The need for multisectoral training in anti-sex-trafficking support systems in Spain: From professionals to the public

Anti-sex-trafficking responses in Spain rely on coordinated work among social workers, law enforcement officers, healthcare staff, cultural mediators, interpreters, legal professionals, and other frontline actors. Yet significant barriers persist in the detection of potential cases, formal identification procedures, and victims’ access to protection and support. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 32 practitioners across sectors and participant observation conducted during six anti-trafficking training programmes, this article examines the needs identified by professionals working in the anti-trafficking field and what they consider necessary to improve their practices. Two main findings emerge. First, participants across sectors identify the lack of sustained and specialised training as a structural problem, particularly in emotional management, trauma-aware and victim-centred approaches, cultural and linguistic competence, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Second, professionals emphasise the importance of extending training to actors who may encounter victims indirectly, such as taxi drivers and hospitality workers. Drawing on street-level bureaucracy theory, the study argues that strengthening training infrastructures can improve professionals’ capacity to recognise trafficking and exercise discretion in the provision of assistance. The inclusion of non-institutional actors represents an innovative step, but must be approached critically, as it carries risks such as oversurveillance and the reproduction of biases.