Human trafficking cases globally have jumped exponentially in recent years, fueled by a growing demand for children and people to work in forced labor or slavery, according to a new report from the United Nations.
The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime publication issued Wednesday detected 25% more victims of human trafficking in 2022 alone. Victims included children being trafficked, as well as adults and children trafficked to work and to be exploited in other means, according to the 2024 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.
That 25% rise in victims comes after the number of victims shot up 47% between 2019 to 2022.
“As conflicts, climate-induced disasters and global crises exacerbate vulnerabilities worldwide, we are seeing a resurgence of detected victims of human trafficking,” said UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly in a statement.
Among children, female victims rose 38% from 2019 to 2022. Child trafficking is increasingly seen in areas where unaccompanied children and children who have been separated from a parent are traveling alone.
Child trafficking, the report found, was happening more in high-income countries, particularly among girls.
“Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence,” said Waly. “We need to step up criminal justice responses to hold those at the top of the criminal chain accountable, work across borders to rescue victims and ensure survivors receive the support they need.”
Globally, women and girls made up just over 3 in 5 victims.
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Few nationalities were off limits to traffickers, with victims reported in 162 of the 195 total countries in the world. Of the 195 countries, 128 nations were destinations for people being trafficked against their will.
African citizens were the most trafficked demographic and made up 31% of all cross-border trafficked people. Africans were primarily smuggled across the border but remained on the continent as opposed to being moved to Europe or South America.