The National Rapporteur particularly focuses on the following four themes per 2024:
1. Vulnerable Groups
Not everyone is equally vulnerable to exploitation and sexual violence. Understanding risk factors, the overlap of victimhood and perpetration and the broader context of both mandates is crucial, and provides insight into the nature and extent of these issues. Additionally, it guides recommendations for approaches and policies. Groups that require attention include unaccompanied minor foreigners, labor migrants, individuals with mild intellectual disabilities, minors, and young perpetrators of sexual violence against children.
2. Protection of victims
Victims of sexual violence against minors often face severe and prolonged challenges, and appropriate and accessible help is not always available. The existing support is not always safe for these victims, as evidenced by reports of sexual abuse in youth care. The protection of human trafficking victims is largely linked to the criminal procedure, making victim protection dependent on decisions in the legal process. This so-called legal victimhood is different from actual victimhood.
Understanding the effects of human trafficking and sexual violence against children is essential for providing proper victim protection. Previous research by Conny Rijken on the psychological consequences of human trafficking revealed that some victims expect a more directive approach from caregivers and law enforcement when they are aware of their situations. Is this useful? When is it/not? Are they allowed to expect this? When is it/not? And does this also apply to victims of sexual violence against children to the same extent?
3. Functioning of the Criminal Justice Chain
Research into the functioning of the criminal justice chain is necessary to determine the effectiveness of the criminal prosecution of offenders and identify areas for improvement. At all decision points in the criminal justice chain, there are risks to the effective handling of human trafficking and sexual violence against children. Therefore, the National Rapporteur aims to scrutinize various decision points in the coming years.
Firstly, there is the identification of human trafficking and sexual violence against children and its follow-up; then, the investigation begins. In the prosecution phase, we already observe an increase in the number of technical dismissals. Next are the phases of adjudication and reintegration. Currently, my office is working on research into the identification of human trafficking and research into the adjudication of human trafficking.
4. Human Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children in the Context of Migration
In the migration chain, the primary focus is on why someone left their country, but migration is not a linear process. People often stay in one place along the way, voluntarily or not, and encounter forms of crime, including human trafficking and sexual violence, during migration. These experiences are brought to the Netherlands and often persist; they may still be involved in criminal networks or face adverse effects from their migration experiences. More insight into these phenomena is desired as it provides input for research into the nature and extent of human trafficking and sexual violence against children.