Human trafficking: modern slavery
Human trafficking is a serious violation of human rights that directly threatens basic guarantees such as life, liberty, and security. Traffickers strip victims of their dignity and treat them as mere commodities. This series of rights violated by the crime of trafficking, which are considered inherent and inalienable to human beings, is regulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 1948. This instrument is the starting point for all subsequent legislation on trafficking that exists today.
At the international level, the first definition of the crime of trafficking was provided by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, of 2003, better known as the Palermo Protocol, which complements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The concept of trafficking in the Palermo Protocol was incorporated into Spanish law through Article 177 bis of the Criminal Code, which states that trafficking consists of the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a person by means of violence, intimidation, or deception, or by abusing a position of superiority, need, or vulnerability, for any of the following purposes: the imposition of forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or begging; sexual exploitation, including pornography; exploitation for criminal activities; organ removal; or forced marriage.
Despite the seriousness of this crime, Spain remains one of the main countries in Europe for the destination and transit of victims of trafficking, according to the Third Evaluation Report of the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA). According to the Report of the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) on Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings in Spain, a total of 502 victims of trafficking were identified in 2023. Of these, 60% had been sexually exploited and more than 70% of the total number of victims were women and girls. It can therefore be said that trafficking has a female face.
Although different states are making efforts to combat the phenomenon of trafficking, traffickers are perfecting their strategies faster than the development and implementation of measures to protect victims. In addition, advances in technology are increasing the recruitment of victims through social media and digital platforms, making it even more difficult to detect potential victims. Trafficking is one of the most profitable businesses in the world, along with drug and arms trafficking, generating an estimated $150 billion in profits each year.
With a view to future improvements, Spain has the opportunity to expand its framework for protecting victims of trafficking thanks to the publication of Directive (EU) 2024/1712 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 13, 2024, amending Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting victims, which must be transposed into Spanish law by July 2026. This Directive introduces significant changes, such as considering surrogacy as a new form of exploitation and criminalizing the dissemination of sexual content via the internet.
In short, while trafficking is a serious violation of human rights and a crime, it is also an extremely lucrative business for traffickers, who adapt their recruitment and exploitation strategies to the social reality of a globalized and technological world. This means that many victims of trafficking, especially women and girls, remain unidentified and, therefore, helpless. That is why states must join forces in developing and implementing the necessary measures to prevent crime and protect victims, who must be at the center of any policy action.
Claudia Hernández Cortés, FIBGAR contributor.
