The importance of early identification of victims of trafficking in human beings is reflected both in the Directive 2011/36/EU on preventing and combatting trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims as well as EU Strategy towards the eradication of trafficking in human beings 2012-2016.

In order to ensure better coordination and increase coherence in this area, as well as bearing in mind the projects funded by the Commission, the Commission publishes this Reference document on the Guidelines for the identification of victims of trafficking in human beings especially for border guards and consular services.

The document provides for a list of indicative guidelines, refers to the existing handbooks and manuals and lists the projects on the identification of victims, in particular those targeting consular services and border guards and thus encourage their systematic use by the respective officials. In order to avoid duplication and to ensure that this brochure is of practical use for front-line officers, a user friendly format has been chosen and only indicative guidelines have been listed.

The document can be found by clicking on the following link:

http://ec.europa.eu/anti-trafficking/EU+Policy/Guidelines_identification_victims