Introduction

According to the United Nations, human trafficking is the third most lucrative illicit business globally, after arms trafficking and drug trafficking.

Altogether 26 268 trafficking victims were registered in the EU during 2017-2018, more than half (60%) were victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation and fifteen percent were victims of trafficking for labour exploitation and almost three quarters (72%) of all registered victims were women.

In this blog we will learn the fundamental concepts of victimization and human trafficking, shedding light on the complexities and consequences.

Victimization and Human Trafficking- Basic Concepts

Trafficking in persons means according to the Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of human organs.

Therefore we can see that human trafficking has three elements:

1. The actions of: recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a person.

2. By means of: the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or of a situation of vulnerability of the victim, or the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having authority over the victim.

3. With a purpose of exploitation (sexual, servitude, removal of organs…).

It is important to know that when the victim is a minor, he/she would be classified as a victim of trafficking with only the act and the purpose (without requiring the means indicated).

Types of Victimization

We can find different types of victimization in the United Nations Protocol we find different types of exploitation defined, such as Sexual exploitation: occurs through forced prostitution, child prostitution, sex tourism, forced pornography and child pornography. Slavery, when a person is subjected to another person, as if he/she were his/her “property”. Servitude, when a person is forced to provide certain services and to live on the property of the person who exploits him or her. Other forms of exploitation include e.g. illegal adoptions, exploitation of children by armed actors, organ harvesting, servile marriages, and forced labour.