The risk of forced labour and exploitation that migrants and migrant workers face whilst on their undocumented journeys to Europe

Abstract
This research aims to assess the risk of forced labour and exploitation that migrants and migrant workers face whilst on their undocumented journeys to Europe. Data collection takes place through direct fieldwork in two major entry points (Sanliurfa and Van) and two major exit points (Edirne and Istanbul) of irregular migration in and from Turkey. Analysis of this data looks at both the context and environment wherein forced labour emerges as a risk or unavoidable option for undocumented migrants before, during and after smuggling. The paper considers the ways in which by criminalising migrants and undocumented forms of entry, modern immigration systems can create the very conditions for migrant labour exploitation to thrive.

Key factors
migration, labour recruitment, informality

Key outcomes
forced child labour, migrant children, informality, social norms and attitudes towards forced labour