The unspoken phenomenon: Forced labour in Hungary

• Authors: Szandra Windt

Title variants

PL

Przemilczane zjawisko: praca przymusowa na Węgrzech

Abstracts

PL

According to official criminal statistics, a total of 36 registered forced labour crimes were committed in Hungary between 2013 and 2019. Forced labour (Section 193 of the Criminal Code) was a separate statutory element in Hungary between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2020. In 2019, nearly 40 forced labour cases were analysed, the sociological and criminological characteristics of which are summarised and shown in this article following the statistical review. Based on the cases we examined, it can be said that the victim has alcohol problems, is homeless and unemployed, is in extremely poor health condition, has a low intellectual level and is elderly. In terms of their gender, there was a significant number of men among the victims of forced labour. Victims of forced labour and those crimes that were committed against them are even more hidden, even more difficult to detect and to prove than are acts of sexual exploitation. These people are a ‘hidden population’, statuses such as ‘subtenants’ or ‘accepted relatives’ obviously do not reveal the real situation to police officers arriving on the scene. It is possible that this situation prevails for years and is not brought to the authorities.   Jak podają oficjalne statystyki dotyczące przestępczości, w latach 2013-2016 na Węgrzech zarejestrowano 36 przestępstw związanych z pracą przymusową. W okresie od 1 lipca 2013 r. do 30 czerwca 2020 r. czyn ten był odrębnym przestępstwem uregulowanym w art. 193 węgierskiego kodeksu karnego. W niniejszym artykule zostały przedstawione wyniki przeprowadzonych analiz – statystycznej, jak i socjologiczno-kryminologicznej dotyczącej charakterystyki 40 przypadków ofiar pracy przymusowej. Na ich podstawie można stwierdzić, że ofiary tego rodzaju przestępstwa to osoby mające problem z alkoholem, bezdomne, bezrobotne, których stan zdrowia można określić jako zły, a poziom intelektualny jako niski. Zwykle to osoby w podeszłym wieku. Wśród ofiar przeważają mężczyźni. Ofiary pracy przymusowej trudno jest zidentyfikować, a popełnione przeciwko nim przestępstwa trudno wykryć. Jest to jeszcze trudniejsze niż w przypadku przestępstwa wykorzystania seksualnego. Ofiary pracy przymusowej stanowią bowiem „ukrytą” grupę. O ich faktycznej sytuacji trudno dowiedzieć się choćby funkcjonariuszom policji w trakcie interwencji na miejscu zdarzenia, a to z uwagi na fakt, że ofiary przedstawia się jako dalekich krewnych lub osoby podnajmujące mieszkanie. Niewykluczone, że sytuacje takie trwają wiele lat, a informacje o nich nie docierają do władz.

EN

According to official criminal statistics, a total of 36 registered forced labour crimes were committed in Hungary between 2013 and 2019. Forced labour (Section 193 of the Criminal Code) was a separate statutory element in Hungary between July 1, 2013 and June 30, 2020. In 2019, nearly 40 forced labour cases were analysed, the sociological and criminological characteristics of which are summarised and shown in this article following the statistical review. Based on the cases we examined, it can be said that the victim has alcohol problems, is homeless and unemployed, is in extremely poor health condition, has a low intellectual level and is elderly. In terms of their gender, there was a significant number of men among the victims of forced labour. Victims of forced labour and those crimes that were committed against them are even more hidden, even more difficult to detect and to prove than are acts of sexual exploitation. These people are a ‘hidden population’, statuses such as ‘subtenants’ or ‘accepted relatives’ obviously do not reveal the real situation to police officers arriving on the scene. It is possible that this situation prevails for years and is not brought to the authorities.

Keywords

PL

praca przymusowa; wykorzystanie; statystyki przestępczości; ofiary

EN

forced labour; exploitation; criminal statistics; victims

• Publisher: Instytut Nauk Prawnych PAN / Institute of Legal Studies PAN
• Journal: Archiwum Kryminologii
• Year: 2021
• Issue: XLIII/1
• Pages: 119-141

Dates

published

2021

Contributors

author

Szandra Windt

• National Institute of Criminology

• https://orcid.org/0000000329285591

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Identifiers

DOI

10.7420/AK2021.03

Biblioteka Nauki

1375676