6.4.1. Eurojust’s assistance in collecting evidence from THB victims

In most EU Member States, testimonies of victims are very often crucial in proving that a trafficking offence has been committed to guarantee a conviction. THB victims, especially minors, are vulnerable by definition. Due to their circumstances, they enjoy a special legal status. The implementation of such legal provisions is challenging. Two main difficulties encountered by law enforcement and judicial authorities when dealing with THB investigations and prosecutions include identifying victims of THB, and, where needed, convincing victims to provide statements and cooperate in investigations and prosecutions by testifying against their perpetrators. In many of the THB cases analysed in the Eurojust Report on Trafficking in Human Beings, the victims were unwilling to testify due to the fear of not being protected from the perpetrators by the authorities. In some cases, the challenge was to convince victims to testify truthfully.

In the cases analysed, national authorities met at Eurojust to jointly identify the right moment to approach victims in several countries, to determine the right specialists to speak to victims and to develop questions to ask them and strategies to use in avoiding secondary victimisation. By ensuring victims’ testimonies are admissible as evidence, while respecting victims’ rights and welfare, Eurojust not only helps to successfully prosecute traffickers, but also provides assistance, protection and reparation to victims.

Additionally, Eurojust can offer support in ensuring the admissibility of evidence from victims gathered by joint investigation teams by clarifying applicable legal provisions related to hearing victims in another jurisdiction, or by including annexes to JIT agreements to gather specific types of evidence, such as testimonies of child victims, according to the legal provisions of the concerned countries.