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    A Socio-Legal Study of Stakeholder Perspectives on the Identification of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation Across European States.


    Murphy, Muiread (2025) A Socio-Legal Study of Stakeholder Perspectives on the Identification of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Labour Exploitation Across European States. PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.

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    Abstract

    This thesis is a socio-legal analysis of stakeholder perspectives on the identification of victims of trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation (THB-LE), focusing on the practical operation of the identification procedure, multi-stakeholder cooperation and, training and awareness measures. Through 42 semi-structured interviews with labour inspectors, criminal law enforcement officials, trade unionists and representatives from non-governmental organisations, it captures bottom-up insights on the gap between the law and practice of identification. This is combined with a top-down analysis of Article 10 of the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Overall, the data highlights both limitations to the international legal framework itself, and gaps between the obligation to identify under international law and its practical realisation in Europe. The interview findings suggest that the identification procedure should be understood as encompassing the two distinct processes of detection and formal identification. Yet, Article 10 only covers formal identification. The research thus finds a significant lacuna in the legal framework. The analysis also reveals practical barriers to effective identification relating to, for example, shifting the burden of identification to victims and difficulties in distinguishing the boundary between a labour law violation and THB-LE. The thesis establishes that the enduring criminal justice approach to trafficking in human beings hinders the effectiveness of the identification procedure by limiting the formal identification process to criminal law enforcement officials. Concurrently, it reveals challenges to the substantive realisation of a multi-stakeholder integrated approach due to, inter alia, stakeholders’ conflicting agendas and the failure to adequately recognise certain labour market stakeholders, including trade unions. Finally, the thesis makes recommendations for states to improve the practice of identification, for example, by mapping the duties of relevant stakeholders to delineate areas of convergence and align their efforts.
    Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
    Keywords: Socio-Legal Study; Stakeholder Perspectives; Identification; Victims of Trafficking; Human Beings; Purpose of Labour; Exploitation; European States;
    Academic Unit: Faculty of Social Sciences > Law
    Item ID: 19927
    Depositing User: IR eTheses
    Date Deposited: 03 Jun 2025 11:08
    URI: https://mural.maynoothuniversity.ie/id/eprint/19927
    Use Licence: This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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