Is Trafficking in Human Beings Demand Driven? A Multi-Country Pilot Study
- Document number
- 3082
- Date
- December 2003
- Title
- Is Trafficking in Human Beings Demand Driven? A Multi-Country Pilot Study
- Author/publisher
- International Organisation for Migration IOM
- Availability
- View/save PDF version of this document
- Document type(s)
- Guidelines/Recommendations, Research/Study/Analysis,
- Keywords
- demand, pilot, masculinity, commercial sex, sex workers, migrant, prostitutes,
- Summary
The research discussed in this report suggests that three related factors are key to explaining the exploitative conditions experienced by many migrant domestic and sex workers: (a) The unregulated nature of the labour market segments in which they work; (b) the abundant supply of exploitable labour and (c) the power and malleabil- ity of social norms regulating the behaviour of employers and clients. The continued expansion of any unregulated market is likely to require and facilitate the exploit- ation of vulnerable labour. Both paid sex and domestic work are peculiar market segments in the sense that there is both political and social unease regarding those who buy and sell in them as workers or consumers/employers. In both sex and domestic work, the absence of effective regulation is one of the factors that help to create an environment in which it is possible and profitable to use unfree labour.