Trafficking victims continue to be criminalised years after trafficking has stopped. Why?

Written by Dionysus, Headline Diplomat eMagazine, LUDCI.eu
Trafficking in persons is a multifaceted global problem. It cuts across several dimensions such as irregular immigration, forced displacement of migrant workers and populations, the refugee protection system, a transnational organized crime involving organized crime networks, as well as human rights violations.

Trafficking in persons is often characterized as modern slavery, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Trafficking is frequently linked to exploitation, sex trade, and domestic servitude. Trafficking in persons is also considered a form of sexual or gender-based violence, as in many cases it is directed against women and girls, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

For those lucky to get out, many end up downtrodden, failed by the justice system, their human rights as victims are taken away, and, after victimization, they end up criminalized. Part of these reasons are due to the gaps in the existing laws that affect victims, mistrust, the failure to reach out to victims physically and psychologically, among others, accordi...