Challenges for the Host Society—Human Trafficking, Slavery and Abuse in the Work Context

The mobile labor force benefits host societies with diverse forms of human capital. The economic value and potential of people migrating for work offer incentives for the development of illicit and abusive practices that employ the vulnerability of the migrants and an institutional lack of attention or experience. This may happen regardless of the skill-level of the migrants, but particularly migrants who are new, inexperienced, and low-skilled may be targeted by actors who wish to exploit their state. These mechanisms may already start during recruitment in the home country by transnational criminal networks, but they also emerge organically in the host country if there are available activity-scapes for such practices. This phenomenon of human trafficking, slavery, and abuse related to work entered Finland in recent decades. The actors involved are often of foreign-origin or within ethnic enclaves, which also creates cultural- and language-related institutional divides. We found that a host country that is highly developed may not have the needed institutional experience, understanding, or attention to effectively combat the phenomenon. We suggest that preventive governance with more targeted collaboration across governance, diaspora organizations, and civil society could reduce illicit opportunities and increase awareness of what is appropriate and acceptable, i.e., decent work.