The new national plan against human trafficking has 111 measures directed to “sensitization, protection and combat” to that phenomenon and will be led by the areas of equality, internal administration and justice.
Measures such as immediate access to a number of user, access to education, more supervision in risky places or the approval of the legal regime for protection and assistance to the victim, are some of the measures listed, in the presentation of the V National Action Plan for Prevention and combat trafficking in humans this Friday.
“This is a plan that has three goals: first, sensitization for the phenomenon of human beings, a very serious phenomenon that has grown and that needs concrete actions (…), second, the protection victims, people who go through unimaginable situations and, third, the fight“The Minister of Youth and Modernization Margarida Balseiro Lopes.
Remembering that Portugal did not have a plan to combat human beings in execution since 2021, the ruler stressed that that Crime “exists and is growing” And that one of the main changes in the plan presented is the way it will be executed.
“In this case there are 14 areas involved but there are three areas leading the execution of the plan: Equality, internal administration and justice (…) Instead of a great diversity of organizations responsible for three areas, ”he said.
Health card for victims is highlighted
Among the 111 measures that the plan contains, Balseiro Lopes highlighted “the creation of the legal regime that guarantees access to health care“Through immediate access to the number of user even without document and access to education.
“We will not be able to integrate these people, in the logic of protection and support, if these victims do not know and do not dominate Portuguese,” he needed.
According to the Minister of Youth, “in the fight against trafficking in humans, it takes coordinated action, international cooperation and a rapid and effective response.”
“For this, in the V Plan for the action and prevention and combat trafficking in human beings there is a bet on coordinated efforts between security forces, judicial authorities and international bodies,” he said, highlighting the reinforcement of information sharing and the adoption of New technologies.
The minister also indicated that there will be a reinforcement in specialized training To ensure that “authorities have the tools needed to identify and combat trafficking in the digital world.”
Balseiro Lopes stressed that the plan establishes the creation of “strategic partnerships” surveillance, identification and prevention in identified areas as “high -risk sectors” for the practice of this crime: the agriculture, fishing, construction, hotel and restoration.
Combat is one of the “pillars essences” of the plan, so, the minister said, “it is essential to invest in knowledge and information”.
Therefore, he stressed that it is imperative to “empower professionals and reinforce the training of professionals who are on the front line, such as safety forces, health professionals”, as well as “promoting sensitization campaigns aimed at different audiences to warn of those Signs of trafficking and encourage the complaints. ”
The government also wants to “foster scientific research on the subject, support studies that allow more accurate diagnoses of the phenomenon, ensuring that public policies are based on the evidence”.
Data from the United Nations organization point out that More than two million people are victims of human trafficking per year And in 2022 more than 10,000 people were trafficked from the European Union.
