Human trafficking – introduction

The prohibition of slavery is a fundamental principle of international law, applicable to all countries across the globe. Slavery – when one person is treated as the property of another – is illegal everywhere in the world, yet many people worldwide are subjected to conditions that effectively amount to slavery.

In Germany and Europe, many people live and work in situations of extreme dependency and exploitation, sometimes resulting in conditions akin to slavery. Victims of human trafficking are not only forced into prostitution, but are also subjected to economic exploitation in other branches of industry, such as the hospitality sector, domestic work and home care, the construction trade or the agricultural sector. (Please go to Legal framework for further information.)

There are multiple causes for human trafficking, such as economic inequality between countries worldwide, poverty and lack of prospects in the native countries of trafficked persons, demand for cheap labour and cheap products in Europe, gender-specific violence, discrimination of migrants and restrictive migration policies.

Many, but not all victims of human trafficking are migrants, who often have an uncertain residence status or no rights of residence. Although the majority of trafficked persons in industrial countries are women, men and children are also subjected to conditions that effectively amount to slavery.

Perpetrators' strategies

Perpetrators entice migrants with prospects of earning income in Western European countries, which then fail to materialise. Trafficked persons often incur "debt" during the migration process itself as a result of costs for travel and food or the costs involved in obtaining visas and passports. In Germany, they are often forced to pay inflated prices for food and accommodation. These strategies, sometimes implemented over a period of many years, lead to the financial dependency of trafficked persons on the traffickers. They are only paid a fraction of the money they have earned and are not free to determine their working hours, workplace or occupation or – in the case of prostitution – their customers or sexual practices. The fictitious prospect of improved working conditions and opportunities to earn money keeps them trapped in this situation. Any attempt to take a stand is met with threats of psychological and physical violence against themselves or their families. Trafficked persons' access to assistance and the courts in the destination country is hindered by insufficient language skills and lack of knowledge or targeted misinformation on the part of traffickers about their rights.

The rights of victims of human trafficking are rarely acknowledged

Victims of human trafficking in Europe find themselves caught between the potentially conflicting priorities of crime prevention, migration policies and human rights. Public and political awareness of the problem has grown considerably over the last decade. It is now widely acknowledged that human trafficking is not only a serious crime but also a human rights violation. In spite of this, there has been insufficient progress in the development of victims' rights in Germany. The formulation of victims' rights primarily focuses on their status as witnesses in criminal proceedings against perpetrators. Many areas lack sufficient awareness of the victim as a legal subject and require greater legal clarity and legal certainty. There is a particular deficit with regard to asserting victims' rights to remuneration and compensation for violations. Very few victims of human trafficking are currently able to assert these claims. When they are successful in doing so, the compensation and wage they receive often falls short of what they are entitled to.

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