the Directive.  

The  exclusive  competency  of  the  police  in  assessing  whether  someone  is  a  trafficking 
victim  and  the  lack  of  a  multidisciplinary  team’s  presence  during  identification 
procedures means that the Spanish State is currently failing to comply with Article 11.5 of 
the  Directive.  The  EU  Directive  has  recognised  that  it  is  imperative  that  a  victim  has 
knowledge  of  the  assistance  and  support  measures  available.    This  is  currently  not  the 
case in Spain.  

The  lack  of  a  comprehensive,  victim-centred  approach  to  trafficking  that  includes  all 
forms  of  exploitation  and  all  victims,  regardless  of  their  nationality,  has  resulted  in 
inadequate government action. As a consequence, victims of trafficking from within the 
EU have frequently been left invisible.  

It  is  crucial  that  the  non-punishment  clause  set  out  in  Article  8  of  the  Directive  be 
implemented with a gender perspective. This would mean its extension to administrative 
penalties, which trafficking victims for sexual exploitation often face.  

Child  victims  of  trafficking  are  inadequately  protected  in  Spain  not  only  as  a  result  of 
failures to identify them as victims of trafficking, but also failures to even identify them 
as minors. In some cases, there have even been failures to identify potential victims both 
as  a  victim  of  trafficking  and  as  children.  Furthermore,  the  lack  of  specialized  facilities 
leads to ineffective protection even when children are correctly identified.  

Despite  the  high  number  of  trafficking  victims  in  Spain,  there  are  an  alarmingly  low 
number  of  women  that  are  granted  and  accept  protection  from  the  authorities  under  a 
recovery  and  reflection  period  and  an  even  lower  number  of  women  that  are  granted 
international protection. 

Process and data collection is not being implemented from a gender perspective in Spain. 
This means that no information is made public as to gendered forms of trafficking other 
than  for  sexual  exploitation  and  that  even  data  on  sexual  exploitation  is  not  being 
produced  by  the  government  agency  tasked  with  issues  of  gender  violence  and 
discrimination, but by the police and the Prosecutor’s Office.  

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

I. Introduction 

Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of  5  April  2011  on 
preventing  and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims  (‘the 
Directive’) is a clear mandate to EU Member States to adopt an integrated, holistic, and 
human rights approach in the fight against trafficking in human beings (THB) and to do 
so  with  a  gender  perspective.  At  the  same  time,  it  is  important  to  note  that  the  EU  is 
undergoing  a  period  of  extreme  difficulty  as  it  seeks  to  implement  new  policies  to 
address  the  current  influx  of  refugees  and  other  migrants  entering  Europe.  There  is 
evidence that women and children are in a particularly vulnerable situation and thus at 
risk of falling into the hands of traffickers. This situation is exacerbated when restrictions 
block  legal  entry.  The  current  EU  approach  can  be  seen  as  sending  a  contradictory 
message to the Member States as it relates to the mandate of the Directive at hand.  

Against  this  background  this  paper  seeks  to  analysis  Spain’s  efforts  to  implement  the 
Directive from a gender perspective. The information and analysis offered in this paper 
derive  from  the  authors’  experiences  of  working  in  the  field  as  part  of  the  organization 
Women’s Link Worldwide. Since 2006 Women’s Link has been documenting the situation 
of trafficking victims in Spain, litigating cases on behalf  of victims of  trafficking to gain 
recognition of rights and access to justice as well as participating in civil society’s efforts 
to  advance  the  rights  of  these  women  and  girls.  It  is  important  to  note  that  Women’s 
Link’s  efforts  are  all  directed  towards  the  protection  and  recognition  of  the  rights  of 
trafficking victims; and not focused on prevention or prosecution. Thus, we only address 
prevention and prosecution where the issues relate to the protection of women and girls.  

As part of the paper’s methodology we provide a number of case studies.  Some of these 
case studies are cases that Women’s Link has litigated. The ones not litigated by Women’s 
Link  relate  to  cases  and  information  provided  to  us  by  partner  organisations  in  Spain. 
The  information  contained  in  this  paper  is  often  anecdotal  in  nature  relating  the 
qualitative methodology of the paper.  It is a product of our work, our experience in the 
field,  as  well  as  numerous  and  frequent  conversations  with  colleagues  throughout  the 
years.  One  of  the  issues  in  the  field  is  the  lack  of  documentation  and  evidence  based 
research.  Women’s  Link  has  worked  to  bridge  the  literature  gap  through  qualitative 
research and fact-finding and are experts in this area (Women’s Link, 2012). The cases we 
include  are  illustrative  and  real  life  examples  of  what  is  occurring  in  Spain.  The  paper 
focuses  on  the  provisions  of  the  Directive  that  are  the  weakest  due  to  the  lack  of  a 
comprehensive  human  rights  approach  with  a  gender  perspective.  This  paper  does  not 
seek to offer an exhaustive analysis of all the articles of the Directive.  

Spain is a destination, origin, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected 
to  forced  labour  and  sex  trafficking.  According  to  the  U.S.  State  Department  2015  TiP 
Report267 'women from Eastern Europe (particularly Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Russia, 
and Croatia), Latin America and the Caribbean (particularly Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, 
and Ecuador), China, and Nigeria are subjected to sex trafficking in Spain. Many women 
forced  into  prostitution  are  held  under  the  control  of  Nigerian,  Romanian,  and  Spanish 
trafficking  networks  that  operate  out  of  major  cities  in  Spain.  In  addition,  victims  are 

267  US  Department  of  State  ‘Trafficking  in  Persons  Report  2015’  (July  2015)  Available  at  
www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2015/ 

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increasingly  subjected  to  trafficking  by  individuals  and  smaller  groups  of  traffickers. 
Unaccompanied migrant children continue to be vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced 
begging in Spain'. 

It was not until relatively  recently  that  protection measures for  trafficking victims  were 
enacted in Spanish law.  Organic Law 4/2000268 was amended in 2009 in order to include 
the period of recovery and reflection and in 2010 through an amendment of the Criminal 
Code,  trafficking  of  human  beings  became  a  crime  for  the  first  time.269    The  legal 
instruments  selected  for  amendment  by  the  Government  in  order  to  comply  with  its 
obligations  under  EU  law270  says  much  about  the  focus  on  these  measures:  namely, 
migration and crime control.  

Subsequently, the Government approved a number of Action Plans on trafficking for the 
purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  (public  policy  documents  without  legal  force)  and 
modified  a  number  of  laws  that  regulate  diverse  issues  which  relate  to  trafficking,  in  a 
patchwork and ad hoc fashion further underlining the lack of systematic consideration of 
this phenomenon.  

II. Spain’s transposition of Directive 2011/36/EU 

In  accordance  with  Article  1  of  the  Directive,  Spain  has  transposed  the  Directive  into 
domestic law as it relates to the adoption of minimum standards in the field of criminal 
law.  Amendment  to  the  Spanish  Criminal  Code  introducing,  among  others,  Article  177 
Bis adopts for the most part the definition of the crime of trafficking of human beings as 
set out in the Directive.  The wording of the provisions differs from the Directive in so far 
as the Spanish Criminal Code excludes the words “exploitation of criminal activities.”  

In addition to the above stated amendments to the Criminal Code to include the crime of 
human  trafficking,  Spain’s  efforts  to  transpose  the  Directive  includes  the  passage  or 
amendment of a number of other laws and policy papers. In its reporting to the European 
Commission regarding the transposition of the  Directive, Spain has included a list of 36 
“laws”  as  National  Implementing  Measures  (NIM)  concerning  the  Directive.271  All  the 
documents  included  in  the  communication  were  published  in  Spain’s  official  State 
bulletin  (Boletin  Oficial  del  Estado).  However,  this  list  contains  both  amendments  to 
existing  Acts  (or  legislation)  that  specifically  address  trafficking,  general  legislation  not 

268 Ley Orgánica 4/2000, de 11 de enero, sobre derechos y libertades de los extranjeros en España y 
su  integración  social.  Boletín  Oficial  del  Estado  de  12  de  diciembre.    Available  in  Spanish  at: 
www.boe.es/boe/dias/2009/12/12/pdfs/BOE-A-2009-19949.pdf  
269 Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal. Boletín Oficial del Estado de 23 de 
junio. Available in Spanish at:  www.boe.es/boe/dias/2010/06/23/pdfs/BOE-A-2010-9953.pdf 
270  Council  of  Europe  Convention  on  Action  against  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  and  its 
Explanatory  Report  (Warsaw,  16.V.2005)  Council  of  Europe  Treaty  Series  –  No  197  and  Council 
Directive  2004/81/EC  of  29  April  2004  on  the  residence  permit  issues  to  third-country  nationals 
who  are  victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  or  who  have  been  the  subject  of  an  action  to 
facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities.  
271  National  Implementing  Measures  (NIM)  communicated  by  the  Member  States  concerning: 
Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing 
and  combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims,  and  replacing  Council 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
Framework  Decision 
content/EN/NIM/?uri=CELEX:32011L0036&qid=1456330803729  

2002/629/JHA.  Available 

at: 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

intended to address trafficking;272 Acts that were repealed by subsequent passed Acts; 273 
corrections (errata sheet) and Policy Papers.274  

Thus, despite the relatively long list of National Implementing Measures communicated, 
only four of these specifically address the crime of trafficking, and the prevention or the 
protection  of victims. The  remainder  of these laws are  of general application and could 
affect  trafficking  victims  as  well  as  victims  of  all  other  crimes  and  a  number  of  other 
situations  as  they  deal  with  different  aspects  of  the  justice  system  such  as  legal  aid, 
assistance  for  victims  of  violent  crimes  or  the  right  of  victims  to  be  part  of  criminal 
proceedings.  

Furthermore, if we remove from this list of 36 NIM laws that simply seek to correct errors 
in  the  previous  publication  of  a  law;  laws  that  have  been  repealed;  laws  that  simply 
amend  a  law  that  is  also  listed  as  one  of  the  36;  and  the  first  National  Plan  Against 
Trafficking  (Policy  Paper  which  is  currently  not  in  force),  the  number  of  measures  that 
actually  seek  to  transpose  the  Directive  is  reduced  to  20.  Of  these  20,  eight  are  policy 
papers  or  administrative  decisions.  In  conclusion,  12  of  the  original  36  “laws” 
communicated  to  the  Commission,  are  actually  laws  that  apply  either  directly  or 
indirectly to trafficking.  

Therefore, the Directive has not been adequately transposed with regards to obligations 
to prevent the crime and to protect victims of THB. This is partly due to the inadequacy 
of  the  implementing  legal  instruments  that  Spain  has  adopted  (Roth,  2016).  One  major 
issue  is  the  lack  of  binding  regulations  or  laws  that  address  trafficking  from  a  human 
rights perspective. Other than the provisions in the criminal code, the  only two binding 
legal  norms  that  include  provisions  specifically  related  to  trafficking  victims  are  the 
Victims  of  Crime  Protection  Act275  and  sections  of  Spain’s  amended  2009  Immigration 
Law and accompanying regulations.276 The other instruments that Spain has enacted are 

272  These are  the  Ley  Orgánica 19/1994,  de  23  de  diciembre, de  protección  a  testigos  y  peritos  en 
causas  criminales  and  the  Ley  Orgánica  13/2015,  de  5  de  octubre,  de  modificación  de  la  Ley  de 
Enjuiciamiento  Criminal  para  el  fortalecimiento  de  las  garantías  procesales  y  la  regulación  de  las 
medidas  de  investigación  tecnológica.  Laws  relating  to  the  protection  of  witnesses  and  expert 
witnesses in criminal trials and on fair trial guarantees and new technologies of investigation.  
273  This  is  the  case  with  the  Ley  Orgánica  3/2000,  de  11  de  enero,  de  modificación  de  la  Ley 
Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre, del Código Penal, en materia de lucha contra la corrupción 
de agentes públicos extranjeros en las transacciones comerciales internacionales. (On corruption of 
foreign public agents relating to international commerical transactions).  
274 These are the following: Corrección de errores de la Ley Orgánica 13/2015, de 5 de octubre, de 
modificación  de  la  Ley  de  Enjuiciamiento  Criminal  para  el  fortalecimiento  de  las  garantías 
procesales y la regulación de las medidas de investigación tecnológica; Corrección de errores de la 
Ley  26/2015,  de  28  de  julio,  de  modificación  del  sistema  de  protección  a  la  infancia  y  a  la 
adolescencia; and Corrección de errores de la Ley 41/2015, de 5 de octubre, de modificación de la 
Ley  de  Enjuiciamiento  Criminal  para  la  agilización  de  la  justicia  penal y  el  fortalecimiento  de  las 
garantías  procesales.  (Laws  updating  and  modifying:  fair  trial  guarantees  and  the  regulation  of 
investigation involving new technology; systems of protection of children and Young persons; and 
the improvement of fair trial guarantees and criminal justice).  
275 Ley 4/2015, de 27 de abril, del Estatuto de la víctima del delito. Boletín Oficial del Estado de 28 
de abril. Available in Spanish at: www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2015-4606  
276 Real Decreto 557/2011, de 20 de abril, por el que se aprueba el Reglamento de la Ley Orgánica 
4/2000,  sobre  derechos  y  libertades  de  los  extranjeros  en  España  y  su  integración  social,  tras  su 
reforma  por  Ley  Orgánica  2/2009.  Boletín  Oficial  del  Estado  de  30  de  abril  de  2011.  Available  in 
Spanish at:  www.boe.es/boe/dias/2011/04/30/pdfs/BOE-A-2011-7703.pdf 

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either not legally binding – thus dependent on the political will of the State’s agents—or 
are general laws that apply to trafficking as well as to numerous other crimes. These non-
binding  instruments  are  two  National  Plans277  and  a  Framework  Protocol,  discussed 
further below.278 

The  first  National  Plan  was  in  force  between  2009  and  2012  and  put  in  place  the  then 
Government’s  intentions  in  relation  to  trafficking  of  human  beings  for  sexual 
exploitation. The second National Plan, currently in effect (2015 – 2018) is a policy paper 
that only addresses trafficking for sexual exploitation. The policy does not address other 
forms  of  trafficking  such  as  labour,  domestic  work,  forced  begging,  forced  marriages, 
sham marriages and organ harvesting.   

In 2011 the Framework Protocol came into effect following agreement between a number 
of Government Ministries: the Home Office, Justice, Employment and Social Benefits and 
Health,  Social  Services  and  Equality;  the  National  Public  Prosecutor's  Office;  and  the 
Judge’s  Council.  The  Protocol  aims  to  “establish  operational  guidelines  for  the  detection, 
identification,  support  and  protection  of  victims  of  human  trafficking,  to  foster  coordination 
among  the  institutions  involved  in  these  processes  and  to  define  the  mechanisms  for  the 
relationship  among  authorities  with  responsibilities  in  the  field,  along  with  the  processes  for 
communication  and  cooperation  with  organisations  and  bodies  with  proven  experience  in 
attending to victims of trafficking, in particular those which provide comprehensive support and 
are involved in public administration programmes for victim support and protection.”  

The Framework Protocol regulates the following:  

  Definition of human trafficking 

 

Scope of application of the Protocol  

  Detection of possible victims of human trafficking and initial actions 

 

 

 

 

 

Identification of presumed victims of human trafficking 

Specific actions with victims who are “illegal” foreigners, including  

rehabilitation and reflection period 

identification at the border or in foreigner internment centres 

Specific actions in cases of victims of human trafficking who are legal minors 

  Action by organisations and bodies specialising in attending to victims of human 

trafficking  

While  the  Spanish  Government’s  commitment  to  combating  sexual  exploitation  is 
welcomed,  in  this  paper  we  draw  attention  to  how  this  single  focus  fails  to  take  into 

277 The plan currently into force is Plan Integral de Lucha Contra la Trata de mujeres y niñas con fines de 
explotación sexual 2015-2018, available in Spanish at 
www.violenciagenero.msssi.gob.es/planActuacion/planContraExplotacionSexual/docs/Plan_Inte
gral_Trata_18_Septiembre2015_2018.pdf 
278 Framework Protocol for Protection of Victims of Trafficking (Protocolo Marco de protección de las 
víctimas de trata de seres humanos, 2011). See at 
www.violenciagenero.msssi.gob.es/otrasFormas/trata/normativaProtocolo/marco/docs/Protocol
oTrataEN.pdf 

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

account other forms of exploitation. Further, we illustrate how the current understanding 
of tackling THB relates to law enforcement and the police force meaning that other State 
actors  are  not  sufficiently  engaged  in  the  process  of  identifying,  protecting  and 
supporting victims of THB. Finally,  we illustrate through a number of case studies how 
the  State  is  failing  to  adopt  a  human  rights  approach  in  the  fight  against  THB  and  the 
protection of the victims.  

III.  Gender  Perspective:  gender 
trafficking  

stereotyping  and 

Article  1  of  the  Directive  provides  that  Member  States  (MS)  must  take  into  account  a 
gender  perspective.  Although  there  is  no  further  indication  in  the  Directive  as  to  what 
“the gender perspective” means, the Directive and wider EU legal and policy framework 
make it clear that MS need to take gender-specific actions. As the European Commission 
noted in its Mid-term report on the implementation of the EU strategy towards the eradication of 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  Brussels,  17  October  2014  (SWD  (2014)  318,  [5.3]:  “For  the  first 
time, the Directive adopts a gender-specific approach to THB, recognizing that women and men, 
girls and boys, are trafficked in different circumstances and require gender-specific assistance and 
support.”279  The  wider  EU  strategy  on  THB  recognizes  violence  against  women  and 
gender inequalities as root causes of trafficking. 

The provisions of the EU Anti-Trafficking Directive which call on MS to adopt a gender 
perspective in relation to providing victims  of THB with protection measures,  has been 
inadequately  transposed  and  implemented  by  the  Spanish  Government.    Thus  far  the 
provisions  have  focused  solely  on  sexual  exploitation,  with  implementation  measures 
reflecting a stereotyped view of prostitution and sex work.  The result of this stereotyped 
and narrow focus has meant that other forms of exploitation and other potential victims 
or issues, such as childhood, have not been considered adequately, if at all.    

A. Gender stereotyping 

A stereotype is a generalized or preconceived notion of the characteristics or attributes of 
the  members  of  a  group  or  a  preconceived  idea  of  the  roles  that  certain  members  of  a 
group  should  play.  A  stereotype  presumes  that  all  members  of  a  certain  group  possess 
those attributes or characteristics.  What is essential to a stereotype is that it be used as a 
way  of  avoiding  an  individualised  investigation  into  a  particular  person’s  abilities  or 
circumstances. It is also essential that the generalisations that amount to stereotypes have 
been  adopted  by  one  group  as  a  description  of  other  individuals,  rather  than  derived 
from  these  individuals’  own  attempts  at  self-definition  (Moreau,  2004).  A  gender 
stereotype  refers  to  the  social  and  cultural  construction  regarding  men  and  women  in 

279 Available online at:   
http://ec.europa.eu/anti-
trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/commission_staff_working_document_-_mid-
term_report_on_the_implementation_of_the_eu_strategy_towards_the_eradication_of_trafficking_i
n_human_beings.pdf 

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relation  to  their  different  roles  in  society,  be  it  based  on  physical,  biological,  social  or 
other reasons (Fernández, 2015).  

Stereotyping  can  affect  the  prosecution  of  gender-based  violence  cases,  such  as  where 
procedures and rules of evidence in the criminal justice system are infiltrated by strong 
gender stereotypes which can result in engagement in gender-biased behaviour by court 
officials  and  discrimination  against  women  by  the  criminal  system  in  general  (Knaul, 
2011).  They can also influence whether or not courts issue and enforce protection orders; 
perpetrators are held to account for  their violent acts; and survivors receive  reparations 
for those acts (Cusack, 2014).   

B. Gender stereotyping and trafficking victims 

In  the  context  of  trafficking,  it  is  important  to  highlight  the  ways  in  which  gender 
stereotypes  impact  upon  victims  of  THB,  including  issues  of  credibility  and  access  to 
protection and support. Gender stereotyping impacts Spain’s ability to comply with the 
in  that  stereotyping  hinders  proper  and  timely 
EU  Anti-Trafficking  Directive 
identification  of  the  victims  of  THB  while  also  creating  obstacles  in  victims’  access  to 
justice. For example, a commonly held stereotype about women in our society is that they 
are more likely to be manipulative or liars (Kennedy, 1993). In the context of trafficking, 
this stereotype can be very harmful as women victims of trafficking are often thought to 
be  making  up  stories.  Discrimination  based  on  gender  or  gender  stereotyping  often 
interacts  with  other  forms  of  discrimination.  Thus,  an  intersectional  analysis  of  the 
discrimination  faced  by  trafficking  victims  reveals  that  women  migrants  face  an  even 
stronger  application  of  this  stereotype;  that  is,  State  authorities  often  work  under  the 
preconceived idea that a migrant  woman facing deportation is highly likely to fabricate 
facts or claim to be a trafficking victim in order to avoid being deported. 

Another stereotype that creates obstacles to identity victims of THB are those associated 
with  the  preconceived  notion  of  how  a  victim  of  a  violent  crime  “should”  behave; 
especially  a  female  victim.  Most  often,  authorities  expect  women  who  are  “victims”  to 
behave  in  a  certain  manner,  for  example,  scared,  hurt,  trapped,  highly  emotional,  etc. 
When a woman does  not  act in this  way, her status as a victim  is often questioned and 
could lead to her account being discredited.  

Furthermore,  stereotypes  based  on  the  intersection  of  race  and  gender  may  also 
contribute  to  poor  treatment  of  potential  victims  of  trafficking,  including  a  lack  of 
identification and access to protection as well as discriminatory treatment in interactions 
with authorities. For example, black women in Spain are often stereotyped as prostitutes. 
A  clear  example  of  this  can  be  seen  in  a  case  that  condemned  Spain  for  discrimination 
based on race and gender.280 In this case, the inhumane treatment the applicant received 
from  police  officers  was  based  on  the  fact  that  she  was  a  black  woman  and  thus 
presumed  to  be  a  prostitute,  and  less  deserving  of  her  fundamental  human  rights.  She 
was  assaulted  by  police  officers  on  two  separate  occasions,  and  subject  to  verbal  racist 
assault.  Significantly,  the  Spanish  government  in  its  answers  to  the  European  Court  of 
Human Rights insisted on the need to control prostitution and trafficking conflating the 

280 B.S. v Spain, Application no. 47159/08, ECHR 2012. 

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issues  and  submitting  that  it  needed  to  do  so  for  security  purposes.  This  case  clearly 
demonstrates  the  lack  of  understanding  which  the  Government  has  of  trafficking  and 
explains why there are problems with identification based on stereotypes.  

In  order  to  illustrate  the  ways  in  which  gender  stereotypes  operate  vis-a-vis  the 
identification  and  protection  of  victims  of  THB,  we  will  put  forth  a  number  of  case 
studies.  Except  for  the  first  case  study,  the  examples  are  all  taken  from  our  own 
experiences of litigating trafficking cases.  

C. Gender stereotyping in the transposition  

Another prevalent stereotype in Spain regarding trafficking has been largely created by 
the lack of implementation of the Directive itself. As set out above, all government efforts 
have  been  and  are  currently  focused  on  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation.  One  of  the 
consequences of the sole focus by Spain on trafficking for sexual exploitation is the lack of 
investigations  or  policy  to  address  other  forms  of  trafficking  leading  to  a  generalized 
view  that  other  forms  of  human  trafficking  are  not  taking  place.  This  makes  trafficking 
for other types of exploitation, such as for labour, remain invisible. 

CASE STUDY 1– Three cloister nuns of Indian origin reported before the Spanish 
authorities that they were locked up against their will in a convent in Santiago de 
Compostela (Galicia) for nearly 20 years. When they expressed their desire to leave 
the convent, the abbess allegedly threatened them, telling them that they would be 
deported to their country of origin due to their lack of residence permit. The judge 
in charge of the case stated in her decision, that the farming work they had carried 
out was performed “in conditions of quasi slavery.” Her comments were based on 
the police investigation in the case. Consequently, she ordered the liberation of the 
nuns and started proceedings against the abbess. (Auto, de 22 de enero de 2016, del 
Juzgado de Instrucción No. 1 de Santiago de Compostela) 

There  was  no  mention  in  the  investigation,  in  the  case  or  in  accompanying  news 
stories  of  the  possibility  that  the  nuns  were  victims  of  trafficking  for  labour 
exploitation.  This  case  is  illustrative  of  how  the  State’s  focus  on  trafficking  for 
sexual exploitation creates the general idea that in Spain trafficking exists only for 
sexual exploitation; creating a blind spot for State agents.  

(Authors reviewed Auto, de 22 de enero de 2016, del Juzgado de Instrucción No. 1 
de Santiago de Compostela after the case appeared in the press.) 

IV. Identification of trafficking victims  

The  Directive  states  “Member  States  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  establish 
appropriate mechanisms aimed at the early identification of, assistance to and support for 
victims, in cooperation with relevant support organizations.” 

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The timely identification of trafficking victims is a crucial aspect of counter-trafficking as 
well  as  the  gateway  for  access  to  a  host  of  rights  and  protections  for  the  victims.  The 
failure to correctly identity a trafficking victim or a potential victim is in itself a violation 
of  the  rights  and  obligations  derived  from  the  Directive.  At  the  same  time,  the  lack  of 
identification  leads  to  a  denial  of  a  number  of  other  rights  as  well  as  to  unsuccessful 
criminal investigations and the impunity of traffickers.  

A. Identification of trafficking victims with a gender perspective 

In Spain, the identification process is far from being effective or coherent. The impact of 
the  lack of appropriate  implementation of this article of the  Directive has consequences 
not  just  for  Spain,  but  also  for  other  EU  Member  states  due  to  the  fact  that  Spain  is  an 
important entry point of trafficking victims in Europe.  

The failures that are present in effective implementation of identification procedures are 
in large part structural. In Spain, the only institution with the legal authority to identify 
and  certify  that  a  person  is  a  victim  of  THB  is  the  National  Police  In  accordance  with 
national legislation under Art. 141.2 Regulation on Foreigners and section VII.A.1 Frame 
Protocol police officers must receive specific training on the prevention and fight against 
THB, and also training in order to identify and assist victims. However, the designation 
of  the  police  force  as  the  sole  State  agency  responsible  for  these  tasks  is  highly 
problematic in terms of combating THB for several reasons.  

First  and  foremost,  this  structure  does  not  allow  for  a  human  rights  approach  to  be 
employed in the treatment of trafficking or potential trafficking victims. The police units 
are tasked with combating illegal immigration and investigating criminal offences. Thus, 
the  fact  that  they  are  also  tasked  with  performing  the  identification  interviews  and 
identifying  victims  means  that  the  approach  can  only  be  one  that  focuses  on  migration 
and crime control and not on the human rights of the victims.  

The  US  Department  of  State  affirmed  in  its  Trafficking  in  Persons  Report  of  2011,  that  in 
Spain  “(the)  continued  lack  of  formalized  procedures  for  proactive  identification  increased  the 
likelihood that unidentified victims were treated like illegal migrants and deported.”281 The duty 
to identify, support and assist victims is currently only a secondary consideration, if that, 
resulting in inadequate protection for suspected victims of THB.  

Similarly, the fact that the same institution that interviews a potential victim also has the 
power to detain that person for illegal activity or to deport her if she is not legally in the 
country  creates  a  power  dynamic  between  the  interviewer  and  the  interviewee  that  is 
very likely to cause increase stress and vulnerability in a woman that has been trafficked. 
This is of special concern when trafficking victims fear for the safety of family and loved 
ones in their countries of origin. This fear often manifests as reluctance on the part of the 
trafficking  victim  to  give  information,  heightening  the  already  present  stereotypes 
described above. 

281  US  Department  of  State  “Trafficking 
www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/164233.htm  

in  Persons  Report  2011”  (2011)  available  at 

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Further,  the  fact  that  it  is  police  officers  that  interview  potential  victims  is  problematic 
due to the perceptions that exist regarding the role of security forces in many parts of the 
world.  In  many  cases,  trafficking  victims  will  be  reluctant  to  speak  with  police  officers. 
Furthermore, the overwhelming number of male police officers in comparison to women 
on the  national police force means that women are often required to tell difficult stories 
that  include  incidences  of  sexual  violence  and  other  abuses  to  men  from  a  culture 
different to their own. 

The  reliance  on  stereotypes  to  undermine  credibility  is  exacerbated  when  trafficking 
victims  are  detained  in  immigration  detention  centres,  where  migrants  are  held  (for  a 
maximum of 60 days) before they are deported to their countries of origin. Women held 
in  immigration  detention  centres  who  claim  to  be  trafficking  victims  and/or  claim  for 
asylum  are  particularly  affected  by  the  stereotyped  notion  that  migrant  women  are 
willing  to  do  anything,  including  make  up  stories,  in  order  to  not  be  removed.  In 
addition to the issues outlined above, the manner in which identification is carried out (or 
in some cases not at all) in these detention centres aggravates the deficient identification.  

First  of  all,  there  is  no  protocol  that  sets  out  how  the  identification  process  should  be 
carried  out.  This  leaves  the  procedure  at  the  hands  of  the  director  of  each  detention 
centre, or even each police officer or team of officers. Second, proactive interviews are not 
conducted to identify potential victims in the detention centres, thus placing the onus on 
the  victims  to  self-identify  and  ask  for  protection  activating  suspicion  that  they  are 
abusing  the  system  by  making  up  a  trafficking  story.  Finally,  as  previously  mentioned 
the  identification  process  is  only  carried  out  by  police  officers  and  with  limited  legal 
guarantees at detention centres. For example, the police officers often take women to be 
questioned  without  notifying  their  attorneys  or  civil  society  organizations,  and  without 
proper interpreters.  

We have witnessed that the police officers’ attitudes during the interview process can be 
disrespectful, accusing and even abusive. The consequence is an environment that can  

lead a victim to feel as though her credibility is questioned or as if she were the criminal. 

CASE STUDY 2  (Case brought by  Women’s Link)  –  Ms. Gladys John, a Nigerian 
woman,  was  trafficked  into  Spain  for  the  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation  in  2006. 
Upon arrival she claimed asylum on grounds of religious persecution. She did not 
mention that she had been trafficked. The responsible authority (Oficina de Asilo y 
Refugio – OAR, a department within the Ministry of Interior) did not refer her to the 
authorities  responsible  for  identifying  her  as  a  victim  of  THB,  even  though  there 
were indicia that this was a possibility.  

Her asylum claim was dismissed despite evidence that she was a trafficking victim. 
It  is  widely  known  (and  so  the  authorities  knew  or  should  have  known)  that  a 
number  of  Nigerian  women  and  girls  are  trafficked  to  Europe  though  Spain.  At 
that time, a pattern of behaviour had been identified by UNHCR and civil society 
organizations  regarding  the  functioning  of  the  Nigerian  mafias.  Traffickers  often 
instructed women to make false claims based on religious persecution, which was 
the  case  in  this  situation.  Women’s  Link  has  documented  this  situation  in  the 
publications:  Migrant  Women's  Rights:  Invisible  Reality  and  Trafficking  of  Nigerian 

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Women  and  Girls:  Slavery  across  Borders  and  Prejudices.    The  fact  that  a  Nigerian 
woman that enters Spain by boat and makes a manifestly ill-founded claim could 
itself be an indicator that the person is a potential victim of trafficking since it forms 
part of a documented pattern.  

Ms. John ended up in a shared flat near Madrid, under the control of a madame. She 
was  forced  into  prostitution,  and  also  to  have  sex  without  a  condom.  As  a 
consequence, she became pregnant. She was detained by the police when she was 
en  route  to  submit  her  application  for  a  residence  permit.  She  was  sent  to  an 
immigration detention center in Madrid without being identified as a THB victim 
by the many authorities with whom she interacted.  

Ms. John made a fresh asylum claim while she was in detention, this time alleging 
that she was a victim of THB. The UNHCR was satisfied that there were indicators 
that  she  was  a  victim  and,  together  with  two  supporting  NGOs  that  interviewed 
her  (Proyecto  Esperanza  and  Women’s  Link  Worldwide)  gave  evidence  supporting 
her  asylum  application.    However,  the  OAR  dismissed  her  claim.  Following  legal 
advice from Women’s Link, she also applied for a reflection period. Shockingly, she 
was  refouled  to  Nigeria  before  she  was  notified  of  the  decision.  Subsequent 
investigations  by a Women’s Link consultant lead us to believe  that Ms. John has 
fallen back into the hands of trafficking mafias and has been re-trafficked. 

B. Cooperation with relevant support organizations and training 

Despite  the  Directive’s  mandate  under  Article  11.4  to  cooperate  with  support 
organizations,  in  Spain  there  are  no  formal  mechanisms  to  make  this  cooperation  a 
reality.  Little  attention  has  been  paid  to  recommendations  to  create  “a  co-operative 
framework  through  which  state  actors  fulfil  their  obligations  to  protect  and  promote  the  human 
rights  of  trafficked  persons,  coordinating  their  efforts  in  a  strategic  partnership  with  civil 
society,”282 in order to “ensure that the human rights of trafficked persons are respected and to 
provide  an  effective  way  to  refer  victims  of  trafficking  to  services.”  The  police  are  the  only 
institution charged with identifying trafficking victims. Within this process, collaboration 
with  NGOs  is  only  voluntary.  Also,  potential  victims  are  not  entitled  to  legal 
representation during the identification interview. The Framework Protocol mentions the 
assistance of an interpreter  where  necessary during the  identification interview  (Section 
VI.B. ‘Interview Process’), but it is our experience that very often in detention there are no 
such  interpreters  available,  nor  is  there  any  written  information  on  the  rights  of  THB 
victims in different languages (Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes Pueblos Unidos, 2014). 

Despite the fact that only the police have the authority to determine if a person is a victim 
of trafficking, there are many State agents and authorities who could and should play a 
role  in  identifying  possible  victims  of  THB  including  judges,  prosecutors  and  lawyers. 
Although legal actors frequently have contact  with potential victims  of trafficking, they 
are currently not considered as relevant actors for identification and protection purposes. 

282 Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the Organization for Security 
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). OSCE/ODIHR. National Referral Mechanisms. Joining Efforts 
to  Protect  the  Rights  of  Trafficked  Persons:  A  Practical  Handbook  [online].  (2004)  Page  16. 
Available at: www.osce.org/odihr/13967?download=true 

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For example, when authorising the detention of a migrant the judge must verify that the 
legal  requirements  for  detention  are  present.  If  a  judge  is  ordering  the  detention  of  a 
potential  victim  of  trafficking  without  identifying  the  risks,  that  State  actor  is  failing  in 
his or her obligation. In this context, the prosecutors that issue the obligatory report that 
accompanies  the  detention  and  the  lawyers  who  represent  the  undocumented  migrant 
could and should also identify victims or potential victims. 

Currently,  Spain  is  failing  in  its  obligations  under  Article  18  of  the  Directive,  which 
stipulates  that  EU  member  states  should  provide  regular  training  for  officials  likely  to 
come  into  contact  with  victims  or  potential  victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings, 
including (but not only) front-line police officers. 

C. Identification of Child victims of THB  

In  addition  to  the  lack  of  due  diligence  in  correctly  identifying  trafficking  victims  in  a 
timely  fashion,  Spain  has  demonstrated  an  overall  lack  of  ability  to  put  in  place 
mechanisms  to  identify  child  victims  of  trafficking  and  thus  offer  this  group,  which  is 
especially vulnerable, the appropriate protection. In relation to this group, the obligation 
to  include  both  a  gender  perspective  and  the  perspective  of  the  rights  of  children  is 
paramount.  

According  to  the  Directive,  if  children  are  victims  of  any  of  the  acts  that  fall  under  the 
legal definition of THB (recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or reception of 
persons, including the exchange or transfer of control over those persons), their consent is 
irrelevant (see Art. 2.5). This means that it is not necessary that such acts take place “by 
means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of 
the  abuse  of  power  or  of  a  position  of  vulnerability  or  of  the  giving  or  receiving  of  payments  or 
benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person.” (Art 2.1). At all 
times, the best interests of the child must prevail in any legal or administrative decision  

A  major  issue  in  the  identification  of  child  victims  of  THB  is  that  the  State  is  currently 
failing  to act in accordance with the  presumption that a person is a child  when  the  age 
cannot  or  has  not  been  verified.  The  Directive  makes  it  clear  that  a  potential  victim  of 
THB  should  be  presumed  to  be  a  child  and  receive  immediate  assistance,  support  and 
protection where the age is unknown or where there is uncertainty regarding the age. 

If an undocumented young person asserts that she or he is an adult, this assertion is not 
questioned  and  thus  not 
in  certain 
circumstances child victims of THB assert that  they  are adults on instruction from their 
traffickers. In contrast, when the undocumented person states that the he or she is under 
18,  the  credibility  of  this  assertion  is  often  questioned,  and  disbelieved.  In  accordance 
with Spanish law, children are not to be held in immigration detention centres.  

is  problematic  because 

investigated.  This 

Due to the lack of identification or the lack of veracity given to children's statements, too 
often, children are in fact sent to immigration detention centres. Over the years, for these 
reasons  many  girls  have  been  detected  in  immigration  detention  centres.  For  example, 
the  yearly  reports  published  by  the  Servicio  Jesuita  a  Migrants,  an  organisation  that 
provides  direct  services  to  migrants  in  these  centres,  always  document  the  presence  of 

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children in different immigration detention centres throughout Spain (Servicio  Jesuita a 
Migrantes, 2013; Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes, 2014).  

There is a lack of a systematic approach to detect and identify child victims of trafficking. 
This is also true in the immigration detention centres as has been documented in several 
reports (Pueblos Unidos, 2015). The impact of this lack of proper identification of girls is 
alarming.  We  have  identified  girls  as  young  as  10  years  of  age  exploited  by  trafficking 
mafias (Women’s Link, 2012).  

Furthermore, there are no specific shelters for child victims of trafficking in Spain as there 
are for  women. The shelters that do exist for  adult women are run by NGOs but partly 
financed by the government.  As a result of the lack of specialised care, the few children 
that  are  identified  as  trafficking  victims  are  referred  to  either  general  children’s  homes, 
where they often flee within days of arriving due to the pressures of the mafias; or they 
are sent to shelters for adult victims, where they do not receive proper children oriented 
assistance and protection.  

CASE  STUDY  3–  On  December  2015,  VF  –aged  17—was  found  on  a  small  boat 
(patera) that was sailing on the Alboran Sea. The 59 people on the boat were taken 
to Motril (Granada) where VF was not identified as a child or a trafficking victim 
and thus sent to an immigration detention centre. At no time was she individually 
interviewed and her detention was ordered en mass in a judicial decision affecting 
39 other people. After two NGOs found indicators that she could be a child victim, 
the Prosecutor initiated proceedings to determine  her age and found that she was 
17. She was subsequently sent to a children’s home  where she received no special 
assistance  or  protection  as  a  trafficking  victim.  Despite  the  warnings  of  an  NGO 
that she needed a special shelter for child victims of trafficking, and after six weeks 
at  the  centre  receiving  calls  from  her  ‘brother’  in  France  she  subsequently 
disappeared.  

This  case  demonstrates  some  of  the  highly  problematic  issues  that  arise  from  the 
lack of specialized housing for minors that are victims of trafficking. These homes 
are  “open”  and  thus  the  girls  can  come  and  go,  facilitating  access  to  the  child  for 
the traffickers. We know of cases where the girls are living in the centres and at the 
same time  under the control of the mafias that exploit them at night. At the same 
time, the lack of specialization means that they do not receive the focused attention 
that they require. 

(Case brought to our attention by the NGO: Pueblos Unidos) 

V. Protection and Identification of Member States nationals  

Due  to  the  fact  that  the  only  protections  available  to  trafficking  victims  in  Spain  derive 
from  legislation  dealing  with  immigration,  victims  from  other  Member  States  and 
Spanish nationals are excluded from this protection. At the same time, a high percentage 
of the victims are nationals of another MS, specifically Romania (Dottridge, 2008/2009).  

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Once  again,  the  lack  of  comprehensive,  human  rights  based  approach  to  THB  that 
includes  all  forms  of  exploitation  and  all  victims,  regardless  of  their  nationality,  shapes 
and  constricts  the  government’s  actions.  This  is  illustrated  by  the  chronology  of  the 
legislative  changes  which  have  occurred  in  Spain.  The  first  attempt  to  legislate  on 
trafficking was undertaken using only an immigration framework. The 2009 amendment 
to the  2000 Immigration Law, introduces the  reflection and recovery period for the  first 
time  in  national  law.  However,  the  provision  is  aimed  solely  at  paralyzing  the 
deportation  and  removal  process  of  undocumented  migrants  that  are  identified  as 
victims (or potential victims) of trafficking with no regard to the “recovery” clause of that 
obligation pursuant to Directive 2004/81/EC (Article 11.6). 

While the introduction of this amendment was welcome, it was extremely narrow in  its 
scope.  This was partly due to the fact that it only addressed trafficking of third country 
nationals and did not provide any protection to victims of trafficking from within the EU.  
As a result of civil society and NGO pressure, the Government became aware that a high 
number of trafficking victims in Spain were EU nationals who also needed the recovery 
and  reflection  period.  Subsequently,  the  2011  Immigration  Regulation  provided  for  the 
extension of the identification procedure to all the citizens of MS.  

Over the years, we have witnessed how the State’s approach to legislating on trafficking 
yields  a  “patchwork”  of  non-comprehensive  measures  to  protect  victims.  Therefore, 
despite the numerous laws cited by government officials that can be applied to victims, 
there is a lack of a human rights gender based approach. 

VI. Violation of the non-punishment clause from a gender 
perspective 

Article  8  of  the  Directive  creates  an  obligation  on  MS  to  guarantee  victims  of  THB 
protection from prosecution or punishment for the criminal activities that they have been 
compelled to commit as a direct consequence of being under coercion. An analysis from a 
gender perspective of this article is crucial for its correct application.  

First, a non-punishment clause interpretation from a gender perspective should extend to 
administrative  penalties.  Trafficked  women  for  sexual  exploitation  face  constant  police 
harassment when they are forced to exercise prostitution in the streets. This is because in 
Spain, many cities have passed laws which regulate prostitution and soliciting in public 
places  without  any  regard  to  potential  victims  of  trafficking.    These  regulations  are 
passed  under  the  guise  of  improving  security  and  appearance  of  city  streets.  These 
regulations  are  gender  blind,  leading  to  a  disproportionate  negative  impact  on  women 
(indirect  discrimination)  that  are  potential  trafficking  victims  leading  to  intersectional 
discrimination  of  these  women.  As  a  consequence,  they  are  fined  with  administrative 
penalties that put at risk the renewal of their resident permits and further increase their 
debt with the traffickers (Morales Plaza, 2011).  

Also, women with children may face additional rights violations through administrative 
sanctions both when not identified as victims of THB, but also when identified as such. 
Women’s  Link  has  documented  cases  where  women  have  been  deprived  of  custody  of 
their children because the authorities consider that they are not “fit” to take care of them. 

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These women are offered protection measures, normally a recovery and reflection period, 
when identified as victims. In cases where women do not accept the  period (most often 
because  they  do  not  self-identify  as  trafficking  victims  or  because  they  are  very  afraid) 
the  Prosecutors’  Office  together  with  the  Child  Protection  Authorities  often  place  their 
children in either childcare facilities or foster families. Some of these children may end up 
being  adopted  by  a  foster  family.  Often,  the  best  interest  of  the  child  is  not  examined 
individually and is interpreted in light of the stereotyped idea that a trafficking victim for 
sexual exploitation cannot be a good mother, because she is merely seen as a “prostitute”, 
hindering  the  exercise  of  these  women’s  right  to  family  life  and  to  be  mothers. 
Importantly, there is a lack of family shelters or other facilities where these women could 
go to stay with their children and receive support as a family.  

At  the  same  time,  the  implementation  of  the  non-punishment  clause  with  a  gender 
perspective requires an understanding  of how women and women’s bodies are utilized 
by traffickers. The strategies employed by the mafias include controlling the reproductive 
capacity  of  women  and  also  of  their  children.  Trafficking  networks  often  decide  when 
women  can  get  pregnant  and  when  they  cannot  –  frequently  forcing  them  to  undergo 
unsafe  abortions.  The  mafias  also  determine  what  happens  with  the  children  of  the 
trafficked women when they are indebted to the mafia. The mafias use young children  –
often babies--as a strategy to have the  trafficked women cross borders, especially in the 
south of Spain (Women’s Link, 2014; Women’s Link, 2012b, Women’s Link, 2009).  Thus, 
women  are  often  forced  to  give  up  their  children  or  forced  to  cross  borders  with  other 
women’s  children,  as  per  the  orders  of  the  mafias.  This  is  because  heavily  pregnant 
women and women carrying babies or children are referred to protection centres instead 
of to immigration detention centres and have better chances to stay in the country instead 
of being directly deported.  

CASE STUDY 4– Maris Ossaro, a Nigerian national, reached Spain on a small boat 
knows  as  a  patera  from  Morocco.  She  was  holding  a  baby  who  was  not  her  son. 
Although  there  was  evidence  that  she  was  a  potential  victim  of  THB,  no 
identification assessment was carried out despite the fact that other women in the 
same boat were identified as trafficking victims, including the mother of the child 
she  was  carrying.  Criminal  proceedings  were  opened  against  her  for  the  crime  of 
smuggling.  The  judge  in  charge  of  the  criminal  investigations  asked  the  police  to 
investigate whether she had potentially been trafficked but the police just answered 
there  were  no  evidence  of  this  and  no  further  investigation  was  conducted.  Ms. 
Ossaro  was  sentenced  to  9  months  and  12  days  in  prison.  There  was  no 
investigation  as  to  whether  she  had  been  trafficked  and  no  identification 
assessment  was  ever  carried  out.  Her  traffickers  are  still  free  and  she  is  currently 
being sexually exploited in Spain.  

Auto de la Sala Segunda del Tribunal Supremo de 20 de mayo de 2013, Recurso Nº 
20162/2013 

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VII.  Due  process  violations  restricting  victims’  right  to 
freedom of movement 

Due  to  the  deficient identification processes that take  place in Spain combined  with  the 
application of an immigration control model, many women who are victims of THB are 
deprived of their freedom of movement when they are placed in immigration  detention 
centres. As already stated, the police authorities tasked with identifying victims, focus on 
the enforcement of immigration laws and policies, rather than screening and identifying 
victims of THB. Therefore, in many cases victims are treated as undocumented migrants 
without recognition of the human rights violations they have (or are) suffering.  

At the immigration detention centres many women suffer high levels of stress due to the 
fear of being returned to their countries of origin where they might face risk to their life 
or  physical  integrity.  Women’s  Link  has  documented  cases  where  women  face  stigma 
from their social environment and even from the authorities (Women’s Link, 2012a).   

CASE STUDY 5 Ms. A.B.M., from Uruguay, was trafficked by close relatives, who 
convinced her to travel to Italy, where she would supposedly work at a hotel, but 
instead  she  was  violently  forced  into  prostitution.  She  managed  to  escape  and 
arrive in Spain, where her sister resided. She was detained in Gijón and sent to an 
immigration detention centre in Madrid.  

Once  there,  she  resisted  a  first  attempt  at  deportation.  She  was  terrified  of  being 
returned to her country, where she faced death threats from her traffickers, so she 
refused  to  board  the  plane.  When  she  was  returned  to  the  immigration  detention 
centre, she explained to the authorities that she was a victim of THB and asked for 
protection.    She  also  offered  to  collaborate  with  the  police  to  assist  in  an 
investigation  of the  traffickers. She  was denied victim status and  no investigation 
was initiated.  

She was further subjected to a second deportation attempt –that she also resisted—
where no individualized risk assessment was carried out, thus preventing the State 
authorities  from  adequately  verifying  whether  there  were  reasons  to  expel  her  in 
observance of the principle of non-refoulement.  

This  case  clearly  demonstrates  how  the  lack  of  proper  identification  leads  to  the 
violation of the victim’s right to freedom of movement due to the use of detention 
centres in Spain. In this case a trafficking victim was detained for a total of 58 days. 

(Sentencia  del  Tribunal  Superior  de  Justicia  de  Madrid,  Sala  de  lo  Contencioso-
Administrativo, Sección Novena, 687/13, de 15 de julio de 2013)  

The Directive also establishes the rights of victims of THB to assistance measures such as 
medical  treatment,  including  psychological  assistance  and  counselling,  information  and 
translation and interpretation services, if necessary (Art. 11.5). In the specific case of child 
victims, additional support measures shall be taken, including physical and psychosocial 

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care, access to education and, where appropriate, the possibility to appoint a guardian or 
representative (art. 14).  

In  Spain,  the  failures  to  identify  victims  as  set  out  above  means  that  instead  of  being 
granted assistance and  support to which they are entitled (Art. 11.2), the  non-identified 
victims  are  either  deported  or  released  undocumented,  despite  the  real  risk  of  re-
trafficking. This is illustrated by the case below.  

CASE  STUDY  5  (continues).  As  a  consequence  of  ABM  resisting  the  second 
deportation attempt, the police officers used disproportionate violence against her. 
She  subsequently  filed  a  complaint  against  the  officer  for  the  violence  and  the 
police  officer  filed  a  “counter”  complaint.  ABM  was  eventually  released  from  the 
detention  centre  in  Spain  on  the  grounds  that  deportation  was  not  feasible 
(allegedly  due  to  the  fact  that  she  did  not  have  a  passport).  Although  the 
authorities  were  aware  of  her  allegations  of  her  status  as  a  trafficking  victim,  the 
failure  to  identify  her  as  such  had  a  number  of  negative  consequences.  She  was 
released  but  was  not  offered  any  documentation  or  protection,  leaving  her  in  a 
situation of high vulnerability. Furthermore, she was later sentenced to 6 months in 
prison for resisting a police officer. She now has a criminal record heightening her 
situation of vulnerability because it blocks her access to a residence permit. 

(Sentencia 408/2014, del Juzgado de lo Penal nº 20 de Madrid, de 9 de diciembre. 
Juicio Oral nº 73/2014). 

VIII. Consequences of the crime control model  

Article  11.3  of  the  Directive  states:  “MS  shall  take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that 
assistance  and  support  for  a  victim  are  not  made  conditional  on  the  victim’s  willingness  to 
cooperate in the criminal investigation, prosecution or trial.” However due to the emphasis on 
the  criminal  prosecution  (under  the  crime  control  model),  trafficking  victims  that  are 
unable  or  unwilling  to  participate  in  criminal  proceedings  are  often  not  given  access  to 
protection. 

In  Spain  the  authorities  have  a  tendency  to  offer  protection  only  in  situations  where  a 
victim agrees to cooperate with the police. Victims of THB who come forward are asked 
to provide information so as to identify and prosecute their traffickers. Thus, even in the 
few  cases  where  women  are  correctly  identified  as  victims  of  THB,  they  are  treated 
differently  to  victims  of  other  crimes:  no  other  victim  is  asked  to  choose  between 
collaborating  with  the  police  and  having  their  victim-status  recognized.    The  obligation 
on trafficking victims to collaborate with the police fails to take into account a number of 
fears, including: traffickers taking reprisals against them or their families, being sent back 
to the trafficking network and being re-trafficked. 

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Even  when  the  women  are  willing  and  able  to  participate  in  criminal  proceedings, 
women  still  are  often  left  unprotected.  We  have  witnessed  that  the  complexity  of  the 
issues  means  that  many  cases  are  not  fully  prosecuted.  When  the  case  does  not  go 
forward,  for  reasons  outside  of  the  control  of  the  trafficking  victims,  the  protection  is 
withdrawn.  This  of  course  leads  to  a  lack  of  ability  to  access  compensation  as  is 
mandated by the Directive.  

In addition to the pressure placed on victims to collaborate with the police before being 
granted victim status, victims of THB are currently inadequately informed of their rights. 
Indeed it is nearly impossible for many victims to fully understand the consequences of 
their identification as victims of trafficking in human beings. This is, in part, due  to the 
problems discussed above. The exclusive competency of the police in assessing whether 
someone  is  a  victim  and  the  lack  of  a  multidisciplinary  team’s  presence  during 
identification procedures means that the Spanish State is currently failing to comply with 
Article  11.5 of the  Directive.   As the  Directive EU  has recognised it is imperative that a 
victim has knowledge  of the  assistance and support  measures that  should be provided.  
This is currently not the case.  

The alarmingly low number of women that accept the refection period that is offered to 
them  demonstrates  the  inadequacy  of  the  procedures.  Police  officers  often  merely  hand 
women  a  paper  with  the  information  about  a  reflection  period  when  they  have  just 
arrived.  This  transaction  is  not  accompanied  with  an  in  depth  interview  or  any  other 
mechanism  to  work with  the  woman  so  that  she  can  understand the  procedure. Due  to 
diverse factors women often do not self-identify as trafficking victims in a first interview. 
At  the  same  time,  women  are  often  very  afraid  of  the  consequences  of  speaking  to  the 
police. They also may be afraid of the police officers as they  view them as a threat. The 
biggest  threat  to  them  is  removal  or  deportation.  Even  on  occasions  when  NGOs  are 
called  to  participate  in  identification  interviews,  the  procedures  are  rushed,  and  the 
women  do  not  have  time  to  enter  into  a  relationship  of  trust  with  the  interviewer.  For 
example,  in  2013,  the  police  offered  736  reflection  periods  to  trafficking  victims  and  of 
those,  603  rejected  the  protection  mechanism  (EMN,  2013;  Becerril  Bustamante,  2014). 
Data from 2011, 2012 yield similar results (EMN, 2013). It is important to note, that since 
2013, this information has not been compiled or made public.  

The  crime  control  model  also  means  that  the  only  way  that  a  woman  can  effectively 
prove  that  she  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  is  when  a  final  judgment  exists  against  her 
traffickers.  This  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  by  the  Supreme  Court  (creating  binding 
precedent) when they failed to recognize the legitimacy of the identification of the police, 
as a valid document to prove that one of our clients was a trafficking victim: 

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CASE  STUDY  3  (continued).  After  Ms.  Ossaro  served  her  sentence  in  prison, 
she  was  sent  to  an  immigration  detention  centre  in  order  to  be  deported  to 
Nigeria.  When  she  was  in  detention,  she  was  finally  identified  as  a  victim  of 
THB  by  the  police,  and  granted  a  recovery  and  reflection  period.  Ms.  Ossaro 
then filed a case at the  Supreme  Court (Tribunal Supremo) that sought to apply 
the non-punishment clause of the Directive that is also found in Spain’s criminal 
code.  In  Spain,  once  there  is  a  criminal  conviction,  the  only  court  that  may 
repeal  it  is  the  Supreme  Court.  In  this  case,  the  Supreme  Court  denied  her 
request,  because  they  did  not  find  that  the  police  document  was  valid  legal 
proof of her status as a trafficking victim. Ms. Ossaro then filed for a review at 
the  Constitutional  Court,  which  did  not  admit  her  case.    The  case  is  currently 
pending at the European Court of Human Rights.  

This case demonstrates that even where the police identify someone as a victim 
of  trafficking  other  state  actors  are  failing  to  comply  with  their  obligations 
under the EU Directive, including the judiciary. 

Osaro v.Spain, Application no. 36769/14. Pending (not yet communicated to the 
State) 

IX. Lack of access to international protection 

The Directive reiterates that MS are obliged to ensure full compliance with the principle 
of  non-refoulement.  Victims  of  THB  have  the  right  to  apply  for  asylum  on  grounds  of 
gender persecution and should be granted international protection and not be deported 
when  they  have  a  well-founded  fear  of  persecution  in  case  of  return.    As  the  Directive 
states itself in Recital 10:  

“(t)his  Directive  is  without  prejudice  to the  principle  of  non-refoulement  in  accordance 
with the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (Geneva Convention), and is 
in accordance with Article 4 and Article 19(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of 
the European Union”.  

In Spain, however, international protection is commonly conceived as incompatible with 
other protection mechanisms, such as the recovery and reflection period.  

The  body  responsible  for  examining  and  deciding  asylum  claims  and  subsidiary 
protection (OAR) denies applications based on trafficking allegations both at the border 
and in territory on a regular basis, on the grounds that there is no relationship between 
trafficking and the legal basis for granting international protection.  Their rationale is that 
as  the  agents  of  persecution  are  non-state  actors  and  thus  the  lack  of  protection  by  the 
State  of  origin  is  not  sufficiently  proved.    This  is  contrary  to,  and  in  violation  of,  clear 
international  standards  on  this  issue  as  set  out  by  the  UNHCR  Guidelines  on  the 
“Application of Article 1A(2) of the 1951 Convention or 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of 
Refugees to Victims of Trafficking and Persons at Risk of Being Trafficked” 7 April 2006.  

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Trafficking in Human Beings from a Gender Perspective  

Furthermore, the  OAR  often considers that these cases fall under the  Immigration Law, 
and not within the protection that the Asylum Law provides.283 Almost all the decisions 
to  deny  asylum  to  THB  victims  lack  a  proper  analysis  of  the  allegations  of  trafficking 
made  by  the  applicants  and  the  risk  assessment  in  case  of  return.    This  has  been 
confirmed by research carried out in 2012 by the Ombudsperson in Spain (Defensora del 
Pueblo, 2012).  The figures are clear in this respect: the first time that a victim of THB was 
granted asylum in Spain was as late as 2013 (CEAR, 2013), and since then, according to 
the Spanish Network Against Trafficking in Persons, only seven other women victims of 
THB have been granted international protection: five of them were granted refugee status 
and three subsidiary protection (Red Española contra la trata de personas, 2015).  

At the same time, in 2015 the National Police indicated that in Spain 13,879 people were 
potential  victims  of  trafficking,  10,835  were  potential  victims  of  trafficking  for  labour 
exploitation, 133 were victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and 134  were victims 
of trafficking for labour. 

X. Process and data collection from a gender perspective 

The Directive is clear that the EU should continue to develop its work on methodologies 
and  data  collection  methods  to  produce  comparable  statistics,  in  order  to  evaluate  the 
results  of  anti-trafficking  action.  It  also  establishes  Member  States  must  appoint  a 
national rapporteur or an equivalent mechanism to assess trends in THB, measure results 
of anti-trafficking actions,  including the gathering of  statistics in close cooperation  with 
relevant civil society organizations active in this field.  

Although  Spain  has  appointed  a  National  Rapporteur,  it  is  importamt  to  note  that  this 
position is within the Home Office and the statistics gathered on trafficking are conflated 
with  information  about  immigration,  criminal  investigations  and  prostitution.    The 
Secretary for Security was appointed on the 3 April 2014 and is the National Rapporteur 
on Trafficking for Human Beings. At the same time, the government agency tasked with 
issues of gender violence and discrimination (Delegación del Gobierno Contra la Violencia de 
Género) does not gather any statistics or other data on trafficking.  

Thus, it is clear that this provision of the Directive has not been transposed with a gender 
perspective. Therefore, the government is not able to properly monitor and evaluate any 
of  its  efforts  in  relation  to  trafficking  with  a  gender  perspective.  Moreover,  this  leaves 
advocates in the field without the necessary tools to address the issues. 

 XI. Conclusion  

As was recently pointed out by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture:  

“Human trafficking is a particularly egregious human rights violation and a form of gender-based 
violence specifically targeting girls and women for  exploitation and placing them at high risk of 

283 Ley 12/2009, de 30 de octubre, reguladora del derecho de asilo y de la protección subsidiaria, BOE de 31 
de  octubre  de  2009.  Available  in  Spanish  at:  www.boe.es/boe/dias/2009/10/31/pdfs/BOE-A-
2009-17242.pdf 

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235 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                           
European Implementation Assessment 

physical  and  psychological  abuse,  trauma  and  disease.  Systemic  discrimination  against  women 
and  girls,  including  lack  of  access  to  education,  resources  and  employment,  renders  them 
especially  vulnerable  to  trafficking.  Trafficked  women  and  girls  are  routinely  subjected  to 
confinement,  severe  physical  and  sexual  abuse,  humiliation  and  threats  for  the  purposes  of 
commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, forced and bonded labour and organ removal. 
These practices unequivocally amount to torture and ill-treatment.”284 

Despite efforts made by Spain since the adoption of the  Directive, there continues to be 
an  ineffective  application  of  a  gender  perspective  both  in  terms  of  legal  and  policy 
framework and in terms of implementation of measures required by the Directive. As has 
been demonstrated in this paper, Spain’s transposition of the Directive has not created an 
appropriate  human rights  framework to address trafficking and adequately protect and 
promote  the  rights  of  trafficking  victims.  This  lack  of  a  human  rights  framework  is  the 
basis  for  the  Government’s  inability  to  create  the  necessary  infrastructure  to  apply  a 
gender  perspective.  The  framework is clearly lacking  in terms of,  inter alia,  strategies to 
address  trafficking  for  means  other  than  sexual  exploitation,  appropriate  protocols  to 
identify girls that are trafficked to Spain and appropriate mechanisms to collect data.  The 
failure  to  properly  implement  the  Directive  means  that  there  is  a  lack  of  a  gender 
perspective and inadequate structure in which identification is taking place.  The  direct 
result of this failure is the ongoing presence of obstacles for the recognition of trafficking 
victims and their access to rights. 

284  Juan  Méndez.  Report  of  the  Special  Rapporteur  on  torture  and  other  cruel,  inhuman  or 
degrading treatment or punishment. 5 January 2016. A/HRC/31/57 at [40].   

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The  different  forms  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  (THB)  are 
serious  crimes  affecting  fundamental  rights,  health,  social  life, 
economy  and  justice.  THB  can  be  tackled  effectively  only 
through  a  coherent  approach  at  the  levels  of  legislation  and 
executive powers and through strategic policy-making.  

Taking into account the gender dimension of THB is essential to 
be effective in prosecution and prevention as well as in ensuring 
adequate  support  for  the  victims.  The  2011  EU  Anti-Trafficking 
Directive was a landmark piece of legislation in that respect. 

The Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit of the European Parliament 
has  asked  several  groups  of  experts 
the 
implementation and application of the Directive, from a gender 
perspective,  in  12  Member  States.  The  contributions  received 
the  Directive's 
underline  an  uneven 
requirements across the EU Member States.  

implementation  of 

to  analyse 

They  emphasise  the  need  to  improve  the  identification  of 
victims,  which  is  key  for  granting  them  protection,  to  establish 
better  training  on  the  gender  aspects  of  the  different  forms  of 
human trafficking for front-line officers, to enhance cooperation 
between  public  administration  and  competent  NGOs,  and  to 
expand  prevention  via  public  awareness  campaigning  and  by 
the effective reduction in demand. 

This is a publication of the Ex-Post Impact Assessment Unit 
EPRS | European Parliamentary Research Service 
European Parliament 
The content of this document is the sole responsibility of the author and any opinions expressed therein do not 
necessarily represent the official position of the European Parliament. It is addressed to the Members and staff of 
the EP for their parliamentary work 

PE 581.412 

ISBN 978-92-823-9130-3 

DOI  10.2861/15880 
CAT:  QA-04-16-368-EN-N 

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