National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings Report 2014
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VÄHEMMISTÖVALTUUTETTU MINORITETSOMBUDSMANNEN National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings Report 2014 Publication 16 National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings Report 2014 Assessment of the current state of action against human trafficking and of the fulfilment in criminal proceedings of the rights of victims of human trafficking subjected to sexual exploitation Ombudsman for Minorities Helsinki 2014 © Ombudsman for Minorities ISBN (printed): 978-952-491-980-7 ISBN (pdf): 978-952-491-981-4 Grano, 2014 Contents Foreword .....................................................................................................................5 Summary .....................................................................................................................7 1. Introduction .........................................................................................................10 2. The Ombudsman for Minorities as the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings ............................................................................13 2.1. Authority and duties of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings ..........................................................................................13 2.2. Right of the National Rapporteur to obtain information ..............................15 2.3. Strategy of the National Rapporteur .............................................................17 3. Report of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, 2010 .........22 3.1. Assistance system for victims of human trafficking .....................................23 3.2. Residence permits and reflection periods .....................................................24 3.3. Refusal-of-entry procedures and identification of victims of human trafficking ..........................................................................................25 3.4. Criminal proceedings and the application and interpretation of the essential elements of human trafficking .......................................................25 4. Parliament’s policy decisions concerning the report and their monitoring ........27 4.1. Report of the Employment and Equality Committee ...................................27 4.2. Policies on action against human trafficking and the Programme of Prime Minister Katainen’s Government .......................................................30 4.3. Assisting victims of human trafficking .........................................................31 4.3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................31 4.3.2. International law binding upon Finland .............................................................................33 4.3.3. Improving the assistance system ........................................................................................36 4.3.4. Development of legislation concerning assistance for victims of human trafficking .......42 4.4. Criminal law and criminal proceedings ........................................................44 4.5. Human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, and employment supervision ...............................................................................49 4.5.1. Research findings ...............................................................................................................49 4.5.2. Convictions for human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation........................51 4.5.3. Prevention of human trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, and identification of victims .....................................................................................................53 4.6. Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings ...............................................................................................55 4.7. Duties of the national anti-trafficking coordinator .......................................56 5. Application and interpretation of the provisions on procuring in the Criminal Code .....................................................................................................58 5.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................58 5.2. Provisions on procuring in the Criminal Code .............................................59 5.3. Procuring at Thai massage parlours ..............................................................62 5.3.1. Concept of “sexual intercourse or a comparable sexual act” in the procuring provision .62 5.3.2. Satisfying the essential element of financial benefit .........................................................63 5.3.3. Status of the women who sell sex at massage establishments ..........................................65 5.3.4. Characteristics of human trafficking in cases of procuring involving Thai massage parlours ...............................................................................................................................66 5.4. Procuring at erotic shops and restaurants .....................................................68 5.4.1. Satisfying the essential element of financial benefit ........................................................68 5.4.2. Evaluation of intent on the part of business operators .......................................................69 5.5. The case of procuring Nigerian women ........................................................70 5.6. Drawing a line between procuring and human trafficking ...........................74 6. Application and interpretation of the provisions on human trafficking in the Criminal Code ...........................................................................................76 6.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................76 6.2. Provisions on human trafficking in the Criminal Code ................................76 6.3. Provisions on human trafficking in legal practice ........................................78 6.3.1. The case of the model agency ............................................................................................78 6.3.2. The case of the underage victim of human trafficking ......................................................80 6.3.2.1. Decision of the District Court ...............................................................................80 6.3.2.2. Decision of the Court of Appeal ............................................................................82 6.3.3. The case of human trafficking resulting in a conviction for procuring .............................88 6.4. Criminal liability for sexual offences related to human trafficking .............93 6.4.1. Legislation ..........................................................................................................................93 6.4.2. Legal practice .....................................................................................................................95 6.4.3. Liability of a buyer of sex .................................................................................................98 6.5. Concept of sexual exploitation in the human trafficking provisions .........103 6.5.1. Legislation ........................................................................................................................103 6.5.2. Legal practice ...................................................................................................................104 6.6. Dynamics of sexual exploitation and its consequences ..............................108 6.6.1. Human trafficking as a form of sexual exploitation and violence ...................................108 6.6.2. Human trafficking and factors making victims susceptible to exploitation ....................110 6.6.3. Consequences of exploitation and the importance of assessing them in criminal proceedings ......................................................................................................................111 6.7. Giving evidence in cases of human trafficking: using video recordings ....114 6.7.1. Significance of the matter ................................................................................................114 6.7.2. Proposals for legislative amendments ..............................................................................116 7. Conclusions and recommendations ..................................................................119 5 Foreword The present document is the second report of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings to be submitted to Parliament. The first such report was submitted to Parliament in 2010. After a thorough discussion, Parliament outlined the objectives and possible legislative reforms in action against human trafficking for the following few years. I cannot recall any process comparable to this where a report evaluating the operations of the authorities was handled politically with such remarkably effective results in systematically improving those operations and the legislation governing them. At the time of publishing the present report, Parliament is debating two government proposals that were prompted by Parliament’s discussion of the previous human trafficking report. For Parliament to discuss such a report on human trafficking on a regular basis is a unique process even by international comparison, and as such is of great interest to other European countries, and also further