SOCIAL PROTECTION OF THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS FROM ROMANIA

Abstract

Human trafficking is one of the most widely spread crimes in today’s Europe. Not only does it affect the direct victims but also the indirect victims and the communities in which it develops. The social protection of the victims of this crime is not merely an obligation which the states that have signed the Protocol of Palermo have assumed but it is also a very important instrument to supress it’s development by strengthening the vulnerable category of victims of human trafficking and thus avoiding the risk of re-victimisation and re-trafficking. Thus, exposing the victims as less as possible to the exploiters throughout the rehabilitation phase which often coincides with the criminal investigation and criminal trial phase is an important ally. The present paper analyses the current social assistance context in Romania and provides a case study of a unique case of human trafficking as a model of best practice.