The subdelegate of the Government in A Coruña, María Rivas, in the presentation of the campaign A EXPLOITATION IS VIOLENCE, carried out on the occasion of the commemoration 23 November, international day against trafficking in human beings for the purpose of sexual exploitation, pointed out that according to the data of the Ministry of the Interior during 2023 a total of 1,466 victims of crimes of trafficking and exploitation of human beings were identified, 18 were minors. During the past year, the work carried out by the state security forces and bodies enabled 409 investigations to be carried out, resulting in the arrest of 923 people and the dismantling of 109 criminal groups or organizations.
María Rivas presented today the campaign that aims to raise awareness and sensitize all citizens, and young people in particular, about this reality, to which she requested not to remain alien “sexual exploitation, is the third most lucrative criminal business in the world”, a crime typified in Spain in articles 187 and 188 of the Penal Code.
The subdelegate placed the emphasis on prevention, indicating that 7,570 inspections were carried out (1,677 in places where prostitution was practised and 5,893 in work activity centers), 95 of them in Galicia. In the inspections, 7,049 people at risk were identified, 430 of them in Galicia. In addition, in the area of trafficking, 294 persons were identified, 284 of whom were women, 7 men and 3 girls, 19 of whom were Galician victims, and in the area of sexual exploitation, 353 women, 8 men and 9 girls were identified. The work of the security forces and bodies made it possible to improve the data relating to the rescue of victims of sexual exploitation in Galicia: in 2023 it was 26 compared to 2 in 2022. Respect for arrests for crimes of sexual exploitation in 2023 in Spain there were 233 arrests, of which 8 were in Galicia.
María Rivas expressed “the strong commitment of this Government to violence against women, which is materialized in activities such as this campaign but also in the allocation and provision of public funds and in a broad normative deployment aimed at the protection of victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.” Thus, he recalled that since 2018 the Government of Pedro Sánchez has allocated 82 million euros to combat violence against women in Galicia. Of this amount almost 73 million were transferred directly to the Xunta de Galicia and the rest (more than 9 million euros), to the Galician municipalities, mainly through the Funds of the Pact of State cotra gender violence.
Legislative advances
No normative area wanted to highlight the preliminary draft of the Integral Organic Law against the Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings, approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2022, which comprehensively addresses all forms of exploitation and focuses on the disincentive of demand. Among its measures, the National Plan for Awareness and Prevention of Trafficking, the Social and Labour Integration Plan and the Fund for Compensation for Victims are noteworthy.
This norm is an improvement, at the same time as it is a complement and continuity of the National Strategic Plan against Trafficking and Exploitation of Human Beings 2021-2023, which already established objectives and lines of action to address this phenomenon in a multidisciplinary and integral way.
María Rivas recalled that the government’s action is primarily aimed at the protection of victims, and in this regard she highlighted Organic Law 10/2022, on the comprehensive guarantee of sexual freedom, which consolidates a framework of rights and introduces several important measures to protect women victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Likewise, ensuring a comprehensive and specialized response that includes medical, psychological and legal assistance for victims, the implementation of prevention and awareness policies in all areas, including the workplace, to combat sexual exploitation, and the strengthening of protection and security measures for victims
Awareness on social networks
The campaign, consisting of a series of videos for dissemination through social networks, is led by representatives of NGOs working in the field of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and in which the State Security Forces and Bodies also participate. The participating entities are ACCEM Coruña, Echoes of the South, Fiet, Red Cross A Coruña, Doctors of the World, Vagalume Program of Diocesan Caritas and El Mencer de las Oblatas Day Center, to which the subdelegate conveyed her gratitude.
María Rivas concluded by encouraging people to denounce because “women and girls are not objects of consumption. Prostitution is exploitation. The use of human beings for the purposes of sexual exploitation, especially of women and girls, should not leave us indifferent, because EXPLOITATION IS VIOLENCE.”