The Open Gate/La Strada Association expresses concern about the outcome of the first instance proceedings in the case in which the victim was a child who was abused and trafficked for sexual exploitation by adult men. Child trafficking is a serious crime.
Access to justice for the victims of child trafficking and sexual violence implies not only finding and punishing the perpetrators, but also imposing an appropriate sanction that will have a deterrent effect on the repetition of the crime by the accused, but also for the rest of society. The imposed sanctions send a message to the defendants, but to the rest of the traffickers, that their behavior is not serious enough to impose a sentence at least within the legal minimum.
We are particularly concerned that the court deviated from the previous practice of awarding fair compensation to victims of human trafficking in criminal proceedings. Namely, the access to justice for victims of child trafficking also implies the awarding of fair compensation as compensation for the fear, pain and mental suffering suffered by the child victim.
The court, with yesterday’s decision, failed to properly apply the Law on Justice for Children, according to which these procedures are urgent and the court has an obligation to act in a way that will not prolong the procedure and expose the child victim to additional victimization. Instructing the victim to conduct proceedings before a civil court to exercise the right to compensation for damages will further victimize her and prevent her recovery as a victim of child trafficking and rape.
Finally, child trafficking is one of the most worrisome aspects of human trafficking in the country. In the period of 20 years, most of the identified victims are children, who make up 70% of the cases. Most of these children are between the ages of 9 and 17 and come from vulnerable categories. Women and girls dominate among the victims, with a high representation of cases of double exploitation – sexual and labor. The average age of child victims is about 15 years, which makes this phenomenon even more worrying.
Open Gate emphasizes that such data emphasize the urgent need to prevent child trafficking, and child victims must be provided with protection and access to justice.
PDF version of our statement:
