ISLAMABAD: Trafficking of children, as well of adults for forced labour and forced criminality, are rising across the world as poverty, conflict and climate change leave more people vulnerable to exploitation, the Global Report on Trafficking in Person 2024 reveals.
Released by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) on Wednesday, the report records a 25 per cent increase in the number of trafficking victims detected globally in 2022, compared to 2019 pre-pandemic figures.
Between 2019 and 2022, the number of victims detected for trafficking for forced labour surged by 47 per cent, says the report.
Trafficking flows from South Asia also appear to have a global dimension, as South Asian victims were found in 36 countries and in different regions, including Europe, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas, East Asia and the Pacific.
The global number of detected child victims rose 31pc in 2022 compared to 2019, with a 38pc rise recorded for girls. More boy victims have been detected in areas where increasing numbers of unaccompanied and separated children had been recorded.
Child trafficking is also on the rise in high-income countries, often involving girls trafficked for sexual exploitation.
The report finds that women and girls continue to account for the majority of victims detected worldwide (61pc in 2022). The majority of girl victims (60pc) detected continue to be trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
According to the report, African victims account for the highest number of destinations reached.
In total, at least 162 different nationalities were trafficked to 128 different countries in 2022. Of the cross-border flows detected, 31pc involve citizens of African countries.
Most African victims are trafficked within the continent, where displacement, insecurity and climate change are exacerbating vulnerabilities.
Children are more frequently detected than adults in most parts of the continent, particularly for forced labour, sexual exploitation and forced begging.
Published in Dawn, December 13th, 2024
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