U.S. Dep't of State, 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report: Austria

AUSTRIA (Tier 1) The Government of Austria fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period; therefore Austria remained on Tier 1. These efforts included prosecuting more alleged traffickers; approving an updated 2024-2027 NAP; and conducting numerous awareness raising activities, including by making efforts to reduce the demand for participation in extraterritorial sexual exploitation and abuse by its citizens. The government identified more male victims and more victims of labor trafficking and increased funding for NGOs to provide specialized services to trafficking victims, including shelter, services, and legal assistance to victims.

The government provided robust anti-trafficking training to law enforcement officials and front-line service providers and allocated additional funding for law enforcement to investigate trafficking crimes facilitated online. Although the government meets the minimum standards, it convicted fewer traffickers and recognized and provided assistance to slightly fewer victims. Gaps remained in the identification of child trafficking victims. The government did not maintain a standardized law enforcement database on investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing.

PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. * Increase efforts to proactively identify victims by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations – including children, asylum-seekers, and seasonal migrant workers – and ensure all victims have access to services. * Continue to increase efforts to identify labor trafficking victims, including by expanding training to help front-line responders recognize indicators of labor trafficking, including subtle means of fraud or coercion. * Strengthen the protection system for children, including by ensuring each unaccompanied child is quickly appointed a guardian, to prevent trafficking among this vulnerable population. * Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. * Strengthen efforts to guarantee effective access to compensation for victims, including by enforcing court compensation orders. * Consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable. * Standardize the government law enforcement database on investigations, prosecution, convictions, and sentencing to include all cases of trafficking and disaggregate information on convictions and sentencing where defendants have committed multiple crimes.

PROSECUTION

The government maintained anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Article 104a of the criminal code criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of six months’ to five years’ imprisonment for offenses involving an adult victim, and one to 10 years’ imprisonment for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as kidnapping. Article 104 also criminalized slavery, with penalties ranging from 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment.

Authorities also prosecuted sex trafficking under Article 217, which criminalized all “transnational prostitution” and prescribed penalties of one to 10 years’ imprisonment when a trafficker induced a foreign national to engage in “prostitution” by force, fraud, or coercion. The government did not maintain a standardized law enforcement database on investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentencing, and the government did not provide law enforcement data disaggregated by type of trafficking. The government investigated 55 cases involving 73 suspects under Articles 104 and 104a, compared with 59 investigations involving 88 suspects in 2022. The government prosecuted 12 alleged traffickers under Articles 104 and 104a, compared with seven prosecutions in 2022.

Courts convicted one trafficker under Article 104a, compared with four in 2021. The government also prosecuted 11 cases (nine in 2022) and convicted six perpetrators (six in 2022) under Article 217. Judges sentenced convicted perpetrators under Articles 104a and 217 to terms of imprisonment ranging from six months to 10 years; courts fully suspended one traffickers’ sentence and partially suspended the sentences of two traffickers. The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes.

The Federal Crime Office’s (FCO) Joint Operational Office for Combating Migrant Smuggling and Human Trafficking (JOO) led the government’s efforts to investigate trafficking crimes and coordinated joint investigations with foreign law enforcement when necessary. Many public prosecutors’ offices had specialized anti-trafficking divisions and some courts had specialized judges. In 2023, the government allocated additional funding to JOO to investigate trafficking crimes facilitated online. Law enforcement increased efforts to monitor social media platforms to identify traffickers and victims, and the FCO continued to employ officers able to operate “web crawlers” to identify suspicious advertisements or social media posts for further investigation.

The government, both independently and in partnership with civil society, trained police, prosecutors, judges, asylum officers, and service providers on various topics, including trauma-informed interviewing, digital investigation technique, financial crimes associated with human trafficking, and victim identification and protection. Law enforcement officials received mandatory trafficking training as part of basic training and had opportunities for additional training and seminars throughout their careers. The government continued robust cooperation with foreign counterparts and international law enforcement entities to investigate trafficking crimes. Austrian authorities coordinated with the Governments of Germany, Italy, and Slovakia on trafficking investigations and participated in two European Multidisciplinary Platform against Criminal Threats (EMPACT) Joint Action Days in addition to regular coordination with EUROPOL.

The FCO, in partnership with EUROPOL, maintained a task force to strengthen cross-border cooperation with the 12 participating countries and other international law enforcement bodies on trafficking cases involving refugees from Ukraine. In 2023, the government requested mutual legal assistance in 12 cases and executed 16 requests for mutual legal assistance and one extradition from foreign officials.

PROTECTION

The government increased victim protection efforts. The government recognized and provided assistance to 428 victims in 2023, compared with 450 in 2022. One government-funded NGO reported it provided services to 323 female victims in 2023 (384 in 2022), 98 of whom police referred. Some of these victims may have been children, as the organization provided assistance to women and girls age 15 years and older.

Of the 323 female victims assisted, traffickers exploited 172 in sex trafficking, 42 in labor trafficking in domestic servitude, and 109 in unspecified forms of trafficking. The majority of female victims were foreign nationals from Nigeria, Romania, the Philippines, Serbia, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Hungary. Another NGO, which provided government-funded services for male victims, reported assisting 105 victims in 2023 (66 in 2022), 32 of whom police referred. Of the 105 male victims assisted, traffickers exploited the vast majority in labor trafficking, and 63 percent of victims were from Iraq, all of whom were identified in a single case.

The government identified two Austrian victims in 2023, compared with two in 2022 and 42 in 2021. While the government recognized and assisted more labor trafficking victims in 2023, observers criticized the government’s lesser focus on combating labor trafficking compared to sex trafficking, emphasized the need for a stronger mandate for labor inspectors, and stressed the importance of creating incentives for police in the Ministry of Finance to focus more on identifying trafficking. Authorities continued to follow established comprehensive guidelines on victim identification and referral procedures. Authorities used guidelines and checklists to screen potential victims for trafficking indicators and referred identified victims to NGOs for assistance.

The guidelines highlighted the particular vulnerability of certain groups, such as LGBTQI+ persons and unaccompanied children, and provided targeted strategies for identifying and supporting potential victims in these communities. The government maintained a separate NRM to identify and refer child trafficking victims; in 2023, the government began revising these guidelines to update the indicators and procedures to include emerging trafficking trends, such as online-facilitated trafficking. The government allocated €3.12 million ($3.45 million) in new and continuing funds to NGOs to provide shelter, services, and legal assistance to victims and potential victims in 2023, a significant increase from €2.28 million ($2.52 million) in 2022. Government-funded NGOs provided shelter, medical and psycho-social care, legal assistance, and German language classes to adult victims, including specialized services for victims with disabilities.

Foreign victims had the same access to services as domestic victims. In 2023, one government-funded NGO opened a new accommodation for male trafficking victims. The city of Vienna funded a government-run center for unaccompanied migrant children, including child trafficking victims, offering legal, medical, psychological, social, and language assistance; the center provided assistance to seven potential child labor trafficking victims in 2023. Media reported 95 percent of children who applied for asylum in Austria in 2023 did not follow through on those applications and could not be located – a higher percentage compared with 82.5 percent in 2022 and 78 percent in 2021; observers noted these missing children were highly vulnerable to trafficking and recommended the government assign a guardian to unaccompanied children immediately upon identification.

The government approved the National Anti-Trafficking Task Force’s proposal for a national center for child trafficking victims; however, the government did not fund the project’s implementation in 2023. The government funded NGOs to provide training on victim identification for law enforcement, labor inspectors, detention and asylum center authorities, border control, revenue officials, and military, diplomatic, and consular personnel. Training and written guidelines for asylum officials and other authorities who may come into contact with asylum-seekers highlighted the vulnerability to trafficking of certain populations, including the LGBTQI+ community, unaccompanied children, and persons with disabilities. Victims’ access to services was not dependent on their willingness to participate in the criminal proceedings.

The law provided victim-witness assistance for victims who chose to participate in criminal justice proceedings. The government permitted NGOs to accompany victims to court hearings and law enforcement interviews, and courts provided trauma-informed methods for presenting evidence and testimony, including video testimony, when victims needed protection from traffickers during the investigation and prosecution phases. The government granted victims a 30-day recovery and reflection period to decide whether to participate in criminal justice proceedings; some NGOs reported concerns about inconsistencies in the reflection period and noted victims were not always informed of this right. In June 2023, the government introduced guidelines to ensure potential victims subject to the “Dublin” regulation – a rule governing which “Dublin” country (EU countries, Iceland, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Norway) should assess an asylum-seeker’s application – who did not apply for asylum in Austria could receive a 30-day reflection period.

Ministry of Justice-funded NGOs provided psycho-social and legal assistance to trafficking victims who chose to participate in criminal proceedings. The provision of legal aid was constrained by gaps in the identification of victims; experts noted cases in which victims were not properly identified and therefore unable to access specialized legal assistance. Foreign trafficking victims from outside the EU had the right to temporary residency, with possible annual extensions, which allowed access to employment; victims from EU member states did not require residence permits. The government granted five residence permits to trafficking victims in 2023.

Victims who chose to return to their country of origin received repatriation assistance from government-funded NGOs. Authorities forgave administrative fines for illegal commercial sex or immigration violations if an individual was found to be a trafficking victim. The government reported one instance in which authorities deported a potential victim due to gaps in victim identification. Observers noted courts did not consistently apply the non-punishment provision for identified victims and in 2020, GRETA cited the lack of a specific legal provision on the non-punishment of trafficking victims.

Experts noted gaps in the government’s referral process for suspected cases of exploitation, including trafficking, among asylum-seekers; the government may have sent some migrants with indicators of trafficking to other countries in the EU without receiving services due to the government’s enforcement of EU regulations on asylum-seekers. In 2023, the National Anti-Trafficking Task Force’s working group on the non-punishment of victims began drafting guidelines for officials on the implementation of the non-punishment principle. Victims could file civil suits against traffickers for damages and compensation, even in the absence of a criminal prosecution, and pursue civil suits in the event of an acquittal in a criminal case. Courts could award restitution upon criminal conviction.

In 2023, six victims joined criminal trafficking cases to seek further compensation; courts awarded compensation to four of these victims. In previous years, experts expressed concern access to compensation and restitution was rare in trafficking cases; furthermore, compensation awards were unevenly enforced, as it was the victim’s responsibility to enforce the order through a claim with legal authorities. NGOs also documented cases where compensation awarded to foreign victims was stalled by the return of the victim to their home country. The government continued to include the topic of victim compensation in its trainings and seminars for prosecutors and judges.

PREVENTION

The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The National Anti-Trafficking Task Force, chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), led the government’s efforts and included representatives from federal ministries, provincial governments, NGOs, business and labor interest groups, and civil society. The task force met four times and included working groups to address issues of particular concern, including child trafficking, labor exploitation, non-punishment of victims, and monitoring and evaluation. Civil society representatives who were not official members of the task force were periodically invited to attend task force meetings, and regional human rights coordinators covering anti-trafficking issues were regularly represented on the task force.

The government continued to implement its 2021-2023 NAP. In March 2024, the government approved a 2024-2027 NAP with a particular focus on survivor engagement, protection for trafficking victims within marginalized communities, and the development of a more comprehensive NRM. Austria did not have an independent anti-trafficking rapporteur to evaluate the effectiveness of government efforts. The government, both independently and in partnership with civil society, conducted various awareness campaigns on human trafficking risks, victim identification and referral to services, and reporting mechanisms.

These campaigns targeted government officials, civil society, the general public, and vulnerable population, such as asylum-seekers, refugees, migrants, foreign workers, and childcare workers. The government, in partnership with an international organization and foreign governments, organized a conference for law enforcement and immigration officials on human trafficking trends related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The FCO operated a 24-hour trafficking hotline with interpretation available in multiple languages. The hotline received approximately 650 calls, emails, and reports in 2023; the government reported these calls led to numerous investigations and the identification and referral of victims.

A government-funded international organization provided training to staff of a hotline dedicated to Ukrainian refuges on the identification and referral of potential trafficking victims. The law prohibited workers-paid recruitment fees and prescribed administrative fines for recruiters requesting these fees from workers. The government reported monitoring labor recruitment companies, including on-site inspections, to ensure ethical recruitment practices. The government reported it could administer fines, withdraw licenses, or refer for criminal investigation any recruitment companies found to be exploiting workers or otherwise violating labor standards.

The government signed two bilateral labor agreements with the Governments of India and the Philippines, which included provisions related to migrant worker protection and the prevention of human trafficking. The Labor Inspectorate, a federal authority with regional offices and a specific inspectorate related to the construction sector, was responsible for monitoring employment conditions in Austria. The government provided anti-trafficking training to all labor inspectors on indicators of labor trafficking, victim identification and referral, and instruction to refer cases to the JOO for further investigation. The government did not report how many inspections conducted in 2023 resulted in the identification of potential trafficking victims or further investigations.

The MFA continued efforts to prevent trafficking among employees of foreign diplomatic households by holding events to inform them of their rights and requiring them to obtain identification cards in person. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for participation in extraterritorial child sexual abuse and exploitation by its citizens by raising awareness in airports and on flights traveling to destinations known for extraterritorial child sexual abuse and exploitation. The government continued to collaborate with the EU and UN to establish binding human rights due diligence regulations, including explicit bans on forced labor.

TRAFFICKING PROFILE: As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Austria. Traffickers exploit women and girls from Austria, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, the PRC, Nigeria, and South America in sex trafficking. Traffickers increasingly exploit men, transgender, and intersex persons in sex trafficking. Traffickers exploit women from Nigeria and the PRC in sex trafficking in massage parlors and brothels; many of the Nigerian victims arrive in Austria as asylum-seekers.

Traffickers increasingly exploit sex trafficking victims in private homes. Traffickers increasingly use online recruitment and advertisements to recruit and exploit sex trafficking victims. Traffickers working in well-developed networks recruit sex trafficking victims with fraudulent offers of employment in restaurants and domestic service or by posing as potential romantic partners. Sex trafficking is concentrated in urban areas but also occurs in smaller towns.

Most traffickers are Austrian men or men from the same country as victims; many are members of international organized crime groups. Traffickers exploit men and women from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Iraq, and the PRC in forced labor, primarily in restaurants, construction, agriculture, health care, transportation, and domestic servitude, including in diplomatic households. Traffickers increasingly exploit men from outside the EU, particularly Iraq, Morocco, Turkey, and India, in forced labor. Seasonal migrant workers are especially vulnerable to labor trafficking, particularly during the harvest seasons.

Traffickers exploit children, persons with physical and intellectual disabilities, and Roma in forced begging. Traffickers also exploit children, especially Romani girls, in forced criminality. Traffickers increasingly exploit victims for criminal purposes, including telephone and online scams and selling drugs. Traffickers use Austria as a transit point to move victims to other European countries.

Unaccompanied children, many of whom go missing each year, are vulnerable to trafficking. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 , approximately 200,000 refugees from Ukraine – predominantly women and children – have entered Austria, with more than 70,000 remaining in Austria; this populations is vulnerable to trafficking. On This Page search > < AUSTRIA (Tier 1) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Austria Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports