Despite the desire to live in a fair and honest society, there are many challenges that modern people cannot properly recognise and solve. Human trafficking is one of such longstanding global issues, and the citizens of many developed and developing countries continue facing its negative outcomes. The governments do not find it necessary to share official reports not to scare people and enhance their calmness. Still, this problem can no longer be ignored, and I want to investigate it from several perspectives. First, I am going to analyse a particular region, Eastern Europe, and learn if socialism and post-socialist values affect the progress of human trafficking. Second, my intention is to examine the main characteristics of human trafficking, including its causes and methods. Finally, I will focus on how this process affects Eastern European victims: how they predict and cope with such treatment. It is impossible to contact real victims from the chosen region and gather primary data; thus, I will surf the web and find reports, journal and newspaper articles, and other online sources. My project will explore human trafficking’s impact on the citizens of Eastern Europe.
Research Questions
The main research question:
- How does human trafficking affect Eastern European victims?
Supportive research questions:
- What is human trafficking?
- What are the causes of human trafficking in Eastern Europe?
- How do the citizens of Eastern Europe react to the fact of human trafficking in the region?
Research Goals
- To explore the burden of human trafficking in East Europe
- To understand the causes and principles of human trafficking
- To examine the experiences of Eastern European victims of human trafficking by analysing past studies and reports
Annotated Bibliography
Knight, L., Xin, Y. and Mengo, C. (2022) ‘A scoping review of resilience in survivors of human trafficking’, Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 23(4), pp. 1048-1062.
Human trafficking is an urgent topic for discussion from multiple perspectives, and the way how victims cope with it deserves special attention and recognition. This article introduces a scoping review of the current state of knowledge about resilience demonstrated by trafficking survivors. The authors use five databases from different fields and choose the articles published between 2000 and 2019. This source is helpful in understanding the risk factors of human trafficking and resilience as one of the major outcomes. The definitions obtained for this study can be applied in a new project as a solid and credible background. There is the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons that enhances its legislation worldwide as a serious threat to populations (Knight, Xin and Mengo, 2022). Despite the implication of an inclusive search strategy, the study has certain limitations, like the publication and language (English) biases. Still, the quality of definitions and examples is high to learn the essence of human trafficking as a social and mental health problem.
Petrunov, G. (2014) ‘Human trafficking in Eastern Europe’, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 653(1), pp. 162–182.
Although this article is outdated, it contains credible information about the cases of human trafficking in Eastern Europe, Bulgaria in particular. The primary data is offered from the analysis of 211 interviews with victims, police officers, prosecutors, and other individuals involved in investigation cases (Petrunov, 2014). In addition, the author demonstrates a solid use of secondary data to explain money laundering in human trafficking and discuss several court decisions. The chosen Bulgarian context allows specifying the peculiarities of Eastern European lifestyles and the factors contributing to crimes. There are many reasons for applying the human trafficking method, including debt bondage, intimate relationships, abduction, or poor studying conditions. Labour traffickers follow various ways to control their victims and gain the required benefits from their activities. The study proves that Eastern Europe has already become one of the major sources of migrants across the globe. The organisation of criminal groups is common in Bulgaria and similar developing countries. The evaluation of how such dangerous systems work is important for a future project to identify the complexity of the problem, preventive strategies, and complex measures.
Pressly, L. (2021) ‘Trafficked to Europe for sex: a survivor’s escape story’, BBC, Web.
This BBC article presents a story of a real human trafficking victim from Nigeria. The author explains that many women from Nigeria and Eastern Europe are exposed to trafficking for different purposes and under different conditions. Communication with the victim is anonymous to maintain ethical principles and protection. The details of how the woman was kidnapped and put into a situation where selling sex becomes the only option for some individuals are given. Personal fears, safety concerns, hopelessness, and threats are the experiences that the survivor wants to underline. The findings prove that the sexual exploitation of women is one of the main reasons for trafficking, bringing about $16 billion annually (Pressly, 2021). In many countries, buying and selling sex services is illegal, making human trafficking a serious crime in any region.
Sweileh, W. M. (2018) ‘Research trends on human trafficking: a bibliometric analysis using Scopus database’, Globalization and Health, 14(1).
In this study, a bibliometric method is used to assess the current research activities and trends on human trafficking. Sweileh (2018) defines this type of trafficking as a serious crime against humanity and a threat to global health and personal security. Thus, it is not a problem of one particular region but a world concern that has to be examined and prevented. Such keywords as “modern slavery,” “human trafficking,” “trade in human being,” or “sex trade” are used to gather the material for analysis (Sweileh, 2018). There are many types of trafficking, involved countries, and impacts on populations, which are properly discussed in this review. Although using the offered Scopus database introduces a limitation of false-positive and false-negative results, the interpretation of the results is clear. The findings of this article will strengthen a new project and create a specific conceptual basis.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2018) Global report on trafficking in persons: 2018. Web.
This report is created by one of the most credible and well-known global organisations, the United Nations, and its office on drugs and crime. The number of victims and traffickers continues to grow, requiring the implementation of new strategies to detect and prevent such damaging events. Many European countries, as well as other regions, report cases which are thoroughly analysed and examined from multiple perspectives. If American and African regions are more involved in the discussion of the problem, other nations face various challenges in gathering information. The findings offered in the report reveal the trends in human trafficking during the last ten centuries from 2007 to 2016: the number of European victims is the highest in the world (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2018). The profiles of victims and offenders, incomes, and outcomes are well-discussed in this source. The chosen report statistically strengthens the analysis of the topic in future projects.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2022) Exploitation and abuse: the scale and scope of human trafficking in South Eastern Europe. Web.
Human trafficking remains an urgent global and public health problem in many countries. The content of this report focuses on the citizens of South Eastern Europe, like those from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and Serbia, who admit to a high level of domestic trafficking (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2022). The authors explain the challenges of detecting and investigating trafficking cases, including the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity of protecting victims. Labour and sexual exploitation, victim profiles (adults and children), and the demand of trafficking individuals are clarified in the source. In addition to giving the numbers, the report explains why Eastern Europe is a critical area for further analysis. Therefore, this source will contribute to a better understanding of the chosen problem and answer research questions about causes and experiences related to human trafficking.