European Anti-Trafficking Day

Certain life situations may involve a higher risk of experiencing such types of abuse, including:

• long-term unemployment, debt,
• being responsible for supporting a family,
• experiencing problems, personal crises,
• intellectual disability

How do people involved in human trafficking operate?
They may, for example:

• pretend to be friendly and offer a very attractive job opportunity,
• put pressure on you regarding time—e.g., saying that you have to make a decision about leaving within a few days or hours,
• show consistency and commitment – “I remember you telling me that you are having financial problems right now, just give me your address and we will come and pick you up so that you can come with us to work and earn money”
• use the halo effect (a cognitive bias in which a positive (or negative) first impression of a person or product influences our overall assessment, leading to the automatic attribution of further positive (or negative) characteristics) – e.g., “I recently managed to earn enough money for a nice car this way.”
• use the scarcity effect (a psychological mechanism whereby things that are harder to obtain or rare are perceived as more valuable and desirable) – e.g. “there is only one seat left on the bus.”

The concept of human trafficking – definition (Article 115 § 22 of the Criminal Code)

1. violence or unlawful threats,
2. abduction,
3. deception,
4. misleading or exploiting a mistake or inability to properly understand the action taken,
5. abuse of a relationship of dependence, exploitation of a critical situation or state of helplessness,
6. granting or accepting a financial or personal benefit or promise thereof to a person exercising care or supervision over another person for the purpose of exploiting that person, even with their consent.

Forced labor:

• It is often difficult to assess whether an employer’s actions constitute a violation of employee rights or human trafficking for forced labor.
• In this form, a debt mechanism often arises—for “organizing” work.
• Employers often take advantage of workers’ lack of knowledge of the law – unpaid trial periods/tests of a worker’s suitability for work, forcing them to pay for additional health insurance.
• Employees are often threatened with reporting illegal work or other violations of the law to the authorities.
• Especially in the case of men, shame can discourage them from reporting exploitation to law enforcement authorities.

Forcing someone to beg:

• e.g. forcing them to wash windows at intersections,
• to sell “bricks,” often pretending to be a person with disabilities,
• to commit petty theft,
• often people may fear for the safety of their loved ones, who may also be forced into begging.

Human smuggling is not the same as human trafficking.

Human smuggling:

• Crossing the border: illegally
• Documents: false or missing
• Voluntary
• Goods: transport service, travel arrangements
• Crime against the state

Human trafficking:

• Crossing the border: legally, illegally, or not at all
• Documents: real, fake, or none
• Coercion and exploitation
• Commodity: human beings
• Crime against the individual

• 74% of human traffickers operate within groups or networks loosely linked by illegal economic relationships or within organized criminal organizations
• Human trafficking is the second most common sector of the illegal economy worldwide
• The annual global profit generated by human traffickers through forced labor is estimated at $236 billion. Profits are high and have increased by 37% since 2014
• During the 2021-2022 reporting period, 17,248 victims of human trafficking were registered in the EU. This number increased by 20.5% compared to the 2019-2020 period (14,311).
• The vast majority of victims of sexual exploitation are women (92%), of whom 68% are women and 24% are girls. Men account for the majority of victims of trafficking for labor exploitation (70%).
• 46% of registered victims were EU citizens and 54% were third-country nationals.
• In 2021–2022, trafficking for labor exploitation remains the second most common form of trafficking in the EU.
• Many Member States and Europol have emphasized that recruitment takes place online using fake job advertisements.
• High-risk sectors for exploitation include construction, food processing, and transport, while emerging sectors include home care and nursing services and parcel delivery services.

Helpful phone numbers:

• Crisis Intervention Center in Lublin: 81 466 55 46
• 24-hour helpline for people in crisis: 733 588 900
• Dajemy Dzieciom Siłę Foundation 22 826 88 62
• La Strada Foundation Against Human Trafficking and Slavery 22 628 99 99
• Time of Freedom Foundation 515192292
• ITAKA Foundation 22 654 70 70, 22 654 70 70

• REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS on progress made in the European Union in combating trafficking in human beings (fifth report) SWD (2025)
• www.gov.pl/web/handel-ludzmi,
• www.kcik.pl