Victims originating in Mali

From 2006 to 2022, 141 Malians have been identified by IOM as victims of human trafficking.^[1] Most of them (57%) were identified between 2007 and 2010.

Most Malian victims are males (67%), with another 33 per cent being female.^[2] Adults and children represent similar proportions among these victims (55% and 45%, respectively). 64 per cent of victims are aged 20 years or younger, including children (under 18 years old). There are no significant differences in the distribution of age groups by sex.

58 per cent of victims originating in Mali are exploited in Senegal, followed by Libya (13%) and Mali (10%). Overall, most of these victims are exploited in Africa (97%), and two per cent are exploited in either Asia or Europe. 74 per cent of these victims are exploited within their sub-region of origin.^[3]

55 per cent of identified Malian victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, while 20 per cent are trafficked for forced labour. Other types of exploitation, such as forced marriage, forced military, organ removal, and slavery and related practices, constitute a combined total of 30 per cent.^[4] 50 per cent of these victims are trafficked for a year or less, and another 42 per cent for more than two years.

The main means of control include false promises (93%), restrictions of finance, movements, medical care and necessities (57%), and psychological, physical, and sexual abuse (54%).^[4] All victims from Mali are recruited by ‘others’, which indicates a 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.