Legislation for Protecting Victims

Hungary

Given both its geographical situation (close to Austria and thus to the European Union) and its general economic conditions (good in relation to other central and eastern European countries, but precarious with regards to members of the European Union), Hungary functions as a country of origin, of transit, and of final destination for trafficking victims.

In 1999, Hungary's criminal code was reformed to include new measures for sanctioning trafficking in human beings as a crime against individual liberty and human dignity. These new measures cover all forms of exploitation related to trafficking, whether they be sexual or economic.

For example, section 175/B of the criminal code punishes anyone who should sell, buy, exchange, transfer, or abduct another person. The prescribed punishment is more serious in the following cases: (a) if the victim is a minor; (b) if it is proved that the victim has been deprived of his or her liberty; (c) if the motive behind the crime is exploitation through work or sex; or (d) if the crime is committed by an organised criminal group.

As far as victim assistance and protection is concerned, a wide range of measures exist to protect victims of different types of violence. Victims are informed of their rights and are given access to programmes of social, medical, legal, and administrative aid. Nevertheless, specialised services designed uniquely for trafficking victims are rare.

Legal provisions also exist to provide protection to those victims who testify as witnesses. Such measures are granted mainly by a government resolution, adopted in 1999, concerning both the protection of crime victims and their families and the compensation of these victims. The resolution does not directly concern victims of trafficking, but rather victims of crime and violence in general.

The National Council on Crime Prevention is responsible for the co-ordination between ministries of work related to trafficking in human beings. Created in 1995, the Council functions as an interdepartmental organisation bringing together representatives from various ministries, the police force, the supreme court, and from social groups.