Logo: to the web site of the Swedish Defence University

The purpose of this study is to examine which security approach dominates Sweden’s strategy for combating human trafficking. The two approaches covered in this essay are the state- centred perspective, and the individual-centred perspective. These approaches are being used because those two approaches are on each end of the security spectrum, and it is important to discover from what approach Sweden is working. This is important because it might help us to get a bigger understanding on why certain policies are being made. It could also help us to understand the obstacles that might appear when actors work from different approaches, and the effects this might have for the people involved in human trafficking. This research paper attempts to answer the questions:

From an analysis of Sweden’s work in combating human trafficking, is the state-centred or the individual- centred security perspective the most prominent?

And

Does the different actors covered in this study work from different security perspectives while combating human trafficking?

The study is a qualitative study based on written materials and semi-structured interviews with human trafficking experts, police and policy makers. The conclusion of the study is that Sweden does not have a single approach in its security perspective towards human trafficking and that there is a slight difference among the actors from what perspective they are working to combat human trafficking. However, the research highlighted that the majority of the studied sources do state that the individual should be seen as the security focal-point in regards to human trafficking. The difference in how these two security perspectives are viewed leads to a discrepancy between the set security goal and the actual work carried out to combat human trafficking.