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Human Trafficking on Trial: Dissecting the Adjudication of Sex Trafficking Cases in Cyprus

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Abstract

The last decade or so the concept of female trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation has lent itself to rigorous analysis and exploration. A plethora of domestic and transnational studies and reports have attempted to address the aetiology of human trafficking, as well as its epidemiology, often drawing from sources such as statistics, narratives, documents, and observations. While the great majority of such studies are engaged, if not preoccupied, in ‘unmasking’ the particularities of sex trafficking by taking into account the detection, identification, rehabilitation, and repatriation of trafficked women, the prosecution and adjudication of sex trafficking cases are often left unexamined. With this in mind, this article sets out to explore the various forces that often come into play while sex trafficking cases in Cyprus are being processed by the domestic justice system. To this end, this article considers two dimensions, the trafficked women and the judiciary.

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Notes

  1. Police v. Psyllos (2008) J.D.C. 14835.

  2. Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA of 19 July on combating trafficking in human beings [2002] OJ L 203/1.

  3. Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA [2011] OJ L 101/1.

  4. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, A/55/383.

  5. Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005.

  6. For example, cabarets, bars, and massage parlours, which although legally employ female workers, often illegally push them into prostitution. In Cyprus, all forms of mediated prostitution are illegal, except individual prostitution in private spaces.

  7. Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007.

  8. Police v. Poyiatzea (2006) J.D.C. 4228.

  9. Police v. Anastasiou and Another (2006) J.D.C. 4132.

  10. Evidence Law, L 14(I)/2009.

  11. Cyprus Constitution, CAP 30.

  12. Police v. Kleovoulou and Others (2004) J.D.C. 16803.

  13. Framework Decision 2001/220/JHA of 15 March 2001 on the standing of victims in criminal proceedings [2001] OJ L 82/1.

  14. Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA of 19 July on combating trafficking in human beings [2002] OJ L 203/1.

  15. Directive 2011/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 April 2011 on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings and protecting its victims, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA [2011] OJ L 101/1.

  16. Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007.

  17. Witness Protection Law, L 95(I)/2001, Article 3(4).

  18. Personal observations during live trials in Nicosia District Court, in 2008.

  19. Interview with Almudena (pseudonym), an Identified Victim of Trafficking from the Dominican Republic, on 17 November 2008.

  20. Interview with a Public Prosecutor, on 8 January 2010.

  21. Interview with a Civil Servant from the Social Welfare Services, in Cyprus, in 2008.

  22. Police v. Hatziantoniou and Others (2005) J.D.C. 658.

  23. Police v. Agathokleous and Another (2007) J.D.C. 19465.

  24. Police v. Kleovoulou and Others (2006) J.D.C. 20198.

  25. Police v. Michail (2004) J.D.C. 10186.

  26. Police v. Papadopoulou (2003) J.D.C. 17940.

  27. Interview with Andreas Pashalides, a Supreme Court Judge, on 24 October 2008.

  28. Police v. Constantinou and Others (2007) J.D.C. 401.

  29. Police v. Zackheou (2006) J.D.C. 16201.

  30. Police v. Orphanou (2008) J.D.C 2469.

  31. Police v. Michail (2004) J.D.C. 10186.

  32. Police v. Michail (2006) J.D.C. 22379.

  33. Police v. Zackheou (2006) J.D.C. 16201.

  34. Pelecanos Associates Ltd v. Pelecanou (1999) J.D.C. 10257.

  35. Police v. Chrysostomou (2007) J.D.C. 905.

  36. Interview with Andreas Pashalides, a Supreme Court Judge, on 24 October 2008.

  37. Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007, Article 50(2).

  38. Kleovoulou v. Police (2007) J.S.C. 121.

  39. Mostly Cypriot owners of cabarets, bars, and massage parlours.

  40. Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007, Article 4(3).

  41. Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA of 19 July on combating trafficking in human beings [2002] OJ L 203/1.

  42. Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007, Articles 5, 8, 9.

  43. Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, 2005, Article 23.

  44. Office for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in the Cyprus Police.

  45. Combating Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Exploitation of Children Law, L 3(I)/2000 and Combating Trafficking in Persons, Exploitation and Protection of the Victims Law, L 87(I)/2007.

  46. Cyprus Constitution, CAP 154.

  47. Interview with a Public Prosecutor, on 8 January 2010.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Police Studies, School of Economics and Management, Open University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 12794, 2252, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Angelo G. Constantinou

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  1. Angelo G. Constantinou
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Correspondence to Angelo G. Constantinou.

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Constantinou, A.G. Human Trafficking on Trial: Dissecting the Adjudication of Sex Trafficking Cases in Cyprus. Fem Leg Stud 21, 163–183 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10691-013-9243-z

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