Ending impunity and delivering justice: Understanding women’s agency and consent in cases of trafficking in human beings

Side event Ending Impunity and Delivering Justice: Understanding Women's Agency and Consent in Cases of Trafficking in Human Beings on the margins of the International Conference for Strengthening Criminal Justice Responses to and Detection of Trafficking in Human Beings amid Refugee Flows from Ukraine, Vienna, 20 June 2024. (OSCE) Photo details

On 20 June at the Vienna Hofburg, the OSCE Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and the Transnational Threats Department co-organized a side event centered on understanding women's agency and consent in cases of trafficking in human beings (THB).

The event was held on the margins of the "OSCE High-level international conference on strengthening criminal justice responses to and detection of trafficking in human beings amid refugee flows from Ukraine". Its aim was to explore the nature and complexity of agency and involvement in cases of THB specifically from the perspective of women.

The event brought together heads of national law enforcement and prosecution authorities, as well as representatives from specialized anti-trafficking and cybercrime units, who shared their national experience and best practices in implementing gender-sensitive responses to THB.

The discussions underscored the need to better understand the complexities surrounding women's involvement in cases of THB in order to enhance the protection of trafficking victims and strengthen the investigation and prosecution of these cases.

In particular, the event facilitated in-depth discussion on the victim-offender overlap, which refers to women's involvement as perpetrators in human trafficking cases as a means to escape their own exploitation. In this context, the importance of ensuring a human rights-based approach to combating THB was highlighted, particularly the application of the non-punishment principle for victims of trafficking.

During the event, particular attention was given to the findings of two OSCE publications: "Applying gender-sensitive approaches in combatting trafficking in human beings" and "Understanding the role of women in organized crime". These publications address the impact of gender stereotypes on the treatment of THB cases and highlight the relationship between prior victimization and subsequent offending.