December 15, 2024, GNV News

On December 11, 2024, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released its 2024 report on human trafficking. According to the report, the number of human trafficking victims worldwide increased by 25% between 2019 and 2022, with a particularly sharp rise in cases for the purpose of forced labor. There is also an increase in child victims, especially girls. Girls are often trafficked for sexual exploitation, while boys are frequently trafficked for forced labor and forced criminality. In addition, 61% of human trafficking victims are women and girls. While the trafficking of women is mainly for sexual exploitation, it can also be for forced labor and domestic work.

Human trafficking often crosses borders. In this study, 31% of cross-border trafficking victims were from Africa, and many are sent to Europe and the Middle East. In Africa, deteriorating security, displacement, and climate change can be factors contributing to trafficking.

Traffickers are mostly members of organized criminal groups. Although human trafficking is a crime that is difficult to prove, convictions are increasing in some parts of Europe.

Learn more about human trafficking → “Human Trafficking: The Unreported Reality”

Germany: Poster for a campaign against the trafficking of girls (Photo: conceptphoto.info / Flickr [CC BY 2.0])