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Finland Falls Short in Helping Human Trafficking Victims

Finland often fails to identify victims of human trafficking, according to a steering group from the Ministry of Labour.
 
Hundreds of human trafficking victims are estimated to pass through Finland annually. But for many victims, Finland is the final destination. So far, police have launched investigations into just a handful of human trafficking cases. Only one investigation has led to convictions. In the summer of 2006, the Helsinki District Court sentenced seven people in a human trafficking and procurement case.

According to the steering group, more needs to be done to recognise human trafficking victims. It's calling for better training for officials working on such cases. The group also proposes nominating an independent human trafficking rapporteur, who would be responsible for analysing and assisting in human trafficking cases.

The government is expected to approve the steering group's recommendations in the future.

Finland Fails to Identify Sex Abuse Victims
Internationally, victims of human trafficking are often used for sex, and are often women. However in Finland, a large number of suspected human trafficking victims are men who are used for labour.

"The Finnish profile does not match the international picture. We have failed to identify human trafficking victims used for sex," said the chair of the steering committee, Mervi Virtanen. The report emphasises the importance of NGOs and labour organisations in finding victims.

"Victims feel more comfortable approaching NGOs than police," Virtanen added.
 

Adapted from: "Finland Falls Short in Helping Human Trafficking Victims."  YLE.fi. 6 December 2007.