In the Netherlands a 50-year-old man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison. He was found to be guilty for having sex with a (minor) person, while knowing she was being exploited. He, is the first person in the Netherlands convicted under Article 273g of the Dutch Penal Code, which since January 2022, criminalises any person who performs sexual acts with another person, while knowing – or having serious reason to suspect – that the other person is in a trafficking situation.
In the Netherlands and in many other European countries the knowing use of services provided by an exploited person is only criminalised in relation to sexual services. However, with the amendment of the EU THB Directive, all EUMS are now obliged to criminalise the knowinguse of all services by trafficked people. See earlier LSI policy paper on the issue.