New clients who were exploited in Finland in early 2022

Of the 139 new clients in the first half of 2022, 66 were estimated to have been exploited in Finland. Three of them were minors during the exploitation and when admitted as clients in the NAS. In many cases the exploitation had not taken place during 2022 but during previous years.  

The 66 new clients exploited in Finland represented 19 different nationalities, of which the most common nationalities were Iraq, Finland, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Afghanistan, Russia and Morocco. The exploitation, for example a forced marriage, may have started outside Finland and continued in Finland, or it may have taken place in Finland from start to finish. 

No referrals concerning Ukrainian citizens exploited in human trafficking in Finland were received in the first half of 2022. Other calls for help and advice relating to Ukrainians working in Finland have, however, been received.  

Labour exploitation in several fields

Human trafficking related to forced labour and labour exploitation were again the most commonly identified form of exploitation in Finland: a total of 38 new clients were assessed to have been victims of such exploitation. Exploitation was identified at several different fields of work, especially at the restaurant and cleaning industries, but also at the beauty industry (barber shops) and at car washes. 

16 new clients were assessed to have been victims of human trafficking related to sexual exploitation, including exploitation in prostitution. 11 new clients had been exploited in a forced marriage, and one person in human trafficking for benefit fraud. While exploitation in criminal activity was not identified as the main form of exploitation, many clients had fallen victim to more than one form of human trafficking, including exploitation in criminal activity.

The vast majority of the 66 new clients exploited in Finland wanted to report the crimes against them to the police. In some cases, the police have initiated pre-trial investigations to human trafficking or aggravated human trafficking, but in some, the crimes have been evaluated by the police as other than human trafficking crimes. 

New clients are admitted in the NAS at a low threshold, based mainly on the presumed victim’s own account on what has happened. This is why it is likely that persons who have fallen victim to crimes resembling human trafficking, are also admitted as clients, as long as some references to human trafficking can be identified. 

Graph 7. New clients by form and place of exploitation (139)

Graph 10. New clients exploited in Finland by age and gender (66)

Graph 11. New clients exploited in Finland by residence status (66)