1. The legal situation in the German Criminal Code.
Despite the last reform in 2005 there are still loopholes.
So far fewer than 10% of offenders (people smugglers, pimps) have been brought to trial and even fewer convicted.
This is due to the burden of proof, since criminal courts set high benchmarks for the crime of human trafficking. Adaptation to European law was supposed to ease the burden of proof. The new provisions for the criminal offence of human trafficking (statement from Prof. B. Thoma on the reform) have existed since 2005.
Overall the penalties were increased. Trafficking women and consigning them to prostitution or into exploitative work situations is now punishable with a maximum of 10 years imprisonment.
New provisions cover the following:
1. Trafficking people into prostitution no longer counts as a sexual criminal offence, but as a crime against personal freedom, since human trafficking often includes deprivation of liberty. The emphasis now is less on violation of sexual self-determination than an invasion of personal freedom.
2. Human trafficking was broken down into three areas:
3. In future, criminal proceedings will take exploitation and other sexual practices into consideration as well as prostitution.
Thus manifestations of human trafficking such as exploitation in peep shows, production of pornographic presentations, and marriage trafficking can be more easily pursued.
4. If a woman is forced into marriage, this will be regarded in future as a particularly severe form of coercion. This is supposed to send a signal against forced marriage.
5. There are now raised minimum penalties for:
6. If the victims of trafficking are in Germany without a residence permit, the public prosecutor no longer has to sue them for breaching the Aliens Act. This means that the women do not harm their own case by giving evidence against offenders. (§154 StPO)
7. In order to press charges, it is sufficient if a suspect has attempted to force the woman into prostitution or other sexual practices.
8. The offender no longer has to be proven to have gained financial advantage. If it can be proven that the woman was financially exploited, that is sufficient.
9. There is a special age of protection of minors of 21, even if coercion or defencelessness in a foreign country is not the case.
10. If the victim is younger than 14, offenders face a minimum penalty of one year.
11. Encouraging, or aiding and abetting trafficking (e.g. accommodating or transporting victims), are now combined in a new provision.
12. Profits made by offenders can now be confiscated more easily on conviction.
13. Abduction was formulated into a provision of its own; up to now there was only deprivation of freedom.