Around the world more than 50 million people, many of them women, are domestic workers. Of these, a significant number are migrants, including migrants who are in an irregular situation. The work they do is invaluable. Among a myriad other tasks, domestic workers clean, iron clothes, cook, garden, provide home health care, drive, and take care of children and older persons. This is necessary work, but work that often goes unnoticed, particularly when it is undertaken by irregular migrants who work unseen behind closed doors. In fact, labour legislation in several countries does not even recognize domestic work and often excludes domestic workers from access to rights and protections that are enjoyed by other categories of workers. Domestic workers often lack access to rights, to justice and to protection both as women and as migrants, creating an environment that often leads to serious human rights abuse. The situation of migrant domestic workers in an irregular situation is even more vulnerable. They are disproportionately subjected to human rights abuse, violations which often occur inside homes, where those responsible are able to operate with impunity and where victims are unseen and unprotected. The pattern of human rights abuses is similar all over the world. Migrant domestic workers in an irregular situation face exploitative working conditions and discrimination, they lack access to basic economic, social and cultural rights and are exposed to sexual andgender-based violence. If they live in their workplace, they can be forcibly confined, lack privacy, be deprived of food and sleep, and are often prohibited from contacting their families and friends. In some countries they are subject to invasive medical tests and can be fired if they become pregnant. Very often, domestic workers are not permitted to marry. Moreover, if they flee abuse, they may be detained for lacking documents and may be denied access to social or health services or legal remedies. At risk of xenophobia and violence in the community as well as in the workplace, many may be afraid to report their suffering to the police or other authorities for fear of deportation.

In 2019, the Regional Data Hub (RDH) for the East and Horn of Africa (EHoA) launched a multistage research project aimed at better understanding the experiences, decision-making, perceptions and expectations of young Ethiopians along the Eastern Route regarding their migration projects. The project aims to investigate the nexus between decision-making, migrant expectations and realities on the ground by interviewing migrants leaving the Horn towards the Arab Peninsula. Although a reasonable body of work examining migrants’ decision-making processes exists, most of this research was conducted outside of the EHoA region. A more nuanced understanding of the migrants’ decision to migrate will help inform strategy and programmatic planning for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and other humanitarian and development actors in the region.

Trafficking in human beings covers various forms of coercion and exploitation of women, men and children. Responses to trafficking have traditionally focused on combating the criminal networks involved in trafficking as well as protecting the human rights of victims. However, European countries are increasingly exploring ways to influence the demand for services or products involving the use of trafficked persons or for the trafficked persons themselves. DemandAT aims to understand the role of demand in the trafficking of human beings and to assess the impact and potential of demand-side measures to reduce trafficking, drawing on insights from related areas on regulating demand. DemandAT takes a comprehensive approach to investigating demand and demand-side policies in the context of trafficking. The research includes a strong theoretical and conceptual component through an examination of the concept of demand in trafficking from a historical and economic perspective. Regulatory approaches are studied in policy areas that address demand in illicit markets, to develop a better understanding of the impact that the different regulatory approaches can have on demand. Demand-side arguments in different fields of trafficking as well as demand-side policies of selected countries are examined, to provide a better understanding of the available policy options and impacts. Finally, the research also involves in-depth case studies both of the particular fields in which trafficking occurs (domestic work, prostitution, the globalised production of goods) and of particular policy approaches (law enforcement and campaigns). The overall goal is to develop a better understanding of demand and demand-factors in the context of designing measures and policies addressing all forms of trafficking in human beings.

The present paper aims to critically engage with the explanatory framework of demand as it is employed in various debates and to shed light on main demand-side arguments put forward in the context of various forms of trafficking in human beings. This paper delivers mainly a positive analysis, in the sense that it seeks to clarify ‘what is there’ – which arguments are used in which debates –, rather than to identify what action should be taken – which would subscribe to a normative analysis (Robert & Zeckhauser 2011). It is a stocktacking exercise of main demand-side arguments in debates on various types of trafficking in human beings. The paper critically engages with the normative side of demand-side arguments only in as much as this is required to reconstruct the arguments for a better understanding of policy measures proposed. The general argument identified in debates is that there is a demand that fosters exploitation related to trafficking in human beings. The paper aims to retrace the arguments used in debates on demand in particular areas of trafficking in human beings – for sexual exploitation, for labour exploitation, for the exploitation of begging, for illegal adoption, trafficking for forced and servile marriages and trafficking for the removal of organs – in order to better understand the assumptions behind demand-side arguments, the way demand is understood and contextualised and how it is considered relevant in addressing various types of trafficking in human beings. One of the main findings is that although ‘demand’ is mostly referred to in its economic understanding – the willingness and ability to purchase a good or a service – the way in which the notion of demand is being employed varies and is often inconsistent.

2004/68/JHA of 22 December 2003 on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography; Council Directive 2004/81/EC of 29 April 2004 on the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, who cooperate with the competent authorities. While the existing instruments oblige EU Member States to criminalise all possible acts that constitute Trafficking in Human Beings and to provide an adequate framework to protect victims of Trafficking in Human Beings as victims of crime, their transposition into domestic legislation lies with the Member States. Thus, besides the still-existing legislative gaps in compliance of national legislation with European standards, the elements determining Trafficking in Human Beings vary considerably across EU Member States. For the purpose of this study all elements that are in compliance with Council Framework Decisions and Directives determining trafficking in human beings on the respective national level constitute the basis for the assessment of the extent of the phenomenon.In addition, elements that go beyond the definition of the European instruments were taken into consideration.

A practical guideline for frontline workers

It is evident that transnational cooperation is a fundamental component for any successful strategy to prevent and fight human trafficking as well as to protect trafficked persons. The aim of the present report is to provide an overview of the forms and tools of transnational cooperation used in cases of human trafficking in the South-Eastern Europe (SEE) countries with the view to further enhance their implementation or development within and beyond the region. Furthermore, the report includes useful reflections and recommendations based on interviews with 83 representatives of governmental institutions, law enforcement agencies, judiciary, labour inspectorates, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international organisations (IOs) engaged in the anti-trafficking field in South-Eastern Europe (SEE).Geographically, the report specifically targeted SEE, namelyAlbania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo1 , Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia.Notwithstanding its primary geographical scope,the report serves as a useful tool to all countries that have embarked on the process of developing a transnational referral mechanism, or considering doing so in the future. Practical advise on how to design and implement a functioning TRM can be found in the many recommendations thatthis report brings forward.The report is strictly based on qualitative methods and its outcomes derive from the analysis of findings gathered through desk research and semi-structured interviews with the aforementioned anti-trafficking stakeholders carried out by a research team in each participating country. The report elaborates on the concept of the transnational referral mechanisms (TRM), their development and applicability. It offers a detailed description of what the TRM is and equips the reader with a theoretical understanding of its functioning. It provides a solid background for national stakeholders from countries that have a TRM in place, and serves as an introduction to the TRM concept for all those that in the process of implementing it.

Smuggling and Trafficking in Central and Eastern Europe. The yearbook gives an overview of developments in the area of irregular migration, human smuggling and trafficking in the wider Central and Eastern European region in 2010. The information provided in the yearbook was collected through a questionnaire distributed to border agencies, ministries of the interior and other national authorities dealing with issues related to irregular migration. The data is directly obtained from states’ authorities and therefore provides authentic information as reported by the contact points. The country chapters summarise the developments in each of the countries or territories. After many years of decreasing numbers of apprehensions, the overall numbers of migration-related border apprehensions increased slightly in the region in 2010. While Greece and Turkey remained the countries reporting by far the most apprehensions, considerable numbers of apprehensions were also found in Albania as well as in Hungary. Citizens from Ukraine and the Russian Federation were often among the top citizenship groups apprehended for illegal entry or stay in the region. The number of human smugglers apprehended decreased, while the number of smuggled persons increased in the region. Also, the number of victims of trafficking increased in the region. The special topic of this year’s edition is detention of asylum seekers and migrants prior to deportation. The data provided in this yearbook provides a unique overview of practices and statistics on the detention of migrants in terms of the use of detention centres, numbers of persons in detention and maximum duration allowed for detaining migrants. The yearbook aims to support fact-based discussions on irregular migration and contribute to well-informed policy decisions.

Trafficking for labour exploitation has increasingly attracted the interest of policy makers, investigators and labour inspectors in Europe. Recognising this interest, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands funded the project Capacity Building for Combating Trafficking for Labour Exploitation. The project aimed at setting up a programme of training sessions on trafficking for labour exploitation and related matters, such as cross-border judicial cooperation, transnational police investigation, and European and international legal framework of combating labour exploitation. In addition to strengthening the capacity of relevant officials to handle cases of trafficking for labour exploitation, the sequence of trainings laid the foundation for improved transnational and intra-European cooperation on this issue. The project was implemented in cooperation with the OSCE Special Representative and Coordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

The Mara Salvatrucha, better known by their acronym MS-13, is one of the largest and most violent transnational criminal organizations in the world. Their motto is “Kill, Rape, Control.”Since the 1980s, MS-13 members have typically engaged in a wide range of violent and criminal activity including, “drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjacking/auto thefts, and vandalism.” More recently there has been a rise in MS-13 engaging in various forms of human trafficking. This paper seeks to explore the connection between the MS-13 and human trafficking.