Introduction The mosaic of evidence

Case III K 11408 Poland 211 concerned forced prostitution of a young woman in Sweden. She was often beaten by the defendant and subjected to physical and psychological violence. Furthermore, the victim was often starved, but she never asked for food because she feared the defendant. The court convicted the defendant of human traficking and enticement or abduction of another person with the aim of having her engage in prostitution abroad. A case in which violence was used as a form of disproportionate punishment is Alzanki United States. 212 In this case the victim, held in domestic servitude, was thrown against a wall for requesting that the volume of the television be turned down while she was trying to sleep. 213 The defendant lost his appeal against a conviction of involuntary servitude. Physical violence or the threat of violence were also used by the defendants in Connors United Kingdom 214 to force the victims to perform landscaping services for little to no pay. The defendants were convicted of holding another person in slavery or servitude or requiring them to perform forced or compulsory labour. In the Samaesan Thailand 215 case concerning labour exploitation of workers from Myan- mar, the victims were beaten whenever they refused to work. They were also harmed with knives and an electric shocker which frightened them from escaping. The court convicted the defendant of traficking in persons for labour exploitation and other charges. The effect on victims of violent abuse of others Trafickers may not physically abuse all of their victims. However, even observing the bodily injury of others may create a climate of fear that allows trafickers to control their victims. Moreover, sometimes trafickers force some victims to abuse others as a method of control. In Webster United States, 216 concerning commercial sexual exploitation of vulnerable adult and minor females, the defendant forced victims to watch him beat other victims. By doing so he created an environment of fear of physical harm should victims violate any of his rules or refuse to do what he asked. On appeal, this type of psychological abuse was found to be coercion that was suficient to support the defendant’s conviction of sex traficking through the use of coercion. In a sexual exploitation case 11413722006 Romania, 217 the victims were forced to practice prostitution and were regularly beaten. In addition, when the defendants caught one of the victims trying to escape, they beat her again so that her punishment could serve as a deterrent for other women. Based on these facts, the court found all the defendants guilty of human traficking. 211 III K 11408, 12 February 2009, District Court of Krakow, Poland. The case is available in the UNODC Human Traficking Case Law Database UNODC Case No. POL010. 212 See Index of all cases. 213 This information was offered as background by the court. 214 See Index of all cases. For detailed facts, see the in-depth analysis in section 5.11 of the Case Digest. 215 See Index of all cases. 216 U.S. v. Webster, 2011, U.S. App. LEXIS 26438 2011, United States of America. The case is available in the UNODC Human Traficking Case Law Database UNODC Case No. USA148. 217 11413722006, 24 June 2010, Supreme Court of Justice, Romania. The case is available in the UNODC Human Traficking Case Law Database UNODC Case No. ROU011. In a domestic servitude case Sabhnani United States, 218 one victim was a witness to the other’s violent maltreatment and was even required to maltreat her by taping her body and then pulling the tape off. These facts were mentioned as the background to an afirmation of a conviction on forced labour, peonage and other charges. In an involuntary servitude case United States v. Pipkins United States, 219 on a back- ground of prostitution, the defendant pimps sometimes brutally enforced their control over the victims by means of beatings with belts, baseball bats, or “pimp sticks” two coat hangers wrapped together. The pimps also punished their prostitutes by kicking them, punching them, forcing them to lie naked on the loor and then have sex with another prostitute while others watched, or “trunking” them by locking them in the trunk of a car to teach them a lesson. Another case in which victims participated in violence against one another is D.A. and A.M. Israel. 220 The case concerned a man who gathered around him a number of women by means of his purported religious powers and insights. He gradually exercised more and more control over them, including prompting them to punish themselves and to participate in the punishment of others. He was convicted of holding persons under conditions of slavery in the District Court, pending appeal to the Supreme Court. Violence is not a requirement for a traficking in persons case However, conversely, in order to establish traficking in persons or allied crimes, it is not necessary to prove violence. This can be seen in a number of cases which did not include this circumstance. 221 Violence seen in traficking cases can be: • Used to force victims to submit toremain in the situation of exploitation; • Not necessarily directed against the victim, but, for example, against co-workers to create a climate of fear; and • Used as a form of punishment of victims. Non-exhaustive examples of violence used in traficking cases include: • Beatings • Forcing victims to eat foods that could be harmful • Electric shock treatment • Stabbing • Choking • Causing scalding • Sexual assaults and rapes 218 See Index of all cases. 219 378 F.3d 12812004, United States of America. 220 Criminal Cases 6749, 6774-08-11 in Jerusalem District Court, State of Israel v. D.A. and A.M. issued on 10 September 2013, pending appeal in Supreme Court. 221 See, for example, Wei Tang and Siliadin, which appear in the next subsection.