Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions.
Date: 2018-10-03
Institutions: European Institute for Gender Equality
Subjects: EU office or agency, distribution of EU funding, external border of the EU, fight against crime, fundamental rights, help for victims, project evaluation, report, sexual harassment, sexual offence, sexual violence, slavery, trafficking in human beings, victim

European Institute 
for Gender Equality

Gender-specific measures  
in anti-trafficking actions Report

More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).

Neither EIGE nor any person acting on behalf of EIGE is responsible for the use that might be made of the following information.

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2018

Print 
PDF 

ISBN 978-92-9470-580-8 
ISBN 978-92-9470-581-5 

doi:10.2839/84495 
doi:10.2839/74342 

MH-04-18-455-EN-C  
MH-04-18-455-EN-N 

© European Institute for Gender Equality, 2018
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
For any use or reproduction of photos or other material that is not under EIGE copyright, permission must be sought directly from 
the copyright holders.

 
European Institute 
for Gender Equality

Gender-specific measures  
in anti-trafficking actions

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This report was prepared by the gender-based violence team of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE): Cristina Fabré 
Rosell, Anke Gittenaer, Emily Goulding, Elizabeth Kate McGuinness, Sofia Jamal, Barbora Holubova, Alina Kuhl and Jurgita Pečiūrienė. 
The gender-based violence team would like to thank other colleagues at EIGE for their intellectual contributions, administrative 
support and encouragement.

This report is based on the findings of the study ‘Protecting victims, an analysis of the Anti-Trafficking Directive from the perspective 
of a victim of gender-based violence’, commissioned by the European Institute for Gender Equality. The study was carried out by 
Denise Charlton & Associates, in 2017. The researchers involved were Nusha Yonkova, Shauna Gillan, Dr Edward Keegan, Denise 
Charlton, Dr Monica O’Connor and Anna Zobnina.

EIGE would like to thank the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinators’ Office and Dr Venla Roth for the expertise and valuable contributions 
provided for the report.

More information can be found on EIGE’s website (www.eige.europa.eu) under the ‘Gender-based violence’ section.

2

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

EIGE 

Contents

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................................................... 2

Foreword .................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 9

1.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of violence against women ............................................................13

1.1.  Victims’ experiences ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 14

1.2.  Responses to trafficking ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 15

2.  Legal and policy framework..........................................................................................................................................19

2.1.  European Union Framework .............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 19

2.2. 

International Framework ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20

3.  Identification of victims .................................................................................................................................................25

3.1. 

Implications of the definition of ‘victim’ ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 25

3.2.  Evidentiary standard ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 27

3.3.  Competent authority.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 28

3.4. 

Identification interview ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 29

3.5.  National referral mechanism.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 30

4.  Support and assistance ..................................................................................................................................................33

4.1.  Equal treatment ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33

4.2.  Early access to support .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 33

4.3.  Duration of assistance ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34

4.4.  Conditional support ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 35

4.5.  Consent in obtaining services .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35

4.6.  Needs assessment .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35

4.7.  Special needs ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36

4.8.  Service providers ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 36

4.9. 

Integrated support ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

4.10.  Accommodation ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37

4.11.  Material assistance ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 38

4.12.  Medical and psychological needs .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 39

4.13.  Interpretation and translation services ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 40

5.  Access to justice...............................................................................................................................................................43

5.1.  Legal assistance ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43

5.2.  Protection of victims during criminal investigation and proceedings .................................................................................................................... 45

5.3.  Special measures ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 45

5.4.  Compensation ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 46

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

3

6.  Provisions regarding girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation ...............................................................51

6.1. 

Identification of girl victims ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 51

6.2.  Support and assistance ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 52

6.3.  Access to justice ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 53

7.  Recommendations for Member States .......................................................................................................................57

7.1.  General recommendations ................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 57

7.2. 

Identification of victims ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 58

7.3.  Assistance and support ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 58

7.4.  Access to justice ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 59

7.5.  Girl-child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation ...................................................................................................................................................... 60

8.  Indicators to monitor the gender-specific implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive .........................65

9.  Conclusions ......................................................................................................................................................................69

10.  Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................................73

4

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

EIGE 

Foreword

FOREWORD

Violence against women and girls persists over time, seriously harming our societies. It is imperative that this unacceptable phe-
nomenon ends. It goes against fundamental values of the European Union, including the respect for human dignity, freedom and 
equality. It leaves deep wounds in victims, in families and in society. In fact, it is so widespread and pervasive that it forms part of 
every individual’s life, in Europe and beyond, whether they experience it themselves, in their families, or in their social networks. If 
not victims, we are all bystanders. We share the responsibility to take action and promote change.

Structural aspects of discrimination and unequal power relations between women and men have historically placed women and 
girls at a disadvantage. To this day, women and girls in Europe experience the manifestations of gender inequality in all aspects of 
their lives, including exposure to different forms of violence. It is clear that ending violence against women and achieving gender 
equality must go hand-in-hand and are key to each other’s success.

Trafficking in human beings is one of the many facets of violence against women and girls. Trafficking for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation is the most reported form in the European Union with the majority of victims of this crime also being European Union 
nationals. Trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  is  rooted  in  gender  inequalities,  and  it  affects  women  disproportionately. The  gen-
der-specific roots and consequences of this crime cannot and must not be overlooked in the way trafficking for sexual exploitation 
is understood and addressed. The European Union is committed to tackling this heinous crime and violation of women and girls’ 
fundamental rights through a number of policies and actions that are gender-specific.

Identifying, protecting and assisting victims of trafficking, a key European Union priority for the eradication of trafficking in human 
beings, remains a challenge for many Member States. The European Commission affirms its commitment to support the Member 
States in achieving this goal, through concrete guiding actions.  In line with the recent commitment, through a Joint Statement to 
working together against trafficking in human beings, of 10 European Union agencies, and on the occasion of the EU Anti-Traffick-
ing Day 2018, this report represents one of these actions.  

The European Institute for Gender Equality, in cooperation with the European Commission provides practical and gender-specific 
guidance to Member States on how to implement the provisions of the European Union legislative act addressing trafficking in 
human beings, the Anti-Trafficking Directive. We expect that, through such initiatives, Member States, together with the European 
Institutions and agencies, can make significant progress in the protection of tens of thousands of women and girls who are victims 
of this crime in the European Union.

Virginija Langbakk,

Director of the European Institute for Gender Equality

Myria Vassiliadou, 

EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

5

INTRODUCTION

EIGE 

Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Following  the  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council ‘Reporting  on  the  follow 
-up to the EU Strategy towards the Eradication of trafficking in  
human  beings  and  identifying  further  concrete  actions’  (Euro-
pean  Commission,  2017b),  the  European  Institute  for  Gender 
Equality is publishing the present report, in cooperation with the 
European Commission.

In this report, a gender perspective is applied as an analytical 
framework to examine the provisions and obligations under the 
Anti-Trafficking Directive and the Victims’ Rights Directive. The 
Anti-Trafficking Directive introduces common provisions, taking 
into account a gender perspective, to strengthen the preven-
tion of this crime and the protection of the victims. The analysis 
seeks to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement 
in the protection and response to the needs of victims of traf-
ficking for sexual exploitation.

The  report  provides  guidance  to  Member  States  on  gen-
der-specific measures to better identify, help and support vic-
tims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings.  As  set  forth  in  the  above 
mentioned communication, ‘Identifying victims efficiently and 
at an early stage is the first step towards making sure they are 
treated as ‘’rights holders’’, have access to their  rights  and  can 
exercise them effectively, which includes receiving appropriate 
assistance and protection’. To this end, the Commission will con-
tinue to support practitioners and authorities in Member States. 
Building  capacities  and  disseminating  good  practices  for  de-
tecting victims, focusing on guaranteeing access and providing 
appropriate, gender and child-specific assistance and effective 
remedies, are vital aspects of all EU-level efforts.

Trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  is  firmly  established  in  the 
European Union’s international legal and policy instruments as 
a form of violence against women. However, providing effective 
access to assistance, support and protection to victims remains 
a  challenge  for  most  Member  States  (European  Commission, 
2016b). In the operationalisation of anti-trafficking efforts, traf-
ficking for different purposes is often seen as an undivided phe-
nomenon,  overlooking  specifics  such  as  the  gendered  nature 
and scope of trafficking for sexual exploitation. National strat-
egies to address trafficking for sexual exploitation are rarely an 

integral part or aligned with a broader strategy on combating 
violence against women.

More specifically, the report seeks to establish if the Anti-Traffick-
ing Directive, read in conjunction with the Victims’ Rights Direc-
tive, contains an exhaustive understanding of women-specific 
risks and vulnerabilities to trafficking in human beings for sexual 
exploitation. It analyses the extent to which the directives have 
the potential to fully protect and assist women and girls who 
make up the bulk of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. 
The  report  also  examines  the  level  of  harmonisation  of  the  
directives with other European Union and international instru-
ments on trafficking in human beings, violence against women 
and gender equality.

The first two chapters present the rationale for a gender-spe-
cific  approach  to  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation:  in  the  first 
chapter,  by  presenting  the  research  and  theoretical  context, 
and in the second chapter through the legal and policy frame-
work that establish trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form 
of violence against women. In Chapters 3 to 5, this rationale is 
used to analyse the provisions of the Anti-Trafficking Directive 
and the Victims’ Rights Directive, when complementary, in rela-
tion to the identification of victims, support and assistance, and 
access to justice. Given the reported decrease of age in victims 
of trafficking arriving in Europe, Chapter 6 gives a brief analysis 
of the provisions of the directives that aim to address the specif-
ic vulnerabilities that girl-child victims can experience.

To complement this work and provide practical guidance, EIGE 
has  developed  a  set  of  gender  and  child-specific  recommen-
dations  and  indicators  to  support  Member  States  in  the  im-
plementation  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  and  the Victims’ 
Rights  Directive.  They  are  presented  in  Chapters  7  and  8,  re-
spectively. With  these  tools,  EIGE  will  assist  Member  States  in 
the interpretation and operationalisation of the provisions that 
describe the identification, protection and support of women 
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and in addition, will 
provide  Member  States  with  guidance  on  how  better  to  pro-
mote a gender-specific approach to address trafficking for sex-
ual exploitation. Chapter 9 concludes the report with the main 
challenges identified and future steps.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

9

1.  TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL 
EXPLOITATION AS A FORM 
OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

EIGE 

1.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of violence against women

1.  TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL 
EXPLOITATION AS A FORM 
OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Gender-based violence is defined as a form of violence that is 
directed against a woman because she is a woman and/or that 
affects  women  disproportionately  (Council  of  Europe,  2011) 
and  that  seriously  inhibits  the  ability  of  women  and  girls  to 
enjoy  their  rights  and  freedoms  on  an  equal  basis  with  men. 
More  specifically,  violence  against  women  means ‘all  acts  of 
gender-based  violence  that  result  in,  or  are  likely  to  result  in, 
physical,  sexual,  psychological  or  economic  harm  or  suffering 
to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, or arbitrary 
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private 
life’ (Council of Europe, 2011).

violence against women (World Health Organisation, 2003, The 
Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons, 
2017),  being  one  of  the  most  evident  manifestations  of  gen-
der inequalities. Most women and girls trafficked for sexual ex-
ploitation also report having experienced violence prior to their 
trafficking  experience  (European  Parliamentary  Research  Ser-
vice, 2016). In fact, after experiencing violence, a woman is more 
vulnerable to trafficking both because she is less self-confident 
and  has  lower  self-esteem,  and  because  she  wants  to  escape 
her  abusive  environment  (European  Parliamentary  Research 
Service, 2016).

Violence against women is one of the fundamental social, po-
litical and economic aspects by which the subordinate position 
of women with respect to men and their stereotyped roles are 
perpetuated. The unequal distribution of power between wom-
en and men in society allows for a structural discrimination of 
women  in  all  aspects  of  life  (EIGE,  2017).  Such  discrimination 
negatively  affects  women’s  access  to  opportunities,  including 
education and training, thus increasing their likelihood to live in 
poverty and to be vulnerable to violence, including trafficking 
for sexual exploitation (Orme and Ross-Sheriff, 2015).

Globally,  women  and  girls  comprise  71 %  of  the  total  num-
ber  of  detected  trafficking  victims  (United  Nations  Office  on 
Drugs  and  Crime,  2016a).  Forced  marriage  is  a  relatively  less 
researched  phenomenon  and  there  is  no  solid  statistical  data 
available. However, Eurostat (2015) notes that in their category 
of ‘other forms of exploitation’ (into which forced marriage falls), 
at least 52 % of the victims are female. Furthermore, according 
to Europol (2016), 70 % of the identified victims and suspects of 
trafficking in human beings in the European Union are in fact 
EU nationals.

Violence  against  women  is  a  critical  obstacle  to  the  achieve-
ment  of  substantive  equality  between  women  and  men.  To 
combat it, gender stereotypes must be tackled, as well as harm-
ful traditional practices and discrimination against women.

The  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  (Article  2)  defines  trafficking  in 
human  beings  as:  ‘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 vulner-
ability 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’. The Anti-Trafficking Dir-
ective also includes in its definition of trafficking in human be-
ings forced marriage situations (recital 11), i.e. where a marriage 
is entered into without the free and full consent of one or both 
of the parties because of threats, deceit or coercion (European 
Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 2014).

Trafficking for sexual exploitation is part of the continuum on 
experienced violence in the life of an individual victim of traf-
ficking  in  human  beings,  and  it  constitutes  a  severe  form  of 

Regarding  trafficking  for  the  purposes  of  sexual  exploitation, 
96 % of detected victims in the world are female (United Na-
tions Office on Drugs and Crime, 2016a). In the European Un-
ion, it is the most prevalent form of trafficking in human beings,  
and 95 % of registered victims of trafficking for sexual exploit-
ation are women or girls (European Commission, 2016c). Most 
of  them  are  EU  nationals  from  central  and  eastern  Europe  
(Europol, 2016).

Although measuring trafficking in human beings is a very com-
plex  task,  various  international  and  European  institutions  and 
organisations, including the European Commission (2016c), ar-
gue that there are solid grounds to expect that the actual num-
bers  of  victims  of  trafficking  are  substantially  higher  than  the 
number of registered victims. Provisions on data collection tend 
to omit a gender perspective, and therefore monitoring efforts 
in relation to trafficking from a gendered perspective is a chal-
lenge (Liévana and Waisman, 2017).

The current humanitarian crisis, related to natural disasters and 
conflict in the Middle East and African countries, inter alia, has 
aggravated the risk of trafficking by causing a rapid increase in 
the  number  of  refugees  arriving  to  Europe,  leaving  girls  and 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

13

1.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of violence against women 

EIGE

unaccompanied  minors  particularly  vulnerable.  Child  traffick-
ing  is  reported  as  one  of  the  steeply  increasing  trends  in  the 
Member States. Statistical data for 2013-2014 shows that of the 
15 846 persons registered as victims of trafficking in the EU dur-
ing that period, at least 2 375 were children (European Commis-
sion, 2016c).

In 2016, nearly 40 % of all refugees arriving to Europe were chil-
dren,  including  unaccompanied  minors  (United  Nations  Data, 
2017); many of these were identified as victims of trafficking in 
human beings (European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 
2016). The United Nations General Assembly Report on the Girl-
Child (2017a) emphasises that ‘girls are particularly at risk, facing 
unsafe transportation modes, abuse at the hands of smugglers 
and traffickers, forced labour, rape and sexual exploitation’.

As  noted  by  the  European  Commission,  trafficking  in  human 
beings requires focusing on victims’ needs to address preven-
tion  effectively,  as  prescribed  in  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive. 
This means not only addressing the root causes that make peo-
ple more vulnerable to trafficking — such as poverty, gender 
inequality, violence against women, ethnic discrimination, soci-
etal marginalisation and irregular migration — but also ensur-
ing that those who profit from the crime and exploit the victims 
are brought to justice.

1.1.  Victims’ experiences

Consequences of the abuse

Women victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation experience 
similar patterns of exertion of control and violence as victims of 
other forms of violence against women. They experience abuse 
through threats and psychological control, sexual and physical 
violence, economic violence, deprivation of freedom, inter alia 
(European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated 
with the United Nations, 2016). These lead to severe and some-
times life-threatening consequences.

Their  health  is  deeply  impacted  by  the  exploitation  they  ex-
perience, on a psychological level (including self-harm, lack of 
self-esteem, shame, guilt, helplessness, memory loss, post-trau-
matic stress disorder, sleep disturbances, depression, isolation, 
alcohol abuse or abuse of other drugs, and many more), and on 
a physical and sexual level (for example, chronic pain, fatigue, 
deterioration  of  pre-existing  conditions,  reproductive  or  sex-
ual health complications, among others) (Zimmerman, Hossain 
and Watts, 2011).

A study by the European Commission (2016f ) found that many 
of the harms arising from trafficking for sexual exploitation are 
gender-specific, including vaginal injuries, increased risk of sex-
ually transmitted diseases and HIV and unwanted pregnancies.

The rates of re-trafficking of those who manage to escape from 
a situation of exploitation are high, particularly for young peo-
ple  during  the  2  years  that  follow  their  trafficking  experience 
(Jobe, 2008, cited in Zimmerman et al., 2011), while the recovery 
from lasting damage is long and resource-intensive.

14

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

Barriers to disclosure and assistance seeking

Despite the severe consequences of being trafficked, victims of-
ten do not disclose their trafficking situation while undergoing 
the  processes  of  identification,  assistance  and  protection. The 
barriers for these include (inter alia):

•  not identifying oneself as a victim of trafficking 

(Lutenbacher, Cohen and Mitzel, 2003);

•  not being informed about available resources 

(Lutenbacher, Cohen and Mitzel, 2003);

•  experiencing a physical and mental overload that impedes 

them from defending themselves and seeking help 
(Cuesta, 2009);

• 

lacking financial means or freedom of movement;

•  being/feeling isolated;

• 

feeling disempowered or helpless;

•  being emotionally dependent on the offender, as 

recruitment is often done by people known and trusted 
by the victim, such as friends or family (Fleisher et al., 2008, 
Surtees, 2008, Zimmerman et al., 2006, cited in Zimmerman 
et al., 2011).

• 

• 

• 

• 

lacking language skills (Kaittila, 2017);

fear — of retaliation from the perpetrator, of the authorities 
(e.g. that adverse consequences on account of their 
legal status may arise), of not being able to protect their 
children (e.g. Petersen, Moracco, Goldstein and Clark, 2005), 
inter alia;

victim-blaming attitudes (Lutenbacher et al., 2003) and the 
stigma associated with sex work and with being a victim;

lack of confidence in the penal system to protect them 
(Cuesta, 2009).

It is also common that victims of trafficking  in human beings 
refuse assistance because the requirements and conditions pre-
sented to them by state officials do not guarantee the security 
of  the  victim’s  family  members.  Moreover,  there  are  inherent 
uncertainties  in  many  administrative  practices,  including  res-
idence  permits  and  the  inability  of  the  authorities  to  provide 
more secure future perspectives, such as employment and eco-
nomic  stability.  Women  are  frequently  accompanied  by  chil-
dren and there is a clear lack of family shelters, or other facilities, 
where  these  women  could  be  accommodated  together  with 
their children and be supported and assisted as a family (Liéva-
na and Waisman, 2017).

In  order  to  understand  the  victims’  decision-making  process, 
one  has  also  to  examine  their  social  status,  which  is  often  af-
fected by marginalisation and exclusion, migration and border 
policies,  as  well  as  legal  and  economic  uncertainties.  In  add-
ition,  they  may  have  had  previous  negative  experiences  with 
law  enforcement  or  the  judicial  system,  such  as  experiencing 
victim-blaming attitudes.

EIGE 

1.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of violence against women

Stereotyping and victim-blaming attitudes

1.2.  Responses to trafficking

Stereotyping (1), especially by the criminal justice system, ham-
pers victims’ credibility, hindering their access to identification, 
protection,  support  and  justice  (Liévana  and Waisman,  2017). 
Research shows that, for example, in the case of sexual assault, 
criminal justice professionals expect victims to act according to 
gender and victim stereotypes, in spite of being more aware of 
the dynamics of victimisation (Menaker and Cramer, 2012).

Given that perpetrators are often closely connected to the vic-
tim, there is a possibility that, prior to recruitment, there is an 
initial agreement on the part of the victim on entering the traf-
ficking routes, even though she might not be aware of the real-
ity she is going into and conditions she is going to face (Cuesta, 
2009). This can lead to victim-blaming attitudes and discourses, 
and  might  even  affect  the  victim’s  credibility,  especially  if  she 
does not fit into an ‘ideal victim’ stereotype.

Stereotypical ideas of women as mothers also play a role in the 
experiences  of  victims  for  sexual  exploitation,  hindering  the 
exercise of these women´s right to family life and to be moth-
ers. They  are  often  not  considered ‘fit’  to  take  care  of  children 
and, consequently, are deprived of custody of their children. For 
example, when women do not accept a reflection period (be-
cause they don´t self-identify as trafficking victims or because 
they are afraid), children are often placed in childcare facilities 
or  foster  families  by  the  authorities.  Interpretation  of  the  best 
interests of the child is often based on the stereotypical percep-
tion that a victim of trafficking for sexual exploitation cannot be 
a good mother, because she is seen as a ‘prostitute’.

Victims who experience several forms of discrimination, as is of-
ten the case with victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 
face even stronger negative stereotypes, for example, migrant 
women  at  risk  of  deportation  might  face  the  preconception 
that  they  are  pretending  to  be  victims  of  trafficking  to  avoid 
sanctions or deportation.

Through these social mechanisms, women victims of violence, 
including trafficking for sexual exploitation, end up experienc-
ing structural secondary forms of violence. As a consequence, 
mistrust in the judicial system increases, leading victims to re-
fuse assistance even when offered to them. The refusal to resort 
to the provided assistance can have an impact on the number 
of identified victims and the low number of investigations, pros-
ecutions and convictions, as trafficking in human beings is first 
and foremost a hidden crime and the victim’s testimony is of-
ten a precondition for the successful criminal procedure. This, 
in turn, can hamper prevention strategies, as the authorities are 
not aware of the trafficking situations and their scope.

(1) 

The most common stereotypes that victims face concern how she should behave 
and look, including absence of a sense of agency, submissive, visibly depressed and 
presenting symptoms of being disturbed (such as crying). Common stereotypes on 
how a woman should behave also include being sensitive, caring, passive and not 
sexualised. 

Similarities between the criminal justice responses to trafficking 
in human beings and other forms of violence against women, 
for example, sexual violence, are clearly expressed. The majority 
of sexual offences have been demonstrated to never come to 
the attention of the authorities and only a minority of the vic-
tims report them to the police. The number of investigations is 
considerably higher than that of the prosecutions and the num-
ber of convictions in turn smaller than the number of prosecu-
tions (Kainulainen, 2017).

A review of the reporting patterns of trafficking in human be-
ings shows a similar tendency. The number of cases reported 
decreases  with  each  level  of  the  criminal  justice  process:  the 
number of investigations is generally higher than the number 
of  prosecutions,  which  in  turn  is  higher  than  the  number  of 
convictions. On average, 26 % of investigated cases have been 
reported to end in first-instance court convictions (United Na-
tions Office on Drugs and Crime, 2016a). One reason for this is 
that  difficult-to-prove  means  used  by  the  offender  to  control 
the victim of trafficking are difficult to identify and prove in the 
criminal  procedure  (Kainulainen,  2017).  Other  reasons  include 
the  previously  discussed  victim-blaming  attitudes,  victims 
dropping out of the criminal proceedings, inter alia.

In addition, women comprise a relatively large share of convict-
ed trafficking offenders, compared to most other crimes. Court 
cases and other qualitative data indicate that women are often 
used to recruit other women. There is evidence that, particularly 
in  the  field  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  many  former 
victims  are,  at  some  point,  offered  the  opportunity  to  recruit 
new victims to reduce their debt to traffickers or to end their 
own  exploitation  (United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime, 
2016a).

Trafficking for sexual exploitation has gained a place on the pol-
icy  agenda.  However,  specifically  concerning  forced  marriage, 
there is very little discussion of the perpetrators. The focus is on 
the victims and providing them with information and support. 
Regarding  other  forms  of  violence  against  women,  the  argu-
ment is being made that in order to eliminate violence against 
women, there needs to be a societal change in attitudes, stereo-
types and norms. Conversely, in relation to forced marriage, for 
example, the focus seems to be on educating the victim about 
support  and  escape,  educating  social  and  education  workers 
and, as required by the Istanbul Convention, criminalising those 
who carry it out (Allwood, 2017).

Benefits of using a gender perspective in the analysis

The legal definition of trafficking in human beings is complex; 
nonetheless, the definition seeks to capture the psychological 
dynamics  of  exploitation  inherent  in  violence  against  women 
by  including  the  more  subtle  aspects,  in  particular  the ‘abuse 
of  a  position  of  vulnerability’  and ‘the  abuse  of  power’,  in  the 
definition. Although these means have proved to be rather dif-
ficult  to  apply  and  interpret  and  the  practitioners  have  differ-
ent views on their scope (United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime,  2013),  they  facilitate  understanding  and  processing  of 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

15

1.  Trafficking for sexual exploitation as a form of violence against women 

EIGE

the psychological dynamics of exploitation. The consent of the 
victim is irrelevant if any of the means are used.

It  is  crucial  to  differentiate  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  ex-
ploitation  from  victims  of  other  forms  of  trafficking  (such  as 
forced  labour),  and  to  contextualise  the  former  as  victims  of 
violence against women. This differentiation allows for a better 
understanding of how victims got into such situations, what is 
contributing to this situation and their needs (Cuesta, 2009).

A  gender  perspective  may  advance  the  identification  of  traf-
ficking  victims  and  application  and  interpretation  of  criminal 
law.  Understanding  the  dynamics  of  violence  against  wom-
en, including the elements of power and control, the gradual 
impairment of the violent situation and the complexity of the 
aspects causing vulnerability to exploitation and violence, may 
assist  the  criminal  justice  practitioners  to  apply  and  interpret 

the definition of human trafficking and achieve convictions. As 
the exploitation is traumatic and leads to severe physical and 
psychological  consequences,  medical  reports,  psychological 
evaluation of the trafficking victims and witness statements by 
psychiatrists and psychologists should be used in the criminal 
procedure as evidence (Ombudsman for Minorities, 2014).

The analytical examination of the policies, legislation and meas-
ures against trafficking in human beings from the perspective 
of violence against women will also help to comprehend and 
manage the gap between the numbers of estimated and iden-
tified trafficking victims and the low number of investigations, 
prosecutions  and  convictions.  Assessing  the  implementation 
of anti-trafficking legislation and its impact from a gender per-
spective also enhances the tailoring of future policy and legisla-
tive measures against trafficking in human beings.

16

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

2.  LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

EIGE 

2.  Legal and policy framework

2.  LEGAL AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

Under  international  and  European  Union  law,  trafficking  of 
women for sexual exploitation is firmly established as a form of 
violence against women. This chapter presents a brief overview 
of  the  most  relevant  legislative  instruments  that  address  traf-
ficking of women for sexual exploitation.

2.1.  European Union Framework

The  EU’s  anti-trafficking  strategy  identifies  gender  inequalities 
as being amongst the root causes of trafficking in human be-
ings. The EU recognises in its policy and legal framework that 
trafficking in human beings is a gender-specific phenomenon 
and it calls on Member States to adopt gender-specific meas-
ures against trafficking in human beings.

The Anti-Trafficking Directive, adopted in 2011, stresses the need 
to  adopt  a  gender-specific  approach  to  trafficking  in  human 
beings and highlights that prevention, assistance and support 
measures  must  be  gender-specific. The  directive  was  accom-
panied by a European Union Strategy towards the Eradication 
of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016 (European Commis-
sion, 2012), as a complementing policy framework. It played an 
important role in implementing the gender dimension of the 
directive, including its provisions on victims’ protection and as-
sistance. This included a number of important studies undertak-
en by the European Commission, including one on the gender 
dimension of trafficking in human beings (European Commis-
sion, 2016f ) and a comprehensive document available in all EU 
languages, ‘The EU rights of victims of trafficking in human be-
ings’ (European Commission, 2013).

The  Victims’  Rights  Directive,  being  a  horizontally  applicable 
instrument,  also  lays  down  provisions  which  apply  to  victims 
of trafficking in human beings. It takes into account victims of 
trafficking as particularly vulnerable victims of violence against 
women and, therefore, they are covered by its provisions.

Additionally, Directive 2004/38/EU of the European Parliament 
and of the Council of 29 April 2004, on the right of citizens of 
the Union and their family members to move and reside freely 
within  the  territory  of  the  Member  States,  and  Council  Direc-
tive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005, on minimum standards 
of procedures for granting and withdrawing refugee status, are 
also relevant to gendered provisions of victims’ assistance of the 
Anti-Trafficking Directive. 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  em-
ployers of illegally staying third-country nationals, in line with 
a  victim-centred  approach,  provides  for  criminal  sanctions 
against employers of victims of trafficking who are not residing 
legally and who are third-country nationals. This is crucial from 

the  perspective  of  women  who  may  be  potential  victims  of 
trafficking  for  labour  exploitation,  while  simultaneously  being 
victims of sexual exploitation and/or forced marriage.

Directive  2011/95/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 13 December 2011, on standards for the qualification 
of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries 
of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or 
for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the con-
tent of the protection granted, specifies that, in relation to rev-
ocation of subsidiary protection status, the best interests of the 
child (2) must be taken into account, as well as the needs of oth-
er vulnerable persons, such as victims of trafficking and victims 
of serious sexual, psychological and physical violence. Notably, 
this directive includes female genital mutilation, forced sterili-
sation and forced abortion (recital 30), as matters that ground 
a ‘well-founded fear for persecution’ (i.e. an essential element for 
the granting of international protection). However, it makes no 
explicit reference to either forced marriage or victims of traffick-
ing. When listing ‘acts of persecution,’ it does define acts of phys-
ical or mental violence to include acts of sexual violence, as well 
as ‘acts of a gender- and child-specific nature’ (Article 9(2)(f )).

A number of European Parliament resolutions have addressed 
trafficking in human beings from a gender perspective. In par-
ticular, the Parliament report on sexual exploitation and prosti-
tution and its impact on gender equality (2013/2103(INI)), of 26 
February 2014, reaffirms the links between trafficking and pros-
titution  and  stresses  sexual  exploitation  as  a  form  of  violence 
against  women.  The  report  calls  for  broad,  gender-specific 
measures to combat trafficking for sexual exploitation, includ-
ing  preventive,  educational,  protection  and  assistance  meas-
ures for victims, as well as punitive measures for perpetrators.

The  European  Parliament  resolution  of  12  May  2016,  on  im-
plementation  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  (2015/2118(INI)) 
focuses  on  its  implementation  from  a  gender  perspective.  It 
strongly  emphasises  gendered  vulnerabilities  and  stresses  that 
the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings entails an 
obligation for Member States to address it as a form of violence 
against  women  and  girls  that  must  also  be  consistently  mon-
itored  in  the  implementation  of  EU  anti-trafficking  legislation.  
The  resolution  also  makes  reference  to  trafficking  for  forced 
marriage (as well as ‘sham marriage’), recognising it as a form of  
trafficking  in  human  beings  with  both  sexual  and  economic 
elements of exploitation, to which girls are particularly vulnerable.

The  European  Parliament  has  stated  in  its  above  mentioned 
resolution on trafficking from a gender perspective that ‘a one 

(2) 

The European Asylum Support Office (2018) developed relevant tools (checklist and 
assessment form) to support the process of the determination of the best interests 
of the child.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

19

2.  Legal and policy framework 

EIGE

size  fits  all’  strategy  is  not  efficient  and  that  different  forms  of 
trafficking need to be addressed with specific and tailored pol-
icy measures, which take into account the specifics of different 
forms of exploitation. Efficient and productive measures in re-
sponding  to  one  form  of  exploitation  can  prove  to  be  inad-
equate and even harmful for another.

Anti-Trafficking Directive, as it recognises that ‘some victims of 
human trafficking have also been child victims of sexual abuse 
or sexual exploitation’. However, the directive is gender-neutral 
and does not refer to any gender-specific vulnerabilities of po-
tential victims and does not invoke the concept of girl-child as 
a category of victims of sexual exploitation.

Moreover,  the  European  Union  action  plan  for  the  integration 
of  third-country  nationals  and  European  agenda  on  migration  
(European Commission, 2016g) refers to the gender dimension 
of migration, and to the situation of migrants, particularly refugee 
women,  noting  that  they  face  more  serious  challenges  across  
all  spheres  of  integration,  including  access  to  rights  and  pro-
tection. Both documents call for targeted, tailor-made initiatives 
to  ensure  equal  access  for  these  women  to  integration  meas-
ures. Though  neither  document  directly  refers  to  the  crime  of 
trafficking, they are important for assessing the vulnerability of 
migrant and refugee women, including those who have migrat-
ed as a result of the push factors of poverty, destitution, social 
exclusion  and  isolation  as  well  as  the  violence,  discrimination 
and risks to life and limb that refugee women may have been 
subjected to before and/or during their migration to Europe.

In  the  Report  on  Equality  Between  Men  and  Women  in  the 
European  Union  (European  Commission,  2017c),  trafficking  is 
addressed in Section 4, ‘Combating gender-based violence and  
protecting  and  supporting  victims’  and  objective  8  of  the  
European  Union  gender  action  plan  2016-2020  (European 
Commission, 2015a) calls for ‘strong gender sensitive legislation 
against trafficking of human beings as well as investing in gov-
ernmental and non-governmental services to survivors, for their 
empowerment,  well-being  and  full  reintegration  into  society’. 
Similarly, the European Union Strategic engagement on gender 
equality  2016-2019  (European  Commission,  2015b)  in  its  Ob-
jective 3.4 (‘Combating gender-based violence and protecting 
and supporting victims’) asks for the continuous monitoring of 
the implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive by Member 
States, ensuring that gender-dimension is addressed.

Furthermore, the EU agencies have also formalised their com-
mitment to work together in a coordinated, coherent and com-
prehensive way, through a joint statement. This statement was 
signed on the EU Anti-Trafficking day in 2011, by seven EU Jus-
tice and Home Affairs Agencies, including EIGE. As a result, the 
Agencies involved have since met regularly to achieve common 
priorities,  exchange  knowledge  and  strategies.  The  Agencies 
have also developed a number of materials, studies, and train-
ings on this topic (European Commission, 2016a). This commit-
ment was renewed in 2018, through another Joint Statement, 
this time signed by 10 agencies, building on the synergies cre-
ated in 2011 (European Commission, 2016a).

In the context of children and migration, the European Union 
has made some progress in building the foundations for a gen-
der-specific  policy  framework  on  child  victims  of  trafficking, 
sexual  violence  and  exploitation.  However,  in  the  context  of 
the  current  migrant  crisis,  this  progress  seems  insufficient  in 
terms of meeting the needs of the girl-child. For example, the 
European Union Agenda for the Rights of the Child (European 
Commission,  2011)  is  notably  gender  neutral.  Although  this 
document  notes  that  in  the  area  of  trafficking ‘it  is  important 
that  specific  needs  of  children  are  fully  taken  into  account’,  it 
does not refer to gendered aspects of trafficking, or to specific 
vulnerabilities of girl victims.

The revised European Union guidelines on the promotion and 
protection of the rights of the child (European Union External 
Action,  2016),  acknowledge  gender-specific  vulnerabilities 
throughout the document, despite making no specific recom-
mendations on how to meet the needs of the girl-child affected 
by violence against women and exploitation. The communica-
tion by the European Commission of 12 April 2017 on the pro-
tection of children in migration (European Commission, 2017a) 
explicitly recognises the need for urgent improvement of spe-
cialised  services  for  refugee  girls,  and  sex-disaggregated  data 
collection on migrant children.

2.2. 

International Framework

The United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms 
of  Discrimination  Against  Women  (CEDAW)  (United  Nations, 
1979),  is  considered  an ‘international  bill  for  women’s  human 
rights that provides ‘a gender-sensitive interpretation of human 
rights law and protects women from sex- and gender-based dis-
crimination with regard to all the human rights contained in the 
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights 
instruments’  (United  Nations,  1948).  CEDAW  General  Recom-
mendation No 32 (United Nations, 2014b) recognises both traf-
ficking in women and forced marriage as ‘gender-related forms 
of persecution’ constituting legitimate grounds for international 
protection in law and practice. It reiterates CEDAW’s general po-
sition on a disaggregated approach to violence against women. 
General  Recommendation  No  35  (United  Nations,  2017b)  up-
dates  General  Recommendation  No  19  and  specifically  notes 
that all references to women include girls (Article 14).

For  the  protection  of  girl-victims  of  trafficking,  the  framework 
on the rights of the child, including the rights of migrant and 
refugee children, who constitute the fastest growing group of 
identified  trafficking  victims  in  Europe  is  of  particular  signifi-
cance.  In  this  regard,  Directive  2011/93/EU  of  the  European 
Parliament and of the Council, of 13 December 2011, on com-
bating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and 
child pornography, is described as fully complimentary to the 

Of particular importance in relation to the gender-specific pro-
visions  is  the  Istanbul  Convention  (Council  of  Europe,  2011), 
which  is  regarded  as  the  most  comprehensive  European  in-
strument  concerning  violence  against  women.  It  treats  the 
problem  of  violence  against  women  holistically  and  introdu-
ces  a  legally  binding  framework  to  eliminate  it.  Although  the 
Istanbul  Convention  does  not  deal  with  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation per se, it does so indirectly through its provisions 

20

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

EIGE 

2.  Legal and policy framework

concerning physical, psychological and sexual violence, which  
can be identified as constitutive elements of trafficking for sexual 
exploitation, specifically, in its means and purposes, and must  
be seen as part of the continuum of violence against women, 
where different forms of abuse of women may form a chain of 
elements eventually amounting to a case of trafficking. It is of 
note that Article 3 of the Istanbul Convention specifically states 
that the term ‘woman’ also includes girls under the age of 18, 
emphasising the importance of extending all of their respective 
provisions to girls and young women.

In relation to forced marriage, the Istanbul Convention recog-
nises it as a serious form of violence against women. It makes 
provisions  for  the  criminalisation  of  forced  marriage  as  inten-
tional conduct (Article 37) and mandates measures for the facili-
tated dissolution of such marriages (Article 32). It offers practical 
assistance to victims of this crime, through its provisions for an 
autonomous  residence  permit  or  via  the  restoration  of  resi-
dence rights lost as a result of the crime (Article 59). It should be 
noted that despite the fact that forced marriage is criminalised 
in less than 10 Member States, a coherent framework on forced 
marriage and trafficking is missing at European level.

The  United  Nations  Protocol  to  prevent,  suppress  and  punish 
trafficking in persons, especially women and children, otherwise 
known as the Palermo Protocol (United Nations, 2000a), togeth-
er  with  the  United  Nations  Convention  against  Transnational 
Organised Crime (United Nations, 2000b) and its interpretative 
notes can be considered as the most widely used international 
reference in the anti-trafficking framework currently in force. In  
the European Union, the Palermo Protocol applies to the territor-
ies in which the Treaty establishing the European Community  
(2002)  is  applied  and  under  the  conditions  laid  down  in  that 
Treaty,  in  particular  Article  299  thereof  and  the  protocols  an-
nexed to it.

The Palermo Protocol reaffirms the recognition that trafficking 
cannot be dissociated from the exploitation of prostitution, stat-
ing that the consent of the victim to the intended exploitation 
is irrelevant, recognising that the victim of trafficking should not 
bear the burden of proof, and providing protection measures 
for victims. As an international legally binding instrument, the 
Protocol  was  designed  to  jumpstart  national  laws,  promote 
cross-border judiciary and police cooperation and to harmonise 
regional legislation against trafficking in women of which the 
Anti-Trafficking Directive is a part.

The United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traf-
fic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Oth-
ers (1949) establishes explicit links between sexual exploitation, 
prostitution and trafficking, and recognises the incompatibility 
of trafficking, sexual exploitation and prostitution with the fun-
damental principles of human dignity and equal treatment. It 
also  acknowledges the status of victims  exploited  in  prostitu-
tion explicitly prohibiting their penalisation, advocating instead, 
the punishment for those who ‘procure, entice or lead’ others 
into prostitution.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (United Nations, 
1995)  elaborates  in  detail  the  sex-  and  gender-based  nature 
of discrimination against women and girls, including different 
forms of sexual violence, trafficking and exploitation. The dec-
laration pays specific attention to forced and early marriage. It 
also provides a comprehensive roadmap for eradicating differ-
ent forms of gender inequality and violence against women, in-
cluding educational, capacity-building, funding and assistance 
measures.

Additionally,  the  sustainable  development  goals,  which  came 
into force in January 2016 in the frame of 2030 Agenda for Sus-
tainable Development (United Nations, 2015), listed in Goal 5.2 
asks the objective to eliminate all forms of violence against all 
women  and  girls  in  the  public  and  private  spheres,  including 
trafficking, and sexual and other types of exploitation.

It might also be relevant to consider the framework that deals 
with topics such as migration, asylum and refugee laws that, in 
varied and indirect ways, also attempt to address gender-spe-
cific factors leading to trafficking, sexual exploitation and sexual 
violence. The United Nations Convention Relating to the Status 
of Refugees (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner 
for Refugees, 1951), and its Protocol relating to the Status of Ref-
ugees (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Ref-
ugees, 1967), among other international instruments, affirm the 
principle of non-refoulement ensuring that nobody is sent back 
to  persecution,  including  the  gender-based  persecution  that 
female victims of trafficking may be subjected to upon return.

In  relation  to  forced  marriage,  the  Universal  Declaration  of 
Human Rights (United Nations General Assembly, 1948) in Ar-
ticle  16  provides  for  equality  within  and  upon  dissolution  of 
marriage, as well as for marriage to be entered into only upon 
consent of both parties. CEDAW attributes forced marriage to 
the range of gender-based violence that maintains women in 
subordinate roles and contributes to lower levels of education 
and work opportunities (General Recommendation Nos 19 and 
21). The International Convention on Consent to Marriage, Min-
imum Age for Marriage and Registration of Marriages (United 
Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 1962) 
treats  forced  marriage  as  a  violation  of  fundamental  human 
rights (Article 1).

In addition to this, the crime of forced marriage has been rec-
ognised as amounting to sexual slavery in some instances. Thus, 
the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the 
Slave  Trade  and  Institutions  and  Practices  Similar  to  Slavery 
(United  Nations  Human  Rights  Office  of  the  High  Commis-
sioner,  1956)  categorises  forced  marriage  as  a ‘practice  similar 
to slavery’ (Section I, Article 1(c)). This understanding of forced 
marriage  has  been  reiterated  in  recent  years  through  inter-
national  case-law,  which  has  also  recognised  the  aggravated 
harms inflicted upon the victim through forced conjugal associ-
ation, leading to severe mental suffering and social stigma, and 
has  recognised  the  relationship  between  the  perpetrator  and 
the victim of forced marriage as that of ownership (3).

(3) 

See  Prosecutor  v  Brima,  Case  No  SCSL-2004-16-A,  Special  Court  for  Sierra  Leone 
2008. 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

21

2.  Legal and policy framework 

EIGE

Essential protection, from the child perspective, is also provid-
ed by the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of 
Children  against  Sexual  Exploitation  and  Sexual  Abuse,  also 
known as ‘the Lanzarote Convention’ (Council of Europe, 2007). 
This Convention mandates the criminalisation of various kinds 
of  sexual  offences  against  children,  ensuring  that  contracting 
States  adopt  specific  legislation  and  take  measures  to  pre-
vent sexual violence, to protect child victims and to prosecute 
perpetrators.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  the  Lanzarote 
Convention is also gender-neutral and does not acknowledge 
either  sex-  or  gender-based  vulnerabilities  of  the  girl-child  in 

relation to sexual violence or exploitation and makes only very 
sporadic references to trafficking (4).

The  Convention  on  the  Rights  of  the  Child  (United  Nations 
Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 1989) and its 
Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and 
child pornography (United Nations Human Rights Office of the 
High Commissioner, 2000) recognises girl-children as a particu-
larly  vulnerable  group  that  is ‘disproportionately  represented 
among  the  sexually  exploited’,  as  well  as  the  fact  that gender 
discrimination  and  harmful  traditional  practices  (of  which 
forced  marriage  is  one)  are  among  the  root  causes  for  sexual 
exploitation.

22

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

(4) 

The Lanzarote Convention has been criticised for using problematic terms such as 
‘child prostitute’, which, according to child-rights and women’s rights organisations 
should not be applied to children in the context of their sexual exploitation in pros-
titution (Interagency Working Group on Sexual Exploitation of Children, 2016).

3. 

IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIMS

EIGE 

3.  Identification of victims

3.  IDENTIFICATION OF VICTIMS

Identification  is  central  to  the  ability  of  trafficking  victims  to 
benefit from the assistance, support and protection measures 
contained in Articles 11-17 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation face specific 
barriers to the process of identification related to the nature of 
these crimes. According to the European Commission study on 
the gender dimension of trafficking in human beings (European 
Commission,  2016f ),  victims  of  trafficking  for  the  purposes  of 
sexual exploitation can be difficult to identify in mixed popula-
tions of women in prostitution, which include those that are in-
dependent as well as those that are coerced. Moreover, in some 
Member States prostitution is legal, which allows traffickers to 
use the legal framework to further exploit victims more easily 
(Europol, 2016).

Victims  may  also  fall  within  the  wider  population  of  migrants 
and thus may be fearful of both traffickers and authorities (Euro-
pean Commission, 2016f ). Such fears may not be irrational ones: 
victims of trafficking are sometimes treated as criminal offend-
ers themselves in encounters with the authorities, despite the 
provisions of Article 8 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, which en-
titles Member States ’not to prosecute or impose penalties on 
victims of trafficking in human beings for their involvement in 
criminal activities which they have been compelled to commit’ 
as  a  consequence  of  their  trafficking  experience.  Civil  society 
reports that the principle of non-punishment is yet to be fully 
implemented across the EU (European Commission, 2016a).

For victims of forced marriage, factors including exploitation in 
a  private  home,  the  involvement  of  family  members,  and  the 
possible  threat  of  honour-based  violence,  make  identification 
difficult,  and  can  preclude  victims  from  self-identifying.  The 
above  conditions  make  it  less  likely  that  victims  will  come  to 
the  notice  of  those  who  may  be  able  to  assist  them  and  in-
crease the likelihood that, when victims do come into contact 
with authorities, they are overlooked or not accurately identi-
fied as victims of forced marriage. Furthermore, Member States 
have reported an increase in cases of forced marriage and sham 
marriages in the context of trafficking in human beings (Euro-
pean Commission, 2016c). With the migration and refugee cri-
sis in North Africa and the Middle East, Europol estimates that 
trends in sexual exploitation will increase, as well as forced and/
or sham marriages, as a way to gain legitimate residence in the 
EU (Europol, 2016).

A press release issued in May 2018 by the European Commis-
sion also stresses that the EU is still facing a delicate situation in 
regard to migratory pressure. Increased arrivals along the east 
and the west Mediterranean routes have been observed (Euro-
pean Commission, 2018b), which reinforces the need to consid-
er the risk of victimisation of migrants.

Additional barriers can arise for victims lacking legal status. Such 
victims are often dealt with by the authorities as immigration 
offenders/irregular  migrants.  In  these  circumstances,  the  lack 
of  legal  status  can  be  used  as  a  control  mechanism  by  those 
who are exploiting them. Victims are more vulnerable without 
immigration  status,  and  as  a  result  much  less  likely  to  flee  or 
to  approach  the  authorities  for  help.  The  fact  that  such  vic-
tims are unlawfully present in a Member State can give rise to 
a ‘culture of disbelief’ on the part of the State’s authorities, who 
sometimes assume that an individual is lying to secure an im-
migration advantage (e.g. a residence permit (5) or the right to 
reside as an asylum seeker (if the person also makes this kind 
of claim (6)). Communication between victims and authorities 
can be further hampered by language barriers, which can inhib-
it the former’s ability to communicate the true nature of their 
situation.

Because of these and other issues in practice, the identification 
of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced mar-
riage is difficult. In order to increase identification of such vic-
tims, different measures are necessary.

3.1. 

Implications of the definition 
of ‘victim’

A key issue for victim identification, is the understanding of ‘vic-
tim’, as contained in the directive.

The Anti-Trafficking Directive defines the offence of trafficking 
in Article 2. A victim, for the purposes of support and assistance 
measures,  is  someone  for  whom  a  competent  authority  finds 
‘reasonable  grounds’  to  believe  they  have  been  subjected  to 
a trafficking offence which, in turn, is defined in Article 11(4) as 
‘the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or recep-
tion  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, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of 
power, 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, for the purpose of exploitation.’

It is relevant that the directive recognises subtle forms of con-
trol, such as abuse of power or abuse of a position of vulner-
ability,  which  can  widen  the  scope  of  victims  able  to  benefit 
from the assistance and protection provisions. There have been 
reported  difficulties,  however,  in  ensuring  that  all  victims  can 

(5) 
(6) 

Pursuant to Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004.
When a person makes an asylum claim within a State signatory to the 1951 Conven-
tion Relating to the Status of Refugees (‘Refugee Convention’) — all European Union 
States are signatories — the person has the right to remain in the country until the 
final conclusion of that claim, including the full conclusion of all appeals.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

25

3.  Identification of victims 

EIGE

access such assistance, owing to Member States adopting a re-
strictive understanding of trafficking and investigating traffick-
ing offences under different criminal legislation (Eurojust, 2012).

In common with other forms of violence against women, the 
issue of consent arises in the process of being identified as a vic-
tim in the Anti-Trafficking Directive. Often, victims of trafficking 
must show that they did not consent to their movement and 
exploitation. This can be difficult for victims of trafficking for sex-
ual  exploitation,  particularly  those  who  are  perceived  to  have 
willingly  entered  prostitution  who,  similarly  to  victims  of  rape 
and other forms of sexual violence, can face victim-blaming at-
titudes, including within the criminal justice system (European 
Parliament, 2016a).

The  understanding  of  concepts  such  as  coercion  and  deceit 
often fall into grey areas that might overlap with the notion of 
consent. While in some situations, the presence of vulnerabili-
ty (understood as individual or contextual factors or conditions 
that  facilitate  situations  of  trafficking  by  increasing  a  person’s 
or a group’s susceptibility, for example, being a woman, a child, 
belonging to a minority group, lacking legal status, inter alia) is 
taken as evidence or proof that there was an abuse of vulner-
ability as part of defining a trafficking situation. In others cas-
es, it can happen that the absence of such vulnerabilities from 
the beginning leads to the conclusion that the situation does 
not constitute trafficking (United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime, 2016a).

Nevertheless,  it  should  be  noted  that  consent  is  fabricated  in 
a specific social, political and economic context that deeply im-
pacts one’s choices and space for action (Kelly, 2003). Demand-
ing evidence of force, fraud, or coercion as grounds to establish 
that a certain situation constitutes trafficking means overlook-
ing the larger characteristics of the context in which it happens, 
which can be highly coercive and can limit the victim’s choice 
themselves (Zimmerman, 2005).

Case study (Case No B 1689-12, Court of Appeal  
for western Sweden 2012)

In this case, a 14 year-old Serbian national was recruited for 
the  purpose  of  sexual  exploitation,  and  was  taken  to  Swe-
den under the false pretence of becoming the wife of one 
of the defendants, following an agreement and payment of 
EUR 1 000 to the victim’s father. The victim was kept locked 
up and sexually exploited. Based on information gathered in 
the case and the witness’ statement, it was possible to reach  
the conclusion that there had been a sexual relation between 
the girl and one of the defendants. However, the victim’s tes-
timony was not considered sufficiently credible and reliable 
for a conviction.

The different means identified above in the directive make any 
apparent consent given by the victim irrelevant. However, vic-
tims  are  often  relabelled,  for  example,  as  prostitutes  or  illegal 
immigrants  (Kingshott  and  Jones,  2016),  especially  if  they  do 
not behave according to stereotypical roles of women and vic-
tims (Menaker and Cramer, 2012).

These can bring difficulties to the implementation of the direc-
tive,  which  limits  victims’  access  to  assistance  and  protection. 
Thus, proper training in victim identification is crucial to avoid 
stereotyping and misinterpretation of several facets of traffick-
ing for sexual exploitation.

The approach in the Anti-Trafficking Directive vis-à-vis recogni-
tion of victimisation further looks to ensure that any intersec-
tional concerns, such as the nationality of a victim, should not 
prevent their identification. Recital 33 of the directive states that 
it respects the rights and principles enshrined in the European 
Union Charter on Fundamental Rights (2012), which prohibits 
discrimination  on  a  number  of  grounds. The  need  to  discon-
nect  recognition  of  victimisation  and  the  support  of  victims, 
from specific characteristics of the victim has similarly been rec-
ognised in the Istanbul Convention, which requires that Mem-
ber  States  secure  the  rights  of  victims  without  discrimination 
on any grounds, including membership of a national minority, 
migrant or refugee status (Article 4).

There  are  additional,  specific  measures  in  the  Anti-Trafficking 
Directive applicable to third-country nationals, who represent 
a significant proportion of victims who have been trafficked for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation. Article 11(3) of the Anti-Traf-
ficking Directive recommends that Member States do not make 
the provision of support and assistance (and therefore identi-
fication)  contingent  on  the  cooperation  of  victims  in  criminal 
proceedings. This article is ‘without prejudice’ to Council Direc-
tive  2004/81/EC,  of  29  April  2004,  on  the  residence  permit  is-
sued  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 compe-
tent authorities. The latter requires that Member States identify 
and provide all victims of trafficking with a short-term residency 
permit (Article 6), while simultaneously allowing Member States  
to restrict medium-term permits and thus support and assist-
ance for a longer duration to victims who are cooperating with  
authorities (Article 8). This, however, should not act as a barrier 
to the identification of victims; rather, linked to the duration of 
time for which they receive support.

26

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

EIGE 

3.  Identification of victims

Case study (Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia, No 25965/04, 
ECHR 2010)

In this case, the Cypriot police failed to identify or investigate 
a situation of trafficking, leading to the death of a young Rus-
sian woman. The Cypriot legal regime, at that time, permit-
ted the entry of migrant women on temporary ‘artiste’ visas 
to  work  in  cabaret  clubs. Those  entering  on  this  visa  were 
rendered dependent on their employer for their immigration 
status. At the time, it was known that many of those enter-
ing Cyprus on such visas were engaged in prostitution and 
faced harsh conditions and exploitation at the hands of their 
employers.  The  Cypriot  police  overlooked  obvious  indica-
tors of trafficking when a woman was brought to the police 
station by her employer, who requested her deportation on 
the grounds that she had left her place of employment. The 
woman was not identified as a potential victim of trafficking. 
The complaint was dismissed and she left the police station 
with her employer. Not long afterwards, she was found dead, 
having  fallen  while  attempting  to  escape  from  a  fifth  floor 
apartment. After investigation, Cypriot authorities attributed 
her death to an accidental fall and not as the result of a crim-
inal act.

Difficulties  can  also  emerge  in  identifying  national  minorities 
who have been victims of trafficking for forced marriage. In the 
case of M. and Others v Italy and Bulgaria (No 40020/03, ECHR 
2012) the European Court of Human Rights was critical of the 
Italian police’s handling of a case of forced marriage, which the 
Court  accepted  could  have  amounted  to  human  trafficking 
(United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime,  2012).  In  finding 
a violation of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human 
Rights, the Court found that the Italian authorities had not in-
stigated  a  thorough  investigation  on  the  basis  that  they  had 
wrongly  understood  the  situation  as  a  traditional ‘Roma  mar-
riage’  (United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime,  2012). This 
case  highlights  the  difficulties  faced  by  women  from  certain 
backgrounds, such as those from the Roma community, when 
attempting to access justice as existing prejudices and stereo-
types can act as an obstacle.

The question of who constitutes a victim is dealt with directly in 
the provisions of the Victims’ Rights Directive. Article 2 defines 
a victim as ‘a natural person who has suffered harm, including 
physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss which was 
caused  directly by a  criminal offence’. In  the  context of wom-
en trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, this broad 
approach to identification is very important, specifically when 
considered in conjunction with the more onerous understand-
ing of victimhood contained in the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation often face negative 
and victim-blaming attitudes when attempting to establish vic-
timisation (European Parliament, 2016a). This is not the case for 
other victims of crime, where there generally exists no formal 

mechanism for establishing victimisation at this early stage. Yet, 
victims of trafficking are often also victims of other crimes, in-
cluding physical and sexual violence. As such, this group may be 
more easily identified as ‘victims’ for the purposes of the Victims’ 
Rights Directive, which may provide a faster route to a particular 
victim support measure. Importantly, the Victims’ Rights Direc-
tive  recognises  the  need  for  specific,  targeted  and  integrated 
support for victims of gender-based violence (Article 9(3)(b)).

3.2.  Evidentiary standard

In ensuring the early identification of victims, a low threshold 
vis-à-vis  the  evidentiary  standard  used  for  their  identification 
is  crucial.  As  soon  as  evidence  exists  to  suggest  a  person  has 
been  trafficked,  they  should  be  identified  as  potential  victims 
and should receive immediate assistance. Confirmation of their 
victim status should occur at a later stage. In order to support 
the application of a low evidentiary standard, it is crucial that 
competent authorities employ indicators during the identifica-
tion process and that they receive appropriate training in the 
fields of gender equality and equal treatment, as highlighted by 
case Z.Z.Z. below.

Case study (Z.Z.Z. v The Netherlands, Communication 
No 15/2007 (CEDAW/C/42/D/15/2007)

In this case, a girl asylum seeker who had been trafficked to 
the Netherlands for the purpose of sexual exploitation was 
not informed of her right to assistance under Dutch law, nor 
identified  as  a  victim  of  trafficking. This  was  in  spite  of  the 
presence of trafficking indicators, including her having suf-
fered  violence  and  trauma  in  the  Netherlands.  Rather,  she 
faced mistrust and disbelief from the authorities and was ex-
posed to secondary harm. Although the case was deemed 
inadmissible on the grounds that the applicant had failed to 
exhaust  domestic  remedies,  a  dissenting  opinion  by  three 
members of the CEDAW Committee recommended appro-
priate training for border guards on identification and appro-
priate treatment of victims.

The  evidentiary  standard  required  for  the  preliminary  identi-
fication  of  trafficking  victims  found  in  the  Anti-Trafficking  Dir-
ective is a ‘reasonable grounds indication’. The purpose of this  
approach  is  to  enshrine  a  low  threshold  for  the  identification 
of victims. In principle, this approach protects women and girl 
victims from secondary victimisation, which can emerge where 
victims of violence against women meet disbelief on behalf of 
investigating authorities (Council of Europe, 2016). This includes 
during  participation  in  any  national  procedures  for  establish-
ing whether a person is a victim (EIGE, 2016). The preamble to 
the Victims’  Rights  Directive  complements  the  Anti-Trafficking 
Directive by recommending that ‘support should be provided 
through a variety of means, without excessive formalities’.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

27

3.  Identification of victims 

EIGE

Nevertheless, the term ‘reasonable grounds’ leaves it open to in-
terpretation from the competent authority, which could lead to 
delays to the identification of victims in practice. This discretion 
can create difficulties for certain categories of victims, such as 
third-country nationals, victims exploited in the commercial sex 
industry, or victims from national minorities, who can face dis-
belief and mistrust from authorities, as evidenced in the above 
cases.

requires that Member States establish appropriate mechanisms 
for the early identification and support of victims, in cooperation 
with  support  organisations.  The  involvement  of  independent 
women’s rights non-governmental organisations is beneficial in 
the determination of reasonable grounds for victims of traffick-
ing for sexual exploitation due to their gender-specific exper-
tise. However, such involvement is not explicitly required by the 
terms of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

In  addition,  to  support  authorities  in  making  a  ‘reasonable 
grounds’  determination,  and  thus  reduce  the  scope  of  discre-
tion  of  authorities  during  the  identification  process,  it  is  gen-
erally  recommended  that  indicators,  specific  to  the  form  of 
exploitation  under  investigation,  are  used.  Although  recital  4 
of the Anti-Trafficking Directive envisages the development of 
a common set of European indicators to support the identifi-
cation  of  victims,  the  directive  does  not  require  that  Member 
States use indicators during the identification process.

3.3.  Competent authority

The explanatory report attached to the Council of Europe Con-
vention  on  Action  against Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  (2005) 
defines competent authority, in the context of the identification 
of victims, as the different authorities, which may have contact 
with  victims,  such  as  the  police,  labour  inspectorate,  and  im-
migration  authorities.  In  practice,  the  term  generally  refers  to 
the  authority  responsible  for  formally  identifying  victims. The 
Anti-Trafficking  Directive  requires  that  Member  States  desig-
nate a competent authority responsible for the identification of 
victims of trafficking. However, it is the responsibility of Member 
States  to  determine  the  authority  responsible  for  identifying 
victims. The choice will likely have an impact on who is recog-
nised as a victim and the speed at which victims are identified  
and  can  access  the  assistance  and  support  envisaged  in  the  
Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Case study (NIQB 15, The High Court of Justice  
in Northern Ireland, 2014)

In this case, a Nigerian national claimed to have been traf-
ficked  to  Portugal  under  the  false  pretence  of  being  em-
ployed there. After several attempts to flee and claim asylum  
in Spain and Ireland, immigration officers at Shannon airport 
told her that they would try to investigate her case. The Bel-
fast City Mission helped her to get a solicitor and took her 
to the police to report human trafficking. However, the Unit-
ed  Kingdom  Border  Agency  issued  a  conclusive  grounds 
decision  determining  that,  on  the  balance  of  probabilities, 
the applicant had not been the victim of human trafficking.

It has been highlighted by Eurostat (2013) that the majority of 
Member States have nominated police authorities as the com-
petent  authority  responsible  for  the  identification  of  victims. 
The directive appears to envisage a role for other stakeholders, 
particularly those involved in the support of victims, in the iden-
tification process. Article 11(4) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive 

28

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

Training provided to professionals

The training available to the identifying authority, seen as nec-
essary in the text of the Trafficking Convention’s explanatory re-
port, and the extent that it takes gender aspects into account, 
will  also  have  a  good  impact  on  the  identification  of  victims. 
Taking  into  account  the  preference  of  Member  States  to  des-
ignate police authorities as the competent authority (Eurostat, 
2013), it is vital that police officials possess gender expertise and 
thus  receive  gender-specific  training. This  has  been  identified 
as particularly important in the identification of victims of traf-
ficking  for  sexual  exploitation  (European  Commission,  2016f ). 
The need to provide such a training can be linked to a wider 
requirement found in Recommendation 19 of the CEDAW con-
cerning  measures  to  tackle  violence  against  women,  which 
requires that States provide gender-specific trainings to public 
officials and judicial and law enforcement officers (United Na-
tions, 1979).

Article 18(3) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive contains a general 
requirement  that  Member  States  promote  regular  training  for 
officials  likely  to  come  into  contact  with  victims  or  potential 
victims, to enable them to identify and refer victims and poten-
tial victims. Recital 25 of the directive outlines the categories of 
officials  who  should  receive  training,  including  police  officers, 
border guards, immigration officials, public prosecutors, lawyers, 
members of the judiciary and court officials, labour inspectors, 
social, child and healthcare personnel and consular staff. The An-
ti-Trafficking Directive, however, does not provide explicit details 
on the type of training to be provided to these officials and does 
not explicitly require the provision of gender-specific trainings.

There  is  a  general  requirement  that  Member  States  adopt 
a gender-specific approach, where appropriate, to the support 
and  assistance  of  victims.  This  can  be  interpreted  broadly,  to 
include  gender-specific  training  for  those  responsible  for  the 
identification  of  victims.  Furthermore,  recital  25  recommends 
that  education  programmes  designed  to  prevent  trafficking 
should  adopt  a  gender  perspective.  While  not  a  mandatory 
provision,  this  recommendation  can  also  be  extended  to  the 
training programmes for officials.

The Victims’ Rights Directive contains important and more spe-
cific guidance on the type of training which should be available 
to national authorities. Article 25 requires that Member States 
ensure  that  those  officials  who  will  likely  come  into  contact 
with victims, including judges, prosecutors and lawyers, receive 
general and specialist training, enabling them to recognise and 
respond to the needs of victims and further deal with victims 
in an impartial, non-discriminatory, respectful, and professional 
manner.

EIGE 

3.  Identification of victims

At the same time, Member States are encouraged to establish 
initiatives that provide those involved in victim support groups 
and restorative justice services with appropriate training. Recit-
al 61 of the Victims’ Rights Directive recommends that officials 
receive  initial  and  ongoing  training,  and  where  relevant,  such 
training  should  be  gender-specific. This  can  be  interpreted  to 
be a necessary component of the specialist training that is re-
quired by Article 25 of the directive. Overall, however, the focus 
of Article 25 is on those involved in the criminal justice process. 
Consequently, the directive is limited vis-à-vis those who should 
receive the specialist/gender-specific training. Considering the 
very low criminal prosecution rates in trafficking generally, and 
particularly in trafficking for sexual exploitation, the impact of 
such gender-specific provisions of the Victims’ Rights Directive 
— while helpful — are nonetheless limited as far as these vic-
tims are concerned.

The  identification  source  can  also  be  a  medical  professional, 
social worker or civil society organisation service provider com-
ing  into  contact  with  women  victims  of  violence.  It  may  also 
be hotel and airline staff. In the case of victims of trafficking for 
forced marriage, marriage registrars, ethnic community or reli-
gious  leaders,  refugee  camp  relief  workers,  and  embassy  per-
sonnel could be the first point of identification. Not leaving an 
open door for the training of these kinds of relevant groups is 
a missed opportunity in the directive.

The fact that recital 61 of the Victims’ Rights Directive opens with 
the caveat: ‘where relevant, such training should be gender-sen-
sitive’  [emphasis  added],  poses  a  risk,  because  the  opening 
caveat arguably weakens the provision (which is in any event 
non-binding). The  point  of  gender-specific  training  is  to  alert 
individuals  to  matters  which  might  otherwise  go  unnoticed 
— thus, without training, gender issues may appear not to be 
‘relevant’ and lead to their exclusion from a training programme. 
Rather,  in  the  implementation  of  the  directive,  gender-specif-
ic training should be provided as standard, for anyone dealing 
with victims of crime, of any kind. Through a broad interpreta-
tion of the directive, it is possible for the words ‘where relevant’ 
to be defined as standard procedure, mitigating the risk that the 
training will not be widely offered.

3.4. 

Identification interview

Interviewing  actual  or  suspected  victims  of  trafficking  is  not 
a straightforward matter. It cannot be assumed that victims will, 
given the opportunity, come forth on their experiences. Rather, 
deep-rooted reluctance to make disclosures should be consid-
ered the norm. For example, the fact that the interviewers most 
of the time work for law enforcement and have the power to 
act against the victim (for example, by deporting or detaining 
her) creates a heavy power imbalance that increases stress on 
the victim and the possibility of secondary victimisation (Liéva-
na  and Waisman,  2017).  In  these  situations,  victims  might  be 
hesitant to disclose their situation and to cooperate, out of fear 
and/or concern for the safety of their families, inter alia, which 
in turn reinforces existing stereotypes of being non-cooperative 
(Liévana and Waisman, 2017).

Victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation may be distressed 
by  their  abusive  experience  and  experiencing  post-traumatic 
stress  disorder  or  other  psychological  disturbances. They  may 
also be under threats or intimidation by the perpetrator, which 
may not only inhibit them from trusting the interviewer but also 
compromise her memory of the facts and her ability to testify 
(United Nations, 2009). It is very important that the authorities 
are aware of these risks in order to have a sensitive approach to 
the interview. Lack of understanding may lead to a confronta-
tional questioning style or accusations of lying whenever their 
discourse  seems  incoherent,  as  well  as  asking  unnecessary 
questions about the victims’ private life.

It is critical to understand that the history of abuse leads victims  
often to have issues in trusting other people, especially author-
ities with which some may have had negative experiences in the  
past (United Nations, 2009). The fact that they are very often il-
legal in the country where they are being interviewed generates 
additional fears, as mentioned above.

Thus,  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  should  be 
treated as vulnerable victims and special measures should be 
taken  when  interviewing  them  to  avoid  secondary  victimisa-
tion. The way victims are treated during criminal proceedings 
is of major concern to civil society, which reports that victims 
experience  secondary  victimisation  through  intimidation  and 
questioning during these proceedings (European Commission, 
2016c).

To  encourage  disclosures,  it  is  recommended  that  all  inter-
views with victims are conducted in a gender-specific manner 
(OHCHR,  UNHCR,  Unicef,  UNODC,  UN Women  and  ILO,  2011).  
It is commonly reported that female victims prefer to make dis-
closures in an all-female environment (Refugee Women’s Legal 
Group,  1996).  As  such,  a  gender  choice  of  interviewer  should 
be  offered  as  a  matter  of  course  to  all  victims  and  during  all 
interviews, so that sensitive disclosures are facilitated in the first 
instance.

Moreover,  this  choice  should  be  offered  to  groups  that  may 
contain  trafficking  victims  more  generally,  for  example,  to  all 
irregular migrants encountered by State authorities and all asy-
lum seekers. The central features of a gender-sensitive interview 
are that it is conducted by an interviewer of the chosen gender 
of the interviewee and minimises the risk of secondary harm to 
victims,  for  example  by  minimising  the  number  of  interviews 
that victims must undertake (World Health Organisation, 2003).

Keeping the victim informed at all times of what’s going to hap-
pen, in a way that they can fully understand (i.e. in a language 
that she can communicate in and in a style that is intelligible for 
her, according to her education and cultural background, for ex-
ample). It is also key to involve the victim in all decisions about 
further steps, proceeding only with her full consent. This should, 
however, not be confused with questioning about her consent 
in the exploitation situation as, according to the Anti-Trafficking 
Directive, this is irrelevant for the identification of the victim and 
such a question constitutes secondary victimisation.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

29

3.  Identification of victims 

EIGE

Victims might not be used to be asked for her consent, which 
may  lead  to  a  sense  of  confusion  or  even  anxiety.  Similarly, 
victims  may  feel  uncomfortable  speaking  openly  about  very 
intimate and painful matters that they have been instructed or 
learned to keep to themselves. It is crucial that the interviewer 
is trained to understand these reactions and act adequately, for 
example, establishing a good rapport with the victim, respecting 
her pace, being sensitive and respectful (United Nations, 2009). 
The interviewer shall also never ask unnecessary questions out 
of  curiosity  about  the  victim’s  past  experience,  or  for  any  oth-
er reason. Strategies to put the victim at ease should be put in 
place, for example, giving her the possibility to write some words 
or sentences that she may not feel comfortable speaking about.

The  location  where  the  interview  takes  place  shall  also  be 
a concern. The victim should be as comfortable as possible, in 
a clean and secure room where there is privacy and she feels 
safe.  Breaks  should  be  taken  whenever  necessary,  respecting 
the  victim’s  pace  and  needs.  Repetition  of  questions  or  inter-
views should be strongly avoided. Assistance and support shall 
also be provided on the spot, for example, providing interpreta-
tion services and addressing major health needs.

By Article 12(5) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, authorities are 
required to avoid the unnecessary repetition of interviews with 
victims. The wording of the directive restricts this protection to 
interviews  during  the  criminal  justice  process  (investigation, 
prosecution, or trial). Even though it is not clear to what extent 
this applies to the identification interview, given its necessary 
connection  to  the  investigation  it  could  be  argued  that  the 
identification interview is subsumed by Article 12(5). There is an 
opportunity for Member States to take such an interpretation, 
which would provide added protection to victims.

It is essential to stress that the Anti-Trafficking Directive fails to 
make  provision  for  a  gendered  choice  of  interviewer.  Even  if 
such an omission does not prevent a practice of offering victims 
this choice; the absence of such a provision decreases the level 
of  protection.  Article  20(b)  of  the Victims’  Rights  Directive  re-
quires that interviews with victims of sexual and gender-based 
violence are routinely carried out by an interviewer of the same 
sex, unless the victim wishes otherwise. This provision comple-
ments the Anti-Trafficking Directive and is key to the empow-
erment  of  victims.  Furthermore,  it  is  noteworthy  that  victims’ 
choices are taken into account. This is also empowering victims 
of violence against women, as mandated, for example, in Article 
18(3) of the Istanbul Convention. Moreover, it can account for 
the rare situations where a woman victim of violence may pre-
fer an interviewer of the opposite gender.

Intersectional vulnerabilities must be considered, in cases where, 
for  example,  an  interpreter  intervenes.  Neither  of  the  directives 
deals with the gender of interpreters, however, it is vital for Mem-
ber States, seeking to implement a gender choice of interviewer, 
that the gender of an interpreter (where applicable) is in line with 
that of the interviewer where a victim has indicated a preference. 
This equally applies to a sign-language interpreter for a victim with 
hearing difficulties. Any gender choice should be offered in a neu-
tral way, i.e. on a form or by an intermediary, not the person who 
intends to carry out the interview. Women victims of trafficking 

30

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

may be anxious to avoid giving offence to a male in a position of 
authority by being honest about their true gender preference.

3.5.  National referral mechanism

Following the identification of victims, it is vital that victims are 
referred to appropriate services for support and assistance. This 
can be achieved by establishing, inter alia, a formalised national 
referral mechanism. The European Union progress report iden-
tifies a formal national referral mechanism as a key step in the 
early identification, support and assistance of victims.

Article 11(4) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive requires that Mem-
ber  States  establish  a  mechanism  for  the  early  identification, 
support, and assistance of victims, based on cooperation with 
relevant support organisations. Thus, although the directive does 
not use the term national referral mechanism, Article 11(4) ap-
pears to require that Member States establish one. This reading 
of Article 11(4) is supported by the European Union ‘Strategy to-
wards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016’ 
(European Commission, 2012), which includes establishment of 
a national referral mechanism as a priority for Member States.

From the perspective of violence against women, Article 11(4) 
of the directive is very relevant. The need for a formal and coord-
inated referral structure for women victims of violence is sim-
ilarly enshrined in Article 18 of the Istanbul Convention and is 
further contained in Recommendation (2002)5 of the Commit-
tee of Ministers to Member States on the protection of women 
against violence (Council of Europe, 2002).

The strength of a national referral mechanism will likely depend 
on those involved. In recognition of the role of civil society or-
ganisations  with  gender  expertise  in  providing  a  gender-spe-
cific response to the issue of trafficking in human beings, these 
should  be  included,  along  with,  for  example, child  protection 
services (European Commission, 2012), which are well placed to 
identify and assist girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. Through 
their formal involvement, civil society organisations could con-
tribute towards early identification and ensuring equal access 
to services for women and girl victims of trafficking. Given that 
these  groups  will  likely  constitute  relevant  support  organisa-
tions  for  many  victims  of  trafficking,  their  involvement  in  the 
national referral mechanism would appear to be mandated by 
Article 11(4) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

It is known that many victims of violence against women will 
refuse to make contact with or be identified by the police, for 
a number of reasons, including fear, shame and social stigma. 
They are often more willing to have contact with other stake-
holders,  including  civil  society  organisations,  medical  profes-
sionals,  and  social  workers.  The  provision  could  ensure  that 
victims  are  referred  to  the  appropriate  services  immediately 
following identification, even if this is not done by the compe-
tent authority. To date, just under half of Member States remain 
without a formalised national referral mechanism, while the in-
volvement of child protection services remains limited. At the 
same time, civil society, including non-governmental organisa-
tions, in Member States have called for more meaningful partic-
ipation in existing mechanisms (European Commission, 2016).

4.  SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE

EIGE 

4.  Support and assistance

4.  SUPPORT AND ASSISTANCE

Following on from the identification of women and girl victims 
of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  it  is  crucial  that  Member 
States offer support and assistance to such victims, which are 
suited to their actual needs. In order to do so, this support must 
take into account the gender-specific harms inflicted on wom-
en trafficked for sexual exploitation.

The  provision  of  specialised  services  to  victims  of  trafficking 
should  be  centred  on  the  victims’  needs,  age  and  should  be 
gender-specific, as well as specific to the form of trafficking the 
victim  has  experienced.  These  services  are  best  provided  by 
organisations  that  include  users,  victims  and  survivors  of  traf-
ficking and gender experts in their decision-making and which 
have  sustainable  funding.  In  this  context,  civil  society  noted 
that  gender  and  age-specific  assistance  and  support  remains 
a challenge, with inadequacies in provision of services in a gen-
der-specific manner (European Commission, 2016a). In particu-
lar, the Staff working document (European Commission, 2016a) 
reports that while recognising improvements, civil society ex-
presses concerns over a lack of reception and accommodation 
systems that are gender-specific.

Research on sexual violence, including on sexual exploitation, 
prostitution,  and  traditional  harmful  practices,  such  as  forced 
and  child  marriage,  highlight  the  similarities  in  the  traumatic 
outcomes for victims, particularly on their physical, sexual and 
mental health. These include sexual and reproductive dysfunc-
tions, severe and complex post-traumatic stress disorder, suicid-
al tendencies and attempts, clinical depression, psychosis, loss 
of confidence and a reduction in professional and educational 
attainment. Victims are reported to have persistent feelings of 
shame  and  disgust,  loss  of  sleep  and  psychological  disassoci-
ation (World Health Organisation, 2002), as well as symptoms 
identical to those exhibited by the victims of torture and war. 
In addition, it has been found that victims of trafficking often 
suffer from high rates of secondary victimisation (Andrijasevic,  
2010; Mishra, 2013), while many of those fleeing such exploit-
ation lack the economic means to survive. As such, effective in-
tervention with victims requires a wide range of gender-specific 
support.

Maternity services play an important role in victim identification 
and  in  responding  to  specific  health  support  and  assistance 
needs,  as  research  shows  that  one  in  four  women  become 
pregnant  while  trafficked  (Bick,  Howard,  Oram  and  Zimmer-
man, 2017). Trafficking victims face additional risks throughout 
the pregnancy, as access to maternity care is controlled by the 
trafficker, but also the fear of facing legal consequences derived 
from her status (for example, lack of documentation), misinfor-
mation about existing services and their conditions (for exam-
ple, thinking that using the services might entail high financial 
costs) delays or even stops women from seeking maternity care 

(Bick et al., 2017). This poses serious risks for the health and well-
being of the child (such as a higher risk of contracting HIV, con-
genital syphilis, fetal alcohol syndrome) as well as the mother, 
including preventable maternal morbidity and mortality (Willis, 
Welch and Onda, 2016). Therefore, it is of high importance that 
the health community works closely with responses to traffick-
ing for sexual exploitation (Bick et al., 2017).

4.1.  Equal treatment

Trafficking  victims  come  from  different  backgrounds  and  are 
trafficked  for  a  variety  of  purposes.  In  order  to  ensure  that  all 
victims  can  access  services,  it  is  crucial  that  this  is  based  on, 
inter alia, the principle of equal treatment, a cornerstone prin-
ciple of the European Union law generally. Thus, women who 
are  trafficked  for  sexual  exploitation  should  be  able  to  access 
social support and services on an equal footing with other vic-
tims (European Commission, 2016f ). This can remove the risk of 
‘illegal discrimination in accessing health, welfare and criminal 
justice services’ (European Commission, 2016f ). The Council of 
Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Be-
ings,  in  Article  3,  also  states  that  protection  of  victims  should 
not discriminate on ‘any ground such as sex, race, colour, lan-
guage, religion, political or other opinion, national or social ori-
gin, and association with a national minority, property, birth or 
other status.’ (Council of Europe, 2005).

The  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  explicitly  invokes  the  European 
Union  principles  of  equal  treatment  and  equality  between  
women and men in recital 33. Similarly, the Victims’ Rights Direc-
tive contains references to the European Union principles and  
presents more concrete provisions regarding the non-discrim-
inatory treatment of victims, especially during contact with the  
authorities, as well as regarding the training of relevant practi-
tioners  (for  instance,  recital  63,  recital  66,  recital  9  in  conjunc-
tion  with  Article  (1)).  However,  there  is  insufficient  guidance, 
in  either  of  the  directives,  as  to  how  this  can  be  achieved  in 
practice.  It  is  important  to  highlight  that  insufficient  clarity  or 
specificity  concerning  regularity  of  trainings  and  qualification 
requirements of practitioners could undermine its effectiveness 
in practice (EIGE, 2016). As such, it will depend to a great extent 
on how Member States uphold the European Union principles 
in their implementation of the directive.

4.2.  Early access to support

Taking  into  account  the  harms  associated  with  trafficking  for 
sexual  exploitation  (European  Commission,  2016f )  and  the 
overlap between this type of exploitation and forced marriage, 
it  is  incumbent  that  women  trafficked  for  the  above  purpos-
es  receive  assistance  and  support  as  soon  as  the  competent 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

33

4.  Support and assistance 

EIGE

authorities have ‘a reasonable-grounds’ indication for believing 
that the person is a victim of trafficking in human beings.

Article 11(2) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive requires that States 
provide  victims  with  early  access  to  available  support  —  as 
soon as competent authorities have reasonable grounds to be-
lieve they have encountered a victim. Read in conjunction with 
recital 18 — which similarly requires early assistance to victims 
— this is key to enable victims to access support. However, the 
implementation  of  such  provisions  raises  some  concerns. The 
European Commission (2016b) points out that only half of the 
Member States clearly require that assessment and support are 
provided as soon as ‘reasonable grounds’ are established.

Recital 37 of the Victims’ Rights Directive refers to support com-
mencing as soon as the authorities become aware of a victim, 
which arguably represents a lower threshold compared to the 
‘reasonable grounds’ mentioned above. According to the direc-
tive, an individual is a victim notwithstanding his/her ‘role’ in the 
national  criminal  justice  system. This  position  is  reaffirmed  by 
the European Court of Human Rights in J and others v Austria 
(Application No 58216/12).

Case study (J. and others v Austria  
(Application No 58216/12), ECHR 2017)

In  this  case,  the  application  was  made  by  three  women  of 
the Philippines who were recruited and exploited in Dubai 
and for a shorter period in Austria, where they managed to 
escape.  They  turned  to  the  police  and  made  a  statement, 
which triggered an investigation which was shortly discon-
tinued. The applicants complained to the European Court of 
Human  Rights  (ECHR)  that  Austria  had  failed  to  investigate 
their allegations regarding the crime of trafficking commit-
ted against them. The ECHR distinguished between the pos-
itive obligation of a State to investigate allegations of human 
trafficking on the one hand and the identification and assis-
tance  of  victims  of  human  trafficking  on  the  other,  stating 
‘(potential) victims need support even before the offence of 
human trafficking is formally established’.

The  Victims’  Rights  Directive  recommends  referral  of  victims 
to services, including referrals made by ‘other relevant entities’, 
which are vital for women victims of violence who might dis-
close to practitioners different from the competent authorities 
(EIGE, 2016). Article 8(3) of the directive requires access to spe-
cialist services in addition to the general services, in accordance 
with the specific needs of the victim and the degree of harm 
suffered. This is essential for victims of violence against women, 
where gender-specific needs often arise, for instance, related to 
dependent children that accompany the victim.

Referral to specialised services is also very important when vic-
tims do not want to get involved in the criminal system or to 
stop the relationship with the perpetrator (for example, when 
the perpetrator is also the father of her children), and seeks help 
for  other  reasons.  Many  trafficking  victims  do  not  even  iden-
tify  themselves  as  victims,  which  compromises  help  seeking 

34

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

(European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated 
with the United Nations, 2016). Thus, cooperation between au-
thorities and organisations is crucial for victims to access nation-
al assistance programmes through different ways, for example, 
embassies, the health system and civil society organisations.

4.3.  Duration of assistance

It is crucial that victims receive continuous support and assis-
tance  before,  during  and  after  any  criminal  proceedings. This 
is  important  for  trafficking  victims  who  have  been  sexually 
assaulted and have likely suffered severe physical and psycho-
logical harms, recovery from which may require significant in-
vestments (European Commission, 2016f ). It is recognised that 
recovery from the gender-specific harms associated with traf-
ficking for sexual exploitation often requires long-term support 
and assistance (European Commission, 2016f; World Health Or-
ganisation, 2002; Zimmerman et al., 2008). Any discontinuation 
of  services  could  have  a  significantly  negative  impact  on  the 
victims and make them more vulnerable to re-trafficking.

Article 11(1) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive requires that Mem-
ber States provide victims with continuous support and assis-
tance, ‘before,  during  and  for  an  appropriate  period  after’  the 
criminal proceedings. This obligation should be read with the 
expressed  intention  in  the  preamble,  at  recital  18,  where  it  is 
stated that the extension of the assistance and protection ‘for 
a period of time after’ the criminal proceedings is necessary in 
cases  where ‘medical  treatment  is  ongoing  due  to  the  severe 
physical or psychological consequences of the crime, or if the 
victim’s safety is at risk due to the victim’s statements in those 
criminal proceedings’.

Recital 20 further recommends that victims of trafficking, who 
have  suffered  abuse  and  degrading  treatment  should  receive 
treatment  proportionate  to  their  needs,  which  may  include 
longer-term assistance. Abuse and degrading treatment, in this 
regard,  is  recognised  as  including ‘sexual  exploitation,  sexual 
abuse,  rape,  slavery-like  practices’.  It  is  thus  evident  from  the 
Preamble  that  violence  against  women  provides  a  clear  basis 
for the provision of more enduring assistance measures. Article 
11(1) is of potential benefit, as it has no firm ending point (‘ap-
propriate  duration’);  however,  the  actual  duration  victims  can 
benefit from support measures is dependent on implementa-
tion by individual Member States.

There is a risk as regards undocumented third-country national 
victims, due to the minimal standards regarding their residence 
rights, as provided for by Council Directive 2004/81/EC, which 
enables the termination of such rights at the end of any criminal 
investigation or (if applicable) criminal proceedings. As such, the 
situation of female victims of trafficking who are third-country 
nationals should be taken into account by Member States, and 
any residence status provided should be extended, specifically 
where it is required to avoid premature discontinuation of as-
sistance and support measures. The sudden removal of certain 
support at this point could lead to re-traumatisation of victims. 
Adopting such an approach is supported by the Anti-Trafficking 

EIGE 

4.  Support and assistance

Directive, which does not consider the end of criminal proceed-
ings to be an end-point for victim support.

The  Victims’  Rights  Directive  similarly  requires  that  Member 
States provide support to victims for an appropriate period af-
ter the conclusion of criminal proceedings. The directive bene-
fits victims legally residing in the EU who are facilitated by the 
terms of the directive to make a complaint about a crime and 
receive assistance in their country of residence as opposed to 
the country in which the crime took place (Article 17(2)).

inconclusive and ambiguous provisions for support irrespective 
of the willingness of the victim to cooperate. Both reports indi-
cate that there is room for improvement in ensuring provision 
of  assistance  and  support,  irrespective  of  victims’  cooperation 
in  criminal  justice  processes.  Article  8(5)  of  the Victims’  Rights 
Directive states that access to assistance must not be linked to 
a formal complaint, in line with Article 18(4) of the Istanbul Con-
vention which that states that provision of services must be en-
sured regardless of the victim’s willingness to press charges or 
testify. This is relevant in terms of protection of women victims 
of violence.

4.4.  Conditional support

The question of the starting point, as well as the duration of the 
assistance and support offered to victims is linked to the require-
ment to make such measures independent of the investigation 
of the trafficking crimes committed against the victims. Given 
the utmost importance of assistance and support for all victims 
of trafficking, it is essential that these are provided irrespective 
of a victim’s cooperation with the authorities/police. There are 
a  number  of  grounds  which  can  inhibit  victims  trafficked  for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation from cooperating with the 
authorities, including trauma, fear of State authorities and fear 
of  traffickers  (European  Commission,  2016f ).  EIGE  (2016)  also 
notes that victims of gender-based violence often do not make 
complaints because of fear, shame or stigma. Reluctance of fe-
male  trafficking  victims  to  engage  with  the  authorities  is  mir-
rored across the wider continuum of violence against women: 
this trend must be taken into account by Member States whose 
national systems make victim support conditional on engaging 
with criminal justice systems.

Article 11(3) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, in line with recital 
18, requires that assistance and support to victims should not  
be  conditional  on  a  victim’s  willingness  to  cooperate  in  crim-
inal investigations, prosecution or trial. Similarly, Article 9 clearly 
separates investigation from a complaint by the victim. This ap-
parent  strength  of  the  directive,  is  somewhat  reduced  by  the 
provision that this requirement is ‘without prejudice’ to Council 
Directive  2004/81/EC,  dealing  with  residence  permits  for  vic-
tims  of  trafficking. While  the  recovery  and  reflection  permit  is 
provided to all victims who are identified by competent author-
ities, residence beyond this, by Article 8, is explicitly linked to the 
victim’s assistance in criminal investigation and/or proceedings. 
The  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  echoes  this  position  (recital  18). 
As a result, third-country nationals face an additional obstacle 
to  access  unconditional  assistance  beyond  the  short  term.  It 
is positive that European Union citizen victims are not bound 
by the condition for cooperation, particularly as the majority of 
registered trafficking victims in the EU are in fact EU nationals. 
In contrast, the gap for third-country nationals raises a concern.

A recent European Commission report found that provisions for 
the ‘assistance and support of victims and presumed victims ir-
respective of their cooperation with criminal prosecutions’ are 
not  established  in  many  Member  States  (European  Commis-
sion, 2016e). Similarly, the European Commission report on the 
transposition  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  (European  Com-
mission, 2016b), concludes that Member States have adopted 

4.5.  Consent in obtaining services

The  issue  of  consent  and  choice  is  generally  considered  core 
to the work of anti-trafficking organisations providing services 
to trafficking victims. When overlooked, it can reinforce gender 
inequalities  by  perpetuating  a  form  of  discrimination  against 
women  by  removing  their  ability  and  right  to  choose  (Bindel 
et al., 2012).

The stipulation in Article 11(5) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, 
that the assistance and support measures be provided in a ‘con-
sensual and informed basis’, is a valuable one since the victim’s 
ability to choose has been severely undermined as part of their 
victimisation. It is underscored by recital 21, which points out 
the  need  for  victims  of  trafficking  to  be  informed  of  available 
protection  and  to  accept  them  on  a  consensual  basis  rather 
than view assistance as an imposition. Efforts to obtain wom-
en’s  informed  agreement  could  aid  their  regaining  of  control. 
This  emphasis  on  consent  is  key  from  the  perspective  of  vio-
lence against women. Efforts to seek informed consent should 
be  aided  by  the  involvement  of  victims,  either  in  direct  infor-
mation provision or in design and development of information 
materials outlining available assistance and support (European 
Commission, 2016e).

4.6.  Needs assessment

Measures for the assistance, support and rehabilitation of victims 
need to be adapted to different categories of trafficking victims 
and their experiences. This involves tailoring, inter alia, housing, 
information and advocacy services and medical services avail-
able to the specific needs of such victims. It is noteworthy that 
as it is a form of violence against women, gender-specific needs 
emerge  and  need  to  be  addressed  in  order  to  better  protect 
victims. Those needs can only be properly identified through an 
individual assessment.

Recital  18  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  recommends  that 
provision  of  support  and  assistance  to  victims  should  follow 
an  individual  needs  assessment  that  takes  into  account  their 
experience, cultural context and individual characteristics. Re-
cital 18 is not followed by a binding obligation which can com-
promise implementation. Women trafficked for the purpose of 
sexual exploitation suffer particular (and severe) types of harm 
and  trauma,  thus,  the  importance  of  individual  assessment  in 
these cases cannot be over-stated. Assessment of the individ-
ual  needs  of  women  trafficked  for  sexual  exploitation  can  be 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

35

4.  Support and assistance 

EIGE

challenging and an understanding of their cultural background 
is essential as this crime may be linked to a traditional practice. 
Europol (2016) estimates that the migration crisis in North Africa 
and the Middle East will contribute to increasing current trends 
in  sexual  exploitation.  In  this  context,  further  research  into 
trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation,  especially  forced  and  sham 
marriages,  is  vital  for  the  accurate  identification  of  the  needs 
of victims.

The only type of assessment required by the Anti-Trafficking Dir-
ective that is applicable to all victims is in relation to their pro-
tection needs during criminal proceedings. The same happens 
with regards to the Victims’ Rights Directive. The emphasis on 
criminal proceedings is unhelpful, given only a small fraction of 
victims’ cases are brought to trial.

4.7.  Special needs

There are specific characteristics which can create additional or 
special  needs  for  victims  of  trafficking,  including  women  traf-
ficked for sexual exploitation. Trafficking, which involves sexual 
exploitation,  is  a  particularly  severe  form  of  violence  against  
women,  with  traumatic  consequences  for  victims,  and  the  
Anti-Trafficking  Directive  itself  recognises  sexual  violence  as 
a ‘particularly grave offence’ (recital 12).

The special needs of certain categories of trafficking victims are 
recognised in Article 11(7), which lists factors such as pregnan-
cy,  health,  disability,  mental  or  psychological  disorder  or  seri-
ous  psychological,  physical  or  sexual  violence.  This  provision 
is of particular importance in the case of women trafficked for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation, who are at increased risk of 
suffering  from  ill  health,  including  psychological  disorders,  as 
a result of the gendered harm and violence they have suffered.  
There is also an increased risk of pregnancy amongst this cat-
egory. There is, however, little guidance on any practical meas-
ures that Member States must take.

Specialised services and professionals are of the highest impor-
tance, not only to be able to identify specific needs relating to 
the traumatic experience of being trafficked, but also to address 
them in an adequate and sensitive way. For example, a German 
reception centre has reported that young women arriving from 
the  Libyan  route  showed  anorexia-related  problems,  derived 
from oral sex abuse. On account of their trauma, their throats 
would  reject  food  (Women’s  Link  Worldwide,  2018).  Without 
properly  trained  staff,  these  girls  would  not  receive  adequate  
treatment, connecting the symptoms to their traumatic exper-
iences.

The added value of the Victims’ Rights Directive is the guidance 
provided for cases of victims with special needs. Recital 17 iden-
tifies ‘victims of gender-based violence’ as having special sup-
port needs. Recital 37 stipulates that ‘victims who have suffered 
considerable harm due to the severity of the crime could require 
specialist support services’. Recital 38 offers a more comprehen-
sive list of the circumstances that invoke specialist support, in-
cluding gender-based violence and repeated violence in close 
relationships:  both  of  which  concern  victims  of  trafficking  for 

36

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

sexual exploitation. According to EIGE (2016), this recital draws 
the attention of the authorities to the special needs of women 
victims of violence. The types of special assistance outlined in 
recital 38 include ‘shelter and safe accommodation, immediate 
medical  support,  forensic  exams  in  cases  involving  sexual  as-
sault,  short  and  long-term  psychological  counselling,  trauma 
care, legal advice, advocacy and specific services for children in-
volved’. However, this list of services is omitted in Article 9 (Sup-
port from victim support services) itself, which is a shortcoming 
of the directive since recitals do not have a binding character 
(EIGE, 2016).

4.8.  Service providers

At the centre of each of the above measures are service provid-
ers,  who  are  responsible  for  supporting  and  assisting  victims. 
Providing comprehensive support to victims of trafficking in hu-
man beings is challenging. Their needs are complex and require 
a number and range of support services, such as interpretation 
services, physical and psychological health support, accommo-
dation, clothing, food, inter alia, such as support in their return 
process  (United  Nations,  2009).  Member  States  are  still  strug-
gling  with  providing  these  kinds  of  services  in  a  gender-  and 
age-specific manner (European Commission, 2016c).

Service providers are crucial to the recovery of the victim. They 
enable  victims  access  to  information  on  their  rights  and  help 
them weigh up their options, while getting assistance in sev-
eral areas of their life to recover (Jorge-Birol, 2008). When their 
needs are addressed, they are better able to make informed and 
conscious  decisions. The  empowerment  they  get  from  being 
supported  in  all  their  needs  and  recovering  their  self-esteem 
and a feeling of safety is not only key to helping them rebuild 
their lives, but also to the success of the criminal proceedings 
(Jorge-Birol, 2008).

The provision of appropriate care and support allows for the dis-
sipation of many of the reasons that may lead to the reluctance 
of victims to cooperate with the criminal justice system, such 
as fear of retaliation from the trafficker, mistrust in the system, 
fear of consequences on account of their legal status, inter alia 
(OHCHR, UNHCR, Unicef, UNODC, UN Women and ILO, 2011). An 
adequate assistance that is provided without delay and that is 
not limited to the period while criminal proceedings are taking 
place,  also  diminishes  the  risk  of  re-victimisation  and  re-traf-
ficking (OHCHR, UNHCR, Unicef, UNODC, UN Women and ILO, 
2011).

Those providing services to trafficked women (e.g. information, 
referral, medical, counselling, legal representation), should also 
possess the necessary gender expertise. It has been recognised 
that specialist non-governmental services with such expertise 
are best suited for service provision to the victims in focus and 
should  be  funded  for  this  purpose  (European  Commission, 
2016f ).  The  involvement  of  non-governmental  organisations 
is  a  legal  obligation  according  to  Article  12  of  the  Council  of 
Europe Trafficking Convention. Given the high level of mistrust 
amongst  victims  of  trafficking,  the  involvement  of  victim  sur-
vivors  in  the  provision  of  services  has  been  suggested  as  an 

EIGE 

4.  Support and assistance

additional means of delivering gender-specific services to traf-
ficking victims (European Commission, 2016f ).

trafficking for sexual exploitation (European Union Agency for 
Fundamental Rights, 2014; European Commission, 2016f ).

In  spite  of  observed  improvements  in  the  quality  of  service 
provision  to  victims  of  trafficking  in  human  beings,  assessing 
the  quality  and  impact  of  such  services  remains  a  challenge 
for Member States. Civil society organisations report that gen-
der-specific measures are still insufficient and, sometimes, inad-
equate (European Commission, 2016a).

The fact that the Anti-Trafficking Directive does not mention in-
tegration of services is a shortcoming, although there is a refer-
ence to a range of services potentially required by victims. There 
is a risk that Member States will consider that providing victims 
with disparate (rather than integrated) supports will suffice to 
meet the needs of victims.

One  of  the  main  concerns  expressed  by  civil  society  in  terms 
of service provision is the risk of re-victimisation that can arise 
from the conditions that the victims face. For example, they re-
port a lack of privacy and the placing of victims in mixed gen-
der facilities (European Commission, 2016a). Although Member 
States report improvements in the quality of the services pro-
vided, the assessment of such services themselves is an issue for 
most Member States (European Commission, 2016a).

Recital 18 requires that ‘Member States should provide for re-
sources  to  support  victim  assistance,  support  and  protection’. 
Complemented with the recent European Commission study’s 
conclusions  regarding  assistance 
(European  Commission, 
2016f ),  this  recital  could  represent  an  opportunity.  However, 
the Anti-Trafficking Directive does not outline any specific char-
acteristics of support services that would ensure that they meet 
the gender specific needs of victims.

The Victims’  Rights  Directive  establishes  necessary  features  of 
the support system. In the first place, Article 8(1) requires that 
support is free of charge and confidential. This is in line with the 
guidelines of the Recommendation (2002)5 of the Committee 
of  Ministers  of  the  Council  of  Europe  (2002).  Recital  37  of  the 
Victims’ Rights Directive provides a useful practical requirement 
regarding  the  geographical  spread  of  services,  which  is  com-
plementary  to  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  and  could  prove 
important for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The  
fact  that  the  directive  does  not  include  this  in  a  binding  art-
icle is a missed opportunity (EIGE, 2016). The high specialisation  
which is required for provision of quality services to victims of 
violence against women must be taken into account in order to 
avoid  random  dispersing  of  victims,  especially  to  areas  where 
specialist providers are not available. Furthermore, the directive 
omits  to  mandate  that  support  be  accessible  to  victims  with 
disabilities, as required by key international treaties concerning 
violence against women (e.g. Beijing Platform for Action, 1995) 
(EIGE, 2016).

4.9. 

Integrated support

To some extent, the Victims’ Rights Directive mitigates this risk 
through its explicit requirements for the integration of servic-
es.  Article  9(3)(b)  mandates  that  the  support  available  should 
include  ‘targeted  and  integrated  support  for  victims  with 
specific  needs,  such  as  victims  of  sexual  violence,  victims  of 
gender-based violence and victims of violence in close relation-
ships, including trauma support and counselling’. Further guid-
ance is given in recital 62 of the preamble. EIGE (2016) considers 
that  the  directive’s  recommendations  are  not  explicit  enough 
and do not match the standards of relevant international agree-
ments  (Istanbul  Convention  and  Recommendations  of  the 
Committee of Ministers (Council of Europe, 2002), which for vic-
tims of violence against women is insufficient.

Thus,  the Victims’  Rights  Directive  complements  the  Anti-Traf-
ficking  Directive  on  this  matter  and  the  two  texts  should  be 
read in conjunction. For successful implementation, full atten-
tion to relevant international agreements is also required, such 
as those contained in the Istanbul Convention and the Council 
of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendations.

4.10.  Accommodation

In the majority of cases, trafficking victims have no place to stay 
once they have escaped their traffickers and require immediate 
access  to  safe  and  secure  accommodation  (Mair  and Warren, 
2012;  Akidwa,  2010;  Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland,  2014).  The 
absence of this vital support can force victims to remain with 
their traffickers as leaving might increase their levels of danger 
and  vulnerability  (United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime, 
2003). Through the availability of safe and appropriate housing, 
victims obtain a space to detach from and escape the influence 
of their traffickers, which is central to their recovery. In the con-
text of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, gender-seg-
regated accommodation is good practice (Larasi and Tweedale, 
2014; European Commission, 2016f ). Single-gender accommo-
dation can promote a feeling of safety and prevent re-traumati-
sation as well as reduce the possibility of further sexual violence 
by men (European Commission, 2016).

In the context of violence against women, the integration of the 
different support and assistance measures contained in Article 
11(5) of the directive has been recognised as good practice. The 
Istanbul  Convention  (Article  18(3)),  recommends  integration 
of services for all victims of gender-based violence where sup-
port measures ‘allow, where appropriate, for a range of protec-
tion and support services to be located on the same premises.’ 
Adopting  an  integrated  and  holistic  approach  has  also  been 
recognised as good practice in the specific context of victims of 

Wherever possible, shelters providing accommodation to traf-
ficking  victims  should  be  run  and  administered  by  specialist 
women’s  non-governmental  organisations,  who  proved  to  be 
most responsive to the needs of women victims of trafficking 
(European  Commission,  2016f ).  The  involvement  of  survivors 
in these services has similarly been mooted as a means of en-
hancing the service. As previously discussed, there should be an 
integrated  approach  to  accommodating  trafficking  victims,  in 
which other support should be available to victims in the same 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

37

4.  Support and assistance 

EIGE

premises  where  they  are  accommodated.  Accommodation 
provision must take into account intersectional vulnerabilities, 
such as disability or the needs of mothers with children, for ex-
ample accompanying children and children born in the context 
of trafficking.

An example of how a State’s accommodation provision for vic-
tims of crime can fail to meet an individual’s specific needs is 
provided by the case of A.T. v Hungary, a complaint which came 
before the CEDAW Committee.

Case study (A.S. v Hungary, Communication No 4/2004,  
CEDAW/C/36/D/4/2004)

In this case, a female victim of domestic violence with chil-
dren was unable to access a shelter, as none of the shelters in 
the country was equipped to meet the needs of her disabled 
child. As such, despite Hungary ostensibly having met its re-
quirement  to  provide  domestic  violence  victims  with  shel-
ters, they were found to have violated this particular victim’s 
rights under the Convention (more specifically, Articles 5 and 
16(a) of CEDAW).

The Anti-Trafficking Directive provides for safe and appropriate 
accommodation in Article 11(5), as a binding obligation. In ad-
dition, recital 3 calls for gender-specific assistance and support 
measures in relatively strong terms, providing a further oppor-
tunity for effective support for women victims.

Moreover, Member States are required to provide accommoda-
tion to trafficking victims under Article 9(3) of the Victims’ Rights  
Directive ‘due to an imminent risk of secondary and repeat vic-
timisation, of intimidation and of retaliation’. Further guidance  
on  gender-specific  accommodation  can  be  found  in  the 
preamble. Recital 17 makes reference to special support being  
required  by  victims  of  violence  against  women  and  their 
children  who  ‘often  require  special  support  and  protection 
because of the high risk of secondary and repeat victimisation, 
of intimidation and of retaliation connected with such violence’. 
This presents an opportunity for the tailoring of accommodation 
to victims’ special needs, albeit the provision is non-binding.

Although  the  housing  provisions  read  as  gender-neutral  in 
the Victims’  Rights  Directive,  in  fact  they  will  impact  more  on 
women  for  two  reasons.  Firstly,  women  are  more  likely  to  be 
victims of the types of crime that require these kinds of integrat-
ed and residential services (e.g. victims of trafficking for sexual 
exploitation  (7)).  Secondly,  women  as  a  group  are  more  likely 
to be in need of these particular services than men, due to the 
financial disempowerment of victims which is part-and-parcel 
of the crimes of trafficking for sexual exploitation, as well as the 
complex socioeconomic reasons that make women financially 
disadvantaged in general terms, inter alia.

(7) 

Women and girls make up about 95 % of documented cases of trafficking for sexual 
exploitation in the European Union (Eurostat, 2015).

38

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

Overall, it is a strength of both directives that accommodation 
provision  is  mandatory.  However,  though  the  wording  of  the 
respective preambles create an impetus for Member States to 
integrate a gender perspective into their approach to accom-
modation, the texts omit explicit considerations vis-à-vis gen-
der-specific accommodation.

Neither  directive  provides  specific  guidance  on  accommoda-
tion  but  there  is  scope  for  Member  States  to  take  account  of 
the  recent  research  as  good  practice  direction. The  European 
Commission  study  on  the  gender  dimension  of  trafficking  in 
human beings finds that ‘the confidentiality and safety of gen-
der-specific, civil society accommodation is reported as crucial’ 
for victims recovering from sexual exploitation, and this service 
is best provided by women-only refuges for women and their 
children (European Commission, 2016f ).

Valuable guiding principles with regards to the provision of ac-
commodation  can  be  derived  from  the  Istanbul  Convention, 
which lists the security (including technical security) and ease 
of access alongside the need for establishing of shelters in suf-
ficient numbers as necessary features of this essential support 
(Article 2, Explanatory Report 133, 134, 135). Similarly, CEDAW 
General Recommendation 35 views adequate shelter for wom-
en  and  their  children  as  an  integral  part  of  specialist  women 
support services (United Nations, 1979). The integration of oth-
er complementary services on the same premises as well as the  
involvement of survivors in the delivery of assistance dramatic-
ally enhances the quality of accommodation, according to the 
same report.

The implementation must address the risk that certain groups 
of women will not be provided with support by Member States, 
for example women living in isolated rural areas, women with 
children, disabled victims, or mothers of a disabled child.

4.11.  Material assistance

Considering  the  longer  recovery  time  after  exploitation  in-
volving sexual violence and the typically lower socioeconomic 
status  among  women  trafficked  for  sexual  exploitation,  such 
victims  may  be  entirely  reliant  on  state  support  for  their  per-
sonal needs. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in 
Europe (2004) points out that due to the different needs of each 
trafficking victim, ‘unforeseen or emergency expenses may arise’ 
and therefore it would be prudent to budget for ‘additional flex-
ible funds for unforeseen costs’. Both the United Nations Office 
on Drug and Crimes (2008) and Organisation for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (2004) emphasise the advantage of di-
rect financial assistance, which include  the  opportunity to re-
gain control over daily decision-making and the strengthening 
of the personal finance management skills.

Concerning the duration of assistance, the European Commis-
sion (2016f ) found that victims of trafficking for sexual exploit-
ation require longer recovery time in comparison to other forms  
of  trafficking;  importantly,  the  period  is  likely  to  exceed  the 
standard ‘recovery and reflection’ period of 30 days (Article 13(1) 
of  the  Council  of  Europe  Trafficking  Convention).  The  longer 

EIGE 

4.  Support and assistance

time and investment needed for their recovery and reintegra-
tion  after  their  escape  from  a  situation  of  exploitation  makes 
material assistance a vital support for victims of trafficking for 
sexual exploitation.

In view of the likely need for support over a longer period, the 
European Commission (2016f ) has highlighted the role of spe-
cialist services that can provide a gender-specific  shelter with 
integrated support, something that is more than ’simply a hos-
tel or bed in a dormitory’ as well as financial assistance that al-
lows women to ‘develop aspirations, move on and rebuild their 
lives’, emphasising that the material assistance must be provid-
ed regardless of whether or not victims have recourse to other 
public funds (European Commission, 2016f ).

Article 11(5) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive mandates support 
measures  including ‘material  assistance’  to  victims,  in  order  to 
achieve ‘at least standards of living capable of ensuring victims’ 
subsistence’.  Unfortunately,  there  is  no  additional  guidance  in 
the directive on the precise definition of the term ‘material as-
sistance’, though it is likely to be interpreted as including some 
degree  of  financial  support.  The  material  assistance  measure 
could  be  particularly  vital  to  victims  with  special  needs  that 
derive  from  psychological,  physical  and  sexual  violence  (Art-
icle 11(7)), such as victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.  
Third-country national victims, particularly those lacking a law-
ful residential status, face a risk of insufficient duration of ma-
terial assistance, which may increase the danger of these victims  
being  re-trafficked  or  otherwise  exploited.  In  some  cases,  the 
implementation of the directive may require that habitual resi-
dence conditions are waived for European Union citizen victims, 
in recognition of the fact that some victims with special needs 
may not be in a position to automatically meet this condition or 
join the labour market.

If material assistance is unavailable or of insufficient duration, or 
if it creates further dependence and does not promote a sense 
of dignity and personal choice, this could negatively impact on 
victims’ recovery. Therefore, special attention needs to be paid to 
the implementation of the requirement for material assistance 
to  ensure  that  it  is  conducive  to  recovery  of  victims  who  are 
vulnerable to secondary victimisation. These measures should 
also  target  specifically  the  prevention  of  re-victimisation  and/
or  re-trafficking.  Specialist  organisations  providing  integrated 
support through gender-specific shelters are best equipped to 
assess the needs of such victims. Flexibility is required regarding 
the nature and the duration of the material assistance. Sufficient 
funding must be provided to ensure good practice is observed.

4.12.  Medical and psychological 

needs

As  stated  before,  the  European  Commission’s  study  on  the 
gender  dimension  of  trafficking  concludes  that  the  harms  of 
trafficking  are  distinctly  specific  to  gender  and  generate  gen-
der-specific  needs  among  victims.  These  harms  are  closely 
linked  to  sexual  exploitation  (Zimmerman  et  al.,  2008;  World 

Health Organisation, 2002; European Commission, 2016f ). The 
study  on  gender  dimension  defines  trafficking  for  sexual  ex-
ploitation as a gendered, severe and sustained form of violence 
against  women,  which  causes  physical,  reproductive,  mental, 
secondary  victimisation  related  that  are  often  different  and 
more  severe  that  those  in  domestic  violence. This  is  linked  to 
a greater risk of multiple rapes by men, hyper-violence causing 
vaginal injuries and blood loss leading to high rate of sexually 
transmitted infections including HIV (Zimmerman et al., 2008).

Gender-specific harms also include spontaneous and multiple 
pregnancies,  forced  and  unsafe  abortions,  long-term  chronic 
vaginal and pelvic pain, neck and mouth injury from forced oral 
sex, hepatitis C infections, severe diarrhoea, fatigue and malnu-
trition (European Commission, 2016f ).

The psychological harms of coercion, violence and isolation are 
described in the European Commission study as severe and en-
during. Such harms include multiplied rates of post-traumatic 
stress  disorder,  depression,  eating  disorders,  attempted  and 
completed suicides (Courtis and Gold, 2009; Herman, 1992). Ex-
ploitation within families could also result in similar harms (e.g. 
women  with  disabilities  trafficked  for  forced  marriage)  (Shah, 
Balderston and Woodin, 2015).

Article 11(5) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive mandates that as-
sistance and support shall include ‘necessary medical treatment 
including psychological assistance’. The inclusion of psycholog-
ical assistance is an important step, from a gender perspective, 
as  victims  of  violence  against  women  have  distinctly  higher 
needs for this type of assistance. The added element of consent 
of the victim is in line with good practice and empowerment 
strategies.  Read  in  conjunction  with  Article  11(7)  concerning 
the special needs of victims, the above obligation requires that 
Member States take into account the characteristics and expe-
rience of victims in determining the medical and psychological 
assistance necessary.

Member  States  should  ensure  that  medical  services  available 
to trafficking victims are tailored to their needs, as established 
by  the  individual  needs  assessment,  that  they  are  provided 
early and for a sufficient duration of time. These are significant 
opportunities for effective implementation. The limited access 
to services beyond the recovery and reflection period provid-
ed by Council Directive 2004/81/EC, impacts on the access of 
third-country national victims to medical assistance. This is es-
pecially significant where the harms are lasting, which they of-
ten are in cases of severe sexual violence.

For instance, the European Parliament Committee on Women’s 
Rights and Gender Equality (2016b) calls on Member States to 
extend the recovery and reflection permit beyond the required 
minimum of 30 days (Council of Europe, 2005, Article 13) for vic-
tims of trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation, ‘given 
the significant and sustained harm caused by this form of vio-
lence’ It is key that this is monitored during implementation by 
focusing on more favourable provisions of the directive, which 
separates  assistance  from  criminal  proceedings  with  entailing 
residence permits (e.g. temporary residence permit).

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

39

4.  Support and assistance 

EIGE

It is vital to ensure that access to medical and psychological as-
sistance for victims is equally available to all victims including 
EU nationals, who, based on other provisions of EU and national 
law, may need to satisfy certain conditions relating to the length 
of their residence in a Member State and tax contributions. This 
is not mentioned in the directive. Thus, Member States should  
remain responsive to the needs of victims in such circumstan-
ces and where necessary, establish a waiver for female victims 
from any such conditions.

In  respect  of  psychological  care,  Article  9(3)(b)  of  the Victims’ 
Rights Directive mandates the provision of ‘trauma support and  
counselling’ for all victims of gender-based violence, sexual vio-
lence or violence in close relationships — this is key from the  
perspective  of  female  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploit-
ation who are likely to have a high take-up of this service.

4.13.  Interpretation and translation 

services

A significant proportion of those trafficked in the EU originate 
from  outside  the  Member  State  in  which  they  are  exploited. 
These  victims  often  face  a  language  barrier  which  can  inhibit 
their ability to communicate with authorities and to access ser-
vices. Consequently, it is essential that translation and interpre-
tation services are available to victims. The Istanbul Convention 
mandates the provision of independent and properly qualified 
interpreters (Article 56(1)(h)).

Article 11(5) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive requires that Mem-
ber  States  provide  victims  with  translation  and  interpretation 
services ‘where  appropriate’,  as  part  of  the  measures  for  assis-
tance and support. However, it does not expand on the circum-
stances where this support should be seen as appropriate.

Although  there  is  no  specific  provision  in  the  directive  which 
concerns the gender of the interpreter, the gender-specific as-
sistance and support requirement could be extended to the in-
terpretation service and thus represents an opportunity. There 
are no provisions for gender-sensitive trainings in the directive 
as mentioned elsewhere, which could compromise the quality 
of the service.

The  provisions  of  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive  are  comple-
mentary, however they apply solely in the context of criminal 
proceedings and as such are more limited. On the other hand, 
they offer more detail as to the access to such services and the 
circumstances  in  which  they  should  be  available  (Article  7). 
Interpretation must be provided upon request, free of charge 
during any interviews or questioning in the criminal proceed-
ings.  The  refusal  to  provide  an  interpretation  service  can  be 
challenged  by  the  victim,  as  per  recital  35.  EIGE  (2016)  stress-
es the importance of a quality interpretation service to victims  
of gender-based violence with a view to accurately recording 
the facts of such cases. It considers the omission of interpreters 
in the list of professionals who need gender-sensitive training in 
recital 61, to be a shortcoming of the directive, while pointing 
out  that  insufficient  regard  to  training  is  also  observed  in  the 
Istanbul Convention, even though it similarly mandates the use 
of qualified interpreters.

40

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

5.  ACCESS TO JUSTICE

EIGE 

5.  Access to justice

5.  ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Access  to  justice  herein  refers  to  victims’  ability  to  claim  legal 
rights through legal assistance, to participate in criminal investi-
gations and proceedings against their trafficker(s), and to access 
compensation.

Although this section concerns victims’ rights to access justice, 
it  must  also  be  noted  that  they  are  sometimes  doubly-vic-
timised  by  being  wrongly  prosecuted  by  State  authorities  for 
‘crimes’ that they were forced to commit by those controlling 
them. Non-EU nationals in particular, are often treated as illegal 
migrants instead of being recognised as a victim of trafficking. 
Some even receive prison sentences as a result of being moved 
across borders by those exploiting them. That trafficking victims 
face  risks  of  injustices  of  this  kind  must  be  borne  in  mind  by 
those seeking to enhance their access to justice. Furthermore, 
it  must  be  taken  into  consideration  that  the  victims’  interest 
might  conflict  with  the  criminal  systems’  interest,  and  pose 
more danger to the victim, regardless of the application of pro-
tective measures (Cuesta, 2009).

Case study (R. v O., No 40020/03, ECHR 2012)

The case of ‘O’ in the United Kingdom is a particularly egre-
gious  example  of  a  victim  of  trafficking  being  prosecuted 
rather than assisted. A 16-year old Nigerian girl was encoun-
tered  by  UK  officials  departing  their  territory  bound  for 
France. She was arrested, detained and charged with a crime: 
an immigration offence. At Court, the girl’s own defence law-
yer  stated  that  a  prison  sentence  was ‘mandatory’  —  and 
one was duly imposed upon her by the judge: 8 months im-
prisonment. The sentence was quashed by the UK Court of 
Appeal  who  expressed  concern  at  the  fact  that  the  police, 
immigration lawyers, a defence lawyer and the judge in the 
Crown Court had all neglected to treat the victim as a child 
victim of trafficking, who should not have been prosecuted 
(let  alone  convicted).  The  background  facts  were  that  the 
appellant had been trafficked to the UK from Nigeria, raped 
repeatedly on arrival, and told she had to work as a prosti-
tute to pay off a EUR 60 000 debt. The appeal court described 
a report into her experience as ‘horrifying reading’ and lam-
basted the criminal system for multiple failings in this case, 
stating its hope that ‘such a  shameful set  of  circumstances 
never occurs again.’

A further point which deserves emphasis at the outset of any 
exploration of women’s access to justice is the degree to which 
women experience difficulties generally in the criminal justice 
system. It should be borne in mind that this is an area in which 
offenders  are  seldom  successfully  prosecuted. There  is  a  high 
attrition rate for crimes of violence against women. In general, 

domestic violence, rape and other sexual offences feature low 
reporting rates (8), followed by low prosecution rates and — if 
they do reach trial — low conviction rates.

There are many reasons behind the low conviction rates. One 
is that, at every stage of the process, intimidated or vulnerable 
victims decide to drop out. This is attributed to an inability to 
cope with the inherent trauma of the process, intimidation, har-
assment  or  fear  of  the  offender,  or  simply  the  woman  feeling 
(or  being)  disbelieved  —  crimes  of  violence  against  women 
often  lack  independent  witnesses  who  can  help  corroborate 
the woman’s account. Stereotyping plays a large role as another 
major reason that leads to low conviction rates, as well as insti-
tutional factors that might play against women with regard to  
their credibility. For example, migrant women victims often face 
the barrier of the preconceived idea that she could be fabricat-
ing facts in order to avoid deportation (Liévana and Waisman, 
2017). Non-EU nationals may have additional fears, for example,  
a belief in witchcraft or ‘juju’ is prevalent amongst Nigerian traf-
ficking victims (Guardian, 2 September 2017), as well as a fear of 
indirect victimisation — their family members at home being 
targeted  by  vengeful  traffickers  (Liévana  and Waisman,  2017). 
Lastly, they face additional obstacles such as lack of social net-
works or language barriers (European Parliament, 2016).

5.1.  Legal assistance

Access to legal assistance is crucial to enable victims to access 
justice. It can provide victims with vital information about the 
scope of their rights, help them to secure appropriate legal sup-
port  during  criminal  proceedings  (e.g.  special  measures),  and 
facilitate claims for compensation for their ordeal. The latter le-
gal right, in particular, may play a vital role in a victim’s recovery 
and reintegration.

Different groups of female victims present with different needs 
related to their individual characteristics, such as age (child or 
elderly),  disability  (physical  and  mental)  and  nationality.  For 
example, nationals of non-EU countries often present with ad-
ditional needs for legal assistance regarding their immigration 
status. Such individuals will often be in a precarious position as 
regards  their  residence  in  the  State  in  which  they  have  been 
encountered. They  will  often  require  immediate  assistance  to 
regularise  their  status  and,  in  some  cases,  to  avoid  wrongful 
prosecution for immigration law transgressions (as per the case 
study highlighted above). There may also be a language barrier: 
victims in this group may be less able to articulate their needs 
and may struggle to explore, understand and access their full 
range of legal rights without support.

(8) 

For a European study on attrition rates in rape cases, see Lovett and Kelly (2009).

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

43

5.  Access to justice 

EIGE

In  order  to  be  effective,  it  is  important  that  legal  assistance  is 
based on an early legal intervention model: that is available to  
victims immediately after their initial contact with the author-
ities. It should be provided by a person with appropriate train-
ing and expertise, including gender expertise. Moreover, given  
the complex needs of women victims of trafficking, as well as 
the fact that the harm they have suffered can seriously under-
mine  their  capacity  to  assert  their  rights,  it  is  recommended 
that such assistance should go beyond mere information and 
advice,  to  include  legal  representation,  based  on  their  needs. 
In relation to the profile of those providing legal assistance to 
victims  of  trafficking,  the  European  Commission  has  recom-
mended that it comes from independent (as opposed to State) 
sources (European Commission, 2016f ). The  very  low number 
of  women  victims  who  accept  a  reflection  period  mirrors  the 
downfalls of the procedures and misinformation on their rights 
(Liévana and Waisman, 2017).

It is possible to divide ‘legal assistance’ into three parts: informa-
tion  on  legal  rights  (‘legal  information’),  advice  or  counselling 
on  legal  rights  (‘legal  advice’)  and  full  legal  support  including 
representation in court (‘legal representation’).

Article 11 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive mandates the provi-
sion  of  assistance  and  support.  More  specifically,  Article  11(5) 
provides that ‘information’ be part of the package of measures 
provided. This is a wide term, open to interpretation. It presents 
an opportunity for Member States to provide ‘legal information’ 
as part of the information provision to victims and in so doing, 
to take due account of the needs of particular groups for dif-
ferent types of specialist legal support (e.g. non-EU nationals).

Article  11(6)  provides  further  clarification  of  what  this  ‘infor-
mation’ should encompass. It specifies that it must include, at 
a minimum, information on two important immigration rights: 
the right to claim international protection/asylum and the right 
to claim a residence permit, as a victim of trafficking, pursuant 
to Council Directive 2004/81/EC. This is relevant with regards to 
the subset of victims who are non-EU nationals and who may 
require this advice. The specific inclusion of these particular top-
ics  of  information  in  Article  11(6)  presents  an  opportunity  for 
a broad interpretation of ‘information; to include the provision 
of legal information more generally. Women victims of traffick-
ing, in particular those subjected to a forced marriage, may re-
quire specialist legal support regarding their civil law rights, for 
example family law matters such as divorce, child custody and 
so forth. However, the Anti-Trafficking Directive is silent on this 
matter.

Advice  on  one’s  legal  rights  is  the  next  step  after  information 
provision.  Article  12(2)  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  man-
dates that Member States ensure that all victims of trafficking 
have access to ‘legal counselling’, in line with the sentiment ex-
pressed in the preamble in recital 19. The  provision,  however, 
stops short of mandating full legal representation. Representa-
tion is provided for only ‘in accordance with the role of victims 
in the relevant justice system … including for the purpose of 
claiming  compensation’.  This  is  helpful  where  victims  have 
a  clear role in the justice system (for example,  in  some  Mem-
ber  States,  victims  can  be  represented  by  an  advocate  in  the 

44

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

criminal proceedings). In Member States where the victim does 
not  have  a  role  in  criminal  proceedings,  the  risk  is  that  those 
States will provide no legal representation at all, by interpreting 
the mention of compensation in this provision to be linked to 
the criminal matter (as the word ‘including’ could be taken to 
imply).

This raises a concern, because advice on one’s rights, without 
the means to actually exercise those rights, is meaningless — 
particularly  in  the  case  of  victims  of  violence  against  women, 
who may be economically disadvantaged and unable to afford 
a private lawyer. Non-national victims, in particular, may lack the 
ability  to  represent  themselves  within  a  foreign  legal  system, 
in an unfamiliar language. It is a shortcoming of the directive 
that legal representation is not provided for comprehensively, 
in the case of all legal avenues that victims of trafficking may 
require to pursue: which could include criminal law, family law, 
immigration/refugee law, community care law (for example in 
the case of a child whose age is disputed) and others. Member 
States are of course free to make more generous provisions in 
their national rules.

Importantly,  Article  12(2)  provides  that  both  the  legal  advice 
and (where applicable) the legal representation must be free of 
charge (as long as the victim does not have sufficient financial 
resources). The provision leaves the way open for means-test-
ing, which represents a risk for victims. National rules in this re-
gard may create difficulties for women who are victims of sexual  
exploitation involving an intimate partner. In such circumstan-
ces, it is crucial that any means testing done for the purpose of  
claiming this assistance only takes into account the means of 
the  victim  herself  (International  Commission  of  Jurists,  2016). 
Given  the  clear  intention  of  the  provision  for  free  legal  assis-
tance, Member States should not create undue barriers in the 
implementation.  Member  States  are  bound  by  other  interna-
tional agreements which contain obligations to provide free (or 
at least affordable) legal services for women victims of violence, 
for example, the Beijing Platform for Action and Istanbul Con-
vention.

With  respect  to  the  timing  of  the  legal  assistance,  the  Direc-
tive  requires  the  provision  of  information  (including  the  legal 
information  on  immigration  matters  outlined  in  Article  11(6)) 
immediately  following  a  ‘reasonable  grounds’  indication  by 
a competent authority (Article 11(2)). Concerning the right to 
legal representation, this must be provided ‘without delay’; this 
wording lends a relevant degree of urgency to the text.

Where possible, legal advice should be provided by individuals 
or services that possess gender expertise and a comprehensive 
view of violence against women and its victims. Victims should 
also have a free choice to request the gender of their lawyer/
legal advisor, as this may facilitate fuller disclosures. Article 26 of 
the Victims’ Rights Directive recommends general and specialist 
training for lawyers on dealing with victims. This complements 
the  provisions  of  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  by  providing 
a basis for Member States to provide specialist, gender-sensitive 
training to those in the legal profession who may be involved in 
the assistance of victims.

EIGE 

5.  Access to justice

5.2.  Protection of victims during 

5.3.  Special measures

criminal investigation and 
proceedings

In  any  criminal  investigation  or  proceedings,  victims  are  ex-
posed to various risks. These include the risk of secondary vic-
timisation (i.e. when the process is ‘victim-blaming’, insensitive, 
and  re-traumatises  victims),  the  risk  of  re-victimisation  (being 
targeted for crime again) and the risk of retaliation and intim-
idation by the offender. These risks are particularly heightened 
in cases of violence against women. The personal link between 
a woman and her offender — for example, the husband or close 
family  members  —  gives  rise  to  a  clear  risk  that  the  offender 
may further harass the victim in an effort to intimidate her.

As  a  result  of  these  risks,  cases  involving  trafficking  for  sexual 
exploitation require careful handling during the criminal justice 
process. The risks may be mitigated by, amongst other things, 
the provision of ‘special procedures’ in the criminal justice pro-
cess, heightened attention by the police to the safety and se-
curity of the victims, prosecution of offenders for intimidation 
and,  in  extreme  cases,  placing  victims  in  witness  protection 
programmes. Provision for specific protective measures for vic-
tims is included in both directives. It should be noted that the 
Istanbul Convention contains a strong emphasis on victim safe-
ty and forms an important part of the legal framework in this 
regard.

The Anti-Trafficking Directive refers to the risks to victims in its 
preamble: recital 20 acknowledges the need to mitigate the risk 
of secondary victimisation for trafficking victims in the criminal 
justice system and recital 19 acknowledges the need to protect 
victims from retaliation and re-trafficking.

Recital 57 of the Victims’ Rights Directive highlights the vulner-
able position of certain groups, stating that victims of traffick-
ing,  sexual  violence,  violence  in  close  relationships,  and  child 
victims tend to experience a high rate of secondary and repeat 
victimisation,  of  intimidation  and  of  retaliation.  It  states  that 
there  should  be  a ‘strong  presumption’  that  those  victims  will 
benefit from special protection measures. This provision brings 
a helpful emphasis to the special needs of victims of trafficking 
for sexual exploitation. A similar point is made in recital 17 of 
the  same  directive,  which  states  that ‘women  victims  of  gen-
der-based violence and their children often require special sup-
port and protection because of the high risk of secondary and 
repeat victimisation, of intimidation and of retaliation connect-
ed with such violence’. Recital 53 recommends the carrying out 
of proceedings in a coordinated and respectful manner to pre-
vent secondary victimisation. Both directives go on to include 
substantive provisions that contain measures to protect victims.

‘Special measures’ are modifications of usual criminal investiga-
tion or court practice designed to help vulnerable and intimi-
dated victims give their best evidence and help to relieve some 
of the stress associated with giving their account of the ordeal 
they suffered. These measures can prevent or reduce secondary 
victimisation in the criminal justice system.

Article 12(4) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive states that Member 
States should ‘ensure that victims of trafficking in human beings 
receive specific treatment aimed at preventing secondary vic-
timisation’.  Article  12(4)  lists  four  specific  things  that  Member 
States  should  avoid,  where  possible,  when  dealing  with  traf-
ficking  victims:  (i)  unnecessary  repetition  of  interviews  of  the 
victim; (ii) visual contact between victims and defendants; (iii) 
giving  of  evidence  in  open  court;  and  (iv)  unnecessary  ques-
tioning  concerning  the  victim’s  private  life.  Having  these  four 
measures listed in a substantive provision, as well as an express 
statement  as  to  the  underlying  rationale,  is  a  strength  of  the 
directive.

Recital 20 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive encourages the use of 
video recordings of interviews. This, however, is recommended 
in the preambles and thus does not constitute a binding obliga-
tion. Despite Member States being free to expand this particular 
protection to all victims of trafficking, either directive mandates 
it for adults, which poses a risk for women victims of violence.

Article 12(3) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive refers to a victims’ 
right to enter witness protection programmes. Although this is 
an extreme measure, in some cases women victims of violence 
may require this kind of measure as the only means to ensure 
their safety from retaliation. The express mention of these kinds 
of programmes is thus welcome, from the perspective of these 
groups.

Recital  20  recommends  that  special  measures  be  applied  fol-
lowing the individual risk assessment mandated by Article 12(3), 
which should take account of ‘circumstances such as their age, 
whether they are pregnant, their health, a disability they may  
have and other personal circumstances, as well as the physic-
al  and  psychological  consequences  of  the  criminal  activity  to  
which the victim was subjected’. It is helpful that an awareness 
of gender-specific needs is highlighted in the preamble in this 
way.

The Victims’  Rights  Directive  contains  extensive  provisions  re-
garding  the  protection  of  victims  in  Chapter  4.  The  rationale 
for these provisions is outlined in Article 18, which refers to the 
need to avoid secondary and repeat victimisation and to ensure 
the physical protection of victims. The rationale is gender-neu-
tral and does not mention gender-specific needs. However, as 
women victims of violence are likely to be more in need of these 
kinds of measures, the strong emphasis on them is welcome.

Chapter 4 imposes some clear, practical obligations. For exam-
ple,  Member  States  are  required  to  ensure  that  all  new  court 
premises are designed with separate waiting areas for victims 
by Article 19(2), in order to limit contact between victims and 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

45

5.  Access to justice 

EIGE

offenders. In case pre-existing court buildings cannot be adapt-
ed that way, Article 19(1) provides that Member States shall es-
tablish  the  necessary  conditions  to  enable  avoidance  of  such 
contact.

To  avoid  secondary  victimisation,  Article  20(b)  of  the  Victims’ 
Rights Directive requires that ‘the number of interviews of vic-
tims is kept to a minimum and interviews are carried out only 
where strictly necessary for the purposes of the criminal inves-
tigation’. To support this, the directive recommends in recital 53 
that interviews with victims are recorded and, where possible, 
tapes from those interviews used in court proceedings. It fur-
ther provides in Article 24(1)(a) that authorities may record in-
terviews with child victims to use during criminal proceedings. 
As previously discussed in the context of the identification in-
terview, the directive provides victims of violence against wom-
en  with  the  ability  to  choose  the  gender  of  their  interviewer. 
Care must be taken during implementation to ensure that the 
choice also extends to any interpreter present, and that victims 
are facilitated to make the choice as best as possible.

Chapter 4 further mandates that a victim (assessed as in need of 
special measures) can have their legal representative and a per-
son of their choice present during criminal investigations (Art-
icle 20(c)), provides for the option of hearings in private (Article  
23(3)(b)) and mandates that all interviews must be conducted 
by trained professionals (Article 23(2)(b)). Article 22 mandates an 
individualised assessment of all victims to assess whether they 
may benefit from special measures. This blanket gender-neutral 
provision serves to meet the needs of female victims of traffick-
ing, in particular, as the assessment enables their needs to be 
taken into account and appropriate special measures applied.

By Article 23(1), Member States must provide the special meas-
ures  listed  in  Chapter  4  where  the  individualised  assessment 
shows  they  are  necessary  (unless  impossible  due  to  practical  
constraints or an urgent need to interview the victim). The dir-
ective’s strong emphasis on the importance of these measures 
allows for little ‘wriggle room’ for Member States to fail to imple-
ment this chapter.

5.4.  Compensation

Women  are  in  many  countries  disadvantaged  when  it  comes 
to accessing education and employment opportunities. As a re-
sult,  they  are  more  likely  to  be  preyed  upon  by  traffickers,  in-
cluding those who use false promises of employment as a ruse. 
A  background  of  socioeconomic  disadvantage  makes  it  less 
likely that a victim who has recently escaped a trafficking situ-
ation will be able to support herself. A compensation payment 
can provide vital cushioning for a woman to enable her to sup-
port herself, prevent her falling back into exploitation as a result 
of economic duress, or otherwise.

States must provide victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation 
with the possibility of claiming compensation. This right derives 
from  international  legal  instruments,  for  example,  the  United 
Nations  Protocol  to  Prevent,  Suppress  and  Punish  Trafficking 
in Persons Especially Women and Children (Article 6(6)), or the 

46

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

United  Nations  Convention  against  Transnational  Organized 
Crime (Article 25(2)).

Equal  treatment  should  be  at  the  core  of  victims’  capacity  to 
claim compensation. Taking into account the variations in res-
idency  status  of  different  categories  of  victims,  it  should  be 
possible for victims lacking legal immigration status to remain 
in  a  territory  and  receive  residency  rights  for  the  duration  of 
a claim (Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in 
Persons, 2016). A victim of trafficking will generally only be able 
to pursue a civil claim if he or she can secure legal representa-
tion (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2016b). In the 
EU,  access  to  compensation  remains  problematic  and  ‘State 
compensation  and  compensation  from  the  perpetrator  were 
identified as two of the 10 main gaps in the implementation of 
the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking 
in Human Beings’ (European Commission, 2016a).

The Anti-Trafficking Directive provides, by Article 17, that victims 
have access to existing schemes of compensation to victims of 
violent  crimes.  It  essentially  seeks  to  ensure  equal  treatment 
for  victims  of  trafficking.  Particular  issues  may  arise,  however, 
where trafficking victims attempt to access such schemes. For 
example, where there are requirements that a victim is of ‘good 
character’ or that she must have reported the crime against her 
within a certain time frame (Inter-Agency Coordination Group 
against  Trafficking  in  Persons,  2016).  The  former  may  create 
difficulties  where  a  victim  has  been  arrested  for  immigration  
or  prostitution-related  matters,  while  the  latter  may  adversely 
affect  those  victims  unable  to  report  the  crime  against  them 
within  a  designated  time  frame,  possibly  owing  to  the  harm 
they have suffered or the nature of their relationship with their 
trafficker.  It  is  important  that  any  such  barriers  to  victims  be-
ing  able  to  access  compensation  schemes  are  removed.  The 
Anti-Trafficking Directive does not address barriers of this kind, 
leaving it up for States during implementation.

Civil society organisations report that even though the right to 
compensation is present in Member States’ legislations, it is yet 
to be fully implemented in practice, suggesting that more close 
monitoring of actions taken in this regard (European Commis-
sion,  2016a).  However,  the  situation  has  been  improving,  par-
ticularly for victims of trafficking in human beings, as an increase 
of the amount of state compensation provided to these victims 
has been reported (European Commission, 2016a).

Article  16(1)  of  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive  mandates  that 
Member States ‘shall ensure that, in the course of criminal pro-
ceedings, victims are entitled to obtain a decision on compen-
sation  by  the  offender,  within  a  reasonable  time’  Article  16(2) 
states that Member States shall ‘promote measures to encour-
age offenders to provide adequate compensation’. The first pro-
vision aims to ensure that compensation for victims is provided 
as part of the normal process of criminal proceedings (unless 
there is provision for compensation elsewhere in the national 
law framework). The provision further provides that a decision 
is required within a reasonable time. The second provision aims 
to require Member States to promote measures that encourage 
offenders (as distinct from the State) to provide compensation 
to victims.

EIGE 

5.  Access to justice

The  right  in  Article  16(1)  is  not  a  substantive  right  to  claim 
compensation,  in  contrast  to  the  substantive  right  contained 
in the Anti-Trafficking Directive. This provision merely provides 
a procedural right to a decision within a reasonable time. The 
provision is unhelpful, therefore, unless the right to make such 
a claim against the offender is enshrined in national law. While 
this  could  be  read  as  a  purely  procedural  right,  it  does  have 
a  substantive  element,  whereby  it  assumes  that  there  must 
be  a  means  of  a  victim  claiming  compensation  in  either  the 
criminal law or other (i.e. civil) legal proceedings. The matter is 
covered by the Council Directive 2004/80/EC, of 29 April 2004, 
relating to compensation to crime victims, which provides, in-
ter alia, that Member States must have compensation funds for 
victims, across all areas of crime (9).

Article 16 should also be read with recital 49, which states: ‘The 
right to a decision on compensation from the offender and the 
relevant applicable procedure should also apply to victims res-
ident in a Member State other than the Member State where 
the criminal offence was committed.’ In the case of women who 
have been trafficked, upon their escape from the situation of ex-
ploitation, they may return to their country of origin (or a third 
country). This provision (albeit only in the preamble) encourag-
es Member States to permit compensations claims to be made/
progressed from abroad. The provision adds nothing to the al-
ready binding obligation in this regard in Directive 2004/80/EC 
(Article 1).

The second part of Article 16, subsection (2), uses less assertive 
language:  Member  States ‘shall promote  measures  to  encour-
age  offenders  to  provide  adequate  compensation  to  victims’. 
The mandatory term ‘shall’ is undercut by the fact that a Mem-
ber State only has to ‘promote measures to encourage’ action. 
The  fact  that  there  is  some  impetus  to  ensure  that  offenders 
are financially liable to their victims is welcome, and represents 
an opportunity. Making offenders liable in this way may have 
a  deterrent  effect  (Inter-Agency  Coordination  Group  against 
Trafficking in Persons, 2016).

A  shortcoming  in  the  compensation  provisions  of  both  dir-
ectives  is  their  failure  to  specify  the  ambit  of  what  types  of  
harms could/should be covered by compensation. In particu-
lar whether, and to what extent, psychological harm is includ-
ed. This matter is left for Member States to determine. When it 
comes to women victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 
in many cases they experience harms that are not material, in 
the sense that they are difficult to quantify — there is no tan-
gible, objective measurement of harm. While this is the case for 
many violent crimes, the psychological damage for trafficking 
victims, in particular, is in many cases extensive and long-last-
ing. In order to ensure that this can offer the required protection 
to victims, it is important that national rules take account of the 
different types of harms which victims of violence against wom-
en encounter and do not place restrictions on those who can 
access such funds.

(9) 

This directive is not within the scope of this study, however it is worth noting that 
the directive is gender neutral and makes no reference to women, gender or gen-
der-based violence.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

47

6.  PROVISIONS REGARDING GIRL 
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING 
FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

EIGE 

6.  Provisions regarding girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation

6.  PROVISIONS REGARDING GIRL 
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING 
FOR SEXUAL EXPLOITATION

6.1. 

Identification of girl victims

Taking into account the special vulnerability of girl victims, and 
the  relationship  between  the  identification  process  and  the 
provision of tailored support and assistance, it is crucial that girl 
victims can be identified swiftly. Consequently, where there is 
any doubt over the age of a victim and whether they are a child, 
there should be a presumption in favour of defining/identifying 
them as a child. The importance of this presumption cannot be 
overstated. Without it, a child risks being treated as an adult ir-
regular migrant, with all the consequences that flow from this: 
for example, risk of detention in many European States, risk of 
homelessness and destitution in others.

Girl victims are also unlikely to have identity documents, mak-
ing age assessment a matter of guesswork by social workers, as 
it cannot be medically ascertained with any great degree of ac-
curacy and it should be the last resort for verification (European  
Parliament,  2013).  Girl  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploit-
ation, in particular, may present themselves as older than they  
in fact are, due to having been sexualised at an inappropriately 
young age. As such, they are often initially mistaken for adults 
by the authorities (Franklin and Doyle, 2013) and denied access 
to the additional assistance and protection measures to which 
they are entitled.

Girl victims of trafficking may also misrepresent their age as old-
er, having been told to do so by the person controlling them 
(World  Health  Organisation,  2003).  It  is  vital  that  authorities 
acknowledge a doubtful claim of adulthood as a warning sign 
that they might be in the presence of a victim of trafficking in 
human beings and that they are prepared to address it, for ex-
ample, by referring promptly the situation to relevant national 
services (European Asylum Support Office, 2018).

Financial considerations may also be at play — it is often costlier 
for a State to accommodate a child than an adult, and as such, 
officials working within budgetary constraints have an incentive 
to assess a child as an adult (or as an older child, who will leave 
their care sooner). As a result, age disputes are not uncommon 
in cases of child trafficking victims; these can be damaging and 
lead  to  secondary  victimisation.  Children  find  disputes  about 
their  age  or  immigration  status  particularly  stressful;  a ‘culture 
of disbelief’ in this regard can silence a child (Pearce, Hynes and 
Bovarnik, 2009).

Article 13(2) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive requires that where 
there  are  doubts  over  the  age  of  a  victim  of  trafficking,  and 
there are reasons to suggest that the victim is a child (defined 
in Article 2 of the directive as someone under the age of 18) it 
should be presumed that they are a child victim for the purpose 
of receiving immediate support. This presumption is crucial as 
it  provides  an  opportunity  for  girl  victims  of  trafficking  to  be 
swiftly  identified  and  receive  age-appropriate  assistance  and 
protection.  It  can  further  protect  girl  victims  from  secondary 
victimisation.

The actual protection offered by the presumption will, however, 
depend  on  how  it  is  implemented  in  practice. The  European  
Commission  report  (European  Commission,  2016e)  on  Mem-
ber  States’  transposition  of  the  directive  highlights  difficulties 
surrounding its implementation, relating to the procedures for 
assessing the age of victims in uncertain cases and the actual 
application of the above presumption. In this regard, the direc-
tive does not contain guidance on who should be responsible 
for determining whether there are reasons to believe a victim is 
a child and how this should be determined in practice.

Moreover, the wording used exposes victims to the possibility 
that  competent  authorities  will  not  apply  it:  the  presumption 
only applies where there are ‘reasons to believe’ the person is 
a child. Officials thus have discretion to argue, for example, that 
they have reason to believe the opposite and to deny a child 
protection by inappropriately failing to apply the age presump-
tion. Experience shows that States do fail to apply presumptions 
of this kind (European Asylum Support Office, 2015), most likely 
due  to  the  combination  of  strong  financial  disincentives  and 
cultures of disbelief engendered by, inter alia, the fact that traf-
ficked children often present with classic ‘credibility issues’, e.g. 
unclear or incoherent narratives of their past, failures to disclose 
the truth about their true situation at an early stage, false iden-
tity documentation. Child victims are unlikely to give direct dis-
closures, and their accounts may be confused and sometimes 
contradictory — often because they are traumatised, scared of 
telling the truth or have been coached into telling a story (Set-
ter, 2014). As such, it is vital to apply the presumption in cases 
where there is any indication that a victim may be a child (Euro-
pean Asylum Support Office, 2018).

While children who state that they are under 18 years old of-
ten face disbelief and the situation investigated, problems arise 
also if an undocumented young girl states that she is an adult. 

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

51

6.  Provisions regarding girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation 

EIGE

This can happen for many reasons, from not wanting to be sep-
arated  from  accompanying  adults  to  being  instructed  by  the 
traffickers to say so, inter alia (European Asylum Support Office, 
2018). If the girl has an older appearance as discussed above, 
this assertion is not investigated and the child does not receive 
appropriate treatment and measures, in the sense that her situ-
ation will be dealt with as if she was an adult. After the victim is 
identified as being a child, the question of consent is entirely ir-
relevant for identification purposes: it is presumed in the text of 
the directive that children cannot consent to their exploitation. 
Recital 11 of the Anti-Trafficking Directive states ‘when a child 
is concerned, no possible consent should ever be considered 
valid’.

Still concerning identification and in relation to the specific pro-
tection of girl victims, it would be of utmost importance that 
national referral mechanisms include child protection services 
(European Commission, 2012), which are well placed to identify 
and assist girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. Through their 
formal involvement, civil society organisations could contribute  
towards  early  identification  and  ensuring  equal  access  to  ser-
vices  for  girl  victims  of  trafficking.  Given  that  these  groups 
will  likely  constitute  relevant  support  organisations  for  many 
victims of trafficking, their involvement in the national referral 
mechanism would appear to be mandated by Article 11(4) of 
the Anti-Trafficking Directive. To date, the involvement of child 
protection services remains limited in Member States.

When children are unidentified, they face the risk of being de-
ported  or  released  undocumented,  despite  the  risk  of  re-traf-
ficking. There are no specific shelters for child victims in some 
countries  as  there  are  for  women;  as  a  result  of  the  lack  of 
specialised care the few children identified can be referred to 
general children’s homes, which they often flee within days of 
arriving, or sent to shelters for adult victims, where they do not 
receive  proper  child-oriented  assistance  and  protection  (Fer-
nandez and Waisman, 2018).

Another aspect that often lacks attention is the identification of 
children who are not direct victims of trafficking, but who ac-
company their mothers, the victims, or who are born in the con-
text  of  trafficking.  While  the  Anti-Trafficking  Directive  focuses 
only on direct victims of trafficking, indirect victims are includ-
ed in the provisions of the Victims’ Rights Directive. However, it 
should be taken into consideration that children accompanying 
mothers who are victims of trafficking are often disregarded in 
terms of their special needs and identification as secondary vic-
tims.

6.2.  Support and assistance

In order to ensure an adequate response for girl victims of traf-
ficking, it is important that their best interests are placed at the 
core of any assistance measures. The Anti-Trafficking Directive 
requires that Member States take into account the best inter-
ests of the child when providing them with assistance and sup-
port. Article 13(1) states ‘in the application of this directive the 
child’s best interests shall be a primary consideration’, echoing 
recital 22 of the directive.

52

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

The  directive  takes  its  understanding  of  a  child’s  best  interest 
from the Convention of the Rights of the Child, the provisions 
of which could inform Member States’ implementation of the 
directive vis-à-vis support and assistance measures for girl vic-
tims of trafficking. Only through an individual assessment of girl 
victims of trafficking can their best interests be properly estab-
lished, taking account of the child’s views, as provided by Article 
14(1), which mandates that child victims must undergo an in-
dividual assessment vis-à-vis  the type of support and assistance 
they require.

It  is  of  relevance  to  note  that  assessing  the  best  interests  of 
a child is always a controversial process, which can be affected 
by several factors, namely stereotyping attitudes by those who 
conduct the assessment towards adult victims (e.g. the mother 
of the child). For example, it is common that child protection 
services  consider  women  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  ex-
ploitation as less apt, or presenting added risk factors towards 
caring and ensuring the safety of the child, which in turn leads to 
disproportionate decisions that further victimise both woman 
victim and child. Another example of how stereotyping might 
interfere in the process of determining the best interests of the 
child is the stigmatisation of different cultural backgrounds con-
cerning motherhood and education of a child.

For example, organisations working in the field to help victims’ 
integration have reported that Nigerian victims of trafficking for 
sexual  exploitation  are  often  confronted  with  the  stereotype 
that  they  are ‘bad  mothers’  on  account  of  having  cultural  ref-
erences  of  motherhood  that  differ  from  the  European  model 
(Women’s Link Worldwide, 2018). These women are often seen 
in Europe as distant or authoritarian mothers, unfit for mother-
hood, or even confronted with the preconception that they got 
pregnant as a strategy to stay in Europe (Women’s Link World-
wide,  2018).  Stereotypes  like  these  might  lead  to  inadequate 
conclusions that harm the best interests of the child.

It is of note that trafficking nets use female bodies and their re-
productive capacity to their own benefit, generating pregnan-
cies and abortions. Thus, the assessment of the best interests of 
the child must not be blind to the consequences of the deci-
sions to the mother and the highly victimising context in which 
that child was born (Women’s Link Worldwide, 2018).

Thus, to ensure the effectiveness of this measure it will be im-
portant  that  those  responsible  for  assessing  the  interests  of 
a girl victim have appropriate training. The importance of train-
ing and specialisation for the delivery of assistance and support 
is highlighted in the European Union Agency for Fundamental 
Rights’ report on Child Friendly Justice (2017). This, however, is 
not provided for in the directive. Recital 61 of the Victims’ Rights 
Directive could be interpreted as requiring training for officials 
involved in criminal proceedings as it references ‘specialist train-
ing  where  their  work  focuses  on  victims  with  specific  needs’, 
however there is a risk that implementation might not reflect 
this broad interpretation.

According to Article 14(1) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, the 
purpose of conducting an individual assessment, discussed earl-
ier, is finding a ‘durable solution’ for child victims of trafficking.  

EIGE 

6.  Provisions regarding girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation

This  follows  a  similar  intention  outlined  in  recital  22. This  can 
be  contrasted  with  the  support  measures  for  adult  victims  of 
trafficking, which do not consider their longer-term needs. Giv-
en a child’s need for stability, the focus on a durable solution is 
key and can contribute towards the recovery and reintegration 
of  girl  victims  of  trafficking.  It  is  an  opportunity,  in  particular, 
that  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  offer  integration  into 
the host country as a durable solution. The longer-term reinte-
gration strategies for exiting prostitution could be considered 
in cases of girls trafficked for sexual exploitation. The European 
Commission  recommends  the  extension  of  exit  services  and  
protection  for  young  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploit-
ation to the age of 21 to minimise harm and prevent re-traffick-
ing (European Commission, 2016f ).

The European Commission found that the return and reintegra-
tion  of  child  victims  is  alarming,  and  that ‘fast  track’  methods 
of  return  are  not  in  the  best  interest  of  the  child  and  should 
be avoided (European Commission, 2016e). It should be borne 
in mind that there are third-country national girls trafficked in 
the European Union and that the size of this group may have 
increased in the current migration crisis. For example, in 2017 
the  United  Nations  Migration  Agency  reported  that  Italy  has 
experienced an almost 600 % increase since 2014 in the num-
ber of potential victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation arriving through the Central Mediterranean route, 
mostly Nigerian girls aged 15-17 (International Organisation on 
Migration, 2017). Thus, all returns of children should be close-
ly monitored, in particular, girl victims must not be repatriated 
to countries with significant gender discrimination, which may 
lead to their speedy re-victimisation.

The European Commission states that the implication of family 
involvement in child trafficking and the returning of child vic-
tims to their communities are matters that need to be further 
studied  and  understood  (European  Commission,  2016e).  The 
trafficking of children is often pushed by the family, for exam-
ple, in cases where parents could not afford their upbringing, 
or  wished  for  a  better  future  for  their  children,  sending  them 
away  purposefully  but  unaware  of  the  risks  the  child  faces.  It 
also happens that the family sends the child to another country 
as an ‘investment’, hoping to receive a financial compensation 
when the child settles in the country of destination (European 
Commission, 2015c).

Dysfunctional families with a history of abuse towards the child 
may also intentionally enter children into trafficking schemes to 
further exploit them, a decision that is facilitated by social ac-
ceptance of (forced) child marriages in the community, patriar-
chal family structures, inter alia (European Commission, 2015c). 
The family background and the reasons behind the child enter-
ing  the  trafficking  situation  must  be  carefully  analysed  before 
returning child victims is considered.

Concerning  support  and  assistance  provided  to  girl  victims, 
guardianship  is  also  a  relevant  concern.  Children  deprived  of  
parental care are particularly vulnerable to abuse and exploit-
ation,  which  an  effective  guardianship  system  must  prevent.  

The  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2015b) 
points out that a robust guardianship system is a cornerstone 
to any comprehensive child protection system that addresses 
child  trafficking. This  position  is  underscored  in  the  European 
Union  Strategy  for  Eradication  of Trafficking  in  Human  Beings 
2012-2016 (European Commission, 2012). The practice of many 
Member States is to use the existing guardianship systems to 
cater for the needs of victims of trafficking.

The Anti-Trafficking Directive provides for a guardian to be ap-
pointed in the case of an unaccompanied child victim or where 
there is a conflict between the interests of the child victim and 
those with parental responsibility: Articles 14(2) and 16(3). This 
is an important protection and a welcome binding obligation, 
particularly for girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation 
involving  parents  or  those  with  parental  responsibility.  Al-
though the directive contains no detail as to the duties of the 
guardian, recital 23 makes it clear that the core of guardian’s role 
is to safeguard the child’s best interests.

The  European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2015) 
observes that migration and asylum law applies to third-coun-
try  national  child  victims  if  they  are  not  formally  identified  as 
victims by the competent authorities. As a general rule, the re-
port recommends the independence of the guardianship sys-
tem  from  migration  and  asylum  authorities.  Given  the  nature  
of  exploitation  that  is  prevalent  in  cases  of  trafficking  for  sex-
ual exploitation, it is also essential that the guardian has special 
training on working with children who are recovering from sex-
ual abuse.

Research  shows  that,  in  the  European  Union,  almost  no  spe-
cialised  centres  for  children  victims  of  trafficking  exist.  Thus, 
children victims are often integrated in juvenile centres that do 
not offer specialised services to attend to the children’s’ specific 
needs and consequences of the trafficking experience. Shelters 
designed for women victims of trafficking also lack specialised 
services for girl-child victims, leaving this group unattended in 
respect to their specific needs (Women’s Link Worldwide, 2018).

6.3.  Access to justice

Given their circumstances and particular vulnerabilities, girl vic-
tims may present with different needs in the context of the ju-
dicial system, specific to their status as children, which must be  
addressed in criminal proceedings. These measures are in add-
ition to the suite of measures available to all victims. By Article  
22(4) of the Victims’ Rights Directive, child victims are presumed 
to  have  specific  protection  needs;  it  provides  that  the  extent 
to  which  they  would  benefit  from  special  measures  shall  be 
subject to an individual assessment: as provided for by Article 
22(1). This presumption is helpful. There is no hurdle for a child 
to  demonstrate  that  she  needs  special  measures:  the  starting 
point is that she does. Children may not be strong advocates on 
their own behalf and may be more inhibited from articulating 
their  needs  as  compared  with  an  adult  victim.  Girl  victims  of 
trafficking benefit from this strong protection.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

53

6.  Provisions regarding girl victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation 

EIGE

Case study (10)

‘[In one case] the trafficker was allowed to directly address 
questions to the victim. The judge attempted to say “Do you 
have  legal  representation?”,  but  when  the  attorney  started 
to yell that he [was] not able to [ask] all the questions, that 
the trafficker [was] directly involved and that he should have 
the  right  to  ask  the  victim,  the  judge  remained  silent. The 
trafficker [then] addressed the victim directly. I was right next 
to  [the  child  trafficking  victim]  and  I  saw  her  reaction.  She 
didn’t  know  what  to  do,  to  answer  or  not,  especially  since 
the  questions  formulated  by  the  trafficker  weren’t  related 
to  the  offence,  but  to  the  identity  of  the  victim.  His  pur-
pose was to find the identity [...] and, at the end, he called 
her by her name, he said, “I know who you are” and he said 
her name. The child was almost about to faint on the chair.’  
(Romania, psychologist, female)

The Anti-Trafficking Directive provides additional measures for 
the  protection  of  child  victims.  Article  15(1),  for  example,  re-
quires that in circumstances where those with parental respon-
sibility are precluded from representing the interests of a child, 
owing to a conflict of interest, the competent authorities should 
appoint a representative for this purpose. Similarly, it provides 
for  the  mandatory  appointment  of  a  representative  for  unac-
companied minors, as well as the appointment of a guardian, 
where appropriate (Article 16(2) and (3)).

Importantly, the directive contains a number of binding prov-
isions relating to how child victims of trafficking are interviewed  
during criminal proceedings. Article 15(3) of the directive con-
tains  six  specific,  additional  requirements  for  child  interviews. 
The measures are designed to reduce the risk of secondary harm 
for girl victims of trafficking. To take one example, the provision 
to avoid unjustified delays in interview scheduling (Article 15(3)
(a)) protects children by ensuring their cases are prioritised for 
speedy interviews. Delays in dealing with children create a risk 

that legal adulthood could be reached before the investigation 
is  concluded,  possibly  leading  to  child-specific  entitlements 
being  withdrawn  from  the  child  victim.  Member  States  can 
guard against this in implementation by ensuring that 18 is not 
a ‘bright line’ when it comes to suspected child victims of traf-
ficking, and permitting them to continue to avail of some child 
services  for  a  transition  period  after  attaining  adulthood. The 
benefits of the full implementation of the protections in Article  
15(3)  were  recently  highlighted  by  a  study  by  the  European  
Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2017),  which  records 
the opinions of child victims of crime.

There  is,  however,  a  concern  that  the  protection  offered  by 
a number of the above provisions will be undermined by their 
wording,  in  particular  the  use  of  the  term ‘where  necessary’. 
Without an explicit requirement that those involved in criminal 
proceedings receive training and are specialised in the care of 
child victims of trafficking, it is possible that those determining 
the necessity of certain measures may be ill-equipped to make 
that decision. This is something that Member States can guard 
against  during  implementation  of  the  directive  by  providing 
training to ensure that those interacting with girl victims of traf-
ficking for sexual exploitation have specialist skills to do so.

Training of professionals is also required by the Victims’ Rights 
Directive,  namely  by  Article  23  that  requires  that  ‘interviews 
with  the  victim  [are]  being  carried  out  by  or  through  profes-
sionals trained for that purpose’. This is applied in the context of 
victims with specific protection needs, which includes children. 
As such, those responsible for assessing the protection needs of 
children and providing assistance are required to have appro-
priate training and expertise.

Article 15 (4) of the Anti-Trafficking Directive obligates Member 
States  to  take  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  interviews 
may  be  tape-recorded  and,  further,  that  such  tapes  may  be  
used as evidence in court, where appropriate. A similar provision 
is  provided  in  Article  24(1)(a)  of  the  Victims’  Rights  Directive,  
that authorities may record interviews with child victims to use 
during criminal proceedings.

(10) 

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2015a), p. 26.

54

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

7.  RECOMMENDATIONS 
FOR MEMBER STATES

EIGE 

7.  Recommendations for Member States

7.  RECOMMENDATIONS 
FOR MEMBER STATES

On the basis of the analysis conducted, EIGE proposes recom-
mendations for Member States when implementing the Anti- 
Trafficking  Directive,  as  complemented  by  the  Victims’  Rights 
Directive,  from  a  gender  perspective,  in  a  way  to  account  for 
the specific needs of women and girls trafficked for sexual ex-
ploitation.

7.1.  General recommendations

Ensure full awareness of the provisions of the Victims’ 
Rights Directive and other relevant instruments

Taking  into  account  the  approach  enshrined  in  the  Anti-Traf-
ficking Directive, it is recommended that Member States should 
be aware of the provisions of the Victims’ Rights Directive and 
the wider body of law and policy on gender equality, violence 
against women (such as the Istanbul Convention and the CE-
DAW  Convention),  in  the  implementation  of  Articles  11-17  of 
the Anti-Trafficking Directive.

Recognise trafficking for sexual exploitation as 
violence against women

Recognising the gender-specific characteristics and harm experi-
enced by victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, it is rec-
ommended that Member States identify such victims as victims  
of violence against women under the Victims’ Rights Directive. 
Unconditional assistance and specific, targeted and integrated  
support, regardless of whether the offender is identified, pros-
ecuted or convicted, should be granted. Member States should  
include  their  strategy  on  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  in 
their  broader  strategy  on  violence  against  women  and  use 
gender-specific indicators, benchmarks and time frames. More-
over, it is recommended that specific budgets are allocated for 
measures against trafficking for sexual exploitation, which can 
be monitored and evaluated from a gender perspective, and in-
formed by experts and national frameworks on violence against 
women. Member States should continuously monitor the im-
pact of laws, policies, programmes and actions.

Provide training on trafficking from a gender 
perspective

It  is  recommended  that  violence  against  women  is  main-
streamed  into  training  programmes  on  trafficking  in  human 
beings,  by  focusing  on  the  gender  dimension  of  trafficking, 

particularly  for  sexual  exploitation. This  should  form  an  intrin-
sic part of all training materials and programmes delivered to 
professionals who are likely to come into contact with victims, 
including legal practitioners, judiciary agents (including judges, 
court  interpreters,  among  others),  law  enforcement,  immigra-
tion  officials,  health  and  child  care  professionals,  civil  society 
organisations,  inter  alia.  The  training  programmes  should  fo-
cus, but not be limited to, power dynamics of violence against  
women  and  its  root  causes,  characteristics  of  sexual  exploit-
ation, from recruitment to its consequences and victims’ needs.  
Training  should  also  concentrate  on  children’s  experiences 
and a deconstruction of victim-blaming and stereotyping dis-
courses. These training programmes should also be offered to 
a range of different sectors, which may come into contact with 
victims,  such  as  embassy  and  consular  staff,  airline  personnel, 
marriage registrars, border guards, among others.

Promote cooperation between authorities and 
establish partnerships

It is recommended that Member States offer integrated services 
for protection and support, and build sustainable partnerships 
at local, regional and international levels to allow for more ef-
fective  responses,  from  identification  to  protection  and  sup-
port, irrespective of the victims’ willingness to cooperate with 
police or criminal proceedings. Different stakeholders must be 
involved in a multi-agency cooperative network (such as health 
and social services, maternity services, child protection systems, 
education institutions, law enforcement, migration authorities, 
inter  alia).  Partnerships  with  specialised  civil  society  organisa-
tions which play a role in identification and in providing special-
ised and integrated support to victims are key to a holistic and 
effective response to victims’ needs. Given the recent migration 
crisis, it is recommended that close cooperation with human-
itarian responses and disaster relief programmes, for example, 
is ensured. A national referral mechanism should be established 
to connect trafficking in human beings to refugee protection 
rights and ensure that international protection as a refugee is 
available  to  victims  of  trafficking,  when  appropriate,  and  that 
the victims are referred to specialised care.

Improve data analysis and research

In order to better understand the gender and age dimensions 
of trafficking for sexual exploitation and in line with Article 19 
of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, it is recommended that Mem-
ber  States  collect  sex  and  age-disaggregated  data  of  victims 
and  perpetrators.  Furthermore,  it  is  recommended  that  data  

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

57

7.  Recommendations for Member States 

EIGE

collected  on  victims  includes  information  on  support,  assist-
ance and protection measures that have been applied. Efforts 
should  be  put  into  researching  the  links  between  trafficking 
and refugee protection needs, as well as the phenomenon of 
recruitment and re-trafficking. It is recommended that Member 
States investigate the reasons that hamper early victim identi-
fication and their resort to assistance mechanisms, in their na-
tional contexts. This should be done through an independent 
analysis of how the system serves the victims. Actions should 
be taken to tackle identified gaps.

7.2. 

Identification of victims

Ensure early identification

It is recommended that a low threshold vis-à-vis the evidentiary 
standard used for identification is adopted in all Member States. 
Competent authorities should identify gaps in the early recog-
nition  of  indicators  of  the  multiple  forms  of  direct  and  subtle 
forms of coercion, deception and abuses of vulnerability, which  
are used in the trafficking of women and tackle them. Author-
ities should ensure that as soon as there is reason to suspect that  
a  person  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  they 
receive  immediate  protection  and  assistance.  Confirmation  of 
their  status  as  a  victim  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  should 
occur  at  a  later  stage.  Consent  given  to  traffickers  should  be 
always considered irrelevant by the authorities, particularly for 
female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced 
marriage.

Introduce special measures to identify and protect 
girls and women at risk

Considering  the  importance  of  indicators  in  the  identification 
of  victims,  it  is  recommended  that  gender-specific  indicators 
informed  by  evidence  in  relation  to  gender-specific  risks  and  
needs experienced  by victims of trafficking  for  sexual exploit-
ation are an integral part of the identification process. The EU is  
still facing migratory pressure, leading to an increasing number  
of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants. Therefore, it is rec-
ommended  that  Member  States  introduce  a  gender-specific 
approach  to  the  identification  and  protection  of  women  and 
girls at risk of, and subjected to, trafficking in human beings, es-
pecially for sexual exploitation, in precarious contexts including 
populations displaced by war and conflict, and refugee camps. 
Member States should make full use of available tools, such as 
the  European  Asylum  Support  Office  (EASO) Training  module 
on trafficking in human beings; European Fundamental Rights 
Agency (FRA) Handbook on Guardian systems for children de-
prived of parental care, with a particular focus on child victims 
of  trafficking,  the  European  Border  and  Coast  Guards  Agency 
(EBCG) Vega Handbook on children at risk in airports, as well as 
the  Handbook  on  risk  profiles  on  trafficking  in  human  beings 
(available for use for relevant national authorities).

58

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

Identify and support victims irrespective of their 
migration status

Recognising  that  irregular  (or  undocumented)  migration  sta-
tus is a major barrier to seeking help and may have been used 
to control victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, it is rec-
ommended that Member States ensure that the identification 
process  is  not  influenced  by  legal  status,  ethnicity,  nationality 
and  the  right  to  seek  asylum.  It  is  particularly  important  that 
competent authorities assure victims of their rights as victims of 
trafficking and that their primary concern is identification and 
protection, not immigration status. Member States should es-
tablish  additional  means  of  identification,  other  than  through 
criminal proceedings, to ensure that victims who do not wish to 
pursue criminal proceedings are still identified and assisted, in 
line with the principle and spirit of the Anti-Trafficking Directive 
on unconditional assistance, protection and support.

Avoid secondary harm

Given  the  forms  of  exploitation  that  victims  of  trafficking  for 
sexual  exploitation  may  disclose,  such  as  rape,  sexual  assault 
and  inhuman  and  degrading  treatment,  it  is  critical  that  they 
should  not  be  made  to  extraneously  repeat  accounts  of  the 
abuse experienced. It is recommended that interviews are kept 
to a minimum during all stages of the process (from identifica-
tion to investigation and other criminal proceedings) and that 
unnecessary questions about the victim’s private current or past 
life are avoided. Moreover, victims should be able to choose the 
gender of the interviewer and any other actor involved in the 
process,  such  as  an  interpreter.  Interview  recordings  and  pro-
tocols for transfer of evidence between agencies must adhere 
to the highest standards of personal data protection and con-
fidentiality. Member States should ensure that interviewers are 
properly  trained  to  avoid  secondary  victimisation  and  under-
stand  violence  against  women  and  its  consequences,  as  well 
as  to  acknowledge  differences  and  needs  based  on  diverse 
cultural  backgrounds,  inter  alia.  The  safety  of  the  victim  shall  
be assured at all times and contact between victims and per-
petrators  shall  be  avoided  to  the  possible  extent,  limiting  the 
risk of re-victimisation, in all stages of the process.

7.3.  Assistance and support

Assess individual needs

It  is  recommended  that  a  needs  assessment  for  each  sus-
pected victim is conducted as soon as possible by a specialist 
practitioner  who  is  trained  to  identify  gender-specific  harms 
and  the  needs  of  victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation. 
This  assessment  should  focus  on  protection  needs,  including 
the  assessment  of  the  potential  threat  of  re-victimisation  and 
re-trafficking,  but  also  medical,  psychological,  social  and  legal 
assistance and support needs. The victim should have the right 
to select the gender of the professional who will be performing 
the assessment. It is crucial that a thorough needs assessment 
is conducted for all victims, irrespective of their willingness to 
cooperate with criminal proceedings.

EIGE 

7.  Recommendations for Member States

Provide appropriate support and assistance

It is recommended that Member States ensure that victims of 
trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  receive  support  and  assist-
ance, which is proportionate, appropriate and tailored to meet  
the  needs  of  each  individual  victim.  Member  States  should 
consider  violence  against  women  as  valid  grounds  for  dura-
ble  assistance  and  ongoing  support,  at  all  stages,  irrespective 
of the victims’ willingness to cooperate with police or criminal 
proceedings. It is crucial to provide support to the victims while 
re-integrating  them  into  society. The  discontinuation  of  assis-
tance and support services could have a devastating impact on 
the victims. Therefore, the duration of the assistance should not 
have an established end-point and should be carefully and con-
tinuously  assessed  by  trained  professionals,  specialised  in  the 
areas in which the victim is being supported. Residence status 
provided to undocumented third-country nationals should be 
extended to avoid harmful early discontinuation of assistance 
and  support  measures,  in  spite  of  the  termination  of  criminal 
proceedings. All assistance and support measures provided to 
victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  should  be  imple-
mented with full consent by the victim.

Develop integrated services and good practices

It is recommended that good practice models, which provide an 
integrated range of protection and support services in the same  
building  continue  to  be  developed  and  resourced. These  ser-
vices include information in the victims’ original language and in  
a way that’s intelligible to them, accommodation, psychologi-
cal and physical health services, trauma support and counsel-
ling, legal advice and information, migration support, material 
assistance, financial support, access to education, training and 
support in the integration of the labour market, inter alia. Fur-
thermore, Member States should ensure that accommodation 
for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation is a safe, secure 
and appropriate space. Accommodation should be adjusted to 
women’s needs, promoting a feeling of safety and preventing 
re-traumatisation  and  the  potential  for  further  targeting  and 
sexual exploitation. Moreover, shelters should also be culturally 
sensitive  to  accommodate  the  needs  of  women  victims  with 
different  cultural,  ethnic  and  linguistic  backgrounds.  Shelters  
also  need  to  be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  women  with  a  dis-
ability and women with children, providing integrated services 
and support for families. Extra protection should be available in 
locations where refugees and asylum-seekers reside to prevent 
targeting  by  traffickers,  especially  for  those  who  have  already 
been trafficked or are vulnerable to trafficking due to their mi-
gration journey and/or specific migration status.

7.4.  Access to justice

Ensure early legal intervention

It is recommended that Member States ensure early legal inter-
vention for all victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation at the 
point of detection or disclosure to any front-line responder or 
competent authority. This should not be limited to legal advice 
on criminal law matters (such as their rights to recovery and re-
flection periods) but also include legal information and advice  
on  legal  status  matters  (for  example,  the  right  to  claim  inter-
national protection or access other immigration related proced-
ures), and on civil and family law topics (such as child custody,  
guardianship  of  children,  divorce). The  right  to  compensation 
and the provision of legal representation should be ensured at 
every stage of civil and criminal proceedings.

Provide specialist and independent legal 
representation

It is recommended that legal advice and representation should 
be provided by independent specialist legal practitioners who 
are  trained  in  the  gender-specific  aspects  of  trafficking  in  hu-
man beings, so as to adequately understand the specific needs 
of victims and best respond to them. It is recommended that 
Member States ensure legal representation is offered to victims 
of trafficking for sexual exploitation, across all legal paths they 
might need and/or choose to follow, besides criminal proceed-
ings, including civil and family law matters and for the purposes 
of  seeking  compensation.  Member  States  should  ensure  that 
legal representation is available without delay and without cost, 
or in a way that vulnerable victims are able to afford it without 
compromising the quality of their legal representation and ac-
cess to their rights. Moreover, victims should be given the possi-
bility to choose the gender of their legal representative.

Prevent secondary victimisation

It  is  recommended  that  Member  States  prioritise  the  preven-
tion of secondary victimisation in all criminal proceedings and/
or other legal interventions that affect victims of trafficking for 
sexual exploitation. This can be done through the use of a con-
fidential and gender-specific approach that includes, but is not 
limited to: avoiding unnecessary repetition of interviews during 
investigation, prosecution or trial, preventing visual contact be-
tween victims and defendants, ensuring there is  no unneces-
sary questioning concerning the victim’s private life, removing 
the requirement to have the victim appear in court, collecting 
testimony/hearings  through  the  use  of  communication  tech-
nology or recordings, taking special measures in the handling 
and storage of data. All interventions should be conducted by  
professionals  with  proper  training  and  gender-specific  know-
ledge  on  sexual  exploitation. This  includes  professionals  such 
as judges, prosecutors, legal representatives, court interpreters, 
translators, among others.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

59

7.  Recommendations for Member States 

EIGE

Protect victims during criminal trials

Protect trafficking victims from related criminal 
proceedings

It is recommended that special protection measures are taken 
especially during criminal trials to ensure that victims are pro-
tected from retaliation, intimidation, and from the risk of being 
re-trafficked or re-victimised. Comprehensive standardised risk 
assessment procedures should be developed and conducted at 
the earliest stage with each individual victim. Moreover, safety 
audits and assessments for privacy should also be carried out 
in interview rooms and courtroom premises to ensure that the 
victim cannot be intimidated or placed at risk by offenders. Wit-
ness protection programmes should be available, where need-
ed.

Ensure legal advice and representation in seeking 
compensation

It is recommended that Member States ensure that victims of 
trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  have  legal  advice  and  rep-
resentation  in  seeking  compensation  from  offenders  or  from 
a compensation fund within a reasonable time. Barriers such as 
a limited time frame to file the claim, or having to provide proof 
of ‘good character’ should be removed in cases of trafficking for 
sexual  exploitation,  ensuring  that  stereotyping  does  not  play 
a role in the determination of access to compensation schemes. 
Moreover, the legal representative should ensure that the spe-
cific,  non-material  harm  of  sexual  violence,  including  its  psy-
chological impacts is recognised in the claim and that an equal 
treatment approach is taken towards all victims of trafficking.

Grant permission to remain in the country

It  is  recommended  that  Member  States  grant  permission  for 
victims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  to  remain  in  the 
country, in spite of the termination of criminal proceedings, to 
ensure  that  they  can  participate  in  any  investigations  against 
the  perpetrator  and  claim  compensation,  regardless  of  their 
legal  residency  status.  Participation  in  criminal  proceedings 
should invariably depend on the consent of the victim.

Ensure safe and voluntary repatriation of victims

It is recommended that Member States ensure that repatriation 
of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation is voluntary, in-
formed and safe. Member States should also ensure protection 
against refoulement and take into account threats of retaliation 
faced by victims, as well as the risk of re-trafficking upon return. 
These  risks  should  be  cautiously  assessed  by  the  responsible 
authorities before starting the process of repatriation. Access to 
services should be facilitated if reintegration is feasible. Member 
States  should  establish  pathways  to  a  third  country  including 
resettlement and humanitarian admission for refugees who are 
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and at risk of re-traf-
ficking in their home country, or where there are barriers to in-
tegration due to the exploitation experienced.

60

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

It  is  recommended  that  judicial  authorities  ensure  that  vic-
tims  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation  are  not  subjected  to 
criminal proceedings or sanctions for offences related to their 
situation as trafficked persons, including violations under immi-
gration, prostitution and marital laws.

7.5.  Girl-child victims of trafficking 

for sexual exploitation

Ensure child victims’ early identification

It is recommended that priority be given to the early identifica-
tion of children. Indirect victims of trafficking for sexual exploit-
ation (e.g. children whose mothers are the direct victims) must  
be identified as victims of trafficking in human beings without 
delay  and  be  considered  eligible  for  protection  and  support 
measures. Identification mechanisms should take into account 
the  special  circumstances  and  gender-specific  needs  of  child 
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, involving specialists 
on child abuse to ensure that the presumption of childhood is 
implemented  swiftly.  It  is  recommended  that  Member  States 
develop guidelines for the identification of child victims, in or-
der to facilitate a quick and accurate age-related assessment.

Appoint an adequate guardian

It  is  recommended  that  Member  States  ensure  that  agencies 
or individuals whose interests could conflict with those of the 
child, or who are accused of being complicit in the trafficking 
for sexual exploitation of the child, cannot be eligible for guard-
ianship. The appointed guardian should have gender expertise 
in child victimisation. In appointing the guardian, the compe-
tent authority shall give due weight to the child’s views, includ-
ing her preference of gender for the guardian, and shall keep 
the child informed at all times.

Ensure immediate and adequate support and 
protection measures

It  is  recommended  that  Member  States  ensure  that  the  child 
victim  is  given  immediate  access  to  support  and  protec-
tion  measures.  Member  States  should  ensure  the  develop-
ment  of  age-appropriate,  safe  and  confidential  programmes, 
medical,  social  and  psychological  support  services,  as  well  as 
gender-specific accommodation services for children and spe-
cialised shelters for girl victims of sexual exploitation. Support 
services offered to women victims of trafficking should also in-
clude  child-specific  services  that  allow  for  the  accompanying 
children’s (direct or indirect victims) needs to be adequately ad-
dressed in an integrated way. Moreover, Member States should 
recognise the particular needs of children born in the context 
of trafficking for sexual exploitation and provide the specialist 
services required, on an equal treatment basis.

EIGE 

7.  Recommendations for Member States

Assess the best interests of the child

The  individual  assessment  of  the  best  interests  of  the  child  is 
a continuous process that has particular relevance for children 
trafficked for sexual exploitation. It is recommended that a thor-
ough individual needs assessment is conducted to direct and 
indirect child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, in or-
der to determine their best interests. Her cultural background 
and the context into which the child was born must be taken 
into account, as well as an assessment of the family situation. 

Those responsible for conducting these assessments should be 
equipped  with  child  and  gender  expertise,  including  specific 
knowledge on children’s sexual exploitation. Furthermore, the 
child’s  views  must  be  taken  into  consideration  as  appropriate 
and she shall be kept informed at all times. In situations where 
the  mother  is  a  victim  of  trafficking  for  sexual  exploitation, 
particular care should be taken in the assessment of her abil-
ity to care for the child, and if necessary, conditions for her to 
do it should be provided together with support and protective 
measures.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

61

8. 

INDICATORS TO MONITOR 
THE GENDER-SPECIFIC 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE  
ANTI-TRAFFICKING DIRECTIVE

EIGE 

8.  Indicators to monitor the gender-specific implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive

8.  INDICATORS TO MONITOR 
THE GENDER-SPECIFIC 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 
ANTI-TRAFFICKING DIRECTIVE

EIGE  has  developed  a  list  of  indicative  indicators  to  support 
Member States in ensuring the implementation of the provisions 
of the Anti-Trafficking Directive, and the Victims’ Rights Directive, 
from a victim-focused, gender and child-specific approach. The 
indicators are aligned with the European Union Gender Action 
Plan 2 (European Commission, 2015a) and with the United Na-
tions Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations, 2015).

The  indicators  monitor  the  impact  of  the  implementation  of 
the  measures  set  out  by  the  directives  on  assistance,  support 
and protection to victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, 
and other policies and actions taken in this regard. They enable 

consistent data collection across Member States and allow for 
the identification of gaps, contributing to ensure the account-
ability of all stakeholders.

The importance of data collection to monitor the gender-spe-
cific  implementation  of  the  European  Union  anti-trafficking 
legislation  has  been  stressed  by  the  European  Commission 
(2016c) and the European Parliament Committee on Women’s 
Rights  and  Gender  Equality  (2016a).  The  European  Commis-
sion (2016c) has also reinforced its commitment to supporting 
Member States in data collection, namely through guidance re-
garding the use of indicators.

I.  Policy framework

National action plan or strategy on combating violence against women includes trafficking in human beings (Yes/No)

Percentage of national budget spending allocated to actions related to trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation in 
the last 12 months

Number of victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, by age, sex, country of origin, EU or non-EU national, and 
unaccompanied minors referred to specialised support services in the last 12 months

II.  Victim identification 

Number of victims of trafficking in human beings per 100 000 population, by sex, age and form of exploitation in the last 12 months

Number and proportion of female deaths that occurred due to trafficking for sexual exploitation in the last 12 months

III.  Assistance and support

Number of shelters specialised in trafficked women, that accept accompanying children in the last 12 months

Number of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation receiving assistance and support in terms of safe accommodation, social 
and/or medical care, psychological support services, legal aid services, material assistance in the last 12 months

Number of identified victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation that are granted international protection in the last 12 months

IV.  Access to justice

Number of hours of specialised training on trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation conducted in the last 12 months

Proportion of professionals from different sectors trained on trafficking for sexual exploitation, indicating geographical 
coverage in the last 12 months

Number of complaints on trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation received by the police in the last 12 months

Number of cases of trafficking in human beings by type of exploitation being prosecuted in the last 12 months

Number of perpetrators of trafficking for sexual exploitation prosecuted and convicted by age, sex and relationship with the 
victim in the last 12 months

Number of victims of trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation granted compensation in the last 12 months

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

65

9.  CONCLUSIONS

EIGE 

9.  Conclusions

9.  CONCLUSIONS

Trafficking in human beings, particularly for the purposes of sex-
ual exploitation, is a societal problem with gendered nature and 
manifestations.  Preventive  strategies  and  structural  change  in 
society  are  needed  in  order  to  provide  durable  solutions  and 
to effectively combat it. Anti-trafficking efforts are more effec-
tive  when  they  tackle  factors  that  perpetuate  discrimination 
and violence against women in society. Therefore, the analytical 
framework of violence against women proposed in this report is 
useful in identifying possible structural and institutional factors, 
which can have a more significant impact on the effectiveness 
of the anti-trafficking measures by more accurately addressing 
victims’ needs.

Overall, the analysis concludes that the European Union legal 
and policy framework is not only gender-specific but attaches 
centrality  to  promoting  gender  responsive  measures  that  im-
plement legal or policy requirements. The Anti-Trafficking Direc-
tive, complemented by the Victims’ Rights Directive, can provide 
a viable system for identification, support, assistance and pro-
tection  of  women  and  girls  trafficked  for  sexual  exploitation. 
However, there is a need to attribute concrete meaning to the 
gender-specific  aspects  of  its  implementation. The  provisions 
of the Anti-Trafficking Directive often require practical solutions 
that are not necessarily detailed or specified in the directive. In 
this regard, the Victims’ Rights Directive offers essential addition-
al interpretation, which could bring the combined application 
of  the  two  to  the  necessary  standards  for  effective  responses 
to  victims. The  observance  of  international  standards  and  the 
results of recent European Commission studies are also crucial 
for effective implementation.

On  account  of  the  broad  and  general  language  used  and 
the  need  to  read  the  directive  in  conjunction  with  other  in-
struments,  for  most  of  the  provisions  the  effectiveness  of  the 

implementation will depend on Member States’ interpretations 
of the text of the directive(s). This raises the risk that, in reality, 
professionals implementing the directive in the field may over-
look the specificities of the gender and age-specific approaches 
required, or not have the expertise to derive concrete measures 
from the provisions of the directives. Trafficking in human be-
ings, and specifically for sexual exploitation, consists of an ex-
tremely  complex  legal  definition,  outlined  by  subtle  nuances, 
which  poses  Member  States,  and  professionals,  an  additional 
challenge  of  proper  identification  of  victims  and  accurate  as-
sessment and responses to their gender-specific needs.

EIGE’s recommendations presented in this report seek to sup-
port Member States to overcome these challenges, by providing 
guidance on how to fully integrate gender-specific measures in 
their  efforts  to  address  trafficking  in  human  beings  for  sexual 
exploitation. The proposed indicators also aim to support Mem-
ber States in monitoring their efforts to address trafficking for 
sexual exploitation from a gender perspective, in their policies, 
and in victims’ identification, assistance and access to justice.

In  addition,  EIGE’s  newly  developed  measurement  framework 
on violence against women, aimed to support Member States 
in their efforts to monitor the implementation of the Istanbul 
Convention, also includes an indicator on the number of wom-
en and girls registered victims of human trafficking (EIGE, 2017). 
Therefore, trafficking in human being is integrated in the broad-
er monitoring of efforts to prevent and address violence against 
women at large and support victims.

In the future, an intersectional analysis of the directives would 
be helpful to further inform on how the approach to women 
victims of trafficking in human beings can be more comprehen-
sive and address specific needs created by different experiences 
of vulnerabilities.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

69

10. BIBLIOGRAPHY

EIGE 

10.  Bibliography

10.  BIBLIOGRAPHY

AkiDwa  (2010),  ‘Am  only  saying  it  now’:  experiences  of  women 
seeking asylum in Ireland, Dublin.

Allwood,  G.  (2017), ‘Gender-based  violence  against  women  in 
contemporary France: domestic violence and forced marriage 
policy since the Istanbul Convention’. Available at: http://www.
tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09639489.2016.1203886?
needAccess=true

Andrijasevic,  R.  (2010), ‘The  cross-border  migration.  Migration, 
agency  and  citizenship  in  sex  trafficking’,  Migration,  Minorities 
and Citizenship Series, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Bick,  D.,  Howard,  L.,  Oram,  S.  and  Zimmerman,  C.  (2017), ‘Ma-
ternity care for trafficked women: Survivor experiences and cli-
nicians’  perspectives  in  the  United  Kingdom’s  National  Health 
Service’,  PLoS  ONE  12(11):  e0187856.  https://doi.org/10.1371/
journal.pone.0187856.  Available  at:  http://journals.plos.org/
plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0187856

Bindel,  J.,  Brown,  L.,  Easton,  H.,  Matthews,  R.  and  Reynolds,  L. 
(2012),  Breaking  down  the  barriers:  A  study  of  how  women  exit 
prostitution, Eaves and London South Bank University.

Charter  of  the  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union, 
(2012/C 326/02). OJ C 326, 26.10.2012, pp. 391-407 (BG, ES, CS, 
DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, 
SV).

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

Council  Directive  2005/85/EC  of  1  December  2005  on  mini-
mum standards on procedures in Member States for granting 
and withdrawing refugee status.

Council  of  Europe  (2002),  Committee  of  Ministers  to  Member 
States on the protection of women against violence. The Pro-
tection of Women against Violence.

Council of Europe (2005), Council of Europe Convention on Ac-
tion against Trafficking in Human Beings, Warsaw.

Council of Europe (2007), Council of Europe Convention on the 
Protection  of  Children  against  Sexual  Exploitation  and  Sexual 
Abuse  (The  Lanzarote  Convention),  Council  of  Europe  Treaty 
Series No 201.

Council of Europe (2011), Council of Europe Convention on Pre-
venting and Combating Violence against Women and Domes-
tic Violence [Istanbul Convention], Istanbul.

Courtois, C. and Gold, S. (2009), ‘The need for inclusion of psy-
chological trauma in the professional curriculum: a call to action’,  
Psychological  Trauma:  Theory,  Research,  Practice,  and  Policy,  
1 (1), 3-23. Available at: http://www.drchriscourtois.com/imag-
es/Need_for_Inclusion_of_Trauma._w._Gold_03_09.pdf

Cuesta,  S.  (2009), Violencia  de  género  y  tráfico  de  mujeres:  la 
explotación social de las traficadas, Documentación Social (152), 
pp. 151-183.

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.

Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating traffick-
ing in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing 
Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA [Anti-Trafficking Di-
rective].

Directive  2011/93/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council, of 13 December 2011, on combating the sexual abuse 
and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.

Directive  2011/95/EU  of  Council  and  European  Parliament 
of  13  December  2011  on  standards  for  the  qualification  of 
third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of 
international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for 
persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of 
the protection granted.

Directive  2012/29/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  25  October  2012  establishing  minimum  standards 
on the rights, support and protection of victims of crime, and 
replacing Council Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA [Victims’ 
Rights Directive].

Eurojust  (2012), ‘Strategic  project  on ‘Eurojust’s  action  against 
trafficking in human beings’: Final report and action plan’, The 
Hague.

European Asylum Support Office (2015), Age assessment practice 
in Europe, December 2013.

European Asylum Support Office (2018), Practical Guide on age 
assessment, EASO Practical Guides Series. Luxembourg.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

73

10.  Bibliography 

EIGE

European Commission (2011), Communication from the Com-
mission to the European Parliament, the Council, The European 
Economic And Social Committee and the Committee of the Re-
gions: an EU Agenda for the Rights of the Child. (COM(2011) 60 
final).

European  Commission  (2012),  ‘European  Union  Strategy  to-
wards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings 2012-2016’.

European Commission (2013), The EU rights of victims of traffick-
ing  in  human  beings,  Luxembourg,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European Union. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-traffick-
ing/sites/antitrafficking/files/eu_rights_of_victims_of_traffick-
ing_en_1.pdf

European Commission (2015a), European Union Gender Action 
Plan  2  (GAP  II)  Gender  Equality  and Women’s  Empowerment: 
Transforming the Lives of Girls and Women through EU External 
Relationships 2016-2020.

European Commission (2015b), Strategic engagement for gender 
equality 2016-2019, European Commission Directorate-General 
for Justice and Consumers.

European Commission (2015c), Study on high-risk groups for traf-
ficking in human beings: Final report,  Publications  Office  of  the 
European  Union,  Luxembourg.  Available  at:  https://ec.europa.
eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/files/study_on_chil-
dren_as_high_risk_groups_of_trafficking_in_human_be-
ings_0.pdf

European Commission (2016a), Commission Staff Working Doc-
ument  (SWD  (2016)  159  final),  accompanying  the  document 
Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and 
the Council, on the progress made in the fight against traffick-
ing in human beings (2016) as required under Article 20 of Di-
rective 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in 
human beings and protecting its victims {COM(2016) 267 final}.

European Commission (2016b), Report from the Commission to 
the European Parliament and the Council assessing the extent 
to which Member States have taken the necessary measures in 
order to comply with Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and 
combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its vic-
tims in accordance with Article 23(1).

European  Commission  (2016c),  Report  from  the  Commission 
to  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  progress 
made in the fight against trafficking in human beings (2016) as 
required under Article 20 of Directive 2011/36/EU on prevent-
ing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting 
its victims.

European  Commission  (2016d),  Report  from  the  Commission 
to the European Parliament and the Council assessing the im-
pact of existing national law, establishing as a criminal offence 
the use of services which are the objects of exploitation of traf-
ficking in human beings, on the prevention of trafficking in hu-
man  beings,  in  accordance  with  Article  23(2)  of  the  Directive 
2011/36/EU.

74

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

European  Commission  (2016e),  Study  on  comprehensive  policy 
review of anti-trafficking projects funded by the European Commis-
sion, Luxembourg.

European Commission (2016f ), Study on the Gender Dimension 
of Trafficking in Human Beings, Luxembourg.

European  Commission  (2016g),  The  European  Union  action 
plan for the integration of third-country nationals adopted on 
7 June 2016.

European  Commission  (2017a),  Communication  by  the  Euro-
pean Commission of 12 April 2017 on the Protection of Children 
in Migration (COM(2017)211).

European Commission (2017b), Communication from the Com-
mission to the European Parliament and the Council, reporting 
on the follow-up to the EU strategy towards the eradication of 
trafficking in human beings and identifying further concrete ac-
tions (COM/2017/0728 final).

European Commission (2017c), The 2017 Report on equality be-
tween men and women in the EU, European Union.

European Commission (2018a), Joint Statement of commitment 
to  working  together  against  trafficking  in  human  beings.  Availa-
ble at: https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitrafficking/
files/eu_agencies_joint_statement_of_commitment_to_work-
ing_together_to_address_thb_.pdf

European Commission (2018b), Press release, European Agenda 
on Migration: Still fragile situation gives no cause for compla-
cency (Brussels, 16 May 2018).

European  Institute  for  Crime  Prevention  and  Control  affiliated 
with the United Nations (2016), Exploitative sham marriages: ex-
ploring the links between human trafficking and sham marriages in 
Estonia, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovakia, Helsinki.

European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) (2016), An analysis 
of the Victims’ Rights Directive from a gender perspective, Europe-
an Press: Luxembourg.

European  Institute  for  Gender  Equality  (EIGE)  (2017),  Gender 
Equality  Index  2017:  Measurement  framework  of  violence 
against  women.  Accessible  at  this  link:  http://eige.europa.eu/
lt/rdc/eige-publications/gender-equality-index-2017-measure-
ment-framework-of-violence-against-women

European  Parliament  (2016a),  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  from 
a gender perspective: Directive 2011/36/EU,  European  Parliament 
Assessment report, Parliamentary Research Service: Brussels.

European Parliament (2016b), Report on the situation of women 
refugees and asylum seekers in the EU,  rapporteur  Mary  Honey-
ball MEP, EP Committee of Women’s Rights and Gender Equality: 
Brussels.

European  Parliament  (2016c),  The  gender  dimension  of  human 
trafficking. Briefing paper. European Parliamentary Research Ser-
vice.

EIGE 

10.  Bibliography

European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gen-
der Equality (2016a), Forced marriage from a gender perspective: 
study  for  the  Femm  Committee,  Policy  Department  Citizen’s 
Rights and Constitutional Affairs: Brussels.

European Parliament Committee on Women’s Rights and Gen-
der  Equality  (2016b),  Report on implementation of the Directive 
2011/36/EU of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating traffick-
ing in human beings and protecting its victims from a gender per-
spective (2015/2118(INI)).

European Parliament resolution of 12 May 2016 on implemen-
tation of the Directive 2011/36/EU of 5 April 2011 on preventing 
and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its 
victims from a gender perspective (2015/2118(INI)).

European Parliament Report on sexual exploitation and prosti-
tution and its impact on gender equality (2013/2103(INI)), of 26 
February 2014.

Eurostat  (2013),  Eurostat  methodologies  and  working  papers: 
trafficking  in  human  beings,  Luxembourg:  Publications  Office 
of  the  European  Union.  Available  at:  http://ec.europa.eu/eu-
rostat/documents/3888793/5856833/KS-RA-13-005-EN.PDF/
a6ba08bb-c80d-47d9-a043-ce538f71fa65?version=1.0

Eurostat (2015), Trafficking in human beings, Eurostat Statistical 
Working Papers, Luxembourg.

Focus on Labour Exploitation (2016), Access to compensation for 
victims of human trafficking, United Kingdom.

Franklin, A. and Doyle, L. (2013), Still at risk: a review of support 
for  trafficked  children, The  Refugee  Council  and The  Children‘s 
Society.  Available  at:  https://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/as-
sets/0002/9408/Still_at_Risk-Report-final.pdf

Guardian (2 September 2017), The juju curse that binds trafficked 
Nigerian women into sex slavery, United Kingdom.

European Parliament resolution of 5 April 2011 on priorities and 
outline of a new EU policy framework to fight violence against 
women (2010/2209(INI)).

Herman,  J.  (1992), ‘Complex  PTSD:  a  syndrome  in  survivors  of 
prolonged and repeated trauma’, Journal of Traumatic Stress, Vol-
ume 5, No 3, 1992, ISTSS: USA, Illinois.

European Parliament resolution of 12 September 2013 on the 
situation of unaccompanied minors in the EU (2012/2263 (INI)).

European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2014),  Ad-
dressing forced marriage in the EU: legal provisions and promising 
practices, Vienna.

European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2015a), 
Child-friendly justice: Perspectives and experiences of professionals 
on children’s participation in civil and criminal judicial proceedings 
in 10 EU Member States. Luxembourg, Publications Office of the 
European Union.

European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2015b), 
Guardianship  systems  for  children  deprived  of  parental  care 
in the European Union With a particular focus on their role in re-
sponding to child trafficking, Vienna.

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2016), Funda-
mental Rights Report 2016, Vienna.

European  Union  Agency  for  Fundamental  Rights  (2017), 
Child-friendly justice — Perspectives and experiences of children in-
volved in judicial proceedings as victims, witnesses or parties in nine 
EU Member States, Vienna.

European  Union  External  Action  (2016),  Revised  European 
Guidelines on the promotion and protection of the rights of the 
child.

Europol (2016), Situation report: trafficking in human beings in 
the  EU.  Available  at:  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/
antitrafficking/files/situational_report_trafficking_in_human_
beings-_europol.pdf

Immigrant  Council  of  Ireland  (2014),  Submission  on  the  ac-
commodation  needs  of  adult  victims  of  sex  trafficking  in  Ireland, 
Dublin.  Available  at:  http://immigrantcouncil.ie/files/publica-
tions/21d36-proposal-for-housing-of-adult-victims-of-sextraf-
ficking.pdf

Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Persons 
(2016), Providing effective remedies for victims of trafficking in per-
sons, New York.

International  Commission  of  Jurists  (2016),  Women’s  access  to 
justice for gender-based violence: a Practitioners Guide, Geneva.

International Organisation on Migration (2017), United Nations 
Migration Agency issues report on arrivals of sexually exploited mi-
grants, chiefly from Nigeria  (21  July  2017).  Available  at:  https://
www.iom.int/news/un-migration-agency-issues-report-arriv-
als-sexually-exploited-migrants-chiefly-nigeria

Kainulainen (2017), Raiskaus — myyttejä ja todellisuutta [Rape — 
Myths and realities] in ‘Sukupuolistunut väkivalta: Oikeudellinen 
ja sosiaalinen ongelma’ [Gender-based violence: legal and social 
problem], Vastapaino.

Kaittila,  A.  (2017),  Parisuhdeväkivaltaa  kokeneet  naiset  avun 
hakijoina,  motivaatio  ja  esteet  [Victims  of  domestic  violence  in 
assistance  system,  motivation  and  barriers]  in  ‘Sukupuolistunut 
väkivalta: Oikeudellinen ja sosiaalinen ongelma’ [Gender-based 
violence: legal and social problem], Vastapaino.

Kelly,  L.  (2003) ‘The  wrong  debate:  reflections  on  why  force  is 
not the key issue with respect to trafficking in women for sexual 
exploitation’, Feminist Review, No 73, pp. 139-144.

Kingshoott, B. and Jones, T. (2016), Human trafficking: a feminist 
perspective response, Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 2016 
Annual Meeting (conference paper), pp. 8-9.

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

75

10.  Bibliography 

EIGE

Larasi M., Roy S. and Tweedale, R. (2014), ‘This is not my destiny’: 
reflecting on responses to forced marriage in England and Wales, 
IMKAAN  and  Rights  of Women,  HM  Government  Forced  Mar-
riage Unit, London.

Liévana, G. and Waisman, V. (2017), ‘Lost in translation’: assess-
ment of the (non)-implementation of the Trafficking Directive 
from  a  gender  perspective  in  Spain’,  Journal  of  Human  Rights 
Practice, Volume 9, Issue 3, 1 November 2017, pp. 504-525. Avail-
able at: https://doi.org/10.1093/jhuman/hux034

Lovett,  J.  and  Kelly,  L.  (2009),  ‘Different  systems,  similar  out-
comes? Tracking attrition in reported rape cases across Europe’, 
London Metropolitan University. Available at: http://kunskaps-
banken.nck.uu.se/nckkb/nck/publik/fil/visa/197/different

Lutenbacher,  M.,  Cohen,  A.  and  Mitzel,  J.  (2003), ‘Do  we  really 
help? Perspectives of abused women’, Public Health Nursing, Jan-
Feb, 20(1), pp. 56-64.

Mair L. and Warren C. (2012), Human trafficking and the law: se-
cure housing.  Available  at:  www.airecentre.org/data/files/Com-
ic_Relief_Materials/Dec_2012/16._Housing.pdf

Menaker, T. and Cramer R. (2012), ‘The victims as witness: strat-
egies for increasing credibility among rape victim witnesses in 
court’, Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, 12(5), pp. 424-438.

Petersen, R., Moracco, K., Goldstein, K. and Clark, K. (2005), ‘Mov-
ing  beyond  disclosure:  women’s  perspectives  on  barriers  and 
motivators to seeking assistance for intimate partner violence’, 
Women  and  Health,  40  (3),  pp.  63-76.  Available  at:  https://doi.
org/10.1300/J013v40n03_05

Public  Health  Nursing  20(1),  pp.  56-64.  Available  at:  https://
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12492826

Refugee Women’s Legal Group (1996), Gender Guidelines for the 
determination of asylum claims in the UK, London.

Setter,  C.  (2014),  FAQs  on  child  trafficking,  United  Kingdom: 
ECPAT,  Available  at:  http://www.mscb.org.uk/pdf/ecpat_faqs_
on_child_trafficking_2014.pdf

Shah, S., Balderston, S. and Woodin, S. (2015), Access to Support 
Services  and  Protection  for  Disabled  Women  Who  Have  Experi-
enced Violence. Results and Recommendations for Service Providers 
and Policy Makers. Ludwig Boltzmann Institut: Vienna

The Inter-Agency Coordination Group against Trafficking in Per-
sons  (2017),  The  Gender  Dimensions  of  Human  Trafficking:  Issue 
Brief #4. Available at: http://icat.network/sites/default/files/pub-
lications/documents/ICAT-IB-04-V.1.pdf

Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  (Consolidated 
version 2002)

Mishra, V., (2013), Human trafficking: the stakeholders’ perspective, 
New Delhi: Sage publications India Pvt Ltd.

United Nations (1948), Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
(1951), Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
(1967), Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

OHCHR,  UNHCR,  Unicef,  UNODC,  UN  Women  and  ILO  (2011), 
Joint UN Commentary on the EU Directive: a human rights-based 
approach.  Available  at:  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/
sites/antitrafficking/files/un_commentary_eu_trafficking_di-
rective_2011_1.pdf

Ombudsman  for  Minorities  (2014),  ‘National  rapporteur  on 
trafficking  in  human  beings  (Report  2014)’,  Publication  16. 
Available  at:  https://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/sites/antitraf-
ficking/files/national_rapporteur_on_trafficking_in_human_
beings_-_report_2014.pdf

Organization  for  Security  and  Cooperation  in  Europe  (2004), 
Ministerial  Council,  Sofia  2004.  Available  at:  https://www.osce.
org/mc/23295?download=true

Orme, J. and Ross-Sheriff, F. (2015), ‘Sex trafficking: policies, pro-
grams, and services’, Social Work, 60(4), pp. 287-294, https://doi.
org/10.1093/sw/swv031

Pearce, J.J., Hynes, H. and Bovarnick, S. (2009), Breaking the wall 
of silence: Practitioners’ responses to trafficked children and young 
people, University of Bedfordshire and NSPCC, London.

United Nations (1949), United Nations Convention for the Sup-
pression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the 
Prostitution of Others, Approved by General Assembly resolu-
tion 317 (IV) of 2 December 1949

United Nations (1979), Convention on the Elimination of all Forms 
of Discrimination against Women [CEDAW].

United  Nations  (1992),  Committee  on  the  Elimination  of  Dis-
crimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 19 
on Violence against women

United  Nations  (1995),  Beijing  Declaration  and  Platform  for  Ac-
tion. Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing

United  Nations  (2000a),  United  Nations  Protocol  to  Prevent, 
Suppress  and  Punish Trafficking  in  Persons,  Especially Women 
and  Children,  Supplementing  the  United  Nations  Convention 
against Transnational Organised Crime.

United  Nations  (2000b),  United  Nations  Convention  against 
Transnational Organized Crime, Adopted by the UN General As-
sembly on 15 November 2000, by resolution 55/25.

United Nations (2009), Anti-human trafficking manual for crim-
inal  justice  practitioners,  Module  8:  Interviewing  victims  of  traf-
ficking  in  persons  who  are  potential  witnesses.  United  Nations: 
New  York.  Available  at:  https://www.unodc.org/documents/
human-trafficking/TIP_module8_Ebook.pdf

76

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

EIGE 

10.  Bibliography

United Nations (2014a), Committee on the Elimination of Dis-
crimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 21 
on Equality in Marriage and Family Relations.

United  Nations  Office  on  Drugs  and  Crime  (2008),  Toolkit  to 
combat  trafficking  in  persons.  Available  at:  https://www.unodc.
org/documents/human-trafficking/HT_Toolkit08_English.pdf

United Nations (2014b), Committee on the Elimination of Dis-
crimination against Women, General Recommendation No. 32 
on the gender-related dimensions of refugee status, asylum, na-
tionality and statelessness of women

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2009), Anti-human 
trafficking  manual  for  criminal  justice  practitioners,  Module  8. 
Available  at:  https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-traf-
ficking/TIP_module8_Ebook.pdf

United Nations (2015), Resolution adopted by the General As-
sembly on 25 September 2015, 70/1. Transforming our world: 
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2010), The Globali-
zation  of  Crime:  A  Transnational  Organized  Crime  Threat  Assess-
ment, Chapter 2: Trafficking in Persons, 2010 .

United Nations (2017a), Committee on the Elimination of Dis-
crimination against Women, General Recommendation No 35 
on  gender-based  violence  against  women,  updating  General 
Recommendation No 19.

United Nations (2017b), The girl child — Report of the Secre-
tary-General (A/62/297) Directive 2004/38/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004, on the right of 
citizens  of  the  Union  and  their  family  members  to  move  and 
reside freely within the territory of the Member States.

United  Nations  Data,  (2017)  —  data  access  system  to  United 
Nations databases. Available at: http://data.un.org/Default.aspx

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 
(1956), Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, 
the  Slave Trade,  and  Institutions  and  Practices  Similar  to  Slav-
ery,  Adopted  by  a  Conference  of  Plenipotentiaries  convened 
by Economic and Social Council Resolution 608(XXI) of 30 April 
1956 and done at Geneva on 7 September 1956 Entry into force: 
30 April 1957, in accordance with Article 13.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 
(1962), Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for 
Marriage  and  Registration  of  Marriages.  Opened  for  signature 
and ratification by General Assembly resolution 1763 A (XVII) of 
7 November 1962 Entry into force: 9 December 1964, in accord-
ance with Article 6.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commission-
er (1989), Convention on the Rights of the Child, Adopted and 
opened for signature, ratification and accession by General As-
sembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989 entry into force 
2 September 1990, in accordance with Article 49.

United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner 
(2000), Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child por-
nography  Adopted  and  opened  for  signature,  ratification  and 
accession by General Assembly resolution A/RES/54/263 of 25 
May 2000 entered into force on 18 January 2002.

United  Nations  Office  on  Drug  and  Crimes  (2006),  Travaux 
préparatoires  of  the  negotiations  for  the  elaboration  of  the 
United  Nations  Convention  against  Organized  Crime  and  the 
Protocols thereto, New York.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2013), ‘Abuse of a po-
sition of vulnerability and other “means” within the definition of 
trafficking in persons’, Issue Paper. Available at https://www.un-
odc.org/documents/human-trafficking/2012/UNODC_2012_Is-
sue_Paper_-_Abuse_of_a_Position_of_Vulnerability.pdf

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2016a), Global Re-
port on Trafficking in Persons, Vienna. Available at: https://www.
unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2016_Glob-
al_Report_on_Trafficking_in_Persons.pdf

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2016b), ‘Providing 
effective remedies for victims of trafficking in persons’: Issue Pa-
per,  United  Nations  Inter-Agency  Coordination  Group  against 
Trafficking in Persons: New York.

Willis,  B.,  Welch,  K.  and  Onda,  S.  (2016), ‘Health  of  female  sex 
workers  and  their  children:  a  call  for  action’,  The  Lancet  Glob-
al  Health  Volume  4,  No  7,  pp.  438-439,  July  2016.  https://doi.
org/10.1016/S2214-109X(16)30071-7

Women’s Link Worldwide (2018), ‘Mothers in human trafficking 
networks: robbed of their rights, investigations: human traffick-
ing’ (Report No 8). Available at: http://www.womenslinkworld-
wide.org/en/files/3028/mothers-in-the-trafficking-networks.
pdf

World  Health  Organisation  (2002),  World  Report  on  Violence 
and Health, Chapter 6: Sexual Violence, Geneva

World  Health  Organisation  (2003),  Ethical  and  Safety  Recom-
mendations for Interviewing Trafficked Women, Geneva

Zimmerman,  C.  et  al.  (2008) ‘The  health  of  trafficked  women: 
a survey of women entering post trafficking services in Europe’, 
American Journal of Public Health, 98(1), pp. 55-59.

Zimmerman, C., Hossain, M. and Watts, C. (2011), ‘Human traf-
ficking  and  health:  A  conceptual  model  to  inform  policy,  in-
tervention  and  research’,  Social  Science  and  Medicine  73(2), 
pp.  327-335.  Available  at:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pu-
bmed/21723653

Zimmerman, Y.  (2005), ‘Situating  the  ninety-nine:  A  critique  of 
the  trafficking  victims  protection  act’,  Journal  of  Religion  and 
Abuse,  7(3),  pp.  37-56.  Available  at:  https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/299506222_HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_A_FEMI-
NIST_PERSPECTIVE_RESPONSE

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions  

77

EIGE

10.  Bibliography 

Case law

Prosecutor v. Brima, Case No. SCSL-2004-16-A,  
Special Court for Sierra Leone 2008.

Case No B 1689-12, Court of Appeal for Western Sweden 2012.

Rantsev v Cyprus and Russia, No 25965/04, ECHR 2010. 

M. and Others v Italy and Bulgaria, No 40020/03, ECHR 2012. 
Z.Z.Z. v The Netherlands, Communication No 15/2007  
(CEDAW/C/42/D/15/2007).

NIQB 15, The High Court of Justice in Northern Ireland 2014.

J. and others v Austria (application No 58216/12), ECHR 2017.

A.S. v Hungary, Communication No 4/2004,  
CEDAW/C/36/D/4/2004.

R. v O., EWCA Crim 2835, 2008.

78

Gender-specific measures in anti-trafficking actions 

Getting in touch with the EU

In person
All over the European Union there are hundreds of Europe Direct information centres. You can find the address of the centre 
nearest you at: http://europa.eu/contact

On the phone or by email
Europe Direct is a service that answers your questions about the European Union. You can contact this service:
– by freephone: 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (certain operators may charge for these calls), 
– at the following standard number: +32 22999696 or 
– by email via: http://europa.eu/contact

Finding information about the EU

Online
Information about the European Union in all the official languages of the EU is available on the Europa website at:  
http://europa.eu  

EU publications
You can download or order free and priced EU publications from EU Bookshop at: http://publications.europa.eu/eubookshop. 
Multiple copies of free publications may be obtained by contacting Europe Direct or your local information centre  
(see http://europa.eu/contact).

EU law and related documents
For access to legal information from the EU, including all EU law since 1951 in all the official language versions, go to EUR-Lex at: 
http://eur-lex.europa.eu

Open data from the EU
The EU Open Data Portal (http://data.europa.eu/euodp) provides access to datasets from the EU. Data can be downloaded and 
reused for free, both for commercial and non-commercial purposes.

European Institute 
for Gender Equality

http://eige.europa.eu