Tim za socijalno uključivanje i smanjenje siromaštva

The US State Department published a Human Trafficking Report on 27 July, the so-called TIP Report for 2015. The goal of this Report is to raise global awareness on the issue of human trafficking by calling attention to various aspects of this phenomenon and indicating individual and joint efforts by the international community.

Serbia: group 2

Serbia is a country of origin, transit and destination for men, women and children exposed to human trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labour, including housework and forced begging. Women from Serbia are exposed to human trafficking with the goal of sexual exploitation by Serbian criminal groups in Russia, the neighbouring countries and Europe, especially Italy, Germany and Switzerland. Serbian citizens, particularly men, are exposed to labour exploitation, in labour intensive sectors, such as construction, in European countries (including Azerbaijan, Slovenia and Russia) and the United Arab Emirates. Children from Serbia, particularly Roma children, are exposed to human trafficking for sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced begging and undertaking criminal acts, frequently by family members, within the territory of Serbia. Foreign victims of human trafficking in Serbia originate from neighbouring countries, including Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova.

The Government of Serbia does not fully meet the minimum of standards for eliminating human trafficking, but is making significant efforts in this direction. Victim identification has significantly increased, particularly forced labour victims, although in the field of care for victims, state procedures were lacking for referring victims to non-government organizations providing services, while employees in social work centres are not trained to provide assistance to victims of human trafficking. A smaller number of traffickers were convicted, and those convicted received short sentences. The state did not provide sufficient protection for victims during the criminal proceedings, therefore they were exposed to scare tactics and secondary traumatization.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SERBIA:

Improve criminal proceedings with guilty sentences and punishment for traffickers that deter from committing the crime; train investigators, prosecutors and judges on victim-centric approaches to cases of human trafficking; provide a full level of protection during witnessing for victims in court to reduce scare tactics and re-traumatization; introduce a provision on non-punishment of victims for acts committed as the direct consequence of being exposed to human trafficking into the laws; improve cooperation with NGOs regarding victim referral and increase financing for NGOs providing reintegration services; improve training of state officials on assistance and referral of victims; increase efforts to identify victims among asylum seekers and children without guardians begging in the streets; adopt a national strategy for combating human trafficking and an action plan and involve NGOs in their implementation; increase efforts to discourage demand for the services of victims of human trafficking; and set up a national coordinator for combating human trafficking as an independent full-time body.

More information can be found at www.astra.org.rs