Human Trafficking: A Modern Form of Slavery?

Human trafficking, forced labour and immigration policies have been increasingly gaining the attention of media, politicians and general public. Economic migration that has contributed to the development of both capitalism and globalisation is taking ever new forms. People worldwide have always been moving in search of better economic opportunities. However, those from poorer regions face closed borders of the developed world and are often forced to use alternative ways of entry through the network of traffickers and smugglers who link the supply and demand for economic migration. Illegal immigrants sustain the demand for cheap labour and their vulnerable and unprotected status in society makes them easy targets of further exploitation in the entrapment of forced labour. The main types of forced and bonded labour are explored. The root causes and facilitating factors of human trafficking are identified, together with the reasons for increasingly restrictive immigration controls, the effectiveness of which is contested.