Abstract
The definition of “human trafficking”, adopted by the United Nations Protocol, clearly describes how the international community has outlined the concepts of victim and perpetrator. Despite the definitive effort made by this Protocol, the present chapter seeks to throw light on the fuzzy area existing within the rapport between vulnerability and proximity violence which makes the consensual exploitation of the victim by the trafficker possible as well as making it difficult to outline its contours in the courtrooms.
The chapter analyses the concept of vulnerability as related to proximity violence, which evolves, in a specific sense, into “proximal vulnerability”, as analyses of the “means” used by the trafficker make clear. An examination of some rulings of the Romanian and Italian courts – which the chapter reports in the dedicated paragraph below – seems to confirm this hypothesis. The abuse of a position of vulnerability (APOV) perpetrated by the exploiter/trafficker is immediately undergone by the most vulnerable subject, in a context of economic and cultural deprivation but, above all, in a situation of proximity violence rendered opaque by manipulation of the victim by the exploiter.
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Notes
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https://www.scj.ro/, R O M Â N I A ÎNALTA CURTE DE CASAŢIE ŞI JUSTIŢIE Secţia Penală Decizia.
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This paragraph was written with the collaboration of Dr. Rafaela Pascoal of the University of Palermo whom I thank for having identified the sentences to which I refer in this chapter.
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“Acesta, deşi aflat în stare de arest preventiv, a trimis părţii vătămate scrisori, prin care, profitând de starea vulnerabilă în care se afla, urmare a vârstei de doar 16 ani şi a stării de graviditate, folosindu-se de aceleaşi metode pe care le-a folosit şi pe parcursul desfăşurării activităţii infracţionale, respectiv declarându-i că o iubeşte, că se va căsători cu ea, că îi va recunoaşte copilul, i-a solicitat să revină asupra declaraţiilor date în cursul urmăririi penale şi să îl ajute în acest fel să scape de acuzaţii” [“He, although in a state of preventive arrest, sent letters to the injured party, taking advantage of her vulnerable state, because she was only 16 and pregnant, using the same methods as those he already used during his criminal activity, that is, declaring his love for her, saying he would marry her, recognize the child and asking her to review the statements given during the criminal proceedings and help him to be freed from these accusations”], in https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=130996, 10/06/2019.
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“În cauză, acţiunea de racolare a victimelor, profitând de (…) şi folosirea ulterior a actelor de constrângere psihică prin punerea victimelor într-o stare de dependenţă emoţională faţă de ei în scop de exploatare” [“In this case, the action of restraining the victims, taking advantage of (...) and the subsequent use of acts of mental constraint by placing the victims in a state of emotional dependence on them for the purpose of exploitation”], in https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=145672, 9/06/2019.
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“au exploatat practic naivitatea și vulnerabilitatea acestora, datorată vârstei dar și problemelor familiale, comportându-se inițial frumos cu acestea, după cum au declarat chiar persoanele vătămate, promițându-le că le vor ajuta, câștigându-le practic încrederea, pentru ca apoi să le aducă în poziția de a le lua aproape toți banii câștigați în urma activităților de prostituție, tratându-le ca pe simple obiecte [“they have practically exploited their naivety and vulnerability, due to their age but also to their family problems, initially behaving nicely to them, as the injured persons themselves have stated, promising to will help them, gaining their confidence, so that they may then be able to take almost all the money earned through prostitution treating them as mere objects”], in https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=134631
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“profilul moral-educativ al victimei, marcat de lacune esenţiale în privinţa unor valori cu caracter axiomatic-ca adevărul”[“the moral-educational profile of the victim, marked by essential gaps regarding axiomatic values – like the truth”], in https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=145706
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R O M Â N I A ÎNALTA CURTE DE CASAŢIE ŞI JUSTIŢIE Secţia Penală Ruling n.331/RC/2017, Şedinţa publică din 14 septembrie 2017 “Prin declarația dată în fața inculpatului A. la data de 13 august 2007, martora B. a declarat că fiica a fost diagnosticată cu structură psihică instabilă, labilitate emoțională și că din verificările sale, aceasta „avea o relație cu un anume C., care locuiește în Brăila, și este plecată cu acesta în Spania” [“According to the statement regarding defendant A. on August 13th, 2007, witness B. stated that her daughter had been diagnosed with unstable mental make-up emotional lability and that according to checks, she had a relationship with a certain C., living in Brăila, and now away with him in Spain”].
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RULINGS Regarding Human Trafficking Passed by the Rumanian Supreme Court
Decizia nr. 131/RC/2016 Şedinţa publică din data de 19 aprilie 2016, https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=130996, 21/03/2019.
Decizia nr. 134/A/2018 Şedinţa publică din data de 29 mai 2018, https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=145672, 20/03/2019.
Decizia nr. 162/RC/2016 Ședința publică din data de 05 mai 2016, https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=134631, 21/03/2019.
Decizia nr. 193/RC/2017 Şedinţa publică din data de 11 mai 2017, https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=145706, 20/03/2019.
Decizia nr. 331/RC/2017, Şedinţa publică din 14 septembrie 2017, https://www.scj.ro/1093/Detalii-jurisprudenta?customQuery%5B0%5D.Key=id&customQuery%5B0%5D.Value=140968, 21/03/2019.
R O M Â N I A ÎNALTA CURTE DE CASAŢIE ŞI JUSTIŢIE. Secţia Penală.
RULINGS Regarding Human Trafficking Passed by the Italian Supreme Court
Cassazione penale – Sezione III, Sentenza n. 32322 (ud. 05/02/2015, dep. 23/07/2015), in https://dejure.it/#/ricerca/giurisprudenza_documento?idDatabank=3&idDocMaster=4711203&idUnitaDoc=0&nVigUnitaDoc=1&isCorrelazioniSearch=true, 10/06/2019.
Cassazione penale – Sezione V, Sentenza n. 5703 (ud. 22-10-2018, dep. 05-02-2019), in https://dejure.it/#/ricerca/giurisprudenza_documento?idDatabank=3&idDocMaster=7820064&idUnitaDoc=0&nVigUnitaDoc=1&docIdx=1&semantica=0&isPdf=false&fromSearch=true&isCorrelazioniSearch=false
Cassazione penale –Sezione V, Sentenza n. 4275 (ud. 16/05/2017, dep. 19/09/2017), in https://dejure.it/#/ricerca/giurisprudenza_documento?idDatabank=3&idDocMaster=6270617&idUnitaDoc=0&nVigUnitaDoc=1&isCorrelazioniSearch=true, 11/06/2019.
Cassazione penale – Sezione V, Sentenza n. 8545 (ud. 16/11/2018, dep. 27/02/2019), in https://dejure.it/#/ricerca/giurisprudenza_documento?idDatabank=3&idDocMaster=7852026&idUnitaDoc=0&nVigUnitaDoc=1&docIdx=1&semantica=0&isPdf=false&fromSearch=true&isCorrelazioniSearch=false
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Bartholini, I. (2020). Human Trafficking: The Viscous Link Between Vulnerability and Proximity Violence. In: The Trap of Proximity Violence . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52451-7_3
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