The term alimony refers to monetary (replacement income, e.g. daily allowances) or in-kind benefits (reimbursement of incurred costs or direct financing of services) that social welfare institutions pay to benefit recipients to secure their livelihoods.

For those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings There are various possibilities of alimonyThose affected from third countries are initially entitled to benefits under the Asylum Seekers' Benefits Act (AsylbLG) during the reflection period. This act is based on the principle of covering the needs of a temporary stay in Germany, with priority given to benefits in kind. If they are granted a residence permit under Section 25 Paragraph 4a of the Residence Act (AufenthG) upon cooperation with law enforcement authorities, they are entitled to benefits under the Social Code, Book II (SGB II) or Book XII (SGB XII). Those affected from EU countries fall under the provisions of the Freedom of Movement Act and are generally entitled to benefits under SGB II or SGB XII under certain conditions. However, there are very different procedures in the individual federal states and ambiguities on the part of the issuing authorities, so there is no uniform maintenance practice for EU citizens.

labor exploitation or exploitation of labor is covered in the German Criminal Code (StGB) under § 233 and refers to the exploitation of a person's employment by taking advantage of a situation of duress or foreign-specific helplessness.

Such employment relationships are characterized, for example, by low wages, excessively long working hours, exorbitant placement fees and/or rent payments, dangerous working conditions, and withholding of wages. Section 233a of the German Criminal Code (StGB) covers cases in which labor is exploited through deprivation of liberty.

The transitions between unfavorable and poor working conditions are often... labor exploitation fluid. Sometimes a working relationship that initially appears "only" unfavorable deteriorates over time to such an extent that labor exploitation or even exploitation involving deprivation of liberty. labor exploitation It occurs in a wide variety of industries. However, there are some industries or sectors where the known cases of labor exploitation These include, for example, construction, agriculture and seasonal work, the catering and hotel industry, the meat processing industry, the logistics and parcel sector, or also care and household-related services, especially in private households.

Exploitation of Criminal Activities is defined in the criminal code as a form of human trafficking, which Forced labour and labor exploitation This is covered by Sections 232, 232b, and 233. In cases of exploitation in the commission of criminal acts, the victims are coerced into committing crimes. These can include, for example, theft, drug trafficking, or credit card fraud. The perpetrators' goal is to gain financial gain through the crime without committing it themselves. The fact that this is a criminal offense can, and often is, used by the perpetrators as additional leverage to prevent the victims from refusing to participate or seeking help. Due to the resulting vulnerable situation, it can be assumed that a large proportion of the victims avoid contact with the police to prevent being treated as perpetrators themselves.

Exploitation of begging activities is considered a form of human trafficking, which Forced labour and labor exploitation covered in the Criminal Code (§ 232, 232b, 233).

This practice involves forcing people in dire economic or personal circumstances, or those vulnerable due to their stay in a foreign country, to beg. They are forced to hand over a large portion or all of their earnings. They are often monitored and controlled and prevented from giving up begging.

Foreign-related helplessness generally refers to situations where individuals find themselves in a country whose language they do not speak or barely understand, whose legal system they are unfamiliar with, where they lack a social network, or where they lack information about available counseling and support services. A lack of orientation and knowledge of local conditions also fall under this category. This is frequently exploited by human traffickers.
Exploiting the helplessness associated with staying in a foreign country is an important concept in the criminal offenses relating to Trafficking in Human Beings and exploitation of the penal code, because it is considered a means of committing a crime.

If there are concrete indications that a person may be affected by Trafficking in Human Beings and/or exploitation, the immigration authority is obliged under German law to grant a temporary suspension of deportation for at least three months in accordance with Section 59 Paragraph 7 of the Residence Act (so-called temporary suspension of deportation). reflection and stabilization periodDuring this period, the individuals concerned are protected from expulsion or deportation. This period is intended to allow them, among other things, to become aware of their current situation and their rights, to seek specialized advice, and to obtain information. This is done, for example, with the help of... specialised counselling centresUltimately, the deadline also serves to allow individuals to decide for or against giving testimony to law enforcement authorities.

The term "third-country national" generally refers to persons who do not hold the nationality of an EU, EEA, or Swiss member state. This is a legal term from asylum and immigration law. It is usually used to describe nationals of countries that are not covered by the EU's freedom of movement rights.

Many affected by Trafficking in Human Beings are third-country nationals. Their residency status plays a major role for them, as it determines their access to safe accommodation, to alimony, depending on therapies, integration and language courses, or also questions of family reunification.

The so-called Dublin III Regulation (Regulation 604/2013/EU) governs the responsibility for examining asylum applications from third-country nationals (Dublin procedure). Responsibility therefore lies with the European country in which the person concerned demonstrably first entered. The regulation was signed in 2013 between the member states of the European Union and Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

In relation to the topic Trafficking in Human Beings It plays a role because many victims from third countries fall under this regulation. They often come to Germany via Italy, Spain, or another EU country and therefore usually have to return to the respective country under the Dublin Regulation to undergo the asylum procedure there, especially if the exploitation did not take place in Germany and no criminal proceedings are initiated here.

The  EU Directive 2011/36 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims is the central instrument at the European Union level in the area of ​​combating human trafficking. The Directive sets minimum standards for defining offenses and penalties in this area. Trafficking in Human Beings as well as provisions on victim protection and prevention. The directive also obliges member states to address not only sexual exploitation but also... Forced labour/labor exploitation, exploitation of begging and criminal activities and Trafficking in Human Beings Organ harvesting should be criminalized as a form of exploitation.

In Germany, the directive was adopted in 2016 by the “Law to improve the fight against human trafficking […] implemented.  

The implementation of the directive will be supported by a strategy of the EU Commission to combat Trafficking in Human Beings accompanied. In so-called progress reports to the EU Commission, member states report every two years on the measures they have taken to combat human trafficking.

The Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking in Human Beings (Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings – No. 197) of 2005 is a joint convention of the member states of the Council of Europe to combat trafficking in human beings. It is the first legally binding document to define Trafficking in Human Beings in a human rights context. This is made clear in the preamble to the Convention, in which Trafficking in Human Beings is explicitly named as a human rights violation. In comparison to other international treaties such as the Palermo Protocol She emphasizes that, in addition to combating crime, it is also important to consider the rights of those affected. The convention covers all forms of human trafficking.

The implementation and application of the convention is ensured, firstly, by the GRETAThe Commission (Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking) and, secondly, a committee comprising representatives of the contracting states.

The Financial control of undeclared work (FCS) is a unit of the German Customs Service. Its main task is FCS This includes combating illegal employment through inspection and investigative powers under the Act to Combat Undeclared Work (SchwarzArbG). This allows the FCS This includes conducting interviews with individuals and reviewing business documents. The law against illegal employment and welfare fraud, which came into force in 2019, has furthered this responsibility. Financial control of undeclared work They received additional powers, including expanded auditing and investigative authority to combat Forced labour and exploitation of labor.

When the KOK was founded in 1999, it decided to use the term Trafficking in women preferable to human trafficking, as this term was significantly broader than the German legal definition of human trafficking at the time. Until 2005, only Trafficking in Human Beings Sexual exploitation is covered by the German Criminal Code (StGB). specialised counselling centres but have always also dealt with cases of labor exploitation or to engage in exploitation within marriage, which falls under the legal definition of Trafficking in Human Beings were not recorded. Therefore, they decided to use the term Trafficking in women to use in order to capture the full range of exploitation methods encountered in their practice. As a result of the legal amendments to the German Criminal Code (StGB), which now encompass the various forms of exploitation, the KOK (Commission for the Investigation of Exploitation of Exploitation) now uses this method. Trafficking in Human Beings spoken.

GRETA The Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings) is a committee of 15 experts that regularly reviews the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings by member states. The establishment of GRETA This is provided for in Article 36 of the Convention. The evaluation of the implementation of the Council of Europe Convention by the member states is a process that takes place in several rounds. It requires GRETA The States Parties are called upon to submit reports on the implementation of the Convention, based on a questionnaire sent out in advance. Based on these reports, country visits, and discussions with governments and civil society organizations, the GRETA Then country reports with specific analyses and recommendations are published. The reviewed countries have the opportunity to comment on these reports. However, the recommendations in the reports are not legally binding.

The term Children trafficked is mostly used when it comes to Trafficking in Human Beings with and exploitation of minors.

As those affected by Children trafficked Trafficking in and exploitation of children is considered a crime under the law. Palermo Protocol (Article 3(c)) any person under eighteen years of age who is recruited, abducted, handed over, harbored, or received for the purpose of exploitation, whether within or outside a country. The German Criminal Code (StGB) does contain a provision regarding this in Section 236. Children trafficked However, adoption trafficking is recorded there.

The term “child trafficking”, used in an international context, is more commonly referred to in German as the trade in and exploitation of children and young people, explicitly meaning exploitation by Trafficking in Human Beings and not the adoption trafficking provisions of the Criminal Code. The trafficking in and exploitation of children and young people is covered by Sections 232 et seq. Trafficking in Human Beings and exploitation. Unlike adult victims, in cases involving persons under 21, the use of coercive measures is not necessary to prosecute the offenses. Trafficking in Human Beings and to fulfill exploitation.

The nature of the practical cooperation between the police and specialised counselling centres Cooperation agreements are established at the state or regional level. The aim of these agreements is to define the different objectives and tasks of the participating actors and to establish clear and binding regulations for cooperation in (suspected) cases of Trafficking in Human Beings and to create exploitation. The template was a proposal from the federal-state working group. Trafficking in Human Beings The federal cooperation concept was developed in 1997. Based on this model, cooperation agreements now exist in 13 federal states. These agreements vary in form, for example, as agreements, contracts, or decrees at the state level, but also at the regional or municipal level. At least the police are always involved. specialised counselling centresIn some federal states/regions, other actors, such as authorities, are also involved.

Trafficking in Human Beings is defined in the German Criminal Code (StGB) under § 232 and covers the recruitment, transport, receiving and harboring of a person by exploiting a situation of duress or helplessness with the aim of exploitation by:

• the practice of prostitution or the performance of sexual acts
• an employment
• the practice of begging
• the commission of acts punishable by law
• Slavery, serfdom, debt bondage or similar conditions
• forced organ removal.

For persons under 21 years of age, there does not need to be a situation of duress or helplessness.

The individual forms of exploitation are then described in the following sections 232a et seq. of the German Criminal Code (StGB). Forced labour, ZwangsprostitutionExploitation of labor and exploitation through deprivation of liberty, as well as exploitation of prostitutes under Section 180a of the German Criminal Code, are punishable offenses. The term Trafficking in Human Beings The term "exploitation" in the German Criminal Code (StGB) is therefore relatively narrowly defined and refers only to the creation of conditions that enable exploitation, not the exploitation itself.

However, the KOK uses the term Trafficking in Human Beings in a broader sense, encompassing both the recruitment process and the entire exploitative situation. The various forms and areas of human trafficking and exploitation (sexuelle Ausbeutung, labor exploitation, exploitation of begging and criminal acts) as well as forms of exploitation, even below the threshold of criminal offenses Trafficking in Human Beings, are increasingly viewed as a whole and no longer sharply separated from one another, as practice has shown that in many cases there are commonalities and the transitions can often be fluid.

Private prosecution In criminal procedure law, this means the possibility for the injured party or their legal successor to actively participate in the public prosecution by the public prosecutor's office (§395 Code of Criminal Procedure).
This right also applies to those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings Witnesses entitled to participate as co-plaintiffs are granted special rights in criminal proceedings (including the right to legal representation, the right to inspect files, the right to be present, the right to ask questions, and other rights during the proceedings). Their participation in the proceedings gives them the opportunity to actively influence the proceedings or to defend themselves against the trivialization of their injuries.

The Non-Punishment Principle (or Non-Punishment Clause) refers to regulations according to which those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings They will not be held accountable for crimes or offenses they committed (or were forced to commit) as a result of their exploitative situation. This can be the case, for example, for those who have committed immigration violations or who were coerced or forced to commit criminal acts. In Germany, this is enshrined in Section 154c Paragraph 2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. Accordingly, the public prosecutor's office can refrain from prosecution if those affected are... Trafficking in Human Beings as part of the exploitation, they had to commit a crime, such as theft. Both the EU directive against human trafficking Both the Council of Europe Convention and the Convention oblige states to establish a regulation guaranteeing immunity from prosecution for victims of Trafficking in Human Beings introduce.
This is intended to protect the rights of the victims, prevent their further victimization, and encourage them to testify against the perpetrators as witnesses in criminal proceedings.

The Palermo Protocol is the Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 2000 on preventing, combating and punishing trafficking in human beings, especially women and children. The Palermo Protocol regulates measures to combat... Trafficking in Human Beings and for cross-border cooperation to this end. The protocol was the first international legal document to contain a comprehensive and harmonized definition of Trafficking in Human Beings and included all groups of people and forms of exploitation. It stipulates that no coercion needs to be used to prove the offense against minors. Trafficking in Human Beings to meet.

The main focus of the Convention is the prosecution and combating of organized crime. Compliance with the Convention is monitored by the Conference of States Parties, which meets every two years.

The Law regulating the prostitution industry and protecting persons working in prostitution (ProstSchGThe law came into force in 2017. This law establishes regulations for prostitution, or sex work, and prostitution businesses – including a registration requirement with mandatory counseling sessions for sex workers, a requirement for regular health consultations, and a licensing requirement for operating prostitution businesses with a reliability check and minimum operational requirements. The law will be evaluated starting in 2023.

With the introduction of the Law regulating the legal status of prostitutes (ProstGIn 2001, the prohibition against prostitution was lifted. The aim was to eliminate the criminal aspects associated with prostitution by creating a legal framework for its practice. This made it easier for sex workers to enforce their wages and access social benefits and social security.

Psychosocial process support This refers to the support and accompaniment of particularly vulnerable individuals (especially victims of sexual and violent offenses) during criminal proceedings. It includes qualified care, information provision, and support throughout the criminal process. The primary aim is to reduce the individual burden on those affected. This has been enshrined in the law on [the following] since January 1, 2017. psychosocial process support This is regulated in criminal proceedings (PsychPbG). In principle, those entitled to benefits also include victims of Trafficking in Human Beings.

Specialized specialised counselling centres for those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings (FBS) are non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provide advice and support to those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings offer. The FBS They offer concrete help to those affected, including, depending on their services and resources, psychosocial counseling and support, crisis intervention, support services, safe houses or referrals to secure accommodation, referrals to legal advice as well as medical and psychological care, referrals to social benefits for basic needs, accompaniment to asylum and criminal hearings and witness statements, support during criminal proceedings, cooperation with authorities, offices and institutions, and referrals to other counseling centers as needed. These support services are available to all those affected, regardless of whether they are cooperating with law enforcement or not. Their services are free of charge and anonymous. The organizations united in the KOK (Coordination Office for Victims of Crime) specialised counselling centres They work according to common guiding principles and quality standards.

The Right to refuse to testify (ZVR) pursuant to Section 53 of the Code of Criminal Procedure grants members of certain professional groups a limited Right to refuse to testify one, in order to guarantee the protection of the relationship of trust between them and those who seek their help.

This applies, for example, to lawyers, doctors, and counselors providing pregnancy conflict counseling. The goal of ZVR The goal is to give clients, patients and customers the absolute assurance that what they have reported during a consultation will remain truly confidential.

Employees of specialised counselling centres for those affected by Trafficking in Human Beings do not have a ZVRHowever, it happens repeatedly that they are summoned as witnesses in court proceedings on behalf of their clients. They must therefore inform their clients before the consultation that this is a possibility and that they may then have to testify about information confided in them during the consultation. This can disrupt the trust necessary for the consultation.

The offense of "forced labor" is defined in Germany in § 232b of the Criminal Code (StGB) and, like other criminal offenses, falls under... Trafficking in Human Beings under section 18 of the German Criminal Code.
According to this, Forced labour inducing a person to act by exploiting their personal or economic duress or their foreign-specific helplessnessto take up employment that exploits her. This also includes the exploitation of begging. Forced labour This does not only occur in the context of economic gain, but can also be rooted in working conditions. A key characteristic of this offense is influencing a person for the purpose of subsequent exploitation. If the individuals affected are under 21 years of age, Forced labour can also be penalized without any influence on the will.

The offense of "forced prostitution" is defined in Germany in § 232a of the Code of Criminal Procedure (StGB) and, like other criminal offenses, falls under the criminal code. Trafficking in Human Beings under section 18 of the German Criminal Code.
Accordingly, it is called ZwangsprostitutionProstitution occurs when someone, by exploiting a person's personal or economic duress or helplessness associated with their stay in a foreign country, induces them to engage in or continue prostitution, or to perform or allow sexual acts to be performed on them, thereby exploiting them. A key element of this offense is influencing a person for the purpose of subsequent exploitation.
For persons under 21 years of age, exploitation of a vulnerable situation or foreign-specific helplessness not necessary to establish the criminal offense Zwangsprostitution to fulfill. Simply initiating the process is sufficient.