During the 16th century, Portugal began traveling overseas to Africa to purchase or capture people, enslave them, and take them back to Europe. Other European nations followed. 1525 marked the first slave voyage from Africa to the Americas.
Trafficking of women into the United States for sexual exploitation first came to the nation's attention between 1860 and World War I. Human trafficking is a lucrative illicit business.
The cause of human trafficking stems from adverse circumstances in origin countries, including religious persecution, political dissension, lack of employment opportunities, poverty, wars, and natural disasters.
In 1999, the Commonwealth amended the Criminal Code Act 1995 to implement the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime relating to slavery, sexual servitude and deceptive recruiting ...
California has consistently had the highest number of human trafficking cases. 1,334 cases were reported in 2021, while 1,507 cases were recorded in the previous. A large number of these cases come from San Jose, California.
Australia is a destination country for victims of trafficking, and evidence suggests the majority are women trafficked into debt-bonded prostitution. Recent years have seen many changes in international and national responses to, and legislation on, trafficking in persons.
Using this technique, it is estimated that the number of human trafficking and slavery victims in Australia in 2015–16 and 2016–17 was between 1,300 and 1,900. This means there are approximately four undetected victims for every victim detected.
Australia (Tier 1)
The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Australia remained on Tier 1.
But as is the case in many crimes of exploitation and abuse, human traffickers often prey upon members of marginalized communities and other vulnerable individuals, including children in the child welfare system or children who have been involved in the juvenile justice system; runaway and homeless youth; unaccompanied ...
How do Traffickers Control Victims? Traffickers employ a variety of control tactics, the most common include physical and emotional abuse and threats, isolation from friends and family, and economic abuse. They make promises aimed at addressing the needs of their target in order to impose control.
While boys and men are victims as well, most individuals identified as trafficked for both labor and commercial sex are women and girls. For every 10 victims detected globally, five are adult women and two are girls, according to a report released in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (PDF, 18MB).
With an estimated 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers prey on people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit.
Regionally, child trafficking is quite common in Africa, particularly West Africa, where nearly all human trafficking victims are children. Child trafficking is also very common in Asia's Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, parts of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Australia has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and its supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Trafficking Protocol).
If you or someone you know is in, or at risk of human trafficking or slavery, you can contact the Australian Federal Police (AFP) on 131 237 (131AFP) or go to the AFP website at www.afp.gov.au for help.
Global Impact
Women are most commonly trafficked to Belgium, Italy, Lebanon, Libya, the Netherlands, Nigeria, and the United States. Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and the United States are also common destination countries for trafficked Nigerian women.
Aggravated human trafficking
The maximum penalty is 12 years in prison. The offence is aggravated if the person trafficking knows that the victim will be exploited, or if the victim is treated in a way that is cruel or degrading or if there is a danger to them of death or serious harm.
Some indications that a person may be a victim of human trafficking include (especially in the case of women and children): Appearing malnourished. Showing signs of physical injuries and abuse. Avoiding eye contact, social interaction, and authority figures/law enforcement.
Human trafficking is a heinous crime that exploits the most vulnerable. The victims, who are mostly women and children, are deprived of their normal lives and compelled to provide labour or sexual services, through a variety of coercive practices, often for the direct profit of their perpetrators.
China, the world's second-most populous country, has the second highest number of human trafficking victims in the world. It is a country of origin, destination, and transit for sexually trafficked persons. Sex trafficking victims in the country are from all ethnic groups in China and foreigners.