Combating Trafficking in Women for Sexual Exploitation in Germany - The Role of the Non-Governmental Network Organisation KOK e.V. and Its Member Organisations

Milica Slavkovic, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Prior to the early 2000s, trafficking in human beings was primarily understood in terms of a criminal offence, that is, the research on the phenomenon and the measures to combat it focused on the fight against organised crime, illegal/irregular migrations and smuggling. With the turn of the century and supported by the international documents, among others, the Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings CETS 197 (2005), the emphasis shifted towards trafficked individuals and the act of trafficking became globally recognised as a violation of trafficked person’s human rights per se. The necessity to protect and assist trafficked people and to support them in the realisation of their rights, known as a human rights-based approach to combating trafficking, became particularly addressed in the lobby and advocacy work of the non-governmental organisations world- wide.

Adopting a human rights perspective to combating trafficking in people, this PhD project aims at analysing the aspects of the human trafficking phenomenon in the Federal Republic of Germany, concentrating on trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, as, according to current findings, trafficked individuals in Germany are disproportionately female and sexual exploitation is the most common trafficking manifestation. Within this scope, the primary research concern is the anti-trafficking role of the German network NGO KOK e.V. (Activist Coordination Group Combating Trafficking in Women and Violence against Women in the Process of Migration) and its member organisations. Here, the analysis focuses on two aspects, namely, on KOK e.V. as a coordination group of 37 non-governmental organisations, which performs PR work and lobbying, and on three selected KOK e.V. member organisations (specialised counselling centres), which in addition to lobbying provide counselling, support and assistance services to trafficked women. This empirical research intends to thoroughly investigate the organisations’ structures, decision-making processes, financing, lobbying and assistance approaches, methods and procedures, experiences with their beneficiaries, other NGOs and state actors in order to identify the challenges, difficulties, limitations, successes and positive experiences in their work. Furthermore, the comparative study of three counselling centres from three different German federal states intends also to identify the variations in the counter-trafficking mechanisms within which the organisations in their respective states work. In this respect, the conclusions are to be drawn about the models that may have proved to be more functional in practice and the recommendations provided for the possible harmonization of the procedures, contributing in that manner to the effectiveness of the German counter-trafficking policies.