Cooperation and Coordination are the keys to counter trafficking Nicole Zündorf-Hinte, June 10, 2010

General Remarks on Situation in Germany Germany is a country of destination Germany is to a lesser extent also country of transit There is national trafficking in Germany Germany is a federal country, many of the obligations for victim protection lie within the responsibility of the Länder and cities

Legal Definition of Trafficking up to February 18th, 2005 only trafficking for sexual exploitation was defined as trafficking; on February 19th, 2005 definition was broadened to include labour exploitation; now included in the section on deprivation of liberty other forms of exploitation are covered either by special laws (i.e. transplantation) or other penal code provisions (i.e. severe forms of coercion) BKA Statistics until 2005 only cover sexual exploitation.

Data on Trafficking Since 1994 Federal Police Office publishes an annual situation report on THB this means data for 18 years available by now, which can also show trends in 2009 724 victims of trafficking identified ( 24 for labour exploitation) in 2008 703 victims of trafficking identified (27 for labour exploitation) In the area of sexual exploitation in 2009 86% of the victims are from Europe, 25% were Germans

Information in the situation report in the Area of trafficking for sexual exploitation Numbers of trafficking cases and victims Recruiting methods Countries of origin of victims Nationality of offenders Circumstances of prostitution Support given to victims Collateral crimes (e.g. crimes against sexual self-determination, bodily injury, smuggling of migrants, forging of documents..) Registration under industrial law

Use of the situation report The situation report is an important basis for the work of the Federal Working Group on Trafficking in Women, the coordinating body is this field Changes in patterns can be noted and analyzed Further studies are commissioned to find reasons for the findings of the situation report, e.g. a study on the change in court proceedings in 2006 or three studies in 2006 on the validity of the situation report

Role of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Coordinating authority and Manager in matters concerning violence against women for the National Action Plan on Combating (all forms of) Violence against Women for the national report on the effects of Germany’s Act on regulating the legal affairs of Prostitutes Trafficking in Women is violence against women mainstreamed into the Action Plan 2 steering committees for Action Plan: Federal Working Group on Trafficking in Women (for the purpose of sexual exploitation) Federal Working Group on Domestic Violence

Need for coordination and cooperation of policies to combat trafficking in human beings Combating trafficking in human beings (thb) is a very complex task Underlying causes for trafficking in women: such as poverty, lack of equal opportunities in counties of origin and demand for cheap labor and prostitution in countries of destination cannot be countered with short term measures Conflict of interests in policies of different agencies

Conflict of interests as serious obstacle Conflict of interests between various actors Conflicts between law enforcement and NGOs Conflicts between various policy areas: Law enforcement Immigration policies Human rights policies Gender policies Labor policies For trafficking in women for sexual exploitation: Attitudes towards and perceptions of prostitution play a key role These obstacles: cannot be countered by one government or government agency alone

Co-ordinating Body Federal Working Group Trafficking in Women founded in 1997 meets three to four times a year

Members of the Federal Working Group Federal Ministries and Agencies for: Women (central coordinator and manager) Foreign Affairs Interior Justice Labour and Social Affairs Economic Co-operation and Development Federal Commissioner for Migration and Integration Federal Criminal Police Office Länder level: technical conferences of the Länder ministries for Interior, Justice, Social Affairs and Gender Equality NGOs: KOK - German nationwide activist coordination group combating trafficking in women and violence against women in the process of migration SOLWODI e.V. Co-ordination group of the German Welfare Organisations represented by the Diakonisches Werk EKD

Mandate of the Federal Working Group on Trafficking in Women Facilitate exchange of information and experiences Provide overview of measures and activities in the 16 Länder at national level at international level Identify and analyze practical problems Develop best-practice models Make cross-disciplinary recommendations to decisionmakers and practitioners

Methods of the Working Group Identify issues where action is needed, important source of data: Situation Report Commission feasibility studies (competent ministries as actors) define modes of further procedure, once facts are established, e.g. form a sub-committee to present results to Plenary Upon consensus results are forwarded as Federal Working Group proposal to respective decisionmakers

Examples for Main Results of Federal Working Group Proposals for drafting Germany’s Residence Act and administrative regulations Federal cooperation model to institutionalize cooperation between police and counseling services Paper on standardization of training and education of various professionals Brochure on the application of the Compensation Victims Crime Acts

Challenges in the Federal System – Transfer to Länder Responsibility for implementation of national law lies with the Länder Länder must devise their own strategies, measures and activities I Federal Working Group as a structural model many Länder have set up special committees similar to Federal Working Group

Prime Example of the Federal Working Group: Concept for Cooperation between counseling services and police First published in 1999 Updated in 2007 Purpose: define how counseling organizations and police can cooperate effectively to achieve the common goal of improved protection of victims of trafficking Implementation lies at Länder level Successful transfer from the federal to the Länder level: 12 of 16 Länder have prescribed such cooperation concepts

Concept for Cooperation between counseling services and police Lays down in its preamble the need for a cooperation agreement between the parties. Defines a common goal. Names its addressees, their roles and their obligations. Identifies the target group comprising the victim to be protected. Describes the duties required of the police and of the counselling organisations. Prescribes how cooperation activities should be conducted.

Reasons for the Cooperation Concept stabilization and empowerment of identified victims is a human rights issue personal evidence is crucial in prosecuting THB witnesses must be stable to be able to give a valuable statement in court a 2002 scientific study of the Max Planck Institute for Criminology confirmed direct connection between good care for victims and verdicts

Why a special Concept for victims of trafficking? Classical witness protection programmes do not fit for majority of victims of THB due to special requirements like: change of identity breach of contact with friends and relatives trauma does not allow these victims like to stay in contact with their families

Thank you very much for your attention.