The first locally documented case of an underage girl trafficked into prostitution last year could be one of several, sources within the child protection sector fear.
Maltese authorities identified and referred a child trafficking victim to care for the first time ever last year, a Trafficking in Persons report by the US State Department published on Friday noted.
The Maltese girl was a victim of sex trafficking, the report says, and had subsequently given comprehensive and specialised support.
A source involved in the provision of care for the minor told the Times of Malta that the teenager had been made to work as a prostitute by a Maltese pimp.
“This is, unfortunately, something that we fear is far more widespread than just one case,” the source said.
“We hear stories from Maltese women involved in prostitution that paint picture of teenagers being coerced into this world, often by family member seeking to profit off their misery,” the source said.
Something that we fear is far more widespread
A social worker, dedicated to trafficking victims, was employed last year, and in March 2019, the legal aid agency trained victim assistance lawyers to handle these kind of cases.
Meanwhile, the report gives an insight into policing of human trafficking in Malta.
The Maltese police’s vice squad, which is responsible for investigating trafficking, conducted three probes in 2018, compared to seven in 2017.
Police also conducted seven investigations for illegal prostitution in massage parlours, but they found no evidence of trafficking.
The government prosecuted 10 people (eight for labour trafficking and two for sex trafficking) compared to two in 2017.
Three labour trafficking prosecutions initiated in 2014 and a 2004 case involving a police official for collusion with a trafficker remained pending at the close of the reporting period.
In March 2018, the government convicted one sex trafficker from a 2008 case, however the court fully suspended the prison sentence; this was the first conviction in six years.
The perennial issue of slow court proceedings, the report says, continued to hamper prosecutions and convictions.
There were no new investigations or prosecutions of government employees complicit in trafficking offences either.
Police identified 23 foreign trafficking victims and one Maltese victim, compared to 30 foreign victims in the previous reporting period. Forced labour victims included 17 Filipinos (13 from a single case), three Mauritians, one Nepali, and one Pakistani. Sixteen of the forced labour victims were male and six were female.
Sex trafficking victims included one Moldovan woman and the Maltese girl – the first government-identified child victim to date. Sixteen of the 24 victims uncovered during the reporting period received care services.
The government also assisted one victim with return to their home country.