About Trafficking
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Trafficking in human beings is the fastest growing international crime. Every year, between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders, 80% of whom are women and girls, and 50% children (US Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report, 2005). This means that young women and girls are the most common victims of this heinous crime.
The internationally agreed definition of human trafficking is taken from Article 3, subparagraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. The definition of trafficking in persons can be understood in three elements:
The internationally agreed definition of human trafficking is taken from Article 3, subparagraph (a) of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. The definition of trafficking in persons can be understood in three elements:
- The action of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons
- By means of the threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to a person in control of the victim
- For the purposes of exploitation, which includes exploiting the prostitution of others, sexual exploitation, forced labour, slavery or similar practices, and the removal of organs.
The Home Office estimates there are around 4000 victims of sex trafficking in the UK at any one time, whilst NGOs estimate double this amount. The majority of victims are sourced from countries in Eastern Europe, West Africa and Asia.