Exploitation of begging activities

Begging itself is not a criminal offence in Germany, as long as no specific municipal bans have been imposed and there is no exploitation by others.  

‘Exploitation of begging activities’ has only been a separate criminal offence since the revision of the criminal law provisions on human trafficking in 2016.   

Exploitation occurs when people are forced to beg and hand over their earnings, and when perpetrators take advantage of their economic or personal predicament, helplessness and ignorance of the circumstances in Germany. Victims of forced begging are often exposed to health-threatening conditions at work, violence and deprivation of food by the perpetrators. In many cases, the accommodation of those affected is inadequate, as they often have to sleep and live in dilapidated buildings, tents and public spaces; victims also often find shelter in homeless shelters.  

It is often organised criminal structures that deliberately deploy and exploit beggars.   

It is important to note that in cases of exploitation of begging activities, there are often family ties between the exploiters and the exploited. This often results in very close contact, as the perpetrators are members of the same community or family and use this to exert pressure.   

Those affected are predominantly very poor people, often elderly people or people with physical and/or mental disabilities, who, in addition to the use of children, are deliberately exploited to elicit pity from passers-by. Children are therefore often exploited together with their parents in this form of exploitation.  

In addition, those affected are monitored and controlled while begging, which means that they have to endure many hours even in adverse weather conditions.   

It is difficult for outsiders to tell whether a person is begging to earn a living or is being exploited. An indication of human trafficking for begging is also present when people are taken to the place where they beg and picked up again afterwards.  

Given their dependence on the traffickers and their inability to act, it is very difficult for those affected to break free. When third parties intervene, those affected often show a lack of cooperation out of fear of the perpetrators. Providing help and support is also often challenging due to the possible physical and/or psychological conditions of those affected.