Publisher's Synopsis
The cross-border mobility of people in Europe continues to cause anxiety for the authorities. Their anxiety is heightened when such mobility is the illegal crossing of borders and the exploitation of people, whether that exploitation is sexual, in the construction industry, or agriculture. The illegal crossing of borders takes many forms, with human trafficking being the most extreme. There are other forms of illegal people movement that include the smuggling of women over borders for exploitation in the sex industry. However, many sex workers are not dragged into the sex service industry against their will. For many women, it is an economic option of last resort. For others, it is a real (temporary) job for which they are prepared to be smuggled across borders, sometimes under dangerous conditions. There are cases of women being smuggled by Bedouins on camels through the desert into Israel. Other women are involved with Bulgarian organized crime syndicates, which have connections across European sex lines from the streets in Sofia to top brothels in Berlin and London. This book brings together the reports and studies of expert European researchers in the field of human trafficking. It spans a decade of trafficking research and law enforcement activity. This is an important study because the effects of globalization are still being felt by those who are forced into debasing working conditions, or who roam around in the European continent looking for a better existence. The book provides a window through which to explore their experiences.
