Trafficking in persons: A victim's perspective

Historically, protection and assistance to victims of human trafficking in many countries is anchored in migration law and dependent on whether or not a residence permit is granted to the victim. Apart from some limited exceptions, cooperation with law enforcement authorities in criminal investigations is a condition for the granting of a residence permit to victims of trafficking. Given the fact that many victims are national victims (for instance in the Netherlands around 25%) or in the context of the EU are EU citizens and do not need a residence permit, this link with migration law excludes them from the special programmes for trafficking victims. Moreover, many victims do not want to go to the police or do not consider themselves victims of trafficking or are unaware of the protection and assistance facilities available, which further limits the range of such programmes. This triggers the question whether or not the current protection and assistance provided to victims of trafficking matches the needs of these victims. Based on empirical research in the Netherlands, this chapter aims to answer this question.