Operational indicators
of trafficking
in human beings
Results from a Delphi survey
implemented by the ILO
and the European Commission
First published in March 2009
Revised version of September 2009
What is trafficking?
Human trafficking is defined in the Protocol to “deception”, “fraud”, “abuse of power or of a
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in position of vulnerability”, “control over another
Persons, Especially Women and Children person” and “exploitation”. Without further
(2000), supplementing the United Nations clarification there is a risk that interpretations
Convention against Transnational Organized of these terms may continue to diverge widely
Crime (the so-called Palermo Protocol). from one country to another or even within
Operational indicators of human trafficking are countries, from one researcher or practitioner
needed because key terms used in the to another. Without clear operational
Palermo Protocol require further elaboration. indicators there is also a risk that researchers
and practitioners may not recognize trafficking
In particular, there are questions concerning when they see it – or see trafficking where it
what is meant by terms such as “coercion”, does not exist.
The Palermo Protocol defines trafficking as:
(a) “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, (b) “The consent of a victim of trafficking in
harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of persons to the intended exploitation set forth
the threat or use of force or other forms of in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be
coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, irrelevant where any of the means set forth in
of the abuse of power or of a position of subparagraph (a) have been used;”
vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of (c) “The recruitment, transportation, transfer,
payments or benefits to achieve the consent harbouring or receipt of a child for the
of a person having control over another purpose of exploitation shall be considered
person, for the purpose of exploitation. ‘trafficking in persons’ even if this does not
Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the involve any of the means set forth in
exploitation of the prostitution of others or subparagraph (a) of this article;”
other forms of sexual exploitation, forced (d) “Child” shall mean any person under
labour or services, slavery or practices similar eighteen years of age”.
to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”.
http://untreaty.un.org/English/TreatyEvent2003/Texts/treaty2E.pdf
European context and the need for
harmonised indicators
Responding to requests from the European Council's
Hague Programme on strengthening freedom, security
and justice in the EU, the European Commission
adopted a decision to set up an expert group on the
policy needs for data on crime and criminal justice
[2006/581/EC].
The mandate of this group includes assisting the
Commission in implementing the EU Action Plan for
2006-2010 [COM(2006)437]. The mandate of this group
includes assisting the Commission in: (i) establishing
cooperation between Member States and others in the
implementation of the EU strategy to measure crime and The Delphi Methodology
criminal justice; (ii) identifying the policy needs for data
on crime and criminal justice; and iii) identifying the The methodology used to reach
needs for – and/or developing – common indicators and consensus on the indicators of human
tools designed to measure crime and criminal justice. trafficking is called the Delphi method.
This method was developed in the 1950s
In accordance with its powers to create separate sub- and has since been widely used in the
groups, the expert group decided in April 2007 to call for social, medical and political sciences.
an expert sub-group on “trafficking in human beings”.
The objective of this sub-group was to “develop The objective of the Delphi methodology
harmonised definitions and associated indicators that is to produce a result based on consensus
will facilitate greater comparability of data across EU from a wide group of experts. In the
member states on the crime area under consideration”. present context, this involved two
successive electronic surveys of experts
In follow up to the sub-group’s recommendations, a joint in the fight against human trafficking: a
European Commission-ILO project was established to first survey in April 2008 to collect
implement the Delphi methodology to reach consensus indicators from the expert group; and a
among European experts on what indicators should be second one in July 2008 to establish a
used to characterize the various elements of the rating of the indicators. Experts were
definition of trafficking for data collection purposes. selected from the 27 EU Member States
from police, government, academic and
A European consensus on operational indicators and research institutes, NGOs, international
their appropriate combination is necessary for organisations, labour inspectorates, trade
harmonizing both qualitative and quantitative research. unions and judiciaries.
For qualitative research, better indicators will provide
guidance to researchers and practitioners on the
evidence that should be gathered when interviewing
possible victims.
They will also guide labour inspectors when they attempt
to find out whether a specific worker should be
considered a victim of trafficking (whether or not the
case has been prosecuted as such). With regard to
quantitative estimates, these indicators can guide
national statistical offices in their attempts to produce
national estimates, particularly in countries of origin
when interviewing a representative sample of returned
migrants.
The sets of indicators
The result of the surveys consists of four sets of operational indicators for adult and child victims of
trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation. Each set is a structured list of indicators relevant to the
following dimensions of the trafficking definition:
Deceptive recruitment (or deception during recruitment, transfer and transportation): 10 indicators
Coercive recruitment (or coercion during recruitment, transfer and transportation): 10 indicators
Recruitment by abuse of vulnerability: 16 indicators
Exploitative conditions of work: 9 indicators
Coercion at destination: 15 indicators
Abuse of vulnerability at destination: 7 indicators
Within each set, each indicator is qualified as either strong, medium or weak. However, a single
indicator can be strong for children and at the same time be medium for adults, or strong for sex
exploitation and weak for labour exploitation. The definitions of all 67 indicators are presented in a
separate document that can be accessed at www.ilo.org/forcedlabour.
How to use the indicators
The final set of indicators resulting from the survey in accordance with the Palermo Protocol, the presence
can be easily translated into a practical assessment of deception and coercion is not necessary to
guide for organisations that have contact with potential characterize a case as trafficking.
victims or questionnaires for researchers or people in
charge of designing surveys on trafficking. One A full scale test of these indicators took place in
indicator can be translated into one or more questions, Moldova in the second half of 2008. A special module
the answers to which can be used to determine the on labour migration was introduced into the regular
presence or absence of the indicator. Labour Force Survey and a sampling process was
designed to capture a large number of returned
For each potential victim, each of the six dimentions of migrants to which the additional module was then
the trafficking definition is assessed independently from administered. Questions captured information about
the others. The result of the assessment is positive if the recruitment process, conditions of work, living
the dimension is present for the potential victim, conditions and the possibility to leave the job.
negative if not. In order to be assessed as positive, a Responses were then matched against the Delphi
dimension must include at least: indicators of trafficking.
● Two strong indicators, or The final analysis of the dataset gave the ratio of
migrants to victims of deceptive or coercive
● One strong indicator and one medium or weak recruitment, exploitation, and coercion at destination.
indicator, or Based on the results, migrants were qualified as
successful migrants (no deception, no exploitation, no
● Three medium indicators, or coercion), exploited migrants (exploitation without
deception or coercion), victims of deception and
● Two medium indicators and one weak indicator. exploitation (without coercion) and victims of trafficking
for forced labour (deception, exploitation and coercion).
After an assessment is done for each dimension, the
final analysis involves combining the six elements to Similar tests are planned for 2009 on administrative
identify the victims of trafficking. In the case of children, datasets in Western Europe.
Indicators of trafficking of adults for labour exploitation
INDICATORS OF DECEPTIVE RECRUITMENT Difficulties in the past
Strong Indicator Difficulty to organise the travel
Deceived about the nature of the job, location or employer
Medium Indicators INDICATORS OF EXPLOITATION
Deceived about conditions of work Strong Indicator
Deceived about content or legality of work contract Excessive working days or hours
Deceived about family reunification Medium Indicators
Deceived about housing and living conditions Bad living conditions
Deceived about legal documentation or obtaining legal Hazardous work
migration status Low or no salary
Deceived about travel and recruitment conditions No respect of labour laws or contract signed
Deceived about wages/earnings No social protection (contract, social insurance, etc.)
Deceived through promises of marriage or adoption Very bad working conditions
Weak Indicator Wage manipulation
Deceived about access to education opportunities Weak Indicators
No access to education
INDICATORS OF COERCIVE RECRUITMENT
Strong Indicator
Violence on victims INDICATORS OF COERCION AT DESTINATION
Medium Indicators Strong Indicators
Abduction, forced marriage, forced adoption or selling of Confiscation of documents
victim Debt bondage
Confiscation of documents Isolation, confinement or surveillance
Debt bondage Violence on victims
Isolation, confinement or surveillance Medium Indicators
Threat of denunciation to authorities Forced into illicit/criminal activities
Threats of violence against victim Forced tasks or clients
Threats to inform family, community or public Forced to act against peers
Violence on family (threats or effective) Forced to lie to authorities, family, etc.
Withholding of money Threat of denunciation to authorities
Threat to impose even worse working conditions
INDICATORS OF RECRUITMENT BY ABUSE Threats of violence against victim
OF VULNERABILITY Under strong influence
Medium Indicators Violence on family (threats or effective)
Abuse of difficult family situation Withholding of wages
Abuse of illegal status Weak Indicator
Abuse of lack of education (language) Threats to inform family, community or public
Abuse of lack of information
Control of exploiters INDICATORS OF ABUSE OF VULNERABILITY
Economic reasons AT DESTINATION
False information about law, attitude of authorities Medium Indicators
False information about successful migration Dependency on exploiters
Family situation Difficulty to live in an unknown area
Personal situation Economic reasons
Psychological and emotional dependency Family situation
Relationship with authorities/legal status Relationship with authorities/legal status
Weak Indicators Weak Indicators
Abuse of cultural/religious beliefs Difficulties in the past
General context Personal characteristics
Indicators of trafficking of adults for sexual exploitation
INDICATORS OF DECEPTIVE RECRUITMENT Personal situation
Strong Indicator Psychological and emotional dependency
Deceived about the nature of the job or location Relationship with authorities/legal status
Medium Indicators Weak Indicator
Deceived about conditions of prostitution Abuse of cultural/religious beliefs
Deceived about content or legality of work contract
Deceived about family reunification INDICATORS OF EXPLOITATION
Deceived about housing and living conditions Medium Indicators
Deceived about legal documentation or obtaining legal Bad living conditions
migration status Excessive working days or hours
Deceived about travel and recruitment conditions Hazardous work
Deceived about wages/earnings Low or no salary
Deceived through promises of marriage or adoption No respect of labour laws or contract signed
Weak Indicator No social protection (contract, social insurance, etc.)
Deceived about access to education opportunities Very bad working conditions
Wage manipulation
INDICATORS OF COERCIVE RECRUITMENT
Strong Indicators INDICATORS OF COERCION AT DESTINATION
Abduction, forced marriage, forced adoption or selling of Strong Indicators
victim Confiscation of documents
Debt bondage Debt bondage
Threats of violence against victim Forced tasks or clients
Violence on victims Isolation, confinement or surveillance
Medium Indicators Threats of violence against victim
Confiscation of documents Violence on victims
Isolation, confinement or surveillance Medium Indicators
Threat of denunciation to authorities Forced into illicit/criminal activities
Threats to inform family, community or public Forced to act against peers
Violence on family (threats or effective) Forced to lie to authorities, family, etc.
Withholding of money Threat of denunciation to authorities
Threat to impose even worse working conditions
INDICATORS OF RECRUITMENT BY ABUSE Threats to inform family, community or public
OF VULNERABILITY Under strong influence
Medium Indicators Violence on family (threats or effective)
Abuse of difficult family situation Withholding of wages
Abuse of illegal status
Abuse of lack of education (language) Indicators of abuse of vulnerability at
Abuse of lack of information destination
Control of exploiters Medium Indicators
Difficulties in the past Dependency on exploiters
Difficulty to organise the travel Difficulty to live in an unknown area
Economic reasons Economic reasons
False information about law, attitude of authorities Family situation
False information about successful migration Personal characteristics
Family situation Relationship with authorities/legal status
General context Weak Indicator
Difficulties in the past
Indicators of trafficking of children for labour exploitation
The Palermo Protocol specifically states that, in the case of children under 18, there is no need to prove
"the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse
of power or of a position of vulnerability" in order to establish the crime of trafficking. Nevertheless, it
was decided to retain indicators of deception, coercion and abuse of vulnerability in order to analyse
trafficking in children with harmonised tools within Europe
INDICATORS OF DECEPTIVE RECRUITMENT Personal situation
Strong Indicator Psychological and emotional dependency
Deceived about access to education opportunities Relationship with authorities/legal status
Deceived about the nature of the job, location or employer
Medium Indicators INDICATORS OF EXPLOITATION
Deceived about conditions of work Strong Indicators
Deceived about content or legality of work contract Excessive working days or hours
Deceived about family reunification Medium Indicators
Deceived about housing and living conditions Bad living conditions
Deceived about legal documentation or obtaining legal Hazardous work
migration status Low or no salary
Deceived about travel and recruitment conditions No access to education
Deceived about wages/earnings No respect of labour laws or contract signed
Deceived through promises of marriage or adoption Very bad working conditions
Wage manipulation
INDICATORS OF COERCIVE RECRUITMENT
Strong Indicators INDICATORS OF COERCION AT DESTINATION
Abduction, forced marriage, forced adoption or selling of Strong Indicators
victim Confiscation of documents
Debt bondage Debt bondage
Threats of violence against victim Forced into illicit/criminal activities
Violence on victims Forced tasks or clients
Medium Indicators Isolation, confinement or surveillance
Confiscation of documents Threats of violence against victim
Isolation, confinement or surveillance Under strong influence
Threat of denunciation to authorities Violence on victims
Threats to inform family, community or public Medium Indicators
Violence on family (threats or effective) Forced to act against peers
Withholding of money Forced to lie to authorities, family, etc.
Threat of denunciation to authorities
INDICATORS OF RECRUITMENT BY ABUSE Threat to impose even worse working conditions
OF VULNERABILITY Threats to inform family, community or public
Medium Indicators Violence on family (threats or effective)
Abuse of cultural/religious beliefs Withholding of wages
Abuse of difficult family situation
Abuse of illegal status INDICATORS OF ABUSE OF VULNERABILITY
Abuse of lack of education (language) AT DESTINATION
Abuse of lack of information Medium Indicators
Control of exploiters Dependency on exploiters
Difficulties in the past Difficulties in the past
Difficulty to organise the travel Difficulty to live in an unknown area
Economic reasons Economic reasons
False information about successful migration Family situation
Family situation Personal characteristics
General context Relationship with authorities/legal status
Indicators of trafficking of children for sexual exploitation
Exploitation is inherent to the situation of children under 18 used or offered for prostitution or pornography and there is no need for
indicators to prove it. The indicators of additional exploitation below are given to characterize other elements of exploitation children
may suffer. In addition, the Palermo Protocol specifically states that, in the case of children, there is no need to prove "the threat or
use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability" in
order to establish the crime of trafficking. Nevertheless, it was decided to retain indicators of deception, coercion and abuse of
vulnerability in order to analyse trafficking in children with harmonised tools within Europe.
INDICATORS OF DECEPTIVE RECRUITMENT General context
Strong Indicator Personal situation
Deceived about the nature of the job or location Psychological and emotional dependency
Medium Indicators Relationship with authorities/legal status
Deceived about access to education opportunities
Deceived about conditions of prostitution INDICATORS OF ADDITIONAL EXPLOITATION
Deceived about content or legality of work contract Strong Indicator
Deceived about family reunification Hazardous work
Deceived about housing and living conditions Medium Indicators
Deceived about legal documentation or obtaining legal Bad living conditions
migration status Excessive working days or hours
Deceived about travel and recruitment conditions Low or no salary
Deceived about wages/earnings No social protection (contract, social insurance, etc.)
Deceived through promises of marriage or adoption Very bad working conditions
Wage manipulation
INDICATORS OF COERCIVE RECRUITMENT
Strong Indicators INDICATORS OF COERCION AT DESTINATION
Abduction, forced marriage, forced adoption or selling of Strong Indicators
victim Confiscation of documents
Debt bondage Debt bondage
Isolation, confinement or surveillance Forced into illicit/criminal activities
Threats of violence against victim Forced tasks or clients
Violence on victims Isolation, confinement or surveillance
Medium Indicators Threats of violence against victim
Confiscation of documents Under strong influence
Threat of denunciation to authorities Violence on victims
Threats to inform family, community or public Medium Indicators
Violence on family (threats or effective) Forced to act against peers
Withholding of money Forced to lie to authorities, family, etc.
Threat of denunciation to authorities
INDICATORS OF RECRUITMENT BY ABUSE Threat to impose even worse working conditions
OF VULNERABILITY Threats to inform family, community or public
Medium Indicators Violence on family (threats or effective)
Abuse of cultural/religious beliefs Withholding of wages
Abuse of difficult family situation
Abuse of illegal status INDICATORS OF ABUSE OF VULNERABILITY
Abuse of lack of education (language) AT DESTINATION
Abuse of lack of information Strong Indicator
Control of exploiters Dependency on exploiters
Difficulties in the past Medium Indicators
Difficulty to organise the travel Difficulties in the past
Economic reasons Difficulty to live in an unknown area
False information about law, attitude of authorities Economic reasons
False information about successful migration Family situation
Family situation Personal characteristics
Relationship with authorities/legal status
Contact
ILO Special Action Programme
to Combat Forced Labour
Email: forcedlabour@ilo.org
Fax: +41 22 799 6561
Website: www.ilo.org/forcedlabour
ILO Special Action Programme
to Combat Forced Labour Key ILO Publications
The ILO established the Special Action ● A global alliance against forced labour,
Programme to Combat Forced Labour (SAP- ILO, Geneva, 2005.
FL) in 2001 to spearhead ILO activities
against forced labour, including human ● Eradication of forced labour: General
trafficking. It is a broad-based programme survey concerning the Forced Labour
working in close co-operation with Convention (No. 29), and the Abolition of
governments, employers and workers, civil Forced Labour Convention (No. 105),
society and other international organisations. ILO, Geneva, 2007.
SAP-FL aims to address all aspects of forced ● ILO action against trafficking in human
labour, and it has successfully: beings, ILO, Geneva, 2008.
● raised global awareness and understanding ● Human trafficking and forced labour
of modern forced labour; exploitation: Guidance for legislation and
law enforcement, ILO, Geneva, 2005.
● assisted governments in developing and
implementing new laws, policies and action
plans;
● developed and disseminated guidance and
training materials on key aspects of forced
labour and trafficking; and
● implemented innovative programmes which
combine policy development, capacity
building and direct support for both
prevention of forced labour and
identification and rehabilitation of its victims.
