Research project AP/23 (Research action AP)
The number of people trafficked and smuggled into and within EU Member States has increased considerably over the last decade. Many sources believe the EU is becoming an important source, transit and destination region for trafficking and smuggling, although governmental, international and corporate actors have launched numerous campaigns for controlling this phenomenon. Several international standards, national action plans and policy documents repeatedly emphasize the need for accurate and reliable data, but there are still no exact figures on the nature and extent of the phenomenon. In any case, human trafficking and people smuggling take place illegally and the current data collection mechanisms are underdeveloped.
The Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism in Belgium set up a database in 2003 for collecting information directly from victims of trafficking and smuggling who have sought help and support from specialist centres (in the context of the 1994 Guideline on issuing residence permits and work permits to foreign trafficking victims). The information is depersonalized and varied, and is collated using a comprehensive, detailed and standardized template based on the intake forms and case structure for victims who receive help and support. Alongside the IOM database of victims that contains information on victims who are supported by the IOM worldwide, the Centre’s database is currently the only country-specific database in the EU. In this context, this database offers a unique opportunity for analysing data regarding trafficking and smuggling enabling a better insight into the nature and extent of both phenomena.
The main purpose of the research is a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the database of trafficking victims.
The research is in three phases:
Phase 1
The first phase is aimed at analysing the trafficking victims database.
The first analysis is mainly descriptive in nature: The answer patterns of each variable are mapped out by way of univariate analysis techniques. We use this method to answer the following questions: are the majority of victims men or women, are most victims trafficked with a view to sexual or economic exploitation, what are the main countries of origin in connection with trafficking, what is the most common nationality of the traffickers and smugglers and what recruitment techniques are commonly used, etc.
The second step involves a bivariate analysis which includes a description of the relations between database variables, and studying the significance of this relation. We can use this technique to provide answers to the following questions: is there a significant connection between sex and sector of exploitation, nationality of the traffickers and smuggled persons, family compositions and vulnerability to trafficking, countries of origin and use of documents, etc., or are victims from certain countries more often victims of economic exploitation than others, are mechanisms of debt bondage specifically related to a certain country or region of origin or specific exploitation centres, are poorly educated victims more vulnerable to trafficking and do trafficking networks mainly exploit people of their own nationality, etc.
The last step in this first phase would be to perform a trend analysis studying how variables and the relations between them develop over a given time span. The following questions are answered with this trend analysis: are tourist visas used more and more for trafficking with a view to exploitation and how are recruitment methods and methods of coercion developing, etc.
Based on our quantitative analysis, we set up profiles of trafficking and smuggling victims as well as groups of people involved in trafficking and smuggling.
Phase 2
In the second phase of the research, a qualitative analysis is carried out to complement the profile analysis and trend analysis. This qualitative analysis consists of a review of the literature and in-depth interviews with victims and key informers.
The literature study includes research and discussions concerning trafficking, migration and socio-culturally-related areas that will, on one hand, contribute to interpreting the statistical results and on the other hand, the drawing up of questionnaires for the interviews with the victims and key informers.
The in-depth interviews with victims take place using a guide consisting of a list of questions and subjects such as individual experiences and motivations, perceptions on migration, transfer of information on migration, peer influence, experience with integration and contextual ethnographic information, etc. Interviews will be held with 12 victims divided into three different categories: sector of exploitation, i.e., trafficking with a view to sexual exploitation or with a view to economic exploitation and smuggling.
Interviews will also be held with 10 key informers from two areas: social services and the police and judiciary. Two different guides are being developed for these interviews. The objective of interviews with persons from social services is to collect qualitative information on victim profiles, assistance and integration. In-depth interviews with the police and the judiciary, i.e., specialized sectors on trafficking and immigration, will contribute to interpreting trends on trafficking and smuggling, profiles of criminal groups, trafficking mechanisms and characteristics of migration.
Phase 3
The results of the quantitative and qualitative phase will be integrated into a descriptive report. Any gaps in the database will come to light during the research. We shall therefore also make recommendations for improving the structure and content of the database of trafficking victims.
Analyse quantitative et qualitative de la banque de données des victimes de la traite et du trafic d’êtres humains : résumé
Bruxelles : Politique scientifique fédérale, 2009 (SP2118)
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Kwantitatieve en kwalitatieveanalyse van de databankslachtoffers van mensenhandel : samenvatting
Brussel : Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid, 2009 (SP2119)
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