Migration and Trafficking in Human Beings
July 2014
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Round Table Discussion on
Migration and Trafficking in Human Beings
Hosted by DCAF and IOM
Friday 11 April 2014
Geneva, Switzerland
Report by: Giji Gya and Daria Hagemann
Published by DCAF
The information and views presented in this report are those of the participants and do not
necessarily reflect the official opinion of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
or the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). Neither IOM nor
DCAF, nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use which may
be made of the information contained therein.
This report has been written by the DCAF team as a summary of what was discussed by
participants during the event.
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DCAF
DCAF – a centre for security, development and the rule-of-law - is an international foundation
established in 2000 on the initiative of the Swiss Confederation, as the 'Geneva Centre for the
Democratic Control of Armed Forces'. DCAF contributes to enhancing security sector
governance (SSG) through security sector reform (SSR). The Centre’s work to support
effective, efficient security sectors which are accountable to the state and its citizens is
underpinned by the acknowledgement that security, development and the rule of law are
essential preconditions for sustainable peace.
In line with its philosophy and work on democracy, security, governance and the rule-of-law,
DCAF engages in the fight against and prevention of trafficking in human beings (THB) and
to address asylum and irregular migration from a security sector governance and human rights
perspective since 2006. More specifically, under the Thematic Fund Security Swiss-Romanian
and Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Programmes, DCAF back-stops the Swiss Agency for
Development Cooperation to prevent THB and improve identification, assistance to and
protection of victims as well as to build the capacity of immigration authorities to deal with
irregular migration and refugees. DCAF also supports research on THB and works on
migration within DCAF’s operations on Border Police and on gender. DCAF is part of a an
interdisciplinary research consortium of nine partners, that in 2013 received funding from the
European Union for a 4 year research project on Addressing Demand in Anti-Trafficking
Efforts and Policies.
IOM
As the leading intergovernmental organisation in the field of migration, the International
Organisation for Migration (IOM) is increasingly called upon by its Member States to
examine and respond to complex migration situations, including mixed migration flows, to
ensure the protection, dignity and well-being of all migrants, taking into account different
needs and characteristics as well as specific categories of migrants.
IOM operates from the outset that trafficking in persons needs to be approached within the
overall context of managing migration. Its broad range of activities is implemented in
partnership with governmental institutions, NGOs and international organisations. The
approach is based on three principles that govern all of IOM‘s counter-trafficking activities:
• Respect for human rights;
• Physical, mental and social well-being of the individual and his or her community;
• Sustainability through institutional capacity-building of governments and civil society.
IOM conducts both quantitative and qualitative research as an essential information on source
to improve its - and others - fight against human trafficking. Specific areas of focus have
included human trafficking routes and trends, the causes and consequences of human
trafficking both for the individual trafficked person and for society as well as the structures,
motivations, and modi operandi of organized criminal groups.
Building on its individual commitment and global presence, IOM strengthens the capacities of
its partners in government and civil society and sets operations standards to achieve
sustainable results that will:
• Provide protection and empower trafficked women, men, girls and boys;
• Raise awareness and understanding of the issue, and;
• Bring justice to trafficked persons.
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Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 1
Part One The latest trends and developments related to migration and trafficking
in human beings ............................................................................................................................. 3
New Trends in Trafficking Around the World ....................................................................5
“Demand” for Forced Labour .............................................................................................7
The Human Rights-based approach to addressing trafficking in Persons .............................8
Part Two Forced begging and demand reduction as a strategy to tackle trafficking
in human beings ...........................................................................................................................13
Trafficking in Persons for Begging – Romania Study .......................................................15
Tackling the demand side of human trafficking.................................................................17
Summary discussion and particular points about Switzerland............................................18
In conclusion .........................................................................................................................................19
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AGENDA
Friday 11th of April 2014
IOM Headquarters, Geneva
17, Route des Morillons, CH-1211 Genève 19
BY INVITE ONLY
8:45
Opening remarks
Ambassador William Lacy Swing, Director General, IOM
Ambassador Theodor Winkler, Director, DCAF Geneva
Chair Giji Gya, Head Asylum, Migration and counter-THB Programme, DCAF
9:00
Michela Macchiavello, Assistance to Vulnerable Migrant Specialist, IOM Geneva
“New Trends in Trafficking around the world, with specific focus on European
countries” based on the Migrant Assistant Division Report 2012
9:20
Houtan Homayounpour, Senior Programme and Operations Officer, ILO
Geneva
“Demand for forced labour”
9:40
Youla Haddadin, Advisor on Trafficking in Persons, OHCHR Geneva
“Trafficking in Human Beings – a human rights perspective”
10:00 Q&A and discussion
10:45 Coffee break
11:00 Adrian Petrescu, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Victims Coordination
Unit, National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons, Romania
“Trafficking in Persons for Begging – Romania Study”
Q&A
11:20 Albert Kraler, Programme Manager, ICMPD Austria
“Tackling the demand side of human trafficking”
Q&A
11.40 Discussion on THB and demand with the participation of Laurent Knubel, KSMM
(Swiss Coordination Unit against THB) Fedpol Bern and Susanne Seytter, FIZ Zurich
(Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of Trafficking).
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Introduction
Migration and trafficking in human beings (THB), caused by economic crisis and conflict,
are on the rise worldwide and the related security and human rights aspects are high on
international and national agendas. Switzerland, as a destination country for migration, is
confronted with new challenges caused by the increasing influx of people to Europe and the
needs to ensure the protection of the rights of migrants, vulnerability of migrants and victims
of human trafficking, while at the same time dealing with ever tighter immigration laws. A
strong and well-coordinated response and collaboration between authorities, policy makers
and NGOs to effectively address crimes and human rights violations such as forced begging,
labour exploitation and THB, is needed.
DCAF and IOM co-hosted a round table discussion to bring together relevant local and
international organisations based in Geneva and greater Switzerland. Participating
organisations included DCAF, IOM, the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Office
of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) the “Fachstelle Frauenhandel and
Frauenmigration” (FIZ Advocacy and Support for Migrant Women and Victims of
Trafficking , Swiss Coordination Unit against Trafficking in Human Beings (KSMM),
Diplomatic Missions to the United Nations, local and international Non-Governmental
Organisations and academics. The objective of the event was to exchange experiences and
information on THB within the framework of our programme on migration and counter-THB
with a particular focus on demand-side of the problem as well as a discussion on forced
labour.
The half day event consisted of two sections, one on general presentations regarding the latest
trends and developments as related to Europe on migration, labour exploitation and THB. The
second section was to discuss more in detail the problem of (forced) begging (following the
study from the Prevention, Identification and Protection project in Romania, overseen by
DCAF ) and the aspect of demand reduction as a strategy to tackle THB, which is part of the
research project DemandAT funded by the EU.
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2
Part One
The latest trends and developments related to
migration and trafficking in human beings
3
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New Trends in Trafficking Around the World
During the past 5 years, IOM has continued to register an ever increasing total number of
victims assisted. Women continue to remain overrepresented among the assisted caseload,
making between 55 per cent and 58 per cent of all victims of trafficking in 2011 and 2013.
However, since 2011, IOM has also registered a steady increase in the percentage of victims
of trafficking for labour exploitation, the majority of who are men. The 2012 Migrant
Assistance Division (MAD) Annual Review noted that of the total assisted caseload, 45 per
cent were subjected to various forms of forced labour – including agriculture, construction,
and fishing. Comparatively speaking, ‘only’ 20 per cent were victims of sexual exploitation –
a 7 per cent proportional decline from 2011. Moreover, 2013 data shows that the total number
of victims of labour exploitation increased to as much as 65 per cent of the total assisted
caseload by IOM.
As reported in the 2012 MAD Annual Review, in 2012, IOM assisted more Ukrainian victims
of trafficking than any other nationality. This is consistent with previous years and this data
reflects the long-standing strength of IOM’s counter-trafficking efforts in the Ukraine, as well
as the remarkable results of governmental and non-governmental partnerships it has
developed throughout the country. After Ukrainian nationals, the following other nationalities
assisted by IOM are Indonesian, Haitian and Thai.
IOM’s current approach to the provision of protection and assistance to vulnerable migrants,
and specifically of victims of trafficking focuses principally on what migrants’ needs and
vulnerabilities are, to be able to provide them with comprehensive, ad hoc, assistance
packages, including rehabilitation support, aimed at their socio-economic reintegration
In efforts for coordination between agencies to fight THB, the Inter-Agency Coordination
Group against Trafficking in Persons (ICAT) with the participation of IOM, the ILO,
OHCHR, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and UNICEF, is about to publish a
research paper on demand for trafficking, with a focus on labour exploitation.
Next steps:
Stronger collaboration through capacity-building of local stakeholders: In order to
facilitate collaboration, there is a strong need for strengthening the capacity of national
stakeholders such as civil society organisations, NGOs, health and social work institutions
and governmental organisations, to better identify victims, ensure their protection and avoid
re-trafficking. This can be done through providing training and assistance, both financial and
through expert exchange.
Shift of perspective to encompass other forms of trafficking: There is a need to not only
focus on sexual exploitation but also understand other forms of trafficking and develop
capabilities to target and prevent trafficking for labour, petty crimes, removal of organs,
forced servitude, marriage, adoption and surrogacy.
Victim identification: There is a paradox in relation to victim identification. Sometimes, an
increased number of victims points to an amplification of the THB in a country. However, it
can also reflect an improvement of an identification system, or a mix of these casual factors.
This can be challenging in terms of policy making. It is important for the public to understand
the limits of statistical data when considering trafficking in persons, whether analysing
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victims, flow, causes or countries. For data collectors, data needs to be clear, have common
standards of measurement and interpretation and be easily understood.
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“Demand” for Forced Labour
More than 80 years from the date that the ILO Forced Labour Convention (No. 29) was
adopted, today, the ILO estimates that there are at least 21 million people in forced labour,
trafficked and held in situations akin to slavery. About 55 per cent of all victims are women
and girls, and almost half of all victims have moved from their places of origin inside or
across international borders.
How is it possible that in the 21st century, millions of men, women and children can still be
exploited in such cruel ways? And where does the “demand” for this come from? ‘Demand’
in economic terms is defined as the quantity of goods/services that buyers will take at a
particular price. Hence the correlation between price and demand. This correlation is
displayed in the fact that the lower the price, the more buyer interest. Demand is also affected
by factors such as the price of substitute goods and complementary goods, as well as the
legality of the good or service.
Historically, perhaps no other product was more entangled with the slave trade than sugar
from the West Indies. The boycott of “slave sugar” involved hundreds of thousands of people
all across the UK. And while the boycott itself did not bring down slavery, it certainly
strengthened the influence of the abolitionist movement over parliament until it finally
abolished the slave trade. In today’s global economy, however, it is rather difficult to trace a
product through complex value chains and to find reliable evidence that it was indeed
produced by forced labour. And while business is vulnerable to reputational damage, it can
also backfire if companies are accused of wrongs they have not committed. It may leave
workers in even greater destitution than before.
Despite the long history of slavery and trafficking, baseline data is very hard to find, making a
proper evaluation of the impact of actions and strategies to reduce/eliminate the problem
almost impossible. Thus, there is an urgent need for further data collection.
Possible measures to address demand could include: The criminal justice responses - raising
the stakes for exploiters; strengthening and enforcing labour standards and regulations; action
against forced labour within the migration process, including through better regulation of
private recruitment agencies and better protection of migrant workers; private sector
initiatives; consumer-based action; and addressing social norms conducive to forced labour.
An example of best practice to effectively tackle forced labour is demonstrated by the UK
initiative regarding gangmaster licensing, where the UK Gangmasters Licensing Authority
(GLA), regulates the supply of work force in certain labour-intensive industries (e.g.
agriculture, horticulture, forestry, fishing, food processing).
Next steps:
The role of States and businesses in the fight against forced labour: It is the role of
authorities to make sure that there are laws and policies in place to criminalize the demand for
forced labour and to protect its citizens. It is further recommended that the business sector as
well as individual citizens should be more actively engaged when discussing forced labour.
The question arose of who should take the lead, the government or the private sector, and the
general response was that the government’s role is essential in ensuring enforcement,
penalties and campaigns in prevention. There still remains a question of the efficacy of the
private sector to self-regulate with voluntary codes of conduct, without enforcement
infrastructure or penalties.
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The Human Rights-based approach to addressing trafficking in Persons
The human rights based approach places the victim at the centre of any effective and credible
action. It also extends the focus to the root causes of trafficking such as patterns of
discrimination, unjust distribution of power, and demand for goods and services derived from
exploitation.
At a practical level, a human rights approach requires us to carefully analyse what human
rights concerns emerge throughout the trafficking cycle and who is obligated to address them
under international human rights law.
The Recommended Principles on Human Rights and Human Trafficking are built around four
pillars:
1. The primacy of human rights - this overarching principle can translate into action
through placing the human rights of the trafficked persons at the centre of all efforts to
combat trafficking, and by realising that states have a responsibility under
international law to act with due diligence to preventing trafficking, as well as putting
in place anti-trafficking measures that do not adversely affect the human rights and
dignity of trafficked persons.
2. The second principle is aimed at preventing trafficking through developing strategies
to address the demand as a root cause of trafficking, and the factors that increase
vulnerability to trafficking, including inequality and all forms of discrimination as
well as poverty. Addressing the public sector involvement or complicity in trafficking
is crucial in the state’s responsibility to exercise due diligence.
3. The third pillar of the Principles is the protection and assistance extended to victims of
trafficking. This can be realised by refraining from detaining and prosecuting victims
of trafficking for their illegal entry or residence in countries of transit or destination, or
their engagement in unlawful acts as a consequence of being victims of trafficking;
ensuring that trafficked persons are protected from further exploitation; the provision
of legal, physical and physiological assistance, which by no mean shall be conditional
upon the willingness of victims to cooperate in the legal proceedings. Child victims of
trafficking shall be identified as such, therefore their best interests shall be considered
paramount.
4. The fourth pillar is criminalization, punishment of perpetrators and redress for victims,
which is fundamental to the due diligence obligation laid upon states. States have a
responsibility to adopt all measures necessary to criminalise trafficking, and to
effectively investigate, prosecute and adjudicate cases of trafficking, in addition to
ensuring the right to effective remedies for trafficked persons, which will indeed
enable and empower victims to gain back their lives.
The four principles are informed by a set of eleven Guidelines to assist in better understanding
the practical steps to be taken to enable the implementation of the principles. The guidelines
are elaborated to give clear examples of actions to be taken to inform the legal, institutional
and policy frameworks to be put in place to ensure that a rights-based approach is applied in
the fight against trafficking.
How have the Recommended Principles and Guidelines influenced policies to combat
trafficking at the international, regional and national levels? Many of the key positions taken
by the Principles and Guidelines became very popular and were adopted in the Global plan,
regional initiatives and at the national level in several countries. For example, non-conditional
provision of protection and support to victims; no detention and no prosecution for status
related offences - have now become widely accepted. The concept of a specialist criminal
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justice response to trafficking, a novel idea when introduced by the Principles and Guidelines
in 2002, has been adopted in over half of all UN Member States.
There is also growing recognition that the rights-based approach to trafficking advocated by
the Principles and Guidelines makes operational sense - victims who are protected and
supported are in a position to cooperate in the prosecution of their exploiters. Perhaps most
importantly, States and the international community have come to recognize the strong
connections between trafficking and violations of human rights, in particular those of
vulnerable groups such as women, children and migrant workers. Placing human rights in the
centre of our work against trafficking means seeing trafficking as a violation of human rights.
Next steps:
Fighting THB: Looking at the example of Geneva in Switzerland, there is a law in place to
prevent sexual exploitation which states that all sex workers need to register with the cantonal
authorities, which ensures their protection against possible trafficking networks. This law
does not apply to the exploitation of workers in the domestic sector and therefore the
authorities are concerned about insufficient protection of those workers. Most victims do not
dare to complain and in addition, the working and living conditions in domestic servitude may
be better than in their respective country of origin, hence diminishing the desire to escape
from the situation. The canton of Geneva has developed a website (www.ge.ch/traite-etreshumains), a free and confidential telephone number as well as an awareness brochure in nine
languages that caters to victims and witnesses. Specialized organisations further provide
advice to potential victims, for example, how to obtain a temporary residence permit when the
victim has no legal permit. There is also a possibility at the end of the process to either receive
a “humanitarian status” in Geneva/Switzerland or to receive assistance from the Red Cross to
return to the country of origin. There is also on-going collaboration by the Geneva Canton
with workers and employers’ unions, social workers and the NGO Coeur des Grottes.
To reduce the risk of trafficking for labour, the Geneva authorities educate businesses through
information via internal communications.
The importance of information and awareness raising campaigns: It is crucial to inform
potential victims about the dangers of trafficking as well as to inform actual victims about
where to seek help. Further, consumers need to be aware about the products they buy and
eventual links to trafficking. Thus, awareness raising campaigns should not only target
potential or actual victims but the general public as well.
Information campaigns should focus on reducing prejudices and stereotyping of victims (often
created by the media); to communicate that trafficking is a reality in the respective countries
and that there are other forms of forced labour apart from sexual exploitation. It also helps to
sophisticate the argument, by discussing the blurred line between THB and migration. It is
also very important to make sure that the campaign message is clear and appropriately
targeted to the audience. There is currently a study being undertaken that is analysing
campaigns targeting demand, for example, the campaign www.buyresponsibly.org. Fairfood
in the US is another campaign on awareness that targets all points of the supply chain. This
latter campaign, regarding the exploitation of agricultural workers, was instigated by workers
and assisted by pressure from consumers.
In addition to awareness raising of the population in general, it is also crucial to provide
information to and to sensitise organisations working with vulnerable groups - such as asylum
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centre staff, religious leaders/institutions and social services in hospitals – as well as
“frontline” stakeholders such as police and border guards.
The role of the public and consumers in preventing THB: The population has also an
important role to play in alerting authorities. A good practice is establishing a public phone
hotline to inform authorities about potential victims of trafficking, although challenges to such
initiatives may include differing territorial parameters and structures, such as the example of
Swiss cantons, which require different languages and phone numbers. There is also the
question of adequate financial and human resources to staff hotlines at all hours. Criticism of
hotlines include that they are just one element to address THB and should not be the sole
solution.
Another effective way to prevent trafficking is to use consumer pressure. Successful
initiatives include the adoption of a code of conduct to improve working conditions in the
tomato industry in California with an established helpline in cases of abuse. There still
remains the challenge of sensitisation of businesses to the phenomena of trafficking.
Partnerships: Enhancing cooperation across stakeholders – that is communication and
collaboration between authorities, NGOs and CSOs, greatly enhances assistance to victims, as
some actors can better provide services – e.g. NGOs providing the range of victim
assistance/shelters. Cooperation and collaboration can also increase shared knowledge on
vulnerability of potential victims and create wider engagement in prevention campaigns.
Challenges to put States’ commitments into practice: Most States commit to fighting THB
today. However, in practice, the problem is difficult to tackle. For example, victims might not
speak the language of the destination countries making it difficult for them to understand their
rights to protection. Or they simply distrust authorities due to negative personal experience.
Thus, the “cooperation” of victims of trafficking (VoT) with authorities, even if the lack of
cooperation is justified, can create challenges for prosecution of traffickers. This links back to
the previous point of cooperation with NGOs that work with VoTs, which can bridge this gap
of communication.
Others challenges for the security sector include an increasing sophistication of organised
criminals. Developments to tackle this challenge include the establishment of Joint
Investigation Teams (bilateral police cooperation), collaboration with Europol and Interpol
and the Council of Europe and agreement by Member States to cooperation in
extraterritoriality.
Regarding the breadth of THB, the discussion raised the point of police and labour
inspectorate cooperation and an example was given of KSMM in Switzerland collaborating to
help with training the labour inspectorate in Geneva.
Criminalization of employers of trafficked victims: Employers of trafficked victims, as
well as trafficking recruiters and facilitators involved in trafficking, need to be punished by
State laws in order to effectively reduce the demand for goods produced by or services
provided by trafficked persons.
A best practice example is the adoption of a law in the UK against holding someone in slavery
or servitude, or requiring forced or compulsory labour (The Coroners and Justice Act 2009,
Section 71). The law is designed to facilitate prosecution of those accused of labour
exploitation.
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Addressing demand: To address demand, there are examples in the United States of
programmes aimed at “rehabilitation” of clients of prostitutes, that is, to encourage them to
not seek prostitution services. During the anti-trafficking campaign before the Euro football
cup in 2008 in Switzerland, there were sensitisation programmes for potential clients of
victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Participants also mentioned that training
programmes should also target the police including specialists and general police officers, to
empower them with information and sensitivity in how to deal with a potential situation of
suspected trafficking or victim of trafficking.
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Part Two
Forced begging and demand reduction as a strategy to
tackle trafficking in human beings
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Trafficking in Persons for Begging – Romania Study1
The study was carried out between 2010 and 2011 under the Prevention, Identification and
Protection (PIP) project, implemented by the Romanian National Agency against Trafficking
in Persons (ANITP), funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and
overseen by DCAF. The methodology of the study consisted in interviewing police officers,
social workers, NGOs, and 8 victims of trafficking. 20 victims were approached but only 8
agreed to be interviewed. Research on perpetrators was done through desk research analysing
criminal investigation reports.
Available statistics concerning THB in Romania point out that there is an overall decrease of
identified victims of trafficking in Romania. The highest number of trafficking cases detected
is in sexual exploitation and cases of trafficking for begging have the lowest prevalence.
When the study commenced, begging was illegal in Romania, however, the penalties for
begging were low because the aim was to deter and not to further punish beggars. From
February 2014 the law in Romania was changed to decriminalise begging and prostitution.
The aim of the study on Trafficking in Persons for Begging was to better understand the
factors that contribute to and facilitate this particular phenomenon, determining the
characteristics of victims and the modus operandi of traffickers.
Results of the study show that victims of begging are often minors, persons with mental or
physical deficiencies, elderly persons or persons in economic difficulties. One example of
trafficking for begging concerned a family receiving social aid from the state. Members of the
family were recruited to beg and the traffickers also took the social aid money.
The study revealed that most VoTs for begging are male with an average age of 36. Many are
also disabled. Most child VoTs were Roma. Trafficking involves both criminal organised
groups and/or also networks of traffickers with little organisation. The ratio of men
investigated for external trafficking was significantly higher than that of women, unlike the
case of domestic trafficking where the ratio of women to men was equal. There are also links
with other criminal activities such as forced petty theft or sexual exploitation.
A well-functioning police identification system would help to detect chains of traffickers.
Beggars should be removed from the street and they need to be better informed about their
right to protection. Victims often do not know who to contact to receive help, especially in
destination countries. Not all child VoTs were able to identify themselves as victims.
Furthermore, receiving help is more difficult in countries where victims do not speak the
language.
Most victims escaped through family support, some through the help of strangers, the
authorities or health services.
The root cause of trafficking for begging is poverty. Often, victims are from marginalized and
poor communities, especially groups that have a tradition of begging.
1
The study – conducted under the ANITP « PIP » project, funded by the SDC Thematic Fund Security and
overseen by DCAF, is available in English and Romanian here : http://www.dcaf.ch/Project/STFS-2011-2016Swiss-Thematic-Fund-Security-Romania-and-Bulgaria/%28show%29/resources
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One major example of prosecution of THB, which involved THB for begging, was the joint
investigation into the Romanian Tăndărei-based networks. (This case consisted of 78 identified
members which operated between 2002 and 2006 in the UK in particular, but also in Spain,
France and Italy. Roma families emigrated to these countries to collect state benefits and to also
beg. Children were recruited to beg in exchange for a debt to the traffickers.) This case has
shown that one of the main challenges to punish traffickers of beggars is evidence and the
strength of laws to prosecute for trafficking, made even more difficult by the fact that
traffickers for begging often operate within small closed communities.
The time of exploitation of victims for begging is usually quite short, especially of people
with disabilities as they usually start complaining and traffickers do not want to be detected.
In terms of prevention, findings show that measures should focus on vulnerable groups, in
particular through providing education and labour integration.
Next steps:
Public awareness: More information should be provided to the public on how to deal with
begging on a daily basis. For example, alternatives to giving money to beggars could be
promoted, such as giving food or drinks. Further, practitioners dealing with problems related
to begging (such as the local police, social work organisations and NGOs) should exchange
more information on good practices and lessons learned to increase the detection of victims of
forced begging and make sure they receive the necessary assistance.
Child protection: It is important to note that the strict enforcement of laws against trafficking
may not automatically be in the best interest of the trafficked child victim. It is thus crucial
that law enforcement actions are complemented by effective child protection measures and
that a victim-centred approach is adopted by the judicial system.
Victims often do not view themselves as such and thus do not know of their right to
protection. This tendency is even stronger with child victims of trafficking who generally
know little of existing laws.
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Tackling the demand side of human trafficking
ICMPD is currently leading the EU-funded DemandAT project, with a consortium of 9
partners2, which investigates different approaches to addressing and reducing demand through
anti-trafficking efforts and policies. This includes investigating the concept of demand,
looking at the different types of THB, going beyond existing policy approaches and delivering
policy-relevant evidence. The research is funded by the European Commission as part of the
EU Strategy towards the Eradication of Trafficking in Human Beings (2012-2016) (Priority
B/Action 1: Understanding and Reducing Demand).
There is a decade-long debate on demand for trafficking but there has been little new evidence
produced to shed light on the mechanisms and impact of demand on the human trafficking
situation. Much of the debate on trafficking is still about sexual exploitation and there is much
controversy about the subject and significant differences in terms of recommended policies.
There is limited data on other forms of THB and therefore also limited attention given to
newer forms of trafficking (e.g. forced begging, petty theft, organ trafficking, baby selling,
etc.) by legislators and media.
Also important is the definition of THB. To what degree is exploitation considered
trafficking? Should THB be defined narrowly, or include lesser cases of exploitation and
violations of working conditions? There is a fine line between defining circumstances as
trafficking or as other forms of exploitation.
The concept of “demand” for trafficking also has variations in its definition. Should it only
include illicit goods or consumers of legal goods as well? What about the intermediaries? It is
important to address the meaning of demand in the anti-trafficking debate. It is different from
the market framework and the discussion of demand based on the logic of the desire of
purchasing the cheapest good.
The advantage of researching the demand-side of trafficking is that it analyzes not only
traffickers’ modus operandi, but also the responsibilities of other involved actors, in particular
clients and end-users.
Regarding awareness raising and prevention, there have been many awareness raising
campaigns on prevention but little research or evidence of effects and impact. It also appears
that there have been a lot fewer campaigns on addressing demand and virtually non-existent
analysis of impact or these campaigns. Thus, the what, why and how of demand needs to be
closely analysed.
The DemandAT research will provide recommendations to the EU and to member state
governments to enhance strategies towards prevention of THB.
2
DCAF, University of Bremen (DE), La Strada (NL and CZ), Lunds University (SE), University of Durham
(UK), Eureopan University Institute (IT). www.demandat.eu
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Summary discussion and particular points about Switzerland:
Defining demand: The participants then questioned how to take into account forms of
trafficking where demand is more difficult to define. For instance, forced begging is not easy
to clearly define and to detect.
One possible strategy is that there are links between counterfeit goods and THB. For example,
those goods may be produced by a trafficked work force. This is especially the case in Spain
and the UK and cases often involve Chinese nationals. However, these crimes are considered
a low priority. National authorities often simply apprehend the persons committing the crime
and put them in jail. Investigations on modus operandi of the criminals and/or their networks
involved in trafficking are rare, although there are often elements of organized crime present.
Demand does not only relate to trafficked goods and services. There is also a demand by
traffickers for petty theft, drug mules and other criminal services.
Helplines: Returning to the discussion whether there should be a national or even
international helplines on THB, it was suggested that a helpline at a national level is not
recommended in Switzerland due to language and procedural differences. Conditions and
needs vary widely across the different regions and between rural and urban areas. A helpline
is being piloted in Geneva and results are yet to be evaluated. In fact, this number is part of
other cooperation mechanisms of the State of Geneva against trafficking and its establishment
is linked to existing shelters for victims. If persons from another Swiss region would call, the
shelters in Geneva could not accommodate them all.
The attempts at an international helpline (e.g. the Crimestoppers hotline) would be
challenging.
NGOs emphasize the need to clearly define who the helpline targets. Sometimes victims
might not consider themselves as such and therefore not use a hotline and thus it is important
to identify vulnerable groups by other means. It was further pointed out that there should be a
direct link from a hotline to support services that are constantly available. This can be
challenging because some organisations providing direct assistance to victims are open only
during office hours due to lack of resources and victims might need to call during the
weekend in the case of emergencies. Stakeholders further point to the need of good
collaboration with the police and support services to facilitate case referrals.
Sex work in Switzerland: The legislation on prostitution in Switzerland is regulated at
cantonal level and it is difficult to receive a full picture of the situation. To gain a better
understanding of the scope and the different forms of prostitution in Switzerland, a study is
being carried out under the framework of the National Action Plan against THB, with the aim
to create an updated database on the situation. Furthermore, a parliamentary request was made
to the Swiss Federal Council for them to submit a report on the experiences of countries
prohibiting prostitution and criminalizing clients. The report is currently being issued and will
be published in the beginning of 2015.
To fully understand the market for sexual services, studies to understand the markets in
different cantons should be undertaken. There is a demand from the Federal parliament to
criminalize clients of prostitution and a related study is being carried out. Preliminary results
show that there is only limited evidence and that there is a risk to put clients under pressure
and force the provision of sexual services underground.
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Information on the exploitation of labour force in Geneva: There are no feasibility studies
on whether and how the exploitation of labour can be measured. Information campaigns must
allow for qualitative surveys focusing on sectors with an increased risk of exploitation, such
as agriculture, the food industry and construction. Also, opinion surveys will be undertaken to
measure the impact of campaigns. Once the results from those studies are available, a national
campaign is planned to take place in 2016 about the prevention of THB.
Impact of national policies: Generally, domestic policies can indirectly shape demand for
services/products provided by VoTs, and/or produce barriers to movement, thus inhibiting the
ability for traffickers to move people and thus need to be taken into account. NGOs point out
that it is particularly important to acknowledge the impact of strict immigration policies. In
Switzerland, restrictive immigration policies for example, strongly limit immigration from
non-EU countries. There is a possibility of providing legal residence permits to victims of
trafficking who are residing in Switzerland illegally (humanitarian visa), including for victims
of sexual exploitation.
Collaboration between police and labour inspectorates: In Switzerland, there exists no
collaboration between the Swiss federal police (Fedpol) and labour inspectorates but at
cantonal level there is. However, the legal framework for this is rather restrictive. In the
Cantons of Geneva and Bern, trainings have been organized for the labour inspectorates.
EU funding on THB: The EU generally targets a variety of countries and organisations but
funding eligibility depends on the specific call for proposals. The EU has a civil society
platform for THB which keeps members informed on on-going activities and funding within
the EU.
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In conclusion
The discussion shared important information amongst those based in Switzerland working
against trafficking, including pointing out instances of potential positive actions to combat
trafficking – with examples from around the world of campaigns, investigations or policies
which could be considered as good examples of countering THB.
The discussions also raised ideas and revealed debates where further research and analysis is
required – in particular the challenge of statistics, addressing demand, on educating about the
lesser known forms of trafficking, the needs of partnerships to improve victim protection and
assistance and sensitising not only the public to THB, but also sensitising - with training and
information exchange - those that come into contact with potential victims.
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For further information on future roundtables, contact g.gya@dcaf.ch
www.dcaf.ch