Human trafficking and modern slavery do not discriminate; they affect all genders and all ages. 71% of trafficking victims around the world are women and girls and 29% are men and boys.
Who is Vulnerable? Human trafficking can happen to anyone but some people are more vulnerable than others. Significant risk factors include recent migration or relocation, substance use, mental health concerns, involvement with the children welfare system and being a runaway or homeless youth.
Victims of human trafficking can be young children, teenagers, men and women. They can be U.S. citizens, Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) or foreign nationals, and they can be found in urban, suburban, and rural areas.
However, vulnerable populations who have little social and legal protection are the most at risk. The majority of victims are women—70 percent—and risk for women may be heightened further in areas where extreme gender discrimination prevails.
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).
Children are targets for human traffickers because of the vulnerability that they possess, giving traffickers the ability to manipulate them with empty promises, romantic relationships, or gifts. Human traffickers see children as vulnerable and easy to manipulate, especially if that child has low self-esteem.
Every year 300,000 children are taken from all around the world and sold by human traffickers as slaves. 28% of the 17,000 people brought to the United States are children—about 13 children per day.
Trafficking is used for a wide variety of purposes, such as domestic, agricultural or sweatshop labour, marriage and prostitution. Australia is a destination country for victims of trafficking, and evidence suggests the majority are women trafficked into debt-bonded prostitution.
In 2021, the government referred 150 cases of suspected trafficking crimes for possible investigation, compared with 233 cases the previous year, which had included cases of exit trafficking, organ trafficking, harboring, and forced marriage.
Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old. If the victim is a minor, no force, fraud, or coercion is necessary to prove trafficking.
While the true scale of human trafficking and modern slavery is an unknown, there are an estimated 49.6 million victims trapped in modern-day slavery.
Trafficking is where children and young people tricked, forced or persuaded to leave their homes and are moved or transported and then exploited, forced to work or sold. Children are trafficked for: sexual exploitation. benefit fraud.
Many sex traffickers lure victims by providing basic survival needs. They systematically provide distorted versions of higher needs to manipulate victims. Using threats, force and coercion, traffickers exploit the fact that, for many victims, “the life” may be their first experience of 'family' and belonging.
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.
Someone may be experiencing labor trafficking or exploitation if they: Feel pressured by their employer to stay in a job or situation they want to leave. Owe money to an employer or recruiter or are not being paid what they were promised or are owed. Do not have control of their passport or other identity documents.
Sexual exploitation and forced labour
The most common form of human trafficking detected by national authorities is trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Be careful about posting too much personal information online and do not trust "friendly" strangers on social media that know too much about you or say just the right thing. Stay vigilant and don't "look" like easy prey. Traffickers go after those they perceive as vulnerable and meek.
Taiwan is ranked as one of the best countries in the latest U.S. Department's report for its efforts against human trafficking.
Traffickers will then target and recruit their victims by appearing to offer help or pretending to be a friend or potential romantic partner. They take advantage of their victims' vulnerabilities and coerce them into meeting in person.