Trafficking in the construction sector
In CTDC data, 2,685 victims of trafficking were trafficked into the construction sector. They represent 19% of the victims trafficked for labour exploitation.
96% of the data comes from case management data, while the rest comes from hotline data.
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To learn more about the size of the construction sector relative to other labour exploitation sectors, click here (graph Sector of labour exploitation)
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To learn more about the size of labour exploitation relative to other types of exploitation, click here (graph Exploitation type)
Profile of the recorded victims
This profile summarises the victims' most common characteristics, based on the graphs below.
The typical victim is a married male, over 30 years old. He's likely to have some secondary education or vocational training. He's from Eastern Europe, and was probably also exploited there. He is most likely to be recruited into trafficking by someone outside of his circle of family and friends. He is mostly controlled by his traffickers through false promises, confiscation of earnings, excessive working hours, restrictions of movement, psychological abuse, confiscation of documents and threats. His exploitation is not likely to last more than one year.
Compared to the rest of the dataset, the age distribution of victims in the construction sector is skewed towards the right: overall, recorded victims appear to be older in the construction sector than in the rest of the dataset, and there seem to be almost no children below the age of 10 exploited in the construction sector. About 60% of the recorded victims in the construction sector are over 30, against 30% in the rest of the dataset. In this aspect, the construction sector is similar to the agriculture sector and to the manufacturing sector.
Almost half of identified victims trafficked into construction are married, while a much smaller proportion are single. This is similar to the agriculture sector and the manufacturing sector, but contrasts with the rest of the dataset, in which nearly half of the victims are single.
The educational profile of victims trafficked into construction is unique compared to the rest of the dataset, as 38% have completed some form of technical training (vs. 24%). They are also more likely to have some secondary education. In this respect, they are similar to victims in the agriculture sector.
85% of victims of trafficking in the construction sector are exploited in their region of origin, compared to 72% in the rest of the dataset.
The vast majority of victims in CTDC data who are trafficked into construction come from Eastern Europe. To be precise, they are 73%. The next largest group is from Central Asia, constituting 22% of the people exploited in the construction sector. 78% of victims are also exploited in Eastern Europe, and 15% in Central Asia. Overall, the profile of victims trafficked into construction is close to that of victims trafficked into the agriculture sector.
For the purpose of this analysis, region refers to the UN Sub-Regions.
Compared to the rest of the dataset, the majority of victims forced to work in construction were not recruited by someone close to them. In this respect, victims of trafficking in the construction sector are similar to victims in the agriculture sector and in the manufacturing sector.
Identified victims trafficked into construction are controlled most through false promises, confiscation of earnings, excessive working hours, restriction of movement, psychological abuse, confiscation of documents and threats.
When comparing with the rest of the dataset, it appears that identified victims exploited in construction are a lot more likely to face false promises, earnings confiscation, excessive working hours and confiscation of documents. On the other hand, almost none of them were subjected to sexual abuse and psychoactive substances.
Over 80% of victims trafficked into construction were exploited for up to one year, similarly to victims in the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. From there, the frequency for number of years trafficked decreases steadily, with the longest recorded trafficking duration for a victim of trafficking at 24 years. In the rest of the dataset, the general tendency is similar, but only about 60% of the victims were in exploitation for one year or less.