Title: COVID-19 Seen Worsening Overall Trend in Human Trafficking - World | ReliefWeb
Headings: COVID-19 Seen Worsening Overall Trend in Human Trafficking
COVID-19 Seen Worsening Overall Trend in Human Trafficking
Profile of the Victims
Profile of the Offenders
Trafficking Flows

Content: Overall, 50 per cent of detected victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, 38 per cent were exploited for forced labour, six per cent were subjected to forced criminal activity, while one per cent were coerced into begging and smaller numbers into forced marriages, organ removal, and other purposes. Victims’ profiles differ according to the form of exploitation. In 2018, most women and girls detected were trafficked for sexual exploitation, whereas men and boys were mainly trafficked for forced labour. The share of detected victims trafficked for forced labour has steadily increased for more than a decade. Victims are exploited across a wide range of economic sectors, particularly in those where work is undertaken in isolated circumstances including agriculture, construction, fishing, mining, and domestic work. Profile of the Offenders
Globally, most persons prosecuted and convicted of trafficking in persons continue to be male, with around 64 and 62 per cent respectively. Offenders can be members of organized crime groups, which traffic the great majority of victims, to individuals operating on their own or in small groups on an opportunistic basis. Traffickers see their victims as commodities without regard for human dignity and rights. They sell fellow human beings for a price that can range from tens of US dollars to tens of thousands, with large criminal organizations making the highest incomes. Traffickers have integrated technology into their business model at every stage of the process, from recruiting to exploiting victims.