Article

Still Neglecting the Demand that Fuels Human Trafficking: A Study Comparing the Criminal Laws and Practice of Five European States on Human Trafficking, Purchasing Sex from Trafficked Adults and from Minors

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Abstract

This article discusses the implementation of duties to reduce the market for sexual services of trafficked persons, both adults and children. The article begins by describing the duties that stem from international and European obligations. It then presents the legislation and practice of five European states (Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom) regarding human trafficking and the purchase of sexual acts from trafficking victims. The states in the study have introduced measures to combat human trafficking by effective prosecutions and sentencing of traffickers. They have, however, taken few measures to combat demand for the sexual services of trafficked persons; in some countries, no measures at all. As all the countries criminalise the purchase of sexual acts from children below the age of 18, the article examines whether this has afforded trafficked children effective protection against sexual exploitation. One key element in the crime of purchasing sex from a minor is knowledge of the child’s age. The subjective elements that states require range from strict liability (below certain ages) to negligence, and their practice also varies. The article ends by discussing the lacunae that remain before states can be said to secure trafficked persons’ right to effective protection against sexual exploitation.

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... is the judgement ofKelemen and Johansson (2013), who have analysed legislative differences across five European states which legalised and regulated prostitution. Although all countries are signatories to the Protocol, some have undergone additional legislative reforms to focus on the power relationship between the "employer and employee" (not mentioned in the Protocol), while others are still omitting key constituent elements for identifying and prosecuting THB(Kelemen and Johansson, 2013). ...
... is the judgement ofKelemen and Johansson (2013), who have analysed legislative differences across five European states which legalised and regulated prostitution. Although all countries are signatories to the Protocol, some have undergone additional legislative reforms to focus on the power relationship between the "employer and employee" (not mentioned in the Protocol), while others are still omitting key constituent elements for identifying and prosecuting THB(Kelemen and Johansson, 2013). ...
Thesis
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Article
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... The level of these initiatives varies between police authorities 13 Unofficial translation provided by the Swedish authorities quoted in Secretariat of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2014). 14 For a comprehensive description and discussion of Swedish obligations vis-à-vis trafficking and the Swedish Trafficking Act, see Kelemen and Johansson (2013). 15 Statistics from The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, table presented in The National Police Board (2013,7,13). ...
Chapter
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... Across Europe and beyond there are significant variations in the legal age of consent. These domestic laws are complicated when applied in practice, with frequent successful claims being made that the perpetrator thought the victim was older than she or he actually was (Kelemen and Johansson, 2013). ...
... 13 As far as (still) in the possession of the applicant. 14 The Guardianship Service is the only service that can "recommend" a medical examination. According to a protocol between the Immigration Service (DVZ), the Guardianship Service and other agencies within the Ministry of Justice and the Home Office, the latter government agencies' capacity to apply for such an examination was annulled by the Council of State (Council of State no. ...
... A different translation is given in a recent report by the County Administrative Board of Stockholm (2016).13 For a comprehensive description and discussion of Swedish obligations vis-à-vis trafficking and the Swedish Trafficking Act, seeKelemen and Johansson (2013). 14 Statistics from The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, table presented in The National Police Board (2013: 7:13). ...
Chapter
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Chapter
The black letter methodology is employed in this chapter, which focuses on how and why one should accept and recognise human trafficking as an international crime. The chapter analyses the wording of the Rome Statute’s provisions in relation to trafficking. First, consideration is given to the number of preconditions (chapeau elements) that must be met before a prosecution for this category of offence can proceed and examine how aggravated sex can be cognisable by the International Criminal Court (ICC) under its jurisdiction over crimes against humanity. Second, the doctrinal analysis includes a discussion of the Rome Statute’s enslavement provision, its lack of a trafficking definition, its doctrine of prosecutorial discretion, and its gravity threshold.
Article
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Article
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A conference room in Amsterdam in the autumn of 2001. 1 Behind the microphones at the tables at the top end are seated of®cials from the Internal Revenue Service, the Inspection of Work Conditions, Social Security, the Municipal Health Authority and the Fire and Security Department. In the audience there are representatives from the prostitutes' union the Red Thread (Rode Draad), the Confederation of Dutch Trade Unions (Federatie van Nederlandse Vakverenigingen, FNV) and the Foundation against the Traf®cking of Women (Stichting tegen Vrouwenhandel, STV). Also present are employers in the sex branch industry, such as the Association of Entrepreneurs of Relax Businesses (Vereniging van Exploitanten van Relaxbedrijven) and the Association of Window Prostitution Owners (Vereniging van Raamexploitanten). There is even a man from a clients' organisation, the Foundation Man, Woman and Prostitution (Stichting Man, Vrouw en Prostitutie). They are all united in the National Platform for Prostitution (Landelijk Platform Prostitutiebeleid, LPP). Several interested scholars and journal-ists make up the rest of the audience. The topic of discussion is the implemen-tation of the highly publicised legalisation of brothels in The Netherlands in 2000. 2 The conference was a typical manifestation opolder politics'Ðthe speci®c type of corporatism prevalent in The Netherlands, where all interested parties sit round the table to achieve consensus and compromise about policy in a certain area. Prostitution is no longer a controversial moral issue, but is now de®ned as sex work, provided the work is done voluntarily. Prostitutes are entitled to social insurance and can unionise if employed; they also have to pay taxes. Sex employers have to observe labour law, health and safety regulations, and pay social insurance and taxes. Brothels are permitted within certain areas and have to comply with local regulations; pimping is no longer a criminal offence. Forced prostitution, often tied to the traf®cking of women, is to be eliminated. Traf®ckers can be sentenced to an 8-year prison sentence. The legalisation in The Netherlands is almost unique; only New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory (ACT) and Victoria in Australia have similarly recognised prostitution as sex work, and in Europe, Austria has recently taken steps in the same direction. 3 Most other Western European states follow an abolitionist policy that aims at eliminating prostitution and criminalises all those pro®ting ®nancially from prostitution, with the exception of the prostitutes themselves. The case of Sweden is a noteworthy, as, since 1999, clients are also liable to prosecution, and prostitutes are to be reformed and rehabilitated. The city of Helsinki in Finland adopted a similar policy that same year. 4 Britain criminalises nearly all activities associated with prostitution except the selling of sex itself. 5 In Germany policies differ according to the state; strict regulation with designated sites for prostitution and registration of sex workers predom-inate. What led The Netherlands to this major policy change, one which is highly controversial internationally, the more so as it is already notorious to many for its liberal drugs policy, the legal possibility of euthanasia and its ¯ourishing gay scene? To answer the question, I shall ®rst sketch the changes in prostitution during the 1970s which led to the ®rst political demands to lift the ban on brothels and to legalise voluntary prostitution. I shall then present the political debate and the major actors involved in the political arena around the issue. Finally the legalisation will be discussed in the context of the culture of The Netherlands, relating it to the way controversial moral issues are generally solved in this traditionally highly pluralistic society.
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The article compares criminal legislations against trafficking in human beings (THB) in various member states of the European Union. It discusses evolution of anti-trafficking laws internationally and in EU, impact of these laws on preventing THB. It has been informed that THB is a transnational organised crime involving recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person for exploiting them within the sex industry and labor market or through other slavery-like practices. Keywords: Human trafficking Language: en
Sexual Offences (N.I.) Order
Sexual Offences (N.I.) Order 2008, Article 37(1)(c)(ii);
246 et seq. The threshold of negligence did not require caution on the part of suspect, but only that the suspect react if the child informed them of something
  • Ibid
Ibid., pp. 243-244, 246 et seq. The threshold of negligence did not require caution on the part of suspect, but only that the suspect react if the child informed them of something, acted immaturely, or was physically undeveloped.
  • K Kelemen
  • M C Johansson
K. Kelemen and M.C. Johansson / European Journal of Crime, Criminal Law and Criminal Justice 21 (2013) 247-289 289