Main Report

AuthorDirectorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs (European Commission)
Pages31-108
STUDY O N THE ECONO MIC, SOC IAL AND H UMAN COST S OF TRAF FICKIN G IN HUMAN B EINGS WI THIN THE E U 31
MAIN REPORT
1 Introduction
The purpose of t he Study is to measure t he cost of traffick ing in human beings in t he EU.
Trafficking in human beings is a p articularly s erious crime, driven by prof its and involves a cha in of actors who
are knowingly or unk nowingly involved. “It br ings high profits t o the perpetrat ors, who abuse pe ople’s vulnerabil-
ities and exploit t he demand for the ser vices provided by th e victims. It result s in long-term har m to its victims ,
our societies and ec onomies.” 11It is a grave violation of fu ndamental rig hts that causes im mense harm to the
victims. It has a n economic, social a nd human cost. Traffic king is a cost to the wider e conomy and societ y in its
use of public service s, in diverting resources away from the l egal economy, and in its effects on t he quality of life.
Measuring the co st of trafficking in h uman beings in a monet ary form is done in order to i mprove the qualit y of
decision-making w here cost-benefit analysis is relevant to f inancial decisions. Translating traffic king in human beings
into a cost is relevant to p ublic policy concerning developing t he European area of ‘justic e, freedom and sec urity’.
Costing enables t he scale of the har m of trafficking in hu man beings to be made more v isible to policy makers
by using the orth odox language of mone tary value.
Trafficking in human beings is pr ohibited by the EU Cha rter of Fundamen tal Rights (Ar ticle 5.3). It is def ined by
the Treaty on the Func tioning of the European Union, a s a particularly serious form of crim e (Article 83), with links
to immigration polic y (Article 79). Traffick ing in human beings is driven by p rofits and involve s a chain of actors
who are knowingly or u nknowingly involved.
The crime of traff icking in human bei ngs12
Art. 2.1 of Direc tive 2011/36/EU (hereinafter, the A nti-Trafficking Direct ive) includes three constitut ive elements
of this crime: act s, means and pur pose. The act is linke d to the establ ishment of control over a per son; it
consists in the re cruitment, transpor tation, transfer, harbouring or rece ption of persons, including th e exchange
or transfer of control over t hem. The means ar e the way in which contr ol is attained: th e threat or use of
force or other forms of coercion , of abduction, of fraud, of decept ion, of the abuse of power or of a position of
vulnerability or of t he giving or receiving of p ayments or benef its to achieve the con sent of a person having
control over anoth er person. The p urpose is the exp loitation of the traf ficked person . The Anti-Trafficking
Directive cont ains minimum rules concerning the d efinition of criminal offences, including a non-exhaust ive
list of forms of exploit ation: prostitu tion and other forms of s exual exploitat ion, forced labour or ser vices,
including beggin g, slavery and similar pr actices, the e xploitation of crim inal activities a nd the removal of
organs. Other for ms of exploitation c an take place.
Consent: A victim may have consent ed to being traffic ked but this consent is irrelev ant when it has been
obtained by the me ans listed in the Anti-Trafficking Direct ive: threat, use of force or coercion, fraud, d eception,
abuse of power or takin g advantage of a per son’s vulnerability. This is al so the case when a p erson who has
control over the vic tim has received benefits to surre nder her to trafficker s. In the case of a child, trafficki ng
is punishable even if none of t he above-mentio ned means has been us ed to obtain his or her consen t.
(11) European Com mission (2018b) Second repo rt on the progress made in t he fight against traff icking in human being s as required under Article 20 of Direc tive
2011/36/EU on preventi ng and combating traf ficking in human being s and protecting its victims . https://ec.euro pa.eu/ho me-affairs/sites /homeaffairs/ files/
what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-security/20181204_com-2018-777-report_en.pdf
(12) European C ommission (2018e) Key con cepts in a nutshell. htt ps://ec.europ a.eu/anti-traf ficking/eu-p olicy/working-to gether-to-address-traf ficking-in-h uman-
beings-concepts-in-a -nutshell_en
STUDY O N THE ECONO MIC, SOC IAL AND H UMAN COST S OF TRAF FICKIN G IN HUMAN B EINGS WI THIN THE E U32
The EU has a compre hensive legal and polic y framework to address trafficking i n human beings, anc hored in the
EU Anti-Trafficking Direct ive (Directive 2011/36 /EU)13 with coordination of t he Union strategy a gainst traffick ing
in human beings. T he Directive is the fun damental EU legisl ative act addressing t rafficking in hu man beings. It
establishes prov isions on victim’s protection, assist ance and support and a lso on prevention and the prose cution of
the crime. It is vict im centred, gender-specific , and child-sensitive. It is comp lemented by the European Commissio n
Strategy 2012-2016
14
and the 2017 Communicatio n
15
stepping up EU ac tion to address traffickin g in human beings.
The Commission put for ward a list of concrete a ctions to bett er prevent traffick ing in human beings in it s 2017
Communication16. T he Commission identifies priorities for act ion by the EU and Memb er States including t he dis-
ruption of the b usiness model of traffic kers and the traf ficking chain, in cluding by increasing pr osecutions an d
convictions an d encouraging the criminalisatio n of the use of services exacte d from victims of trafficking ; to provide
better access to a nd realise the right s for victim and to in tensify a coordinated a nd consolidated resp onse, both
within and out side the EU. Cross-cutting prior ities include improving the knowle dge base on trafficking in human
beings and providing E U funding for anti-traff icking initiatives and objectives.
The wider aim of this Study is t o contribute to the preventio n and combating of trafficking in hu man beings, as laid
out in the EU Direc tive 2011/36/EU on Pr eventing and Comba ting Trafficking in Human B eings and Protec ting its
Victims17. The Study cont ributes to ‘widening the kno wledge base and improving the un derstanding of trafficking
in human beings as a com plex phenomeno n’. Thus, it is one of the actio ns listed in the Commission C ommunica-
tion on ‘Repor ting on the follow-up to the EU Strat egy towards the Eradication of traff icking in human beings and
identifying fur ther concrete ac tions’. The Study builds o n the work of the Commissio n, including as iden tified in
its reviews of progr ess18.
The Study reviews t he literature on t he cost of trafficki ng in human beings and t akes account of releva nt meth-
odologies in overlapp ing and adjacent fields in the EU, EU Memb er States and in other relevant entit ies. The Study
follows the stan dard scientific pro cedures on costin g. It draws on multiple dat a sources including a dministrative
statistics on r egistered vict ims of trafficking , systematic review of sc ientific literatur e, original analysis of quan -
titative data , original collect ion of data across the EU, a nd Eurostat held st atistics.
The number of regist ered victims of traf ficking in human bei ngs is based on administ rative data repor ted to the
European Commission . The cost of trafficking in human b eings is shown for the EU-2819 and EU-27. It is presented
per registered vic tim of trafficking in 2016, for the EU, and disaggre gated by form of trafficking, the se x (female/
male) of the victim and t he age (adult/child) of the victim.
(13) Directive 2011/36/ EU of the European Parlia ment and the Counc il of 5 April 2011 on Preventing and Com bating Trafficking in H uman Beings and Pr otecting its
Victims and repla cing council Framework D ecision 2002/629 /JHA https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:EN:PDF
(14) European Comm ission (2012) The EU Strategy towards the Erad ication of Trafficking in Human Bei ngs 2012–2016. Brussels: EC. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/
legal-content/E N/TXT/ PDF/?uri=CEL EX:52012DC0286 &from=EN
(15) European Comm ission (2017a) Reporting on the fol low up to the EU strategy towards the eradicat ion of trafficking in hum an beings and identifyin g further
concrete actions (Co mmunication from th e Commission to the Eur opean Parliament a nd the Council). https://ec.europa.eu/home -affairs/sites/homeaffairs/
files/e-library/documents/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/trafficking-in-human-beings/docs/20171204_communication_ reporting_on_
follow-up_to_the_eu_strategy_towards_the_eradication_of_trafficking_in_huma n_beings.pdf
(16) European Comm ission (2017a) Reporting on the fol low up to the EU strategy towards the eradicat ion of trafficking in hum an beings and identifyin g further
concrete actions (Co mmunication from th e Commission to the Eur opean Parliament a nd the Council). https://ec.europa.eu/home -affairs/sites/homeaffairs/
files/e-library/documents/policies/organized-crime-and-human-trafficking/trafficking-in-human-beings/docs/20171204_communication_ reporting_on_
follow-up_to_the_eu_strategy_towards_the_eradication_of_trafficking_in_huma n_beings.pdf
(17) Directive 2011/36/ EU of the European Parlia ment and the Counc il of 5 April 2011 on Preventing and Com bating Trafficking in H uman Beings and Pr otecting its
Victims and repla cing council Framework D ecision 2002/629 /JHA https://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:101:0001:0011:EN:PDF
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Eur opean Commissio n (2017a) Reporting on t he follow up to the EU strategy toward s the eradication of traf ficking in huma n beings
and identifyin g further concrete actions (Commu nication from the Commission to t he European Parliament a nd the Council). https://ec.europa.
eu/home-af fairs/sites/hom eaffairs/files/e-libr ary/documents /policies/organized -crime-and- human-trafficki ng/traffickin g-in-human -beings/
docs/20171204_communication_reporting_on_follow-up_to_the_eu_strategy_towards_the_eradication_of_trafficking_in_human_beings.pdf
European Com mission (2016c) Fir st Report on the p rogress made in the fig ht against traff icking in human b eings. https://
ec.europa.eu/an ti-trafficking/eu-policy/first-repor t-progress-made-fight-against-trafficking-human -beings-2016_en
European Com mission (2018b) Second repo rt on the progress made in t he fight against traffi cking in human being s as required under Article 20 of Direc tive
2011/36/EU on preventi ng and combating traf ficking in human being s and protecting its victims . https://ec.euro pa.eu/ho me-affairs/sites /homeaffairs/ files/
what-we-do/policies/european-agenda-security/20181204_com-2018-777-repor t_en.pdf
European Com mission (2018c) Acco mpanying docum ent to the second repor t on the progress made i n the fight against tra fficking in huma n beings as required
under Article 20 of Direc tive 2011/36/EU on preventing and com bating trafficking in hum an beings and protecting its vic tims. https://ec.europa.eu/home-
affairs/sites/homeaffairs /files/what-we-do/policies /european-agenda-security/20181204 _swd-2018-473-commission-staff-working-document_en.pdf
(19) The United K ingdom left the E uropean Union on 31 Ja nuary 2020. T he reference period for t his study is 2016, while t he UK was a Member St ate. The study
therefore incl udes information on t he United Kingd om.
STUDY O N THE ECONO MIC, SOC IAL AND H UMAN COST S OF TRAF FICKIN G IN HUMAN B EINGS WI THIN THE E U 33
Following a chapter on m ethodology, the fin dings of the Study are pr esented in chap ters on the cost s of: coor-
dination and prevent ion; law enforcement ; specialised vic tim services; healt h services and so cial protectio n, lost
economic outpu t; lost qualit y of life; and, their summar y and disaggregat ion. Technical matter s are reported in
the Appendic es and references in th e Bibliography.
2 Methodology
2.1 Introduction
The Study adopt s and builds on the e xisting scientif ic methodology for cost ing. It is part of a f ield of analysis
that has been develop ing in the overlappi ng fields of public exp enditure, violence and coercion, healt h, crime and
gender equality. Th e approach to translating traf ficking in human beings into a cost to e conomy and society taken
here follows orthod ox principles and practices. T he methodology is developed to adapt t o the specific contours of
trafficking in h uman beings in the EU.
The Better Reg ulation: Guidelines and Toolbox (Eur opean Commission, 2015a)20 is the Stu dy’s primary aut hority
on technical desig n decisions. Where t he Guidelines refer analysts to other sour ces for design guidance, su ch as
OECD, we have drawn on those. W here further or more p recise guidance was n eeded, decisions have draw n on
the European Ins titute for Gender Equ ality (EIGE)’s repor t Estimating the cost s of gender-based violence in the
European Union21 a nd The Global Bur den of Disease (GBD) project .22
The approac h taken to estimates is conservati ve. Where there are doubts about t he quality of data, costs ar e not
included. Th e cost is thus an undere stimate.
This section ad dresses: previous st udies/methodo logy; the includ ed costs; for whom t he costs are releva nt; how
victims are coun ted; the hurts and har ms of trafficking; disaggregat ion; definitions; sources of dat a; date of study;
geographical li mits; and bench marking against EU s tatistics.
2.2 Studies of costing
This Study is situated w ithin EU practices on costin g both in general (EU, 2015a)
23
and in the adjacent f ield of gen-
der-based violence (EIGE 2014)
24
. It is informed by internatio nal costing practices in adjacent a nd over-lapping fields.
The European Co mmission’s Agency, the European Institut e for Gender Equality (EIGE) produced a co sting in a field
adjacent to traffic king in human beings, t hat of gender-based violen ce (EIGE 201425). This Study identified t he
best and most ap propriate methodologies availa ble to cost gender-based violence. Using c riteria based on quality
and the exclusion of n on-OECD countries, ten st udies were identified for and subjec ted to detailed analysis. These
(20)
European Commission (2015a) Better Regulation: Gui delines and Toolkit. https://ec .europa.eu/info/law/law- making-process/plan ning-and-proposing-law/
better-regulation-why-and-how/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en
(21)
European Ins titute for Gender E quality (EIGE ) (2014) Estimating the costs of g ender-based violence in the Eur opean Union https://eige.europa.eu/p ublications/
estimating-costs-gender-based-violence- european-union-report
(22) Institute for H ealth Metric s and Evaluation (2 013) The Global Bur den of Disease: Generating Evide nce, Guiding Policy. Seat tle, WA: IHME , https://www.healthdata.
org/sites/default/files/files/policy_report/2013/GBD_GeneratingEvidence/IHME_GBD_GeneratingEvidence_FullReport.pdf
(23)
European Commission (2015a) Better Regulation: Guid elines and Toolkit. https://ec .europa.eu/info/law/law- making-process/plannin g-and-proposing-law/
better-regulation-why-and-how/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en
(24)
European In stitute for Gende r Equality (EIGE ) (2014) Estimating the cost s of gender-based violence in the Eu ropean Union https://eige.europa.eu /publications/
estimating-costs-gender-based-violence- european-union-report
(25)
European Inst itute for Gender Eq uality (EIGE) ( 2014) Estimating the costs of ge nder-based violence in the Euro pean Union https://eige.europa.eu/publications/
estimating-costs-gender-based-violence- european-union-report

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