PREPOZNAVANJE VIKTIMIZACIJE TRGOVINOM LJUDIMA U SVRHU RADNE EKSPLOATACIJE
RECOGNIZING VICTIMIZATION OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FOR THE PURPOSE OF LABOR EXPLOITATION

Summary/Abstract: Labor exploitation of individuals and groups represents an international problem, which, as can be argued with great probability, will remain a threat to society of first-rate importance in the future. Exploitation of labor force is particularly common today, but it often goes unnoticed. A large number of consumers are not aware that the products they buy in supermarkets or shops, or the services they receive in a hotel or restaurant, may be produced by exploited workers. Exploitation occurs in numerous economic sectors and affects different groups of workers. Due to the aforementioned, the introductory part of the paper clarifies the importance of the considered problem, which is found in the fact that human trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation is a growing problem that affects all regions and countries of the world, regardless of whether they are highly developed countries or third world countries. Then, respecting the methods of legal sciences (normative-legal, logical-normative, formally-normative and normative-hierarchical), terminological doubts between labor exploitation and related phenomena, such as forced labor and human trafficking, are examined. The central part of the paper is dedicated to presenting mechanisms for recognizing and identifying victims of trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation. In other words, lists of indicators developed under the auspices of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) are presented, as well as lists of indicators established by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in cooperation with the European Commission. The above indicators should provide the basis for a clear and common set of criteria for identifying trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation in practice. When designing a methodology for research on trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation, it is crucial that the research covers the entire employment cycle, taking into account not only working conditions at the workplace, but also the conditions surrounding the worker’s journey to employment. Many of the conditions that create vulnerability to coercion and threat (of punishment) at work can be traced back to the job search phase. For example, debt, whether linked to work through employment debt or arising from previous family need or crisis, greatly increases a worker’s vulnerability to exploitation. Ultimately, the aim of the research was not to establish the existence or extent of human trafficking in individual countries or sectors, but rather to analyse the presence and severity of indicators of labour exploitation in the context of human trafficking and the factors that increase their invisibility. In addition, one of the aims of this paper is to help readers understand that at the end of most human trafficking chains is a situation of labour exploitation.

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