THE THIN RED LINE
- victim identification & protection
Conference on How to Enhance Assistance to Victims of Human
Trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region. Helsinki, 19.March.2014
Anders Lisborg
3 Challenges - 3 Recommendations
Practical challenges
identifying VoT’s
Assistance to VoT’s for
labour exploitation
• 5 new cross-cutting practical indicators
• Understand and respond to victims needs
(trafficking as stolen labour)
THB for labour exploitation
New challenge, new
• Enhance multi-stakeholder partnerships
(private sector engagement)
partnerships, new
solutions
A. Workers in decent work conditions. General good standards inluding good living conditions and fair wages
B. Workers who knows the type of work they are recruited for and the working conditions, but who experinece
relatively hard conditions and low wages – within the limits of national labour and international standards
C. Workers / victims, who knows the type of work they are recruited for, but do not have sufficient information
or experience to foresee that they in relality end up in hard and unfair working conditions.
D. Victims who have been decepted and tricked during the recruitment process and who end up in labour
exploitation and are threathend in various ways (financial penanlties) in oder to force them to stay and
endure exploitative conditions. Exploitation of vulnerability.
E. Victims who have been forced and severely exploited including victims who have experienced kidnapping,
confinement (locked-up) and physical violence. Clear-cut cases of THB and forced labour.
Source: Lisborg, 2012, Trafficking for forced labour in Denmark?
THE THIN RED LINE
- Workers (nonvictims)
Get the picture right – who is who
& how should they be treated?
(Identification process)
Victims of human trafficking
(a serious crime)
- Illegal migrants (nonvictims)
- Right –to protection & assistance
Group people in a workplace
- Exploiters &
a potential trafficking situation
traffickers (should be
(mix of people / blurred picture)
investigated)
- Workers (non victims)
- Could lead to
detention, deportation- Illegal immigrants
and criminal charges
- Traffickers & criminals
-Victims of trafficking
Categories and definitions
Human
Trafficking
.
Social
dumping
Irregular
work
Forced
labour
Labour
exploitation
Wide set of THB indicators
The challenge:
 When is it THB OR when is it ”just” another form of
exploitation and critical working conditions?
 Identifying VoT’s – not just a technical debate, but a
practical challenge for front line agencies
 Grey areas and borderline cases – even ”experts” disagree
Complex realities
 Often THB indicators present – but few clear cut cases…
 Migrants who accept exploitative conditions because of fear
of losing jobs (fired or blacklistet)
 Trafficking for ”no labour” (paradoks) (Job scams)
 Migrants who “choose” to work long hours with almost no
days off
 Migrants who “choose” to live in cheap relatively
unacceptable conditions in order to save money
 Migrants who claim to be victims (but are in fact not) to try to
get compensation
Cases in Denmark
 Since…35 persons identified as VoT’s for forced labour
 Case conference, CMM staff (useful training)
 Pilot new cross cutting indicators – to help social and case
´managers in ”drawing the line” making consistent decisions.
Recommendation / consider:
5 cross-cutting practical case assesment indicators:
A. Level of exploitation (ranking 1-5)
B. The Time factor (duration of exploitation)
C. Intention - The connecting thread…(linkages
between recruitment and exploitation)
D. Coercion / compulsion (ranking 1-5)
E. Vulnerability and multiple dependecy (rank 1-5)
The Bulls eye challenge
Trafficking
(THB)
Forced
Labour
Labour
exploitation
When it is not THB…
 Still critical cases and conditions that should be adressed:
 Labour exploitation
 False recruitment (job scams)
 Slumlords (letting out apartments to vulnerable migrants)
 Illegal / undeclared work. Bankruptcy speculation
 Organised crime
Recom: Response flowcharts for non-THB cases…
Challanges to provide protection to
Victims THB for Labour exploitation
 More male victims
 Less focus on trauma – more on compensation
 Shelters often more for women and children
 New service providers – partnerships needed
Understand victims needs and prefernces
- Listen and learn – VoT’s priority list ”Going back – moving on”
- THB as stolen labour – return what was taken
- Compensation
- Job placement (from bad to decent work)
- Learn from Trade Unions
New challenges, new partnerships, new solutions
 Multi Stakeholder Partnerships (MSP)
 Private sector, trade unions, trade associations, retailers /
supermarkets, consumers (organisations),, labour inspection, tax
authorities, police, municipalities, Immigration authorities; Social
workers; Health services; Migrant organisations and communities
 New approaches:
 Privat sector engagement, - Business and human rights (THB)
 Supply chain management and monitoring, Code of Conducts,
Coporate Social Responsibility (CSR) etc.
 Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010, California, USA
 EU strategy (2012-2016)
TAK
19.03.14
Helsinki, Finland
Anders Lisborg
www.centermodmenneskehandel.dk