The Formal Institutions of Control and the Victims of Human Trafficking: From Frequency to Impunity

• In Event: Crime, Science and Politics WG Panel 6: Policy Shifts and Institutional Challenges Across Europe

Abstract

In this presentation, I will reflect upon a criminological and victimological
approach to human trafficking victims. I will question how the formal institutions of
control may contribute to the failure of the processes of human trafficking and how
that may influence the behaviour of the victim, leading to their loss of trust in the
judicial system. The aim of this presentation is to enhance reflections to help the under
standing of the failure of convictions in human trafficking cases, mainly because of
the refusal of victims to be witnesses in these cases. I will also analyse the pyramid
of justice and the selection of information lately appreciated in court. My main
conclusion reveals that victims of human trafficking lack confidence in the state
system, not only because of already studied factors but also after witnessing system
failures. Some also lack knowledge of the formal institutions of control that will
influence the whole process.

Author

• Maria Joao Guia, University of Coimbra, Centre for Legal Research and Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, Ratio Legis