This is how victims were referred to the Assistance System
In 2022, various authorities and organisations referred a total of 478 people to the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking. In addition, 48 potential victims of human trafficking sought help from the Assistance System on their own.
The most common party referring a potential victim of human trafficking to the Assistance System was the police, followed by Victim Support Finland, an organisation supporting victims of criminal activity. These parties particularly referred people who had been exploited in Finland to the Assistance System, whereas the referrals made by the Finnish Immigration Service and the reception centres for asylum seekers more commonly concerned people targeted by human trafficking outside of Finland.
Figure 1 describes all the 478 referrals received by the Assistance System. Of these 478 people, the Assistance System assessed that 367 people may have fallen victim to human trafficking in Finland or abroad. In other words, they became clients of the Assistance System. Learn more about them here.
Click on the diagrams to enlarge them.
Figure 1. Operators referring potential victims to the Assistance System
The diagram depicts the organisations that referred potential victims of human trafficking to the Assistance System in 2022. The referrals concerned both those fallen victim to human trafficking in Finland and those fallen victim outside of Finland. *12 of the referrals provided by refuge shelters were made by MONIKA – Multicultural Women’s Association Finland.
In 2022, out of the 367 victims of human trafficking admitted to the Assistance System, 263 people were estimated to have fallen victim to exploitation in Finland.
Authorities, organisations or congregations, for example, can refer people who they suspect has fallen victim to human trafficking in Finland or abroad to the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking. Victims can also seek help from the Assistance System on their own.
Decisions made by the Assistance System in 2022
A person who may have fallen victim to human trafficking and is therefore in need of support and help can be admitted to the Assistance System. A person providing assistance in the investigation of a human trafficking crime, such as a witness, and the underaged children of the aforementioned, should they be in need of support and help, can also be admitted to the Assistance System. Referrals concerning underaged children are not included in the statistics.
Each year, clients who no longer need support and help after falling victim to human trafficking, who wish to discontinue their client relationship or who have permanently left Finland are removed from the client list of the Assistance System.
In 2022, a client could also be removed from the list if the criminal procedure did not proceed as human trafficking or if the client of the Assistance System could not be identified as a victim of human trafficking. As of 1 January 2023, these no longer serve as grounds for terminating the client relationship.
Figure 2. Decisions made by the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking in 2022
A client’s relationship with the Assistance System can last from a couple of days to several years. On the last day of 2022, there were still 27 applications, in other words referrals to the Assistance System, waiting for a decision..