tertwined. The purpose of exploitation implies acts which are also purposes of torture. In order to exploit, traffickers punish, intimidate and coerce trafficked persons. The purpose of inflicting pain on a trafficked person can be intimidation, punishment or discrimination. In order to classify an act as torture, a specific purpose, such as extracting a confession or information as well as punishment, intimidation or discrimination, is required. The list of various purposes as stated in Art. 1 UNCAT is not exhaustive. Nevertheless, additional purposes have to be interpreted narrowly and they have to have something in common with the purposes listed in Art. 1 UNCAT.79 The common feature of all these purposes is the link to a situation in which the victim is a detainee or under the factual power or control of the person who is inflicting pain or suffering on him/her. The perpetrator uses this unequal and powerful situation in order to achieve his or her aims. The victim is in a powerless situation which is usually based on deprivation of personal liberty and he/she is therefore under the control of the perpetrator. Consequently, torture presupposes a situation of powerlessness of the victim, which usually includes deprivation of personal liberty.80 Torture for the Purpose of Punishment, of Intimidation or Coercion During the phase of exploitation, traffickers apply various forms of coercion in order to keep this situation of exploitation going as long as possible and to prevent that the trafficked person escapes. These forms of coercion can be physical violence but also non-physical means such as threats of deportation, of dismissal81, isolation and limited freedom of movement. A study on labour exploitation in Portugal shows that persons were physically prevented from leaving the exploitative workplace only in a few cases of forced labour. Different and more subtle means of coercion and psychological pressure were used such as false promises about later payment of wages or about regularizing the residence status. Furthermore irregular migrants were threatened with being reported to the authorities.82 Some of these forms of coercion during the exploitation phase serve as a form of punishment. Punishment is used to strengthen the trafficker’s position of power. Depending on the situation, punishment can be used constantly, can happen unexpectedly and/or is used for every ‘wrong’ behaviour of the trafficked person. A study on trafficked children in South Eastern Europe shows that threats and intimidation are the most frequent methods used to control children. A trafficked child in South Eastern Europe stated: “We were beaten for any little thing”. 83 A study on trafficked women showed that the women were abused as punishment for perceived transgressions and that they were beaten for no apparent reason.84 In a case of Portuguese workers in the Netherlands, complaints about the exploitative work led to being placed in worse accommodation.85 The perpetrator of trafficking in human beings would not be able to exploit a person without constant coercion, intimidation and punishment. Case Study 5 Combating Trafficking in Human Beings for Labour Exploitation Torture for the Purpose of Discrimination Art. 1 UNCAT explicitly mentions the purpose of discrimination, which is also relevant to trafficking in human beings. Clearly, trafficking in human beings is linked to gender-based and racial discrimination. Discrimination makes girls, women or certain specific groups more vulnerable to becoming a victim of trafficking in human beings than others due to a lack of access to education, resources and employment opportunities.86 Especially with regard Young People’s Voices on Child Trafficking: Experiences from South Eastern Europe, Stolen smiles – The physical and psychological health consequences of women and adolescents trafficked in Europe Human Trafficking and Forced Labour – Case studies and responses from Portugal, Human Trafficking and Forced Labour – Case studies and responses from Portugal The International Law of Human Trafficking 24