On March 11, The European Commission released a report to help strengthening the rights for people who fall victim to trafficking in Europe. The report is a result of the mission that the president of The European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, assigned Joëlle Milguet in October of 2017 concerning a review of the work of The European Union with regards to trafficking victims. After many meetings with victims, support organizations and national authorities, this resulted in the report “STRENGTHENING VICTIMS’ RIGHTS: FROM COMPENSATION TO REPARATION”.
The report maps the lack of legal rights for victims and the importance of improving the access of them. The new strategy presents how the approach has shifted from focusing on need-based support to support based on rights. In other words, this means that more focus is aimed at countries’ duties towards the victims to fulfill their basic human rights rather than these individuals asking for help because of their needs and vulnerability.
RealStars is optimistic viewing this report as another step forward in the fight against human trafficking where it is estimated that roughly 70 % concerns sex trafficking. It is of the utmost importance that The European Commission calls for strengthened legal rights and support for trafficking victims, as these people are often overlooked in legal processes.
It is also crucial that authorities and other actors who meet suspected victims report this to the police to be able to fulfill the victims’ rights and to prosecute the people responsible. See the whole report here!