Unwelcome: a study on the Employees´ Perspective on Sex Trafficking in the Hotel industry in Amsterdam

Abstract: Sex trafficking is a form of modern slavery which includes the sexual exploitation of individuals for personal gain. It currently affects 4 million people globally, and around 9 thousand in Europe. Although it affects individuals of all genders, races and sexual orientations, women and young girls have been recognised as the most vulnerable segment, accounting for 72% of victims in Europe. Along these lines, the majority of suspected and convicted sex traffickers in Europe are male individuals. It has been described as a discrete and subtle crime, hidden in plain sight, affecting every facet of society. In the tourism industry, the most affected segment is the hotel sector, which possesses some characteristics which act as enablers of sex trafficking. However, previous research has failed to properly identify such characteristics. In fact, sex trafficking is generally a highly neglected topic in research. To fill the current research gap, the thesis aimed at identifying, from employees´ perspective, the factors of the hotel industry which act as sex trafficking enablers in Amsterdam. The latter was chosen as focus area mainly because of its legislate on on prostitution, which was legalised in 1999. Previous research has recognised such legalisation as a challenge for institutions fighting sex trafficking, and various authors have recognised the importance of scientific research to solve the issue in the area. Through 15 individual interviews and two online questionnaires, this thesis identified 15 factors which act as crime enablers in the hotel industry in Amsterdam. They have been divided into macro, meso or micro level, depending on their nature. Among the main findings there are: the impact of current legislations, the police, hospitability and transiency, training and ease of access. These findings stand out because redeemed as having the most potential in contributing to fighting the issue, if properly taken into consideration. They summarize the need for a proper support system designed by the police and the government, which takes into consideration hospitability and transiency as characteristics of the hotel industry exploited by sex traffickers and takes a closer look at hotels with inappropriate training and ease of access to the hotel rooms, as these might be more susceptible to sex trafficking. The thesis is descriptive in nature; thus, it does not aim at finding solutions to the findings. The thesis concludes by giving suggestions of further research, such as adopting a strategic approach to find solutions to the identified factors.