Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has a report on the tactic of “Happy Trafficking,” a method of recruitment used by Human Traffickers.

From Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty:

The antitrafficking community — allying government officials, multinational organizations, and civil-society activists — fears that the prevalence of a tactic known as “happy trafficking” could extend the reach of traffickers and exacerbate the problem.

The method minimizes risks to organizers and maximizes profits in a sort of human pyramid scheme. It combines physical and psychological pressure with financial and other incentives to turn victims into proxy recruiters and, eventually, traffickers.

In part to avoid detection by authorities, traffickers pledge to release some victims — and even reward them financially — on condition that they return to their home countries and recruit one or more women to replace them. “Happy” refers to recruiters’ practice of pretending to have had an ideal experience in legitimate jobs in the West or elsewhere, hiding the fact that they’d been forced into prostitution themselves.

International media first signaled the emergence of “happy trafficking” in the Balkans and Italy, but campaigners warn that it has become common practice in many parts of the world.

Human Trafficking is a $32 billion industry worldwide.