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Constructions of migrant victims of labor exploitation in Nordic court cases

Schoultz, Isabel LU orcid ; Spanger, Marlene ; Jokinen, Anniina ; Økland Jahnsen, Synnøve ; Muhire, Heraclitos LU and Pekkarinen, Anna-Greta (2023) In International Review of Victimology
Abstract (Swedish)
The aim of this article is to explore how courts produce certain representations of victims of labor exploitation in the Nordic context based on court judgements from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. To achieve this, we analyze and compare criminal court judgements focused on the exploitation of migrant workers by asking: How are ‘victims’ of labor exploitation represented in Nordic court judgements? What is left unproblematic and silenced? In each country, we have identified criminal court cases that have legally examined aspects of the exploitation of migrant workers, in total, 91 court judgements. Drawing on Bacchi’s (2009) WPR-approach, we can show that the representations of victims apparent in the court judgements involve a... (More)
The aim of this article is to explore how courts produce certain representations of victims of labor exploitation in the Nordic context based on court judgements from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. To achieve this, we analyze and compare criminal court judgements focused on the exploitation of migrant workers by asking: How are ‘victims’ of labor exploitation represented in Nordic court judgements? What is left unproblematic and silenced? In each country, we have identified criminal court cases that have legally examined aspects of the exploitation of migrant workers, in total, 91 court judgements. Drawing on Bacchi’s (2009) WPR-approach, we can show that the representations of victims apparent in the court judgements involve a legal construction of vulnerability that is reserved for the most marginalized migrant workers. The narrow representation silences the broader socio-economic context in which migrant workers exist. Our results also indicate that the threshold for being defined as a victim of labor exploitation is lower in some of the Nordic countries and higher in others. Thus, while there is a normative consensus that the exploitation of migrant workers should be prosecuted, in practice the court judgements reflect substantial differences in the legal interpretations applied across the Nordic countries.

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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
in
International Review of Victimology
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • scopus:85163046065
ISSN
0269-7580
DOI
10.1177/02697580231174912
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
3b02d3ef-c383-497f-9f41-47d6e30f1356
date added to LUP
2023-05-01 22:21:02
date last changed
2023-08-06 04:00:07
@article{3b02d3ef-c383-497f-9f41-47d6e30f1356,
  abstract     = {{The aim of this article is to explore how courts produce certain representations of victims of labor exploitation in the Nordic context based on court judgements from Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. To achieve this, we analyze and compare criminal court judgements focused on the exploitation of migrant workers by asking:  How are ‘victims’ of labor exploitation represented in Nordic court judgements? What is left unproblematic and silenced? In each country, we have identified criminal court cases that have legally examined aspects of the exploitation of migrant workers, in total, 91 court judgements.  Drawing on Bacchi’s (2009) WPR-approach, we can show that the representations of victims apparent in the court judgements involve a legal construction of vulnerability that is reserved for the most marginalized migrant workers. The narrow representation silences the broader socio-economic context in which migrant workers exist. Our results also indicate that the threshold for being defined as a victim of labor exploitation is lower in some of the Nordic countries and higher in others. Thus, while there is a normative consensus that the exploitation of migrant workers should be prosecuted, in practice the court judgements reflect substantial differences in the legal interpretations applied across the Nordic countries. <br/><br/>}},
  author       = {{Schoultz, Isabel and Spanger, Marlene and Jokinen, Anniina and Økland Jahnsen, Synnøve and Muhire, Heraclitos and Pekkarinen, Anna-Greta}},
  issn         = {{0269-7580}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{International Review of Victimology}},
  title        = {{Constructions of migrant victims of labor exploitation in Nordic court cases}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02697580231174912}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/02697580231174912}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}