Forms of human trafficking

Warming-up.

What is human trafficking?

Who are the victims of human trafficking?

Who is at risk of becoming a victim of human trafficking?

Do victims of human trafficking self-identify as a victim of a crime and ask for help immediately?

What types of human trafficking can be found in the modern world?

Read the following text. What are the most frequent forms of human trafficking today?

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

trans-national criminal organizations

a violation of human rights

deception

coercion

people smuggling

a means of repayment for a loan or service

punishment

hazardous

medical follow-up

ageing population

lucrative

Forms of human trafficking

Human trafficking is thought to be one of the fastest-growing activities of trans-national criminal organizations.

Human trafficking is condemned as a violation of human rights by international conventions. In addition, human trafficking is subject to a directive in the European Union.

It differs from people smuggling, which involves a person voluntarily requesting or hiring another individual to covertly transport them across an international border, usually because the smuggled person would be denied entry into a country by legal channels. Though illegal, there may be no deception or coercion involved. After entry into the country and arrival at their ultimate destination, the smuggled person is usually free to find their own way. People smuggling is a violation of national immigration laws of the destination country, and does not require violations of the rights of the smuggled person. Human trafficking, on the other hand, is a crime against a person because of the violation of the victim's rights through coercion and exploitation. Unlike most cases of people smuggling, victims of human trafficking are not permitted to leave upon arrival at their destination.

While smuggling requires travel, trafficking does not. Trafficked people are held against their will through acts of coercion, and forced to work for or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercial sexual exploitation. The arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment, or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the victim not being permitted or able to pay off the debt.

Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, and yet is the most widely used method of enslaving people. Victims become "bonded" when their labor, the labor which they themselves hired and the tangible goods they have bought are demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service whose terms and conditions have not been defined, or where the value of the victims' services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt. Generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money "borrowed".

Forced labor is a situation in which victims are forced to work against their own will under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment; their freedom is restricted and a degree of ownership is exerted. Men are at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work, which globally generates 31 billion USD according to the International Labour Organization. Forms of forced labor can include domestic servitude, agricultural labor, sweatshop factory labor, janitorial, food service and other service industry labor, and begging. Some of the products that can be produced by forced labor are: clothing, cocoa, bricks, coffee, cotton, and gold.

Child labour is a form of work that may be hazardous to the physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development of children and can interfere with their education. According to the International Labour Organization, the global number of children involved in child labor has fallen. Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest incidence of child labour, while the largest numbers of child-workers are found in Asia and the Pacific.

Trafficking in humans for the purpose of using their organs, in particular kidneys, is a rapidly growing field of criminal activity. In many countries, waiting lists for transplants are very long, and criminals have seized this opportunity to exploit the desperation of patients and potential donors. The health of victims, even their lives, is at risk as operations may be carried out in clandestine conditions with no medical follow-up. An ageing population and increased incidence of diabetes in many developed countries is likely to increase the requirement for organ transplants and make this crime even more lucrative.

Questions to discuss:

What is the main difference between human trafficking and people smuggling?
What is bonded labour?
Why is trafficking in humans for the purpose of using their organs constantly increasing?
What is child labour?
What are the regions with the highest incidence of child labour?
What other forms of human trafficking do you know?

Feedback

Activities

Read the following examples of different forms of human trafficking. Name each of the forms. What are mistakes made by the victims? Could these dangerous situations be avoided?

Mary

Mary was born and grew up in Nigeria. After her mother’s death, Mary was forced to move to the country’s capital in order to make some money. It was there that she met Tony. He told her he could offer her a good job in England. Tony organised her plane ticket, and they both left for the UK. Hours after her arrival, Mary was taken to what appeared to be a house. It was actually a brothel. She was then forced, under threat, to have sex with men who paid money to Tony. Before Mary even realised she had been deceived, she was trapped.

Food supplier

In 2012, workers from Lithuania were kept in appalling conditions in and subject to ‘a climate of fear’, threats and violence whilst working to provide eggs to some of the UK’s most prominent retailers and restaurants. The workers were used to catch chickens on sites all over the UK. This labour provider subjected migrant workers to debt bondage, giving them no option to leave the squalid house in which they were forced to live and sleep. Their mattresses were infested with bed bugs and fleas.

Birmingham prosoners

Four men from the Czech Republic were offered work in Birmingham. When they arrived their documents were taken from them and they were forced to live in a house together, in squalid conditions. Every day, they were driven to Bedfordshire to work in a bread factory. The gang master who had seized their documents registered all four men with the worker’s registration scheme, and forced the men to pay all their wages to him. When one individual began to question his lack of wages, he was chained to a radiator and beaten. He was also burned with cigarettes. The four men eventually escaped the situation when, on the journey to Bedfordshire, travelling in the back of a van, one man feigned illness in order to make the driver stop. When the doors were opened, the four ran in different directions and escaped.

Ben

A British man called Ben, who was unemployed and living on the streets of a major UK city, was approached at a soup kitchen and offered work and accommodation by a couple who ran a block paving business. Ben was socially isolated, having broken up with his girlfriend and lost his job in a short space of time: he lacked any form of support network. Seeing no other option, he agreed to go. He was taken to a site many miles away where, upon arrival, he was subjected to intimidation and violence. He was forced to work paving driveways, and was paid little or often nothing for his labour. He was terrified of the consequences of trying to leave, so submitted to this abuse for a long time.