Anti-trafficking budget slashed by 70%, US report says

Malta remains a “source and destination country” for women and children subjected to sex trafficking, the United States Department of State has reiterated in its annual human trafficking report.

The report, published in June 2014, claimed that the Maltese government is not fully compliant with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, “however, it is making significant efforts to do so.”

“Although the government developed victim referral guidelines, it reduced the amount of public funds for trafficking programmes by 70 per cent. Furthermore, while the government continued to identify victims, including one victim of internal trafficking, it did not identify any child victims, including among children prosecuted by Maltese courts for prostitution offenses.”

The DoS report stated that authorities initiated more trafficking prosecutions, but that the government had not convicted any trafficking offenders for the second consecutive reporting period.

The Maltese government has passed an amendment to the criminal code that enhanced penalties for offenders and better aligned the code with international law on consent. It also launched a public awareness campaign during the reporting period.

Reduced budget

While the DoS report stated that the government sustained its anti-trafficking prevention efforts, the budget for trafficking programmes was reduced to the approximate equivalent of €45,000 in 2013 from €105,000 in 2012.

The government enhanced its transparency by issuing a semi-annual progress report on the implementation of its 2013-2014 action plan, running a trafficking-focused public service announcement for primetime television and issuing information leaflet in entertainment venues, government offices, and embassies.

In 2013, seven clubs and massage parlours were inspected to detect illegal work and potential trafficking cases, compared to at least 135 inspections during the previous reporting period.

According to the report, female sex trafficking victims primarily originate from China, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine.

It says that forced labour victims largely originate from China and the Philippines.

“Filipina domestic workers, Chinese nationals working in massage parlours, and women from Central and Eastern Europe working in nightclubs represent populations vulnerable to exploitation,” the report states, in a reference to visible stereotypes that have taken root in Maltese society.

No new cases of child trafficking were documented in the reporting period.

Legal changes

The government also amended its criminal code to ensure victims’ initial consent is deemed irrelevant to a trafficking prosecution.

The government investigated four new trafficking cases in 2013, compared to seven cases in the previous period.

The prosecution of a police officer for alleged involvement with the trafficking offender convicted in 2011 remained pending due to an appeal of the conviction. The government provided trafficking-specific training for the police force, but did not offer training for prosecutors or the judiciary.

The government also took steps to improve victim protection efforts by developing a victim referral mechanism. Police identified seven trafficking victims in the reporting period, compared to four in the previous period. One of the victims was a Maltese national. None of the victims identified was a child, and the government has not formally identified a child victim of trafficking in at least 11 years. NGOs identified an additional two potential trafficking victims who chose not to report to the police.

In January 2014, the government’s trafficking monitoring committee approved standard operating procedures for the referral of potential trafficking victims to assistance. The procedures allowed a range of entities to refer victims to Aġenzija Appoġġ, a government social services agency, for crisis intervention care, including emergency shelter. Adult victims could leave the shelters on their own without supervision

The criminal code amendment also grants trafficking victims access to compensation available to victims of violent international crime. No victims sought compensation from their traffickers, nor the government, and observers noted that victims were not adequately informed about their right to pursue compensation.