Netherlands
Trafficking in Human Beings (THB)

France and Sweden have a joint strategy to combat trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation in Europe and in the world. Watch the important webinar held on 4 March 2021 in the Netherlands with Dutch experts and moderator Renate van der Zee.
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Prostituted persons:
25.000 – 30.000

Human trafficking:
6.250 victims each year

Domestic sex trafficking:
3.000 victims (1.320 girls)

Cross-border sex trafficking:
1.300 victims

Task Force on Human Trafficking

National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children

The National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings and Sexual Violence against Children reports on the nature and extent of human trafficking and sexual violence against children in the Netherlands, and on the effects of the government policies pursued.
> dutchrapporteur.nl
> nationaalrapporteur.nl
> twitter.com/NLRapporteur

Monitoring Target 16.2 of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

A multiple systems estimation of the numbers of presumed human trafficking victims in the Netherlands in 2010-2015 by year, age, gender, form of exploitation and nationality.
nationaalrapporteur.nl/Netherlands_tcm23-282232.pdf

Victims of Human Trafficking.
Periodical Report 2012-2016. Summary

Domestic sex trafficking is the most common form of human trafficking in the Netherlands: each year there are approximately 3,000 victims. Dutch girls, specifically, make up a big group: annually 1,320 girls are victimized. They are also the least identified, which means they do not get the protection they need. This is presented in the publication Victims of Human Trafficking Periodical Report 2012-2016.

The estimated number of victims of human trafficking is five times as big as the number of identified victims and comes down to approximately 6,250 victims each year. This is the first time the Dutch National Rapporteur on Human Trafficking releases a substantiated estimate of the true number of victims of human trafficking, based on a research undertaken together with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). Up till now, it was only possible to report on the number of registered victims. The actual number is much higher, because human trafficking often takes place under the radar.
> dutchrapporteur.nl/victims-of-human-trafficking-periodical-report-2012-2016

Dadermonitor Mensenhandel 2013-2017

Mensenhandel is een aantasting van de waardigheid en integriteit van de mens en een inbreuk op diens persoonlijke vrijheid. Toch vindt uitbuiting van zowel kinderen als volwassenen nog iedere dag plaats.
In Nederland gaat het naar schatting om tussen de 5.000 en 7.500 (mogelijke) slachtoffers per jaar.
Internationale verdragen en Europese richtlijnen verplichten lidstaten tot het voeren van effectief beleid om mensenhandel tegen te gaan. Dit beleid dient zich te richten op het voorkomen van mensenhandel, het vervolgen en berechten van daders en op het beschermen en ondersteunen van slachtoffers. Daarbij dienen overheden samen te werken met elkaar, maar ook met maatschappelijke organisaties en private partijen.

Nederland geeft uitvoering aan deze verplichting door alle verschijningsvormen van mensenhandel strafbaar te stellen en mensenhandelslachtoffers (vreemdelingrechtelijke) bescherming en ondersteuning te bieden. Daarnaast ontwikkelt de Nederlandse overheid beleid en actieprogramma’s gericht op de intensivering van de aanpak van mensenhandel, zoals de Landelijke Veiligheidsagenda 2019-2022, waarin de landelijke prioriteiten van de Nationale Politie worden beschreven en de interdepartementale programma’s Samen tegen mensenhandel en Geweld hoort nergens thuis. Binnen dit laatste programma is specifieke aandacht voor (minderjarige) slachtoffers van seksueel geweld en seksuele uitbuiting in het bijzonder. Naar schatting zijn er in Nederland 1.300 minderjarige slachtoffers van seksuele uitbuiting, waarvan slechts 11% in beeld is bij de overheid. Een minderjarige die seksueel uitgebuit wordt is ook slachtoffer van een zedendelict. Het is volstrekt onacceptabel dat zoveel minderjarigen in Nederland slachtoffer worden van deze ernstige vorm van geweld.
> nationaalrapporteur.nl/actueel/2019/arbeidsuitbuiting-en-criminele-uitbuiting-blijven-vaak-onbestraft.aspx


Rijksoverheid

Bestrijden van mensenhandel

De overheid pakt de bestrijding van mensenhandel integraal aan. Ze schakelt alle partijen in die daaraan kunnen bijdragen. Daarnaast biedt de overheid slachtoffers ondersteuning.
> rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/mensenhandel-mensensmokkel/bestrijden-mensenhandel

Wegwijzer mensenhandel

De wegwijzer mensenhandel helpt professionals de juiste ondersteuning voor slachtoffers van mensenhandel te vinden. Op deze site vindt u informatie over de verschillende fases en stappen in de ondersteuning van slachtoffers van mensenhandel, de rechten en regelingen die daarbij gelden en over de organisaties die daarbij verder kunnen helpen. Meer informatie over de wegwijzer vindt u onder ‘Over ons’.
> wegwijzermensenhandel.nl

CoMensha

CoMensha is the national, independent expertise and coordination center that defends the interests and rights of victims of human trafficking in the Netherlands.
> comensha.nl


U.S. Department of State

Trafficking in Persons Report 2020: Netherlands

TRAFFICKING PROFILE
As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in the Netherlands. Most identified victims are Dutch girls enticed by young male traffickers, known as “lover boys,” who coerce vulnerable girls into sexual exploitation.
Labor traffickers exploit men and women from Eastern Europe, Africa, and South and East Asia in industries such as inland shipping, leisure river cruises, agriculture, horticulture, hospitality, domestic servitude, and forced criminal activity. Refugees and asylum-seekers, including unaccompanied children, are vulnerable to labor trafficking. Criminal groups force Romani children into pickpocketing and shoplifting rings. Over the last five years, more than 1,600 foreign children have left refugee centers to unknown destinations and remain highly vulnerable to exploitation. The Netherlands is a source country for child sex tourists. Refugees and asylum-seekers, including children in government-run asylum centers, are vulnerable to sex trafficking.

BONAIRE, ST. EUSTATIUS, AND SABA (BES)
As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit foreign victims in the BES islands. Increasingly, traffickers exploit Venezuelan women in sex trafficking on the BES islands. Local authorities believe labor traffickers also exploit men and women in domestic servitude and in the agricultural and construction sectors. Women in commercial sex and unaccompanied children are highly vulnerable to trafficking. Some migrants in restaurants and local businesses may be vulnerable to debt bondage.

The BES criminal code criminalized sex and labor trafficking under article 286f, prescribing penalties ranging from six to 15 years’ imprisonment. Bonaire prosecuted its first trafficking case in 2012; the case remained ongoing at the end of the reporting period. The mandate of the Netherlands’ national rapporteur did not extend to the BES islands; therefore, the office could not conduct local research. Local governments on the BES islands
ran multidisciplinary anti-trafficking teams, which cooperated with each other and with Dutch counterparts; however, there was little evidence of their effectiveness. Victims of violence, including trafficking, were eligible for compensation from the Violent Offenses Compensation Fund.
> state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report

Council of Europe

GRETA publishes second report on the Netherlands

19 Oct 2018
The positive steps taken by the Netherlands include the setting up of a national network of regional co-ordinators of assistance provided to victims of trafficking and the increased funding for police and prosecution services dealing with trafficking cases, as well as for the labour inspectorate SZW which is competent to detect and investigate cases of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. The creation of the Victim Identification Board, an independent multidisciplinary body tasked with the identification of victims of human trafficking, is another welcome development. Further, the report commends the awareness-raising campaigns concerning trafficking for different forms of exploitation and the steps taken to strengthen co-operation in the field of labour migration. Particular attention has been paid in the Netherlands to victim compensation and there have been many decisions by courts ordering perpetrators to pay compensation to victims of trafficking.
> coe.int/greta-publishes-second-report-on-the-netherlands
> coe.int/en/web/anti-human-trafficking/netherlands

OM Podcast 7: mensenhandel, wat is dat eigenlijk? – Openbaar Ministerie

Wat is mensenhandel? En wat kan je er zelf aan doen? In deze podcast lopen we met officier van justitie Warner ten Kate over de Amsterdamse Wallen, dé plek waar mensenhandel en uitbuiting misschien wel het meest zichtbaar is.
> soundcloud.com/openbaar-ministerie/om-podcast-7-mensenhandel-wat-is-dat-eigenlijk

Openbaar Ministerie Mensenhandel

Leeuwarden afvoerputje van prostitutie: vrouwen werken al voor 20 euro

Jan 8, 2020 – Slapen boven de bordelen, zwartwerken en twijfel over (on)vrijwilligheid. Dat is de realiteit van de rosse buurt in Leeuwarden, volgens meerdere bronnen het ‘afvoerputje’ van de prostitutiesector van Nederland.
> nos.nl/leeuwarden-afvoerputje-van-prostitutie

Dozens of low-IQ girls in care homes lured into prostitution

Oct 2, 2015 – At least 76 women and girls who live in institutions for people with learning difficulties have ended up working as prostitutes since 2013, according to research by television current affairs show Dit is de Dag.
> dutchnews.nl/dozens-of-low-iq-girls-in-care-homes-lured-into-prostitution