ABSTRACT
This paper examines vulnerability to human trafficking among the Roma population in Serbia. The inquiry is situated within the larger framework of discourse on human trafficking and seeks to analyse vulnerability and risk of victimization among members of a socially excluded, marginalized group. The inquiry also explores the potential for victimization to go unnoticed/unaddressed as a result of a number of factors, including structural/formal and informal mechanisms that reinforce cultural expectations and normalizations. The discussion is informed by the dynamics and complexities of victimization, including shifting patterns of victimization, the potential for participation in victimization and the role of resilience. The paper is sensitive to contested meanings of ‘victimhood’ and the role of agency, yet seeks to focus on vulnerability and risk of victimization among members of the Roma population in Serbia. The use of ‘victim’ in this paper is meant to be consistent with contextual power and agency.
