Despite the fact that NGOs and investigating journalism have identified cases of sham marriage involving exploitation and features of trafficking in persons, despite a world-wide campaign to fight human trafficking, and despite a growing body of research on trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation, very little research has been conducted on sham marriages for exploitative purposes. Before the HESTIA project, there have been no joint research or policy measures initiated at the European level as regards the exploitative elements of sham marriages and their potential links to human trafficking. There is, however, some research on related issues, such as forced marriages and human trafficking. This research will be briefly described in this chapter.