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Trafficking in human beings

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Trafficking in human beings is associated with serious human rights violations: lack of freedom, coercion, violence and massive economic exploitation. Trafficking in human beings takes place every day in Germany - in the care sector, in domestic work, sex work, agriculture, the meat-processing industry and the construction sector. Forced prostitution, forced labour, exploitation of labour, exploitation through begging, exploitation of criminal acts or the unlawful removal of organs are criminal offences. Affected individuals and groups therefore need access to protection and effective support. People who work in precarious conditions are restricted in their self-determination through coercion, violence or threats to such an extent that they can no longer make free decisions about their labour and are economically exploited. In particular, women who do not consent to sex work or do not agree to the conditions they are expected to work under also experience massive violations of their sexual integrity. Refugees, people with uncertain residence status and people in precarious employment with a lack of language skills and legal knowledge are particularly vulnerable and therefore susceptible to exploitation.

The various forms trafficking in human beings are all based on a common model: perpetrators place restrictions on other people’s self-determination and fundamentally violate their rights with the aim of exploiting them economically. The boundaries between exploitation and trafficking in human beings are fluid.

It is important to ensure that victims’ fundamental rights are respected once they have been identified, as well as before and during criminal proceedings. Human rights not only oblige the state to ensure effective criminal prosecution and prevention, they also set standards for dealing with those affected by violations.

Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, known as the Human Trafficking Directive, came into force in 2011. It was transposed into national law in Germany in 2016. 

The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings has been in force and legally binding in Germany since 2013. In 2019, the Council of Europe's Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) reviewed the implementation of the Convention in Germany for the second time. The list of recommendations that the committee presented to the Federal Government has become longer rather than shorter since its first review in 2015. The priority recommendations in particular (see "Key concerns" below) have not yet been sufficiently implemented. The third review of the implementation status by the GRETA expert group took place in 2023. The report is expected in the first half of 2024.

In November 2022, the independent National Rapporteur Mechanism was established at the Institute. Its establishment, organisation and working methods are based on an overall concept developed by the German Institute for Human Rights on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ). It also includes the concept upon which the National Rapporteur Mechanism on gender-based violence is run.

Key concerns

  • Development and adoption of a national action plan against human trafficking that covers all forms of trafficking in human beings, including trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation and child trafficking.
  • Comprehensive and standardised data collection on the subject of trafficking in human beings in compliance with the data protection regulations that protect affected individuals.
  • Guaranteeing the rights of trafficked persons and victims of exploitation and ensuring access to these rights. These include in particular the right to a reflection and stabilisation period, the right to support, the right to a secure livelihood, and the right to a secure residence. They further include rights in criminal proceedings, such as psychosocial trial support or representation of co-plaintiffs, the right to exemption from punishment for trafficked persons and the right to compensation.
  • Establishment of an office for the national coordination of all measures.

Contact

Naile Tanış trägt ihre Haare nach hinten gebunden. Sie trägt eine weiße Bluse.
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Naile Tanış

Head of Department

Phone: +4930 259 359 – 306

E-mail: Tanis(at)dimr.de

Porträt von Anna Bußmann-Welsch. Sie hat kurze dunkelblonde Haare und trägt ein weißes Oberteil und einen grünen Blazer.
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Anna Bußmann-Welsch

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 253

E-mail: Bussmann-welsch(at)dimr.de

Porträt von Charlotte Felbinger. Sie hat lange braune Haare und trägt ein blau-weißes Oberteil.
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Charlotte Felbinger

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 44

E-mail: felbinger(at)dimr.de

Portrait von Marie Diekmann
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Dr. Marie Diekmann

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 468

E-mail: diekmann(at)dimr.de

Portrait von Vinda Gouma. Ihr Blick ist der Kamera zugewandt und sie lächelt leicht. Sie trägt ihr langes Haar zurückgebunden hinter den Schultern und trägt einen rosafarbenen Blazer mit einem schwarzen Oberteil darunter.
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Vinda Gouma

Researcher and Policy Adviser
(absent until August 2025)

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 308

E-mail: gouma(at)dimr.de

[Translate to English:] Konstantin Häusler
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Dr. Konstantin Häusler

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 – 301

E-mail: haeusler(at)dimr.de

Dunkelblauer Hintergrund mit einem Kopf und Körper gezeichnet mit weißen Strichen.

Sina Kahlmeier

Project Assistant

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 26

E-mail: kahlmeier(at)dimr.de

© DIMR/B. Dietl

Bettina Krestel

Project Coordinator

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 28

E-mail: krestel(at)dimr.de

Porträt von Anne-Kathrin Krug
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Anne-Kathrin Krug

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 - 126

E-mail: krug(at)dimr.de

Portrait von Tobias Seitz. Er hat kurze dunkelbraune Haare, einen dunklen Bart und trägt einen schwarzen Pullover.
© DIMR/B. Dietl

Tobias Seitz

Researcher and Policy Adviser

Phone: +4930 259 359 – 302

E-mail: seitz(at)dimr.de

Dunkelblauer Hintergrund mit einem Kopf und Körper gezeichnet mit weißen Strichen.

Maya Krystosek

Student Assistant

Phone: +4930 259 359 – 0

E-mail: krystosek(at)dimr.de

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