The modern slavery of 21st century is trafficking human beings and has become a global threat. It is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights, attacking the liberty, integrity and dignity of men, women and children.
What is human trafficking?
According to article 3, paragraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons known as Palermo Protocols adopted in 2000 by the UN General Assembly and accepted by over 150 countries:
Trafficking in Persons as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
Human exploitation shall include, at a minimum: all forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs, immigration.
How many human beings are trafficked in the world today?
According to recent international reports from the International Labor (ILO), Walk Free, and global partner organization:
- An estimated 50 million people worldwide are currently living in modern slavery.
- Of these, approximately 28 million people are in forced labour.
- Around 22 million people are living in forced marriages.
- Women and girls remain disproportionately affected, especially in situations of sexual exploitation and forced marriage.
- Nearly one in eight victims of forced labour is a child.
- The Asian-Pacific region continues to account for the highest number of victims, followed by Africa, Europa and Central Asia.
- Human trafficking takes place both within national borders and across countries, often linked to poverty, vulnerability, deception, and abuse of power.
Modern slavery remains one of the most urgent human rights challenges worldwide.
How many from this victims are rescued?
Sadly, international reports show that only a small percentage of trafficking victims are ever identified and receive protection or support. Many victims remain invisible because of fear, manipulation, dependency, or lack of recognition.
Many victims remain hidden because trafficking often goes unnoticed.
What do we know about the profit of traffickers?
- Human trafficking is one of the most profitable forms of organised crime worldwide, alongside drug trafficking and arms trafficking.
- According to international estimates, forced labour and sexual exploitation generate approximately 150 billion dollars in illegal profits each year.
A large part of these profits comes from:
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- $99 billion from commercial sexual exploitation
- $34 billion from construction, manufacturing, mining and utilities
- $9 billion from agriculture, including forestry and fishing
- $8 billion from domestic work performed under forced labour conditions
- Although not all victims of human trafficking are sexually exploited, sexual exploitation remains one of the most profitable forms of trafficking worldwide.
- International studies show that sexual exploitation generates a disproportionately high share of illegal profits because victims can be exploited repeatedly over long periods of time.
- According to international estimates, the profits generated through sexual exploitation remain significantly higher than in many other sectors of forced labour.
- Research also shows that trafficking networks often earn large amounts of money from a small number of victims, making sexual exploitation one of the most financially attractive forms of organised crime for traffickers.
What are the characteristics of trafficking in human beings?
- Trafficking in human beings is the modern slavery of 21th century and it includes slavery, forced labour, abuse of trust, physical and psychological aggression, violence.
- Economic aspects of trafficking in human beings imply: huge profits, regional and international networking, illicit circulation of money, such as money laundering.
- As a phenomenon, the traffic is generated and sustained by the following factors: spiritual poverty, accentuating poverty of victims, migration, poor educational level, lack of self-confidence, failures in life, adventurous spirit, the desire for quick enrichment, etc.
- From the perspective of social values, trafficked persons are reduced to a merchandise level; they are gradually dehumanized, suffering traumas sometimes for their entire life.
- The purpose of traffickers is to carry out criminal activities continually because it generates huge profits for them.
Classification of trafficking in human beings
Sexual exploitation – happens when someone uses force, violence, fraud, or coercion to obligate a child, woman, or man to practice commercial sex acts. Commercial sex acts include: prostitution, pornography, any sexual performance in exchange for money, drugs, shelter, food, or clothes.
Forced labour – represents any work or service which people are forced to do against their will, under threat of punishment without pay or a little.
In 1930, the International Labour Organization said: “Forced or compulsory labour is all work or service which is expected from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or offered himself voluntarily.”
Bonded labour is a person’s pledge of labour or services as security for the repayment of a debt or other obligation. The services required to repay the debt may be undefined, and the services’ duration may be undefined. Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation.
Domestic involuntary servitude is the way a person is forced to live and work in the same place for very little or no pay.
Children’s exploitation – involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, housing, or reception of children for exploitation. In many cases, they are sexually exploited, including by forcing them into prostitution or other forms of sexual activity such as infantile pornography. Child exploitation may also involve slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the use of children for organ trafficking, illegal adoption, early marriage, military recruitment (child soldiers), or begging.
Organ trafficking – The 2008 Declaration of Istanbul was the first document to define organ trafficking. According to this declaration, organ trafficking is: “the recruitment, transport, transfer, harboring or receipt of living or deceased persons or their organs by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving to, or the receiving by, a third party of payments or benefits to achieve the transfer of control over the potential donor, for exploitation by the removal of organs for transplantation.”
Who is involved in trafficking?
Trafficking in human beings involves individuals and legal entities.
- The individual entities are: recruiting agents, smugglers, accomplices from various spheres of activity, etc.
- The legal entities are: hotels, models’ agencies, travel agencies, transport companies, video production and distribution companies of DVDs, publishers, sex shops, companies that offer striptease shows, massage parlours, karaoke bars, etc.
Who are the traffickers?
- Traffickers come from all of life and socio-economic backgrounds.
- They can be men or women, or even teens or college students. Traffickers include family members, friends, boyfriends, strangers, and acquaintances. In general, the trafficking is being run by gangs and organized crime, small groups and occasional traffickers.
How they recruit victims
Traffickers use different ways to recruit their victims:
- lure victims with false promises of jobs, such as modelling, dancing, etc.
- sale by family
- Loverboy or Romeo pimp – pretend to romance victims, then force or manipulate them into prostitution
- kidnap and beat victims into submission until they agree to have sex with strangers. These pimps are the most violent and brutal
- introducing them to drugs and/or alcohol, then forcing them into prostitution
- abduction
- false immigration – false documents, fake marriage
- trafficked by friend or family
- recruitment through former slaves or former victims of any kind of trafficking
- other
Where find traffickers the victims?
- Social network
- Home neighbourhood
- Clubs, bars, or disco
- Internet
- School
Traffickers use violence, fear, threats, and intimidation to ensure compliance and meet demand.
Who are the victims?
The victims of human trafficking can be divided in three categories:
- Children under the age of 18 – lured into commercial sex.
- Children and adults induced to perform labour or service through force, fraud, or coercion.
- Adults – age 18 or over – induced into commercial sex through force, violence, fraud, and coercion.
So the victims are women, men, children, youth, those foreign to a nation and the country’s own citizens.
The background of the victims
While there isn’t one face of a human trafficking victim, certain populations are more vulnerable, including runaway and homeless youth, children and youth in foster care/orphanages, individuals fleeing violence/war or natural disasters, individuals with a disability, and those who have suffered other types of abuse or exploitation in their lifetimes.
The background of victims can be classified according to the abusive nature of the acts performed on them.
There are three aspects underlying the profile of a trafficked person:
- Social Aspect – psychological and/or physical abuse, sexual abuse (mostly by a family member) and/or rape, lack of decision-making power, supervision to prevent the movement or free movement of victims, lack of access to the medical services, the obligation to consume alcohol and/or drugs, forced abortion, malnutrition, forcing the victim to recruit in turn relatives or friends.
- Legal aspects – dispossession of identity papers, possession and use of false documents, threats of surrender to the police (in the case of illegal migration).
- Economic aspect – is aimed at the debt burden on retention of undue payments.