As an intern at RealStars I, Frida, have primarily focused on understanding and adapting the European Commission’s report “Study on the Economic, Social and Human Costs of Trafficking in Human Beings within the EU” to a Swedish context during my eight-week internship period. RealStars believes that highlighting the key costs of human suffering, especially with a Swedish context, is essential in the fight against trafficking. It has been my responsibility to take on this challenge.
In brief, the EU Commission’s report indicates that each victim of human trafficking generates significant costs. For example, it estimates the cost at 3 million SEK for an adult and 4 million SEK for a child. A cost that is ultimately financed by society.
I initially developed a framework based on the EU Commission’s report. The framework provides an overarching outline of costs encompassing preventive work, protection and support measures, as well as police interventions, prosecution and trials. Using this framework, I have been in contact with various stakeholders, including authorities (the Gender Equality Agency, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Police, NOA, Brå, the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and regional coordinators), organizations (Mika Reception Centers), and relevant researchers in an effort to uncover the associated costs.
Reflecting on my experience with this project during my time at RealStars, I found it more challenging than anticipated to obtain cost structures from a Swedish perspective. Responses from different societal actors have been varied; some have shown disinterest or a lack of knowledge while some actors show an alarming lack of economic monitoring and understanding of how funds are utilized. Sweden should, of course, have control over cost structures at every stage of the trafficking chain, from prevention to convictions and recognize the substantial need for resources to provide protection and support to victims of prostitution and human trafficking.
Obtaining exact figures has been proven difficult, but RealStars believes it is not impossible. RealStars will continue advocating to quantify human suffering in numbers. This work is crucial for ending exploitation and creating a future societal model where we no longer need to acquire costs for protecting individuals and prosecuting perpetrators. Instead, these costs would be minimized because preventive work has effectively countered human trafficking and has ensured that women and children are not coerced or tricked into commercial sexual exploitation.
Read the report in its entirety here
