Human Trafficking Market Value: $32 Billion
$10 billion is generated based on the initial sale of a person.
If the profits from the activities that is produced by the person who is trafficked is included, then the International Labour Organization (ILO) states that the market value of human trafficking stands at $32 billion, leading to a profit of $13,000 per trafficked person.
Source: International Labour Organization, “A global alliance against forced labour,” International Labour Conference 93rd. Session 2005, Report I (B), (Geneva, 2005), pg. 55, (last accessed: September 8, 2006).
1,000 people trafficked into Australia each year
Up to 1,000 people are trafficked into Australia each year, according to various estimates compiled by Voice of America. 90 percent of those trafficked into the country is for sexual purposes.
Source: Phil Mercer, “Asian Police Join to Combat Trafficking of Sex Slaves,” Voice of America News, June 27, 2009.
Price of children in China
According to an article by Reuters, the price range for a child sold in China is between $1,000 to $5,850 (7,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan), with the price varying to factors such as age and sex.
Children are bought and sold for various reasons. Boys may be sold to beggar gangs or families with no boys, while girls may be sold to poor men who are unable to find a wife in their village.
Source: Reuters, “China police rescue trafficked children,” Washington Post, June 21, 2009.
US residents visit Canada to have sex with minors
According to the Trafficking in Persons report published by the US State Department, residents of the United States enter Canada as child-sex tourists with the purpose of having sex with minors.
Source: “Trafficking in Persons Report 2009,” United States Department of State, June 16, 2009, page 99.
200 to 300 teenagers prostituted each month in Atlanta
Between 200 to 300 adolescents and teenagers are working as prostitutes in the US city of Atlanta each month, according to the Juvenile Justice Funds.
Economic recession leading to increase in human trafficking
According to the US Trafficking in Persons Report released by the State Department, the worldwide economic recession has lead to more people becoming victims of human trafficking. Laborers are being held for outstanding debts and smuggling fees by employers who exploit their illegal status.
From the Christian Science Monitor:
As economies have soured, more workers in sectors ranging from agriculture and fishing to construction and domestic services have fallen prey to employers who deny wages, claiming they are owed debts workers are unable to repay, or who use an employee’s murky legal status to force them into bondage.Traditionally, human trafficking has been associated with the international sex trade. And forced prostitution of women and children remains a major contributor to trafficking, but CdeBaca notes that the International Labor Organization this year estimates 12.3 million cases of human bondage worldwide, of which just over one-tenth, or 1.5 million, are thought to be cases of sexual servitude.
Read the entire Trafficking in Persons Report here.
30 percent of all women and children trafficked are from Asia
According to the United Nations, out of the roughly 2 million women and children who are trafficked each year, up to 30 percent are in Asia.
Source: Reuters, “MTV uses anime to fight human trafficking in China,” Yahoo News, June 11, 2009.
70 percent of women and children trafficked are for sex
About 70 percent of all women and children who are victims of human trafficking are bought and sold for the purpose of sexual activities.
Source: Canwest News Service, “Child-trafficking bill closer to becoming law,” Canada.com, June 8, 2009.
10,000 women held in secret brothels in Los Angeles
According to the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CSAT), there are up to 10,000 women currently being held as victims of trafficking in secret brothels in the city of Los Angeles.
Source: “Human Trafficking Escalates as Economy Plunges,” New American Media, June 6, 2009.
6,684 victims of human trafficking in Vietnam in 2008
The government of Vietnam reported that there were 6,684 victims of human trafficking in the country in 2008. Of that amount, 2,579 were returned to their homes.
In addition, 21,038 people were reported missing who could have been sold into prostitution.
Source: John Boudreau, “Globalization’s Ugly Side: Sex Slavery,” San Jose Mercury News, June 4, 2009.
