4 December 2018

European Commission report on trafficking in human beings

On Tuesday 4 December, the Commission presented the second report on the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims. The report highlights the main trends in trafficking in human beings and outlines remaining challenges that the EU and Member states must address as a matter of priority. Commissioner for Migration, Home Affairs, and Citizenship, Dimitri Avramopoulos, said: “Thousands of human beings are still trafficked every year in the European Union (…) there is an imperative need to end the culture of impunity for perpetrators and abusers. It is time for law enforcement and justice authorities across member states”. Among other trends, the documents outline that “women and girls continue to be the most vulnerable to trafficking (68% of the registered victims) while children represent 23% of registered victims”. Trafficking for sexual exploitation remains the most widespread form, representing 56% of the activity, followed by trafficking for labour exploitation (26% of the activity). The Commission highlights a number of priority areas for Member States to focus on to effectively combat trafficking in human beings, such as, improve data collection, countering the culture of impunity, promoting a coordinated response, and ensuring victims’ access to justice.

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