Legislation and the Situation Concerning Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Sexual Exploitation in EU Member States

The report “Evaluation of Member States’ legislation and the situation concerning trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation” explores how EU Member States’ legislation and policies on trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation and other relevant areas such as prostitution, immigration and labour influence the situation concerning trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It provides the European Commission and the EU Member States with information on how to improve their future legal and programmatic actions in this area.

The report covers 17 EU Member States selected to ensure regional balance, representation of new EU Member States, size and location; and representation of various regimes regulating prostitution.

The report is structured as follows: Chapter 1 introduces the topic and methodology. Chapter 2 discusses the definition of trafficking in human beings and selected concepts related to trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation. Chapter 3 reviews data on trafficking in human beings and their availability. Chapter 4 looks at criminalisation of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation in the EU Member States. The focus of Chapter 5 is legislation on assistance to trafficked persons. Chapter 6 focuses on regulation of prostitution in the EU Member States as one of the factors that influence prevalence and patterns of trafficking in human beings for sexual exploitation. Chapter 7 looks into factors shaping demand and supply of sexual services provided by trafficked persons. The final chapter draws conclusions and recommendations for the EU Member States and institutions.