Trafficking in human beings is a serious crime and a grave violation of fundamental rights. Combatting it is a priority for the European Union. Article 20 of Directive 2011/36/EU2 foresees a two-yearly report on the progress made in the fight against trafficking in human beings. Despite progress made over the past years, the threat remains high. Recent major crises, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, have further exacerbated people’s vulnerability to being exploited. According to the EU Serious Organised Crime Threat Assessment 20213 (EU SOCTA 2021), trafficking in human beings is a core activity of serious and organised crime in the EU and is set to remain a threat for the foreseeable future. Measures have been taken at the EU level and by Member States in order to prevent the crime, reduce demand that fosters trafficking in human beings; break the business model of traffickers; protect and support the victims; as well as address the international dimension.

P.6 During the reporting period, forms of trafficking in human beings, other than sexual and labour exploitation, accounted for 11% of all cases21. Such forms of exploitation include forced criminal activities, forced begging, illegal removal of organs and “other” forms, which are not included in the definition of Article 2(3) of Directive 2011/36/EU, such as illegal adoption, forced and sham marriages, illegal surrogacy and benefit fraud. While forced criminality and forced begging only accounted for 3% of all registered victims in the EU for 2019-2020, several Member States reported an increase in these forms of exploitation. Forced criminality is often associated with theft, petty crime, pickpocketing, shoplifting and selling drugs. Forced begging was the second main form of exploitation in Estonia (20%) and forced criminality was the second most prevalent form of exploitation in Greece (42%). Member States reported that women, children and irregular migrants are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for these purposes. Victims often have a disadvantaged background, are homeless or suffer from alcohol or other addictions. Some Member States underlined that victims of trafficking for forced begging are mostly from Roma communities and persons with disabilities. Data on the number of victims of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of forced begging in 2019-2020 indicates that 47% were children2