Trafficking in human beings for criminal exploitation or forced criminality: European legal analysis

  • Carolina Villacampa Estiarte Universitat de Lleida, Spain
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.3352
Keywords: trafficking in human beings, criminal exploitation, phenomenological description, juridical analysis

Abstract

Trafficking for forced criminality is a specific manifestation of human trafficking that has enjoyed little institutional visibility until it was defined in Directive 2011/36/EU, with further recognition in Directive (EU) 2024/1712. After describing the phenomenon, this paper aims to analyse this form of trafficking from a legal perspective. It begins by addressing the concept and nature of the crimes that may be committed against its victims, as well as highlighting its low institutional visibility. On a phenomenological level, it finds, based on existing figures, that this form of trafficking ranks third in terms of prevalence of victimisation, and explains how it is committed. In the legal sphere, it analyses its international legal recognition, particularly in Europe, and its provision in national legal systems through a comparative legislative study. Having confirmed the absence of case law applying the crime of trafficking for forced criminality, it concludes by setting out the obstacles to detecting victims and the effects this has on their passage through the criminal justice system. It confirms that victims are often considered offenders in the criminal justice system, in violation of the principle of non-punishment and contrary to the international mandate for a victim-centred approach to trafficking.

Received: 17 February 2025 
Accepted: 27 May 2025

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Author Biography

Carolina Villacampa Estiarte, Universitat de Lleida, Spain

Professor of Criminal Law at the University of Lleida, where she coordinates the research group ‘Sustainable Society and Law’ (SOIUS) and the doctoral programme in Law and Business Administration. She combines her teaching and research activities at this and other Spanish, European and South American academic institutions with her role as president of the Law Department of the State Research Agency. She has published more than 200 scientific works in Spanish and English and has directed numerous national and international research projects. Her research, which has been awarded the ICREA Academia 2022 distinction by the Generalitat de Catalunya, focuses on the analysis of certain processes of victimisation and de-victimisation, including those related to gender-based violence, human trafficking, policies to tackle prostitution and the online sexual victimisation of minors, as well as the study and development of the legal status of victims.

Published
2025-10-30
How to Cite
Villacampa Estiarte, Carolina. 2025. “Trafficking in Human Beings for Criminal Exploitation or Forced Criminality: European Legal Analysis”. Deusto Journal of European Studies, no. 73 (October), 59-89. https://doi.org/10.18543/ced.3352.
Issue
No. 73 (2025)
Section
Articles

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