The two primary forms of exploitation people are trafficked for are forced labor and sexual exploitation, with regional variances on the proportion of each. Although sexual exploitation remains the primary from, the prevalence of forced labor as the criminal’s motivation has grown in the last decade. This in part explains the rising share of males victims in human trafficking according to the United Nations. Their analysis suggests that the vast majority of male trafficking victims are trafficked for the purpose of forced labor, some 66 percent in 2016.
For women, traditional understandings of human trafficking remain the norm with 77.5 percent of female victims being trafficked for sexual exploitation. Whilst forced labor and exploitation of other forms are certainly an issue, the disturbing images of women falling victim to the global sex trade conveyed in films such as The Whistleblower remain as omnipresent as ever. In the United States this is reflected in the dominant share of female victims in calls to the national hotline in conjunction with a prevalence of calls related to sex trafficking over those related to forced labor.
On the international level, South and Central Asia was the region with the second-most victims in 2019. Given that 18 percent of victims trafficked internationally were citizens of East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, and Central Asia in 2014, much of the exploitation is occurring within the continent. As a result, calls are being made for further international focus on combating trafficking in the region rather than dealing with the victims when they are on Europe’s doorstep.
However, perhaps lessons can be learned from the increasing presence of legal action on human traffickers in Asia. Despite the diminished capacities and resources of South and Central Asian countries to combat trafficking when compared with their North American or European counterparts, the region conducted the most prosecutions in 2019 with 2,546. Accordingly, these prosecutions resulted in the highest number of convictions. With the number of convictions worldwide more than doubling over the last decade, there is some reason to believe that improvements are being made in removing the terror of human trafficking and exploitation from many of the world’s most vulnerable people. Unfortunately, the true extent of this heinous trade remains unknown.
