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What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking is what slavery, as a business, looks like in the 21st century. It describes the procurement of people against their will through force or deception, to be transported, sold and exploited for:

  • Sex and forced prostitution
  • Forced labour in sweatshops, farms and construction sites
  • Slavery or domestic servitude
  • Illegal international adoption
  • Forced marriage or child brides
  • Child soldiers
  • Forced begging
  • Sale of human organs
  • Sacrificial worship
  • Sports (e.g. child camel jockeys or football players)

Trafficking victims are stripped of their basic human rights and treated as commodity.

A single victim can be bought and sold many times.

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Human Trafficking – Some Key Facts

  • Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world[1].
  • Its total annual revenue is estimated at between US$5 billion to US$9 billion[2].
  • Rough estimates suggest that between 700,000 to 2 million women are trafficked across international borders annually[3]—more than one person per minute.
  • Approximately 80 per cent of those trafficked are women and girls[4].
  • An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked every year[5].
  • Those trafficked often come from poorer areas, ethnic minorities, or are displaced persons such as runaways or refugees.
  • The most common destination countries are Thailand, Japan, Israel, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Turkey and the US[6].

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What’s the difference between Human Trafficking and People Smuggling?

  • A smuggled person voluntarily pays a fee to the smuggler to be transported (illegally) to another country, and is usually freed upon arrival.
  • A trafficking victim is exploited and enslaved, often for purposes of forced labour and prostitution.
  • Trafficking can happen both internally and across borders, whereas smuggling is always transnational.
  • Smuggling and trafficking may at times overlap, such as when an initially smuggled person is later threatened and forced to work for extraordinarily low wages to pay for the transportation.

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What’s life like for trafficking victims?

Victims face many risks and are often without access to legal assistance or medical help. Every day, they may face:

  • Physical and sexual violence
  • Appalling living conditions
  • Unsafe workplaces
  • Long working hours and no holidays
  • Poverty due to wage deprivation
  • Social alienation
  • Risk of STDs, HIV/AIDS

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Where does The Pixel Project fit in in the fight against Human Trafficking?

Glad you asked! Find out more about what we are attempting to do here via the campaign and in the context of the Violence Against Women cause.

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Would you like to know more about Human Trafficking?

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is a start. If you would like to find out more, go here.

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Sources:
  1. “What is Human Trafficking?” Polaris Project.
  2. “Economic Roots of Trafficking in the UNECE Region.” United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.
  3. “Trafficking in Human Misery.” United Nations Population Fund.
  4. “Trafficking in Persons Report 2005.” US Department of State.
  5. “End Child Trafficking.” UNICEF.
  6. “Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.” United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Quoted in “UN highlights human trafficking.” BBC News.