victim statistics by type of crime, which allows for a more accurate understanding of the data. An NGO received 252 reports of trafficking and assisted 180 victims who originated from 12 countries; the majority of victims assisted were females from West Africa, particularly Nigeria.
The Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, and the City of Paris provided funding for the Ac-Se system, an NGO-managed network of 50 NGO-run shelters assisting vulnerable adult victims of sex and labor trafficking. Ac-Se assisted 70 trafficking victims in 2014, compared with 68 in 2013, by providing them with shelter, legal, medical, and psychological services. Ac-Se received 205,000 euro ($222,000), with approximately 90 percent from the central government and ten percent from the City of Paris, in 2014. Local governments provided French language classes to victims, and some victims could qualify for subsidized housing and job training programs.Victims received 350 euro ($425) as an initial stipend from the government, and the equivalent of approximately 100 euro ($122) per month thereafter. Victims had to wait an average of seven days for access to a shelter in 2014, and Ac-Se reported it experienced difficulties in its capacity to provide a rapid response to victims.The central and municipal governments also partially funded the operation of a shelter in Paris and a small number of emergency apartments external to the Ac-Se system. Child protective services placed child trafficking victims into generalized children’s shelters. The government continued to operate a hotline for children in abusive situations, including trafficking. Ac-Se operated a hotline that received an estimated 900 calls in 2014.While French authorities did not report overall funding allocations to NGOs for victims, the central government provided 1.7 million euro ($1.8 million) to NGOs for victim assistance in 2013.
The government had an NGO-run referral program to transfer victims detained, arrested, or placed in protective custody by law enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short-term care. The government also provided witness protection services for victims who worked with police to prosecute traffickers. NGOs assessed the referral process worked well when victims were willing to cooperate with law enforcement authorities; however, because victim assistance was based on cooperation with law enforcement, victims unwilling to cooperate did not receive assistance. French law provided for a 30-day reflection period for suspected victims; however, some authorities were reportedly not familiar with the reflection period and did not offer it. Victims were eligible for temporary residence permits, provided they cooperated with police investigations.The permits were typically valid for one year and were renewable every six months. The government issued first-time residency documents to 43 victims and renewals to 155 victims, with waiting periods for permits ranging from 15 days to 18 months.Victims who obtained residency were able to work or leave the country during trial proceedings.These permits were available during the duration of the criminal process and automatically became permanent upon an offender’s conviction. In cases in which offenders were not convicted, local prefects had the discretion to grant permanent residence cards to victims. NGOs previously reported highly inconsistent practices among prefects in the issuance of residence permits, particularly if the victims had past convictions for prostitution. Some victims found it easier to apply for and obtain asylum, as the process involved no cost and no requirement to participate in a prosecution. Victims were eligible to receive restitution through the Crime Victims Compensation Program; 361,000 euro ($392,000) was allocated to victims in 2013 from this fund. The compensation request

process often took several years to complete, and many victims had requests in progress; since its creation in 1985, it provided compensation to two victims—in 2007 and 2009.There were no specific reports of identified victims being penalized for crimes committed as a direct result of their being subjected to trafficking; however, approximately 1,500 individuals in prostitution have been arrested annually for soliciting.The government sponsored trainings for social workers and other government employees, including labor inspectors, on trafficking victim identification.

PREVENTION
The government increased anti-trafficking prevention efforts.The government adopted a 2014-2016 national anti-trafficking action plan. The implementation of the plan was supported by a fund dedicated to trafficking victims and called for the appointment of a national rapporteur position; however, the rapporteur was not established during the reporting period. The government continued efforts to address child sex tourism committed by French citizens. NGO contacts estimated 15 French nationals were convicted every year for involvement in child sex tourism, mainly in Asia. French police conducted international investigations of child sex tourism.The government funded programs through airlines and tourism operators describing the penalties for child sex tourism and funded poster and pamphlet campaigns by NGO partners to reduce the demand for child prostitution and child sex tourism. Tourism and hospitality students in France were obligated to take coursework on preventing child sex tourism. The government took steps to reduce the demand for commercial sex by passing legislation in March 2015 designed to prevent human trafficking and protect victims by fining those found guilty of soliciting sex, and providing a six-month renewable residence permit for foreigners regardless of whether they cooperate with law enforcement efforts. The government did not implement a national anti- trafficking awareness campaign.The French government provided anti-trafficking training to all peacekeeping troops prior to their deployment abroad on international peacekeeping missions.The government did not provide anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel.

GABON:  Tier 2 Watch List        
Gabon is primarily a destination and transit country for women, men, and children from West and Central African countries subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Some victims transit Gabon en route to Equatorial Guinea. Boys are forced to work as street vendors, mechanics, or in the fishing sector. Girls are subjected to domestic servitude and forced labor in markets or roadside restaurants. West African women are forced into domestic servitude or prostitution in Gabon. Some foreign adults seek the help of smugglers for voluntary labor migration, but are subsequently subjected to forced labor or prostitution after arriving in Gabon without the proper documents for legal entry. During the reporting period, adult men were reportedly subjected to forced labor on cattle farms in Gabon. Traffickers appear to operate in loose, ethnic-based criminal networks, with female traffickers, some of whom are former trafficking victims, recruiting and facilitating the transportation of victims in countries of origin. In some cases, child victims report their families turned them over to intermediaries promising employment opportunities in Gabon.There is evidence some traffickers operate outside the capital to avoid detection.