Anti-trafficking measures in the USA and Europe

The increasingly high profile of trafficking as a serious international issue has prompted many governments to introduce measures aimed at combating the problem. However, both the measures and the degree to which they are implemented depend on the level of gravity accorded the issue, and also the way in which trafficking in defined.

USA

The U.S.A introduced the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorisation Act in 2005, which focuses on the need to target both the supply side of trafficking (the traffickers themselves and the routes they use) and the demand side (business owners, consumers, sex buyers etc), in addition to ensuring rescue and rehabilitation of trafficked victims.

"U.S. policy on trafficking has elicited certain criticisms because of its heavy emphasis on trafficking for sexual purposes"

The Act emphasises the need to treat trafficked persons as victims and to offer them protection rather than putting them in detention centres or repatriating them without any regard for their welfare. It stresses that the traffickers, not the victims, need to be punished.

At the same time, U.S. policy on trafficking has elicited certain criticisms because of its heavy emphasis on trafficking for sexual purposes.

Because of this, U.S anti-trafficking funds can only go to NGOs that do not promote, advocate or support prostitution.

Europe

At the European level, a number of communications and decisions have been made through the European Union mechanisms, and the Council of Europe has addressed trafficking directly. For example, in parts of southeast Europe, capacity-building work has been conducted for levels of governance, the law enforcement sector, and NGOs.

These efforts are hampered, nonetheless, by a number of factors, including:

• inadequate legal frameworks, with loopholes that are exploited by traffickers
• ineffective law enforcement, especially with respect to traffickers and exploiters
• lack of concern about the fates of the women and girls involved, due to a combination of their being illegal migrants and involved in prostitution
• lack of specialisation, both within law enforcement and the NGO sector
• disinterest and even complicity within authorities.