The quest for root causes of human trafficking
Creators: name: Poučki, Saša
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2012

description: The complexity of the phenomenon of human trafficking is not only a problem for academics, but also a problem for those who work in this field, including police, people running safe houses, medical personnel, etc.  Trafficking in humans is actively undermining the wellbeing of individuals, local communities, institutions, rule of law, states and the international community at large.  The overall goal of this dissertation is to unweave the complexity of human trafficking and offer possible paths to better   understanding of this phenomenon by analyzing, explaining and evaluating the underlying reasons for this growing global problem.      Within the field of human trafficking, there are many approaches to analyzing this growing problem, but most fall short of recognizing the importance of root causes and their complexity.  Some focus on socioeconomic factors or issues of human rights violations, while others focus on security and legal issues, e.g., illegal migration, prostitution, border control and policing.  There are also those who take a feminist approach, seeing human trafficking in gender terms, e.g., male domination and control over women as well as an extension of domestic violence. While these approaches are valuable, without seeing the interconnected, complex nature of human trafficking, these common approaches often fall short of identifying the range of underlying causes at work.      The aim of my dissertation is to uncover some of these underlying causes, propose a four stage approach to human trafficking that identifies different stages of this phenomenon and provide a holistic approach to analyzing and understanding human trafficking.        The study relies on insights gained through field research I conducted in the Republic of Serbia in 2004, 2005 and 2009 as well as an overall review of the field from 2004 to 2011.  My methodology is two-fold and includes primary and secondary research.  Specifically, my methodology involves:  1) a review of the literature, 2) semi- structured interviews among stakeholders and members of nongovernmental organizations working on issues of human trafficking, and 3) collection and analysis of over 200 questionnaires among the general public and third year high school students.  This dissertation moves beyond common ways of explaining human trafficking and highlights different perspectives that add to the complexity of this phenomenon.  The questions addressed include the following.  First, what are the root causes, not typically explored in the literature, e.g., stereotypes, culture, customs, traditions, religion, that make some people vulnerable to human trafficking.  Second, are some ethnic minority groups, e.g., Roma, Nepal’s Badi community and India’s Devadasis, who are   traditionally socially neglected, more prone than others to be victims of human trafficking.  Third, to what extent is general public perception and awareness of this phenomenon an overall determining factor of success in the fight against human trafficking.       This dissertation can be used as a starting point for providing a more holistic understanding of this phenomenon and for exploring the hypothesis that possibly less privileged and often socially neglected minority groups are especially vulnerable to   become victims of human trafficking.