Human trafficking and the victim-centered approach: hurdles and future prospects from the Spanish perspective

• In Event: Criminology of Mobility Panel 1. Regulation and Prevention of Human trafficking

Abstract

Human trafficking is a very serious criminal phenomenon with a global impact and is closely linked to organized crime. It is also linked to very serious violations of human rights since, in essence, the victims of trafficking are instrumentalized for the sole purpose of obtaining economic benefits from their exploitation, particularly affecting the most vulnerable people.
At the Spanish level, the regulation of the crime of human trafficking is relatively recent, since it was introduced in the Criminal Code in 2010, in compliance with international commitments. However, the reforms of the Criminal Code did not include a joint regulation of trafficking and exploitation of human beings as would have been appropriate. Nor did it include the criminalization of forced labor, servitude or slavery, which were contemplated as a purpose of the crime of trafficking, but, in themselves, did not constitute an autonomous crime.
In view of the various shortcomings of the Spanish regulation, most authors have underlined the need for the criminalization of forced labor and a more in-depth comprehensive approach. It is for this reason that the Draft Bill of the Comprehensive Organic Law against Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings, approved in November 2022, aims to be the legal text that responds to these needs and through which the victim-centered approach to trafficking and exploitation of human beings in Spain becomes effective.
This presentation, therefore, seeks to establish an overview of the human trafficking regulation in Spanish criminal law, addressing its most salient shortcomings and highlighting the solutions proposed by the aforementioned Draft Bill in order to achieve comprehensive protection for all victims of trafficking, as well as an effective criminal prosecution of all forms of exploitation.

Author

• Nerea Marín, University of Alicante