COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION Accompanying the document Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims
Date: 2022-12-19
Institutions: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs, European Commission
Subjects: criminal law, criminal proceedings, fight against crime, help for victims, human rights, organised crime, penalty, trafficking in human beings

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  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 19.12.2022  SWD(2022) 428 final  COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT  EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE EVALUATION  Accompanying the document Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims {COM(2022) 732 final} - {SEC(2022) 445 final} - {SWD(2022) 425 final} - {SWD(2022) 426 final} - {SWD(2022) 427 final}  
 
 
1. Introduction 

Trafficking in human beings is a particularly serious crime and grave violation of fundamental 
rights,  prohibited  by  the  Charter  of  Fundamental  Rights  of  the  European  Union.  The  Anti-
Trafficking  Directive1  has  been  the  backbone  of  the  EU’s  efforts  in  combatting  human 
trafficking since 20112. In the EU Security Union Strategy3 the Commission pointed out the 
high involvement of organised crime in trafficking in human beings and the huge human costs 
caused  by  this  crime.  In  the  EU  Strategy  on  combatting  trafficking  in  human  beings  2021- 
2025  adopted  on  14  April  20214  the  Commission  acknowledged  that  the  Directive  may  no 
longer be fit for purpose. As a consequence, the Strategy set out as a key action to evaluate 
the implementation of the Anti-trafficking Directive and, if necessary, based on the outcome 
of this evaluation, propose revising it. 

The evaluation  is  based  on extensive desk research, including the Commission’s two-yearly 
reports  on  the  progress  made  in  the  fight  against  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  EU-wide 
data  collections,  and  extensive  stakeholders  consultations,  notably  with  the  Member  States, 
the EU  Agencies and civil society  organisations, amongst  others.  The evaluation  covers the 
period  between  the  date  of  transposition  on  6  April  2013  and  the  end  of  the  public 
consultation on 22 March 2022. 

2. Evolution of the problem during the evaluation period 

The  data  collected  by  EUROSTAT  shows  that  55  314  victims  of  trafficking  in  human 
beings  were  registered  during  the  reporting  period  of  2013-2020.  However,  the  actual 
number of victims of trafficking within the EU is likely much higher, as the data only includes 
victims  identified  by  registering  entities.  Sexual  exploitation  has  constantly  been  the  most 
prevalent  purpose  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  across  the  reporting  period,  with  victims 
being  overwhelmingly  women  and  girls  (93%).  Labour  exploitation  increased  over  the 
time, and has consistently been the second main form of exploitation, accounting for 20% of 
all registrations. Child victims also increased and constituted around one fifth (21%) of all 
registered  victims  in  the  EU.  Women  and  girls  represented  three  quarters  (75%)  of 
trafficking victims. 

Over  half  (56%)  of  registered  victims  were  EU  citizens  and  44%  were  non-EU  citizens. 
36% of all registered victims were citizens of the country in which they were registered.  

The  level  of  prosecutions  and  convictions  has  remained  consistently  low,  especially  in 
comparison with the number of victims, which may contribute to a  culture of impunity for 
traffickers.  During  the  reporting  period,  the  number  of  recorded  suspects  for  an  offence  of 
trafficking in  human beings was  40 028, the number of  prosecuted  individuals  was  21 824 
and the number of convicted individuals was 11 319. 

Trafficking in human beings continues to be a low risk, high profit crime, which generates an 

1  Directive  2011/36/EU  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  5 April  2011  on  preventing  and 
combating  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  protecting  its  victims,  and  replacing  Council  Framework  Decision 
2002/629/JHA, OJ L 101, 15.4.2011, p. 1–11. 
2 The Directive entered into force on 5 April 2011 and the deadline for Member States to transpose it was 6 April 
2013. 
3  Communication  from  the  Commission  to  the  European  Parliament,  the  European  council,  the  Council,  the 
European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  on  the  EU  Security  Union 
Strategy (COM/2020/605 final). Available at: link 
4 EU Strategy on Combatting Trafficking in Human Beings 2021-2025, COM(2021) 171 final. 

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estimated  amount  of  EUR  29.4  billion5  per  year.  The  annual  revenues  produced  for 
trafficking for sexual exploitation are estimated at around EUR 14 billion6.  

Since  the  adoption  of  the  Directive,  several  major  developments  have  affected  the  socio-
economic  situation,  with  significant  implications  on  the  trafficking  in  human  beings 
landscape.  

Technological developments and the expansion of social media created new opportunities 
for traffickers, allowing them to recruit victims online and to reach a much broader audience 
via online streaming and widespread sharing of exploitative materials7. Trafficking in human 
beings, particularly for the purpose of labour and sexual exploitation, is likely to increase, as 
the  economic  downturn  in  the  wake  of  the  COVID-19  pandemic  could  increase  demand 
for cheap labour and sexual services8. The war in Ukraine further increased opportunities for 
traffickers  to  exploit  the  vulnerable  situation  of  people,  especially  women  and  children, 
fleeing the military aggression9.  

According  to  Europol,  trafficking  in  human  beings  is  a  central  activity  for  organised  crime 
groups operating in the EU and the demand for sexual and labour exploitation will continue to 
persist10. 

3. Key findings of the evaluation 

3.1. Effectiveness 

The  Directive  has  been  overall  effective  in  contributing  to  the  fight  against  trafficking  in 
human  beings.  It  created  a  common  ground  at  the  EU  level  to  address  the  crime  and 
contributed  to  a  higher  harmonisation  of  national  criminal  laws.  However,  there  are  still 
challenges  in  the  interpretation  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  offences  across  the  Member 
States, which affects the effectiveness of the Directive, including in the cross-border context, 
and  in  relation  to  some  forms  of  exploitation,  which  are  not  included  in  the  definition  of 
trafficking. 

A number of shortcomings were identified with respect to investigations and prosecutions for 
trafficking offences, notably when it comes to strengthening the capacity of law enforcement 
and judicial authorities  to carry out  financial investigations; to address  the challenges  posed 
by  the  increasing  digitalisation  of  trafficking;  to  seize  and  confiscate  instrumentalities  and 
proceeds from trafficking. More dissuasive actions against legal persons to prevent, detect and 
combat trafficking was also identified as a key area for improvement.  

The  evaluation  found  that  issues  related  to  assistance,  support  and  protection  of  victims 
mainly  stem  from  gaps  in  the  implementation  of  the  Directive  in  the  Member  States,  in 

5 Europol, The trafficking in human beings financial business model (2015). Available at: link.  
6  This  is  a  high-range  estimate,  taking  into  account  hidden  victims.  The  middle  range  estimate  is  at 
approximatively  EUR  7  billion.  European  Commission,  Directorate-General  for  Migration  and  Home  Affairs, 
Mapping the risk of serious and organised crime infiltrating legitimate businesses: final report, Disley, E.(editor), 
Blondes, E.(editor), Hulme, S.(editor), Publications Office, 2021, p. 10.  
7 Europol, The challenges of countering human trafficking in the digital era (2020). Available at: link.  
8 Europol, Beyond the pandemic – How Covid-19 will shape the serious and organized crime landscape  in the 
EU (2020). Available at: link.  
9  A  Common  Anti-Trafficking  Plan  to  address  the  risks  of  trafficking  in  human  beings  and  support  potential 
victims among those fleeing the war in Ukraine. Available at: link.  

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particular regarding: 

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the application of the principles of non-prosecution and non-punishment of victims;  
the protection of victims in criminal proceedings; 
the  provision  of  assistance  and  support  services  targeted  to  the  specific  needs  of 
particularly vulnerable victims, including children and vulnerable groups;  
access to compensation.  

The  Directive  contributed  to  the  establishment  of  mechanisms  aimed  at  the  early 
identification  and  referral  of  victims  to  assistance,  support  and  protection.  However,  some 
gaps persist when it comes to the functioning of these mechanisms and their coordination at 
the national  and  cross-border level,  which may  hinder victims’ identification and referral  to 
adequate services, which take into account their specific needs.  

The effectiveness of the Directive is also limited in relation to reducing the demand through 
legislation.  The  optional  provision  on  the  criminalisation  of  the  knowing  use  of  services 
exacted  from  victims  of  trafficking  has  not  been  transposed  by  all  Member  States  and 
approaches  among  the  Member  States  that  have  transposed  it  vary  greatly.  The  evaluation 
finds that it is often difficult  to  prove knowledge, although data does not  allow to  conclude 
that  removing  the  knowledge  requirement  results  in  higher  numbers  of  prosecution  and 
conviction. Stakeholders were divided on the question of whether this measure would be an 
effective measure to reduce demand. 

More generally, existing gaps in the data collection on trafficking in human beings limit the 
evaluation  of  the  effectiveness  of  the  Directive,  as  data  may  not  be  fully  reliable  and 
comparable.  The  threat  picture  and  the  quantitative  assessments  are  undermined  by  the 
difficulties  in  detection  and  the  low  number  of  reports  from  victims,  who  are  often 
emotionally or economically dependent on the trafficker. 

3.2. Efficiency 

The Directive was found to  be efficient,  which  means that the benefits  it  brought  offset  the 
costs that its adoption, transposition and implementation entail. The evaluation found that the 
costs related to the non-implementation of the Directive were considerable, as trafficking in 
human  beings  incurs  high  costs  to  the  economy  and  the  society,  linked  to  anti-trafficking 
activities,  the  provision  of  assistance,  support  and  protection  services,  as  well  as  the  lost 
economic output and lost  quality of life for  the victim. Despite the cost-effectiveness  of the 
Directive,  there  is  a  lack  of  adequate  funding  to  fight  trafficking  in  human  beings  at  the 
national  level,  which  affects  the  prevention,  investigation  and  prosecution  of  the  crime,  as 
well as the assistance and support to the victims.  

3.3. Coherence 

The Directive was found to be coherent with all relevant EU and international initiatives that 
were  considered  as  part  of  the  evaluation.  However,  there  is  room  to  further  improve 
consistency with Directive 2009/52/EC11 (Employers Sanction Directive).  

3.4. Added value 

11 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,  OJ  L  168, 
30.6.2009, p. 24–32. 

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The evaluation highlights the EU added value of the Directive to the fight against trafficking 
in human beings, which contributed to enhancing cross-border cooperation, including with the 
support  of  EU  Agencies.  The  Directive  also  contributed 
institutional 
developments  in  the  anti-trafficking  field  at  the  national  and  EU  level,  notably  with  the 
establishment of National Rapporteurs or Equivalent Mechanisms; introducing the function of 
the EU Anti-trafficking Coordinator; as well as the monitoring of the situation of trafficking 
in human beings through reporting and EU-wide data collection, despite the gaps mentioned 
above.  

to  fostering 

3.5. Relevance 

Finally, the evaluation found that the objectives of the Directive remain relevant, although  a 
number of developments in recent years needs to be further addressed. The use of technology 
for every phase of the trafficking offence is a major concern and growing threat. Stakeholders 
largely highlighted the need to address this aspect in the Directive and step up the capacity of 
relevant  stakeholders  to  combat  the  crime  online.  The  evaluation  also  underlined  that  the 
Directive  had  been  less  relevant  for  the  private  sector,  in  particular  for  employers  and  the 
technology companies.  

4. Conclusions 

The Directive constitutes a major milestone in the fight against trafficking in human beings. 
The evaluations showed that the general objectives of the Directive, namely to combat crime, 
organised or otherwise, in particular trafficking in persons and offences against children, by 
building a more coherent  framework for the fight  against trafficking  and  (2) to  increase the 
effectiveness  of  the  framework  are  met.    However,  the  evaluation  identified  a  number  of 
shortcomings  which  impede  the  full  attainment  of  its  potential,  in  particular  concerning, 
prevention,  prosecution,  assistance  of  victims  and  monitoring.  On  this  basis,  the 
deficiencies can either be addressed through improving the implementation of the Directive or 
reinforcing or updating certain legal aspects. 

The Directive has contributed to creating a common ground at the EU level, which defines the 
crime; establishes effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties; and introduces provisions 
to  prevent  it,  as  well  as  to  assist,  support  and  protect  the  victims.  The  Directive  takes  a 
gender-specific and victims’ centred approach, and includes specific measures for children. It 
also contributes to a higher level of coordination at the EU level and fosters the monitoring of 
the situation of trafficking in human beings.  

The evaluation largely confirms the challenges and areas of action that were identified in the 
EU  Strategy  on  Combatting  Trafficking  in  Human  Beings  (2021-2025).  Therefore,  the  key 
actions of the EU Strategy are highly relevant in order to improve the implementation in the 
Member States. 

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