View source for Human trafficking

{{short description|Trade of humans for exploitation}}
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{{for-multi|the television show|Human Trafficking (miniseries){{!}}''Human Trafficking'' (miniseries)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2016}}

{{Update|reason=More recent statistics needed|date=January 2025}}
{{Slavery|Contemporary}}
{{Sex and the law}}
'''Human trafficking''' is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or [[coercion]] for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, [[sexual slavery]], or other forms of commercial sexual exploitation. It is considered a serious violation of human rights and a form of [[modern slavery]]. Efforts to combat human trafficking involve international laws, national policies, and [[Non-governmental organization|non-governmental organizations]].
<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/ |title=UNODC on human trafficking and migrant smuggling |publisher=[[United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]] |year=2011 |access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zimmerman |first1=Cathy |last2=Kiss |first2=Ligia |title=Human trafficking and exploitation: A global health concern |journal=[[PLOS Medicine]] |date=2017 |volume=14 |issue=11 |pages=e1002437 |doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002437 |doi-access=free|pmid=29166396 |pmc=5699819 }}</ref>

Human trafficking can occur both within a single country or across national borders. It is distinct from [[people smuggling]], which involves the consent of the individual being smuggled and typically ends upon arrival at the destination. In contrast, human trafficking involves exploitation and a lack of consent, often through force, fraud, or coercion.
Human trafficking is widely condemned as a violation of human rights by international agreements such as the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Despite this condemnation, legal protections and enforcement vary significantly across countries. Globally, millions of individuals, including women, men, and children, are estimated to be victims of human trafficking, enduring [[Forced labour|forced labor]], sexual exploitation, and other forms of abuse.<ref>[https://traffickinginstitute.org/breaking-down-global-estimates-of-human-trafficking-human-trafficking-awareness-month-2022/  Trafficking Institute website, ''Breaking Down Global Estimates of Human Trafficking: Human Trafficking Awareness Month 2022''’, article by Emma Ecker dated January 12, 2022]</ref><ref>[https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking-about-human-trafficking/     US Government State Department website, ''About Human Trafficking'', article dated 2022]</ref>

== Definition ==
[[File:World Day Against Trafficking In Persons.jpg|thumb|World Day Against Trafficking In Persons]]
The UN [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children]], which has 117 signatories and  173 parties,<ref name="treaties.un.org">{{cite web|url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-a&chapter=18&lang=en%7ctitle=UNTC%7cwork=un.org%7ctitle=UNTC%7cwork=un.org|title=UNTC|work=un.org|access-date=2 December 2015|archive-date=1 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801195308/https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-a&chapter=18&lang=en%7ctitle=UNTC%7cwork=un.org%7ctitle=UNTC%7cwork=un.org|url-status=dead}}</ref> defines human trafficking as:
{{blockquote|(a) [...] the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having [[abusive power and control|control]] over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation or the [[prostitution]] of others or other forms of [[sexual exploitation]], [[forced labour]] or services, [[slavery]] or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the [[organ procurement|removal, manipulation or implantation of organs]];<br />
(b) The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in sub-paragraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;<br />
(c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered "trafficking in persons" even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in sub-paragraph (a) of this article;<br />
(d) "Child" shall mean any person under eighteen years of age.<ref>[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a7c65a5e5274a7ee501ab03/5815.pdf    UK Government website, ''Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime'', document dated November 15, 2000, page 6]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/documents/treaties/UNTOC/Publications/TOC_Convention/TOCebook-e.pdf |title=United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime And The Protocols Thereto |access-date=21 January 2012 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}}

==Prevalence==
There are many different estimates of the number of victims of human trafficking.

[[File:Human Trafficking in Europe.svg|thumb|Diagram showing number of persons involved in human trafficking by legal status, divided by gender. [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Trafficking_in_human_beings_statistics]|left]]

According to the Global Estimates (2021), an estimated amount of 50 million people are living in "[[modern-day slavery]]" across the globe. <ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-12 |title=Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: Forced Labour and Forced Marriage {{!}} International Labour Organization |url=https://www.ilo.org/publications/major-publications/global-estimates-modern-slavery-forced-labour-and-forced-marriage |access-date=2025-04-08 |website=www.ilo.org |language=en}}</ref> Women and children continue to make up the majority of victims worldwide. Child victims are increasingly detected globally; [[United Nations|The United Nations]] Global Report on Trafficking in Persons (2024) estimates around 38% of trafficking victims to be boys and girls. <ref>UNODC, Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024 (United Nations publication, Sales no.: E.24.XI.11).</ref> In 2024, the U.S. Department of State estimates that 2 million children are exploited by the global commercial sex trade.<ref>U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2024), 7.</ref> In the same year, a study classified 14 million individuals worldwide as "forced laborers, bonded laborers or sex-trafficking victims". Approximately 2 million of these individuals are children working as commercial sex slaves, with women and girls comprising 98% of that 2 million.<ref name="smith">GLOBAL REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2024, Special Points of Interest</ref>

According to the [[International Labour Organization]] (ILO), forced labour alone (one component of human trafficking) generates an estimated $150 billion in profits per annum as of 2014.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour|title=Profits and poverty: The economics of forced labour|url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_243027.pdf|website=International Labour Organization|access-date=24 October 2016|page=4|date=20 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171013120502/http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_243027.pdf|archive-date=13 October 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2012, the ILO estimated that 21 million victims are trapped in modern-day slavery. Of these, 14.2 million (68%) were exploited for labour, 4.5 million (22%) were sexually exploited, and 2.2 million (10%) were exploited in state-imposed forced labour.<ref>{{cite web|title=21 million people are now victims of forced labour, ILO says|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_181961/lang--en/index.htm|website=International Labour Organization|access-date=24 October 2016|date=1 June 2012}}</ref> The following is the breakdown of profits by sector: $99 billion from commercial sexual exploitation; $34 billion in construction, manufacturing, mining and utilities; $9 billion in agriculture, including forestry and fishing; $8 billion is saved annually by private households that employ domestic workers under conditions of forced labour. Although only 19% of victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, it makes up 66% of the global earnings of human trafficking.<ref name="numbers">{{cite web |title=Human Trafficking by the Numbers |url=https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/human-trafficking-numbers |website=Human Rights First |access-date=12 January 2020 |archive-date=7 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507064607/https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/resource/human-trafficking-numbers |url-status=dead }}</ref> The average annual profits generated by each woman in forced sexual servitude ($100,000) is estimated to be six times more than the average profits generated by each trafficking victim worldwide ($21,800).<ref name="numbers"/>

Human trafficking is the third largest crime industry in the world, behind [[illegal drug trade|drug dealing]] and [[arms trafficking]], and is the fastest-growing activity of transnational criminal organizations.<ref>{{cite book|author=Louise Shelley|title=Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XY8uJoYkNBsC|year=2010|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-1-139-48977-5|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=XY8uJoYkNBsC&pg=PA2 2]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ecpat.org/news/trafficking-the-third-largest-crime-industry-in-the-world/|title=The trafficking of children for sexual purposes: One of the worst manifestations of this crime|website=ecpat.org|date=6 August 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://freeforlifeintl.org/2020/07/31/human-trafficking-a-global-enterprise/|title=HUMAN TRAFFICKING: A GLOBAL ENTERPRISE|website=freeforlifeintl.org|date=31 July 2020|access-date=18 August 2020|archive-date=9 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209011153/https://freeforlifeintl.org/2020/07/31/human-trafficking-a-global-enterprise/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2024, UNODC published the new edition of the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/data-and-analysis/glotip.html?ref=menuside |title=Global report on trafficking in persons |publisher=unodc.org |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref> The report reveals that 38% of all victims of human trafficking detected globally between 2020 and 2023 were children, with girls accounting for 22% and boys for 16% of all detected victims. This marks a 31% increase in child detections since 2019, with a sharper 38% increase among girls. The report documented victims of at least 162 different nationalities, detected in 128 countries, with 31% of all cross-border flows involving African victims—making Africa the region with the most internationally trafficked victims.

Around half of all trafficking took place within the same region with 42% occurring within national borders. One exception is the Middle East, where most detected victims are East and South Asians. Trafficking victims from East Asia have been detected in more than 64 countries, making them the most geographically dispersed group around the world. There are significant regional differences in the detected forms of exploitation. Countries in Africa and in Asia generally intercept more cases of trafficking for forced labour, while sexual exploitation is somewhat more frequently found in Europe and in the Americas. 

Around 74% of traffickers operated within organized crime groups, especially in business- and governance-type structures, while 42% of trafficking occurred for forced labour, which has now surpassed sexual exploitation (36%) as the most common form. Notably, trafficking for organ removal was detected in at least 1% of cases, detected in 16 countries around the world.While significant progress has been made in legislation—with most countries having trafficking laws aligned with the UN Protocol—the report continues to raise concern about criminal justice outcomes: only 17% of global convictions in 2022 were for forced labour, despite its rise, and men made up 70% of convicted traffickers, with women comprising 28%.'''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/press/releases/2012/December/increase-in-global-child-trafficking-gives-cause-for-concern-says-new-unodc-report.html?ref=menuside |title=Global report on trafficking in persons |publisher=Unodc.org |access-date=8 January 2013}}</ref>'''

==Overview==
[[File:Trafficking of women, children and men.png|thumb|A schematic showing global human trafficking from countries of origin and destination<br/>'''Countries of origin'''
{{bulleted list
|Yellow: Moderate number of people
|Orange: High number of people
|Red: Very high number of people}}<br/>'''Countries of destination'''
{{bulleted list
|Light blue: High number of people
|Blue: Very high number of people}} ''Unshaded countries are neither countries of origin nor countries of destination'']]
[[File:Trafficking of Females.svg|thumb|A world map showing the legislative situation in different countries to prevent female trafficking {{as of|2009|lc=on}} according to ''WomanStats Project''.
{{bulleted list
|Gray: No data
|Green: Trafficking is illegal and rare
|Yellow: Trafficking is illegal but problems still exist
|Purple: Trafficking is illegal but is still practiced
|Blue: Trafficking is limitedly illegal and is practiced
|Red: Trafficking is not illegal and is commonly practiced<ref>[http://womanstats.org/mapEntrez.htm WomanStats Maps], [http://womanstats.org/ Woman Stats Project].</ref>
}}]]

According to the 2018 through 2024 editions of the annual [[Trafficking in Persons Report]]s issued by the [[United States Department of State]]: [[Belarus]], [[Iran]], [[Russia]], and [[Turkmenistan]] continue to remain among the worst countries when it comes to protecting against human trafficking and forced labour. These nations remain on Tier 3—the lowest ranking—due to inadequate efforts to meet minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.<ref name=USTPR2019>{{cite report|url=https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/2019-Trafficking-in-Persons-Report.pdf|title=Trafficking In Persons Report June 2019|publisher=U.S. State Department}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/the-worst-countries-for-human-trafficking/29327857.html|title=The Worst Countries For Human Trafficking|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|date=29 June 2018 }}</ref>

In 2024, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received approximately 2,000 reports of potential human trafficking cases in the U.S. Estimates suggest that about 24,000 individuals were victims of trafficking nationwide, with approximately 75% being women and 40% minors.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Human Trafficking Statistics in the U.S. For 2024|url=https://www.stepstohope.org/blog/understanding-the-numbers-behind-human-trafficking-in-the-usa?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= Report Trafficking &#124; National Human Trafficking Hotline|url=https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/report-trafficking?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title= Human Trafficking Statistics in 2024: How Big is the Problem| date=12 June 2024 |url=https://womenonguard.com/statistics/human-trafficking/?utm_source=chatgpt.com}}</ref>

[[Sex trafficking in Singapore|Singapore]] remains a destination for human trafficking, particularly involving women and girls from countries such as India, Thailand, the Philippines, and China. In 2024, reports indicated that victims are often lured under false pretenses and coerced into sex work in venues like KTV lounges, massage parlors, and even makeshift forest brothels. In November 2019, two Indian nationals were convicted for exploiting migrant women, making it the first conviction in the state.<ref>{{cite news |title=Singapore vows 'strong' action on labor trafficking after first conviction |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-labour-trafficking/singapore-vows-strong-action-on-labor-trafficking-after-first-conviction-idUSKBN1XT1M0 |work=Reuters |date=19 November 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

In the 21st century, trafficking in persons continues to thrive, particularly where armed conflicts, economic recession, health emergencies, food insecurity, climate change-induced disasters and other humanitarian crises exacerbate existing underlying vulnerabilities.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/10/global-scope-human-trafficking-calls-coordinated-and-flexible | title=Global scope of human trafficking calls for coordinated and flexible strategies, Türk says }}</ref>

==Types of trafficking==

Trafficking arrangements are sometimes structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment, or on terms which are highly exploitative. They may also be structured as debt bondage, with the victim not being permitted or able to pay off the debt. It may encompass providing a [[spouse]] in the context of [[forced marriage]],<ref name="ecpat.org.uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.ecpat.org.uk/sites/default/files/forced_marriage_ecpat_uk_wise.pdf|title=Child Trafficking for Forced Marriage|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130718000206/http://www.ecpat.org.uk/sites/default/files/forced_marriage_ecpat_uk_wise.pdf|archive-date=18 July 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-24463577|title=Slovakian 'slave' trafficked to Burnley for marriage|newspaper=[[BBC News]]|date=9 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://inst.uchicago.edu/sites/inst.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/2013_BA_Thesis_Cruz_Leo_PDF.pdf | title=MARRIAGE IN FORM, TRAFFICKING IN CONTENT: Non – consensual Bride Kidnapping in Contemporary Kyrgyzstan | access-date=2 November 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140415115828/http://inst.uchicago.edu/sites/inst.uchicago.edu/files/uploads/2013_BA_Thesis_Cruz_Leo_PDF.pdf | archive-date=15 April 2014}}</ref> or the extraction of organs or tissues,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/docs/news/organtrafficking_study.pdf |title=Trafficking in organs, tissues and cells and trafficking in human beings for the purpose of the removal of organs|year=2009 |access-date=18 January 2014|publisher=United Nations}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://fightslaverynow.org/why-fight-there-are-27-million-reasons/otherformsoftrafficking/organ-removal/ |title=Human trafficking for organs/tissue removal |publisher=Fightslaverynow.org |access-date=30 December 2012|date=30 May 2010 }}</ref> including for [[surrogacy]] and [[Ovum|ova]] removal.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/genewatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=313 |title=Human trafficking for ova removal or surrogacy |publisher=Councilforresponsiblegenetics.org |date=31 March 2004 |access-date=30 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203005235/http://www.councilforresponsiblegenetics.org/genewatch/GeneWatchPage.aspx?pageId=313 |archive-date=3 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Trafficking of children===
{{see also|Child harvesting}}
[[Trafficking of children]] involves the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation. [[Commercial sexual exploitation of children]] can take many forms, including forcing a child into [[prostitution]]<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2008/jul/03/childprotection.internationalcrime | work=The 8102998382 | location=London | title=British-born teenagers being trafficked for sexual exploitation within UK, police say | first=Rachel | last=Williams | date=3 July 2008 | access-date=4 May 2010}}</ref><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/world/mother-sold-girl-for-sex-20100506-ugue.html Mother sold girl for sex], 7 May 2010, The Age.</ref> or other forms of sexual activity or [[child pornography]]. Child exploitation may also involve [[forced labour]] or services, [[slavery]] or practices similar to slavery, servitude, the removal of organs,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kideny Trafficking in Nepal|url=http://asiafoundation.org/resources/pdfs/KidneyTraffickinginNepal.pdf|access-date=2020-10-09}}</ref> illicit [[international adoption]], trafficking for early marriage, recruitment as [[military use of children|child soldiers]], for use in [[begging]] or as athletes (such as [[child camel jockey]]s<ref>{{cite web|url=http://2001-2009.state.gov/g/tip/rls/fs/2005/50940.htm|title=The Facts About Children Trafficked For Use As Camel Jockeys|work=state.gov}}</ref> or [[football trafficking]].)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind%3D2048/newsid%3D462974.html |title=Agents in the UEFA spotlight |access-date=2007-02-05 |url-status=dead  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090430123308/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind%3D2048/newsid%3D462974.html |archive-date=30 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}, UEFA, 29 September 2006. (archived from [https://archive.today/20090430123308/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/keytopics/kind=2048/newsid=462974.html the original] on 30 April 2009)</ref>
[[File:Child labor in Bolivia Shoe-Shine Boy.jpg|thumb|Young boy shines the shoes of an elderly man in the park]]

[[Child labour]] is a form of work that may be hazardous to the physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development of children and can interfere with their education. According to the International Labour Organization, the global number of children involved in child labour fell during the twelve years to 2012 {{snd}}it has declined by one third, from 246 million in 2000 to 168 million children in 2012.<ref name=child-labour>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm#a2|title=Child Labour|website=www.ilo.org|date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the highest incidence of child labour, while the largest numbers of child-workers are found in Asia and the Pacific.<ref name=child-labour />

IOM statistics indicate that a significant minority (35%) of trafficked persons it assisted in 2011 were less than 18 years of age, which is roughly consistent with estimates from previous years. It was reported in 2010 that [[Thailand]] and [[Brazil]] were considered to have the worst child sex trafficking records.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.libertadlatina.org/LA_Brazils_Child_Prostitution_Crisis.htm |title=LatAm – Brazil – Child Prostitution Crisis |publisher=Libertadlatina.org |access-date=22 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603204047/http://www.libertadlatina.org/LA_Brazils_Child_Prostitution_Crisis.htm |archive-date=3 June 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Traffickers in children may take advantage of the parents' extreme poverty. Parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income, or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. They may sell their children into labour, sex trafficking, or illegal adoptions, although scholars have urged a nuanced understanding and approach to the issue - one that looks at broader socio-economic and political contexts.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016-05-30|title=Transaction Costs: Prosecuting child trafficking for illegal adoption in Russia|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/168/171|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=6|pages=31–47|doi=10.14197/atr.20121663|doi-access=free|last1=McCarthy|first1=Lauren A.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Okyere|first=Samuel|date=2017-09-21|title='Shock and awe': A critique of the Ghana-centric child trafficking discourse|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/266|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=9|pages=92–105|doi=10.14197/atr.20121797|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Olayiwola|first=Peter|date=2019-09-26|title='Killing the Tree by Cutting the Foliage Instead of Uprooting It?' Rethinking awareness campaigns as a response to trafficking in South-West Nigeria|url=https://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/406|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=13|pages=50–65|doi=10.14197/atr.201219134|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref>

The adoption process, legal and illegal, when abused can sometimes result in cases of trafficking of babies and pregnant women around the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/china-sets-up-website-to-recover-trafficked-children-report-20091028-hj9w.html |title=The Age: China sets up website to recover trafficked children: report |publisher=News.theage.com.au |date=28 October 2009 |access-date=22 March 2011 |location=Melbourne |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110427175539/http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-technology/china-sets-up-website-to-recover-trafficked-children-report-20091028-hj9w.html |archive-date=27 April 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In [[David M. Smolin]]'s 2005 papers on child trafficking and adoption scandals between India and the United States,<ref>{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326135123/http://law.shu.edu/journals/lawreview/library/vol_35/35-2/Smolin.pdf |date=26 March 2009 |title=The Two Faces of Inter-country Adoption: The Significance of the Indian Adoption Scandals }}, ''Seton Hall Law Review'', 35:403–493, 2005. (archived from [http://law.shu.edu/journals/lawreview/library/vol_35/35-2/Smolin.pdf the original] on 26 March 2009)</ref><ref>[http://law.bepress.com/expresso/eps/749/ Child Laundering: How the Inter-country Adoption System Legitimizes and Incentivizes the Practices of Buying, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Stealing Children] by David M. Smolin, ''bepress Legal Series'', Working Paper 749, 29 August 2005.</ref> he presents the systemic vulnerabilities in the inter-country adoption system that makes adoption scandals predictable.

The [[United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child]] at Article 34, states, "States Parties undertake to protect the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CRC.aspx|title=Convention on the Rights of the Child|work=ohchr.org}}</ref> In the [[European Union]], commercial sexual exploitation of children is subject to a directive{{snd}} ''Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011'' on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography.<ref>{{Cite web|title=DIRECTIVE 2011/92/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:335:0001:0014:EN:PDF|access-date=2020-10-09}}</ref>

The [[Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption]] (or Hague Adoption Convention) is an international convention dealing with international adoption, that aims at preventing [[child laundering]], child trafficking, and other abuses related to international adoption.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.text&cid=69|title=Convention of 29 May 1993 on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption|work=hcch.net}} (full text)</ref>

The [[Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict]] seeks to prevent forceful recruitment (e.g. by guerrilla forces) of children for use in armed conflicts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPACCRC.aspx|title=Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child|work=ohchr.org|access-date=16 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502015246/http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/OPACCRC.aspx|archive-date=2 May 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Sex trafficking===
{{Main|Sex trafficking}}
[[File:USFK Prostitution Warning.jpg|thumb|Warning of [[Prostitutes in South Korea for the U.S. military|Prostitution and Human trafficking in South Korea for G.I.]] by United States Forces Korea|198x198px]]
[[File:RealStars trafficking model.jpg|thumb|RealStars trafficking model|152x152px]]
The [[International Labour Organization]] claims that forced labour in the sex industry affects 4.5 million people worldwide.<ref name="forced-labour">{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm|title=Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery|work=ilo.org|date=28 January 2024 }}</ref> Most victims find themselves in coercive or abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Siddharth Kara|title=Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery|publisher=Columbia University Press|date=2009}}</ref>

Trafficking for sexual exploitation was formerly thought of as the organized movement of people, usually women, between countries and within countries for sex work with the use of physical coercion, deception and bondage through forced debt. However, the [[Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000|Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000]] (US)<ref name="State.gov">{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/g/tip/laws/61124.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090312050500/http://www.state.gov/g/tip/laws/61124.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=12 March 2009 |title=Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 |publisher=State.gov |access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> does not require movement for the offence. The issue becomes contentious when the element of coercion is removed from the definition to incorporate facilitation of consensual involvement in prostitution. For example, in the United Kingdom, the [[Sexual Offences Act 2003]] incorporated trafficking for sexual exploitation but did not require those committing the offence to use coercion, deception or force, so that it also includes any person who enters the UK to carry out sex work with consent as having been "trafficked".<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |url=http://www.gaatw.net/Collateral_Damage_Final/CollateralDamage_UK.pdf |title=Colla UK_Sarah_final |publisher=Gaatw.net |access-date=22 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304151334/http://www.gaatw.net/Collateral_Damage_Final/CollateralDamage_UK.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2011 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In addition, any minor involved in a commercial sex act in the US while under the age of 18 qualifies as a trafficking victim, even if no force, fraud or coercion is involved, under the definition of "Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons" in the US Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.<ref name="State.gov"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chapman-Schmidt|first=Ben|date=2019-04-29|title='Sex Trafficking' as Epistemic Violence|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/384|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=12|pages=172–187|doi=10.14197/atr.2012191211|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free|hdl=1885/288046|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

Trafficked women and children are often promised work in the domestic or service industry, but instead are sometimes taken to [[brothel]]s where they are required to undertake [[sex work]], while their passports and other identification papers are confiscated. They may be beaten or locked up and promised their freedom only after earning&nbsp;– through prostitution&nbsp;– their purchase price, as well as their travel and visa costs.<ref>Migration Information Programme. Trafficking and prostitution: the growing exploitation of migrant women from central and [[eastern Europe]]. Geneva, International Organization for Migration, 1995.</ref><ref>Chauzy JP. Kyrgyz Republic: trafficking. Geneva, International Organization for Migration, 20 January 2001 (Press briefing notes)</ref>

===Forced marriage===
{{Main|Forced marriage}}

A forced marriage is a marriage where one or both participants are married without their freely given consent.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/forcedmarriage/introduction_1.shtml|title=BBC – Ethics – Forced Marriages: Introduction|work=bbc.co.uk}}</ref> ''Servile marriage'' is defined as a marriage involving a person being sold, transferred or inherited into that marriage.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current_series/rip/21-40/rip32.html|title=Forced and servile marriage in the context of human trafficking|work=aic.gov.au}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> According to [[ECPAT]], "Child trafficking for forced marriage is simply another manifestation of trafficking and is not restricted to particular nationalities or countries".<ref name="ecpat.org.uk"/>
[[File:Talk time- Sena from Zambia, who was forced to marry at just 15 (14520939537).jpg|thumb|Sena from [[Zambia]], who was forced to marry at just 15|150x150px]]
Forced marriages have been described as a form of human trafficking in certain situations and certain countries, such as China and its Southeast Asian neighbours from which many women are moved to China, sometimes through promises of work, and forced to marry Chinese men. Ethnographic research with women from Myanmar<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-04-30|title=Re-evaluating Palermo: The case of Burmese women as Chinese brides|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/92/112|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=4|doi=10.14197/atr.20121546|doi-access=free|last1=Hackney|first1=Laura K.}}</ref> and Cambodia<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://un-act.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Final_UN-ACT_Forced_Marriage_Report.pdf|title=A Study on Forced Marriage between Cambodia and China|date=2016|publisher=United Nations Action for Cooperation against Trafficking in Persons (UN-ACT)}}</ref> found that many women eventually get used to their life in China and prefer it to the one they had in their home countries. Furthermore, legal scholars have noted that transnational marriage brokering was never intended to be considered trafficking by the drafters of the Palermo Protocol.<ref name="Gallagher2016">{{Cite journal|date=2016-05-30|title=Editorial: The Problems and Prospects of Trafficking Prosecutions: Ending impunity and securing justice|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/166/169|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=6|pages=1–11|doi=10.14197/atr.20121661|doi-access=free|last1=Gallagher|first1=Anne T.}}</ref>

===Labour trafficking===
{{Further|Unfree labour}}

Labour trafficking is the movement of persons for the purpose of forced labour and services.<ref name="Trafficking for Forced Labour">{{cite web|url=http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/trafficking-for-forced-labour.html|title=Trafficking for Forced Labour|work=ungift.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130404020310/http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/trafficking-for-forced-labour.html|archive-date=4 April 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> It may involve [[bonded labor|bonded labour]], [[involuntary servitude]], [[domestic servitude]], and [[child labor|child labour]].<ref name="Trafficking for Forced Labour"/> Labour trafficking happens most often within the domain of [[domestic work]], [[agriculture]], [[construction]], [[manufacturing]] and [[entertainment]]; and migrant workers and indigenous people are especially at risk of becoming victims.<ref name="forced-labour"/> [[People smuggling]] is a related practice which is characterized by the [[consent]] of the person being smuggled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anti-trafficking.net/differencebetweensmugglingand.html |title=Difference between Smuggling and Trafficking |publisher=Anti-trafficking.net |access-date=30 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130221065500/http://www.anti-trafficking.net/differencebetweensmugglingand.html |archive-date=21 February 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Smuggling situations can descend into human trafficking through coercion and exploitation.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=7DH6AwAAQBAJ&q=international_law_of_migrant_smuggling&pg=PR1 International Law of Migrant Smuggling], 2014, 9-10</ref> They are known to traffic people for the exploitation of their labour, for example, as transporters.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Palmer|first1=Wayne|last2=Missbach|first2=Antje|date=2017-09-06|title=Trafficking within migrant smuggling operations: Are underage transporters 'victims' or 'perpetrators'?|journal=Asian and Pacific Migration Journal|language=en|volume=26|issue=3|pages=287–307|doi=10.1177/0117196817726627|s2cid=158909571|url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/12839282 }}</ref>

[[Debt bondage|Bonded labour]], or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labour trafficking today, and yet is the most widely used method of enslaving people. Victims become "bonded" when their labour, the labour which they themselves hired and the tangible goods they have bought are demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service whose terms and conditions have not been defined, or where the value of the victims' services is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt. Generally, the value of their work is greater than the original sum of money "borrowed".<ref name="fact_labor">{{cite web|url=http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_labor.pdf|title=Labor trafficking fact sheet|work=National Human Trafficking Resource Center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527205216/http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/about/fact_labor.pdf|archive-date=27 May 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

[[Forced labor|Forced labour]] is a situation in which people are forced to work against their will under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment; their freedom is restricted and a degree of ownership is exerted. Men and women are at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work, which globally generates US$31 billion according to the [[International Labour Organization]].<ref>"A global alliance against forced labour", ILO, 11 May 2005.</ref> Forms of forced labour can include domestic servitude, agricultural labour, [[sweatshop|sweatshop factory labour]], janitorial, food service and other service industry labour, and begging.<ref name="fact_labor"/> Some of the products that can be produced by forced labour are: clothing, cocoa, bricks, coffee, cotton, and gold.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCarthy|first=Ryan|title=13 Products Most Likely to Be Made By Child or Forced Labor|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/12/18/child-labor-products_n_798601.html#s210960title=13_Carpets|work=Huffington Post|access-date=8 October 2013|date=18 December 2010}}</ref>
[[File:Convicts Leased to Harvest Timber.png|thumb|Convicts leased to harvest timber|151x151px]]

===Organ trade===
{{main|Organ theft}}

Trafficking in organs is a form of human trafficking. It can take different forms. In some cases, the victim is compelled into giving up an organ. In other cases, the victim agrees to [[organ trade|sell an organ]] in exchange of money/goods, but is not paid (or paid less). Finally, the victim may have the organ removed without the victim's knowledge (usually when the victim is treated for another medical problem/illness{{snd}} real or orchestrated problem/illness). Migrant workers, homeless persons, and illiterate persons are particularly vulnerable to this form of exploitation. Trafficking of organs is an organized crime, involving several offenders:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/trafficking-for-organ-trade.html|title=Trafficking for organ trade|work=ungift.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141109112345/http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/trafficking-for-organ-trade.html|archive-date=9 November 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

* the recruiter
* the transporter
* the medical staff
* the middlemen/contractors
* the buyers

Trafficking for organ trade often seeks [[kidney]]s. Trafficking in organs is a lucrative trade because in many countries the waiting lists for patients who need transplants are very long.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.interpol.int/Crimes/Human-trafficking/Types-of-human-trafficking|title=Types of human trafficking|work=interpol.int}}</ref> Some [[Organ trade#Proposed solutions|solutions have been proposed]] to help counter it.

=== Fraud factory ===
{{main|Fraud factory}}
{{Unreferencedsect|date=November 2024}}
Most fraud factories operate in Southeast Asia (including [[Cambodia]], [[Myanmar]], or [[Laos]]), and are typically run by a criminal gang. Fraud factory operators lure foreign nationals to scam hubs, where they are forced to scam internet users around the world into fraudulently buying cryptocurrencies or withdrawing cash, via social media and online dating apps. Trafficking victims' passports are confiscated, and they are threatened with organ theft, organ harvesting or forced prostitution if they do not scam sufficiently successfully.

==Causes==
A complex set of factors fuel human trafficking, including [[poverty]], unemployment, social norms that discriminate against women, institutional challenges, and [[globalization]].

===Poverty and globalization===
[[Poverty]] and lack of educational and economic opportunities in one's hometown may lead women to voluntarily migrate and then be involuntarily trafficked into sex work.<ref name="berger">{{cite journal | last1 = Berger | first1 = Stephanie M | year = 2012 | title = No End In Sight: Why The "End Demand" Movement Is The Wrong Focus For Efforts To Eliminate Human Trafficking | journal = Harvard Journal of Law & Gender | volume = 35 | issue = 2| pages = 523–570 }}</ref><ref name="weitzer">Weitzer, Ronald. "The social construction of sex trafficking: ideology and institutionalization of a moral crusade." Politics & Society 35.3 (2007): 447–475.</ref> As globalization opened up national borders to greater exchange of goods and capital, labour migration also increased. Less wealthy countries have fewer options for livable wages. The economic impact of globalization pushes people to make conscious decisions to migrate and be vulnerable to trafficking. [[Gender inequality|Gender inequalities]] that hinder women from participating in the formal sector also push women into informal sectors.<ref name="janie">{{cite journal | last1 = Chuang | first1 = Janie | year = 2006 | title = Beyond a snapshot: Preventing human trafficking in the global economy | url = https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1323&context=ijgls| journal = Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies | volume = 13 | issue = 1| pages = 137–163 | doi=10.1353/gls.2006.0002| url-access = subscription }}</ref>

Long waiting lists for organs in the United States and Europe created a thriving international black market. Traffickers harvest organs, particularly kidneys, to sell for large profit and often without properly caring for or compensating the victims. Victims often come from poor, rural communities and see few other options than to sell organs illegally.<ref>{{cite web|last=Scheper-Hughes|first=Nancy|title=Organs Without Borders|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/articles/2005/01/05/organs_without_borders|work=Foreign Policy|access-date=22 January 2014}}</ref> Wealthy countries' inability to meet organ demand within their own borders perpetuates trafficking. By reforming their internal donation system, Iran achieved a surplus of legal donors and provides an instructive model for eliminating both organ trafficking and shortage.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fry-Revere |first=Sigrid |title=The Kidney Sellers:A Journey of Discovery in Iran |publisher=Carolina Academic Press|year=2014 |url=http://www.cap-press.com/books/isbn/9781611635126/The-Kidney-Sellers}}</ref>

Globalization and the rise of internet technology has also facilitated human trafficking. Online classified sites and social networks such as Craigslist have been under intense scrutiny for being used by clients and traffickers in facilitating sex trafficking and sex work in general. Traffickers use explicit sites (e.g. Craigslist, Backpage, MySpace) to market, recruit, sell, and exploit women. Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking sites are suspected for similar uses. According to the [[National Center for Missing and Exploited Children]], online classified ads reduce the risks of finding prospective customers.<ref>Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Hearings on H.R. 5575, Before the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, 111th Cong. 145 (2010) (statement of Ernie Allen, president and CEO, National Center for Missing & Exploited Children).</ref> Studies have identified the Internet as the single biggest facilitator of commercial sex trade, although it is difficult to ascertain which women advertised are sex trafficking victims.<ref>Shared Hope International, Demand: A Comparative Examination of Sex Tourism and Trafficking in Jamaica, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United States, n.d., 5.</ref> Traffickers and pimps use the Internet to recruit minors, since Internet and social networking sites usage have significantly increased especially among children.<ref>Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo, "Online child grooming: A literature review on the misuse of social networking sites for grooming children for sexual offences", Australian Institute of Criminology Research and Public Policy Series 103, 2009, ii–xiv.</ref> At the same time, critical scholars have questioned the extent of the role of internet in human trafficking and have cautioned against sweeping generalisations and urged more research.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Musto|first1=J. L.|last2=boyd|first2=d.|date=2014-09-01|title=The Trafficking-Technology Nexus|journal=Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society|language=en|volume=21|issue=3|pages=461–483|doi=10.1093/sp/jxu018|s2cid=145112041|issn=1072-4745|doi-access=free}}</ref>

While globalization fostered new technologies that may exacerbate human trafficking, technology can also be used to assist law enforcement and anti-trafficking efforts. A study was done on online classified ads surrounding the [[Super Bowl]]. A number of reports have noticed increase in sex trafficking during previous years of the Super Bowl.<ref name="newsweek.com">{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/30/the-superbowl-of-sex-trafficking.html|title=Michelle Goldberg, "The Super Bowl of Sex Trafficking", Newsweek, January 30, 2011.|website=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref> For the 2011 [[Super Bowl XLV]] held in Dallas, Texas, the Backpage for Dallas area experienced a 136% increase on the number of posts in the Adult section on Super Bowl Sunday; in contrast, Sundays typically have the lowest number of posts. Researchers analyzed the most salient terms in these online ads, which suggested that many escorts were traveling across state lines to Dallas specifically for the Super Bowl, and found that the self-reported ages were higher than usual. Twitter was another social networking platform studied for detecting sex trafficking. Digital tools can be used to narrow the pool of sex trafficking cases, albeit imperfectly and with uncertainty.<ref name="mark">Latonero, Mark. "Human Trafficking Online: The Role of Social Networking Sites and Online Classifieds." USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. Available at SSRN 2045851 (2011).</ref>

However, there has been no evidence found actually linking the Super Bowl{{snd}} or any other sporting event{{snd}} to increased trafficking or prostitution.<ref name="blogs.villagevoice.com">[http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/01/just_in_time_fo.php Anna Merlan, "Just in Time for February, the Myth of Sex Trafficking and the Super Bowl Returns"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140202171511/http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2014/01/just_in_time_fo.php |date=2 February 2014 }}, Village Voice Blogs, 30 January 2014.</ref><ref name="Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women">{{cite web|url=http://www.gaatw.org/publications/WhatstheCostofaRumour.11.15.2011.pdf|first=Julie |last=Ham|title=What's the Cost of a Rumour?|work= Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women |year=2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Martin|first1=Lauren|last2=Hill|first2=Annie|date=2019-09-26|title=Debunking the Myth of 'Super Bowl Sex Trafficking': Media hype or evidenced-based coverage|url=https://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/404|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=13|pages=13–29|doi=10.14197/atr.201219132|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Political and institutional===
Corrupt and inadequately trained police officers can be complicit in human trafficking and/or commit violence against sex workers, including trafficked victims.<ref name="holly"/> Human traffickers often incorporate abuse of the legal system into their control tactics by making threats of deportation<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/countries/2016/258756.htm 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report], U.S. Department of State</ref> or by turning victims into the authorities, possibly resulting in the incarceration of the victims.<ref>[https://leb.fbi.gov/articles/featured-articles/a-victim-centered-approach-to-sex-trafficking-cases A Victim-Centered Approach to Sex Trafficking] Alvarez, Larry MS and Cañas-Moreira, Jocelyn.</ref>

Anti-trafficking agendas from different groups can also be in conflict. In the movement for [[Sex worker rights|sex workers' rights]], sex workers establish unions and organizations, which seek to eliminate trafficking. However, law enforcement also seek to eliminate trafficking and to prosecute trafficking, and their work may infringe on sex workers' rights and agency. For example, the sex workers union DMSC (Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee) in Kolkata, India, has "self-regulatory boards" (SRBs) that patrol the red light districts and assist girls who are underage or trafficked. The union opposes police intervention and interferes with police efforts to bring minor girls out of brothels, on the grounds that police action might have an adverse impact on non-trafficked sex workers, especially because police officers in many places are corrupt and violent in their operations.<ref name="holly">{{cite journal | last1 = Burkhalter | first1 = Holly | year = 2012 | title = Sex Trafficking, Law Enforcement and Perpetrator Accountability | journal = Anti Trafficking Review | volume = 1 | pages = 122–133 }}</ref> A recent seven-country research by the Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women found that [[sex worker organizations]] around the world assist women in the industry who are trafficked and should be considered as allies in anti-trafficking work.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gaatw.org/resources/publications/941-sex-workers-organising-for-change|title=Sex Workers Organising for Change: Self-representation, community mobilisation, and working conditions|date=2018|publisher=Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women}}</ref>

Criminalization of sex work also may foster the underground market for sex work and enable sex trafficking.<ref name="berger"/>

Difficult political situations such as civil war and social conflict are push factors for migration and trafficking. A study reported that larger countries, the richest and the poorest countries, and countries with restricted press freedom are likely to have higher levels of trafficking. Specifically, being in a transitional economy made a country nineteen times more likely to be ranked in the highest trafficking category, and gender inequalities in a country's labour market also correlated with higher trafficking rates.<ref name="rao">Rao, Smriti, & Christina Presenti, ''Understanding Human Trafficking Origin: A Cross-Country Empirical Analysis'', in ''Feminist Economics'', vol. 18, no. 2 (April 2012), pp. 231–263, esp. pp. 233–234.</ref>

The annual U.S. State Department Trafficking in Persons Report for 2013 cited [[Russia]] and [[China]] as among the worst offenders in combatting forced labour and sex trafficking, raising the possibility of US sanctions being leveraged against these countries.<ref>{{cite news| title=U.S. cites Russia, China among worst in human trafficking: report | author=Susan Heavey| work=Reuters| url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-humantrafficking-idUSBRE95I1LC20130619|  date=19 June 2013}}</ref> In 1997 alone as many as 175,000 young women from Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern and Central Europe were sold as commodities in the sex markets of the developed countries in Europe and the Americas.<ref>Johanna Granville, [https://www.academia.edu/3541545/From_Russia_without_Love_The_Fourth_Wave_of_Global_Human_Trafficking "From Russia without Love: The 'Fourth Wave' of Global Human Trafficking"], ''Demokratizatsiya'', vol. 12, no. 1 (Winter 2004): p. 148.</ref>

===Commercial demand for sex===
Abolitionists who seek an end to sex trafficking explain the nature of sex trafficking as an economic supply and demand model. In this model, male demand for prostitutes leads to a market of sex work, which, in turn, fosters sex trafficking, the illegal trade and coercion of people into sex work, and pimps and traffickers become 'distributors' who supply people to be sexually exploited. The demand for sex trafficking can also be facilitated by some pimps' and traffickers' desire for women whom they can exploit as workers because they do not require wages, safe working circumstances, and agency in choosing customers.<ref name="berger"/> The link between demand for paid sex and incidences of human trafficking, as well as the "demand for trafficking" discourse more broadly, have never been proven empirically and have been seriously questioned by a number of scholars and organisations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gaatw.org/resources/publications/913-moving-beyond-supply-and-demand-catchphrases-assessing-the-uses-and-limitations-of-demand-based-approaches-in-anti-trafficking|title=Moving Beyond 'Supply and Demand' Catchphrases: Assessing the uses and limitations of demand-based approaches in Anti-Trafficking|last=Ham|first=Julie|date=2011|publisher=Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Is Trafficking in Human Beings Demand Driven? A Multi-Country Pilot Study|last=O'Connell Davidson|first=Julia|publisher=International Organization for Migration|year=2003|location=Geneva}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Mekong challenge : human trafficking : redefining demand : destination factors in the trafficking of children and young women in the Mekong sub-region|last=Pearson, Elaine.|date=2005|publisher=International Labour Organization|others=International Labour Organization.|isbn=92-2-117560-X|edition=Abridged|location=Bangkok|oclc=607097783}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://demandat.eu/sites/default/files/WP3_Policy-Brief_Measures_FINAL.pdf|title=The Demand-Side in Anti-Trafficking: Current measures and ways forward|date=2017|publisher=International Centre for Migration Policy Development}}</ref> To this day, the idea that trafficking is fuelled by demand remains poorly conceptualised and based on assumptions rather than evidence.

=== Vulnerable groups ===
The U.S. State Department's annual ''Trafficking in Persons Report'' for 2016 stated that "refugees and migrants; [[Human trafficking in LGBTQI+ communities|lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals]]; religious minorities; people with disabilities; and those who are stateless" are the most at-risk for human trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2016/index.htm|title=Trafficking in Persons Report 2016|website=www.state.gov|access-date=2017-05-17}}</ref> Additionally, in its [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children|Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children]], the United Nations notes that women and children are particularly at risk for human trafficking and [[revictimization]]. The Protocol requires State Parties not only to enact measures that prevent human trafficking but also to address the factors that exacerbate women and children's vulnerability, including "poverty, underdevelopment and lack of equal opportunity."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx|title=OHCHR Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons|website=www.ohchr.org|language=en-US|access-date=2018-04-16}}</ref>

==Consequences==
Human trafficking victims face threats of violence from many sources, including customers, pimps, brothel owners, madams, traffickers, and corrupt local law enforcement officials and even from family members who do not want to have any link with them.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Risky business: Harlem pimps' work decisions and economic returns  |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329875237|year=2019|author1 =A. Horning|author2 = C. Thomas |author3 =A. Marcus |author4 =J. Sriken |display-authors=1|website=Deviant Behavior 41 (2), 160-185}}</ref>
Because of their potentially complicated legal status and their potential language barriers, the arrest or fear of arrest creates stress and other emotional trauma for trafficking victims.<ref name="ditmore"/><ref>Cianciarulo, Marisa Silenzi. "Modern-Day Slavery and Cultural Bias: Proposals for Reforming the US Visa System for Victims of International Human Trafficking." Nev. LJ 7 (2006): 826.</ref> The challenges facing victims often continue after their removal from coercive exploitation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Brennan|first1=Denise|last2=Plambech|first2=Sine|date=2018-04-29|title=Editorial: Moving Forward—Life after trafficking|url=http://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/317|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=10|doi=10.14197/atr.201218101|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref> In addition to coping with their past traumatic experiences, former trafficking victims often experience [[social alienation]] in the host and home countries. [[Stigmatization]], [[social exclusion]], and [[Toleration|intolerance]] often make it difficult for former victims to integrate into their host community, or to reintegrate into their former community. Accordingly, one of the central aims of protection assistance, is the promotion of reintegration.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Bearup|first=Luke S|date=2016-08-01|title=Reintegration as an Emerging Vision of Justice for Victims of Human Trafficking|journal=International Migration|language=en|volume=54|issue=4|pages=164–176|doi=10.1111/imig.12248|issn=1468-2435}}</ref><ref name="ia-forum.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.ia-forum.org/Content/ViewInternalDocument.cfm?ContentID=8625|title=Interview with Dr. Luke S. Bearup: Human Trafficking – International Affairs Forum|last=ia-forum.org|website=www.ia-forum.org|access-date=2017-02-23}}</ref> Too often however, governments and large institutional donors offer little funding to support the provision of assistance and social services to former trafficking victims.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Surtees|first1=Rebecca|last2=de Kerchove|first2=Fabrice|date=September 2014|title=Who Funds Re/integration? Ensuring sustainable services for trafficking victims|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|volume=3|issue=3 |doi=10.14197/atr.20121434|doi-access=free}}</ref> As the victims are also pushed into [[drug trafficking]], many of them face criminal sanctions also.<ref name="zheng">Zheng, Tiantian, ed. Sex trafficking, human rights, and social justice. Vol. 4. Routledge, 2010.</ref>

===Psychological===

====Short-term impact====
The use of coercion by perpetrators and traffickers involves the use of extreme control. Perpetrators expose the victim to high amounts of [[psychological stress]] induced by threats, fear, and physical and emotional violence. Tactics of coercion are reportedly used in three phases of trafficking: recruitment, initiation, and indoctrination.<ref name=Hopper>Hopper, E. and Hidalgo, J. (2006). Invisible chains: Psychological coercion of human trafficking victims. "Intercultural Human Rights Law, 1", 185–209.</ref> During the initiation phase, traffickers use [[foot-in-the-door]] techniques of [[persuasion]] to lead their victims into various trafficking industries. This [[Psychological manipulation|manipulation]] creates an environment where the victim becomes completely dependent upon the authority of the trafficker.<ref name=Hopper/> Traffickers take advantage of family dysfunction, homelessness, and history of childhood abuse to psychologically manipulate women and children into the trafficking industry.<ref name=Wilson>{{cite journal | last1 = Wilson | first1 = B. | last2 = Butler | first2 = L. D. | year = 2013 | title = Running a gauntlet: A review of victimization and violence in the pre-entry, post-entry, and peri-/post-exit periods of commercial sexual exploitation | journal = Psychological Trauma | volume =  6| issue = 5| pages =  494–504| doi = 10.1037/a0032977 }}</ref>
[[File:Innocent's Silence.jpg|thumb|A distressed woman with her mouth taped shut.]]
One form of psychological coercion particularly common in cases of [[sex trafficking]] and [[forced prostitution]] is [[Stockholm syndrome]]. Many women entering into the sex trafficking industry are minors who have already experienced prior sexual abuse.<ref name=McClain>{{cite journal | last1 = McClain | first1 = N. M. | last2 = Garrity | first2 = S. E. | year = 2011 | title = Sex trafficking and the exploitation of adolescents | journal = Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing | volume = 40 | issue = 2| pages = 243–252 | doi =  10.1111/j.1552-6909.2011.01221.x| pmid = 21284727 }}</ref> Traffickers take advantage of young girls by luring them into the business through force and coercion, but more often through false promises of love, security, and protection. This form of coercion works to recruit and initiate the victim into the life of a sex worker, while also reinforcing a "[[trauma bond]]", also known as Stockholm syndrome. Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response where the victim becomes attached to his or her perpetrator.<ref name=McClain/><ref name=Hardy>{{cite journal | last1 = Hardy | first1 = V. L. | last2 = Compton | first2 = K. D. | last3 = McPhatter | first3 = V. S. | year = 2013 | title = Domestic minor sex trafficking: Practice implications for mental health professionals | journal = Affilia | volume = 28 | pages = 8–18 | doi = 10.1177/0886109912475172 | s2cid = 144127343 }}</ref>

The goal of a trafficker is to turn a human being into a slave. To do this, perpetrators employ tactics that can lead to the psychological consequence of [[learned helplessness]] for the victims, where they sense that they no longer have any autonomy or control over their lives.<ref name=Wilson/> Traffickers may hold their victims captive, expose them to large amounts of alcohol or use drugs, keep them in [[Isolation to facilitate abuse|isolation]], or withhold food or sleep.<ref name=Wilson/> During this time the victim often begins to feel the onset of depression, [[Guilt (emotion)|guilt]] and [[self-blame]], anger and [[Rage (emotion)|rage]], and sleep disturbances, [[PTSD]], numbing, and extreme stress. Under these pressures, the victim can fall into the hopeless mental state of learned helplessness.<ref name=Hopper/><ref name=Segerstron>{{cite journal | last1 = Segerstron | first1 = S. C. | last2 = Miller | first2 = G. E. | year = 2004 | title = Psychological stress and the human immune system: A meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry | doi = 10.1037/0033-2909.130.4.601| pmid = 15250815 | pmc = 1361287 | journal = Psychological Bulletin | volume = 130 | issue = 4| pages = 601–630 }}</ref><ref name=Zimmerman>Zimmerman, C., Hossain, M., Yun, K., Roche, B., Morison, L., and Watts, C. (2006). Stolen Smiles: A summary report on the physical and psychological health consequences of women and adolescents trafficked in Europe. ''The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine: Daphne'', 1–28.</ref>

For victims specifically trafficked for the purpose of forced prostitution and sexual slavery, initiation into the trade is almost always characterized by violence.<ref name=Wilson/> Traffickers employ practices of sexual abuse, torture, [[brainwashing]], repeated rape and physical assault until the victim submits to his or her fate as a sexual slave. Victims experience verbal threats, [[social isolation]], and [[intimidation]] before they accept their role as a prostitute.<ref name=Hodge>{{cite journal | last1 = Hodge | first1 = D. R. | last2 = Lietz | first2 = C. A. | year = 2007 | title = The international sexual trafficking of women and children: A review of the literature | journal = Affilia | volume = 22 | issue = 2| pages = 163–174 | doi = 10.1177/0886109907299055 | s2cid = 145243350 }}</ref>

For those enslaved in situations of forced labor, learned helplessness can also manifest itself through the trauma of living as a slave. Reports indicate that captivity for the person and financial gain of their owners adds additional psychological trauma. Victims are often cut off from all forms of social connection, as isolation allows the perpetrator to destroy the victim's sense of self and increase his or her dependence on the perpetrator.<ref name=Hopper/>

====Long-term impact====
Human trafficking victims may experience complex trauma as a result of repeated cases of intimate relationship trauma over long periods of time including, but not limited to, [[sexual abuse]], [[domestic violence]], forced prostitution, or gang rape. [[Complex trauma]] involves multifaceted conditions of depression, anxiety, self-hatred, dissociation, substance abuse, self-destructive behaviors, medical and somatic concerns, despair, and [[revictimization]]. Psychology researchers report that, although similar to [[post-traumatic stress disorder]] (PTSD), complex trauma is more expansive in diagnosis because of the effects of prolonged trauma.<ref name=Courtois>{{cite journal | last1 = Courtois | first1 = C. A. | year = 2004 | title = Complex trauma, complex reactions: Assessment and treatment | journal = Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training | volume = 41 | issue = 4| pages = 412–425 | doi = 10.1037/0033-3204.41.4.412 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.600.157 }}</ref>

Victims of sex trafficking often get "branded"<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/us/sex-trafficking-branding/index.html|title=Old mark of slavery is being used on sex trafficking victims|author=Sara Sidner|website=CNN|date=31 August 2015|access-date=2017-05-18}}</ref> by their traffickers or pimps. These tattoos usually consist of bar codes or the trafficker's name or rules. Even if a victim escapes their trafficker's control or gets rescued, these tattoos are painful reminders of their past and result in emotional distress. Removing or covering these tattoos can potentially cost survivors great sums of money.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ink180.com/the-ink180-story/|title=Ink180 » The INK 180 Story|website=ink180.com|language=en-US|access-date=2017-05-18|archive-date=27 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627194512/http://ink180.com/the-ink180-story/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bbc.co.uk/news/extra/VSUj7yai4n/debranding-my-body|title=De-branding my body|website=BBC News|access-date=2019-11-05}}</ref>

Psychological reviews have shown that the chronic stress experienced by many victims of human trafficking can compromise the immune system.<ref name=Wilson/> Several studies found that chronic stressors (like trauma or loss) suppressed cellular and humoral immunity.<ref name=Segerstron/> Victims may develop [[sexually transmitted infection]]s and HIV/AIDS.<ref name=Galjic-Veljanoski>{{cite journal | last1 = Galjic-Veljanoski | first1 = O. | last2 = Steward | first2 = D. E. | year = 2007 | title = Women trafficked into prostitution: Determinants, human rights and health needs | journal = Transcultural Psychiatry | volume = 44 | issue = 3| pages = 338–358 | doi = 10.1177/1363461507081635 | pmid = 17938151 | s2cid = 39871478 }}</ref> Perpetrators frequently use substance abuse as a means to control their victims, which leads to compromised health, self-destructive behavior, and long-term physical harm.<ref name=Peled>{{cite journal | last1 = Peled | first1 = E. | last2 = Parke | first2 = A. | year = 2013 | title = The mothering experiences of sex-trafficked women: Between here and there | journal = American Journal of Orthopsychiatry | volume = 83 | issue = 4| pages = 576–587 | doi=10.1111/ajop.12046| pmid = 24164529 }}</ref> Furthermore, victims have reported treatment similar to torture, where their bodies are broken and beaten into submission.<ref name=Peled/><ref name=Rafferty1>{{cite journal | last1 = Rafferty | first1 = Y | year = 2013 | title = Child trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: A review of promising prevention policies and programs | journal = American Journal of Orthopsychiatry | volume = 83 | issue = 4| pages = 559–575 | doi = 10.1111/ajop.12056 | pmid = 24164528 }}</ref>

Children are especially vulnerable to these developmental and psychological consequences of trafficking due to their age. In order to gain complete control of the child, traffickers often destroy the physical and mental health of the children through persistent physical and emotional abuse.<ref name=Rafferty2>{{cite journal | last1 = Rafferty | first1 = Y | year = 2008 | title = The impact of trafficking on children: Psychological and social policy perspectives | journal = Child Development Perspectives | volume = 2 | pages = 13–18 | doi=10.1111/j.1750-8606.2008.00035.x}}</ref> Victims experience severe trauma on a daily basis that devastates the healthy development of [[self-concept]], [[self-worth]], biological integrity, and cognitive functioning.<ref name=Rafferty3>{{cite journal | last1 = Rafferty | first1 = Y | year = 2007 | title = Children for sale: Child trafficking in Southeast Asia | journal = Child Abuse Review | volume = 16 | issue = 6| pages = 401–422 | doi=10.1002/car.1009}}</ref> Children who grow up in environments of constant exploitation frequently exhibit antisocial behavior, over-sexualized behavior, self-harm, aggression, distrust of adults, dissociative disorders, substance abuse, complex trauma, and attention deficit disorders.<ref name=Hardy/><ref name=Rafferty2/><ref name=Rafferty3/><ref name=Browne>{{cite journal | last1 = Browne | first1 = A. | last2 = Finkelhor | first2 = D. | year = 1986 | title = Impact of child sexual abuse: A review of the research | journal = Psychological Bulletin | volume = 99 | issue = 1| pages = 66–77 | doi=10.1037/0033-2909.99.1.66 | pmid=3704036| hdl = 10983/681 }}</ref> [[Stockholm syndrome]] is also a common problem for trafficked girls, which can hinder them from both trying to escape, and moving forward in psychological recovery programs.<ref name=Rafferty1/>

Although 98% of the sex trade is composed of women and girls,<ref name=Rafferty1/> there is an effort to gather empirical evidence about the psychological impact of abuse common in sex trafficking upon young boys.<ref name=Rafferty3/><ref name=Finkelhor>{{cite journal | last1 = Finkelhor | first1 = D | year = 1990 | title = Early and long-term effects of child sexual abuse: An update | journal = Professional Psychology: Research and Practice | volume = 21 | issue = 5| pages = 325–330 | doi=10.1037/0735-7028.21.5.325}}</ref> Boys often will experience forms of post-traumatic stress disorder, but also additional stressors of [[social stigma]] of homosexuality associated with sexual abuse for boys, and externalization of blame, increased anger, and desire for revenge.

===HIV/AIDS===
[[File:AIDS and HIV prevalence 2008.svg|thumb|upright=1.2|alt= A map of the world where most of the land is colored green or yellow except for sub Saharan Africa which is colored red|Estimated [[prevalence]] in % of HIV among young adults (15–49) per country as of 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=AIDSinfo|url=http://www.unaids.org/en/dataanalysis/datatools/aidsinfo/|work=UNAIDS|access-date=4 March 2013}}</ref>

{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-break}}
{{legend|#787878|<small>No data</small>}}
{{legend|#94bf8b|<small><0.10</small>}}
{{legend|#f4e2ba|<small>0.10–0.5</small>}}
{{legend|#eaca83|<small>0.5–1</small>}}
{{Col-break}}
{{legend|#f07568|<small>1–5</small>}}
{{legend|#ff4800|<small>5–15</small>}}
{{legend|#b00000|<small>15–50</small>}}
{{col-end}}]]
Sex trafficking increases the risk of contracting [[HIV/AIDS]].<ref>{{cite journal|title= How Does Sex Trafficking Increase the Risk of HIV Infection? An Observational Study From Southern India|vauthors=Wirth KE, etal | pmid=23324332 | doi=10.1093/aje/kws338 |volume=177 |issue=3 |pmc=3626049 |journal=Am J Epidemiol |pages=232–41 |year=2013}}</ref> The HIV/AIDS pandemic can be both a cause and a consequence of sex trafficking. On one hand, children are sought by customers because they are perceived as being less likely to be HIV positive, and this demand leads to child sex trafficking. On the other hand, trafficking leads to the proliferation of HIV, because victims often cannot protect themselves properly and get infected.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.santac.org/eng/Human-Trafficking/Human-Trafficking-and-HIV-AIDS|title=Human Trafficking and HIV & AIDS|work=santac.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140623201859/http://www.santac.org/eng/Human-Trafficking/Human-Trafficking-and-HIV-AIDS|archive-date=23 June 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

===Economic impacts===
Organised criminal groups invest in a wide range of legitimate businesses to conceal and launder the profits earned from human trafficking. Fair competition may be undermined when human trafficking victims are exploited for cheap labour, driving down production costs, thereby indirectly causing a negative economic imbalance.<ref name="auto5">{{cite web |url=http://www.businessworld.in/article/Human-Trafficking-Threat-To-Economic-Security-Of-A-Nation/15-12-2018-165268/ |last1=Grewal |first1=Silky |title=Human Trafficking: Threat To Economic Security Of A Nation |website=BusinessWorld}}</ref> This can also depress wages for legal labourers.<ref>{{cite web |title=What Fuels Human Trafficking? |url=https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/what-fuels-human-trafficking/31692 |website=UNICEF USA}}</ref> According to the United Nations, human trafficking can be closely integrated into legal businesses, including the tourism industry, agriculture, hotel and airline operations, and leisure and entertainment businesses.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/An_Introduction_to_Human_Trafficking_-_Background_Paper.pdf |last1=U.N. GIFT and UNODC |title=An Introduction to Human Trafficking |date=2008}}</ref><ref name="auto6">{{cite journal |title=Trafficking in Persons: U.S. Policy and Issues for Congress |journal=Congressional Research Service |date=February 19, 2013}}</ref> Related crimes associated with human trafficking reportedly include fraud, extortion, racketeering, money laundering, bribery, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, car theft, migrant smuggling, kidnapping, document forgery, and gambling.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.unodc.org/pdf/traffickinginpersons_report_2006ver2.pdf |last1=UNODC |title=Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns |date=April 2006}}</ref><ref name="auto6"/>

Other economic costs that have been associated with human trafficking include lost labour productivity, human resources, taxable revenues, and migrant remittances, as well as unlawfully redistributed wealth and heightened law enforcement and public health costs.<ref name="auto6"/>

==Countermeasures==
[[File:CBP, DOT, AND MAJOR AIRLINES TO ANNOUNCE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARTNERSHIPS TO COMBAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING (8970602236).jpg|thumb|The Blue Campaign collaborates with law enforcement, government, non-governmental, and private organizations to end human trafficking and protect victims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign|title=Blue Campaign {{!}} Homeland Security|website=www.dhs.gov|date=22 December 2014|language=en|access-date=2017-05-18}}</ref>]]

In 2009, the International Organization for Migration launched the [[Buy Responsibly]] awareness raising campaign against trafficking.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IOM's Buy Responsibly Campaign Arrives in the Netherlands |url=https://www.iom.int/news/ioms-buy-responsibly-campaign-arrives-netherlands |access-date=2022-12-20 |website=International Organization for Migration |language=en}}</ref> The United Nations Organization also takes an active part in the anti-trafficking effort, particularly through the [[Sustainable Development Goal 5]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender equality|url=https://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/women-and-the-sdgs/sdg-5-gender-equality|access-date=2020-09-23|website=UN Women|language=en}}</ref> In early 2016, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations held an interactive discussion entitled "Responding to Current Challenges in Trafficking in Human Beings".<ref>{{cite web|title='Responding to current challenges in trafficking in human beings' discussion in New York|url=http://www.inform.kz/eng/article/2869222|website=inform.kz|date=10 February 2016|access-date=23 February 2016|archive-date=15 May 2016|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160515235131/http%3A//www.inform.kz/eng/article/2869222|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Anti-trafficking awareness and fundraising campaigns constitute a significant portion of anti-trafficking initiatives.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://combathumantrafficking.org/2017/02/the-importance-of-responsible-public-awareness-campaigns-for-human-trafficking/|title=Responsible Public Awareness Campaigns for Human Trafficking|date=2017-02-13|work=Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking|access-date=2017-04-26|language=en-US}}</ref> The 24 Hour Race is one such initiative that focuses on increasing awareness among high school students in Asia.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.24hourrace.org/|title=Home|website=24 Hour Race|language=en-US|access-date=2017-04-26}}</ref> The Blue Campaign is another anti-trafficking initiative that works with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to combat human trafficking and bring freedom to exploited victims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/about-blue-campaign|title=About the Blue Campaign {{!}} Homeland Security|website=www.dhs.gov|date=24 May 2013|language=en|access-date=2017-05-18}}</ref> However, critical commentators have pointed out that initiatives such as these aimed at "raising awareness" do little, if anything, to actually reduce instances of trafficking.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Sharapov|first1=Kiril|last2=Hoff|first2=Suzanne|last3=Gerasimov|first3=Borislav|date=2019-09-26|title=Editorial: Knowledge is Power, Ignorance is Bliss: Public perceptions and responses to human trafficking|url=https://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/403|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=13|pages=1–11|doi=10.14197/atr.201219131|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mendel|first1=Jonathan|last2=Sharapov|first2=Kiril|date=June 2016|title=Human Trafficking and Online Networks: Policy, Analysis, and Ignorance: Human Trafficking and Online Networks|journal=Antipode|language=en|volume=48|issue=3|pages=665–684|doi=10.1111/anti.12213|hdl=10547/593481|s2cid=146238036 |url=https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/ws/files/7689615/Trafficking_paper_final_deanonymised_for_Antipode.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kempadoo|first=Kamala|author-link=Kamala Kempadoo |date=2015-01-02|title=The Modern-Day White (Wo)Man's Burden: Trends in Anti-Trafficking and Anti-Slavery Campaigns|journal=Journal of Human Trafficking|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=8–20|doi=10.1080/23322705.2015.1006120|s2cid=154908845|issn=2332-2705}}</ref>

The 3P Anti-trafficking Policy Index measured the effectiveness of government policies to fight human trafficking based on an evaluation of policy requirements prescribed by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).<ref>Cho, Seo-Young, Axel Dreher, and Eric Neumayer. "The Spread of Anti-trafficking Policies-Evidence from a New Index." Available at SSRN 1776842 (2011).</ref>

In 2014, for the first time in history major leaders of many religions, Buddhist, Anglican, Catholic, and Orthodox Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim<!--alphabetical-->, met to sign a shared commitment against modern-day slavery; the declaration they signed calls for the elimination of slavery and human trafficking by 2020.<ref name="The Huffington Post">{{cite web|url=http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/6256640|title=Pope Francis And Other Religious Leaders Sign Declaration Against Modern Slavery|work=The Huffington Post|date=2 December 2014}}</ref> The signatories were: [[Pope Francis]], [[Mata Amritanandamayi|Mātā Amṛtānandamayī]] (also known as Amma), Bhikkhuni Thich Nu [[Chân Không]] (representing Zen Master [[Thích Nhất Hạnh]]), Datuk K Sri Dhammaratana, Chief High Priest of Malaysia, Rabbi [[Abraham Skorka]], Rabbi David Rosen, Abbas Abdalla Abbas Soliman, Undersecretary of State of Al Azhar Alsharif (representing Mohamed Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Al-Azhar), Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi, Sheikh Naziyah Razzaq Jaafar, Special advisor of Grand Ayatollah (representing Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Basheer Hussain al Najafi), Sheikh Omar Abboud, Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Metropolitan Emmanuel of France (representing Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew).<ref name="The Huffington Post"/>

The [[UN Office on Drugs and Crime]] (UNODC) has further assisted many [[non-governmental organizations]] in their fight against human trafficking. The 2006 armed conflict in [[Lebanon]], which saw 300,000 domestic workers from [[Sri Lanka]], [[Ethiopia]] and the [[Philippines]] jobless and targets of traffickers, led to an emergency information campaign with NGO Caritas Migrant to raise human-trafficking awareness. Additionally, an April 2006 report, Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns, helped to identify 127 countries of origin, 98 transit countries and 137 destination countries for human trafficking. To date, it is the second most frequently downloaded UNODC report. Continuing into 2007, UNODC supported initiatives like the Community Vigilance project along the border between [[India]] and [[Nepal]], as well as provided subsidy for NGO trafficking prevention campaigns in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and [[Croatia]].<ref name=autogenerated5>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/prevention.html?ref=menuside |title=Preventing Human Trafficking |publisher=Unodc.org |access-date=21 January 2012 |archive-date=25 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125175740/http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/prevention.html?ref=menuside |url-status=dead }}</ref>

UNODC efforts to motivate action launched the [[Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking]] on 6 March 2009,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside#UNODC's_Response |title=What is human-trafficking |publisher=Unodc.org |date=6 March 2009 |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> which Mexico launched its own national version of in April 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/mexico_campaign.html |title=Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking – Mexico Campaign |publisher=Unodc.org |access-date=21 January 2012 |archive-date=14 May 2016 |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160514220256/http://www.unodc.org/blueheart/en/mexico_campaign.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/unodc#p/u/2/VgBgbKcUGyw |title=Kanaal van UNODCHQ |publisher=YouTube |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> The campaign encourages people to show solidarity with human trafficking victims by wearing the blue heart, similar to how wearing the red ribbon promotes transnational [[HIV]]/[[AIDS]] awareness.<ref>[[Blue Heart Campaign Against Human Trafficking]]</ref> On 4 November 2010, U.N. [[Secretary-General]] [[Ban Ki-moon]] launched the [[United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons]] to provide [[humanitarian]], legal and financial aid to victims of human trafficking with the aim of increasing the number of those rescued and supported, and broadening the extent of assistance they receive.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2010/November/demi-moore-and-ashton-kutcher-join-secretary-general-to-launch-trust-fund-for-victims-of-human-trafficking.html?ref=fs1 |title=Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher join Secretary-General to launch Trust Fund for victims of human trafficking |publisher=Unodc.org |date=4 November 2010 |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref>

In 2013, the United Nations designated July 30 as the World Day against Trafficking in Persons.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/events/humantrafficking/index.shtml |title=World Day against Trafficking in Persons 30 July |publisher=United Nations |access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref>

There are a number of international treaties concerning human trafficking:
* [[Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery]], entered into force in 1957
* [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children]]
* [[Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air]]
* [[Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography]]
* [[Forced Labour Convention|ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)]]
* [[Abolition of Forced Labour Convention|ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)]]
* [[Minimum Age Convention, 1973|ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)]]
* [[Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention|ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)]]
* [[Inter-American Convention on International Traffic in Minors]]
In countermeasures victims began using the sign language help sign.

===United States===
{{Main|Human trafficking in the United States}}

The enactment of the [[Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000|Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act]] (TVPA) in 2000 by the [[United States Congress]] and its subsequent re-authorizations established the Department of State's [[Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons]], which engages with foreign governments to fight human trafficking and publishes a [[Trafficking in Persons Report]] annually. The Trafficking in Persons Report evaluates each country's progress in anti-trafficking and places each country onto one of three tiers based on their governments' efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking as prescribed by the TVPA.<ref>U.S. Department of State. Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, n.d. Web. 1 April 2013.</ref> However, questions have been raised by critical anti-trafficking scholars about the basis of this tier system, its heavy focus on compliance with state department protocols, its overreliance on prosecutions and convictions as success in combating trafficking,<ref name="Gallagher2016" /> its use to serve US political and economic interests and lack of systemic analysis,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/jul/28/without-trafficking-global-wealth-productivity-trafficking-in-persons-report|title=Without trafficking, what would happen to global wealth and productivity?|last=Gallagher|first=Anne|date=28 July 2015|work=The Guardian}}</ref> and its failure to consider "risk" and the likely prevalence of trafficking when rating the efforts of diverse countries.<ref name="Horning, A. 2014">{{cite journal | last1 = Horning | first1 = A. | last2 = Thomas | first2 = C. | last3 = Henninger | first3 = A. M. | last4 = Marcus | first4 = A. | display-authors=1|year = 2014 | title = The Trafficking in Persons Report: a game of risk | journal = International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice | volume = 38 | issue = 3| page = 3 | doi = 10.1080/01924036.2013.861355 | s2cid = 167966846 }}</ref>

[[File:2019, Legislación contra el tráfico de personas, Mapa del mundo.svg|thumb|Findings of the legislative framework in place in different countries to prevent/reduce human trafficking. The findings are from the 2019 [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] Trafficking in Persons Report<ref name=TIPreport2019>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/ | title=Trafficking in Persons Report 2019|publisher=U.S. Department of State|year=2019}}</ref>
{{bulleted list|Blue – Tier 1|Yellow – Tier 2|Orange – Tier 2½|Red – Tier 3|Brown – Tier special}}]]
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[[File:Image-request.svg|thumb|Findings of the legislative framework in place in different countries to prevent/reduce human trafficking. The findings are from the 2012 [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] Trafficking in Persons Report<ref name=TIPreport2012>{{cite web|url=https://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012|title=Trafficking in Persons Report 2012|publisher=U.S. Department of State|year=2012}}{{dead link|date=May 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>]]

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In 2002, [[Derek Ellerman]] and [[Katherine Chon]] founded a [[non-government organization]] called the [[Polaris Project]] to combat human trafficking. In 2007, Polaris instituted the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) where<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.polarisproject.org/index.php |title=Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery |publisher=Polaris Project |access-date=12 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928011139/http://www.polarisproject.org/index.php |archive-date=28 September 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> callers can report tips and receive information on human trafficking.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polarisproject.org/what-we-do/national-human-trafficking-hotline/the-nhtrc/overview |title=National Human Trafficking Resource Center &#124; Polaris Project &#124; Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery |publisher=Polaris Project |access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.polarisproject.org/state-map |title=State Map &#124; Polaris Project &#124; Combating Human Trafficking and Modern-day Slavery |publisher=Polaris Project |date=7 December 2007 |access-date=12 January 2013}}</ref>

In 2007, the U.S. Senate designated 11 January as a National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness in an effort to raise consciousness about this global, national and local issue.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Holly Austin|title=Walking Prey: How America's Youth Are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aqGfAgAAQBAJ|year=2014|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-137-43769-3|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=aqGfAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA16 16]}}</ref> In 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, President Barack Obama proclaimed January as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/12/31/presidential-proclamation-national-slavery-and-human-trafficking-prevent|title=Presidential Proclamation -- National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2013|date=31 December 2012|website=whitehouse.gov}}</ref>

In 2014, [[DARPA]] funded the [[Memex#DARPA's Memex program|Memex]] program with the explicit goal of combating human trafficking via domain-specific searches.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/I2O/Programs/Memex.aspx|title=Memex|publisher=DARPA|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150423174856/http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/I2O/Programs/Memex.aspx|archive-date=23 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The advanced search capacity, including its ability to reach into the [[dark web]] allows for prosecution of human trafficking cases, which can be difficult to prosecute due to the fraudulent tactics of the human traffickers.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/human-traffickers-caught-on-hidden-internet/|title=Human Traffickers Caught on Hidden Internet|magazine=[[Scientific American]]|access-date=20 April 2015}}</ref>

===Council of Europe===
On 3 May 2005, the Committee of Ministers adopted the [[Council of Europe]] [[Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings]] (CETS No. 197).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/EN/Treaties/Html/197.htm |title=Council of Europe – Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CETS No. 197) |publisher=Conventions.coe.int |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> The convention was opened for signature in [[Warsaw]] on 16 May 2005 on the occasion of the 3rd Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe. On 24 October 2007, the convention received its tenth ratification thereby triggering the process whereby it entered into force on 1 February 2008. As of June 2017, the convention has been ratified by 47 states (including Belarus, a non-Council of Europe state), with Russia being the only state to not have ratified (nor signed).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/197/signatures?p_auth=Gn9RcCwG|title=Full list|website=Treaty Office}}</ref> 
The convention is not restricted to Council of Europe member states; non-member states and the European Union also have the possibility of becoming Party to the convention. In 2013, [[Belarus]] became the first non-Council of Europe member state to accede to the convention.<ref name="conventions.coe.int">{{cite web|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ChercheSig.asp?NT=197&CM=8&DF=24/10/2005&CL=ENG|title=Liste complète|work=coe.int}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/monitoring/trafficking/default_en.asp|title=Action against Trafficking in Human Beings|work=coe.int}}</ref>

Complementary protection against [[sex trafficking]] of children is ensured through the [[Council of Europe]] [[Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse]] (signed in [[Lanzarote]], 25 October 2007). The Convention entered into force on 1 July 2010.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=201&CM=1&CL=ENG|title=Liste complète|work=coe.int}}</ref> As of November 2020, the convention has been ratified by 47 states, with Ireland having signed but not yet ratified.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/201/signatures|title=Full list|website=Treaty Office}}</ref>

In addition, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] of the Council of Europe in [[Strasbourg]] has passed judgments concerning trafficking in human beings which violated obligations under the [[European Convention on Human Rights]]: ''Siliadin v. France'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=1&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=siliadin&sessionid=87516515&skin=hudoc-en |title=Council of Europe – European Court of Human Rights |access-date=2 March 2012}}</ref> judgment of 26 July 2005, and ''Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cmiskp.echr.coe.int/tkp197/view.asp?item=1&portal=hbkm&action=html&highlight=rantsev&sessionid=87516515&skin=hudoc-en |title=Council of Europe – European Court of Human Rights |access-date=2 March 2012}}</ref> judgment of 7 January 2010.

===Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe===
{{Main|Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe}}

In 2003, the OSCE established an anti-trafficking mechanism aimed at raising public awareness of the problem and building the political will within participating states to tackle it effectively.

The OSCE actions against human trafficking are coordinated by the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe#Human dimension (third dimension)|Office of the Special Representative for Combating the Traffic of Human Beings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.osce.org/cthb |title=Combating Trafficking in Human Beings – Secretariat – Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings |publisher=[[Osce.org]] |date=3 October 2011 |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> In January 2010, [[Maria Grazia Giammarinaro]] became the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings.

===India===
[[File:Preity Zinta at ACT (Against Child Trafficking) (2).jpg|thumb|Preity Zinta at ACT (Against Child Trafficking)]]{{Main|Human trafficking in India}}
In India, the trafficking in persons for commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, forced marriages and domestic servitude is considered an organized crime. The Government of India applies the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 2013, active from 3 February 2013, as well as Section 370 and 370A IPC, which defines human trafficking and "provides stringent punishment for human trafficking; trafficking of children for exploitation in any form including physical exploitation; or any form of sexual exploitation, slavery, servitude or the forced removal of organs." Additionally, a Regional Task Force implements the SAARC Convention on the prevention of Trafficking in Women and Children.<ref name="Port">{{cite web|title=Launching of Web Portal on Anti Human Trafficking|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=104002|website=Print Release Print Press Information Bureau Government of India Ministry of Home Affairs|publisher=Government of India|access-date=15 December 2014|date=20 February 2014}}</ref>

Shri R.P.N. Singh, India's Minister of State for Home Affairs, launched a government web portal, the Anti Human Trafficking Portal, on 20 February 2014. The official statement explained that the objective of the on-line resource is for the "sharing of information across all stakeholders, States/UTs [<nowiki/>[[Union Territories]]] and civil society organizations for effective implementation of Anti Human Trafficking measures."<ref name="Port" /> The key aims of the portal are:

* Aid in the tracking of cases with inter-state ramifications.
* Provide comprehensive information on legislation, statistics, court judgements, United Nations Conventions, details of trafficked people and traffickers and rescue success stories.
* Provide connection to "Trackchild", the National Portal on Missing Children that is operational in many states.<ref name="Port" />

Also on 20 February, the Indian government announced the implementation of a Comprehensive Scheme that involves the establishment of Integrated Anti Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in 335 vulnerable police districts throughout India, as well as capacity building that includes training for police, prosecutors and judiciary. As of the announcement, 225 Integrated AHTUs had been made operational, while 100 more AHTUs were proposed for the forthcoming financial year.<ref name="Port" />

===Singapore===
As of 2016, Singapore acceded to the United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol and affirmed on 28 September 2015, the commitment to combat people trafficking, especially women and children.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/press-releases/Pages/Singapore-Accedes-to-the-United-Nations-Trafficking-in-Persons-Protocol.aspx|title=Singapore Accedes to the United Nations Trafficking in Persons Protocol|website=Ministry of Home Affairs|publisher=Singapore Inter-Agency Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303154607/https://www.mha.gov.sg/Newsroom/press-releases/Pages/Singapore-Accedes-to-the-United-Nations-Trafficking-in-Persons-Protocol.aspx|archive-date=3 March 2016|url-status=dead|access-date=20 February 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

According to the [[U.S. State Department]]'s 2018 [[Trafficking in Persons Report]], Singapore is making significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking as it imposes strong sentences against convicted traffickers, improve freedom of movement for adult victims and increases migrant workers' awareness of their rights. However, it still does not meet the minimum standards as numerous migrant workers' work conditions indicate labor trafficking, but conviction is not secured.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Singapore |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5b3e0a8a4.html |website=Refworld |publisher=United States Department of State |access-date=19 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Criticism==
Both the public debate on human trafficking and the actions undertaken by the anti-human traffickers have been criticized by numerous scholars and experts, including Zbigniew Dumienski, a former research analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.<ref name="rsis.edu.sg">{{cite web|last=Dumienski|first=Zbigniew|year=2011|url= http://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/NL110531_NTS_Alert_May2011_Issue2.pdf|title=Critical Reflections on Anti-human Trafficking: The Case of Timor-Leste|work= NTS Alert, May, Issue 2, Singapore: RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies for NTS-Asia}}</ref> The criticism touches upon statistics and data on human trafficking, the concept itself, and anti-trafficking measures.

===Problems with statistics and data===
According to a former ''Wall Street Journal'' columnist, figures used in human trafficking estimates rarely have identifiable sources or transparent methodologies behind them and in most (if not all) instances, they are mere guesses.<ref>Bialik, Carl, 2010, '[https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704289504575312853491596916 Suspect Estimates of Sex Trafficking at the World Cup]', The Wall Street Journal, 19 June.</ref><ref>see also: US Government Accountability Office, 2006, [http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06825.pdf Human Trafficking: Better Data, Strategy and Reporting Needed to Enhance U.S. Antitrafficking Efforts Abroad], Highlights of GAO-06-825 Report, Washington, DC.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2017-04-27|others=See also|title=What's Wrong with the Global Slavery Index?|url=https://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/228|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=8|doi=10.14197/atr.20121786|doi-access=free}}</ref> Dumienski and [[Laura María Agustín|Laura Agustin]] argue that this is a result of the fact that it is impossible to produce reliable statistics on a phenomenon happening in the shadow economy.<ref name="rsis.edu.sg"/><ref name="Agustin, Laura 2008">Agustin, Laura, 2008, Sex at the Margins: Migration, Labour Markets and the Rescue Industry, London and New York: Zed Books.</ref> According to a [[UNESCO]] Bangkok researcher, statistics on human trafficking may be unreliable due to overrepresentation of sex trafficking. As an example, he cites flaws in Thai statistics, which discount men from their official numbers because by law they cannot be considered trafficking victims due to their gender.<ref>Feingold, David A. (2010) '[https://books.google.com/books?id=HmkhqVRxVNIC&pg=PA46 Trafficking in Numbers]' in P. Andreas and K. M. Greenhill (eds) ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=HmkhqVRxVNIC Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts]'' (London: Cornell University Press)</ref>

A 2012 article in the ''[[International Communication Gazette]]'' examined the effect of two communication theories (agenda-building and agenda-setting) on media coverage on human trafficking in the United States and Britain. The article analyzed four newspapers, including the ''Guardian'' and the ''Washington Post'', and categorized the content into various categories. Overall, the article found that sex trafficking was the most reported form of human trafficking by the newspapers that were analyzed (p.&nbsp;154). Many of the other stories on trafficking were non-specific.<ref>{{cite journal|title=International human trafficking: An agenda-building analysis of the US and British press|journal=International Communication Gazette|year=2012|volume=74|issue=2|pages=145–158|doi=10.1177/1748048511432600 | last1 = Marchionni | first1 = D. M.|s2cid=143717855}} {{subscription required|date=December 2016}}</ref>

===Problems with the concept===
According to Zbigniew Dumienski, the very concept of human trafficking is murky and misleading.<ref name="rsis.edu.sg" /> It has been argued that while human trafficking is commonly seen as a monolithic crime, in reality it may be an act of illegal migration that involves various different actions: some of them may be criminal or abusive, but others often involve consent and are legal.<ref name="rsis.edu.sg" /> [[Laura María Agustín|Laura Agustin]] argues that not everything that might seem abusive or coercive is considered as such by the migrant. For instance, she states that: "would-be travellers commonly seek help from intermediaries who sell information, services and documents. When travellers cannot afford to buy these outright, they go into debt".<ref name="Agustin, Laura 2008"/> Dumienski says that while these debts might indeed be on very harsh conditions, they are usually incurred on a voluntary basis.<ref name="rsis.edu.sg" /> British scholar Julia O'Connell Davidson has advanced the same argument.<ref name="Davidson2015">{{Cite book|title=Modern slavery : the margins of freedom|last=Davidson|first=Julia O'Connell|date=30 September 2015|isbn=978-1-137-29727-3|location=Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire|oclc=909538560}}</ref> Furthermore, anti-trafficking actors often conflate clandestine migratory movements or voluntary sex work with forms of exploitation covered in human trafficking definitions, ignoring the fact that a migratory movement is not a requirement for human trafficking victimization.

The critics of the current approaches to trafficking say that a lot of the violence and exploitation faced by irregular migrants derives precisely from the fact that their migration and their work are illegal and not primarily because of trafficking.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Gülçür | first1 = Leyla | last2 = İlkkaracan | first2 = Pınar | title = The "Natasha" experience: Migrant sex workers from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in Turkey | journal = [[Women's Studies International Forum]] | volume = 25 | issue = 4 | pages = 411–421 | doi = 10.1016/S0277-5395(02)00278-9 | date = July–August 2002|url=http://www.walnet.org/csis/papers/NATASHA.PDF}}</ref>

The international [[Save the Children]] organization also stated: "The issue, however, gets mired in controversy and confusion when prostitution too is considered as a violation of the basic human rights of both adult women and minors, and equal to sexual exploitation per se&nbsp;… trafficking and prostitution become conflated with each other&nbsp;… On account of the historical conflation of trafficking and prostitution both legally and in popular understanding, an overwhelming degree of effort and interventions of anti-trafficking groups are concentrated on trafficking into prostitution."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.savethechildren.net/nepal/key_issues/traffdefinition.html |title=Definition of Trafficking – Save the Children Nepal |access-date=2010-01-11 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120150137/http://www.savethechildren.net/nepal/key_issues/traffdefinition.html |archive-date=20 November 2007 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Claudia Aradau of the Open University claims that NGOs involved in anti-sex trafficking often employ "politics of pity", which promotes that all trafficked victims are completely guiltless, fully coerced into sex work, and experience the same degrees of physical suffering. One critic identifies two strategies that gain pity: denunciation{{snd}} attributing all violence and suffering to the perpetrator{{snd}} and sentiment{{snd}} exclusively depicting the suffering of the women. NGOs' use of images of unidentifiable women suffering physically help display sex trafficking scenarios as all the same. She points out that not all trafficking victims have been abducted, abused physically, and repeatedly raped, unlike popular portrayals.<ref name="aradau">{{Cite journal | last1 = Aradau | first1 = Claudia | title = The perverse politics of four-letter words: risk and pity in the securitisation of human trafficking | journal = Millennium: Journal of International Studies | volume = 33 | issue = 2 | pages = 251–277 | doi = 10.1177/03058298040330020101 | date = March 2004| s2cid = 26554777 }}</ref> A study of the relationships between individuals who are defined as sex-trafficking victims by virtue of having a procurer (especially minors) concluded that assumptions about victimization and human trafficking do not do justice to the complex and often mutual relationships that exist between sex workers and their third parties.<ref name="marcus">{{Cite journal | last1 = Marcus | first1 = Anthony | title = Conflict and agency among sex workers and pimps: A closer look at domestic minor sex trafficking | journal = The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science | volume = 653 | issue = 1 | pages = 225–246 | doi = 10.1177/0002716214521993 | date = May 2014| s2cid = 145245482 |display-authors=etal}}</ref>

Another common critique is that the concept of human trafficking focuses only on the most extreme forms of exploitation and diverts attention and resources away from more "everyday" but arguably much more widespread forms of exploitation and abuse that occur as part of the normal functioning of the economy. As Quirk, Robinson, and Thibos write, "It is not always possible to sharply separate human trafficking from everyday abuses, and problems arise when the former is singled out while the latter is pushed to the margins."<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Quirk|first1=Joel|last2=Robinson|first2=Caroline|last3=Thibos|first3=Cameron|date=2020-09-28|title=Editorial: From Exceptional Cases to Everyday Abuses: Labour exploitation in the global economy|url=https://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/486/375|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=15|pages=1–19|doi=10.14197/atr.201220151|issn=2287-0113|doi-access=free}}</ref> O'Connell Davidson too argues that the lines between the crimes of human trafficking/[[Slavery in the 21st century|modern slavery]] and the legally sanctioned exploitation of migrants (such as lower wages or restrictions on freedom of movement and employment) is blurry.<ref name="Davidson2015" />

===Problems with anti-trafficking measures===
Groups like [[Amnesty International]] have been critical of insufficient or ineffective government measures to tackle human trafficking. Criticism includes a lack of understanding of human trafficking issues, poor identification of victims and a lack of resources for the key pillars of anti-trafficking{{snd}} identification, protection, prosecution and prevention. For example, Amnesty International has called the UK government's new anti-trafficking measures "not fit for purpose".<ref>{{cite web |title=Anti-trafficking measures 'not fit for purpose' and breach international law – new report | date=15 March 2024 |url=https://www.amnesty.org.uk/news_details.asp?NewsID=18820 |publisher=Amnesty.org.uk}}</ref>

==== Collateral damage ====
Rights groups have called attention to the negative impact that the implementation of anti-trafficking measures have on the [[human rights]] of various groups, especially migrants, sex workers, and trafficked persons themselves. The [[Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women]] drew attention to this "collateral damage" in 2007.<ref name="GAATW2007">{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/244286837|title=Collateral damage : the impact of anti-trafficking measures on human rights around the world|date=2007|publisher=Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women|others=Global Alliance against Traffic in Women.|isbn=9789748371924|location=Bangkok, Thailand|oclc=244286837}}</ref> These negative impacts include various restrictions on women's right to migrate and undertake certain jobs,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932422315|title=No easy exit : migration bans affecting women from Nepal|date=2015|publisher=ILO|others=International Labour Office. Labour Migration Branch., International Labour Office. Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work Branch.|isbn=978-92-2-130310-7|location=Geneva|oclc=932422315}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Napier-Moore|first=Rebecca|title=Protected or put in harm's way? Bans and restrictions on women's labour migration in ASEAN countries|publisher=International Labour Organization and UN Women|year=2017|isbn=9789221307624|location=Bangkok}}</ref> suspicion and harassment at international borders of women travelling alone,<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ham|first1=Julie|last2=Segrave|first2=Marie|last3=Pickering|first3=Sharon|date=2013-09-01|title=In the Eyes of the Beholder: Border enforcement, suspect travellers and trafficking victims|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|volume=2|issue=2 |pages=51–66 |doi=10.14197/atr.20121323|doi-access=free|hdl=10722/222236|hdl-access=free}}</ref> raids at sex work venues and detention, fines and harassment of sex workers (see below section on the use of raids), assistance to trafficked persons made conditional on their cooperation with law enforcement and forced confinement of trafficked persons in shelters, and many more.<ref name="GAATW2007" />

====Victim identification and protection in the UK====
In the UK, human trafficking cases are processed by the same officials to simultaneously determine the refugee and trafficking victim statuses of a person. However, criteria for qualifying as a refugee and a trafficking victim differ and they have different needs for staying in a country. A person may need assistance as a trafficking victim but their circumstances may not necessarily meet the threshold for asylum. In this case, not being granted refugee status affects their status as a trafficked victim and thus their ability to receive help. Reviews of the statistics from the National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a tool created by the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CoE Convention) to help states effectively identify and care for trafficking victims, found that positive decisions for non-European Union citizens were much lower than that of EU and UK citizens. According to data on the NRM decisions from April 2009 to April 2011, an average of 82.8% of UK and EU citizens were conclusively accepted as victims while an average of only 45.9% of non-EU citizens were granted the same status.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-04-30|title=A Lie More Disastrous than the Truth: Asylum and the identification of trafficked women in the UK|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/25|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=4|doi=10.14197/atr.201216|doi-access=free|last1=Stepnitz |first1=Abigail }}</ref> High refusal rates of non-EU people point to possible stereotypes and biases about regions and countries of origin which may hinder anti-trafficking efforts, since the asylum system is linked to the trafficking victim protection system.

[[Laura Agustin]] has suggested that, in some cases, "anti-traffickers" ascribe victim status to [[immigrants]] who have made conscious and rational decisions to cross the borders knowing they will be selling sex and who do not consider themselves to be victims.<ref>{{cite web|author=Kerry Howley |date=26 December 2007 |url=http://reason.com/archives/2007/12/26/the-myth-of-the-migrant |title=The Myth of the Migrant – Reason Magazine |publisher=Reason.com |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref> There have been instances in which the alleged victims of trafficking have actually refused to be rescued<ref>'[http://www.timeslive.co.za/africa/article831672.ece/Chinese-prostitutes-resist-effort-to-rescue-them-from-Africa Chinese Prostitutes Resist Efforts to Rescue Them from Africa]', 2011, Times LIVE, 1 January.</ref> or run away from the anti-trafficking shelters.<ref>{{cite web |last=Siddharth |first=Kumar |url=http://www.mid-day.com/news/2010/oct/231010-sex-workers-rescue-shelter-Hadapsar.htm |title=Sex Workers Don't Want Rescue |publisher= Mid-day.com |date=23 October 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Soderlund|first=Gretchen|date=2005|title=Running from the Rescuers: New U.S. Crusades against Sex Trafficking and the Rhetoric of Abolition|journal=NWSA Journal|volume=17|issue=3|pages=64–87|doi=10.2979/NWS.2005.17.3.64 |doi-broken-date=2 November 2024 |issn=1040-0656|jstor=4317158|s2cid=143600365}}</ref>

In a 2013 lawsuit,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gtstewart.co.uk/human-trafficking-important-victory-in-the-court-of-appeal/|title=case G.T. Stewart Solicitors|date=21 June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131107223319/http://www.gtstewart.co.uk/human-trafficking-important-victory-in-the-court-of-appeal/|archive-date=7 November 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the Court of Appeal gave guidance to prosecuting authorities on the prosecution of victims of human trafficking, and held that the convictions of three Vietnamese children and one Ugandan woman ought to be quashed as the proceedings amounted to an abuse of the court's process.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/l-hvn-thn-t-v-r-judgment.pdf|title=Courts and Tribunals Judiciary|work=judiciary.gov.uk|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702000652/http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Judgments/l-hvn-thn-t-v-r-judgment.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The case was reported by the BBC<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22999230|title=''Vietnamese trafficking victims win appeal against convictions'', BBC 21 June 2013|work=BBC News|date=21 June 2013 }}</ref> and one of the victims was interviewed by Channel 4.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/news/child-trafficking-victim-crime-judge-cannabis-prostitution|title=''Trafficking victim's nightmare journey to UK drug farm'', Channel 4|work=Channel 4 News|date=21 June 2013 }}</ref>

In 2021, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] ordered the [[British government]] to compensate two victims of child trafficking for their later arrest and conviction of drug crimes.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Guilbert|first=Kieran|date=February 16, 2021|title=Europe's rights court orders UK to compensate human trafficking victims|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-trafficking-court-trfn-idUSKBN2AG1ES|access-date=February 16, 2021}}</ref>

====Myths====
Many people on the web are concerned about trafficking. The topic also covers a lot of information with every-changing statistics. Through this concern and lack of hard evidence a lot of misinformation was created and led to the spreading of myths. 
Popular myths about Human Trafficking include: human trafficking is always or usually a violent crime, all human trafficking involves sex, only women and girls can be victims and survivors of sex trafficking, human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders, if the trafficked person consented to be in their initial situation, then it cannot be human trafficking or against their will because they “knew better,” all commercial sex is human trafficking, people in active trafficking situations always want help getting out.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Polaris |title=Myths, Facts, and Statistics |url=https://polarisproject.org/myths-facts-and-statistics/#:~:text=The%20most%20pervasive%20myth%20about,commercial%20sex%20or%20exploitative%20labor. |website=Polaris |date=7 November 2018 |access-date=18 February 2025}}</ref>

====Law enforcement and the use of raids====
In the U.S., services and protections for trafficked victims are related to cooperation with law enforcement. Legal procedures that involve prosecution and specifically, raids, are thus the most common anti-trafficking measures. Raids are conducted by law enforcement and by private actors and many organizations (sometimes in cooperation with law enforcement). Law enforcement perceive some benefits from raids, including the ability to locate and identify witnesses for legal processes, to dismantle "criminal networks", and to rescue victims from abuse.<ref name="ditmore">{{cite journal |last1=Ditmore |first1=Melissa |last2=Thukral |first2=Juhu |title=Accountability and the Use of Raids to Fight Trafficking |journal=Anti-Trafficking Review |date=2012 |issue=4 |doi=10.14197/atr.201218|doi-access=free }}</ref>

The problems against anti-trafficking raids are related to the problem of the trafficking concept itself, as raids' purpose of fighting sex trafficking may be conflated with fighting prostitution. The [[Trafficking Victims Protection Re-authorization Act of 2005]] (TVPRA) gives state and local law enforcement funding to prosecute customers of commercial sex, therefore some law enforcement agencies make no distinction between prostitution and sex trafficking. One study interviewed women who have experienced law enforcement operations as sex workers and found that during these raids meant to combat human trafficking, none of the women were ever identified as trafficking victims, and only one woman was asked whether she was coerced into sex work. The conflation of trafficking with prostitution, then, does not serve to adequately identify trafficking and help the victims. Raids are also problematic in that the women involved were most likely unclear about who was conducting the raid, what the purpose of the raid was, and what the outcomes of the raid would be.<ref name="ditmore" /><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2016-09-30|title=How to Stage a Raid: Police, media and the master narrative of trafficking|url=http://antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/199/196|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=7|pages=39–55 |doi=10.14197/atr.20121773|doi-access=free|last1=Hill |first1=Annie }}</ref> Another study found that the majority of women "rescued" in anti-trafficking raids, both voluntary and coerced sex workers, eventually returned to sex work but had amassed huge amounts of debt for legal fees and other costs while they were in detention after the raid and were, overall, in a worse situation than before the raid.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sangram.org/resources/RAIDED-E-Book.pdf|title=Raided: How anti-trafficking strategies increase sex workers' vulnerability to exploitative practices|date=2018|publisher=Sangram}}</ref>

Law enforcement personnel agree that raids can intimidate trafficked persons and render subsequent law enforcement actions unsuccessful.
Social workers and attorneys involved in anti-sex trafficking have negative opinions about raids. Service providers report a lack of uniform procedure for identifying trafficking victims after raids. The 26 interviewed service providers stated that local police never referred trafficked persons to them after raids. Law enforcement also often use interrogation methods that intimidate rather than assist potential trafficking victims. Additionally, sex workers sometimes face violence from the police during raids and arrests and in rehabilitation centers.<ref name="ditmore" />

As raids occur to brothels that may house sex workers as well as sex trafficked victims, raids affect sex workers in general. As clients avoid brothel areas that are raided but do not stop paying for sex, voluntary sex workers will have to interact with customers underground. Underground interactions means that sex workers take greater risks, where as otherwise they would be cooperating with other sex workers and with sex worker organizations to report violence and protect each other. One example of this is with HIV prevention. Sex workers collectives monitor condom use, promote HIV testing, and cares for and monitor the health of HIV positive sex workers. Raids disrupt communal HIV care and prevention efforts, and if HIV positive sex workers are rescued and removed from their community, their treatments are disrupted, furthering the spread of AIDS.<ref name="ahmed">{{Cite journal|author=Aziza Ahmed and Meena Seshu|title="We Have the Right Not to Be 'rescued'…"*: When Anti-Trafficking Programmes Undermine the Health and Well-Being of Sex Workers|journal=Anti Trafficking Review|volume=1|date=June 2012|pages=149–19|publisher=Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/journals/images/documents/issue1/TheReview_article9.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170812011153/http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/journals/images/documents/issue1/TheReview_article9.pdf|archive-date=12 August 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Scholars Aziza Ahmed and [[Meena Seshu]] suggest reforms in law enforcement procedures so that raids are last resort, not violent, and are transparent in its purposes and processes. Furthermore, they suggest that since any trafficking victims will probably be in contact with other sex workers first, working with sex workers may be an alternative to the raid and rescue model.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-04-30|title="We have the right not to be 'rescued'..."*: When Anti-Trafficking Programmes Undermine the Health and Well-Being of Sex Workers|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/28|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=4|doi=10.14197/atr.201219|s2cid=55688730|doi-access=free |last1=Ahmed |first1=Aziza |last2=Seshu |first2=Meena |hdl=2047/d20002549|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

===="End Demand" programs====
Critics argue that [[End Demand]] programs are ineffective in that prostitution is not reduced, "[[John school]]s" have little effect on deterrence and portray prostitutes negatively, and conflicts in interest arise between law enforcement and NGO service providers. A study found that Sweden's legal experiment (criminalizing clients of prostitution and providing services to prostitutes who want to exit the industry in order to combat trafficking) did not reduce the number of prostitutes, but instead increased exploitation of sex workers because of the higher risk nature of their work.{{Citation needed|date=October 2019|reason=No proper citation given for this study.}} The same study reported that johns' inclination to buy sex did not change as a result of john schools, and the programs targeted johns who are poor and colored immigrants. Some john schools also intimidate johns into not purchasing sex again by depicting prostitutes as drug addicts, HIV positive, violent, and dangerous, which further marginalizes sex workers. John schools require program fees, and police involvement in NGOs who provide these programs create conflicts of interest especially with money involved.<ref name="desiree">Wortley, S., Fischer, B., & Webster, C. (2002). Vice lessons: A survey of prostitution offenders enrolled in the Toronto John School Diversion Program" ''Canadian Journal of Criminology'' 3(3), 227–248: 394. Monto, Martin A. and Steve Garcia. 2001. "Recidivism Among the Customers of Female Street Prostitutes: Do Intervention Programs Help?" ''Western Criminology Review'' 3 (2). (Online)]</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Fischer | first1 = B. | last2 = Wortley | first2 = S. | last3 = Webster | first3 = C. | last4 = Kirst | first4 = M. | year = 2002 | title = The Socio-Legal Dynamics and Implications of Diversion: The Case Study of the Toronto 'John School' for Prostitution Offenders | url = https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/94658/1/BF_SW_CW_MK_2002_Criminal_Justice_The_socio-legal_dynamics_and_implications_of_diversion.pdf| journal = Criminal Justice | volume = 2 | issue = 4| pages = 385–410 | doi=10.1177/17488958020020040201| s2cid = 143463294 }}</ref>

However, according to a 2008 study, the Swedish approach of criminalizing demand has "led to an equality-centered approach that has drawn numerous positive reviews worldwide."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Picarelli |first1=John |last2=Jonsson |first2=Anna |title=Fostering Imagination in Fighting Trafficking: Comparing Strategies and Policies to Fight Sex Trafficking in the U.S. and Sweden |journal=NCJRS |date=June 2008 |url=https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/223060.pdf |access-date=31 July 2020}}</ref>

==Modern feminist perspectives==

There are different feminist perspectives on sex trafficking. The third-wave feminist perspective of sex trafficking seeks to harmonize the dominant and liberal feminist views of sex trafficking. The dominant feminist view focuses on "sexualized domination", which includes issues of pornography, female sex labor in a patriarchal world, rape, and sexual harassment. Dominant feminism emphasizes sex trafficking as forced prostitution and considers the act exploitative. Liberal feminism sees all agents as capable of reason and choice. Liberal feminists support sex workers' rights, and argue that women who voluntarily chose sex work are autonomous. The liberal feminist perspective finds sex trafficking problematic where it overrides consent of individuals.<ref name="brenner">{{cite web|last1=Brenner|first1=Johanna|title=Selling Sexual Services: A Socialist Feminist Perspective|url=http://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article34256|website=Europe Solidaire Sans Frontières|publisher=Système de Publication pour un Internet Partagé}}</ref><ref name="shelley" /><ref name="feministsforsexworkers">{{cite web|title=Feminist Manifesto in Support of Sex Workers' Rights|url=https://feministsforsexworkers.com/|website=Feminists for Sex Workers|publisher=Wordpress|access-date=21 April 2018}}</ref>

[[Third-wave feminism]] harmonizes the thoughts that while individuals have rights, overarching inequalities hinder women's capabilities. Third-wave feminism also considers that women who are trafficked and face oppression do not all face the same kinds of oppression. For example, third-wave feminist proponent Shelley Cavalieri identifies oppression and privilege in the intersections of race, class, and gender. Women from low socioeconomic class, generally from the [[Global South]], face inequalities that differ from those of other sex trafficking victims. Therefore, it advocates for catering to individual trafficking victim because sex trafficking is not monolithic, and therefore there is not a one-size-fits-all intervention. This also means allowing individual victims to tell their unique experiences rather than essentializing all trafficking experiences. Lastly, third-wave feminism promotes increasing women's agency both generally and individually, so that they have the opportunity to act on their own behalf.<ref name="brenner"/><ref name="shelley" /><ref name="feministsforsexworkers"/>

Third-wave feminist perspective of sex trafficking is loosely related to [[Amartya Sen]]'s and [[Martha Nussbaum]]'s visions of the human capabilities approach to development. It advocates for creating viable alternatives for sex trafficking victims. Nussbaum articulated four concepts to increase trafficking victims' capabilities: education for victims and their children, microcredit and increased employment options, labor unions for low-income women in general, and social groups that connect women to one another.<ref name="shelley">CAVALIERI, SHELLEY. "[http://ilj.law.indiana.edu/articles/86/86_4_cavalieri.pdf Between Victim And Agent: A Third-Wave Feminist Account Of Trafficking For Sex Work.]" Indiana Law Journal86.4 (2011): 1409–1458. Legal Collection. Web. 6 March 2013.</ref>

The clash between the different feminist perspectives on trafficking and sex work was especially evident at the negotiations of the [[Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children|Palermo Protocol]]. One feminist group, led by the [[Global Alliance Against Traffic in Women]], saw trafficking as the result of globalisation and restrictive labour migration policies, with force, fraud and coercion as its defining features. The other feminist group, led by the [[Coalition Against Trafficking in Women]] saw trafficking more narrowly as the result of men's demand for paid sex. Both groups tried to influence the definition of trafficking and other provisions in the Protocol. Eventually, both were only partially successful;<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2015-04-30|title=Purity, Victimhood and Agency: Fifteen years of the UN Trafficking Protocol|url=http://www.antitraffickingreview.org/index.php/atrjournal/article/view/90/111|journal=Anti-Trafficking Review|issue=4|doi=10.14197/atr.20121544|doi-access=free |last1=Wijers |first1=Marjan }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Sex slaves and discourse masters : the construction of trafficking|last=Doezema, Jo.|date=2010|publisher=Zed Books|isbn=978-1-84813-415-7|location=London|oclc=650365532}}</ref> however, scholars have noted that this rift between feminist organisations led to the extremely weak and voluntary victim protection provisions of the Protocol.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chuang|first=Janie A.|date=2010|journal=University of Pennsylvania Law Review|volume=158|issue=6|pages=1655–1728|issn=0041-9907|jstor=25682362|title=Rescuing Trafficking from Ideological Capture: Prostitution Reform and Anti-Trafficking Law and Policy}}</ref>

===Social norms===
According to modern feminists, women and girls are more prone to trafficking also because of [[social norms]] that marginalize their value and status in society. By this perspective females face considerable gender discrimination both at home and in school. Stereotypes that women belong at home in the private sphere and that women are less valuable because they do not and are not allowed to contribute to formal employment and monetary gains the same way men do further marginalize women's status relative to men. Some religious beliefs also lead people to believe that the birth of girls are a result of bad karma,<ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-03-08|title=Born a girl: bad karma?|url=http://oecdinsights.org/2013/03/08/born-a-girl-bad-karma/|access-date=2020-10-10|website=OECD Insights Blog|language=en-US|archive-date=18 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918162709/http://oecdinsights.org/2013/03/08/born-a-girl-bad-karma/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Enrile|first=Annalisa|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yw4sDgAAQBAJ&q=bad+karma|title=Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery: Freedom's Journey|date=2017-08-31|publisher=SAGE Publications|isbn=978-1-5063-1675-8|language=en|quote=...are that women are born women because of their bad karma (Brown, 2000).}}</ref> further cementing the belief that girls are not as valuable as boys. It is generally regarded by feminists that various social norms contribute to women's inferior position and lack of agency and knowledge, thus making them vulnerable to exploitation such as sex trafficking.<ref name="yvonne">{{cite journal | last1 = Rafferty | first1 = Yvonne | year = 2007 | title = Children for sale: Child trafficking in Southeast Asia | journal = Child Abuse Review | volume = 16 | issue = 6| pages = 401–422 | doi=10.1002/car.1009}}</ref>

==See also==
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{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Abusive power and control]]
* [[Adoption fraud]]
* [[Bride-buying]]
* [[Comfort woman]]
* [[:Category:Human trafficking by country|Human trafficking by country]]
* [[Human trafficking in popular culture]]
* [[Human Trafficking (miniseries)]]
* [[List of organizations opposing human trafficking]]
* [[Kidnapping]]
* [[Migrant sex work]]
* [[Serious and Organised Crime Group]]
* [[Sexual jihad]]
* [[Sexual trafficking in Kosovo]]
* ''[[She Has a Name]]''
* [[South East Asia Court of Women on HIV and Human Trafficking]]
* [[Transnational efforts to prevent human trafficking]]
* [[Western princess]]
* [[Wife selling]]
* [[Proxy criminal networks]]
* [[2023 Grape Harvest of Shame]]
{{div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{library resources box|onlinebooks=yes}}
{{Wikinews category}}
{{Commons category|Human trafficking}}
* [http://www.unodc.org/unodc/data-and-analysis/glotip.html Global Report on Trafficking in Persons]
*[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03050629.2021.1968387 Human Trafficking Indicators (HTI) dataset]

{{Law country lists}}
{{Abuse}}
{{Sexual abuse}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Trafficking}}
[[Category:Human trafficking| ]]
[[Category:Debt bondage]]
[[Category:Organized crime activity]]
[[Category:Global issues]]
[[Category:Sex crimes]]
[[Category:Violence against men]]
[[Category:Violence against women]]
[[Category:Organized crime]]