Forced labour, forced marriage most common forms of human trafficking in Finland

A total of 371 new referrals were registered in the National Assistance System (NAS) for Victims of Human Trafficking in Finland in 2024, which was about 27% less than the previous year, said the Finnish Immigration Service (Migri) in a press release on Tuesday.

The NAS admitted 207 new clients who had fallen victims of trafficking in human beings. Of them, 61 per cent were women and girls.

Forced labour was the most common form of human trafficking in 2023 (45%). Forced marriage emerged as the second most common form of human trafficking (32%) before sexual exploitation.

The proportion of forced marriages has increased, but the number of forced marriage victims has remained at the same level for years. Of all the new clients, 20% were victims of sexual exploitation.

In international comparison, sexual exploitation is the most typical form of human trafficking and accounts for more than 50% of all human trafficking cases. In Finland, the share is exceptionally small.

About 44% of the new clients in 2024 had been exploited in Finland. Most of them (60%) were victims of forced labour.

The sectors included the restaurant industry, construction, forestry and cleaning.

Of those exploited in Finland, 23% were victims of forced marriage. The rest were victims of sexual exploitation (13%) or forced to engage in criminal activity.

The forms of exploitation are clearly divided by gender: Of the men who had fallen victims in Finland, 94% were victims of forced labour, whereas 49% of women were victims of forced marriage.

"According to our statistics, the number of victims has returned to its usual level, but there are still many of them. In Finland, men are more likely to fall victim to forced labour than women. On the other hand, women are typically victims of forced marriage. A clarification of the provisions on human trafficking in the Criminal Code entered into force in 2024. As a result, the criminalisation of forced marriage is clearer than before," said Katri Lyijynen, Deputy Director of the Assistance System for Victims of Human Trafficking.

At the end of 2024, the NAS had a total of 1,610 clients, of whom 1,331 were identified victims and 279 were their minor children. There were also 10 minors among the victims.