Facts listed below is taken from organizations fighting against human trafficking, government agencies, international organizations, and news articles.
Prosecutors in Sweden convicted 2 people for human trafficking in 2011. An additional 11 people were convicted for pimping that was connected to the trafficking charges. During the year, 450 men were convicted and fined for buying sex.
In 2012, there were 3 convictions for human trafficking and 32 for pimping.
Source: Joan Smith, “Why the game’s up for Sweden’s sex trade,” Independent, March 26, 2013.
Recruitment agents who work for human trafficking groups in Northern Bangladesh earn various fees for finding girls.
If an agent finds a girl who is “certified as ‘fit’” and is determined to be good-looking enough to work as a prostitute in India, then the agent receives a payment of $1,456 to $1,821 (80,000 to 100,000 Indian Rupees).
If a trafficking agent finds someone to work as a domestic help or as a laborer, then the agent receives a payment of $273.
(More traffickers prices here.)
Source: Sumati Yengkhom, “Trafficking of tribal girls: ‘Agents’ make big bucks, thrive on easy prey,” Times of India, March 4, 2013.
Official city records in Amsterdam show that there are between 6,000 to 8,000 prostitutes working in the city.
Anti-human trafficking organizations estimate that up to 10 percent of the women are victims of trafficking and exploitation.
(See prices of prostitutes worldwide.)
Source: Cecelia Rodriguez, “Reforming Prostitution in Amsterdam Includes a Business Plan and Business Hours,” Forbes, March 1, 2013.
An estimated 35,000 to 50,000 children in Tehran, Iran are forced to work as beggars on the street or in sweat shops.
Source: Cesar Chelala, “Afghanistan’s legacy of child opium addiction,” Japan Times, Opinion, March 1, 2013.
Human traffickers were bringing illegal immigrants from Haiti into Chile. In the process of smuggling in the immigrants, the traffickers attempted to pay border officials $400 per immigrants in bribes. The border patrol officials instead started an undercover operations to break up the ring.
Court documents state that the traffickers were selling immigrants in Chile for $1,000.
Source: Charlotte Karrlsson-Willis, “Chilean authorities thwart human trafficking operation,” Santiago Times, February 22, 2013.
Police in Romania broke up a human-egg trafficking ring in February 2013. The traffickers would pay Romanian women between $800 to $1,100 (€600 to €800 Euros) for their eggs, and then sell it to couples in Israel for $5,339 (€4,000).
Source: AFP, “Romania busts Israeli human egg-trafficking ring,” Google News, February 19, 2013.
A report released in 2013 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime offered a breakdown of victims of human trafficking activities worldwide.
Trafficking victims have been rescued in 118 countries and represent 136 different nationalities, according to the UNODC.
Sex trafficking accounts for 58 percent of all human trafficking cases that are investigated around the world. Labor trafficking accounts for 36 percent of the cases.
Women account for 55 to 60 percent of the victims, and women and girls account for 75 percent of trafficking victims.
(See prices of human traffickers here.)
Children account for 27 percent of victims during the 2007 to 2010 time period, up from 20 percent between 2003-2006. Two out of every three child trafficking victims were girls.
In total, there are an estimated 20.9 million people around the world who are victims of human trafficking.
Source: Associated Press, “UN Says Human Trafficking Found in 118 Countries,” ABC News, February 13, 2013.
The National Police Agency reported that 27 human trafficking victims were found in the country in 2012. The number of victims found increased by 2 from 2011.
11 of the trafficking victims were women from Japan, up from the 4 Japanese women rescued in 2011.
A total of 44 cases was detected by police across Japan during the year. In 2011, police investigated 25 cases.
Source: “Japanese human trafficking victims up,” Daily Yomiuri, February 8, 2013.
In 2012, anti-trafficking groups in Latvia rescued 30 human trafficking victims across the country. 25 victims were women and 5 were men, according to statistics.
16 of the trafficking victims were involved in forced marriages, 7 were victims of forced labor, and 7 were victims of sexual exploitations.
Source: “30 trafficking victims registered in Latvia in 2012,” Baltic Course, February 4, 2013.
