By 15 July 2026, EU Member States must comply with the revised EU Directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings. Today, there is only one month left.
Article 18a of the Directive introduces a binding obligation to criminalise the use of services provided by a victim of human trafficking where the act is committed intentionally and with knowledge that the person providing the service is a trafficking victim. This offence should be punished by “effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties”.
During the negotiations on the revision of the Directive, La Strada International and others have raised concerns that so far, the criminalisation of the “knowing use” of services had not strengthened victims’ rights, nor improved the prevention or prosecution of trafficking in human beings. Indeed, a paper published by La Strada International in December 2022 – at the start of the revision process – found that the limited evaluations conducted to date, including those by the European Commission, had not demonstrated any positive impact of this provision on victim protection, prevention, or prosecution. Prior to the revision of the Directive, approximately two-thirds of EU Member States had already incorporated such a provision into their national legislation. However, Member States either restricted its scope to the users of sexual services or applied broader criminalisation measures almost exclusively to this group. This showed that the provision was often used to indirectly target prostitution rather than addressing human trafficking. Across the EU, prosecutorial activity has remained limited and convictions have been rare.
Read here our paper on “The Impact of Criminalising the ‘Knowing Use’ on Human Trafficking”
Article 18a now clarifies that the criminalisation of the use of services provided by trafficking victims requires intent, knowledge, and the pursuit of gain, and that it applies equally to all forms of trafficking in human beings. The criminalisation should target only the use of services and not products produced under exploitative labour conditions, which are instead to be covered under the new 2024 Forced Labour Ban regulation.
Across the EU, many services are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, especially in sectors characterised by low wages, precarious working conditions, informal employment arrangements, and complex subcontracting chains. Next to the sex industry, these include agriculture, construction, hospitality, domestic and care work, cleaning, manufacturing, logistics, and fishing.
Under EU law, the concept of “services” is interpreted broadly and covers almost any economic activity provided for remuneration. This includes, among others, construction, cleaning, hospitality and catering, transport, financial, insurance, legal, healthcare, education, information technology, domestic and care, tourism, entertainment, and sexual services where legal under national law. Payment may be made directly by the recipient of the service or through an employer, intermediary, or public authority.
We call on EU Member States to ensure that the criminalisation of the knowing use of services is used effectively to establish liability for those who knowingly benefit from exploitation, including companies and other private-sector actors.
Businesses have a key role to play in preventing the use of trafficked labour. They can do so by:
- conducting due diligence on workers, suppliers, and recruiters;
- training staff to identify indicators of exploitation;
- providing safe and accessible reporting mechanisms;
- monitoring high-risk sectors and supply chains;
- and taking appropriate action when exploitation is suspected.
The objective should be to ensure that all work is undertaken voluntarily and free from coercion, both within businesses and throughout their supply chains. Companies should also pay attention to the vulnerability of workers and their working and living conditions, as recital 27 highlights the relevance of the circumstances under which the services are provided and relates this to victims’ vulnerability, the conditions under which the services have to be provided, signs of control, or lack of freedom of movement, as well as circumstances relating to the conditions under which the services had to be provided, the living standards and working conditions of the service provider as well as the condition of the premises in which the service was provided.
It is important to note that private consumers across the EU may also be held liable where they know or could reasonably be expected to have known that they are making use of a service that is provided by trafficked persons. EU Member States have reported cases of human trafficking across several services that could be considered under this provision, including:
- gardening and lawn care;
- home repair and maintenance (such as plumbing, electrical work, painting and carpentry);
- household cleaning, laundry and dry-cleaning;
- food delivery and takeaway;
- taxi, courier and parcel delivery;
- pet care (such as dog walking, grooming and pet sitting);
- fitness and personal training;
- beauty and wellness services (including massage, spa treatments and skincare);
- private tutoring and language lessons;
- and computer and phone repair services.
Hence, the European Commission and Member States should raise awareness of this offence across Europe and support effective public awareness campaigns. Such campaigns should inform private consumers and businesses about the new criminalisation provision and its implications. Such campaigns should not be misused to advocate against sex work. Member States should regularly monitor, evaluate, and report on the implementation of this offence, paying particular attention to its human rights impact on vulnerable groups, including migrants, sex workers, and other workers in precarious situations. Anti-trafficking measures must not adversely affect the rights of those they are intended to protect.
Recommendations
- Ensure that the criminalisation of the knowing use of services applies to all forms of trafficking and exploitation, not merely in law but also in practice.
- Avoid conflating human trafficking with sex work.
- Ensure that the offence is widely known and understood by European citizens through effective awareness-raising campaigns.
- Promote informed consumer choice through initiatives that support and certify fairly produced goods and services.
- Use this offence to strengthen accountability for companies that benefit from labour exploitation, alongside robust and binding human rights due diligence obligations.
- Regularly monitor and assess the impact of this legislative measure, with particular attention to its effects on migrants, sex workers, and other workers in vulnerable or precarious situations.
Read also about the remaining revised articles of the Anti-Trafficking Directive.