Epilogue: Human Trafficking Seen from the Future
| Author | Stephan Parmentier |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370809347947 |
| Published date | 01 January 2010 |
| Date | 01 January 2010 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Epilogue: Human Trafficking
Seen from the Future
Stephan Parmentier
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Abstract
The phenomenon of human trafficking cannot be separated from a number of important changes
that have taken place in society - at both a local and global level - over the last few decades.
In addition, there have been a number of important theoretical developments, as well as the
emergence of several law enforcement models directed to combat the growing problem of
trafficking in humans. Some of these topics will be dealt with in the following paragraphs that take
the form of an epilogue to a very rich special issue.
Keywords
Globalization, Human Rights, Human Trafficking, Migration.
When the editors of this special issue on human trafficking invited me to make a short
contribution, I immediately accepted their invitation. Given the complexity of this phe-
nomenon both the lawyer and sociologist in me were drawn to it and I am therefore espe-
cially pleased to be given this opportunity to offer a number of reflections. In consultation
with the editors this commentary has been entitled an epilogue, not a conclusion in the
traditional sense of the word, let alone an attempt to summarize the many stimulating
thoughts formulated in the preceding contributions. My limited and modest reflections
will largely take the previous contributions as a point of departure, and be grounded partly
in my own research pertaining to criminology and human rights.1 Furthermore, since
these notes were finalized in Onati, Spain – literally in the shade of the International
Institute for the Sociology of Law – I was also inspired by some concepts stemming from
socio-legal studies.2
Let me first make some comments on the practice of human trafficking. Almost all con-
tributors to this special issue have noted that estimates of the incidence of this crime are high
but are far from complete or reliable. The estimates range anywhere between 1 and 2 million
persons per year trafficked worldwide for forced labour, domestic servitude or sexual
exploitation, and between 200,000 and 500,000 women trafficked into Western Europe
Corresponding author:
Stephan Parmentier, Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), Herbert Hooverplein 10, mailbox 3418,
Leuven, Belgium
Email: Stephan.Parmentier@law.kuleuven.be
Epilogue
European Journal of Criminology
7(1) 95–100
© The Author(s) 2010
Reprints and permission: http://www.
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370809347947
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