Activities of Hilde VAUTMANS related to 2020/2029(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive (debate)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the implementation of Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims
Amendments (45)
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
- having regard to Directive 2011/93/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision2004/68/JHA,
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas there are many forms of trafficking, but they are all based on the abuse of the inherent vulnerability of the victims and aimed at the exploitation of human beings;
Amendment 65 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A b (new)
Recital A b (new)
Ab. Whereas trafficking is a highly gendered phenomenon and sexual exploitation remains the most prevalent form of trafficking in the EU since 2008;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Ac. whereas societal tolerance of gender inequality and violence against women and girls and the lack of public awareness of the issues surrounding THB perpetuate a permissive environment for THB and a culture of impunity;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A d (new)
Recital A d (new)
Ad. whereas trafficking in human beings is a complex transnational phenomenon that can be tackled effectively only if the EU institutions, Member States and international organisations work together in a coordinated manner;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. whereas THB is a crime driven by high demand and profits, estimated at of EUR 29,4 billion a year, according to Europol; whereas differences between legislation in Member States greatly facilitate the activities of organised crime, there is still too low risk of prosecution and a high level of impunity and the sanctions applied to deter this crime are inadequate in comparison with the high profits;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Urges the Commission and the Member States to prioritise, on paper and in practice, the fight against THB; Calls on the Member States to allocate the necessary financial and human resources on a structural basis, to enable all involved sectors and actors, such as law enforcement, the judiciary, and social and health workers, to fully and efficiently fulfil their responsibilities;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Whereas law enforcement authorities in the EU have witnessed a considerable increase in intra-EU trafficking and that nearly half (49%) of all victims of trafficking in the EU are EU citizens and more than one third (27%) of all EU victims are trafficked internally within one’s own country;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out the need for a coordinated and coherent framework at EU level that guarantees the protection of victims of THB, including through coordinated implementation with the rights conferred by the Victims’ Rights Directive, the Residence Permit Directive, , the Directive 93/2011/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and the Compensation Directive15 ; _________________ 15 Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime victims, OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 15.
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of the funding of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), the Daphne Program and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes to continue to be used for projects tackling THB, as well as using other available instruments, such as the Rights, Equality and Citizenship Programme, EMPACT actions, EU-UN Spotlight Initiative, the EU Trust Fund for Africa, Glo.Act Initiative, the Development Cooperation Instrument and the European Development Fund;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that the lack of consistent and detailed data continues to hamper the adequate assessment of trends in THB; calls on the Member States to collect more up-to-date, centralised and comprehensive data disaggregated by age and gender and including internally trafficked people, by compiling statistical information in cooperation with civil society;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to monitor the use of digital technologies, internet and social media for THB as the predominant tools used to recruit trafficking victims and to regulate third party responsibility for technology companies hosting exploitative materials;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on all Member States to ensure that early expert legal intervention and advice is provided to potential victims of THB at the earliest possible moment, including accessible information about their legal rights and options;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on all Member States to effectively guarantee the rights of victims and to support them with a gender- sensitive approach while ensuring complementarity with the Victims’ Rights Directive; notunderscores that the Anti- Trafficking Directive prohibits the criminalisation of victims of THB;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet measureable, it is nevertheless clear that the crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable victims of THB, especially women and children; Stresses that due to the increased use of the Internet, social media and online advertisements, a sharp increase in the number of victims of trafficking exploited online is expected; calls on the Member States for more effective and coherent actions targeting online exploitation, with the support of relevant EU agencies, such as Europol;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet measureable, it is nevertheless clear that the crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable victims of THB, especially women and children; calls on Member states to ensure effective functioning of NRMs and equivalent systems and that they should be updated to respond to emerging THB trends during the COVID- 19 pandemic;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out the need for a coherent and coordinated National Referral Mechanism (NRM); underlines that good cooperation between the police and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) cannot be a substitute for a fully fledged NRM defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors16 ; encourages Member States to set up national centres specialised in the support and reception of victims of THB and to facilitate direct and efficient cross-border cooperation between those centres as well as between law enforcement agencies; _________________ 16 The recommendations by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human beings (GRETA) include ensuring the application of the NRM to asylum seekers and persons in immigration detention.
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Urges the Member States to ensure gender-specific provision of services and supports to victims of THB that is appropriate to their needs, recognizing any needs that may be specific to the form of trafficking to which they have been subjected; Calls on the Member States to address the needs of LGBTI people, as they are highly vulnerable to THB due to the cumulative effect of different types of discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity;
Amendment 253 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission, in cooperation with the Member States, to examine how the demand for sexual services drives trafficking, as traffickers tend to convey their victims to countries where prostitution is regulated and lawfully practiced, making it much easier for traffickers to use a legal environment in order to exploit their victims17 ; recalls that in some EU Member States where prostitution is legal, suspects were able to exploit children alongside adult victims18 ; _________________ 17Europol, Situation Report ‘Trafficking in Human Beings in the EU’, 18 February 2016. 18Europol, Situation Report ‘Criminal networks involved in the trafficking and exploitation of underage victims in the EU’, 18 October 2018.;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States to focus on the recurring and emerging patterns of THB for sexual exploitation, such as the increasing exploitation of children and the use of the ‘lover boy’ method as the most frequent means of recruiting victims by using online technologies; notes that the increased use of online technologies by criminal networks engaged in THB has significantly transformed their traditional modus operandi;
Amendment 293 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Member States to adopt comprehensive sexuality education as a key form of prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls including trafficking and sexual exploitation, to include consent and relationships education promoting healthy attitudes of respect and equality in all interactions and the reality of prostitution and THB for sexual exploitation;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)
Paragraph 23 a (new)
23a. Points to the need to set up national mechanisms for data collection on THB victims in international protection procedures to be able to ensure follow up on identified cases;
Amendment 355 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 b (new)
Paragraph 23 b (new)
23b. Calls on Member states to extend the International Protection granted to victims of human trafficking to their family members after having assessed the potential involvement of these relatives in the trafficking process;
Amendment 357 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 d (new)
Paragraph 23 d (new)
23d. Is concerned that the recovery and reflection period is linked to cooperation by the victim during the investigation and is granted by law enforcement agencies; deplores that the period does not apply to EU/EEA nationals nor to asylum seekers; calls on the Commission to monitor the implementation of available legal solutions at Member states level, in particular the granting of a recovery and reflection period;
Amendment 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls on Member states to provide more safe and legal routes for migration in order to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable individuals;
Amendment 376 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Calls on the Member states to ensure strong child protection measures, presumption of childhood and child age assessment, the protection before and during criminal proceedings, access to unconditional assistance, compensation, non-punishment, assistance and support to the family member of a child victim as well as prevention;
Amendment 377 #
26. Calls on the Member States to focus on identifying child victims and helping them to avail themselves of their rights; recalls the obligation of Member States to pay special attention to child victims of trafficking and to provide special protection to children in criminal procedures, with the best interests of the child being considered paramount at all times; emphasises the need for guardians, including temporary guardians as an emergency measure, to be appointed immediately for child victims;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Member States to focus on identifying child victims and helping them to avail themselves of their rights; emphasises the need for well- trained and well-supported guardians, including temporary guardians as an emergency measure, to be appointed immediately for child victims; advises the Member States to increase the number of guardians by organising awareness campaigns;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on Members States to ensure that consulate staff pays particular attention to the correct verification of the identity of minors and the link with the person(s) exercising parental authority or legal guardianship when taking the minor's biometric data in the visa application procedure; calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with Europol, to provide targeted and effective education and training for Member States' authorities to prevent child trafficking;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Member States to fully implement Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography26 , and to reinforce police and judicial cooperation to prevent and combat sexual exploitation; urges the Member States to cooperate with EU agencies, in particular with Europol and its dedicated entities, to step up information exchange and to support cross border investigations; _________________ 26 OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Points out that child victims need specific support, taking into account their best interests and specific vulnerabilities; encourages the Member States to ensure that professionals in contact with child victims, such as law enforcement, border guards, civil servants, the judiciary, and social and health workers (including youth care facilities), are sufficiently trained in identifying, supporting and referring of child victims of THB;
Amendment 391 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Notes with high concern the prevalence of child sexual abuse and normalisation of trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, and calls for the regulation of pornographic sites and hosting platforms to ensure full prevention of the risk of such materials becoming available and normalized;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Deplores that specialised teams within law enforcement, trained in the audio-visual recording of child testimonies, are not consistently involved in the questioning of all child victims of THB; urges the Member States to make this standard practice and to train law enforcement staff in this type of (child friendly) questioning;
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that children in migration, and, in particular, unaccompanied migrant children, continue to be at higher risk of trafficking and exploitation along migration routes en route to and within the EU; urges the Member States to protect unaccompanied migrant children against those risks by assuring them the same rights as all other children and taking their best interests into account, to assign them a guardian upon arrival, and to provide them with proper and adapted living conditions; stresses that a coordinated European approach is necessary to find and protect unaccompanied migrant children when they go missing, including data exchange (e.g. through an integrated database which can only be accessed and used in the best interests of the child);
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Points out that other vulnerable children, such as children in youth care facilities, runaways or children with disabilities, can become victim of THB; Calls on the Member States to reinforce the protection of those minors by informing and empowering them and by raising awareness in schools, youth centres and youth movements;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Notes that most children either have a smartphone or have access to a smartphone from the ages of 9 or 10; Underlines that grooming and sextortion are well-known techniques to sexually exploit children and that those reports are on a rise; Encourages the Commission and the Member States to take further action in fighting these online crimes and to reinforce preventive measures towards minors on the one hand and (potential) offenders on the other;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Regrets that conditions for a victim to receive the official status of THB victim are often too rigid to fulfil, especially for minors and other vulnerable victims who are financially and emotionally dependent on their traffickers; Calls on the Member States to adopt clear provisions on the non- prosecution or non-punishment of THB victims and on decoupling protection from cooperation with law enforcement agencies, currently putting the complete burden on the victim; requests the Member States to rather fulfil their needs on a more psycho-emotional level;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Deplores that data on the identity of THB victims appear in police reports and throughout proceedings, making it hard for victims to speak out or to protect them from retaliation; encourages Member States to keep names and other identity data in separate files, accessible for the police and the prosecution but not to be disclosed to the suspects of THB or their lawyers;
Amendment 437 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Stresses the importance of financial investigation and ‘following the money’ as a key strategy for investigating and prosecuting the organised crime networks that profit from THB; calls on the Commission to assess and promote the use of existing judicial and police cooperation, and the available toolsMember States to launch financial investigations and work with money laundering specialists when starting a new trafficking investigation; calls on Member States to strengthen cooperation in freezing and confiscating the assets of individuals involved in trafficking and providing compensation to victims; calls on the Commission to assess and promote the use of existing judicial and police cooperation, and the available tools, such as mutual recognition of court judgments, joint investigation teams and the European investigation order;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Underlines the crucial importance for the EU law enforcement community to develop efficient and extended analytical capabilities in response to the ever- increasing online-facilitated THB criminal patterns; calls on the Commission to provide financial support to EU agencies such as Europol, to secure the highest analytical standards and adequate tools to process increasingly complex amounts of information;
Amendment 453 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33
Paragraph 33
33. Recalls the role of EU agencies in the early identification of victims and the fight against THB; calls for more resources for the Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) Agencies to enable their staff to be trained and capacity-building instruments to be developed in the area of detecting victims, including the appointment of gender- trained agency officers, especially in the Member States faced with increased mixed migratory flows; calls on the Commission to develop guidelines to mainstream gender expertise in the activities of law enforcement authorities across the EU, including by developing sustained programs of improving gender balance in decision-making processes and in the staff of the JHA agencies relevant to trafficking;
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Encourages Member States to increase exchange of data and information by using Europol’s resources and databases such AP Phoenix, AP Migrant Smuggling and AP Twins;
Amendment 476 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34 a (new)
Paragraph 34 a (new)
34a. Calls on the Commission to review implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive by Member States and introduce infringement procedures where there has been a lack of effective implementation;
Amendment 487 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35a. Calls on the Commission to review the application of Directive 2004/81/EC on granting residence permits to victims of trafficking who are third country nationals ensuring that victims are not returned upon expiry of reflection period, calls on the Member States to grant that the unconditional access to assistance and support mandated by Directive2011/36/EU is reconciled with Directive 2004/81/EC and its application; calls on the Commission to review Directive 2004/81/EC to ensure that residence permits for trafficked persons are not made conditional to the participation or willingness to participate of the trafficked person in the investigation or criminal proceedings of the case;