Ministry of Justice: How does the Domestic Violence Prevention Act treat the protection of human trafficking victims?

Opinion taken from the Ministry of Justice website via the following link: https://mpravde.gov.rs/sekcija/17548/trgovina-ljudima-.php

Ministry of Justice introduced the criminal offense of human trafficking from the Article 388 of Criminal Code to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, and such legal solution is in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.

The criminal offense of human trafficking is cited among criminal offenses in Article 4 point 17 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, and bearing in mind that the criminal offense of human trafficking is classified under the jurisdiction of a higher court before which the public prosecution is represented by higher public prosecutors, Article 26 paragraph 4 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act provides that “if the prosecution of criminal offenders determined by this law is under jurisdiction of the higher public prosecution, higher public prosecutor appoints his deputy, who has completed specialized training, to participate in the work of the group and preside over it”.

In addition to cooperation aimed to prevent domestic violence, it is envisaged that the Domestic Violence Prevention Act also applies to the cooperation of state authorities and institutions in criminal proceedings of other criminal offenses that are listed in the Article 4 of Domestic Violence Prevention Act, and that is the great importance of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, given that it promotes multisectoral cooperation between all the bodies mandated to assist the victim.

Viewed through the prism of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, the criminal offense of human trafficking, Article 388 of the CC implies that persons for liaison will first be appointed (Article 24 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act) in each higher public prosecutor's office, police administration, higher court, and center for social work.

These liaison officers exchange notifications and information relevant to the detection, prosecution and proceedings for the criminal offense of human trafficking on a daily basis, along with those for providing protection and support to victims of human trafficking.

Articles 25 and 26 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act envisage a composition and manner of work of the Coordination and Cooperation Group, which is always comprised of: deputy higher public prosecutor who chairs the group, police officer specialized in combating human trafficking (member of one of the 27 local police teams formed to combat human trafficking) and a representative of the center for social work.

In addition to three permanent members of the Coordination and Cooperation Group (representatives of the higher public prosecutor's office, center for social work, and the police) in the sense of Article 25, paragraph 4, of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act, the Group may be attended by: representatives of the Center for Human Trafficking Victims Protection as a social protection institution that performs identification tasks and provides adequate assistance and support to victims of human trafficking aimed at their recovery and reintegration, representatives of education and health institutions, National Employment Agency, NGO Astra dedicated to the eradication of all forms of human trafficking and exploitation, as well as an effective search for missing children, Citizens’ Association Atina for combating trafficking in human beings and all forms of gender-based violence, representatives of other associations and individuals who provide protection and support to victims of human trafficking.

Namely, the Coordination and Cooperation Group holds meetings at least once every two weeks, or more often when necessary, taking into account the number of filed criminal charges for the criminal offense of human trafficking referred to in Article 388 of the CC, during which: the group reviews cases where protection and support is to be provided to victims of criminal offense of human referred to in Article 388 of the CC, drafts individual plans of support and protection for the victims, proposes to the Public Prosecutor's Office measures for the completion of court proceedings.

Also, at the meetings of the Coordination and Cooperation Group, individual plans of protection and support are developed to contain comprehensive and effective measures for the protection and support of the victims of human trafficking, as well as other members of their family in need of support, as provided for in Article 31 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act. Thus, preparation of individual plans is also a form of measure taken to cooperate with civil society organizations Astra and Atina who work on provision of assistance and support to victims of human trafficking.

In this way, assistance is provided to the victims as prescribed in Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, given that individual plans of protection and support provide assistance that can enable suitable and safe accommodation, psychological and financial assistance, access to emergency medical care, education for children, the right to access the labor market, professional development and education.

It is important to mention Article 29 of the Domestic Violence Prevention Act when it comes to victims of human trafficking, as it cites that state organs and institutions are obliged, at the first contact with victims of the criminal offense of human trafficking, to give full information about organs, legal entities and associations providing victims protection and support in a manner and a language that the victim understands in the sense in which Article 12 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings provides assistance to victims of trafficking through translation and interpretation services, counseling and informing, particularly on their legal rights and services that are available to them in a language they understand. Such a legal solution is in line with the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, which the Ministry of Justice recognized and introduced the criminal offense of human trafficking from the Article 388 of the Criminal Code to the Domestic Violence Prevention Act.

Human trafficking, as a global issue, equally affects countries that are in the post-conflict period, i.e. period of economic and social transition, as well as industrially developed countries. Human trafficking is a multifaceted, complex and dynamic social phenomenon that requires a comprehensive (legal and social) approach to the issue, i.e. the implementation of effective measures in the field of prevention, suppression, punishment of offenders, and protection of victims, with obligatory mutual cooperation of the states. As a form of serious and organized crime, human trafficking is not limited to the territory of only one country. This phenomenon, including stages of recruitment, transport and exploitation of victims, in its various forms, occurs in the territory of countries of origin, transit, and final destination. Women, children and men are being subjected to a variety of forms of abuse and exploitation that violate their basic human rights. Victims of human trafficking are most commonly women and children. “Feminization of poverty”, i.e. a poor representation of women and their discrimination on the labor market, is especially characteristic for countries in the transition period. The number of victims, that is, the scope and characteristics of human trafficking, are almost impossible to establish with absolute accuracy. This is partly a consequence of the lack of common criteria of all the involved actors for identification of victims, but also a consequence of the lack of unified system of data collection and storage which would be applied with the obligation to respect the privacy and identity of victims.

Report the criminal offense of human trafficking to:

Emergency police service (24/7) - 192

Criminal Investigations Directorate: +381 11 247 10 19; +381 64 724 10 19; ukp@mup.gov.rs

Personally, in local organizational units of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia, police administrations, police stations.