In this reflective chapter, we examine the structural biases and empirical challenges underlying human trafficking ‘indicators’ (especially problem, risk and performance indicators) that are... Show moreIn this reflective chapter, we examine the structural biases and empirical challenges underlying human trafficking ‘indicators’ (especially problem, risk and performance indicators) that are routinely used to describe and measure human trafficking, assess risk, identify abuses, evaluate responses, and encourage accountability. While frequently used, such indicators can give an undue illusion of objectivity and reliability when they are neither neutral nor unskewed. In fact, numerous factors affect which elements are privileged as ‘indicators’ and which are obscured. We therefore examine here the selectivity, politics, racialized and gendered concerns that relate to the production and use of human trafficking indicators. Since human trafficking is a complex, highly-contested, and multi-faceted practice, it is not easily reduced to the crude generalizations upon which many indicators rest. We explore how the uncritical use of indicators can both contribute to stereotypical and unachievable ideals of victimhood and engender undue criminalization or withholding of victim support. In doing so, we disentangle some paradoxes around who is deemed ‘vulnerable’, ‘at risk’, ‘worthy of support’ and requiring ‘protection’. We highlight the – routinely overlooked – weak empirical basis and other limitations of many commonplace ‘indicators’ and challenges in building empirically-stronger and more robust indicators. The chapter concludes with overall implications of these critical reflections for policy, interventions, and research. Show less
Labour exploitation of migrants is a serious problem worldwide, also in Europe and in the Netherlands. Since the entry into force of the Palermo Protocol (2000), labour exploitation has been... Show moreLabour exploitation of migrants is a serious problem worldwide, also in Europe and in the Netherlands. Since the entry into force of the Palermo Protocol (2000), labour exploitation has been regarded as a form of the criminal offense of human trafficking. This means that the approach is largely aimed at the most serious forms of exploitation and at criminal prosecution of the perpetrators. The legal position of the victims is subordinate to the criminal proceedings. This study focuses on the rights of migrants to protection against labour exploitation; in the EU and in the Netherlands in particular. Labour exploitation is herein defined as a violation of labour standards laid down in different jurisdictions. Based on an analysis of human rights, criminal law, the right to free movement of persons and migration law for third country nationals, how protection is offered to migrants against labour exploitation. The research identifies the rights that migrants can derive from these four jurisdictions and analyses how access to these rights are facilitated by the state. Due to this combination of aspects, this study contributes to increasing insight into migrant's rights to protection against labour exploitation by the state. Show less
In the Netherlands, labour trafficking was criminalised as human trafficking in 2005.1 Since then, criminal investigations into labour trafficking have slowly taken off. Building on a content... Show moreIn the Netherlands, labour trafficking was criminalised as human trafficking in 2005.1 Since then, criminal investigations into labour trafficking have slowly taken off. Building on a content analysis of files and reports from the labour inspectorate, this paper contributes to the currently limited body of knowledge on the nature of labour trafficking. It does so by focussing on scholarly debates about the nature of the crime and its relation to labour migration. Based on the analysis, it is argued that the bulk of labour trafficking should be understood as a by-product of labour migration, and that labour trafficking often arises from the economic opportunistic motives of businesses and only occasionally occurs in criminal environments. In addition, the paper adds to our understanding of the prosecution of human trafficking by analysing why so many labour trafficking cases in the Netherlands have not resulted in a conviction. Building on a qualitative analysis of case law, it is shown that a major problem in getting suspects convicted is that the human rights threshold against which cases of labour trafficking are tested is often not surpassed, as the abuses in the labour market are often deemed not excessive enough to qualify as human trafficking. Show less
Kafafian, M.; Vries, I. de; Farrell, A.; Goldfarb, S.; Bouchard, E. 2021
Het artikel dat mensenhandel strafbaar stelt, artikel 273f Wetboek van Strafrecht, is complex. De rechtspraktijk worstelt met zijn uitleg, in de literatuur wordt de bepaling een ‘gedrocht’ genoemd... Show moreHet artikel dat mensenhandel strafbaar stelt, artikel 273f Wetboek van Strafrecht, is complex. De rechtspraktijk worstelt met zijn uitleg, in de literatuur wordt de bepaling een ‘gedrocht’ genoemd.Wat is er aan de hand met de strafbaarstelling van mensenhandel? Wat is haar strekking en welke invloed heeft de Hoge Raad daarop in de afgelopen jaren uitgeoefend? In dit onderzoek worden de achtergronden van de strafbaarstelling van mensenhandel uitgeplozen. Niet alleen door het uitvoeren van verdiepend juridisch-historisch onderzoek, ook door de verschillende mensenhandelgedragingen stuk voor stuk theoretisch te belichten en de rechtspraak te analyseren. Met behulp van het rechtstheoretische concept van de rechtsbelangen wordt blootgelegd dat met de strafbaarstelling van mensenhandel zeer uiteenlopende doelen worden gediend. Dat geeft te denken over de wijze waarop de bepaling momenteel is ingericht en functioneert. Dit onderzoek leidt tot de conclusie dat de huidige stand van zaken schuurt met belangrijke beginselen van de democratische rechtsstaat, zoals de notie van rechtszekerheid en de leer van de machtenscheiding (trias politica). De onwenselijkheid daarvan geeft aanleiding om de strafbaarstelling opnieuw te overdenken. Voor de strafwetgever is er werk aan de winkel. Show less
Labor trafficking has increasingly become a subject of policy and research due to the rise in cross-border mobility and globalization. Whereas labor trafficking is generally approached through a... Show moreLabor trafficking has increasingly become a subject of policy and research due to the rise in cross-border mobility and globalization. Whereas labor trafficking is generally approached through a criminal justice frame of transnational organized crime, in this contribution, a broader transnational social field approach is advocated. It is argued that this does more justice to the complex interconnectedness of contemporary reality and allows us to understand better how vulnerability on which human trafficking feeds is created. It is argued that a transnational field approach to labor trafficking allows us to understand better the different forms in which labor trafficking comes and the different ways in which transnational space plays a role in these. The Netherlands is used as an empirical illustration. It is illustrative of how transnational space plays a different role in three types of labor trafficking. For each type, three phases in the labor trafficking process are scrutinized: recruitment, transportation, and the phase of work. It is concluded that it would be helpful to approach labor trafficking not solely from a criminal justice perspective of transnational organized crime but to also include more locally rooted approaches from a labor migration perspective, including a transnational field approach. Show less
