The unspoken phenomenon: Forced labour in Hungary: Przemilczane zjawisko: praca przymusowa na Węgrzech

Abstract

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.