Demand in the context of trafficking in human beings in the domestic work sector in France

Abstract

The fight against trafficking in human beings (THB) is now part of the French political agenda. Yet the priority is given to the fight against sexual exploitation while labour exploitation is still regarded as a minor phenomenon. The particular issue of exploitation in domestic work has not been considered on its own even if France has been condemned twice by the European Court of Human Rights for failing to protect victims in two cases of exploitation in domestic work. Since then, the law has been amended, and we have to wait until we can assess the effectivity of this new legal framework. The issue of demand remains a blind spot in terms of how THB is understood. The public declarations of government’s commitment to the fight against THB provide a contrast with the low number of convictions actually brought down by the courts. The research highlights the difficulties faced by labor inspectorates and legal actors in establishing cases of THB in domestic work. This is linked with the characteristic of this work sector, but also with confusions in the understanding of what is THB, what are the victims and perpetrators profiles and the tensions between the fight against illegal immigration and the mission to protect victims of THB.