Page 40 - FMR64_Trafficking and smuggling & Climate crisis and local communities_2020_web

FMR 64
40 Trafficking and smuggling
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

However, most organisations or government Forced migration and trafficking
agencies focused on trafficking have limited Movement makes it more difficult not only to
budgets and cannot afford to implement measure vulnerability and prevalence within
these. Consequently, many organisations a population, and to compare results with
end up using referral-based sampling other studies, but also to reach vulnerable
methods (such as snowball sampling), which populations within migration flows. Many
have been proven in other fields to better studies attempt to measure prevalence of
identify members of a hidden population. trafficking by interviewing returnees, who can
Other means of collecting data to measure be more accessible than workers in destination
prevalence are generally implemented countries or those who are in transit. However,
in an ad hoc manner and rarely have a research with returnees must take into account
direct connection with a programme. several factors that may limit the study. For
example, exploited individuals may have
Legal definitions small social or isolated networks and if using
A common statistical definition of trafficking a referral or network-based sampling method,
has eluded researchers, in part due to the resultant prevalence estimate will probably
the existence of different and sometimes be too low. That research may have identified
overlapping international and national how many returnees themselves were subject
definitions. For example, international to exploitation but not have captured the total
law uses the definition of forced labour trafficked population in the migration flow.
in ILO Convention 29, requiring both Additionally, forced migrants often
involuntariness and the threat of a penalty; do not use formal channels but instead
instead the Palermo Protocol⁴ defines move irregularly and may use smuggling
trafficking as requiring an act, means and networks. Forced migration routes may
purpose. Despite the technical language, differ in each scenario, exacerbating the
forced labour and labour trafficking both measurement difficulties of referral-
refer to compelling (and profiting from) based sampling and severely limiting
the labour or services of others. While the the ability to conduct traditional
‘means’ of force, fraud or coercion and the household or establishment surveys.
‘purpose’ of compelling individuals for
labour services might be the same across Common methodologies
both definitions, confusion for measurement Trafficking researchers have used a wide
arises around the ‘acts’, such as recruitment, variety of methods to calculate prevalence
transportation, harbouring or receipt, estimates. The most traditional survey
which are not part of the ILO’s definition. sampling methods select a random sample
This raises key questions for researchers: of households or establishments from a
whether, for example, scientists should complete list, such as a government census.
measure forced labour by the ILO’s standards Using their survey questions, they attempt
in order to demonstrate the prevalence of to identify respondents who may be victims
trafficking; and whether scientists need of trafficking. Because everyone in the
always to include the ‘act’ in surveys. population had the same likelihood of being
Another difficulty is applying included in the survey, the researchers are able
international norms at a national level. to generalise the results to a larger population.
Under the Palermo Protocol, movement Hidden populations, however, who are
is not required to constitute trafficking. often obscured from these lists, make this
However, some national governments problematic and random sampling is therefore
have enacted domestic anti-trafficking likely to under-report trafficking victims.
legislation that does require some form of Snowball sampling entails asking
movement. These varying definitions can respondents to report on what they know
be an obstacle to researchers comparing of the trafficking experiences of members of
national administrative data. their social networks. With enough waves