Sex Trafficking and Migrant Women in Greece: A study of the reasons of the sex trafficking of migrant women

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Sex Trafficking and Migrant Women in Greece:

A study of the reasons of the sex trafficking of migrant

women

Fernanda Scafini

International Migration and Ethnic Relations Bachelor Thesis 15 credits

Spring 2019: IM245L Supervisor: Henrik Emilsson Word Count: 13.188

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Abstract

Sex trafficking is a global phenomenon affecting mainly women. This phenomenon is highly apparent in Greece, where thousands of migrant women end up trafficked. In order to

understand why this happens, it is important to know the underlying causes of it. Therefore, this researched aimed to find the reasons why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece. This was done through primary material gathering, in form of interviews with anti-trafficking agents in Greece, followed by a theme analysis, finding six key themes with reasons why migrant women are trafficked. These were, Vulnerability (of migrant women), Greece as the Portal to the EU, Government Deficiency, Hostility and Segregation (hostility of Greek national towards migrants which leads to their segregation), Trafficking as a Profitable Industry and Cultural Gender Oppression. To further analyze these themes, a triangulation method was used, which compared these results to previous literature on the issue and then further problematized it through different migration and gender-related theories.

Key Words: Sex Trafficking, Migrant Women, Greece, Causes of trafficking, migration,

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Sex trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in our modern society and women tend the be the main victims. Sex trafficking can happen anywhere in the world. However, there is a noticeable manifestation of the phenomenon in Greece, where thousands of migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims (A21, 2018), (United States Department of State , 2017).

In order to give the reader a broader understanding of the issue, the term ‘human trafficking’ will be defined in accordance with the United Nations protocol signed in 2000, “United Nations Convention against Transitional Organized Crime and the Protocols

Thereto”. This protocol defines human trafficking as;

“The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of 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 or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”- (United Nations, 2019)

Accordingly, sex trafficking is considered as a type of human trafficking focused on the sexual exploitation of individuals (United States Department of State, 2008).

Greece is a transition, destination and even origin country for sex trafficking. For many, Greece is also considered to be the portal to Europe. Therefore, in more recent times, thousands of migrants from non-EU countries, try to get to the EU zone through Greece (Papanicolaou, 2008). Whether voluntarily or involuntarily, many migrant women try to get to Greece to either search for better life opportunities, run from war and injustices or simply to try to get reunited with family members. However, many of these women might fall into the trap of sex slavery upon their arrival in Greece (European Comission, 2018).

For these reasons, it would be interesting to investigate why migrant women often end up in such situations when they arrive in Greece. Therefore, the aim of this research is to study why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece.

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1.2 Research Question

Why do migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece?

1.3 Discussion behind the research question

As stated in the background section, this research aims to understand the causes behind the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. In order to do this, the underlying factors that lead to it must be studied. This research aims to analyze both factors of societal structure and human agency. For example, this research intends to know why women migrate to Greece in the first place, and if that is a voluntary or involuntary decision.

Moreover, it is interesting to analyze the role of economic inequalities in this context. Additionally, it is also of interest to understand how patriarchy can affect the women’s decision to migrate or how it can force them to do so. Furthermore, it would be compelling to analyze whether there is a connection between the greatly organized migration scheme and the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. Lastly, it is of importance to this research to investigate how much space for human agency and rational choices there is in the situation of migrant women who move to Greece.

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1.4 Delimitations

Sex trafficking and prostitution

When studying the issue of sex trafficking, something highly linked to it is prostitution. This since, many trafficked women work as prostitutes. In many countries, prostitution is legal, and so is the case of Greece (Reinschmidt, 2016). Consequently, studying the issue of sex trafficking in prostitution is complicated, since it is complex to understand whether women work as prostitutes voluntarily or forcibly (George, Vindhya, & Ray, 2010) . However, studying this complexity could shift the focus from migrant women and migration aspects to an examination of prostitution versus sex trafficking, which is not the aim of this study. Therefore, this study will not analyze the complexity of prostitution in the sex trafficking industry and whether women who work as prostitutes do it forcibly or voluntarily.

Review of previous literature

In the literature review section, it can be noticed that, all literature reviewed is based on sources written around 20 years ago. The reason behind this is that, all up-to-date literature written on human trafficking in Greece, make reference to these primary studies, presented in the literature review section. Moreover, the newer studies analyze trafficking in Greece by examining regulations, policies and legislations aiming to give solutions to the issue, which is not the aim of this study and therefore not necessary.

1.5 Disposition

This research will be divided in different sections. Chapter 2 will present a literature review, and Chapter 3 will present different migration and gender related theories. In Chapter 4 the method and material will be introduced and Chapter 5 will present the results of interview followed by an analysis in Chapter 6. Finally, Chapter 7 will display the conclusions and recommendations of this research.

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Chapter 2 - Literature Review

In this section, previous researches on the issue of sex trafficking and migrant women, as well as general reasons behind human trafficking in connection to migration, will be highlighted. These studies point out the main findings of previous scholars on the causes of the

phenomenon in Europe and in Greece. Moreover, this section will also unveil strengths and delimitations with these previous studies, and in which ways my study will contribute in the particular field of research.

2.1 General causes of trafficking

To start with, studies on the general causes of trafficking will be highlighted. One of the main studies on the field of sex trafficking and migrant women, is the book on the critical security series “Gender and Insecurity – Migrant Women in Europe”, written by Jane Freedman in 2003. In chapter 8, Freedman describes situations of trafficking, sex and prostitution amongst migrant women in Europe.

Firstly, Freedman highlights that tightened migration borders, increase trafficking rates. For example, European governments have responded to trafficking by tightening immigration controls, however, these specific migration policies increase the likelihood for potential victims. Moreover, Freedman claims that the growing employment of migrant women in the sex industry, in developed European countries, is a part of a global system of wealth inequalities between countries, which lead to the aggravation of gender inequalities. Additionally, Freedman claims that, these inequalities, alongside globalization have opened the gate for a global market in sex, which migrant women are an integral part of (Freedman, 2003 ).

Furthermore, Freedman claims that there is a gender division in the labor market, leading many women to work in informal sectors, such as domestic care and sex services. For example, across many cultures, women are given a major part of the unpaid domestic work, which hinders their opportunities to engage in paid work. This gender division in labour, makes women more vulnerable to poverty resulting from familial, individual, political or economic crises. Consequently, many women engage in low-paying and insecure work in the informal sector to be able to support their families (Freedman, 2003 ).

Another main study in the field of sex trafficking and women, is the book “Migration, Agency and Citizenship in Sex Trafficking” written by Dr. Rutvica Andrijasevic in 2010.

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Andrijasevic’s book analyzes the issue of sex trafficking through a qualitative study based on interviews with migrant women working in the prostitution field in Italy. Her main findings indicate that, women migrate because of; poverty, intra-family violence and projects of autonomy from the family (Andrijasevic, 2010).

Firstly, when defining factors such as poverty, Andrijasevic explains that most respondents of the interviews pointed poverty issues as a main reason of why they migrated. For example, many respondents described that they did not have the basics to survive, such as food and housing. Furthermore, Andrijasevic also describes that, poverty is seen to have major consequences on women’s education and employment, being one of the major triggers to their migration (Andrijasevic, 2010).

Nevertheless, Andrijasevic also claims that, causes such as poverty are likely to hide the fact that women’s decisions to migrate emerge from more complicated gender-related factors. For example, many of the respondents named they had a desire to pursue financial and personal independence from their families. This, since many of them suffered intra-violence and lack of respect at home. Consequently, Andrijasevic related this need for independency to the need to escape from patriarchal relations, and that autonomy from the family was a great drive for migration (Andrijasevic, 2010).

Furthermore, Andrijasevic highlights sex trafficking factors in destination countries. For example, Andrijasevic claims that, Southern European countries feature a great informal economy compelled by irregular employment based on a ‘flexible’ work force. This

emergence of a “flexible” work force has impacted the segmentation of the labor market on basis of race, gender and age, especially in the service sector, such as the sex industry. Oftentimes, it is the unskilled and irregular migrants who fill this sector, leading to an increased vulnerability for the sex trafficking of these individuals. Thus, this demand for flexible and low wage work often result in the migration of women from origin to destination countries, and also increase the risk for them to become victims sex trafficking in destination societies (Andrijasevic, 2010).

Another relevant literature on the field of trafficking and migrants, are the studies made by Diego Hernandez and Alexandra Rudolph, “Modern Day Slavery: What Drives

Human Trafficking in Europe?” in 2015, and the one made in 2010 by Toman Omar

Mahmoud and Christoph Trebesh, called: “The Economics of Human Trafficking and Labour

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character, the first one analyzing the causes of trafficking in connection to migration by observing recorded victim flows, and the latter, analyzing these causes based on surveys with 5513 randomly selected households in Eastern Europe.

Both studies had similar findings, claiming that high emigration flows create a market for human trafficking. Moreover, both studies found that high income countries have a demand for cheap labor that migrants can offer, in the informal sector (domestic and factory work and prostitution), which are rarely filled by nationals. Given this fact of labor market segmentation, alongside restricted opportunities for legalization, migrants often end up in the shadow economy (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015) , (Mahmoud & Trebesch, 2010).

Additionally, Hernandez and Rudolph claim that the reason why most migrants working in the informal sector do not seek for legal support is the strict control they experience from traffickers alongside language barriers and fear of deportation, since many of them are irregular migrants (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015).

Furthermore, both studies highlight the fact that criminal organizations take advantage of well-establish migrant and refugee networks. For example, by using existing and popular migration and refugee routes, traffickers can reduce their costs and probability of being caught. The involvement of traffickers within migrant networks facilitates their manipulation in trusting relationships between relatives and friends across international borders, both in migratory and refugee routes (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015), (Mahmoud & Trebesch, 2010).

Moreover, the study by Hernandez and Rudolph addresses that, poor law enforcement and reduced exposure of illegal activities, related to informal economies, lead to the

flourishment of trafficking activities. Additionally, a low institutional quality decreases the social trust, especially with the increase of illegal activity and the informal economy, leading trafficking issues to take more ground (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015).

Conclusively, all four researches give a proper insight into the general causes of trafficking in connection to migration. However, the studies by Hernandez and Rudolph, Mahmoud and Trebesh fail to acknowledge the causes of why particularly migrant women end up in the sex trafficking industry. They solely describe general causes of human trafficking including both men and women. Furthermore, their studies are of quantitative character, mirroring the situation through this kind of lenses. My study, however, is of qualitative nature, focusing on open-ended interviews with experts in the sex trafficking field

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in Greece, portraying an ampler image of why migrant women end up as victims of sex trafficking.

Moreover, even though the Freedman’s study focus particularly in migrant women and the sex trafficking industry, it was written in 2003 and is therefore not up-to-date.

Additionally, her study does not focus on the reasons of sex trafficking in a particular destination country, such as Greece, which is the aim of my research. Lastly, even though Andrijasevic’s research portraits a “women” perspective, it observes the sex trafficking and prostitution of migrant women in terms of agency, citizenship/identity issues. This is, however, not the goal of this study, since it aims to understand the causes of the sex trafficking of migrant women, rather than identity and citizenship questions.

2.2 Causes of sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece

When studying the issue of sex trafficking and migrant women in Greece, it can be noted that, not many studies have been conducted in English. Most valuable studies in the field have been written in Greek, since they explore the situation in Greece. However, some studies written in English have contributed to the field. These will be reviewed in this section.

The first major study conducted in English, is the study by Ira Emke-Poulopoulos,

“Trafficking of Women and Girls for the Sex Trade: The Case of Greece”, written in 2003.

Poulopoulos research is named in many other studies exploring sex trafficking in Greece, and therefore it is a major study in the field. Her study is based on a text and policy analysis that aims to measure the problem of sex trafficking and how it can be combated. Poulopoulos examines Greece as a destination and transit country in the context of EU, giving the causes behind the sex trafficking of migrant women.

Moreover, Poulopoulos main findings suggest that, development and socio-economic inequalities between countries result in the lack of employment for women, thus triggering their migration. Additionally, poverty and underground markets are other factors that trigger sex trafficking in origin countries. Moreover, in origin countries, major political events and government policies are also key factors of trafficking. For example, situations of war, oppressive political power and religions conflict have resulted in the movement of several vulnerable people, including women. Due to their vulnerability and the need to flee their situation, they become easy targets of traffickers. Furthermore, Poulopoulos claims that some

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government policies support the export of labour, especially of women for sex purposes, as a way to solve unemployment problems and get foreign exchange (Poulopoulos, 2003 ).

Moreover, Poulopoulos points out that, due to gender roles and practices that marginalize women in origin countries, women can become easy targets for professional organized networks that assist them through their migration. Additionally, in many societies, women are viewed as second class citizens who do not deserve the same rights and freedom. This combined with patriarchal perspectives, extend the belief that the main purpose of the women is to satisfy the men sexually (Poulopoulos, 2003 ).

Lastly, when analyzing the reasons of sex trafficking in Greece as destination, Poulopoulos relates the high profitability of the crime to the reason why many people get involved in the sex trafficking network. Moreover, due to corruption, many officials

participate in trafficking, or turn a blind eye to it. Corrupt officials many times assist in visa and passport provisions and are bribed by traffickers to issue residence permits. Finally, all this is combined with the great role of mass media in Greece, which promotes sex services at late night TV, leading to a greater demand of women in the sex industry (Poulopoulos, 2003 ).

Another study on the issue of migrant women and sex trafficking in Greece is the one by Neovi M. Karakatsanis and Jonathan Swarts- “Migrant Women, Domestic Work and the

Sex Trade in Greece- A Snapshot of Migrant Policy in the Making” - written in 2003. Their

study is of qualitative character, aiming to explore general trends of women’s participation in informal labour markets, and the multilayered nature of their social and economic exclusion.

Firstly, Karakatsanis and Swarts explain that, culturally, in Greece, it is the role of the women to take care of the home, children and the elderly. However, since many Greek women are opting for higher education and getting paid jobs outside the home, there is a gap in the family role that needs be filled. In order to fill this gap, in the late 80’s and early 90’s the need for migrant women to take over the informal sector increased drastically, leading to the feminization of migration in Greece. The same trends can be seen in the sex industry, were Greek women were substituted with cheaper migrant women (Karakatsanis & Swarts, 2003).

Moreover, since migrant women are generally more vulnerable than Greek women, in terms of legal status, knowledge about work laws and etc., it becomes easier to exploit them in the sex industry. Due to high xenophobic and anti-foreigner attitudes happening in Greece, both at state and societal level, the exploitation of migrant women in informal sectors

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becomes higher. Consequently, migrant women become marginalized and stigmatized in the Greek society, living in areas where the possibility of social integration is denied. In such xenophobic environments, it is common that the rights of migrants are poorly protected by the Greek state and legal system. Thus, leading to a deeper exploitation of migrants especially the undocumented ones, which can be clearly seen in the sex industry, where girls and women are trafficked into Greece and have nowhere to turn for legal help (Karakatsanis & Swarts, 2003).

Another academic article that contributed in the field of study, is the one by Gabriella Lazaridis, “Trafficking and Prostitution, the Growing exploitation of Migrant Women in

Greece”, written in 2001. Lazaridis study is a qualitative analysis which aims to understand

the social processes/mechanisms that produce the social exploitation of female migrants in the sex industry in Greece. Firstly, similarly to Karakatsanis and Swarts study, Lazaridis explains that the huge demand for foreign workforce in the early 1990’s transformed the sex industry in Greece, shifting from Greek women to foreign ones. Consequently, this expanded the potential for high economic profit (Lazaridis, 2001), (Karakatsanis & Swarts, 2003).

Moreover, Lazaridis explains that, over the 1990’s there was a large number of women coming from the former Eastern Bloc, working illegally in Greece, which shifted the trafficking of women from developing countries, since it was easier, due to lightly controlled borders, and cheaper for traffickers to transport Easter European women to Greece.

Additionally, Lazaridis notes that, these women find difficulty in obtaining residence and work permits, due to irregular status, and that their poverty and need to support makes them vulnerable to exploitation, by mafia and also by those close to them (fathers, husbands, neighbors and friends (Lazaridis, 2001).

Lastly, Lazaridis concludes that, preliminary findings show that these women’s lack of integration into Greek society and the condition under which they were trafficked, makes them a danger to themselves and the public health. Finally, Lazaridis cites that the lack of solidarity by Greek nationals, and the lack of interest showed by NGO’s, at the time the study was conducted, leaves these women unprotected (Lazaridis, 2001).

The last study to be reviewed in this research, is the one by Iordanis Psimmenos “The

Making of Periphrastic Spaces: The Case of Undocumented Female Migrants in the Sex industry of Athens”, written in 2000. This study is based on a qualitative analysis of migrant

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To start with, Psimmenos claims that, due to the emergence of a global economic and political reorganization, migrant women become a source of profitability and flexibility. The need for migrant labour is connected to global labour networks in the informal sector, leading, many times, to trafficking. Psimmenos explains that, due to a rise of global economic

networks, many communities were tied together producing global networks of people through labour migration. Additionally, these factors combined with poverty and unemployment, are the reason why migrant women are trafficked from origin to destination societies

(Psimmenos, 2000).

Furthermore, Psimmenos also explains that, this globalized socio-economic activity has produced a peripheralization of the labour force in core societies. This peripheralization is mirrored in the informal sector of core societies, where there is a fast devaluation of social standards for women, migrants, and ethnic minorities. Consequently, Psimmenos claims that, the migrant is then forced into social exclusion limited by periphrastic spaces (particular areas were migrants become marginalized), in which they experience loss of power and identity in society. In these spaces, there is a great slave labour power that is profitable and flexible (Psimmenos, 2000).

To conclude this literature review, it can be said that all the studies presented here, have contributed to explain why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece. Nevertheless, all these studies were written around 20 years ago and are therefore not

updated. Hence, my study will be a useful tool in understanding the causes of sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece in our present time. Moreover, as the study of Lazaridis

presented, no NGOs at the time of her study, showed interest in the protection of migrant women in the sex trafficking field. However, my study, will bring a new perspective to this issue, by interviewing anti-trafficking NGOs in Greece that are now responsible for and interested in the protection and rescue of trafficking victims. Consequently, my study will be able to explore if the reasons for the trafficking of migrant women, presented here, remain the same or not. Finally, as named earlier, a great proportion of studies on sex trafficking, migrant women and Greece, are not available in the English language, which is something my study will contribute with.

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Chapter 3– Theories 3.1 – Overview of theories

In the literature review, the causes of why migrant women end up as victims of sex trafficking in Greece, were presented. From these causes, a few theories of migration that could be used to explain the situation, were observed. These theories touch upon economic factors, such as; the clear existence of a dual labour market between migrants and natives in Greece, a

globalized labour network - especially in the sex industry, and socio-economic inequalities between countries which drive people to migrate.

Moreover, meso-level theories, that touch upon issues of migrant networks and a migration industry, which facilitates human trafficking, were also observed. Finally, in all previous literature, understanding gender roles was important, in order to understand why women were exploited. In this aspect, it could be noted that, gender oppression and inequalities between men and women are also a factor that drives the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. Consequently, a feministic theory could be of use to understand why this happens.

Thus, this chapter will bring up theories that touch upon all observed factors, in previous literature, of the sex exploitation of migrant women in Greece, in order to help explain the findings through migration studies. Since human trafficking is something that happens through migratory process, theories of migration can help explain how and why human trafficking happens, therefore they will be used in this study. Later on, in chapter 6, there will be an operationalization of these theories, where they will be applied to the results of my interviews, aiming to explore why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece.

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3.2 Economic migration theories

These theories, can be used to explain the economic reasons why people migrate, and how this can be related to their vulnerability to end up in trafficking situations.

3.2.1 Neoclassical theory – Macro-level

The Neoclassical Macro-level theory suggests that, migration is caused by geographic differences in the supply and demand for labour. Differences in wages and labour supply between countries, causes workers from low-wage countries to move to high wage ones. Consequently, the supply of labour increases in high-wage countries, which leads to the fall in their wages, at the same time, the supply of labour decreases and wages rise in the “low-wage” countries, causing an equilibrium of the international wage differential between the countries. Thus, when an international wage differential is balanced, it will end the movement of labour, causing migration to stop (Massey, o.a., 1993).

3.2.2 Neoclassical theory- Micro-level

On a micro-level, the Neoclassical theory, views migrants as rational actors, who take the decision to migrate based on a cost-benefit calculation, with the goal to maximize their income (Castles, De Haas, & Miller, 2013).On this level, international movement still

emerges because of the differences in wages between countries, however, here, the individual, based on rational cost-benefit calculations choose to migrate where they can be most effective and gain the most, given their skills (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Moreover, in order for people to migrate, they must make some investments, such as; the costs of traveling, the costs they will have while looking for a job in the new country, or if irregular, the probabilities to avoid deportation, the difficulties that can emerge in the new labour market, and the psychological costs of leaving people behind and meeting new ones. After estimating all this costs, and the benefits of moving, the migrant will estimate whether the net returns of their migration will be the greatest over some time period. If they estimate to get more in return then what they need to invest in the migration process, they will then decide to migrate (Massey, o.a., 1993).

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3.2.3 The New Economics of Labour Migration theory

In opposition to the neoclassical approach, the New Economics of Labour Migration(NELM) theory, has the focus on what drives migration, on the households instead of on the

individuals. Migration decisions are taken by households, in which people migrate not only to improve income, but to minimize risks connected to different market failures, apart from the labour market ones (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Moreover, different to the individual’s benefit calculations, households are the ones in control of the risks of their economic well-being, through diversifying the family resources, such as the family labour. For example, some family members can be given economic

activities in the local economy, and others may be sent away to other countries to work where the employment conditions and wages are weakly correlated with those at origin societies. In case the economic conditions in the local/origin community fail, households can count on the family members working abroad (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Furthermore, contrary to the neoclassical approaches, the NELM theory, claims that, income is not a homogeneous good. The source of income matters, therefore, households tend to engage in activities or projects that will provide new income sources, even if they do not boost the total household income. Additionally, households send family members abroad to boost their income in relation to other households, this way minimizing their relative deprivation compared to other groups (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Lastly, differently from the neoclassical theories, the NELM theory claims that, migration does not stop when international wage differentials are regulated. This because, incentives for migration can perpetuate if other markets in the origin countries are imperfect or absent (Massey, o.a., 1993).

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3.2.4 Dual Labour Market theory

Differently from the previous theories presented, that focused on micro-levels, the Dual Labour Market theory claims that international migration derives from the underlying labour demands of modern industrial societies. International migration is caused by, the enduring demand for immigrant labour that is deep-seated in the economic structure of developed countries. Migration is not caused by factors in origin countries (unemployment, low wages), but by pull factors in destination societies (a deep need for foreign labour) Moreover, this need for foreign workers in developed societies comes from the existence of a dual labour market in these countries – a primary labour market, composed by high paid jobs and high skilled workers and a secondary labour market, mostly in the informal sector, offering low paid positions and demanding low-skilled workers (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Additionally, within the dual labor market, there is also an existing hierarchy, not only attached to economic factors but by social ones too. People work, not only for money, but also for status and privilege. Since people working at the lowest level of the hierarchy do not have much possibilities to move upwards and improve their economic and social status, many natives of a country do not wish to work at this bottom level. Therefore, there is a great need for migrant workers, who will accept such jobs, since they do not care about social status in the destination country and in their origin societies, working abroad is since as a great prestige. Lastly, the low payments of destination societies is often higher than the ones at origin countries (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Furthermore, this lack of willingness from natives to work at the bottom of the hierarchy, generates a constant need for workers who are willing to accept low payments, high instability and undesirable conditions. This was previously met by women, who had a goal to mainly earn supplemental wage, since it was the men’s role to provide for the

household, while their role was to take care of the family (child and elderly care, cooking and cleaning) (Massey, o.a., 1993).

Nevertheless, due to the modernization of societies and the increase in women’s education, women became stronger contributors in the labour market. Consequently, this changed their role in modernized societies, where their goal is no longer to mainly take care of the family. In turn, the family care was something that still needed to be taken care of, and since native women started working outside the household, a permanent need for migrant

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women/workers who will accept to do domestic work, often at a low cost, emerged (Massey, o.a., 1993).

3.3 Meso-level theories

The theories of migration presented in this section, will help to give answers to why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims, based on a meso-level of analysis, analyzing not only why migration starts but also why it continues.

3.3.1 Migration network theory

The Migration Network theory, explains how migrants develop and maintain social

relationships with other migrants and with friends and families in their origin societies, and how this leads to the rise of social networks. These social networks are social structures operating at meso-levels, which open the gate for further migration. Furthermore, according to this theory, factors such as; welfare, colonialism, shared culture and language, geographical proximity and labour recruitment, explain why migration happens. However, within this theory, once a large number of migrants have settled in a destination society, migration tends to continue (Castles, De Haas, & Miller, 2013).

Moreover, migration networks are defined as interpersonal relationships that connect previous migrants and non-migrants in origin- and destination societies through ties of friendship, kindship and shared roots. Thus, migrant networks become a type of location-specific social capital, that people use to get benefits when migrating. Additionally, migrant networks help to lessen economic, physical and social costs of migration, this way increasing the possibilities individuals have to migrate. Therefore, once an origin country reaches a critical level of migrant networks, migration endures, since these networks develop the social structures to preserve it (Castles, De Haas, & Miller, 2013).

Finally, migrant networks affect the general society of a country as well. For example, employers encourage informal recruitment and seek to find adequate and cheap migrant workers. This is made possible by smugglers, who help employers to meet their demand. Consequently, a ‘migration industry’ emerges, which is constituted by employers, smugglers, recruitment organizations, layers and others, who want migration to continue (Castles, De Haas, & Miller, 2013).

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3.3.2 Migration Industry theory

According to Thomas Gammeltoft-Hansen and Ninna Nyberg Sorensen, the migration industry is defined as:

“The ensemble of entrepreneurs who, motivated by the pursuit of financial gain, provide a variety of services facilitating human mobility across international borders.” (Gammeltof-Hansen & Sorensen, 2013, s. 6)

This “ensemble of entrepreneurs” are people with different roles, who will facilitate and drive international migration by equipping the expertise and infrastructural means desired in cross-border migration. These entrepreneurs can be;

“(…)money lenders, recruiters, transportation providers, travel agents, legitimate and false papers pushers, smugglers, contractors, formal and informal remittance and courier service owners, lawyers and notaries offering legal and paralegal counseling, and promoters of immigrant destinations”. (Gammeltof-Hansen & Sorensen, 2013, s.

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Furthermore, even though these different “migration actors/entrepreneurs” are named within the network theory, within the migration industry theory, their role becomes more complex. This, due to the fact that, despite the existence of migration borders, these “migration actors” (migration industry) have the capacity to span it. Consequently, this migration industry is developed due to tighter border controls, immigration policies and management procedures (Gammeltof-Hansen & Sorensen, 2013).

Additionally, migrants themselves and their networks will also work as “migration entrepreneurs” and help facilitate the movement of irregular/ undocumented migrants. These specific migrant networks, can be composed of traffickers and smugglers, who facilitate migration of irregular migrants, but also the exploitation that comes with it. To their help, such networks will pay off corrupt border guards and immigration officers, who will open the gate for irregular migrants (Gammeltof-Hansen & Sorensen, 2013).

Moreover, the migration industry theory claims that, there is a commercialization of migration, which is composed, not only by migration industries, but by political/economic and social structures, impacting migratory patterns. In turn, these are enhanced by efforts to control and manage migration. Lastly, this commercialization of migration, is also composed by employers in destination countries who are in search for cheap labour, often coming from undocumented migrants, which they get access to by paying off migration industry actors.

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Consequently, this gives space for increased levels of human trafficking, especially in the sex industry, which will facilitate the migration of undocumented individuals, but also their exploitation (Gammeltof-Hansen & Sorensen, 2013).

3.4 Gender-related factors

In this section, there will be a focus on feministic approaches that can help explain why women migrate and why they can end up as sex trafficking victims. An operationalization of the presented approaches will be done in the analysis section, where this study intends to deeper connect feminist approaches to migration and the reasons why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece. This will be done through applying these approaches on previous research and interview findings.

3.4.1 Gender differences, inequalities and oppressions

Firstly, many scholars note that in the last couple of decades there has been a

feminization of migration. The reasons for the migration of women are many, depending on which perspectives are being analyzed (Donato & Gabaccia, 2015).Since this section is focused on feminist approaches, gender differences, between men and women need to be highlighted. According to some feminists, the different roles given to men and women within institutions help to explain gender differences. For example, due to the role differences in institutions, there is an emerging sexual division of labour both in the household, and outside it (Crossman, 2018). In many societies, women tend to work in the home, cleaning, taking care of children, while the men are the main breadwinners. Thus, diving the gender roles in society, labeling women as “housewives” (Freedman, 2003 ). These differences are even visible in migratory flows, where there is an increase on the demand for female migrants to work in the domestic and sex sectors, while men work in factoring, agriculture and other kind of similar jobs (Piper, 2005) .

Moreover, existential and phenomenological feminists claim that, women have been marginalized and labeled as the “other” in patriarchal societies, not having much power to act as independent, rational individuals (Crossman, 2018). For example, in many societies,

women’s desires to migrate need to be agreed upon with the household and, more specifically, with the men figures in it. Consequently, only once a women get permission from the

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to gender inequalities, even though women are capable of making own decisions, patriarchal ideologies, especially in the labour market, has throughout time, banned women from making these decisions. These labour market dynamics serve to force women into the private orb of the household, excluding them of a full participation in the public life. (Crossman, 2018).

Likewise, many feminists talk about inequalities issues in terms of a greater gender oppression, arguing that women are not only treated and perceived unequal to men, but they are constantly being oppressed and abused by them. Moreover, Marxist feminists view that there is a structural oppression that affect women and is a result of capitalism, patriarchy and racism (Crossman, 2018). These feminists claim that the working class is exploited by male dominated structures, especially in connection to gender (Bandarage, 1984). This can also be noted in association to migration, where the same trends can prevail amongst migrant women in destination societies (IOM , 2018).However, this will be further examined in the analysis section. Thus, according to Marxist feminists, male dominated/ patriarchal structures, will lead to the marginalization, exploitation and oppression of women (Bandarage, 1984).

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Chapter 4 - Method and Design

This research will be based on a qualitative design. The method which will be used in this research is, open-ended interviews with different anti-trafficking agents operating in Greece, in order to understand the reasons of migrant women ending up as sex slaves in Greece.

4.1 Open-ended Interviews

Firstly, according to David Silverman, open-ended interviews, are flexible interviews, where the interviewee can speak freely about his experiences, opinions and perspectives on a subject. In open-ended interviews, achieving “rich data” is based upon active listening, always giving the interviewee the freedom to ascribe meaning, while having in mind the aims of the project. In here, it is important to understand the langue and culture of the respondents. In order to achieve such understanding, interviewers need to decide on how to present

themselves, either as a student, a researcher, or a humble learner. Additionally, interviewers need to gain and maintain the trust of interviewees, especially regarding sensitive questions. Lastly, interviewers need to establish rapport with interviewees, for example, by trying to see the world from their perspective without “going native” (Silverman, 2006 ).

Moreover, choosing open-ended interviews as research method, can help directly access what happens in the world. This can be seen as a strength to this method, since it helps examine what people actually do in real life, rather than asking them to comment on

happenings. Furthermore, choosing open-ended interviews over closed-ended ones, facilitates considered responses, providing a better insight into the interviewees interpretations of occurrences, understandings and experiences. Additionally, when done well, open-ended interviews are able to reach to a deep complexity level that is not found in other closed-ended approaches (Silverman, 2006 ).

Furthermore, according to John Creswell, there are pros and cons with qualitative interviews. For example, the cons with open-ended interviews can be that, they provide indirect information filtered through the interviewees’ glasses. Additionally, the researcher’s presence during interview could bias the responses. Moreover, people do not equally

articulate or perceive things. However, there are many pros with open-ended interviews which can assure good results. To illustrate this, some pros can be named, such as, the fact that open-ended interviews are useful when participants cannot be observed in practice. Moreover, participants can provide historical information which can help the investigation. Furthermore,

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in open-ended interviews, the researcher can always control the line of questioning, making sure participants do not get off track (Creswell, 2014 ).

Lastly, both Creswell and Silverman, describe the importance of recording, taking notes and properly transcribing the interviews. These procedures are necessary in every interview and work alongside a coding scheme that help analyze its’ results. A common coding scheme in open-ended methods is a theme analysis, finding some key words in each interview in order to make a categorization of apparent themes. Having a coding scheme improves the research’s validity and reliability, and is therefore vital for the study to obtain good results (Creswell, 2014 ), (Silverman, 2006 ).

4.2 Interview conduction

As named above, the open-ended interviews in this study, were conducted with different anti-trafficking organizations in Greece. To have better insight into the issue of why migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece, people from the same, but also different organizations were interviewed. From one specific organization, I managed to interview three people, with different job positions, to get their perspectives. Additionally, other two people working in different organizations were interviewed.

Firstly, I was able to reach the three people from the one organization through the relationships I built with them while interning for their organization in the past. The other organizations, I was able to reach through acquaintances, who helped to get connected with them. Three of the interviews were conducted face-to-face, while two interviews were done through the phone. In order to assure that the interviews would produce a rich data, I was careful to start each interview the same way. For the people I did not know previously, I made sure to introduce myself as an international migration student, trying to obtain information for my bachelor thesis. For the people I knew previously, I reminded them of what I am studying and explained that they were about the contribute to my bachelor thesis.

Secondly, every interview started in the same way, by introducing myself as a student, researching women’s migration and sex trafficking in Greece, explaining to each participant that the interview would be completely anonymous and asking for their consent to record the interview. Once I obtained their consent, I started recording and asked them to repeat on tape that they gave their permission to be recorded. Furthermore, I asked the participants to

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in the field. Consequently, once the participants finished introducing themselves, I introduced by research topic, and asked my interview question “why do migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece?”. From that point on, I made sure to be an active listener, taking notes and paying attention to every detail, and direct following questions in accordance with my research aim.

Moreover, introducing myself first, and then asking them to talk about themselves, created a relaxed atmosphere, helping me to obtain the participants trust. Once that was done, it was important to avoid any bias from my part, by remaining neutral throughout the whole interview. Additionally, to avoid any discomfort for the participants, I ensure to conduct interviews in a private and quiet place, where respondents would be free to talk, without interference.

Furthermore, to avoid the cons with open-ended interviews, named on the section above, I made sure all participants understood the aim of my research, and the focus on migrant women and sex trafficking. That way, even if they articulated themselves differently, they all knew the focus of the study and could therefore be specific in their answers. Lastly, by controlling the line of questioning, I ensured that the interview responses did not get off track.

4.3 Transcriptions and Theme analysis

As explained by Creswell and Silverman, it is important to properly record interviews, carefully transcribe them and present the transcriptions in the research (Creswell, 2014 ), (Silverman, 2006 ). Therefore, every interview conducted in this research was audio-taped, with the consent of the participants and then carefully transcribed, where I, in detail, wrote down every questioned asked and every answer given.

Moreover, as also described by Creswell and Silverman, in the “open-ended

interviews” section, it is important for every researcher to have a coding scheme for analyzing the interviews findings (Creswell, 2014 ), (Silverman, 2006 ). In this research, a theme

analysis coding scheme was used, finding key themes in every transcribed interview, that could help explain the reasons of the involvement of migrant women and sex trafficking in Greece. These key themes can be found in the results section where they are presented and explained in detail. Lastly, in the analysis section, I analyze whether the key themes found in my interviews correspond to the findings of previous research or if new themes emerged.

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4.4 Reliability and Validity

In this research, issues of reliability and validity, were taken into consideration. Creswell describes reliability as what;

“Indicates that the researcher’s approach is consistent across different researchers and different projects.” (Creswell, 2014 , s. 251)

This simply means that, given that other researchers use the same methods and coding scheme with you, then can obtain similar results to yours (Creswell, 2014 ).

In order to ensure the reliability of this research, I explained step-by-step how I conducted the interviews, and transcribed them. Furthermore, to assure that other researchers can find similar results to mine, given that they use the same method, I explained how I analyzed the transcribed interviews. Therefore, given that other researchers follow my steps and theme analysis, they should be able to find similar results to mine. Thus, this step-by-step description and theme analysis secure the reliability of this research.

Moreover, the term “validity” was explained by Creswell as:

“Means that the searcher checks for the accuracy of the findings by employing certain procedures.” (Creswell, 2014 , s. 251).

Practically, this means that the researcher needs to explain how they gathered and interpreted the primary data step-by-step, so that they can prove the accuracy of their findings. Moreover, Creswell also explains, that there are different validity strategies, that can be used in a

research. One of these is the triangulation strategy, which means that, the researcher needs to triangulate different sources of information, by analyzing evidence from the sources and using it to contrast an understandable justification for themes. If themes are settled based on a convergence of several data sources and different insights from interview participants, this can add validity to the research (Creswell, 2014 ).

The way in which this triangulation is used in my research is, by using a number of theories, explained in the theory section, which helped analyzed the empirical material

alongside previous findings. After doing a theme analysis of interview results, I could explore whether those results correspond to previous researches, and by using the theories, in the analysis section, I could analyze my findings in connection to previous findings. Thus, this secured the validity of this research.

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Chapter 5 - Results

The following section will present the results and analysis of the research question, “Why do

migrant women end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece?”. The way which the answers

will be provided is by analyzing the results of the open ended interviews, connecting them to the different theories presented in this research and also to previous literature. Each

participant was given a code, which will be used every time their answers will be quoted∗. As named in the methods section, the interviews were interpreted through a theme analysis. That means that based on the answers provided in each interview, I was able to find key themes, thus facilitating the process of finding the reasons behind the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. The following table, describes these key themes.

Themes Quotes from Interviews

Vulnerability P01: “(…) In general we agree with people

who work in our field that, the main thing is vulnerability. Traffickers will exploit any vulnerability. These can be; Family has died, poverty, hope for better future, hope for studying, warzones (…)”

P04: “(...)women when they are misplaced

or vulnerable or separated from their family, the percentage is higher for them to get exploited.”

Greece as Portal to the EU P01: “99% of people we interview, don’t

want to come to Greece. It is a transit country their first step towards Europe. Their goal is central Northern Europe.”

P04: “another reason why migrant women

find themselves trafficked in Greece, is

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because of the geographical position of the country (…), (…)Greece is almost like the gateway of Europe(…)”

Government Deficiency P03: “So everything takes so long, all this

process, and even because things change so fast, the government is not aware of changes in the law and they cannot provide correct information.”

P04:“(…)They (the migrant women) have to stay in their first country of entry into the EU to get processed, and Greece takes about 2 years to process them, and what are they going to do for these 2 years?”

Hostility and Segregation – (Migrants as Cheap Labour)

P03: “(…) they (the Greeks) are very

suspicious and concerned that migrants might hurt the Greek economy and society. For example, a Greek employer wouldn’t hire a migrant.”

P04: “I think it helps to understand that

Greece has always had brothels. Everyone, even women, have a belief that migrant women should work there so that no Greek woman needs to be violated or anything.”

Trafficking as a profitable Industry

(migrants as cheap labour, employers need traffickers to obtain that).

P03: “we have seen that there are

trafficking networks connecting from Greece to Turkey and Africa, and even Dominican Republic which is so far away”

P04: “I think it is really funny people have

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you know, it is mafia, how can you end mafia or organized crime? You see they are dangerous, they care guns, they kill

consciously steal other humans.”

Cultural Gender Oppression P01: “women are more vulnerable because

they come from countries where they don’t have any rights, or there is a lot of abuse or the religion put them in a lower state then man, so this has created a mentality of abuse among them (…)”

P03: “ I have some cases in my mind from

women from the Middle East that they know they would be exploited, but because they felt like their role is to provide for their family, they chose to sacrifice themselves (…)”

5.1 Vulnerability

As presented in the table above, the vulnerability of migrant women, was one main reason why they end up as sex trafficking victims in Greece. In all five interviews I have conducted, all participants have pointed out how traffickers prey on women’s vulnerability to get them trafficked. Moreover, apart from the quotes collected from participants P01 and P04, quotes from other participants can be cited to illustrate the situation. For example, participant P03 explained that, women’s vulnerability is one of the main factors of why they become victims;

“(…) we know that traffickers prey on vulnerable people and migrants are a great tool for them because, especially from countries in Africa, and the Middle East, people with lower educational level don’t even know what Europe looks like, the traffickers just tell them; we will give you a chance, we will create an opportunity for you, we want to help you to have a better future. (…) they create such a false expectation that people are just tricked.” - (P03).

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“Traffickers are using their situation because they are easier targets to become human trafficking victims, especially in sex and labour exploitation, because these migrant women maybe don’t have any passport or documents, and they are easier targets to get involved in human trafficking”. (P02).

Additionally, participant P01 further explained issues of vulnerability as;

“(…) so many women are alone in their travel, either because their parents or

husband die on the way or they left their country alone. So they have no one to protect or guide them (…)” (P01).

Consequently, vulnerability seems to be a persistent factor behind the sex trafficking of migrant women. This can also be seen in previous studies. As presented in the literature review, Ira Emke-Poulopoulos explains that, due to the women’s vulnerability and their need to flee their current life situations, they become easy targets for traffickers. However, all previous studies, presented in this research, do not seem to have the vulnerability of migrant women as a key factor behind their trafficking. This can be, because these studies are older and that nowadays, anti-trafficking agents have gained a different understanding.

Nevertheless, even though vulnerability is not cited as a “main factor”, in previous literature, it is, however, embedded in other factors. For example, Jane Freedman explains that due to a labour market division, women are given a major part of unpaid domestic work, across many cultures, and that this division makes them more vulnerable to poverty, which consequently leads them to fall victims of trafficking (Freedman, 2003 ). Additionally, Gabriella Lazaridis explains that irregular migrant women, experience poverty and are in constant need of support, which makes them vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation from men (Lazaridis, 2001). Furthermore, Poulopoulos further explains that, origin governments support the sex exploitation of women abroad, as a way of obtaining foreign exchange (Poulopoulos, 2003 ).

Thus, it can be said that, women’s vulnerability, was found to be a key theme behind the sex trafficking of women. This can be supported by previous literature, which does not portray vulnerability as a “key factor”, but rather entails it within other key factors.

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5.2 Greece as the Portal to the EU

Another main factor, which resulted in the sex trafficking of migrant women, is Greece as Portal to the EU, as presented in the table of themes. In all of the interviews I conducted, participants explained that Greece is mainly a transit country for migrants, and also the first country where many migrants cross to Europe. Oftentimes, it is in Greece where migrant women first enter the sex trafficking industry existent in the EU.

Participant P04 clearly explains this situation, and to further explore the quote presented in the table of themes, this is how it is complemented;

“People would come to the islands, after passing from Turkey or Russia, so Greece is like the gateway from Africa, Middle East, and Asia to Europe. Greece is always the starting point. Many women who end up working in prostitution in Ireland,

Amsterdam, or in Romania, who are from Africa, or China or Bangladesh always say that they started from Thessaloniki or Athens.” – (P04)

Moreover, participants P01 and P05 said;

“Usually since the IOM and the UN came to Greece, people tell the potential migrants that these organizations will help them, so that is why they come to Greece. There is a lot of misinformation, on purpose, coz it will make them easier to exploit (…) this is the goal from smugglers and traffickers in order to perpetuate exploitation with them.” - (P01)

“(…) Usually they don’t know they will work as prostitutes, but they think they will come to work in a tavern or in a hotel or as maids, to have better economic

opportunities, but when they come here they understand what is the plan for them.” –

(P05)

Furthermore, when comparing these findings with previous literature, it can be seen that, the previous literature does not encompass “Greece as the portal to the EU” as a main reason behind the sex trafficking of migrants. Nevertheless, it entails Greece’s geographical position as something which facilitates trafficking. To illustrate this, we can see that the study by Lazaridis, points out that, trafficking women from the former Easter Bloc to Greece was easy due to lightly controlled borders and cheap transportation. Thus, indicating that Greece’s geographical position could be a contributor factor to trafficking (Lazaridis, 2001).

Lastly, it can be concluded that, based on my interview results, Greece as a portal to the EU is one of the reasons behind the sex trafficking of migrant women. This appears to be

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a new key factor, not previously apparent in the literature review. Nevertheless, previous literature indicates Greece’s geographical position as a facilitator of trafficking.

5.3 Government Deficiency

As shown in the table of themes, government deficiency was found to be another main reason there is space for the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. Many of the participants explained that due to failures in the governmental system, sex trafficking emerges and perpetuates. For example, participant P03’s quote is further explained;

“Our government and police is inadequate, so the traffickers know they can exploit people here and the police won’t go after them. In Greece, we don’t have the resources, we don’t have the people to do it and our legislation is looser than other countries, so I think that the traffickers take advantage of these gaps in the legislation and these, inefficiency of the government and the police. They know they can get away without being charged”. - (P03)

“We have been supported by the EU commission and we have received founds for more than 3 years now and it is a lot of money, and you would except that in such a long time with such a lot of money, things would have been sorted out. But it is not happening and it is only creating more problems and frustration (…) because things change so fast, the government is not aware of changes in the law and they cannot provide correct information. For example, they will send us some applications to fill out and then we call them to ask for clarifications they don’t even know. So the whole system has many gaps, and it starts from the top.” – (P03)

Moreover, deficiencies in the Greek government, seems to be a new theme for the causes of the sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. For example, in previous literature, the deficiency of the Greek government as a cause of trafficking is not pointed out. This can be due to the fact that things have changed over the years, Greece met a new economic crisis (Amaro, 2019), human trafficking became a more acknowledged phenomenon, and new anti-trafficking agents have appeared over time.

Nevertheless, previous literature seems to refer to corrupt business at governmental level, in Greece, as a cause of trafficking, which in some ways could support the argument of a “government deficiency”. For example, Poulopoulos explains that, many government

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officials participate in trafficking, or ignore it due to corruption. Consequently, this, combined with other factors the author lifts up, is a reason why sex trafficking happens in Greece

(Poulopoulos, 2003 ). Furthermore, Hernandez and Rudolph’s study, proves that poor law enforcement increases trafficking. They claim that, a low institutional quality decreases the social trust, and increases the informal economy, consequently flourishing the trafficking industry.

Thus, it can be noted that, even if the deficiency of the Greek government was not lifted up as a key theme for trafficking, evidence in previous literature could be used to support the idea that emerged from the interview results.

5.4 Hostility and Segregation

The hostility of Greeks towards migrants, and the segregation that emerges from that, seems to be persistent factor behind sex trafficking of migrant women in Greece. As quoted on the table of themes, participants P03 and P04 lifted factors of hostility and segregation. These can be further explored;

“(…) because of this hostility toward migrants, is almost impossible for them to find

legal work and therefore, they will accept any job offer someone will offer them, without asking questions, about work contract, working hours and conditions. So, trafficker know that and that is why they keep asking migrants to work for them, and to move them abroad. So as long as migrants are not assimilated into the Greek society I think the trafficking rates will keep going larger and larger.” – (P03)

“(…) the market is so competitive in Greece now that there is nothing for people who are not Greek, or privileged or if you don’t know somebody, there is nothing for you (…) as long as people have a belief that women from other countries can endure things like forced prostitution so that Greek women don’t have to, if we don’t value and treat women equally, we will always have this.” – (P04).

Furthermore, as stated earlier, hostility and segregation is a persistent trafficking factor, which is clearly supported by previous literature. Firstly, both Karakatsanis and Swarts, and

Lazaridis and Psimmenos talk about the segregation of migrants in Greece caused by the hostility of Greeks towards them, as a cause of trafficking. For example, Karakatsanis and Swarts explain that migrant women become marginalized as anti-foreigner attitudes are

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happening in Greece, which leads to the poor protection of their rights by the Greek state, resulting in their sex exploitation (Karakatsanis & Swarts, 2003).

Secondly, Lazaridis claims that the lack of solidarity by Greek nationals towards migrant women lead to their social exclusion and further exploitation (Lazaridis, 2001). Similarly, Psimmenos explains that, there is a peripheralization mirrored in the informal sector in Greece, devaluating the social standers for migrant women. Due to that, migrant women become marginalized and easier targets of sex trafficking (Psimmenos, 2000).

Thus, it is noticeable that factors of hostility towards migrants lead to their segregation and possible sex exploitation in the trafficking industry. This seem to be a persistent key factor, both in my interview findings as well as in previous literature.

5.5 Trafficking as a profitable Industry

Another persistent key theme is the existence of a trafficking industry which is highly profitable, thus leading to more trafficking. On the table of themes, it can be seen that there are existing trafficking networks across multiple countries, and that these networks are well organized. Furthermore, the profitability of this industry, can also be noted on interview results. To better understand this, the following quotes from participants P01 and P04 can be brought up;

“(…) somehow, the smugglers create routes, so they advertise; in this period, this is the place you need to go. Coz we see specific ethnicities come to a place for 2 months then stop, then another ethnicity come and stop, then the first ethnicity moves to another part of Greece. So someone is forwarding them specifically (…) smuggling combined with trafficking, brings a lot of money (…)” – (P01)

“(…) keep in mind it is organized crime, the trafficking network already exited, they now just shifted their focus to people. The same people who before transported drugs, are now transporting women and children (…) It is not a new group, those same networks that existed are now just expanding their business (…) Greece is an economic turmoil but it is the sex industry and mafia that is going to pull it through because, those make much money. And they are not taxing all of it so, it goes to people’s pocket.” – (P04)

Sex Trafficking and Migrant Women in Greece: A study of the reasons of the sex trafficking of migrant women