Improvements as awareness spreads; rising number of convictions
- In 2003, only one-third of the countries covered by this report had legislation against human trafficking; at the end of 2008, four-fifths did. This was credited to the response to the passage of the protocol.
- At least 54 percent of responding countries have established a special antihuman-trafficking police unit, and more than half have developed a national action plan to deal with this issue.
- 91 countries (57 percent of reporting countries) reported at least one human-trafficking prosecution, and 73 countries reported at least one conviction.
- 29 percent of countries like the US, Canada, Argentina, most Southeast Asian countries, including the Philippines, Japan, Russia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, see more than 10 convictions per year.
- 17 percent of countries like Brazil, Chile, South Africa, Egypt, South Korea and even Iraq are seeing between one and 10 convictions per year.
- While the number of convictions is growing in a handful of countries, conviction rates rarely exceed 1.5 per 100,000 people.
- Not all countries are cooperating; too little information
- Progress against human trafficking is not determined by income levels but is a product of individual and national initiative.
- 14 percent of countries have no available data on trafficking like Mainland China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Libya and some Latin American countries.
- 22 percent of countries, a majority in Africa like Angola, Chad, Congo and Botswana, record no convictions because of no offense.
- According to the report, many African countries along with some high-income countries do not have comprehensive legislation on human trafficking, or only have laws that criminalize certain aspects of human trafficking like child trafficking.
Women perpetrators
- Of the 46 countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers.
- The report added female offenders have a more prominent role in trafficking in persons than in any other crime.
- 60 percent of human-trafficking convictions in Eastern Europe and Central Asia involve females.
Females are top victims as well
- In the 61 countries that supplied information on gender and age, it was found that:
66 percent of victims are female
Child victims
- 20 percent of all trafficking victims across the world are children, and in some parts of Africa and the Mekong region, children are the majority.
- Children are exploited to labor like to untangle fishing nets, sew luxury goods, or pick cocoa. Other victims are made to beg, exposed to prostitution and child pornography.
- In parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America, boys are enslaved in war zones.
- As a percentage of total human-trafficking victims in 61 countries:
13 percent were girls
9 percent were boys
Sexual exploitation no. 1 offense followed by forced labor
- 79 percent of victims suffered sexual exploitation.
- 18 percent of human trafficking is forced labor, considered the second most common.
- Forced labor may be understated since sexual exploitation is more visible—and thus, an “optical illusion,” while forced labor is hidden.
Flows of trafficking: Worldwide reach
- East Asians were detected in more than 20 countries, including Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa.
- African victims can go as far as Europe and North America.
- Latin American victims end up in North America and Europe.
- Central and Eastern European along with Central Asian Victims can end up in other part of Europe and the Middle East.
- Southeast Asian victims also end up in the Middle East.
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