Austria/Europe

Recent reports from Germany make clear what organisations working against human trafficking and forced prostitution are confronted with: behind seemingly legal employment, private flats and supposedly voluntary prostitution, highly exploitative structures can be concealed.Human trafficking does not only take place in remote regions or in secret. On the contrary: exploitation, human trafficking and forced prostitution […]

A society shows its character by how it treats its people in need of support. Older people, for example. People with disabilities. People who need care, or who cannot live independently due to an illness. But it is exactly these groups who often suffer forms of exploitation that rarely make headlines. It doesn’t always happen

When prostitution is discussed, the dominant image is usually that of women and male clients. However, men who are exposed to these exploitative structures often remain invisible. This article examines how men work in prostitution, whether “voluntarily” as call boys or involuntarily as victims of forced prostitution within the context of human trafficking. The Many

The number of drug victims in Austria who are under-age is rising. Experts are sounding the alarm, and have been demanding for years that more attention be devoted to the issue. Girls from difficult familial or social backgrounds, who are deliberately targeted and influenced by people from the drug milieu, are being impacted particularly harshly.

The current suspected case of human trafficking at a hotel in Tyrol unfortunately is not an isolated incident. As reported in the news since early May, the case has attracted significant public attention – and rightly so. It serves as an alarming reminder of how vulnerable non-citizen workers in Austria still are, particularly in the

Investigative work, the legal framework and structural barriers in the fight against human trafficking and exploitation. Law enforcement and systemic challenges Human trafficking is one of the most serious offences in Austria, involving people being forced into sexual services or other exploitative situations through deception, coercion, violence or exploitation. Due to its geographical location at

Why do people stay in relationships that are damaging to them? Why do they defend people who manipulate, control or exploit them?  For those outside the relationship, it is often incomprehensible. There is often a psychological phenomenon behind this behaviour, however: Trauma Bonding.  What actually is “Trauma Bonding”?  The term Trauma Bonding is used to describe an

Following a guest commentary by doctoral psychologist and internationally renowned psychotraumatologist Ingeborg Kraus, we once again turn to the subject of the Nordic Model. In France, ten years after the introduction of the Nordic Model, activists and civil society groups are taking stock and sending a clear public message. Around 500 people took to the

Fighting human trafficking and the associated illegal trade in prostitution is one of the most complex and demanding tasks of the police in Austria today. Despite legal and strategic measures, the Executive is confronted by numerous structural, operative and legal challenges which make effective education and prevention more difficult. At the same time, bieten sich