Patterns of exploitation

Policy brief on the latest trafficking trends and modus operandi

ANNIINA JOKINEN & ANNA-GRETA PEKKARINEN

This policy brief summarises the main findings of the report “Patterns of exploitation – human trafficking trends and modus operandi in Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Ukraine” edited by Anna-Greta Pekkarinen and Anniina Jokinen.

Premise Definitions

TRAFFICKING FOR FORCED labour refers to serious exploitation of a person’s labour for the purpose of financial gain. Typically, a victim of trafficking for forced labour is made to work long hours with little or no pay, they may be abused, threatened, held in debt bondage, and their freedom of movement may be restricted.

TRAFFICKING FOR SEXUAL exploitation may consist of coercing a person into prostitution, exploiting a person in the sex industry, or subjecting them to other forms of sexual abuse.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS driven by the possibility to make money on many levels and businesses profiting from this are not restricted to criminal organizations, but include also legimate actors and businesses.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS a gendered phenomenon. Victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are mainly women and girls, whereas many of the identified victims of labour trafficking are men.

IN GENERAL, HUMAN trafficking operations involve a variety of costs at each stage of the process: recruitment, transportation and exploitation. Such costs are many times borne by the victim and may be disguised and inflated so that the victim becomes severely indebted, which makes them increasingly vulnerable to exploitation.

THE ELECT THB-PROJECT (Enhanced Law Enforcement Cooperation and Training on Trafficking in Human Beings) is designed to improve the identification and investigation of trafficking in human beings (THB) for sexual and labour exploitation and increase collaboration among law enforcement authorities and other key actors in order to combat such exploitation in Estonia, Latvia and Finland.

The project is funded from European Union’s Internal Security Fund – Police, Grant Agreement Number 101021497.

THE CONTENT of the publication represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.