Global synthetic dataset analysis
Abducted victims
Victims who are abducted into situations of trafficking
This data story looks into the profile of victims assisted by CTDC partners and who entered into their situation of exploitation through wrongful removal or retention, i.e. abduction. In total, they make up nearly 3% of the victims with data available in the Global Dataset. 67% of them were assisted by Polaris and 32% by IOM.
Profile
This profile summarises the victims' most common characteristics, based on the graphs below.*
The typical victim is a single female, between 15 and 30 years old. She's likely to have some middle school or secondary education, and to be trafficked within her subregion of origin. The individuals involved in her abduction are likely to be outside her circle of friends and family. She is mostly controlled by her traffickers through physical abuse. Her exploitation is not likely to last more than one year.
78% of the victims who are abducted into situations of trafficking are women. This is slightly higher than the proportion of women in the global dataset, which is 71% (see The Global Dataset at a Glance dashboard).
Victims who identify as Transgender/Non-conforming and victims whose gender is not recorded are not included in the computations, as there are not enough data for any significant analysis (CTDC partners are working to improve data availability on this issue).
About a third of the victims who were abducted are adolescents between 15 and 20 years old. In the Global Dataset, this age category accounts for only 23% of victims, suggesting that late teens might be particularly vulnerable to abduction, at least among victims assisted by CTDC partners.
For all age categories, women and girls are more numerous than men and boys. This is not out of line with the rest of the dataset, except perhaps for the 9-11 years old age category, in which boys are slightly more numerous than girls (51%). Note also that among abducted victims, girls account for 76% of the 0-8 years old age category, while in the Global Dataset they represent only 52% of this category.
75% of the abducted victims were single, against 46% in the Global Dataset (see here). This might reflect the fact that teens are over-represented among abducted victims assisted by CTDC partners, but may also suggest that single women and men may be more vulnerable to abduction.
The largest education category for victims who were abducted is middle school, accounting for about a third of victims. In contrast, in the Global Dataset, the most common category is technical training, at 24%. This may reflect the fact that teenagers between 15 and 20 are over-represented among victims of abduction.
34% of the victims who were abducted were trafficked across a different region from their region of origin, against 27% for victims in the Global Dataset.
27% of the victims who were abducted were from Northern America, 21% from Eastern Africa, and 15% from Central Asia. 65% were trafficked in Northern America, 13% in Northern Africa, and 9% in Central Asia.
For the purpose of this analysis, region refers to the [UN Sub-Regions]
Nearly 70% of the victims who were abducted were trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, against 50% in the Global Dataset (see Exploitation of victims data story). Hence, among victims assisted by CTDC partners, victims of abduction are more likely to have been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, compared to other victims.
The 'Other' category includes forced marriage, forced military service and organ removal (among others).
The most common sectors of exploitation for abducted victims in labour exploitation are domestic work and illicit activities, while for sexual exploitation it is prostitution.
In CTDC data, individuals involved in the abduction of victims are likely to be outside the victims' circle of friends and family (58% of cases). However, they are slightly more likely than recruiters in the Global Dataset to be part of the victims' family and friends (19% against 14% for family, 14% against 7% for friends; see here).
Note also that intimate partners are less likely to be involved in abductions compared to the recruiters of victims who were sexually exploited (15% against 35%, see here), even though most of the abducted victims were trafficked into sexual exploitation.
The means of control that were used on abducted victims are similar to the ones used on victims of sexual exploitation (see here).The most common means of control for abducted victims are physical abuse, threats and restrictions of free movement, while the most common means of control for victims who were sexually exploited are psychological abuse, restrictions of free movement and threats.
In the Global Dataset, 37% of victims were trafficked for over a year. The same number of victims who were abducted is 26%, indicating that abducted victims might be trafficked for less long than others.