28 Amendments of Ramona STRUGARIU related to 2020/2029(INI)
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas THB is intrinsically linked to sexual exploitation and is a highly gendered phenomenon; whereas THB to and within the EU continues to increase, with Europol warning how the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could further escalate the number of victims;
Amendment 86 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Urges the Commission and the Member States to prioritise, on paper and in practice, the fight against THB; Calls on the Member States to allocate the necessary financial and human resources on a structural basis, to enable all involved sectors and actors, such as law enforcement, the judiciary, and social and health workers, to fully and efficiently fulfil their responsibilities;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out the need for a coordinated and coherent framework at EU level that guarantees the protection of victims of THB, including through coordinated implementation with the rights conferred by the Victims’ Rights Directive, the Residence Permit Directive, , the Directive 93/2011/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and the Compensation Directive15 ; _________________ 15 Council Directive 2004/80/EC of 29 April 2004 relating to compensation to crime victims, OJ L 261, 6.8.2004, p. 15.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to ensure the continuity of the EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator’s work by appointing a full- time EU Anti-Trafficking Coordinator with relevant expertise, working with national representatives from state and civil society to ensure consistent cooperation across the EU;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses the importance of the funding of the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF), Daphne fund and Internal Security Fund (ISF) programmes to continue to be used for projects tackling THB, as well as using other available instruments;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Highlights that the lack of consistent and detailed data continues to hamper the adequate assessment of trends in THB; calls on the Member States to collect more up-to-date, centralised and comprehensive data disaggregated by age and gender and including internally trafficked people, by compiling statistical information in cooperation with civil society;
Amendment 168 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on all Member States to effectively guarantee the rights of victims and to support them with a gender- sensitive approach while ensuring complementarity with the Victims’ Rights Directive; notes that the Anti-Trafficking Directive prohibits the criminalisation of victims of THB; Calls on all Member States to ensure that legal assistance is provided to potential victims of THB at the earliest possible moment;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on all Member States to effectively guarantee the rights of victims and to support them with a gender- sensitive approach while ensuring complementarity with the Victims’ Rights Directive; notunderscores that the Anti- Trafficking Directive prohibits the criminalisation of victims of THB;
Amendment 188 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that while the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet measureable, it is nevertheless clear that the crisis disproportionately affects the most vulnerable victims of THB, especially women and children; Stresses that due to the increased use of the Internet, social media and online advertisements, a sharp increase in the number of victims of trafficking exploited online is expected; calls on the Member States for more effective and coherent actions targeting online exploitation, with the support of relevant EU agencies, such as Europol;
Amendment 207 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Points out the need for a coherent and coordinated National Referral Mechanism (NRM); underlines that good cooperation between the police and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) cannot be a substitute for a fully fledged NRM defining the roles and responsibilities of all relevant actors16 ; encourages Member States to set up national centres specialised in the support and reception of victims of THB and to facilitate direct and efficient cross-border cooperation between those centres as well as between law enforcement agencies; _________________ 16 The recommendations by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human beings (GRETA) include ensuring the application of the NRM to asylum seekers and persons in immigration detention.
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Highlights that demand drives trafficking and thus should be a key target for prevention and prosecution efforts;
Amendment 271 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Urges the Member States to focus on the recurring and emerging patterns of THB for sexual exploitation, such as the increasing exploitation of children and the use of the ‘lover boy’ method as the most frequent means of recruiting victims by using online technologies; notes that the increased use of online technologies by criminal networks engaged in THB has significantly transformed their traditional modus operandi;
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17a. Urges the Member States to adopt comprehensive sexuality education as a key form of prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls including trafficking and sexual exploitation; calls for it to include consent and relationships education promoting healthy attitudes of respect and equality in all interactions and the realities of demand-driven THB for sexual exploitation;
Amendment 344 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to early identify potential victims, in particular within migration flows and hotspots; highlights that potential victims identified should be provided with protection and access to safe places where information could be provided; calls on the Member States to provide adequate resources for specialised facilities for unaccompanied minors and female victims of trafficking and ensure sufficient places in shelters;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Calls on the Member States to focus on identifying child victims and helping them to avail themselves of their rights; emphasises the need for well- trained and well-supported guardians, including temporary guardians as an emergency measure, to be appointed immediately for child victims; advises the Member States to increase the number of guardians by organising awareness campaigns;
Amendment 384 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on Members States to ensure that consulate staff pays particular attention to the correct verification of the identity of minors and the link with the person(s) exercising parental authority or legal guardianship when taking the minor's biometric data in the visa application procedure; calls on the Commission, in close cooperation with Europol, to provide targeted and effective education and training for Member States' authorities to prevent child trafficking;
Amendment 388 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls on the Member States to fully implement Directive 2011/93/EU on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography26 , and to reinforce police and judicial cooperation to prevent and combat sexual exploitation; urges the Member States to cooperate with EU agencies, in particular with Europol and its dedicated entities, to step up information exchange and to support cross border investigations; _________________ 26 OJ L 335, 17.12.2011, p. 1.
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27a. Points out that child victims need specific support, taking into account their best interests and specific vulnerabilities; encourages the Member States to ensure that professionals in contact with child victims, such as law enforcement, border guards, civil servants, the judiciary, and social and health workers (including youth care facilities), are sufficiently trained in identifying, supporting and referring of child victims of THB;
Amendment 394 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 b (new)
Paragraph 27 b (new)
27b. Deplores that specialised teams within law enforcement, trained in the audio-visual recording of child testimonies, are not consistently involved in the questioning of all child victims of THB; urges the Member States to make this standard practice and to train law enforcement staff in this type of (child friendly) questioning;
Amendment 395 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Paragraph 27 c (new)
Amendment 396 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Notes that children in migration, and, in particular, unaccompanied migrant children, continue to be at higher risk of trafficking and exploitation along migration routes en route to and within the EU; urges the Member States to protect unaccompanied migrant children against those risks by assuring them the same rights as all other children and taking their best interests into account, to assign them a guardian upon arrival, and to provide them with proper and adapted living conditions; stresses that a coordinated European approach is necessary to find and protect unaccompanied migrant children when they go missing, including data exchange (e.g. through an integrated database which can only be accessed and used in the best interests of the child);
Amendment 401 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Points out that other vulnerable children, such as children in youth care facilities, runaways or children with disabilities, can become victim of THB; Calls on the Member States to reinforce the protection of those minors by informing and empowering them and by raising awareness in schools, youth centres and youth movements;
Amendment 406 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)
Paragraph 28 a (new)
28a. Notes with high concern the prevalence of child pornography and normalisation of trafficking and sexual exploitation due to hypersexualisation in pornography, and calls on the Commission and Member States to ensure prevention of unlawful materials becoming available and normalised;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 b (new)
Paragraph 28 b (new)
28b. Notes that most children either have a smartphone or have access to a smartphone from the ages of 9 or 10; Underlines that grooming and sextortion are well-known techniques to sexually exploit children and that those reports are on a rise; Encourages the Commission and the Member States to take further action in fighting these online crimes and to reinforce preventive measures towards minors on the one hand and (potential) offenders on the other;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Regrets that conditions for a victim to receive the official status of THB victim are often too rigid to fulfil, especially for minors and other vulnerable victims who are financially and emotionally dependent on their traffickers; Calls on the Member States to adopt clear provisions on the non- prosecution or non-punishment of THB victims and on decoupling protection from cooperation with law enforcement agencies, currently putting the complete burden on the victim; requests the Member States to rather fulfil their needs on a more psycho-emotional level;
Amendment 435 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Deplores that data on the identity of THB victims appear in police reports and throughout proceedings, making it hard for victims to speak out or to protect them from retaliation; encourages Member States to keep names and other identity data in separate files, accessible for the police and the prosecution but not to be disclosed to the suspects of THB or their lawyers;
Amendment 444 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Underlines the crucial importance for the EU law enforcement community to develop efficient and extended analytical capabilities in response to the ever- increasing online-facilitated THB criminal patterns; calls on the Commission to provide financial support to EU agencies such as Europol, to secure the highest analytical standards and adequate tools to process increasingly complex amounts of information;
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
Highlights the continuing lack of effective implementation of the Anti-Trafficking Directive by Member States; Calls on the Commission to initiate infringement proceedings where implementation has been inadequate;