Writes Dionysus, Content writer, Headline Diplomat eMagazine
According to the data released by The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC), almost half of the recognised causes of child trafficking start with some family member participation.
What’s even more sickening is that the extent of family participation in the trafficking of children has gone up to four times higher than in cases of adult trafficking, indicating a very crucial need for improved counter-trafficking efforts particularly targeting children and their families.
The CTDC report also states that boys are more likely to be recruited by a family member than girls. The trafficked kids are normally used for begging, which accounts for 19%, domestic work 18%, and sexual exploitation 10%. A few kids are used in the hospitality industry (8%) and for illicit activities (6%).
Most of the trafficked kids are controlled through psychological abuse, physical abuse, and sexual exploitation. A few are forced into drugs. Kids who are normally trafficked by a family member or relative are usually forced into labor (68%) or sexual exploitation (36%).
Unlike children, adults are usually recruited into situations of trafficking by an intimate partner, which is also common in cases of child trafficking. Most intimate partners usually recruit their victims for sexual exploitation, with intimate partners being involved in 91% of such instances.
These statistics connected to child trafficking cases with family involvement are based on around 12,000 survivors of trafficking for which the information linked to the recruitment process is known.
The Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative (CTDC) is the world’s first human trafficking data portal to feature such information contributed by various agencies. Additionally, the CTDC is continuing to form partnerships with other counter-trafficking players, with the NGO Liberty Asia, being the latest contributor, thus, driving the total number of records of human trafficking cases hosted by the website to about 80,000 victims of over 180 nationalities exploited in more than 117 countries.
Bradley Myles, the CEO of Polaris said, “Modern slavery is a clandestine crime operating in the shadows as efforts to fight it are often based on only partial information. That’s why comprehensive data is essential, so we can put more targeted pressure on trafficking and reach more survivors so they can leave their exploitative situations. The CTDC is a leap forward to better illuminate the reality of modern slavery and facilitate coordinated efforts to combat it across borders.”
“Our organisation is taking a leading role in increasing the access to this critical information to strengthen counter-trafficking interventions,” said IOM Director General, William Lacy Swing.
Since many counter-trafficking partner organisations around the world will be contributing information about human trafficking in the coming months, expect the impact to be huge. This is crucial because the fight against human trafficking needs modern tools and accurate data. Currently, the available data is not only limited, but it also exists in silos, leading to fragmented knowledge, hence making it hard to assess the impact of anti-trafficking programming.
If there is increased access to this essential data, it will strengthen local, national, and international organisations, allowing them to forever disrupt, and get rid of crimes of human trafficking and exploitation.
The CTDC reports also reveal that the involvement of family members, friends, and intimate partners takes place in the initial stages of human trafficking. It consists of about two-thirds of child trafficking and a third of adult trafficking cases. Besides, a huge proportion of trafficking cases involves people who have bonds of trust, intimacy, and familial connections with the victims in the early stages of trafficking.
As a result, family members, friends, and intimate partners are at fault for the crime of human trafficking because their goal from the beginning is to put children into dreadful exploitation; normally to get something in return. In most cases, children are sent away or exchanged for money, goods, or services.
Contrarily, the decisions of family members, partners, or even friends may also be born out of heads of households and communities attempting to better themselves and their loved ones in challenging times. By doing this, households and communities may be endangering their kids into tricky situations and the hands of traffickers by attempting to put them into education and work opportunities abroad.
Bottom line
Human trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal industries today. Even though human trafficking is an urgent human rights issue, tackling it is quite challenging because of the nature of its operation and the lack of resources focused on identifying and serving the victims.
However, many countries have stepped up and provided a wider range of assistance measures to victims of trafficking. And since reliable, latest, and detailed data is required to reduce human trafficking cases, the new open data portal CTDC is playing a vital role to make this a success.
With increased access to human trafficking information, this will strengthen counter-trafficking organisations worldwide and reduce human trafficking cases at large.
Featured photo by Keenan Constance, Pexels
