The Spanish government unveiled a new bill on Tuesday to provide better protection for economically vulnerable migrants caught in the clutches of international human trafficking gangs.
The proposed law was designed to help victims of various types of human trafficking sexual exploitation and forced labor to the illegal sale of human organs, involuntary marriages and other criminal acts, Spain’s Justice Minister Pilar Llop said.
Once a court certifies a person’s status as a potential victim, that person will receive personalized and free legal assistance, Lopp said, as well as the opportunity to apply for financial and housing assistance. The bill also provides for the creation of a new unit of the National Police to monitor victims of human trafficking.
SPAIN’S COALITION GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO REFORM JUVENILE PUNISHMENT
This is reported by the Ministry of the Interior of Spain Spanish police last year freed more than 1,000 victims from human exploitation groups. The vast majority of victims of sexual exploitation were women from Colombia, Paraguay, Romania and Venezuela. The police also freed two Romanian girls from forced marriages.
The legislation would also allow potential victims to seek help without charging those who allegedly trafficked them. The provision is intended to reduce fears of reprisals and allay fears that migrants without permission to stay in Spain could face problems from immigration authorities.
“There is nothing more important than protecting the most vulnerable people,” Lope said during a press conference in Madrid. “This is an ethical and democratic obligation of the first order.”
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Spanish Justice Minister Pilar Llop at a press conference at La Moncloa Palace on November 29, 2022 in Madrid, Spain. Llop announced that a new bill was proposed to help migrants who are at risk of being trafficked.
(Carlos Lujan/Europa Press via Getty Images)
A junior member of Spain’s left-wing coalition government criticized the bill as insufficient. He wants all potential victims to be allowed to live and work legally in Spain.
Llop acknowledged that the proposal would probably be changed before then The Spanish Parliament votes on it.
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The divergent views among members of the governing coalition came amid a protracted debate in Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s cabinet over the shelved transgender rights bill.
