Victim identified? : how the controlling mechanisms of illegal migration are affecting to the identification of victim of human trafficking in Finland?

Abstract

This study examines how the illegal migration controlling mechanisms are affecting to the identification of victim of human trafficking in Finland. The purpose of this study is to examine the current controlling practices and their consequences in order to understand why there is a difficulty to identify the victims of human trafficking. The controlling mechanisms´ effects are examined from the Finnish Border Guard officials´ perspective by carrying out theme interviews which have been analysed by using content analysis.

The theoretical framework of the study constructs of Michel Foucault´s governmentality and Mitchell Dean´s analytics of government. The core of the theoretical framework is an argument that currently the movement of illegal migrants and their governance is placed at the centre of focus, rendering them as an object of knowledge and specific technologies. Simultaneously this has affects to the victims of human trafficking as a sub-category of illegal migration.

Main findings reveal how illegal migration is governed through border practices, legislation, and information exchange. All those mechanisms have various effects on both to the victims and to the officials. These mechanisms contain various restrictions, and give rise to the points of resistance and to specific identities. The conclusion of this study is that even though the victims are identified during the encounter with officials, the current controlling mechanisms cause the proving of victims´ existence very difficult, if not impossible. Therefore this study argues that the current controlling mechanisms are in need of review.