Examining patterning in human trafficking, as identified through the authorities in Romania

• In Event: Complex systems, spatial and social networks underpinning human trafficking, people smuggling and labour migration

Abstract

Romania has a reputation as a major source and transit country for human trafficking. The fall of the communist regime opened new opportunities for international travel and there has been substantial outwards migration, amid a context of poverty and limited options for economic security and advancement within Romania. To date, much research focuses on a small number of ‘destination’ countries in the Global North. ‘Sending’ countries such as Romania are comparatively under-researched, which limits insights. Over the last two decades, there have been considerable efforts within Romania to combat human trafficking, including new legislation, implementing trafficking-specific taskforces, and establishing a governmental anti-trafficking agency in 2006 (A.N.I.T.P). Among the responsibilities of A.N.I.T.P are preventative campaigns and regular statistical data collection and reporting. This presentation focuses on exploratory data analysis of 5,094 people identified through A.N.I.T.P as known or suspected victims of human trafficking from 2015 until 2022. The data are individual-level and cover variables such as demographics (age, sex, nationality), residence, educational attainment, method of recruitment, exploitation and ‘destination’ countries. We present a combination of descriptive and inferential statistical analyses designed to identify key patterns and trends in official trafficking identification in Romania. For instance, we identify a decrease in the overall number of victims identified through A.N.I.T.P. The primary exploitation identified were ‘sexual exploitation’ (68%) and ‘labour exploitation’ (16%). Although the most common method of recruitment remained in-person (79%), recent years have seen a significant increase of online recruitment (9.8%). The most common ‘destination’ countries identified, are Romania (54%), the United Kingdom (8.5%), Italy (8%) and Germany (7%). As well as exploring possible explanations for the findings, we consider limits and benefits of using such data for research. We consider the implications for research and policy.



Abstract keywords: official data, statistical data, human trafficking, Romania, sexual exploitation, labour exploitation

Authors

• Denisa Elya Valentina Stincanu, University College London

• Enrico Mariconti, University College London

• Alina Ristea, Assistant Professor Department of Security and Crime Science, University College London

• Ella Cockbain, UCL