La República Liberal

The regulations regarding the provision of health care for (child) victims of trafficking differ widely between the Member States. The amount of health care provided may be dependent on the residency status of the child, the question whether the child has been recognised as a victim of trafficking in human beings, the question whether the child has entered a so-called assistance-system, the accommodation where the child is sheltered, his/ her nationality (third country national or EU citizen), the fact that the child victim is unaccompanied, or the simple fact that the child victim is a minor.

In most Member States, all people residing in the country’s territory are entitled to free emergency health care. In some states however, this is at the same time the only free

medical care uninsured child victims of trafficking are in principle entitled to (Estonia and the United Kingdom314_).

The vast majority of Member States provide for access to basic psychological and medical services for victims of trafficking under most types of residency permits (Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal [in Portugal only during reflection period], Finland, Romania, Slovenia and Slovakia). The Irish report reads: ‘As in the case of all children in care in Ireland, it is very difficult to obtain the requisite access to psychological care, due to lack of resources. 315_’

In Luxemburg and Sweden legislation is in the making. The Luxemburg proposed bill on assistance and protection to victims of human trafficking provides for full health care services for trafficked children. The Swedish proposal for a new Act ‘suggests that children that have applied for a residence permit and children hiding from the enforcement of a decision to refuse entry or deportation, shall be offered the same health and medical services as children living in Sweden. However the proposal does not include children without documents and children that for any other reason illegally stay in Sweden.’

4.6.4.1.

Statistics on access to health care

In Finland316_{, Italy}317_{, Lithuania}318 _{and Romania}319 _{certain statistics of the number of child}

victims of trafficking receiving health care are kept. It is however impossible to draw any

314 _{In the UK a trafficked child who is a citizen of the UK is eligible to access the full range of}

medical services on the basis of need. Foreign nationals generally have no right to access services provided by the National Health Service free of charge. There are, at EU level, reciprocal arrangements in place for citizens of Member States of the European Union, but these arrangements extend only to emergency treatment or treatment planned and approved before travel. The UK also has reciprocal arrangements with other countries, but for treatment not covered by reciprocal arrangements with the country of origin, whether that person is an EU citizen or not, the policy, except for emergency or primary care, is to charge for treatment of persons ‘not ordinarily resident’ in the UK. Those who are ‘ordinarily resident’ for the purposes of eligibility to free healthcare include persons who have been granted asylum, humanitarian protection or DL to remain in the UK, as well as those given temporary leave to remain in the UK under the terms of the Immigration Act 1971 pending the outcome of an application. Regardless of the legal position, however, the provision of necessary healthcare services to child trafficking victims is an integral part of the overall policy to safeguard the welfare of trafficked children. The rules relating to healthcare for foreign nationals in England are currently being reviewed jointly by the UKBA and the Department of Health.

315 _{Irish Association for Young People in Care.}

316 _{The number of children receiving such services (four in 2005; seven in 2006; five in 2007; and}

six in 2008) is equivalent to the number of children within the Finnish assistance system.

317 _{According to the Italian Interministerial Commission’s statistics, in 2001 the number of}

trafficked children receiving full healthcare was 75; in 2002 it was 80; in 2003 it was 70; in 2004 it was 118; in 2005 it was 139; in 2006 it was 266.

318 _{In Lithuania reports on the implementation of measures Programme on Prevention and Control}

conclusions from these statistics, because no conclusive statistics of the total number of child victims of trafficking are known.

In Greece, only general statistics, without a breakdown in age, are available. The Swedish report underlines that these kind of statistics are confidential and thus not publicly available. The reports of Cyprus, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia320 _{and the United Kingdom, explicitly state that no statistics are}

available, because these categories of data are not recorded.

The reports of the remaining Member States did not provide any information on numbers of trafficked children receiving full health care services, including psychosocial care and rehabilitation (e.g. not just emergency treatment) in the period 2000-2007.