The government maintained uneven victim protection efforts. In 2023, the National Authority identified 532 victims – the fewest number of trafficking victims identified since 2017 – compared with 560 victims identified in 2022. Of the 532 identified victims, traffickers exploited 46 in sex trafficking, 480 in labor trafficking (including 184 forced labor and domestic servitude, 88 child victims of economic exploitation, 22 child forced criminality victims, and 186 child forced begging victims), and six victims for “illegal adoption for the purposes of exploitation.” The majority of identified victims (498) were women and children. Of the 532 identified victims, 294 were foreign nationals from Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guinea, Nigeria, Mali, Sierra Leone, Sudan, and Syria; at least 180 of the 294 identified foreign victims were Ivoirian. The government provided direct assistance or referrals to civil society organizations for all identified trafficking victims in 2023. The Ministry of Health (MOH) provided healthcare to 136 victims, including Tunisian and foreign nationals.
The government continued implementing the NRM, which streamlined all stages of the referral process from victim identification and assistance to civil and criminal proceedings. Judicial and border police continued to have procedures to screen for potential trafficking victims among those who overstayed their legal residency or who were subject to expulsion after serving a prison sentence; the government did not report how consistently these procedures were implemented. The government also provided practical guides to security officers and judicial police on victim identification techniques. Frontline responders, including police, child protection actors, labor inspectors, and prosecutors, could grant potential victims “pre-identification” status, which guaranteed access to services until authorities granted official victim status; however, some officials such as labor inspectors and child protection actors rarely granted this status due to lack of awareness of their role in the victim identification process.
The National Authority, the MOI special victims unit, and judges were government entities authorized to officially identify trafficking victims, which entitled victims full access to state-run services and exemptions from exit visas for foreign victims. NGOs continued to report the limited number of ministries that could legally identify trafficking victims slowed the process for identification and subsequently for victims to receive care. Moreover, insufficient interagency coordination and resources reportedly hindered the timely identification and referral to services of trafficking victims. Civil society organizations also reported the special victims unit did not have sufficient personnel or resources to provide adequate assistance to trafficking victims, nor did personnel have the cultural understanding or training to communicate with vulnerable sub-Saharan migrants, including potential trafficking victims. Civil society organizations also expressed concern the government’s process to provide exemption from visa penalties for foreign trafficking victims was slow and cumbersome, thereby creating difficulties for civil society to assist victims in a timely manner. As a result of the official identification procedures and other constraints outlined above, civil society noted authorities likely penalized some unidentified victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as “prostitution” or immigration violations.
Increased racism and violence against migrants, including inflammatory statements from high-level government officials, increased foreign trafficking victims’ reluctance to seek assistance from the government and civil society due to fear of deportation and retaliation. The government expelled thousands of sub-Saharan migrants, a population particularly vulnerable to trafficking, to the Libyan and Algerian borders without due process; the government did not report if it screened for trafficking indicators, and expelled migrants reported extreme abuse and violence during the expulsions.
The Ministry of Social Affairs (MoSA) operated two shelters for children in Tunis and Sidi Bouzid and three shelters for adults in Tunis, Sousse, and Sfax; at least two of the three shelters for adults had designated areas for trafficking victims where victims could enter and exit freely and return on a regular basis for assistance seeking employment. The five MoSA shelters supported 123 victims in 2023, including 61 women, 62 men, and 70 children; 13 of the 123 victims were foreign nationals. In 2022, the shelters assisted 179 victims. The MoSA shelters provided psycho-social care, family reintegration, social support, material assistance, professional integration, and health services. The MoSA and National Authority continued to uphold a 2019 agreement for the MoSA to dedicate one room in all social care centers for trafficking and violence victims. An MOH-operated hospital in Tunis continued to have a unit with trained personnel dedicated to caring for victims of violence, including sexual exploitation, which offered psycho-social support, medical documentation, and legal expertise; the government did not report if this unit assisted any trafficking victims. The government did not report providing financial or in-kind support to partner NGOs providing services to trafficking victims. Although the National Authority and NGOs partnered to reintegrate victims into society, the lack of resources, trained personnel, and sufficient shelter availability – especially outside of Tunis – created challenges in doing so. Some non-governmental organizations reported the government’s increased restrictions on civil society and increased political sensitivity associated with assisting sub-Saharan migrants decreased civil society organizations’ ability to assist trafficking victims.
The government offered foreign trafficking victims legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they might face hardship or retribution. The anti-trafficking law provided all identified foreign trafficking victims relief from deportation; the government did not report whether it provided temporary relief from deportation for any foreign trafficking victims in 2023. Victims had the right to free legal aid to assist them in engaging in civil and criminal proceedings against traffickers, and there were provisions to protect victims’ privacy during court proceedings, such as recorded testimony and physical protection. The government allowed trafficking victims a 30-day reflection period, renewable once, while they decided whether to participate in criminal justice proceedings; victim assistance was not dependent on assisting law enforcement. Prosecutors could seek restitution in trafficking cases, and if victims were unable to collect restitution after a final judgement, victims could claim compensation from the government; however, the government did not report whether courts issued restitution in trafficking cases or if the government provided compensation to any victims in 2023. Trafficking victims could request legal aid to assist them in filing a civil suit against the trafficker for compensation; the government did not report whether courts awarded such compensation.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
