Assistance system’s client number hits record

The number of clients of the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking reached an all-time high at the end of last year, according to a press release issued by the Finnish Immigration Services (Migri) on Monday.

The press release said the total number of the assistance system’s clients, including 34 underage children in their care, rose to 322 at the end of 2017 from 233 at the end of 2016.

A total of 127 new clients, including 14 minors, of 31 different nationalities were accepted last year in the assistance system, which was130 in the previous year.

The human trafficking victims in need of support have to apply to the assistance system management by themselves or with the help of someone else, usually a governmental or non-governmental official.

The largest group of new clients in 2017 was made of victims of human trafficking for labour exploitation, the second largest group comprised victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, and the third biggest segment was made of victims of forced marriage.

About 70 per cent of the new clients came to Finland seeking asylum.

Most of the assistance system’s new clients were victimised outside Finland, but 37 per cent of them said they fell prey to exploitations indicative of human trafficking inside Finland.

The figures given by Migri cover only those cases that have come to the assistance system’s attention. They do not tell the whole truth about the extent of human trafficking in Finland. It is possible that the number of victims is higher than that indicated by the statistics.

At the moment, the assistance system is extremely concerned over the fact that the human trafficking victims having substance dependence are not being directed to seek assistance, besides the fact that the human trafficking acts targeted at this group are not being spotted adequately. However, they are at a very high risk of becoming victims of human trafficking due to their vulnerability to forced prostitution or forced criminality, among other things.

The press release also mentioned that, in Finland, human trafficking involving forced begging and forced criminality goes largely undetected.