First EU Statistical Data Report on Trafficking in human beings

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1 The Seventh EU Anti-Trafficking Day, 18 October 2013 Exploring the Links between Trafficking in Human Beings and the Internet: Cyberspace for Prevention, not Recruitment Introduction In order to mark the Seventh EU Anti-Trafficking Day, the Lithuanian Presidency and European Commission are organising in Vilnius on 18th October 2013 a conference entitled "Exploring the Links between the Internet and Trafficking in Human Beings: Cyberspace for Prevention, not Recruitment". On this occasion, experts from different governments, law enforcement, national rapporteurs or equivalent mechanisms, civil society organisations and academics, as well as the private sector and the media will meet in order to discuss the role of the Internet in the phenomenon of trafficking in human beings. Trafficking in human beings is the slavery of our times, a severe human rights violation and a complex transnational crime. Key reports - including the EU Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA 2013) - highlight that the Internet is today a key means for the recruitment as well as advertising the services of victims of trafficking. The new and constantly evolving technological developments of the cyberspace result in the internet providing new spaces for traditional forms of crimes. Indeed, Europol states in SOCTA 2013 that the spread of the internet and technological advances have caused significant shifts in different crime areas and in the patterns of criminal activities. The Internet enables organised crime groups to access a large pool of potential victims, obscure their activities and carry out a diverse range of criminal acts in a shorter period of time and on a much larger scale than ever before. Criminals advertise facilitation services to potential migrants online, recruit victims of trafficking in human beings and connect to customers of their illicit services. Social media, dating sites and online forums are gaining a particular prominence in online child sexual exploitation, trafficking in human beings and fraud respectively. 1

2 Furthermore, Europol presumes that the internet will be an even more important marketplace for illicit commodities and criminal services in the future. At the same time, the Internet can also serve as a powerful tool for investigation, prosecution, prevention activities and measures for assistance and protection of the victims. Indeed, in order to fight organised crime groups (OCGs) more effectively, technology and online tools can provide relevant information for investigations and prosecution cases, including new opportunities to tackle transnational cases involving the authorities of several Member States. The Internet can be used as an important medium for more targeted awareness raising campaigns and prevention activities. Social networks, web pages of online signature petitions, blogs, etc. have a great potential to widely disseminate information and to raise awareness on the topic and prevent the recruitment of victims, especially among young people 1. In addition, it can also be used for rendering e- services for victims of trafficking in human beings. First EU Statistical Data Report on Trafficking in human beings The first statistical data report at the EU level on trafficking in human beings, with data for the years 2008, 2009 and 2010 from all (then) 27 EU Member States 2, demonstrates worrying trends: more than people were identified or presumed victims of trafficking in the EU over the three years. While the number of victims of trafficking in the EU increased by 18% between 2008 and 2010, less traffickers are being convicted (convictions rate fell by 13% over reference period). This data further prove the strong gender dimension of trafficking in human beings: steadily, the vast majority of all victims (80 %) are women and girls (68 % women and 12% girls), and 20 % of the victims are men and boys (17 % men and 3 % boys). The most widespread form of exploitation is sexual exploitation (62%) - with women and 1 In 2012, 74% of individuals aged 16 to 74 in the EU 28 has used the Internet in the last 3 months, 59% does so in a frequent basis (every day or almost every day on average within the last 3 months before the survey). In the case of individuals from 16 to 24 years old using frequently the Internet the percentage raises to 84%. Source: EUROSTAT. 2 and the following EU Candidate and EFTA/EEA countries: Iceland, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland and Turkey, 2

3 girls as the overwhelming majority (96 % in 2010) - 25% are victims of labour exploitation and 14% are victims of other forms such as begging and criminal activities. The transposition deadline of the Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims passed on 6 April 2013 and Member States must implement the Directive meaningfully and effectively. If the Directive is fully transposed, it has the potential to have concrete impact on the lives of the victims and to prevent others from falling victim to this crime. Some efforts to address the link between trafficking in human beings and the internet have already taken place in the EU. The European Commission has funded projects addressing the recruitment of victims via the Internet and also the raising of awareness using the internet. At the national level, Member States are establishing cybercrime centres and are developing ways to better monitor the internet and investigate cases. But there is a lot more we need to know and a lot more we need to do. The EU Anti-Trafficking Day Conference This conference aims to exploring and raising awareness on the links between the Internet and trafficking in human beings and to improving cooperation between Member States working together with different stakeholders in this context. It further aims at improving coherence by bringing together different stakeholders, including the civil society and the private sector in order to improve antitrafficking responses and addressing the numerous challenges. It focuses on the different areas of prevention, law enforcement, assistance and protection of victims and it is meant to facilitate discussion on the ways to work together to target trafficking in human beings specifically via internet. Conference agenda The conference will be opened by the organisers, Dailis Alfonsas Barakauskas, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania and Myria Vassiliadou, EU Anti Trafficking Coordinator, European Commission. Julius Sabatauskas, Chair of the Committee on Legal Affairs, the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania and a Member of the European Parliament will also address the audience. Following the opening 3

4 statements, a leading academic, Professor Donna Hughes, who has written extensively on this area in the last decade, will deliver a keynote address. The conference consists of three main sessions. The first session will be focused on the EU legal and policy framework on trafficking in human beings related to Internet. The second session will be dedicated to exploring further the links between the Internet and trafficking in human beings, the challenges as well as the possibilities. To enable discussion, three working groups are foreseen on online awareness raising, online investigations and online recruitment. Civil society organisations, representatives from EU member States and EU Agencies and representatives from private sector companies will be participating. The third session is foreseen for conclusions and ways ahead. Session I The EU Legal and Policy Framework on Trafficking in Human Beings related to Internet A panel of speakers from EU Institutions will set the scene regarding the EU legal and policy framework on trafficking in human beings related to the Internet. Speakers will give an overview of the work conducted in this area at the EU level, addressing the different areas relating to the topic, such as the links between cyber security and trafficking in human beings, assessing the trends on all forms of exploitation, explore innovative law enforcement activities, challenges and possibilities of data protection and cooperation between different stakeholders, in particular local authorities and the private sector. Session II Exploring the Links between Trafficking in Human Beings and the Internet Challenges and Possibilities The afternoon session will be dedicated to active participation and in-depth discussions of the participants, divided in working groups. The three working groups will focus on online awareness raising, online investigations and online recruitment. The moderator of each working group will facilitate the discussion. Selected experts from different background will introduce the topics from their perspectives. 4

5 Working group 1: Online Awareness Raising This working group will address the challenges and possibilities of online awareness-raising on trafficking in human beings. It aims to explore how social networks and online signature websites can be used to widely disseminate information and how the internet can be used as a tool for awareness raising campaign, targeting vulnerable groups for all forms of trafficking in human beings. It also aims to explore ways discouraging the demand of services of victims of trafficking in human beings. The topic will be introduced by experiences and examples from the point of view of the private sector, NGOs, and the media. Working group 2: Online Investigations This working group will address the challenges and possibilities of online investigation and prosecution of cases of trafficking in human beings. It aims to discuss the legal and technical means available for proactive online investigations and identify best practices in using the internet as a tool to disclose national and transnational cases of trafficking in human beings, for example in cases where the services of victims of trafficking in human beings are advertised on the internet. The speakers will introduce the topic and present their work from specialised units working on online investigations in Member States and from the perspective of EU Agencies. Working group 3: Online Recruitment This working group will address what are the patterns of online recruitment of victims of trafficking in human beings. The internet offers numerous possibilities to recruit victims, it offers employment opportunities (most often promoting attractive jobs abroad, for models, dancers, cabaret performers, etc.) which are accessible via simple search engines or pop-ups, chat rooms and spam mail. Social networking tools are becoming increasingly popular as recruitment tools. The speakers are representatives from the private sector, NGOs and governments and will introduce the topic on ways to impede the recruitment of victims, elaborate on best practices and discuss cooperation between the different stakeholders. Session III Conclusions and Ways Ahead The Third Session will be dedicated to the presentation of the main findings of the working groups by the rapporteurs. The Chair will summarise the outcomes of the day and will highlight the possible ways ahead. 5