Exploitation of victims

According to Article 3(a) of the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Supress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (2000), exploitation includes, "at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."

Around 61 per cent of trafficked persons are subjected to sexual exploitation,^[1] while 37 per cent are trafficked for forced labour, and another seven per cent are trafficked for other types of exploitation.^[2] These include forced marriage, forced military, organ removal, and slavery and related practices.^[3]

Around 57 per cent of victims are controlled with psychological, physical and/or sexual abuse. Other means of control include restrictions on finance, movements, medical care and/or overall necessities, and threats to the victim and/or their family, each accounting for about 45 per cent.

People who recruited around 61 per cent of trafficking victims are primarily ‘others’,^[4] followed by family (16%), intimate partners (13%), and friends (12%). Most victims are trafficked for less than a year (44%), 26 per cent are trafficked for between one or two years, and another 30 per cent are trafficked for more than two years.

As a region of exploitation, the Americas comprise 60 per cent of victims, followed by Europe and Asia, which together account for about 24 per cent of trafficked persons. Victims exploited in Africa account for six per cent. Specifically, 86 per cent of registered victims are exploited in North America, Eastern Europe, South-East and West Asia. The remainder of the victims are predominantly exploited in other sub-regions of Africa and Europe.

Victims trafficked in Oceania constitute a smaller proportion, although this does not necessarily indicate a low prevalence of human trafficking in the region but may reflect the absence of viable data on this crime.

^[1] This data story focuses on the types of exploitation, means of control, and regions of exploitation. Click here to delve into the trafficked persons’ demographic profiles.

^[2] It is important to note that trafficked persons can be subjected to multiple types of exploitation and means of control, so percentages may not add up to 100.

^[3] Because of their relevance among the types of exploitation, we dedicate a data story to compare forced labour and sexual exploitation. Click here to delve into our analysis.

^[4] Indicates a notable relationship with the recruiter that does not fit other categories like family or friends. This may include brokers, contractors, employers, or smugglers. See the Global Synthetic Dataset Codebook for a detailed explanation.