ATHENS, Aug 4 (AFP) - Greece Wednesday unveiled plans to combat people- trafficking, especially for sexual reasons, a little over a week before the Olympic Games are expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the country.
The plan, presented by Panayotis Panouris, secretary general at the justice ministry, seeks to place the emphasis on the care and protection of the victims rather than their punishment.
Law firms in the five cities hosting the Games will receive a grant of 60,000 euros (72,000 dollars) to provide legal aid to victims of people-trafficking, most of them foreign women forced into prostitution.
Special attention is due to be paid to any trafficking in children, Panouris said. The programme is designed to lay down guidelines once a victim has been identified to guarantee protection.
Greece has incurred the wrath of the United States for failing to "finalise the actions" which it promised to take to stop the trade in human beings and to provide help to victims.
Since June it has been on the list of countries "under watch" by the US State Department. Last year it was on a black list for four months before being removed from it in September.
Humanitarian groups put the number of people-trafficking victims in Greece at 17,000, most of them women and minors forced into prostitution. They have warned that the Olympics could see an upsurge in the sex trade.