The Eradicating II Team participated in the 24th Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, which was held on September 13th at the Faculty of Law, University of Bucharest. Benefiting from a dedicated panel of the conference, the team seized the opportunity to highlight the project to the community of criminology in Europe. The panel showcased both the results of the first Eradicating project (Enhancing Prevention and Multi-Agency Cooperation Against Trafficking), as well as the preliminary conclusions of the needs and risk assessment conducted with LEAs, prosecutors, labour inspectors, and first-line practitioners in 6 partner countries as part of Eradicating II (Enhancing pRevention AnD multI-agenCy cooperAtion against labour TraffickING). 

The presentations included an overview of the Eradicating project and its approach, explaining how Eradicating II has been built on the results and recommendations derived from the first project. The team also shared lessons learned from the Living Lab, a series of participatory events aimed at jointly developing solutions to commonly identified problems and needs, as well as piloting, validating, and evaluating the tools developed for practitioners.

Regarding the conclusions drawn from the needs and risk assessment conducted during Eradicating II over the past few months, the team emphasised both the common needs and the specific challenges faced by the partner countries. A serious problem remains the unequal access to victim support services, such as shelter and legal aid. On the other hand, LEAs, prosecutors, and other practitioners face inconsistent or outdated legal frameworks regarding labour trafficking, a lack of expertise or resources, and lengthy legal procedures. The research also revealed that a lack of harmonisation in legal frameworks hinders the coordination of cross-border investigation and prosecution.

This is compounded by the already fragmented or ineffective communication between many national authorities. Furthermore, many THB victims are still unaware of their situation or unwilling to cooperate, which makes it difficult for authorities to identify them. As shown by some countries’ experience, the perception of labour exploitation among victims is highly influenced by differences in earnings, standards of living, or violent conflicts in their home countries, which may lead to their reluctance to self-identify as victims in host countries, in order to avoid deportation. The full analysis and recommendations derived from the needs and risk assessment will soon be published in a comparative report.

If you want to learn more about the Eradicating II panel at EUROCRIM 2024, you can read or download the book of abstracts and PowerPoint presentations showcased during the conference below:

• Book of abstracts (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EA0jAkeuGA6KdPss7J6Zr8cjCcqtnKjr/view )
• ERADICATING overview & approach: why ERADICATING II after ERADICATING ?
• Living Lab: ideas and innovative solutions against THB.
• THB trends in six countries: gaps, challenges, good practices and recommendations.
• Backing into the abyss: Romania’s struggle with THB in the context of the war in Ukraine.