A/HRC/38/45 operating procedures or their correct implementation, which contribute to the nonidentification and misidentification of victims and possible victims of trafficking in transit to their destination. 30 The varying knowledge concerning counter-trafficking among immigration case officers and other authorities, health-care providers and NGOs, and the lack of communication between stakeholders, further impact the practical implementation of the activities envisaged in the standard operating procedures. 34. Moreover, refugees and migrants in transit countries are often not willing to report their exploitation, as their priority is to continue their journey to their intended country of destination. Those in irregular migration situations have limited avenues to seek redress in the event that exploitation occurs, because of threats to them or their family members from traffickers. The risk of becoming stranded, arrested, detained or deported also makes them reluctant to complain or seek the support of the relevant authorities or other stakeholders. 31 35. These challenges are further exacerbated by the hostile political climate towards migrants, including asylum seekers and refugees, and by the fact that the identification of trafficked persons is not perceived as a protection priority in the context of mixed migration.32 As migrants find themselves stranded in transit countries owing to a lack of financial means and a lack of safe and legal ways to continue the journey to their intended country of destination, or in destination countries with no access to the regular labour market, often the only option available to them is to resort to traffickers or dubious intermediaries, who offer exploitative working conditions. 36. Specific challenges have been reported in relation to individual regions. In many European countries, screening and identification procedures/activities remain insufficient and incomprehensive. Moreover, few countries seem to have specific indicators on vulnerability for the target group in place. Early identification among migrants and refugees is also not mandatory or not part of formal procedures.33 Other challenges include a lack of facilities, the fact that temporary residence permits for trafficked persons — and consequently protection and assistance measures — are linked to police investigation and the legal qualification of the crime. Other factors contributing to misidentification include the disconnect between asylum and migration actors and procedures, on the one hand, and anti-trafficking actors and procedures, on the other; receiving a negative decision in the asylum or family reunification procedure; long waiting periods within the asylum procedure; having an undocumented immigration status; uncertain legal status during the journey; and delays in the appointment of a guardian, and/or guardians’ insufficient capacity to appropriately care specifically for unaccompanied and separated children. 34 37. In El Salvador, some of the challenges related to lack of identification, especially in relation to cases of forced labour and labour exploitation, stem from a sort of “normalization” of conditions of exploitation of the working class, especially the most vulnerable ones, such as indigenous groups, women, children and migrants, who are less keen to report cases of exploitation for fear of reprisals. 35 38. Lack of identification of victims or potential victims of trafficking is also linked to the use of profiling, which tends to categorize women and children as victims, excluding men from protection measures. For example, in Lebanon, Syrian single male refugees are disproportionately targeted by both governmental authorities and host communities because they are perceived as a security threat. They therefore rely upon negative coping strategies to maintain their immediate safety, which exposes them to exploitation and abuse, especially in the labour market. Both in cases of threats to personal safety and exploitation 30 31 32 33 34 35 10 Healy and Forin, “Trafficking along migration routes”. Ibid., and submission of La Strada International. Healy and Forin, “Trafficking along migration routes”. Submission of La Strada International. Healy and Forin, “Trafficking along migration routes”. IOM, “Trata de Personas con fines de explotacion laboral en Centro America: El Salvador” (2011), p. 29. Available at http://plataformadeaprendizaje.iom.int/pluginfile.php/12468/mod_resource/content/11/Trata_de_pers onas_el_salvador.pdf.