[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

GERMANY (Tier 1) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report

The Government of Germany fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Germany remained on Tier 1. These efforts included funding and appointing an independent national rapporteur and increasing the number of victims identified. Several regional governments and government-funded NGOs conducted awareness campaigns, including on preventing trafficking of refugees from Ukraine. The government also signed a national-level cooperation agreement with a government-funded NGO network and increased law enforcement efforts for labor trafficking. Although the government meets the minimum standards, the government prosecuted and convicted fewer traffickers. Judges continued to issue lenient sentences, resulting in 74 percent of convicted traffickers receiving fully suspended sentences, fines, or less than one years’ imprisonment, which undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, weakened deterrence, created potential security and safety concerns for victims, and was not equal to the seriousness of the crime. The government did not provide judges with training on the severity of trafficking crimes and the importance of applying the stringent penalties available under the trafficking law. The government remained without national victim identification and referral guidelines for all forms of trafficking, which may have hindered victim identification, particularly among refugees and asylum-seekers. Compensation and restitution for victims remained rare, and shelter and NGO funding for victim care and assistance remained insufficient.

Prioritized Recommendations

Vigorously investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.

Improve sentencing practices by training judges about the severity of trafficking crimes and the importance of applying the stringent penalties available under the trafficking law.

Ensure equitable treatment of victims by creating a national identification and referral guideline for all forms of trafficking across all states.

Ensure systematic and continuous anti-trafficking training for immigration officers to increase proactive victim identification among vulnerable populations, including foreign migrants and asylum-seekers.

Ensure systematic provision of care for child victims and extend more specialized care, services, and sufficient accommodations for male victims.

Increase awareness of and trafficking survivor access to damages and compensation and increase prosecutor’s efforts to systematically request restitution for victims during criminal trials.

Increase funding for NGOs that provide survivor care and assistance.

Adopt an anti-trafficking NAP for all forms of trafficking.

Increase the capacity of investigators, prosecutors, and courts with specific expertise on trafficking cases to minimize delays in bringing cases to trial and consider additional dedicated human trafficking units.

Continue to increase prioritization of labor trafficking, including victim identification and investigation and prosecution of labor traffickers.

Increase worker protections by eliminating recruitment or placement fees charged to workers by German labor recruiters and ensuring employers pay any recruitment fees.

Implement effective regulations and oversight of recruitment companies and industries comprised predominantly of migrant workers, which are consistently enforced, including prosecution for fraudulent labor recruitment and labor trafficking.

Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Establish a uniform and comprehensive data collection system, including publicly available disaggregated data on sentencing where courts convict defendants of both trafficking and other serious crimes.

Consider appointing a national coordinating body, responsible for both sex and labor trafficking, to increase harmonization of the institutional framework and coordination structures at the federal and state levels.

Increase survivor engagement, including by establishing accessible mechanisms for receiving and providing compensation for survivor input when forming policies, programs, and trainings.

Increase efforts to pursue financial crime investigations in tandem with human trafficking cases.