Victims exploited in Mali

Between 2008 and 2022, the IOM registered 1,302 victims of trafficking exploited in Mali.^[1] 52 per cent were identified between 2020 and 2022.

Most victims exploited in Mali (93%) are female, and the other seven per cent are males.^[2] Similarly, 88 per cent of victims are adults, while another 11 per cent of them are children. Victims are mostly aged between 18 and 26 years old (72%). The most common age group is that of people from 18 to 20 years of age (32%). Both female and male victims tend to be young. Male victims are mostly children (52%), while female victims most commonly are between 18 to 26 years of age (76%).

Most victims originate in Nigeria (92%), followed by other countries like Sierra Leone, Niger, Cameroon, Mali, and Guinea, with a combined total of six per cent. All victims originate in Africa, and they are being exploited intrarregionally.^[3]

88 per cent of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, 15 per cent are trafficked for forced labour, and two per cent are trafficked for other types of exploitation, such as forced marriage, forced military, organ removal, and slavery and related practices.^[4] 85 per cent of these victims are trafficked for one year or less.

For victims trafficked for forced labour, the most common sector of exploitation is domestic work (81%), followed by agriculture (5%), construction and hospitality (3% each). Sexually exploited victims are predominantly exploited in prostitution.

The main means of control include false promises (73%), psychological, physical and sexual abuse (36%), and restrictions of finance, movements, medical care and necessities (20%).^[4] All victims were recruited by ‘others’, which includes a notable relationship with the recruiter that does not fit other categories like intimate partners, family or friends.

^[1] This country profile is based on the data collected by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the process of providing assistance and protection services to victims of trafficking.

^[2] The IOM acknowledge diverse gender identities and expressions among trafficking victims. However, sex assigned at birth is used for this data analysis unless otherwise indicated. This is to ensure consistency with initial data collection forms, which lacked fields for diverse identities. Also, the disclosure of smaller subsets of victims with diverse gender identities increases data protection risks due to the potential identification of individual cases.

^[3] Interregional trafficking involves victims trafficked outside their region of origin, while intraregional trafficking occurs within their region of origin. For the list of regions and subregions, refer to the Global Synthetic Dataset Dictionary.

^[4] 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.