Human trafficking rises sharply after dropping during pandemic, UN says

11/12/2024 13:35

Human trafficking has risen sharply due to conflicts, climate-induced disasters and global crises, according to a United Nations report published on Wednesday.



In 2022, the latest year for which data is widely available, the number of known victims worldwide rose to 25% above 2019's pre-pandemic levels, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons said. A sharp fall in 2020 had largely disappeared by the following year.



"Criminals are increasingly trafficking people into forced labour, including to coerce them into running sophisticated online scams and cyberfraud, while women and girls face the risk of sexual exploitation and gender-based violence," the report said, adding that organised crime was mainly responsible.



Children accounted for 38% of detected victims, compared to 35% for figures for 2020 which formed the basis of the previous report.



The latest report showed adult women remain the largest group of victims, representing 39% of cases, followed by men at 23%, girls at 22% and boys at 16%.

The total number of victims in 2022 was 69,627.