The multifaceted nature of the crime of trafficking in persons requires a multi-stakeholder response. Ministries of health and ministries of women and children together with non-State service providers may be required to ensure that victims are appropriately assisted and supported. When a victim is in an irregular situation, ministries of foreign affairs and immigration authorities may need to ensure that the appropriate visa is issued (read more on humanitarian visas in Border control on arrival) and that services are provided to enable the victim to remain in the country in order to be able to recover and to provide testimony. Immigration authorities may also be involved in supporting police to gather evidence, by providing information about the methods and procedures used by traffickers to bring their victims into the country. (read more in Intelligence gathering and the role of technology). Similarly, labour inspectors are essential for gathering evidence of and providing insight into exploitative working conditions. And because organized crime thrives on and generates profit, financial institutions are essential to “follow the money” that leads to perpetrators, and to confiscate the spoils of their crimes.
In short, unless State and non-State actors cooperate and coordinate their activities at the national level, there is a high possibility that victims of trafficking will not receive the protection and assistance they are entitled to, that prosecutions will not result in convictions, and that preventative efforts will fail. There is also a risk that scarce resources available to mount response will be ineffectively applied and their potential impact lessened. Mechanisms must therefore be put in place to strengthen national coordination.