Unraveling Human Trafficking Dynamics Amidst Mixed Migration and Global Crises

Paola Degani^1,2*

• ¹University of Padua, Padua, Italy
• ²Universita degli Studi di Padova, Padua, Italy

Over recent decades, trafficking in persons has been a very dramatic phenomenon in the framework of international migration marked by the adoption of relevant international and regional binding and politcial documents to contrast its increase and protect victims involded, starting from the UN Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime in 2000. Trafficking remains a pressing global issue, recognized as a grave crime and a grave violation of human rights. Due to its dynamic charcter and the capacity to adapt to changing at socio-political level trafficking in persons is a reality within irregular migration flows, creating complex scenarios where voluntary migration is overshadowed by coercion and vulnerability. The world of migration is a vast and diverse landscape Migration routes and the composition of migrant populations have diversified, with new connections forming between countries and regions. These emerging trends and actors play a crucial role in shaping the current landscape of human mobility, regardless of individuals' legal status. Recent studies highlight the persistent overlap between trafficking and irregular migration, emphasizing the need for nuanced understanding and response strategies. However, current legal frameworks and policy responses often fail to capture the complexity of trafficking, focusing instead on repressive measures against irregular migration particularly starting from the adoption of a very restrictive framework for international protection. Victims of severe exploitation are very often third migrants who arrive in a contry of destination irregularly, not necessarily already as trafficking persons, but exposed to a great risk of subjugation for their status, the vulnerabilty determing by the conditions they experience and the kind of control they suffer to repay the debt deal to migrate. Moreover, restrictive legal and political frameworks limit migrants' rights and freedom of movement, undermining their social capital and resources throughout the migration process. Upon arrival in destination countries, migrants face ongoing challenges due to the lack of responsive public policies addressing their needs in areas such as housing, economic opportunities, legal status, and access to social services. Consequently, their human rights are frequently disregarded.... This gap underscores the necessity for a more comprehensive approach that considers the multifaceted nature of trafficking and the diverse profiles of victims, moving beyond stereotypical narratives to embrace the full spectrum of human rights violations involved. This Research Topic convenes a series of investigations into trafficking in persons, scrutinizing the evolving dynamics, particularly in the context of mixed migration flows and recent international crises in order to uncover the underlying mechanisms that perpetuate this crime and its impact on victims. The goal is to generate a deeper understanding of the factors shaping trafficking and to identify effective strategies for prevention and protection, with a focus on human rights. The manuscripts in this thematic collection offer same example of the variety of issues that potentially can present outcomes in relation to human trafficking analyzing specific aspects or implications of this phenomen with different mehodology in some regions of the world without domesticates. This Research Topic of 4 essays bring together research writings across various disciplines to deliberate on how trafficking as political, legal, sociological, medical issue constitutes an issue tha need to be approached locally but also internationally, sectorially but also holistically.Following the essays, the first one titled "PEARR Tool Training and Implementation: Building Awareness of Violence and Human Trafficking in a Hospital System" proposed by Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique Roe-Sepowitz, Kristen BracyKristen Bracy, Holly Gibbs, Rae Lynn Stafford, Brooke Bernardin and Hanni Stoklosa illustrates the PEARR Tool-which stands for Provide privacy, Educate, Ask, Respect, and Respond-is a recognized screening and response guide developed in the United States to assist health care providers in offering trauma-sensitive care to individuals who may be affected by violence, including human trafficking, presenting the first formal evaluation of the PEARR Tool in hospital settings. The findings of the survey revealed a general increase in staff awareness regarding human trafficking, and a significant improvement in familiarity with the PEARR Tool. However, despite increased awareness, the majority of respondents had not used the tool during the study period. Among those who had used the PEARR Tool, there was a notable rise in reported ease of use and perceived utility when supporting affected patients. PEARR Tool suggests it is a promising approach to identifying and assisting victims of human trafficking in clinical settings. The second manuscript, "Toward effective protection of victims in mixed migration flows: referral mechanisms shaped on the specific needs of the person"written by Chiara Cirillo and Francesca Nicodemi (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2024.1436612/full) analyses how the traditional legal categories such as "victims," "asylum seekers," and "refugees" are increasingly interlinked and insufficient to fully capture the multifaceted nature of individual experiences and vulnerabilities in relation to the and early and prompt. The authors presents the development in Italy of promising practices aimed at enhancing coordination between the asylum and anti-trafficking systems in the context of mixed migration flows. Notably, specific Guidelines for Asylum Authorities have been introduced to enable the preliminary identification of potential trafficking victims within the asylum process and to facilitate their access to protection measures. To align with the provisions of the European Directive 2011/36/EU and its integration into national law, these Guidelines have established a referral mechanism between asylum authorities and antitrafficking entities-an approach considered unique within the European context. This paper seeks to outline this good practice, evaluating its implementation and legal impact, while also addressing its limitations. Another paper written by Sasha Baglay and Idil Atak is an Original Research on "Data Collection and Reporting on Human Trafficking in Canada" explores the challenges of data collection in Canada's anti-human trafficking efforts, with a focus on identifying existing statistical sources and encouraging dialogue around data accuracy and accessibility. The analysis reveals that current datasets are predominantly crime-focused, underscoring the need for more comprehensive and nuanced data practices. The manuscript employs a conceptual framework grounded in open government principles, emphasizing the importance of transparency, data accessibility, and Access to Information (ATI) mechanisms for fostering democratic accountability and public engagement. Structured in four sections, the article outlines international standards for human trafficking data collection; frames the issue within the context of open government values; examines the unique challenges of data reporting in Canada and hares practical insights from the authors' own data collection efforts through ATI requests. In conclusion, this perspective article raises critical questions to inform future improvements in human trafficking data collection and reporting, calling for a shift toward more transparent, inclusive, and policy-relevant data systems. To close this review, "The new slave trade in Libya: evaluating the modern humanitarian crisis (2015-2024)" of Festus Jusu Lahai, discusses same criticalities about the role of Lybia in relation to the treatment suffered by a moltitude of migrants crossing this country during their jouney. It is evident that modern slavery in Libya, exemplified by the commodification of migrants in detention centers and open-air slave markets, reflects deep-seated global inequalities and geopolitical complicity. This qualitative study employs a Marxist analytical framework, using Libya as a case study and drawing on reports from NGOs and IGOs-including the IOM, MSF, and HRW-to expose how neoliberal capitalism, imperialist interventions, and entrenched racial hierarchies sustain contemporary human trafficking. Following NATO's 2011 intervention and the toppling of Gaddafi, Libya's welfare infrastructure collapsed, enabling armed militias to seize control of oil resources-representing 85% of national revenue-and to exploit migration routes for profit. Between 2017 and 2023, EU migration policies directed €455 million to Libyan militias, which intercepted over 38,000 migrants at sea. This collaboration coincided with systemic human rights abuses, including torture and forced labor affecting 73% of intercepted migrants, alongside a marked increase in Mediterranean crossing fatalities, reaching 1 in 23 during this period. Through a Marxist lens, sub-Saharan Africans, often displaced by IMF-imposed austerity measures and climate-related crises, are positioned as a global "reserve army of labor"-vulnerable, exploitable, and rendered disposable under global capitalism. Racial capitalism compounds this vulnerability, with Black migrants disproportionately subjected to enslavement and abuse. Corporate complicity, such as ENI's oil extraction operations enabled through trafficker partnerships, underscores the transnational nature of exploitation. In response, the study advocates for structural reforms, including: redirecting EU funds toward climate resilience in the Sahel; prosecution of traffickers and complicit corporations through mechanisms like the ICC and Magnitsky sanctions; strengthening local governance and civil society; expanding legal migration pathways; and enforcing binding corporate accountability standards. To conclude, the articles in this collection trace different aspect of the the migration phenomeno origin considering trafficking under different angles of observation. The articles move from theory and empirics, crossing ad hoc issues and single-country settings.