At the centre of the fight against human trafficking is victim support, Dutch expert Jorn van Rij said on Friday at a press conference, while presenting the Escape Truck project - a mobile exhibit illustrating real trafficking scenarios to raise awareness and empathy.

He said the project, launched in 2022, was designed after police noticed that 'many victims forced into prostitution in the Netherlands did not want to cooperate with us, did not see themselves as victims.' The truck aims to rethink how police engage with people at high risk of returning to exploitative environments. 'The greater the exploitation, the harder it is to get someone out,' he explained.

Van Rij, who has worked extensively in Romania, noted recurring patterns: 'Usually the women were already exploited here in Romania. It started here and then they were taken to the rest of Europe.' He also pointed to organised crime networks from Romania operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and France, and Romanian groups in Spain facilitating trafficking of Latin American victims.

'In 10 years of cooperation with Romania, I can say you are a very interesting country, with very motivated people fighting human trafficking,' the Dutch National Police human-trafficking researcher said.

The Escape Truck offers a three-room sensory experience based on documented cases: an 'uncomfortable' first room showing vulnerabilities, a second where visitors search for victim indicators, and a third focused on reflection after leaving exploitation. The truck has toured several European countries, each with its own challenges and opportunities.

Police chief commissioner Marius Burcea of the Anti-Human Trafficking Agency (ANITP) said the truck will be shown at the Police Academy and police agent schools, travelling through major cities including Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, Campina, Pitesti, Craiova, Timisoara and twice in Bucharest. Visitors will encounter scenarios based on real cases of sexual and labour exploitation to learn early warning signs and victim trauma.

Photo credit: Radu TUTA / AGERPRES Photo

Dutch ambassador Willemijn van Haaften called the fight against trafficking a shared cause for Romania and the Netherlands, describing sexual exploitation as 'one of the most horrific crimes affecting our societies.' She noted that information exchange between Romanian and Dutch law enforcement has nearly tripled in the past three years, and pointed out that the Escape Truck had previously been presented in Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and the Republic of Moldova, in the pursuit of preventing human trafficking. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Ghita; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)