Linking Poverty, Irregular Migration and Human Trafficking: Observations from a Migrant Sending Area in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Migration literature suggests that poverty, irregular migration and human trafficking are causally linked. However, empirical studies linking these aspects of migration are scarce. This is because, as clandestine activities, data collection on these aspects of migration presents serious challenges. As a result of these challenges human trafficking is receiving less attention in both research and policy than other aspects of migration. Using observations from a migrant sending community in Zimbabwe and a review of literature, this paper argues that the problem of human trafficking could more prevalent in these areas and other parts of the country than the attention it receives from both researchers and policy makers. This is because the conditions identified in literature as linked to human trafficking are present in these areas. The absence of data on human trafficking may be a result of the employment of inappropriate methods to the studies that involve “hidden populations” such as the traffickers and the trafficked.

LWATI: A Journal of Contemporary Research, 9(3), 156-168, 2012