You have full access to this open access article. Despite considerable concern about how human trafficking offenders may use the Internet to recruit their victims, arrange logistics or advertise services, the Internet-trafficking nexus remains unclear.
This study explored the prevalence and correlates of a set of commonly-used indicators of labour trafficking in online job advertisements. Taking a case study approach, we focused on a major Lithuanian website aimed at people seeking work abroad. The vast majority While there may be value in screening job advertisements to identify potential labour trafficking and exploitation, additional information is needed to ascertain actual labour trafficking.
We conclude with an outlook on automated approaches to identifying cases of possible trafficking and a discussion of the benefits and ethical concerns of a data science-driven approach.
Although the scale of human trafficking Footnote 1 remains highly contested, recent decades have seen a rapid increase in legislation, policy-making, practical interventions and research designed to tackle this complex phenomenon Cockbain and Bowers ; Gozdziak and Bump ; Weitzer ; Gallagher Among other socio-economic and socio-political factors, the globalisation of the world economy is thought to have expanded the transnational market for human trafficking Aronowitz People can be trafficked for various purposes, including sexual exploitation, domestic servitude exploitation within a private household , organ harvesting or labour exploitation across numerous licit and illicit markets UNODC ; Cockbain and Bowers ; Cockbain and Olver This paper focuses specifically on trafficking for labour exploitation, hereafter "labour trafficking".
One of the pillars of the European Union EU is the free movement of people and goods across its Member States: while providing significant economic benefits McCreevy , it can also make it easier for offenders to move victims between countries.
