This publication contains the findings of the project Development of Guidelines for the Collection of Data on Trafficking in Human Beings, Including Comparable Indicators implemented by the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration in Vienna. The project was carried out with generous financial support from the European Commission, Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security (Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme 2007).

The outcome of this project – the present publication presents EU Member States with seventeen guidelines for the effective collection of data on human trafficking. The report is divided into seven parts with one or more Guidelines presented following each relevant section. Part 1 introduces the objectives of and challenges to data collection, the definition of human trafficking and the stakeholders responsible for data collection at various levels within EU Member States and at the EU level. Part 2 provides information on the minimum set of data that should be collected by EU Member States in respects of the victim,13 the trafficker, the trafficking process and the criminal justice response to trafficking. Part 3 provides more detailed templates for the collection of additional data. Part 4 discusses procedural considerations - who should analyze the data and will have access to the data and how the data should be gathered, evaluated and disseminated. Part 5 introduces the concept of signals to aid stakeholders in assessing situations and identifying high risk areas and possible trafficked victims, while also pointing out alternative sources of data which might provide information on trafficked persons. Part 6 introduces the protection mechanisms and ethical considerations in collecting, storing and using personal data of victims. The final Part provides a number of scenarios for the implementation of the guidelines.