Trafficking in women in Germany is not legally defined, although almost all of the victims of trafficking are women. In the eyes of the German Criminal Code, trafficked persons can be of German or foreign origin, whether male or female, they are all equal victims. Both the personal freedom and the right of sexual self-determination of a human being should be protected by the Law.
§ 180b (Para 1) Criminal Code (StGB) on trafficking in human beings:
"(…) whoever, for his own material benefit, exerts influence on another person, with knowledge of a coercive situation, to induce the person to take up or continue in prostitution, shall be punished with imprisonment for not more than five years or a fine. Whoever, for his own material benefit, exerts influence on another person, with knowledge of the helplessness associated with the person's stay in a foreign country, to get the person engage in sexual acts, which the person commits on or in front of the third person or allows to be committed on the person by the third person."

If…

• you came to Germany on false promises to get a well-paid job
• You are a victim of sexual exploitation
• You live in constant oppression, fear and despair
• your passport is taken away and somebody has control over you
• you are forced to work against your will in prostitution

in that case you should know that you are not alone and there is a witness protection program, which gives you an opportunity of way-out of the situation and a four-weeks period to think about and to organise your personal affairs. Contact one of the Counselling centres. There are about 38 consulting agencies and NGOs in Germany.

Witnesses: If after the police raid the woman makes a statement or there is evidence that she may be a trafficked person and if the public prosecutor's office considers her testimony to be important, she has special rights:
The woman can be granted a residence toleration of four weeks giving her the possibility to reflect upon whether she feels capable of testifying against her traffickers in criminal proceedings or not.
If she decides against testifying, she must leave the country after this period of four weeks.
If she decides to give evidence as a witness she is also granted a residence toleration (a temporary suspension of deportation) up to the time she is to give evidence as a witness and, generally, she can stay in Germany for one or two years.
A woman may get a further toleration (one or two year residence permit for exceptional purposes) after / or during court proceedings, if there is a concrete danger to her life, health or freedom in her country of origin and this can be proved.
A woman may obtain a title of residence for reasons unrelated to her role as a witness (marriage, humanitarian reasons and some other).
A witness protection program offers a woman safe accommodation and support in dealing with authority matters. Often women are afraid of threats by traffickers. They may be accompanied and protected by the police during the criminal proceedings.
A woman is given support for food, clothes and goods according to the Asylum Seekers Benefits Law (AsylBLG §1). This amounts to approximately 200 Euro a month.
In many cases, the first contact of trafficked women with the counselling centre is only possible through the police, for example, after a raid.
The Counselling centres (there are about 38 consulting agencies and NGOs in Germany) give the trafficked women fundamental information about their legal possibilities for support and after-care and this is generally given in their mother-tongues.
The woman is offered safe accommodation, gets psychological and social care and also receives support in contacting the authorities. Counselling centres organise her repatriation and arrange contact with women´s projects in the countries of origin.
The counselling centre helps the woman to contact a lawyer, who informs her about her rights, gives necessary consultations, which are paid by the state.
Before giving evidence in court a woman should decide with her lawyer, whether she wants to act only as a witness or whether she wants to appear as joint-plaintiff. The latter option gives her more rights.
Generally, it is very difficult for the women to find a job and it seldom happens, but if they find work, they could get a work permit.
The German government covers the costs of repatriation. Counselling centres closely cooperate with the women's projects in the countries of origin, which offer shelters, psychological and social support as well as therapy. But unfortunately, the centres are usually located in the capitals and their capacity and funds are not sufficient to support women over a long period of time.