Can human smuggling research yield insights into human trafficking? A case study of the Niger-Libya corridor

• In Event: Innovations in empirical research on human trafficking (Part 1 of 2)

Abstract

Empirical research on human trafficking has been sparse principally because of difficult access to clandestine trafficking networks. Ground research involving human smugglers has been easier in comparison: participants are more likely to talk openly about their activities to researchers and reveal more sensitive information, perhaps because they do not see their activity as a malum in se (bad in itself). Countless studies underline similarities and overlap between smuggling and trafficking - could research into human smuggling networks yield findings on human trafficking? This research explores how studying the operations of migrant smugglers between Agadez in Niger and Sebha in Libya, where the lines between trafficking and smuggling are infamously blurred, can provide key insights into the trafficking of Nigerian women and girls to Europe. Before reaching Europe, Nigerian women or their trafficker enrol the services of a smuggler, who would otherwise transport migrants, to cross the desert of Ténéré between Agadez and Sebha. This study offers insights into the profiles and roles of these smugglers, often key actors in the trafficking chain, using survey data from interviews with 56 smugglers in Agadez and 147 smugglers in Sebha, as well as qualitative data from interviews with ‘Madames’ and Nigerian girls in Agadez.

Authors

• Alexandre Bish, University College London (UCL)

• Ella Cockbain, University College London (UCL)

• Hervé Borrion, University College London (UCL)