HEUNI EUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR CRIME PREVENTION AND CONTROL, AFFILIATED WITH THE UNITED NATIONS ESTONIA, IRELAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND SLOVAKIA ESTONIA, IRELAND, LATVIA, BETWEEN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SHAM MARRIAGES IN SHAM MARRIAGES:EXPLOITATIVE EXPLORING THE LINKS Minna Viuhko, Anni Lietonen, Anniina Jokinen and Matti Joutsen (eds.) EXPLOITATIVE SHAM MARRIAGES: HEUNI EXPLORING THE LINKS BETWEEN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SHAM MARRIAGES IN ESTONIA, IRELAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND SLOVAKIA minv_CMYK.pdf 1 11/23/12 7:43 AM AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING ISBN 978-952-5333-96-1 ISSN 1799-5590 82 ISSN-L 1237-4741 HEUNI European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations (HEUNI) P.O.Box 444 FIN-00531 Helsinki Finland Publication Series No. 82 EXPLOITATIVE SHAM MARRIAGES: EXPLORING THE LINKS BETWEEN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND SHAM MARRIAGES IN ESTONIA, IRELAND, LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND SLOVAKIA Minna Viuhko, Anni Lietonen, Anniina Jokinen and Matti Joutsen (eds.) Project: Preventing human trafficking and sham marriages: A multidisciplinary solution (HESTIA) Helsinki 2016 Co-funded by the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme of the European Union. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the European Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. Copies can be purchased from: HEUNI P.O. Box 444 FIN-00531 Helsinki Finland Website: http://www.heuni.fi ISBN 978-952-5333-96-1 ISSN 1799-5590 ISSN-L 1237-4741 Printed by Grano Oy, Tampere, Finland 2016 CONTENTS FOREWORD ........................................................................................................ 11 HAPPILY EVER AFTER? FROM SHAM MARRIAGES TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING .................................................................................................... 13 Minna Viuhko, Anni Lietonen and Anniina Jokinen 1. Introduction and objectives of the project ..................................................... 13 2. Concepts and definitions .................................................................................. 17 3. The legal framework and international instruments .................................... 21 4. The current situation and previous research on exploitative sham marriages and their links to trafficking in human beings ............................ 25 5. Data and Methods ............................................................................................. 30 6. Findings from the national studies .................................................................. 36 6.1 Overview of the current situation in the five countries ................................ 36 6.2 Recruitment of women into exploitative sham marriages ............................ 39 6.3 Travel to and arrival in the destination country ............................................ 42 6.4 Exploitation in the destination country ......................................................... 43 6.5 Identification of and assistance to the possible victims ................................ 45 6.6 Prevention of exploitative sham marriages ................................................... 47 7. Exploring the links between human trafficking and sham marriages......... 49 8. Conclusions and recommendations ................................................................. 56 8.1 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 56 8.2 Recommendations at the EU level ................................................................ 57 References .............................................................................................................. 61 Appendix 1: Interview framework for experts ....................................................... 66 Appendix 2: Interview framework for victims ....................................................... 70 LINKS BETWEEN THE INVOLVEMENT OF ESTONIAN WOMEN IN SHAM MARRIAGES ABROAD AND TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS ................................................................................................................. 73 Olena Valdenmaiier and Sirle Blumberg 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................... 73 2. The national context of sham marriages and human trafficking ................. 75 2.1 Structural procedures for the registration of marriage and the identification of sham marriages................................................................... 77 2.2 Legislation and relevant actors addressing sham marriages and human trafficking in Estonia .................................................................................... 80 3. Data and methods ............................................................................................. 83 3.1 Interviews with experts ................................................................................. 83 3.2 Case studies .................................................................................................. 84 3.3 Media materials ............................................................................................ 91 4. Types of sham marriages ................................................................................. 93 5. Recruitment of women into sham marriages ................................................. 96 5.1 Rationale for engaging in sham marriages abroad ....................................... 97 5.2 Recruitment via social networks ................................................................... 98 5.3 Recruitment via the Internet ....................................................................... 100 5.4 Recruitment tactics and profiles of recruiters ............................................. 102 5.5 Characteristics of women recruited into sham marriages ........................... 103 5.6 Characteristics of migrants seeking to conclude sham marriage ................ 105 6. Travel to and arrival in the destination country ......................................... 108 7. Indicators of deception and exploitation of women involved in sham marriages ......................................................................................................... 111 7.1 Fraudulent and deceptive means of securing the consent of women to sham marriages ........................................................................................... 112 7.2 Abuse of vulnerability ................................................................................ 113 7.3 Use of violence and coercion ...................................................................... 116 7.4 Living arrangements and other aspects of exploitation .............................. 118 7.5 Legal issues and negative consequences faced by women involved in exploitative sham marriages ....................................................................... 119 8. Challenges of identification and prevention of trafficking-related exploitation ...................................................................................................... 123 9. Conclusions and recommendations ............................................................... 128 References ............................................................................................................ 131 EXPLOITATIVE SHAM MARRIAGES AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN IRELAND ...................................................................................................... 134 Catherine Cosgrave, Monica O’Connor and Nusha Yonkova 1. Introduction .................................................................................................... 134 2. The legal framework relating to sham marriage and trafficking in Ireland ............................................................................................................. 136 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 136 2.2 Legal framework relating to sham marriage ............................................... 136 2.2.1 Sham marriage and judicial scrutiny ....................................................... 137 2.2.2 Recent legislative developments ............................................................. 140 2.3 Legal regulation of trafficking in Ireland ................................................... 142 2.3.1 International obligations .......................................................................... 142 2.3.2 Domestic legal framework ....................................................................... 143 2.3.3 Identification, support and assistance to victims of trafficking ............... 143 2.4 Conclusions ................................................................................................ 146 3. Research into sham marriage in Ireland ...................................................... 147 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................ 147 3.2 Methodology ............................................................................................... 147 3.3 Findings from interviews and quantitative data on the emergence of sham marriage in Ireland ............................................................................ 149 3.3.1 The understanding of the term sham marriage ........................................ 149 3.3.2 Sham marriage emerges as an issue of concern ......................................