New research shows Asian workers in Europe lack protection against exploitation and trafficking
La Strada International releases a new report on the risks faced by Asian workers in Europe, the United States TIP Office awards funding to seven global anti-trafficking projects, and the Helen Bamber Foundation highlights the detainment of trafficking victims in the UK.
Many Asian migrant workers end up in low-paid jobs in Europe with limited access to legal work and without adequate protection against serious forms of exploitation, according to a new report from La Strada International (LSI) based on desk research conducted by La Strada Czech Republic, La Strada Poland and ADPARE in Romania. Many risk falling prey to human trafficking or forced labour practices, such as debt-based coercion and the exploitation of other vulnerabilities.
Protecting Asian Trafficking Victims in Europe and its accompanying policy paper focus on the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania, and provide a summary of the current legal framework for the protection of Asian trafficking victims in these countries. The research also aims to shed light on difficulties in the application of the legal definition of human trafficking, as well as the practical issues involved. La Strada’s findings are backed up by research from other NGOs, including LSI member ASTRA, which has found human trafficking and labour exploitation cases among Vietnamese migrants contracted to work in the Linglong tire factory in Serbia, and challenges relating to the regulation of the temporary residence of foreign trafficking victims in Europe.
Increasingly, third country nationals (TCN), a large number of whom are from the Philippines and Vietnam, are recruited to work in Europe due to migration flows within the European Union and the departure of highly skilled workers from lower income EU countries. Exploitation is witnessed both in formal and informal labour sectors, including construction, manufacturing, food processing, agriculture, forestry, hospitality and domestic work – labourers in these sectors often have no access to a minimum or living wage, and lack adequate living conditions and proper unemployment protections including social benefits.
On paper, TCN migrant workers are protected against severe forms of labour exploitation and abuse – the Czech, Polish, and Romanian legal frameworks comply with international and EU legislation relating to the prevention of human trafficking and forced labour, and all three countries are parties to international, regional and bilateral legal instruments that aim to enhance mutual legal assistance and judicial cooperation in combatting human trafficking. However, few Asian TCNs are identified as victims of human trafficking and these crimes are only scarcely reflected in case law, meaning the perpetrators of exploitative practices go unpunished.
According to the report, one reason for this is a lack of safe reporting mechanisms – workers fear penalties and the possibility of being turned in to immigration services. And, while victims of human trafficking may claim compensation in criminal or civil proceedings against their traffickers, such claims take many years to process and victims are easily discouraged.
Furthermore, there is a lack of awareness and knowledge regarding human trafficking and trafficking-related offences both among victims and relevant stakeholders: many Asian victims do not consider themselves as “victims of human trafficking” because the working conditions in most Asian countries are comparably harsher than those in Europe. This lack of awareness and knowledge also extends to law enforcement authorities, who are often unaware of Asian migrant workers falling victim to human trafficking and have little data to work with.
The report makes several recommendations including: ratification of the ILO Migrant Workers Convention and ILO Conventions on Domestic Workers Rights and Violence and Harassment in the field of work; enhancement of legal migration opportunities for TCN migrant workers and an end to the system in which work visas and permits are tied to a specific employer; effective outreach to raise awareness of the risks of labour exploitation and human trafficking, as well as workers’ rights and the complaint mechanisms, legal assistance, counseling and other services available to them; monitoring of recruitment and employment agencies to address exploitative practices; and strengthening the awareness and capacity of law enforcement bodies, legal professionals and other stakeholders to identify victims by enhancing specialization and capacity building.
Last Friday, La Strada International, Freedom Collaborative and the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women hosted a webinar to discuss the report and its related issues – find a recording of the conversation here.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
The U.S. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) has announced seven recipients of the 2022 Program to End Modern Slavery Award, with assistance for projects that focus on financial inclusion in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe; climate and displacement in Bangladesh and Kenya; sex trafficking in Nigeria; and public health in India and South Africa. The Award’s commitment to strengthening the field of prevalence research will continue through the funding of a program led by the International Labour Organization to develop operational definitions, methodologies and uniform guidance for the measurement of trafficking in persons.
A new report from the Helen Bamber Foundation, in partnership with Medical Justice, Anti Trafficking and Labour Exploitation Unit, and Focus on Labour Exploitation, highlights the UK Home Office practice of routinely detaining people who are subject to immigration control only to release them back into the community, causing them significant harm in the process. Survivors are detained either after imprisonment, with many having been wrongly convicted, and/or because they do not have permission to remain in the UK and have not received the support necessary to enable them to disclose that they have been trafficked.
And this article discusses how the UK’s anti-slavery legislation, once considered a crowning achievement for the Conservative party, has become a target for anti-immigration ministers.
While hundreds of trafficking victims who have been lured into Cambodia’s illicit scam industry have returned home in recent months with the assistance of volunteers and foreign governments, some rescued workers say they are now being detained by local police who demand bribes for bedding, food or their journey home. This apparent extortion is an example of the corruption that has hindered efforts to tackle the industry, according to the anti-human trafficking division of Global Anti-Scam Organization.
Authored by the International Justice Mission’s Center to End Online Sexual Exploitation of Children, a new paper examines the potential application of the “best interest of the child” principle in OSEC cases, and identifies lessons which can be drawn from existing jurisprudence. Findings include the need to honor the voices of children-survivors, minimize court exposure, and consider expert opinions.
Last week, the leaders of Hungary, Austria and Serbia met in Budapest to find ways in which to stop what they say is the growing number of migrants coming to Europe. The leaders of the three countries agreed to take joint action to control new arrivals on the migration route through Serbia.
One of our community members is looking to interview sex trafficking survivors for her PhD research into the experiences and empowerment of survivors in South Asia. The interviews can be done in person or over Zoom, the interviewee’s identity and data will be protected and secured, and their comfort and safety will be paramount.
Do Bold brings migrant workers together in targeted online communities based on their needs and locations, and is currently looking for a volunteer to work directly with the operations team to moderate groups in three different countries.
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