Crime Institute
Crime · ModuleRISK · CRITICAL
Human Trafficking
The recruitment, transportation, harboring, or receipt of persons through coercion or deception for exploitation.
OVERVIEW
Global picture
UNODC estimates 27.6 million people in forced labor and sexual exploitation globally. 71% of victims are women and girls. USD 236 billion in annual illicit profits.
CURRENT SITUATION
What's happening now
Online recruitment via social media platforms accounts for 60% of new cases in the Americas and Europe. Southeast Asian cyber-scam compounds hold 100,000+ trafficked laborers.
Victims
27.6M
ILO 2024
Illicit profit
USD 236B
annually
Convictions
9,400
TIP 2024
Female victims
71%
UNODC
MAJOR ACTORS / NETWORKS
Key organizations
Southeast Asian scam compoundsNigerian trafficking networksBalkan sex-trafficking chainsGulf domestic worker abusers
MOST AFFECTED
Countries & regions
NigeriaMyanmarCambodiaLibyaMexicoVenezuelaBangladesh
TRENDS
Evolving patterns
Cyber-scam compound labor trafficking
AI-generated victim recruitment
Refugee-corridor exploitation
Crypto-paid ransoms
LEGAL FRAMEWORK
International conventions
- Palermo Protocol 2000
- US TVPA 2000
- EU Anti-Trafficking Directive 2011/36
- ILO Forced Labour Convention
PREVENTION
Response strategies
- Survivor-centered legal aid
- Corporate supply-chain due diligence
- Border screening
- Financial red-flag guidance
RELATED MODULES