New Roadmap Offers Guidance on Combatting Labour Exploitation in Sweden

The Council of the Baltic Sea States (CBSS) and the Swedish Gender Equality Agency (Jämställdhetsmyndigheten) have published a new roadmap aimed at strengthening Sweden’s response to trafficking for forced labour and labour exploitation.

The publication, Effectively Identifying, Disrupting and Countering THB for Labour Exploitation: A Roadmap for Sweden, offers practical guidance based on national and international research, study visits, and expert consultations.

It marks the culmination of the joint five-year CAPE project (Competence building, Assistance provision and Prosecution of labour Exploitation cases), presenting its key findings and recommendations aimed at improving institutional responses to trafficking for labour exploitation.

“The roadmap is not just a summary – it’s a concrete way forward,” said Paulina Bolton, an investigator at the Swedish Gender Equality Agency.

Drawing on evidence from Sweden, Belgium, Finland and Germany, as well as interviews conducted in 2024 with Swedish institutions and NGOs, the roadmap outlines several key findings and recommendations:

• Corporate sustainability efforts and public authority actions must be closely coordinated.
• The judicial system needs to allocate greater resources to investigating trafficking cases.
• Courts must gain a deeper understanding of victims’ lived experiences.
• Joint inspections should be guided by a clear and coherent strategy.
• Workers must be able to assert their rights and access legal support.

The CAPE project has also enabled the exchange of international experience, providing Sweden and the CBSS Member States with insights into comparative approaches to addressing labour exploitation. Over the past five years, the initiative has contributed to greater awareness of trafficking for labour purposes and informed the development of relevant policy frameworks.

The full roadmap is available in English and can be accessed here.