The Council of the Baltic Sea States Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings (CBSS TF-THB) in cooperation with the project partners are organising a workshop “Policy Implications of Future Trends in Human Trafficking” on 29 February 2016 in Stockholm, Sweden.
The workshop aims to serve as a platform for knowledge exchange by analysing future trends in human trafficking and discussing their implications on human trafficking policies.
The event will gather government officials, representatives of non–governmental and international organisations, national coordinators and rapporteurs, law enforcement, social services and other stakeholders from the EU Member States who work with human trafficking issues at an operative as well as a strategic level.
The TRACE-project has identified some emerging issues of concern, which are likely to impact the development and implementation of European anti-trafficking policies and laws. There is growing evidence that traffickers exploit victims for begging and for criminal activities such as organised property crime (e.g. shoplifting, pickpocketing, ATM thefts, burglaries etc.), drug production and distribution as well as for benefit or identity fraud and forced or sham marriages.
Moreover, unprecedented increase in the number of migrants and refugees attempting to enter Europe in 2015 poses great challenges to state authorities in terms of both human rights protection and increasing criminal activity. This dramatic situation with hundreds of thousands of people, including large numbers of women and children, seeking every opportunity to enter the EU and being stranded in border areas, increases the risk of abuse, exploitation and trafficking, especially among vulnerable groups.
However, there are some innovative tools and promising approaches that different Member States, authorities, actors and NGOs have taken to address trafficking in person and to prevent different forms of trafficking. Ideally, targeted prevention measures should address these emerging issues, including by establishing outreach services with mobile units and cultural mediators to work with vulnerable populations, referring them to support, and promoting reintegration.
The workshop will address these issues in panel discussions focusing on the following three topics:
- New and emerging forms of trafficking in human beings (e.g. forced criminality, forced begging, forced and sham marriages)
- Migrant crisis and its impact on human trafficking situation
- Innovative tools and approaches to prevent trafficking in human beings
For more information on the workshop agenda and registration, please see the TRACE website.