Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/320692 
Year of Publication: 
2024
Citation: 
[Journal:] Journal of Illicit Economies and Development (JIED) [ISSN:] 2516-7227 [Volume:] 6 [Issue:] 2 [Year:] 2024 [Pages:] 26-41
Publisher: 
LSE Press, London
Abstract: 
Despite the link between conflict and human trafficking having been globally recognised, academic inquiry investigating how the two interact continues to be limited. Given the recency of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation in February 2022, this lack of literature is even more pronounced in understanding how the risks of trafficking are developing in the current context. This paper examines extant academic literature to explore what is already known about the relationship between conflict and human trafficking, situating this within the theoretical framework of routine activity theory (RAT). It analyses governmental and non-governmental organisation reports emerging from Ukraine to contextualise the risk that is specific to those affected by the war. The paper identifies four key drivers of risk facing those in, or fleeing, Ukraine, which can heighten their vulnerability to human trafficking, before offering a novel and innovative typology of the ways that human trafficking can manifest as a result of conflict. The typology gives consideration to the direct and indirect links between conflict and trafficking, the geographical spaces in which trafficking can occur, and the specific forms that exploitation can take. By situating the paper within RAT and contextualising it with evidence from the war in Ukraine, the findings of this paper provide both theoretical and empirical insights which help to expand existing knowledge on how conflict situations can increase the risk of THB.
Subjects: 
Conflict
human trafficking
exploitation
typology
victimisation
Ukraine
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Creative Commons License: 
cc-by Logo
Document Type: 
Article

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