Human trafficking The EU Parliament has agreed to several tougher laws to combat human trafficking. Forced marriages and illegal adoptions are included and the vulnerable must receive better help. But already today, Sweden fails to give crime victims the protection and support they are entitled to, say critics.
Human trafficking takes place across national borders and serious criminals force people into sexual exploitation, exploitation in the labor market, begging or to commit crimes. Since 2011, Member States are obliged to prevent and fight the crimes and protect the victims. It does not reach Sweden up to today. The most important thing is what concerns the victims’ rights, says Madeleine Sundell, lawyer and national coordinator for human trafficking at the Salvation Army, which runs two trafficking centers for the vulnerable.
– Sweden does not respect the victims’ basic rights, the state has a job to do there.
Authorities fail
In practice, this means that when the police, authorities or civil society suspect that a person is being trafficked, they must directly apply for a 30-day residence permit and give the person protection and support to calmly think through whether they want to file a police report or get help to go home.
The Salvation Army came into contact with 287 cases of suspected human trafficking last year. But only about twenty were given time to think and protection and support, according to Madeleine Sundell.
How many are exposed to humans overall in Sweden is difficult to ascertain. The latest figures for exposure are from 2022, when 375 suspected cases were discovered.
In the entire EU, just over 10,000 victims were registered in 2022, according to the statistical authority Eurostat. This is the highest figure since 2008, when reporting began. Two-thirds of the victims are girls and women, and sexual exploitation is the most common form, followed by labor exploitation. Over time, the proportion of registered cases exposed to sexual exploitation has decreased and labor exploitation has increased.
Should not be charged with a crime
The updated law means that it will be illegal to buy services from someone who is a victim of human trafficking. Countries must ensure that victims of human trafficking are not prosecuted for crimes, for acts they were forced to do. Authorities working against human trafficking must cooperate with migration authorities so that victims of human trafficking in need of protection also have the right to apply for asylum. Countries must also ensure the rights of people with disabilities and that they receive the right support.
EU parliamentarian Malin Björk (V), who has been the parliament’s main negotiator in the work to update the law, is satisfied.
– I am very proud to have pushed through a series of tightenings. It will now be prohibited throughout the EU to exploit someone who is known to have been subjected to human trafficking. A reference to the Swedish Sex Purchase Act as a good way to combat human trafficking is included. The rights of those exposed to human trafficking are also being expanded, says honi in a press release.
Rain of money over authorities
The Swedish government has made major investments to stop workplace crime. Last year, five regional centers were opened around the country. In the spring amendment budget last week, the government allocated an additional SEK 30 million to work against workplace crime and work against prostitution and human trafficking.
– It rains money on authorities when it comes to crimes committed by the employer. When it comes to the workers, they only look at crimes against the Aliens Act, they exclude the perspective of crime victims.
Through the focus on arresting and sentencing criminal employers and deporting the people who are exploited, the police, border police and social services miss the victims of crime in the labor market and the vulnerability to human trafficking, says Madeleine Sundell.
– My hope is that a new directive can give energy to take new steps. But I see a fundamental problem in the fact that the directive is not complied with in Swedish law today, she says.
