The Convenient Villain and the Stereotypical Victim: How Demand and Vulnerability Help Construct Anti-Policies in Trafficking and Smuggling

Executive summary

In 2022, the European Commission (EC) issued a proposal for the revision of the 2011 Anti-Trafficking Directive. At the heart of the revision is a desire to strengthen “end-demand” solutions to trafficking, which are gaining increased traction at the EU level. Notions of demand fuel specific constructions of culpability, which in turn are bolstered by and feed on representations of vulnerability/victimhood. This paper draws on the anti-policy framework to make sense of these developments in the EU human trafficking and smuggling policy fields. Relying on a qualitative methodology combining a deductive/inductive approach, it develops a comparative analysis of dominant constructions of culprits and (potential) victims linked to demand and vulnerability, present in trafficking and smuggling, two fields which are strongly interlinked in EU policy. The article demonstrates that whether accentuated as in trafficking, or minimized like in smuggling, in both policy fields, prevailing representations of culpability and vulnerability/victimhood provide the fodder for policy solutions rooted in “anti” logics. This leads to policy outcomes centered on stronger criminal justice systems, law enforcement and judicial cooperation, at the expense of more protection and rights-focused options.

Whilst we are by no means contending that “vulnerability” or “demand” should be altogether dismissed as analytical concepts, we are exhorting policy-makers to engage in critical reflection on their use, which at present are employed erratically and inconsistently. Based on the findings, the paper develops concrete policy recommendations.