16/09/2013 Equality and Non-Discrimination
Jorge Fernández Díaz, Spanish Minister of the Interior, announced that he considered the fight against trafficking in human beings as one of the priorities of his Ministry at the meeting of the Network and the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination on 16 September 2013 in Madrid.
New legislation was being drafted with a view to preventing this “new form of slavery which is an offence to fundamental rights, freedom and dignity”.
He also shared data concerning the situation in Spain in the first semester of 2013:
-145 cases had been opened for trafficking linked to sexual exploitation;
-156 people had been detained for trafficking and 290 for sexual exploitation;
-The majority of those who had been detained for trafficking are men and come from Romania (37%), Spain (24%) and Nigeria (19%);
-127 victims of trafficking had been identified, as well as 502 victims of sexual exploitation. The majority of them were women;
-Most identified victims of trafficking came from Romania (47%), Paraguay (22%) and Nigeria (10%). The majority of them did not have a regular immigration status in Spain. 12 are minors;
-Most identified victims of sexual exploitation came from Romania (25%), China (17%) and Brazil (11%). The majority of them had a regular immigration status in Spain.
Mr Díaz called for an enhanced cooperation between Council of Europe member states, a harmonisation of legislation and a coordination of databases in order to combat effectively trafficking in human beings.
