In 2000, the United Nations adopted the Palermo Protocol. It is an international agreement that aims to prevent and combat human trafficking worldwide, especially when it affects women, girls, and boys.
It defines the crime of human trafficking for the first time and establishes that trafficking occurs when three elements are combined:
When someone recruits, transports, transfers, harbours, or receives a person.
Using unlawful methods such as:
Deception or false promises
Abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability
Threats or coercion
Force or violence of any kind
Kidnapping
Payments or benefits given to another person to gain control over the victim
When the victim is a child or adolescent, it will be legally considered that a crime of trafficking has occurred, even if none of the aforementioned illegal means have been used. It is sufficient that any of the actions have been carried out with the intention of exploiting the minor.
The purpose of trafficking is to subject the person to exploitation for the aim of obtaining financial or other benefits.
Types of exploitation purposes
This is when someone forces, pressures or deceives a person into performing sexual activities from which another person derives benefit. The victim has no control over their situation and cannot make free decisions.
This is when a person is forced to work or perform activities without being able to say no, under threat, control or abuse. The person loses their freedom and is subject to the orders of the traffickers.
This consists of forcing the person to commit crimes, such as theft, drug trafficking, illegal cultivation or other criminal activities. The victim acts under control and coercion, and the profits are kept by another person.
This is when a person is forced, deceived, or coerced into donating or giving up an organ (such as a kidney) without real consent.
This is when a person, usually a woman or girl, is forced to marry without their free consent. Marriage is generally used in these cases as a form of control, abuse or exploitation.
This occurs when a woman is forced, pressured or deceived into carrying a pregnancy for another person, without freedom to decide about her body or her rights. Traffickers control the process for their own benefit.
This occurs when children are recruited, transferred or handed over for illegal adoption, without guarantees or protection, for the financial benefit of traffickers or intermediaries.
Consent
According to the Palermo Protocol, any consent given by the victim is invalid if any of the aforementioned illegal means (deception, threats, abuse, etc.) have been used.
Even if the person said ‘yes’ at some point, if someone deceived, pressured, or took advantage of their situation, that consent is not considered valid, and the person should be recognised as a victim of trafficking. In the case of minors, it is irrelevant whether they gave their consent, even if no illegal means were used.