Citation

Staring R. Justitiele Verkenn. 2007; 33(7): 50-63.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek- en Documentatiecentrum)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Early 2007 Dutch police arrested a large women trafficking network. In this contribution the author answers the question to what extend this specific case, which was labelled by the police as very brutal and highly hierarchical, is typical for women trafficking. More in general the author describes the social organization of women trafficking based on an analysis of large police investigations of organized women trafficking in the Netherlands. By employing theoretical network concepts as coordination, domination, and linkages, it is concluded that women trafficking gangs can be characterized as heterogeneous with respect to size, ethnic background, coordination and linkages. However, organized women trafficking seems to be more hierarchical than for instance human smuggling gangs. Furthermore, women trafficking gangs are characterized by the (manipulative) use of violence towards the trafficked women. Simultaneously it is argued that portraying the prostitutes solely as passive victims impedes a clear vision on women trafficking.

Keywords: Human trafficking