Research and Data, Narratives and Political Responses to Human Trafficking in EU and Portugal

• In Event: Nuevos debates y cuestiones sobre la gobernabilidad de la diversidad en las migraciones: reflexiones desde America Latina y la Unión Europea - II

Abstract

The so-called “European migrant crisis” and the recent, alarming figures relating to the disappearance of “unaccompanied minors” coming from conflict regions have raised concerns of different actors with respect to the organization, in Europe, of new trafficking and exploitation networks encouraged by the refugee crisis. Alarms and concerns overlap and sometimes collide with the Mediterranean border patrolling, the reintroduction of controls within the Schengen area, and there are the deep rifts among the EU countries around the “shares” of these migrants to be distributed in the respective EU member countries as proposed by Brussels.
How do the current policies and practices of intervention in Europe, meet the declared human rights of migrants, refugees and trafficking victims of the different international and European laws? The paper aims to reflect on this question focusing on an analysis of research and data, narratives and policy responses to the problem of trafficking in human beings in Portugal.
A deafening silence of the victim - whose role is currently limited to collaboration as witnesses - and the substantial denial of any agency constitute a sort of “sexual humanism” that, together with the border control, seem to be the main responses and justification to the problem of trafficking and the presence of migrants.

Author

• Mara Clemente, CIES-IUL