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Trafficking in Human Beings is the exploitation of human beings for profit. It is a terrible violation of human rights, as a human being becomes a commodity to be trafficked. A person is owned and deprived of their freedom. Trafficking in human beings is the slavery of the 21st century and one of the activities of internationally organised crime.
It takes place in Slovenia as well – Slovenia is a country of transit (due to its geographical location, the so-called “trafficking routes” pass through Slovenia), a country of destination (forced prostitution, forced begging, labour exploitation, forced/arranged marriages) and, to a lesser extent, a country of origin for many victims of trafficking (forced prostitution, forced/arranged marriages).
Forms of trafficking include:
- exploitation of prostitution
- exploitation of homosexual prostitution
- forced labour/exploitation of children and adults
- forced begging
- exploitation of children for the purpose of sexual abuse
- displaying photographs and videos of sexual abuse of children (child pornography)
- forced marriages
- illegal adoptions
- servitude
- coercion into committing crimes
- trafficking in human organs, tissues and blood.
These are all gross violations of human rights.
The Palermo Protocol, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, defines trafficking in human beings in Article 3 as:
(a) “trafficking in persons” means the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons for the purpose of exploitation, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control over another person. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution or other forms of sexual abuse of persons, their forced labour or services, slavery or similar conditions, servitude or removal of organs;
(b) the consent of the trafficked person to the intended exploitation referred to in subparagraph (a) shall not be taken into account if the means referred to in subparagraph (a) have been used;
(c) the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered trafficking in human beings, even if it does not involve the means referred to in subparagraph (a) of this Article;
(d) “child” means any person under the age of eighteen years.