Author: Vassilia Orfanou, PhD, Post Doc
Headline Diplomat eMagazine
The COVID-19 pandemic has almost faded out. Climate change concerns and the Russo-Ukrainian war are certainly keeping us awake. But what is currently alarming is the rising of much deeper trail of inhumanity. Worldwide, Human trafficking cases are skyrocketing, with new reports indicating an alarming increase in cases.
Polaris, a nonprofit organization committed to ending human trafficking and supporting survivors, has, following its international consensus study, found and reported a significant increase in cases of human trafficking worldwide.
The study shows that the estimated number of people trapped in trafficking has risen by 12% between 2016 and 2021. More than 27.6 million people are now affected globally. The report, a production of the International Labor Organization, the International Organization for Migration, and Walk Free, highlights the underlying conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, discrimination, and economic inequality.
Polaris found that the pandemic has led to a surge in human trafficking cases, particularly among vulnerable populations. The report suggests that the number of the health crisis trafficking situations has increased by over 40% during 2019 and 2020 and when compared with the time period after the shelter-in-place was lifted. The increase in crisis trafficking situations suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated shelter-in-place measures may have had a negative impact on human trafficking situations.
“When comparing post-shelter-in-place time with pre-shelter-in-place time in 2019 and 2020, the number of crisis trafficking situations increased by more than 40 percent – from approximately 60 in a 30-day period to 90,” part of the findings in the report reads. “Crisis situations are those in which some assistance – such as shelter, transportation, or law enforcement involvement – is needed within 24 hours.”
The report states that the economic crisis caused by the pandemic has made many people desperate for work, increasing the likelihood of turning into a trafficking victim. The closure of businesses, the loss of jobs, and the resulting financial insecurity have left many people with few options, making them easy prey for traffickers.
Migrant workers, women, and children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The report found that border closures and travel restrictions have made it more difficult for migrant workers to travel and find work legally, making them more susceptible to forced labor and trafficking. Women and children are also at increased risk, with school closures leaving them more isolated and without access to support services.
The pandemic has also created new challenges for organizations working to combat trafficking. Nonprofit groups such as Polaris have had to adapt their services to the changing circumstances, finding new ways to support survivors and raise awareness of the issue. With many countries focusing their resources on the pandemic response, the fight against trafficking has become more complex.
UN reports that the Climate change aggravates the “trafficking of human beings”
According to a UN report published on Tuesday, 24 January, Climate change is one of the “root causes” of human trafficking.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report, based on the collection of data from 141 countries in 2017-2020 and the analysis of 800 court cases, points out that climate change increases vulnerability to trafficking.
Part of the UN report reads:
“Climate change is increasing the vulnerability of some people to tracking. In 2021, 23.7 million people were internally displaced by disasters, while many crossed borders to escape climate-induced poverty.
While a systematic global analysis of the impact of climate change on tracking in persons is missing, community-level studies in different parts of the world point at weather-induced disasters as root causes for tracking in persons.
Climate change, displacing entire regions, disproportionately affects poor communities who make a living mainly from farming or fishing. People “deprived of livelihoods and forced to flee their communities” become easy prey for traffickers.
The Philippines
The report cites devastating typhoons in the Philippines and Bangladesh, where there has been an increase in cases of trafficking, with the organization of “major recruitment campaigns” to trap the poorest in forced labor.
The study notes that after Typhoon Haiyan hit the country in 2013, around 6,300 people lost their lives, and 4.4 million were displaced. One in four migrant workers were already living in poverty, and many agricultural and fishing industries, which employ the most vulnerable segments of society in the Visayas, were destroyed. The loss of livelihoods led to an estimated 21,000 families becoming more vulnerable.
“Cases of trafficking in persons increased in 2013 after Typhoon Haiyan struck the Philippines, causing approximately 6,300 deaths and displacing 4.4 million people. The Eastern Visayas region was particularly affected,” the report reads. “At the time, one in four migrant workers employed in the area were already living at the poverty line.”
The report reveals that between 2013 and 2015, national authorities recorded around 670 cases of trafficking in persons in the regions affected by Typhoon Haiyan alone, with the numbers increasing after the disaster. This highlights how natural disasters can make already vulnerable populations more susceptible to trafficking and exploitation. The report warns that the recent Typhoon Rai in 2021, which displaced more than 590,000 people in the Philippines, has put an estimated 2.2 million workers at immediate risk of exploitation.
Ghana
The report also highlights the worrying increase in trafficking in Ghana, particularly of children, due to droughts and floods. These natural disasters have forced many to migrate to other parts of the country, resulting in increased trafficking incidents, with many cases of forced marriage or labor exploitation being documented.
The report notes that the migratory movements of men and boys from the northern parts of Ghana to central and southern regions in search of employment in unregulated industries, such as farming or mining, are also associated with reports of trafficking.
Caribbean Islands
The UNODC report also features the problem in the Caribbean islands, highlighting that it’s at significant risk of trafficking due to several factors, including the impact of hurricanes, rising sea levels, and loss of employment opportunities. The location of the islands on a route between South and North America makes them an attractive location for traffickers looking to exploit vulnerable communities.
The effects of intense tropical storms and cyclones can cause significant damage to the islands, leading to job losses and economic instability. Losing livelihoods can create desperation and make individuals more susceptible to trafficking. Furthermore, rising sea levels and biodiversity degradation can increase the risk of displacement and migration, creating more opportunities for traffickers to exploit vulnerable populations.
“Hurricanes and rising sea levels in the Caribbean Islands – The geographical location of the Caribbean islands en route from South to North America, together with loss of employment opportunities due to intense tropical storms and cyclones, rising sea levels, and biodiversity degradation, expose coast communities to the risk of being trafficked or engaging in trafficking activities,” reads the climate change report.
The report highlights the importance of implementing measures to prevent trafficking and support those most at risk. This includes developing emergency preparedness plans to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, providing alternative employment opportunities, strengthening child protection measures, and improving public awareness about the dangers of trafficking and exploitation.
The UN report indicates that natural disasters are often exploited by traffickers who prey on the vulnerability of those affected by the disaster. The report highlights the need for increased awareness and support mechanisms to protect these vulnerable groups. Such support should include access to basic needs like shelter, food, and medical aid, as well as measures to prevent exploitation, such as strengthening labor protections, increasing law enforcement activities, and providing targeted assistance to vulnerable groups.
A Spike in trafficking cases from Ukraine
The war in Ukraine has increased the number of human trafficking cases. According to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), global online searches for sexual services and pornographic depictions by Ukrainian women and children have increased by up to 600 percent since the beginning of the war.
“The trade in pregnant women has also increased significantly since the beginning of the war,” OSCE Secretary General Helga Maria Schmid told Die Welt, a German daily newspaper, in an interview.
The victims of sex crimes are lured online with false promises, abused in private accommodations in host countries, or intercepted directly at the border by undercover human traffickers. “Organized crime is often involved. These unscrupulous criminals then meet people who need help, have to earn money, do not speak the language in the new country, and are often traumatized by the war.”
A yearly surge of 25 to 27 million victims
The increase in human trafficking has revealed really deep chasms, said the top German diplomat. Schmid also emphasized that global human trafficking had grown enormously: “We now assume 25 to 27 million victims per year, and unfortunately, only 10,000 cases end up with the law enforcement authorities every year.”
Less than one percent of the victims could even be identified. “There is, therefore, largely impunity for the perpetrators of trafficking in human beings,” said the OSCE Secretary General.
Annual profits from human trafficking have quintupled over the past 15 years to $150 billion a year, according to a report from the ILO (International Labor Organization). “If human trafficking were a country, it would rank 55th in the world in terms of economic output,” explained Schmid. In addition to sexual exploitation, there is also an increasing trend toward forced crime, forced begging, and sham marriages.
UNODC reports a rise of Human trafficking cases in 2023
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) forecasts an increase in Ukrainian victims of human trafficking in 2023 as the number of refugees continues to rise.
Displacement of populations often leads to increased human trafficking cases, according to the 2022 World Human Trafficking Report released on January 24.
“Analysis shows a relationship between the people forced to flee Ukraine in 2014 and 2015 as a result of the conflict in the eastern part of the country, and increased detection of trafficking in persons from Ukraine to Western and Central Europe in the following years,” says UNODC in the report.
A similar trend can also be expected against the background of the current Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
“After 2014, after a year or so, there’s been this spike in the number of Ukrainian victims in Europe, and so the worry here is that we may face the same [spike] with millions of particularly women and children going outside of Ukraine,” UNODC’s Director of Research and Trend Analysis, Angela Me, said during a press conference.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February last year, approximately 7.9 million Ukrainians have fled to eastern Europe, and 4.9 million have registered under the EU’s Temporary Protection Program or similar programs in other European countries, according to the Migration Outlook report 2023 from the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD).
According to the report, an estimated 18 million Ukrainians are in critical need of humanitarian aid within the country, and an additional four million people could migrate to the EU this year.
The report indicates that millions of Ukrainians have been displaced due to the conflict and the need of humanitarian assistance, with many more potentially migrating to the EU. This situation will eventually lead to increased human trafficking, as vulnerable and desperate individuals will most definitely be preyed upon by criminal groups who exploit their precarious situation for profit.
Traffickers may falsely promise to provide victims with employment, better living conditions, and a brighter future in exchange for money or services. However, once victims are under their control, traffickers can subject them to forced labor or sexual exploitation. In some cases, trafficking victims are forced into debt bondage, where they work to repay debts that can never be fully refunded, keeping them trapped in a cycle of exploitation and abuse.
A leading cause of the trafficking spikes – Wars and conflicts
According to the UNODC, cases of human trafficking in and outside of conflict zones are increasing as a result of wars and conflicts. Displaced populations in economic need are particularly vulnerable to human trafficking.
“Evidence from conflicts shows that criminals profit from the chaos and desperation of war. Crisis increases vulnerabilities as well as opportunities to exploit people in need, especially internally displaced people and refugees,” says UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly in a press release.
Ukraine
“With the regular migration program that the EU is currently offering to Ukrainian citizens, vulnerability to human trafficking could decrease compared to 2014. However, the risk remains that the current conflict in Ukraine will produce an unprecedented number of casualties if containment measures are not taken,” UNODC said.
The chief of research and trend analysis at UNODC, Angela Me, also warned of the increased risk of human trafficking for Ukrainians, adding that in 2022 “the most frequently detected victims [in Europe] were from Ukraine.”
The United Nations also reported a quarter of trafficking victims detected in western and southern Europe were nationals of central or eastern European countries. Of the known victims, 35 percent were domestic trafficking victims.
Sub-Saharan Africa
According to the UNODC report, almost three-quarters of human trafficking victims worldwide come from conflict-affected and sub-Saharan countries.
In conflict zones in sub-Saharan Africa, children are often trafficked by armed groups and used to transport dangerous materials such as explosives or to carry out armed violence, including terrorism and war crimes.
According to the UN, between 2004 and 2020, recorded victims increased by 10 percent among men and 14 percent among boys.
Other forms of trafficking in conflict zones include forced marriages and the sexual slavery of children, often perpetrated by members of the armed forces.
According to the report, the number of identified victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in low- and middle-income countries has declined by 24 percent since 2019, largely due to the strain of the pandemic on those countries’ judicial, social, and health systems.
The report also concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a decline in human trafficking convictions. The number of convictions has been falling annually since 2017, and in 2020 fell “an alarming 27 percent from the previous year.”
Conclusions and recommendations
The COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukrainian war, and climate change concerns have contributed to the rise in human trafficking cases, with many people becoming more vulnerable to exploitation, forced labor, and sexual abuse. The pandemic has led to widespread economic and social disruption, leaving many struggling to make ends meet and more susceptible to trafficking. The Ukrainian war has displaced millions and left them vulnerable to trafficking as they seek safety and security. Climate changes have also contributed to displacement and migration, increasing the number of vulnerable people at risk of trafficking.
Other underlying conditions that make people vulnerable to trafficking, such as poverty, environmental destruction, discrimination, and economic inequity, continue to persist, thus fueling the growth of trafficking even further.
Governments and organizations must work together to support vulnerable populations and address the underlying conditions that make trafficking possible. The pandemic has highlighted the urgent need to protect the most vulnerable members of society and to prevent trafficking from becoming even more pervasive in the wake of the crisis.
To address this crisis, Polaris stresses the need for a society-wide approach that involves not only nonprofit organizations like themselves but also businesses, governments, lawmakers, and social/civil organizations. The fight against human trafficking requires a coordinated effort to create a system where exploitation is impossible.
The UN report also highlights the urgent need for governments and aid agencies to address the root causes of trafficking in vulnerable societies like sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean Islands, Bangladesh, and more. The economic drivers that lead people to migrate to other regions for work, coupled with unregulated industries that take advantage of these migrant workers, create a fertile ground for trafficking and exploitation. The report recommends that governments prioritize job creation and labor protections, which could mitigate the economic drivers of migration and create better opportunities for people in their local communities. It also calls for increased efforts to provide protection and assistance to those who are forced to migrate due to natural disasters, which could include emergency shelters, access to healthcare, and psychosocial support.
To prevent trafficking and exploitation, the report recommends that governments increase law enforcement activities, particularly in relation to the unregulated industries that are particularly susceptible to such activities. They should also strengthen child protection measures and improve public awareness about the dangers of trafficking and exploitation, as well as the rights of migrants and children. The report emphasizes that efforts to prevent trafficking must be targeted and tailored to the needs of those most at risk of exploitation, including children and migrant workers.
