A Transnational Field Approach to the Study of Labor Trafficking

Labor trafficking has increasingly become a subject of policy and research due to the rise in cross-border mobility and globalization. Whereas labor trafficking is generally approached through a criminal justice frame of transnational organized crime, in this contribution, a broader transnational social field approach is advocated. It is argued that this does more justice to the complex interconnectedness of contemporary reality and allows us to understand better how vulnerability on which human trafficking feeds is created. It is argued that a transnational field approach to labor trafficking allows us to understand better the different forms in which labor trafficking comes and the different ways in which transnational space plays a role in these. The Netherlands is used as an empirical illustration. It is illustrative of how transnational space plays a different role in three types of labor trafficking. For each type, three phases in the labor trafficking process are scrutinized: recruitment, transportation, and the phase of work. It is concluded that it would be helpful to approach labor trafficking not solely from a criminal justice perspective of transnational organized crime but to also include more locally rooted approaches from a labor migration perspective, including a transnational field approach.</p

Self-Identification of Victimization of Labor Trafficking

Although labor exploitation has been criminalized as human trafficking, also known as labor trafficking, forced labor, or modern slavery, globally, many cases remain undetected. In part, this underreporting is arguably due to low levels of self-identification of victimization of labor trafficking. Low self-identification suggests that a discrepancy exists between legal definitions of labor trafficking victimhood and the lived experiences of work and employment by what are often labor migrants. This contribution discusses scholarly literature that identifies factors that obstruct self-identification among those subjected to labor exploitation. Also, a study is discussed that analyzed how some victims do arrive at self-identification. This contribution finds that labor trafficking often refers to situations in which migrants have consciously left their country of origin in search of work. Their work conditions may be valued as a temporary arrangement to achieve upward  social mobility and considered from their home country’s work and income standards. Therefore, such migrants may perceive themselves as active agents of their destiny who make their own decisions in engaging in certain working conditions and not as passive victims of exploitation. Finally, two trajectories through which victims of labor exploitation do arrive at self-identification are discussed. On the first path, the victim gradually comes to self-identification. On the second path, a radical event in the personal life of victims triggers them to become aware of their victimhood. The insights provided in this chapter are valuable for the future combat of labor trafficking, in which victim self-identification plays an important role.</p