In a centrally located hotel in Madrid, with the presence of authorities, NGOs in the fight against human trafficking, and leaders of various evangelical entities, the association A21 presented a Anti-Trafficking Helpline (known as ACT Telephone) and signed a collaboration agreement with the Spanish National Police.

The helpline is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and can be called anonymously and free of charge.

The ACT Hotline deals directly with calls from victims of trafficking themselves, as well as from people who suspect that they may be facing a case of human trafficking and wish to report or provide information about it.

The A21 association will refer callers to the specialised services required in each case, to specialised services such as residential resources, social, psychological, health, educational, legal and administrative care.

False job offers are one of the most common methods used by criminal networks to deceive people, offering them false opportunities in Spain, which attract potential victims of exploitation. This is why the ACT Helpline also offers a tool to verify job offers.

Simultaneous translation to other languages

In addition, all these services are available in more than 200 languages, as the telephone line has a simultaneous translation service that can be accessed not only from Spain but also from other countries.

There are three ways to contact this new anti-trafficking helpline: by visting the website Telefono ACT, by calling (+34) 900 759 759 759 or by writing an email to [email protected].

Agreement with the National Police

At the event, a collaboration agreement was signed between A21 and the National Police. The agreement was signed by the CEO of A21, Nicholas Caine, and the Chief Commissioner of the Spanish National Police, Luis Mayandía Fernández, Head of the Central UCRIF commissiarat dedicated to combating illegal trafficking networks and forged documents.

The National Police reaffirms its commitment in the fight against human trafficking and underlines its collaboration with social entities to combat it.

The ACT Telephone has already been implemented in Greece, with excellent results.

In Spain, evangelicals raise anti-trafficking awareness

Among those attending the event were representatives of various evangelical Christian organisations (Fiet Gratia, Remar, Amar Dragoste, Diaconía España, Plataforma Seneca Falls, the Working Group on Women and Society of the Spanish Evangelical Alliance) who for years have been fighting against trafficking, both by denouncing the situation of sexual exploitation that occurs in Spain, and by serving victims by offering them a way out of the trafficking situation.

Spain continues to be primarily a destination and transit country for victims of trafficking. According to official data published in May 2023 by the Ministry of the Interior, the State Security Forces identified a total of 1,687 people as victims of human trafficking between 2017 and 2022.

Sexual exploitation has been the predominant form of exploitation among the identified victims, accounting for around 60% of all cases and with the majority of these victims being women (almost 90%).

There has also been an increase in the number of persons identified as victims of trafficking for labour exploitation. In the last 5 years, 583 cases of this type of labour exploitation were registered, with the majority of the victims being men, representing (58%).

While these figures are alarming, they do not represent the reality of the situation. According to the Group of Experts on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA), the numbers of cases identified do not reflect the real magnitude of this phenomenon due to the lack of a comprehensive approach to detect all forms of trafficking. It is therefore necessary to have new tools and resources.