According to a report published by the United State of America’s Department of State, Malta’s government does not meet the required standards to eliminate human trafficking.
According to ‘Aġenzija Appoġġ’, Malta identified 18 cases where there was a potential case of human trafficking of foreign individuals into the country just last year.
This is worrying due to the number being a substantial increase (of around 12) from the previous year. During 2020, a pandemic year, 6 cases had been reported. This was a decrease over 2019 when 11 cases were reported.
The Department of State research analyses what countries are doing globally to fight against this international phenomenon. Malta was deemed as not having reached the minimal standards to eliminate the threat.
A decrease in the number of investigations was also noted as no one was taken to court over trafficking, no one was found guilty of the crime in 2021 and that no monitoring of massage parlours was conducted.
Out of the 18 cases, 16 were women from 13 different countries, the majority being from the Philippines. It was found that some victims have their work contracts changed upon arrival, ending up doing jobs not disclosed in the first agreement.
However, the report does highlight some of the good done by the Maltese government – highlighting the opening of homes for victims of trafficking, a team focused on helping immigrants, as well as the raising of funds to protect such victims.
Read full report here.
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