The Problem of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking has become a serious global issue of unforeseen proportions in the twenty-first century. This has prompted a rapid proliferation of international, regional, and national anti-trafficking laws, and inspired states to devote enormous financial and bureaucratic resources to its eradication. It affects every country in the world, irrespective of socioeconomic status, history, or political structure; and most countries have become a source, a transit (a place of passing through), or a destination for victims of this heinous crime, to one degree or another. The profits from human trafficking are apparently huge, and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime names human trafficking the fastest-growing and second-most profitable form of transnational crime (next to arms and drug smuggling), undertaken by highly organized criminals (OCCRP, 2012).

Human trafficking is an organized, heinous, and grievous criminal activity involving the exploitation of individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for purposes such as forced labor, sexual exploitation, or organ harvesting. Human trafficking is often described as a modern-day form of slavery and is a grave violation of human rights.

Recent Trends and Prevalence of Human Trafficking

Over the last decade, the volume of human trafficking has increased, though the exact numbers are not known. As a global phenomenon, the reasons for its increase are multiple and complex, affecting rich and poor countries alike. Although the popular perception of trafficking is the sexual exploitation of women and children, especially girls, children are trafficked for other reasons as well. Various social, economic, and political conditions create a situation of vulnerability, especially for women and children, who are trapped in trafficking.

The need for improved international responses to human trafficking and commitment to its eradication is illustrated by its prominent inclusion in the targets of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (UN Office for Sustainable Development Goals, n.d.) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration (GCM) (Migration Data Portal, n.d.). Eradicating human trafficking is addressed specifically in SDG Targets 5.2, 8.7, and 16.2. The GCM’s First Objective calls for collecting and utilizing accurate and disaggregated data as a basis for evidence-based policies. Its 10th Objective calls for specific measures to prevent and combat trafficking in persons in the context of international migration (Migration Data Portal, 2024).

A recent study shows that cultural practices, climate changes, environmental issues, and poor governance have also increased the vulnerabilities that lead to this. Poverty, increasing trends of migration even within countries, and lack of economic opportunity are some of the major push factors (conditions driving people out of their home countries) for trafficking in women and children. The problems of commercial sex workers, urbanization and globalization, demand for cheap labor, and current trends of consumerism are some of the important pull factors (conditions bringing people into new locations). International communities, under the aegis of the United Nations (UN), constantly adopt conventions and protocols for the prevention and combating of human trafficking.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Counter Trafficking Data Collective (CTDC) is the first global data hub on human trafficking, publishing harmonized (standardized) data from counter-trafficking organizations from around the world. The CTDC dataset combines data from all CTDC data contributors (i.e., IOM, Polaris, RecollectiV, A21, and the Portuguese Observatory on Trafficking in Human Beings (OTSH)).

As per the US Department of StateTrafficking in Persons (TIP) report for 2019, there are 25 million adults and children suffering from labor and sex trafficking all over the world. In 77% of the cases, victims are trafficked within their own countries of residence, rather than across borders. In 2020, the total number of victims of trafficking detected around the world by UNODC declined for the first time in 20 years, as the pandemic limited opportunities for trafficking and its detection. In addition, this decrease could be due to some forms of trafficking—such as for sexual exploitation—moving to more hidden spaces as public venues, where sexual exploitation often takes place, were closed. (UNODC, 2022).

In the macro scenario, globalization with its dark underbelly has significant consequences for the growing gravity and magnitude of the crime, swiftly outpacing efforts to combat it. Several factors facilitate the growth of this phenomenon: the globalization of the economy, the increased demand for personal services in the developed world, the continuing rise in unemployment among men and women, and the rapid and unregulated enticement and movement of human capital via the internet. The expansion in global transportation networks, the rise of low-cost airlines, and the freedom of movement between countries have further increased the pool of potential victims.

The persistence and apparent increase in human trafficking can be partly understood in terms of the modernization/development process, a context of rapid economic transition, globalization, modernization, employment trade, etc. Poverty/inability to meet basic needs, social exclusion, insecurity, and stigmatization are often identified as initial motivating factors. The vulnerabilities of females to trafficking are rooted in the socio-economic and cultural limitations on women’s control of their life circumstances and choices, including sexual circumstances. Various legal provisions have been made to tackle the global menace of human trafficking, and more needs to be done to address the issue.

Definitions of Human Trafficking Have Evolved

Human trafficking is an organized crime. It involves trade and exploitation of children, women, and men. From an economic lens, human trafficking is a consequence of a commodification process that profits from human mobility. Every year, thousands of people fall into the hands of traffickers. (The distinction among human trafficking, “smuggling in persons” and “migration for work” depends on the extent of mediation (using someone as a go-between), the methods of traffickers, and forms of exploitation (TISS, 2019).)

The complexity of trafficking, the links with visceral issues such as commercial sex work and exploitation of children, and the politics of migration management have meant that there is much contention over the definition of trafficking and the types of policies and programming that would effectively combat it (Asian Development Bank, 2003).

The term “human trafficking,” until the 1990s, was defined in a very narrow way, and used interchangeably with “prostitution.” The most commonly used definition was:

[t]he illicit and clandestine movement of persons across national and international borders, largely, from developing countries and some countries with economies in transition, with the end goal of forcing women and girl-children into sexually or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for the profit of recruiters, traffickers and crime syndicates as well as other legal activities related to trafficking, such as forced domestic labor, false marriages, clandestine employment and false adoption.

(United Nations General Assembly, 1995)

Concerns about the perceived rise of transnational organized crime and the plight of people living in slavery-like conditions gave rise to the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, in 2000. The Protocol supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000, signed in Palermo, Italy, in December 2000; which obliges states to criminalize human trafficking. The Protocol stipulates that the consent of a victim of human trafficking to the intended exploitation by the means set forth in the definition is irrelevant. The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is the first legally binding instrument with an internationally recognized definition of human trafficking. This definition provides a vital tool for the identification of victims, whether women, children, or men; and for the detection of all forms of exploitation which constitute human trafficking:

Trafficking in persons is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or subtle inducements that take advantage of an individual’s vulnerability or the use of force or violence for the purpose of exploitation like prostitution, servitude, forced labor or services including begging, trade in organs, marriage, adoption, and child soldiers.

(United Nations, 2000)

The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, was adopted in November 2000, and is now the internationally agreed-upon definition of trafficking. Article 3(a) of this protocol defines “trafficking in persons” as:

[t]he recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or subtle inducements that take advantage of a person’s position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. (2000)

This protocol has been adopted by the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which is committed to promoting cooperation to prevent and combat transnational crime. This emphasizes the organized nature of human trafficking (OHCHR, 2000).

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000), defines “severe forms of trafficking in persons” as:

• Sex trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; (and)
• Labor trafficking: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Major Forms of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking includes several types for a variety of purposes:

Sex trafficking is human trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation (CSE), such as in brothels, sex tourism, pornography, child marriage, “massage parlors,” “call girls” (both in person and virtual), and other activities.

Labor trafficking involves trafficking for labor (work), and can include bonded labor, domestic work, agricultural labor, construction work, in industries, work in the formal and informal economy, including labor exploitation in: agriculture and fishing; domestic work; construction, mining, quarrying and brick kilns; manufacturing, processing and packaging; market trading and illegal activities; begging; child labor, especially in catering, garment, and carpet industries.

Organ trafficking is when people are trafficked so that their organs can be sold to be used as transplants. Trafficking for other illegal activities may include betting, drug peddling, and smuggling.

Other forms of trafficking have emerged in recent years; such as bride trafficking, infant trafficking, trafficking for breastfeeding, trafficking for sperm donation, trafficking for skin grafting, etc. None of the forms of trafficking are mutually exclusive and one form may overlap with another form. People can be trafficked by many means; such as physical force, or false promises made by traffickers, lure for better opportunities in life, etc. (TISS, 2019).

The Trafficking in Persons Report (2009) categorized trafficking as: forced labor, bonded labor, debt bondage among migrant laborers, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, sex trafficking, child sex trafficking and related abuses, commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), and child sex tourism (CST).

Processes and Patterns of Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is increasingly recognized as a complex process, and the factors that make an individual vulnerable to being trafficked are multifaceted. It involves a series of episodes for the trafficked person, which might start with the desire or need to leave their home/community or migrate, followed by an encounter with a trafficker, leading to coercion or deception and highly harmful and exploitative working situations. For others, it might start with family members handing over responsibility for their safety and well-being to others known to them, and then ending up being trafficked by a third set of actors. Desperate circumstances often lead migrants to make difficult decisions and lead them into situations of great risk and vulnerability.

Traffickers throughout South Asia lure their victims by offering attractive promises such as high-paying jobs, glamorous employment options, prosperity, and fraudulent marriages (Report of South Asia Workshop, 1996).

Poor households in debt or struggling with insecure livelihoods may be compelled to hand over a person or may agree to migrate legally or illegally or take a job willingly. But once that work or service is no longer voluntary, that person becomes a victim of forced labor or forced prostitution and should accordingly receive the protections of the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

The nationalities of trafficked people are as diverse as the world’s cultures. Some leave developing countries seeking to improve their lives through low-skilled jobs in more prosperous countries. Some families give children to adults, often relatives, who promise education and opportunity, but instead sell the children into exploitative situations for money. Fraudulent recruiters, employers, and corrupt officials take advantage of these people to reap profits from others’ desperation. Parents and family members are also taken in by false promises and other deceptions. However, studies confirm that victims’ family members and relatives also collude with traffickers in order to receive payments (US TIP Report, 2009). In several areas, this is seen as a viable strategy for poor families, and therefore they do not support prosecution nor acknowledge the level of harm caused to victims or the community.

Push Factors

The most commonly identified push factor driving the trafficking process is poverty. Lack of human and social resources, gender discrimination, social exclusion, lack of governance, deprivation, marginalization, and vulnerability may also make people more susceptible to trafficking. Macro factors such as the impact of globalization, employment trade, migration policy conflicts, and environmental disasters can set into motion circumstances that increase vulnerabilities.

The global financial crisis has raised the specter of increased human trafficking around the world. As a result of the crisis, two concurrent trends—a shrinking global demand for labor and a growing supply of workers willing to take ever greater risks for economic opportunities—seem a recipe for increased forced labor cases of migrant workers and women in prostitution.

The Gender Dimensions of the Problem

“Women still comprise the majority of the world’s poor, unfed, and unschooled. They are still subjected to rape as a tactic of war and exploited by traffickers globally in a billion-dollar criminal business.”

—Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, March 7, 2009
Trafficking in Persons Report, 2009

Changes such as widening social and economic inequality, rural unemployment, and increased poverty, new forms of mobility, breakup of communities, and erosion of traditional values are increasing the vulnerability of a large segment of the population to trafficking, particularly women and girls. Women constitute the poorest of the poor as a result of gender insensitivity, discrimination, lack of social status and basic rights, together with arduous domestic responsibilities; which reduce their access to resources, education, training, and labor markets. Within families, women, particularly girl children, generally have less access to food and health care as well as to educational opportunities. Anti-female biases are reflected in the fact that South Asia is one of the few regions in the world where men outnumber women.

Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking Intersect

Trafficking occurs in a climate of denial and silence at all levels. There is prevailing silence about violence against women and girls, particularly domestic violence, and silence about their circumstances, including the abuse and exploitation they often face in their living and working environments in the process of earning a living. This silence manifests itself as denial in families, communities, and society at large, that trafficking of girls is taking place.

Research has shown a clear link between sex trafficking and both pre-trafficking domestic violence and trafficking-related gender violence. In this context of discrimination, lack of choice and vulnerability, increasing numbers of young women and girls, many between the ages of 10 and 20, are being trafficked in South Asia, mainly for the sex industry. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women observed that while the failure of states to protect and promote women’s human, economic, and social rights has created a situation in which trafficking flourishes, it further subjects women to numerous additional human rights violations (position paper on the draft SAARC Convention on preventing and combating trafficking in women and children for prostitution: UN special rapporteur on violence against women). Girls and women who are trafficked are deprived of their freedom, security, and dignity as human beings, and are endangered by violence and illness, including HIV, from sexual exploitation and abuse.

The low status of women, insufficient access to education, limitations on legal rights, and other forms of discrimination are recognized as push factors that combine with situational problems such as conflict, civil instability, or an economic crisis to prompt young women to leave their communities. Violence against women is all too common, and laws intended to protect women are inadequate or not enforced. In addition to physical attacks and injuries, women who are victims of spouse or intimate partner abuse are often subjected by the abuser to constant berating, severe psychological abuse, and excessive levels of control over nearly every aspect of daily life.

Research links the disproportionate demand for female trafficking victims to the growth of certain “feminized” economic sectors (commercial sex, the “bride trade,” domestic service) and other sectors characterized by low wages, hazardous conditions, and an absence of collective bargaining mechanisms. Exploitative employers prefer to use trafficked women—traditionally seen as submissive, cheap, and pliable—for simple and repetitive tasks in agriculture, food processing, labor-intensive manufacturing, and domestic servitude. Since commercial sex is illegal in most countries, traffickers use the resulting illegal status of migrant women who have been trafficked into commercial sex to threaten or coerce them against leaving the situation. Gendered vulnerabilities fostered by, for example, discriminatory laws and practices that tie a woman’s legal recognition, property rights, and economic opportunities to a male guardian who controls her income, identification, citizenship, and physical well-being is more susceptible to becoming a trafficking victim (Trafficking in Persons Report, 2009).

Reasons for Leaving Home

The root causes of migration and trafficking greatly overlap. The lack of rights afforded to women serves as the primary causative factor at the root of both women’s migrations and trafficking in women. . . . By failure to protect and promote women’s civil, political, economic and social rights, governments create situations in which trafficking flourishes.

—Radhika Coomaraswamy, former UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

Trafficking in women results both from social inequality and susceptibility to exploitation. The feminization of poverty leads women to look for any work and ways to improve their material well-being in spite of possible negative consequences.

According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), the majority of people trafficked for sexual exploitation or subjected to forced labor are female. According to researchers, both the supply and demand sides of the trade in human beings are fed by “gendered” vulnerabilities: women often have no individual protection or recognition under the law, inadequate access to healthcare and education, poor employment prospects, little opportunity to own property, and/or high levels of social isolation.

Specific reasons women and girls may leave home include:

• Being lured with promises of jobs in the city, or by pledges of marriage
• Being sent by families to earn extra income for the household
• Escaping from domestic abuse and violence
• Looking for a better life and wider opportunities away from the rural drudgery and the narrow limitations imposed on women and girls in villages
• Being made vulnerable by lack of education, knowledge of the world, and life skills
• Trusting people who dupe them and subsequently sell them, generally into sex work. (In many cases, a trafficker is a person they know or a person known to others in the source areas)

At the same time, the socio-cultural climate of the region fosters a high sense of duty in women towards their children, younger siblings, and older parents. It is not unusual to find women who resort to lower-end jobs and sexual labor to support their families and to pay for the education of male family members. If they are trafficked and end up in the worst forms of commercial sexual exploitation, the majority continue to bear it and do not protest or break away.

Rural Gender Violence

Rural women experience higher rates of IPV (interpersonal violence), face unique challenges and greater frequency and severity of physical abuse, yet live much further away from available resources. Important factors contribute to their heightened risk and limited access to resources, such as:

• Geographical isolation
• Limited economic opportunities
• Social norms and stigma
• Lack of awareness and education
• Cultural barriers
• Fewer support services and resources
• Long journeys to access shelters, counselling services, or legal assistance, making it more difficult for them to seek help or escape abusive situations

These economic and social factors drive women in rural areas to seek opportunities in urban areas for a better quality of life. Lack of proper documentation can increase this vulnerability, as traffickers exploit this desperation and lack of legal protections. In many cases, this leads to migrant smuggling and associated human trafficking (Peek-Asa et al., 2011; ATrain Education, 2025).

Commodification of Women

Violations of universal human rights of women resulting from their use as commodities (merchandise) of trafficking take place in countries from which they are exported as well as countries into which they are imported. When women and young girls have little control over their daily lives and occupy a subordinate status, it is extremely difficult for them to negotiate for safe sex, even if they know about the need for it. Women and girls are biologically more susceptible to HIV infection if exposed to the virus, and are placed at greater risk of exposure because of the attitudes and sexual behavior of men within societal structures that directly and indirectly discriminate against women and in favor of men.

As expressed by Bhaiya and Dhar, “Passivity begins to define the women’s role in ‘sex’ and as a result, it becomes a tool for all the ways in which women are suppressed and subordinated, restricted, intruded upon, violated and objectified” (cited in UNIFEM, 2001).

Discrimination against women is also associated with psychological violence and emotional deprivation. Existing male bias in South Asia, including the preference for a male child, means that young women and girls may, from birth, be deprived of the love and affection of family members. They are often abused, sexually and otherwise, and made to bear the brunt of household work. A show of affection and understanding even from a stranger therefore elicits an eager response and easily leads to bonding and immediate trust building. This is easily exploited both by local and professional traffickers, who pose as lovers and thus lure young women and girl children into the trafficking net (STOP, 2001).

Impact of Trafficking on the Victims

Trafficked individuals encounter a wide range of psychological, emotional, and health conditions as a result of their traumatic experiences (IOM’s International Dialogue on Migration, 2004). Victims undergo undeniable stress during their movement from one location to another, after reaching the destination, and for a long time after reaching the destination.

During Travel and Transit

Moving victims from one place to another entails extreme stress, and the living conditions of the victims can vary depending on factors such as the type of trafficking, region/country where trafficking occurs, specific circumstances of the victim, and effectiveness of the anti-trafficking efforts in the area. The victims undergo living conditions which are:

• Exploitative: Victims of trafficking are often forced into exploitative services like forced labor in factories, farms, mines, construction sites, or domestic servitude, where they may have to work long hours under hazardous conditions without adequate pay or breaks.
• Abusive: People who are trafficked frequently endure physical and psychological abuse including violence, verbal abuse, rape, and threats which can lead to physical injuries, mental health issues, and trauma. They are usually isolated from family and support systems with restricted communication, to enable control.
• Unhealthy: Owing to the very nature of the crime, the victims are usually transported in very unhealthy conditions. The individuals may be exposed to dangerous modes of transportation and high-risk border crossings. They are housed in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without access to basic amenities like clean water, food, or healthcare. They are forced to live in cramped and unhygienic conditions, which can lead to physical ailments like urinary tract infections.
• In debt bondage: This is a method of control exercised by the traffickers where the victims are forced to work to repay a debt that is impossible to pay off, calculated by fraudulent accounting, imposing extremely high rates of interest.
• With limited access to assistance: Trafficking victims usually don’t have legal documents, and the few available documents are confiscated by the traffickers, which leaves them vulnerable to arrest, deportation, and further exploitation. Sadly, they also lack knowledge about and don’t have access to support authorities, which leaves them in the clutches of the traffickers.

Destination Stage

• PTSD: Most trafficked people suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder due to the severe and prolonged stress they endured, which might include physical/sexual abuse, confinement, and coercion. Besides PTSD, victims have been known to undergo a myriad of other physical, social, psychological, and emotional issues.
• Substance abuse: Victims of trafficking are often forced into substance use which later develops into addiction. Alcohol and drugs are made accessible to keep the victims in a pliable state of mind and ensure that they follow instructions.
• Physical health issues: Due to the unhealthy conditions of movement, transport, and living during trafficking, many victims develop health issues. Cramped spaces and unhygienic conditions lead to infections and other illnesses. The lack of sleep, space, security, and food leads to a lifetime of psychological issues.
• Sexual and reproductive health: Being transported across distances in menial conditions, often the victims are subjected to physical abuse and rape, as a result of which many of them face issues like uterine infections, STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and sometimes coerced/repeated abortions, leading to a life of unhealthy reproductive issues.
• Social stigma: Victims of trafficking face an inordinate amount of social stigma and discrimination in society. They don’t find support and rehabilitation services easily, and if they do reach out, they are sometimes met with lukewarm or negative responses; owing to which the victims may tend not to seek out legal or social support assistance.
• Financial instability: Victims of trafficking try to escape from their circumstances despite of lack of legal documents and fear of exploitation, owing to the dire circumstances surrounding their lives. When they finally reach the destination, they may find that it is unlike what was earlier promised and that they are trapped, at the mercy of the traffickers and agents. They often receive little or no wages even after working long hours, and are forced to work continuously for extended periods with limited financial resources to pay off their debt bondage.

Trafficking has a negative impact on the lives of all victims, but it affects women, girls, and LGBTQ+ individuals in distinct and disproportionate ways, reflecting underlying inequalities, discrimination, and vulnerabilities based on gender, age, and sexual orientation (ICAT, 2017).

Women

• Physical harm: Trafficked women and girls often endure extended periods of physical violence, including beatings, sexual assault, and torture; which can result in serious injuries and STIs. Many suffer from unwanted pregnancies, and repeated/forced abortions leading to long-term effects on reproductive health.
• Psychological trauma: The trauma of trafficking can lead to a range of psychological issues, including PTSD, depression, anxiety, and dissociative disorders.
• Social stigma: Trafficked women and girls face severe social stigma and discrimination, which hinders their ability to seek help, seek assistance from support services, as well as in the rehabilitation process. After undergoing sexual abuse and working as sex workers or acting in porn videos for some time, most women and girls refuse to go back to their homes, fearing recognition and stigma.
• Isolation: Trafficked women and girls find it nearly impossible to reintegrate into society, as the process of trafficking hinders their education and economic stability.

LGBTQIA+ Individuals

• Many LGBTQIA+ individuals are targeted, especially if they are homeless, runaway, or rejected by families. They find reduced support systems and may be reluctant to seek support, fearing further discrimination or mistreatment.
• LGBTQIA+ individuals face higher levels of social and economic marginalization and discrimination, making them more vulnerable to trafficking.
• During trafficking, LGBTQIA+ persons go through extreme abuse and sexual exploitation, which also leads to severe physical injuries, psychological trauma, and long-term emotional scars.
• Experiences of isolation and stigma, before, during, and after trafficking, make them hesitant to seek support, fearing repeated stigma and rejection.
• LGBTQIA+ individuals need specific and specialized assistance from people who are trained to identify and respond in an empathetic manner. Our system lacks these sensitivities, and LGBTQIA+ members go through further trauma.

Cooperation Among Stakeholders in the Process of Anti-human Trafficking

The impacts of human trafficking may be dominant, visible, perceived, or otherwise, but its ramifications permeate deep into society. Fighting against human trafficking is a crucial task that calls for a united effort from various stakeholders, including the victims, families of victims, medical professionals, rehabilitation officers and support officials, governments, law enforcement agencies, NGOs, and citizens alike. This can be furthered by:

• Raising awareness: Educating citizens about the issue of human trafficking by sharing information on social media, organizing awareness campaigns, or hosting events to spread awareness in the community.
• Supporting anti-trafficking organizations: Making donations to or volunteering with organizations that work to combat human trafficking. Encouraging work with organizations that provide essential services such as victim support, advocacy, and prevention programs. Examples: A non-government organization, Prerana, (India), works against trafficking and encourages volunteering and public involvement to fight human trafficking. Another organization, CRY (Child Rights and You) has been working against child trafficking by connecting with the government to rescue victims, organizing awareness rallies, rehabilitating trafficked/rescued victims, and connecting with parents to provide job opportunities to ease financial pressure.
• Advocating for policy change: Advocating for stronger laws and policies to prevent human trafficking and protect victims. Writing to elected officials, participating in advocacy campaigns, and supporting legislation aimed at addressing trafficking. Example: Freedom Network USA.
• Reporting suspected cases: Reporting suspected victims of trafficking to the authorities, which can help rescue victims and bring traffickers to justice. Most countries have hotlines and helplines dedicated to receiving reports of trafficking. Example: Blue Campaign.
• Supporting ethical practices: Being mindful of products bought and services used. Supporting businesses and companies that have transparent and ethical supply chains and do not engage in exploitative labor practices. Example: The Worker Rights Consortium conducts independent investigations to ensure ethical practices in factories and manufacturing units.
• Empowering vulnerable communities: Supporting programs and initiatives that empower vulnerable populations, such as at-risk youth, the LGBTQIA+ community, migrants, and refugees, with education, job skills, and economic opportunities. Example: Human Trafficking Task Force E-Guide.
  

  

• Educating others: Engaging in conversations with friends, family, and colleagues about human trafficking helps dispel myths and misconceptions surrounding the issue and encourages the public to join the fight against trafficking. Example: Polaris Project works towards educating people and removing myths about trafficking.
• Staying informed: Staying informed about current trends and developments in the field of human trafficking. Following reputable news sources, research reports, and academic studies to deepen your understanding of the issue and identify new ways to contribute to the fight against trafficking.
• Prevention: Preventing human trafficking needs a comprehensive approach addressing the underlying social factors that contribute to trafficking, such as poverty, inequality, discrimination, and lack of opportunities. This will further need policies and programs that promote economic development, social inclusion, and social equality (US DEA, n.d.).
• Support: Supporting survivors of trafficking through free immigration and legal assistance (The Advocates for Human Rights, n.d.)
• Legal framework: International and national laws exist to combat human trafficking and provide protection to victims. The United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol is the primary international legal instrument addressing human trafficking, while many countries have enacted legislation criminalizing trafficking and establishing mechanisms for victim support and prevention.

Law Enforcement and Legal Frameworks

The legal frameworks and law enforcement efforts guiding human trafficking vary from country to country, but several international conventions and protocols provide a framework for combating human trafficking globally. Key conventions include:

International Conventions and Protocols

• The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (commonly known as the Palermo Protocol) is a crucial instrument in addressing human trafficking globally.
• The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) supplements the Palermo Protocol by providing a comprehensive legal framework to combat various forms of organized crime, including trafficking in persons.
• International Labour Organization (ILO) Conventions: The ILO has several conventions addressing forced labor and trafficking, such as Convention No. 29 on Forced Labour (United Nations Human Rights, 1930) and Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour (ILO, 2020).

National Legislation

Most countries enact laws specifically targeting human trafficking. These laws define trafficking offences, prescribe penalties for perpetrators, and establish mechanisms for victim protection and assistance. Examples:

• The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (United States), Pub. L. No. 106-368, 114 Stat. 1464 (2000).
• The Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 asp 12.

Legislation may also address related offences such as forced labor, slavery, sexual exploitation, and the smuggling of migrants (International Labour Organization, n.d.).

Law Enforcement Efforts

Taking into account the pivotal role played by law enforcement agencies in investigating cases, apprehending traffickers, and dismantling trafficking networks, countries implement law enforcement strategies to combat trafficking at various levels.

• Law enforcement agencies are tasked with investigating and prosecuting cases of human trafficking. This involves collaboration between local, national, and sometimes international law enforcement entities.
• Specialized units or task forces may be established to focus specifically on combating human trafficking.
• Training programs for law enforcement officers are essential to ensure they are equipped to identify and respond to cases of trafficking effectively (IACP, n.d.).
• Many countries develop national action plans to coordinate efforts across various sectors to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. These plans often involve collaboration among government agencies, law enforcement, civil society organizations, and international partners. Examples: National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking and Slavery 2015-2019 (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014), Human Trafficking (Government of India Ministry of External Affairs, n.d.).

Victim Protection and Support

• Legal frameworks often include provisions for the protection and support of victims of human trafficking. This may involve measures such as providing shelter, medical care, legal assistance, reintegration services, and access to support services.
• Victim-centered approaches aim to prioritize the needs and rights of trafficking victims, including their safety, dignity, and right to assistance and compensation. Example: The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. (Council of Europe, 2019).

International Cooperation and Collaboration

Given the transnational nature of human trafficking, international cooperation is crucial for effective law enforcement efforts. This includes sharing information and intelligence, coordinating investigations, extraditing suspects across borders, joint operations, and funding support.

Bilateral and multilateral agreements facilitate cooperation between countries in combating trafficking networks (UNAFEI, n.d.).

Preventive Measures

Legal frameworks often include provisions for prevention strategies, such as public awareness campaigns, education initiatives, measures to strengthen communities and vulnerable populations, and economic development programs aimed at addressing the root causes of trafficking.

Regular assessment of gaps in anti-trafficking measures goes a long way in keeping abreast of the changes and developments in anti-trafficking rules and researching strategies to alter or modify the present redundant policies. Example: Human Trafficking Data Collection Activities, 2024 (US Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2024).

The fight against human trafficking demands a comprehensive, multifaceted approach involving robust legal frameworks, effective law enforcement efforts, and cooperation between governments, law enforcement agencies, civil society organizations, and the private sector. Efforts must focus on prevention, prosecution of perpetrators, protection and support for victims, and addressing the root causes such as poverty, inequality, and lack of education. By implementing comprehensive laws, strengthening enforcement mechanisms, and prioritizing victim protection, nations can work together to eradicate this egregious violation of human rights to ensure justice for victims of trafficking and create a world free from exploitation and abuse.

The Problem of Human Trafficking Persists

As we have seen, the persistence and apparent increases in human trafficking are related to many factors, including the increasing globalization/modernization/development process. In addition to the commodification of people and increased demands in countries of destination, traffickers may pressure people in poverty to make difficult decisions about how to meet basic economic needs, which may lead to their cooperation in selling women and children into debt bondage. In many cases, courts withdraw cases related to trafficking based on apparent parental consent to the activity. Police authorities, state governments, and international bodies must recognize the problem. The hardships of daily life, combined with prevalent gender stereotypes that view women as sexual objects and young girls and widows as a household burden, also contribute to placing women and girls at the risk of trafficking.

Gender discrimination, violence against women, and a patriarchal mindset contribute significantly to the vulnerability of women and girl children. This manifests in serious violations of women’s rights, such as the high incidence of female feticide (destruction or abortion of a fetus) and infanticide; and the discrimination against women in healthcare, education, and employment.

Prevention strategies should address these factors by focusing on efforts to eradicate poverty, illiteracy, etc. There should be special initiatives and packages for women and children in communities where entry into commercial sexual exploitation may be perceived as the only available option. Education and other services should be oriented towards capacity building and empowerment of vulnerable groups. Programs could stop second-generation trafficking by providing educational options to the children of sex workers and other vulnerable children; and facilitate rehabilitation processes by providing livelihood options to returnees and women in vulnerable conditions.

Police efforts, state departments, and NGOs must better disseminate and share information. Prevention of trafficking in source areas requires a working partnership between the police and NGOs. Public awareness campaigns and community participation are key to prevention programs. Prevention is best achieved by community policing. Border officials, police, and NGOs should network to combat trafficking. State parties must establish policies, programs, and other measures aimed at preventing trafficking and protecting trafficked persons from re-victimization.

The existence of vulnerable situations of inequality and injustice coupled with the exploitation of the victims’ circumstances by the traffickers and others cause untold harm to trafficked victims, who face a number of human rights violations. Therefore, policies, programs, and strategies that address prevention have to be unique with a focus on and an orientation toward all these issues. Accordingly, the prevention of trafficking must be addressed not only in relation to the source areas but also in the demand areas, the transit points, and the trafficking routes (Shukla and Phookan, 2013).

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Further Learning

Social Dynamics of Interpersonal Violence and Resistance Strategieshttps://www.acf.hhs.gov/otip/fact-sheet/resource/fshumantrafficking

Interpol. (2021). 286 arrested in global human trafficking and migrant smuggling operation. Retrieved from https://www.interpol.int/News-and-Events/News/2021/286-arrested-in-global-human-trafficking-and-migrant-smuggling-operation

Migration Data Portal: The Bigger Picture. (2024, July). https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/human-trafficking

National Human Trafficking Hotline. 1-888-373-7888. TTY: 711. Text* 233733. Home | National Human Trafficking Hotline

Stop the Traffik. (n.d.). What is human trafficking? Definition and scale. Retrieved from https://stopthetraffik.org/what-is-human-trafficking/definition-and-scale/

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