The Worldwide Rise in Trafficking
The onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world dramatically changed the way we live our lives. Nearly all countries immediately imposed strict lockdowns in attempts to stop virus transmission, meaning that all “non-essential” in-person activities were halted. The pandemic left millions of people jobless, crippled the economy, and relegated education online. But it also aggravated a pressing human rights issue: human trafficking.
Human trafficking is the trade of human beings, usually for the purposes of sexual slavery, forced labor, organ harvesting, or forced criminal actvity. In 2018, over 50,000 human trafficking victims were detected and reported across the globe; but the real number is estimated to be much higher. Women are most vulnerable to trafficking: 50% of victims are adult women, and 20% are young girls. About 20% of victims were adult men and 15% were young boys. Traffickers often target vulnerable populations, including the impoverished, migrants, minorities, and the unemployed. Thus far, the pandemic has pushed an estimated 150 million people into poverty, putting many more people at an increased risk for trafficking.
Homelessness and mistreatment are also two factors that put individuals, especially children, at risk of human trafficking. The economic impact of the pandemic has left many unable to pay their rent because of their sudden unemployment. Although some areas have implemented moratoriums on evictions for the time being, many people are not afforded this protection. Additionally, many people will still be unemployed after the moratorium ends.
Domestic violence and mistreatment have also been on the rise since the beginning of the lockdown. Victims normally spend their days outside their homes, which means that abusers only have the opportunity to assault their victims during a fraction of the day. However, victims are now confined to their homes with their abusers. Even though reporting of violence is down since friends, teachers, doctors, and relatives (the typical reporters of domestic or child abuse) are no longer seeing victims regularly, the number of hospital reports of related injuries have skyrocketed. Furthermore, children who may have relied on school as a main source of shelter and nutrition may find themselves on the streets in hopes to secure food and income. They are more likely to become involved with survival sex, cheap child labor, petty crime, or gang-related activities in order to stay afloat.
While criminal organizations traffik women for sexual exploitation, they also traffik male victims for forced labor. The devastating effects of the pandemic on industries and the workforce may have exacerbated this demand. Forced labor trafficking had already been on the rise for more than a decade, especially in the agriculture, construction, fishing, mining, and domestic labor industries, but the lockdown and subsequent economic crisis seems to have made the problem worse. With workers stuck at home, businesses may be incentivized to use forced labor to make sure operations are kept running. During the reopening phase, governments directed corporations to uphold the recommended hygiene guidelines to prevent virus transmission if they decided to open again; however, doing so incurs extra costs for companies at a time when funds are low. Trafficked victims are not afforded the same rights and protections as actual employees, and can be forced to work in unsafe working conditions. This puts them at a much higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
For trafficked victims, the situation becomes more bleak. As levels of mistreatment and abuse rise, victims in especially exploitative industies, like domestic servitude or sexual slavery, are more adversely impacted. It is also becoming much harder to track and identify victims, as the main goal of the lockdown measures was to reduce interactions and in-person gatherings, victims are shoved further underground and can no longer interact with NGOs or law enforcement officers. Restriction of movement and interaction is a very common tool used by traffickers to prevent identification and escape of their victims, and forced isolation makes it much easier for traffickers to hide and control their operations.
Reports have also shown that the trafficking industry has quickly adapted to the new world order. With so much being relegated online, traffickers have increasingly begun integrating the internet and technology into their business models. Sexual traffickers prey on young children who have gained access to the internet due to online school with promises of friendship and attention, or the recently unemployed who are desperate to find jobs to support themselves. Usually, traffickers either directly message people they think are easy targets or post job offerings and wait for responses. They can also use VPNs or other online identity-concealing tools to make sure they cannot be found based on their activity online. A panel of UN-appointed independent rights experts warned that there would be an increase in the recruitment of vulnerable people, especially children, by traffickers for online sexual exploitation. Making the problem worse is the fact that social distancing further isolates youth from peers, mentors, or social services that would ordinarily help them combat online grooming and exploitation.
The UNDOC Report recommends that these factors be taken into account while governments formulate their COVID-19 responses. By increasing vigilance on online forums and social media sites, facilitating cross-border cooperation to fight back against the invisibility effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on trafficking victims, and making use of technology to create resources and assistance for trafficking victims, these negative effects may be able to be combated. When it has been shown that implemented measures disproportionately affect certain vulnerable groups, governments must ensure that they provide as much assistance and support as they can to establish an equitable response to the pandemic.
Human trafficking is the trade of human beings, usually for the purposes of sexual slavery, forced labor, organ harvesting, or forced criminal actvity. In 2018, over 50,000 human trafficking victims were detected and reported across the globe; but the real number is estimated to be much higher. Women are most vulnerable to trafficking: 50% of victims are adult women, and 20% are young girls. About 20% of victims were adult men and 15% were young boys. Traffickers often target vulnerable populations, including the impoverished, migrants, minorities, and the unemployed. Thus far, the pandemic has pushed an estimated 150 million people into poverty, putting many more people at an increased risk for trafficking.
Homelessness and mistreatment are also two factors that put individuals, especially children, at risk of human trafficking. The economic impact of the pandemic has left many unable to pay their rent because of their sudden unemployment. Although some areas have implemented moratoriums on evictions for the time being, many people are not afforded this protection. Additionally, many people will still be unemployed after the moratorium ends.
Domestic violence and mistreatment have also been on the rise since the beginning of the lockdown. Victims normally spend their days outside their homes, which means that abusers only have the opportunity to assault their victims during a fraction of the day. However, victims are now confined to their homes with their abusers. Even though reporting of violence is down since friends, teachers, doctors, and relatives (the typical reporters of domestic or child abuse) are no longer seeing victims regularly, the number of hospital reports of related injuries have skyrocketed. Furthermore, children who may have relied on school as a main source of shelter and nutrition may find themselves on the streets in hopes to secure food and income. They are more likely to become involved with survival sex, cheap child labor, petty crime, or gang-related activities in order to stay afloat.
While criminal organizations traffik women for sexual exploitation, they also traffik male victims for forced labor. The devastating effects of the pandemic on industries and the workforce may have exacerbated this demand. Forced labor trafficking had already been on the rise for more than a decade, especially in the agriculture, construction, fishing, mining, and domestic labor industries, but the lockdown and subsequent economic crisis seems to have made the problem worse. With workers stuck at home, businesses may be incentivized to use forced labor to make sure operations are kept running. During the reopening phase, governments directed corporations to uphold the recommended hygiene guidelines to prevent virus transmission if they decided to open again; however, doing so incurs extra costs for companies at a time when funds are low. Trafficked victims are not afforded the same rights and protections as actual employees, and can be forced to work in unsafe working conditions. This puts them at a much higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
For trafficked victims, the situation becomes more bleak. As levels of mistreatment and abuse rise, victims in especially exploitative industies, like domestic servitude or sexual slavery, are more adversely impacted. It is also becoming much harder to track and identify victims, as the main goal of the lockdown measures was to reduce interactions and in-person gatherings, victims are shoved further underground and can no longer interact with NGOs or law enforcement officers. Restriction of movement and interaction is a very common tool used by traffickers to prevent identification and escape of their victims, and forced isolation makes it much easier for traffickers to hide and control their operations.
Reports have also shown that the trafficking industry has quickly adapted to the new world order. With so much being relegated online, traffickers have increasingly begun integrating the internet and technology into their business models. Sexual traffickers prey on young children who have gained access to the internet due to online school with promises of friendship and attention, or the recently unemployed who are desperate to find jobs to support themselves. Usually, traffickers either directly message people they think are easy targets or post job offerings and wait for responses. They can also use VPNs or other online identity-concealing tools to make sure they cannot be found based on their activity online. A panel of UN-appointed independent rights experts warned that there would be an increase in the recruitment of vulnerable people, especially children, by traffickers for online sexual exploitation. Making the problem worse is the fact that social distancing further isolates youth from peers, mentors, or social services that would ordinarily help them combat online grooming and exploitation.
The UNDOC Report recommends that these factors be taken into account while governments formulate their COVID-19 responses. By increasing vigilance on online forums and social media sites, facilitating cross-border cooperation to fight back against the invisibility effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on trafficking victims, and making use of technology to create resources and assistance for trafficking victims, these negative effects may be able to be combated. When it has been shown that implemented measures disproportionately affect certain vulnerable groups, governments must ensure that they provide as much assistance and support as they can to establish an equitable response to the pandemic.
The Impact of the Internet and High Unemployment on Trafficking
Unexpected and unwanted, the COVID-19 pandemic has raged destruction and devastation globally. With approximately 113 million cases worldwide, this virus has been able to get a strong grip on and affect all aspects of an individual’s life. Be it physical, psychological, economic, social or political, the COVID-19 pandemic and all the restrictions which must be followed in order to prevent further spreading, have affected almost everything. The COVID-19 pandemic affected individuals’ health and mental well-being, and irreversible damages in the economic sector. Regardless of individuals contracting the COVID-19 virus, almost everyone was affected economically or socially. According to a report by economists at The World Bank, in total, COVID-19-induced new poor in 2020 is estimated to be between 119 and 124 million individuals. While the world prioritises the health, social and economic related aspects, an unexpected problem has arisen due to the pandemic. Human trafficking rates have been soaring, as traffickers and individuals in related fields have been taking advantage of the vulnerability of people all around the world.
UNODC Executive Director, Ghada Waly, stated, “Millions of women, children and men worldwide are out of work, out of school and without social support in the continuing COVID-19 crisis, leaving them at greater risk of human trafficking,” As COVID-19 affects factors like education, poverty and increases rates of violence, it has gradually, yet severely, influenced discrimination and inequality, furthering the divide between separate social classes, races, genders, religions and communities. The International Labor Organization estimates that the lockdowns of the 2020 pandemic have affected 2.7 billion workers or approximately 81% of the world’s workforce. While these individuals live in situations influenced by economic uncertainty, traffickers thrive on their vulnerability.
With widespread unemployment rates, many individuals have been taking greater risks to find employment opportunities, while others have been forced to deal with their financial struggles in unimaginable ways. Landlords in the United States and the United Kingdom prey upon young women. If these women are unable to pay their rents due to financial struggles, landlords have suggested and even forced certain individuals into giving sexual favors. In a survey by the U.S.-based National Fair Housing Alliance of one hundred fair housing organizations, it is claimed that 13% of organizations have observed a sharp increase in complaints pertaining to sexual harassment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another surge in trafficking cases occurred when Amsterdam’s “Red Light” district shut down, which led to individuals involved in forced prostitution meeting with clients who were “off the radar.” Survivors of trafficking and previous victims have been in danger of being dragged into the vicious cycle once more due to shelters shutting down and them struggling financially, allowing their health and safety to be compromised.
While individuals adjust to a more digitally structured world since the pandemic demands social distancing, traffickers have been able to exploit these resources to coerce individuals into the various trafficking rings found globally. Angela Me, Chief of the Research and Trend Analysis Branch at UNODC, stated “Trafficking in persons is much closer to everyone’s life and we may not know that we have been using exploitative services,” during a press briefing on the UNODC 2020 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. As students and professionals shift to online schooling and working from home, more and more time is being spent on the Internet and various social media platforms.
According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, approximately 90% of the world’s students at the pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels in 194 countries have been affected by schools closing. Targeting younger students and children, traffickers have been using the Internet to groom, coerce and blackmail individuals. This has allowed traffickers to have direct contact with students and children, while also having access to personal details such as IP addresses and contact details. Schools served as leading preventive measures, as teachers could often detect signs of students being trafficked and would take all appropriate actions for the child’s safety. However, as the pandemic has led to many schools shifting to online schooling, or complete shutting down of educational institutes in some cases, it has gotten extremely difficult to notice victims. Due to this, the FBI has released documents warning guardians about this and has also elaborated on recommendations to combat this practice.
As these rates surge, it is of ample importance that the issue of human trafficking is prioritized and all those vulnerable be protected.
UNODC Executive Director, Ghada Waly, stated, “Millions of women, children and men worldwide are out of work, out of school and without social support in the continuing COVID-19 crisis, leaving them at greater risk of human trafficking,” As COVID-19 affects factors like education, poverty and increases rates of violence, it has gradually, yet severely, influenced discrimination and inequality, furthering the divide between separate social classes, races, genders, religions and communities. The International Labor Organization estimates that the lockdowns of the 2020 pandemic have affected 2.7 billion workers or approximately 81% of the world’s workforce. While these individuals live in situations influenced by economic uncertainty, traffickers thrive on their vulnerability.
With widespread unemployment rates, many individuals have been taking greater risks to find employment opportunities, while others have been forced to deal with their financial struggles in unimaginable ways. Landlords in the United States and the United Kingdom prey upon young women. If these women are unable to pay their rents due to financial struggles, landlords have suggested and even forced certain individuals into giving sexual favors. In a survey by the U.S.-based National Fair Housing Alliance of one hundred fair housing organizations, it is claimed that 13% of organizations have observed a sharp increase in complaints pertaining to sexual harassment since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another surge in trafficking cases occurred when Amsterdam’s “Red Light” district shut down, which led to individuals involved in forced prostitution meeting with clients who were “off the radar.” Survivors of trafficking and previous victims have been in danger of being dragged into the vicious cycle once more due to shelters shutting down and them struggling financially, allowing their health and safety to be compromised.
While individuals adjust to a more digitally structured world since the pandemic demands social distancing, traffickers have been able to exploit these resources to coerce individuals into the various trafficking rings found globally. Angela Me, Chief of the Research and Trend Analysis Branch at UNODC, stated “Trafficking in persons is much closer to everyone’s life and we may not know that we have been using exploitative services,” during a press briefing on the UNODC 2020 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. As students and professionals shift to online schooling and working from home, more and more time is being spent on the Internet and various social media platforms.
According to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, approximately 90% of the world’s students at the pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary education levels in 194 countries have been affected by schools closing. Targeting younger students and children, traffickers have been using the Internet to groom, coerce and blackmail individuals. This has allowed traffickers to have direct contact with students and children, while also having access to personal details such as IP addresses and contact details. Schools served as leading preventive measures, as teachers could often detect signs of students being trafficked and would take all appropriate actions for the child’s safety. However, as the pandemic has led to many schools shifting to online schooling, or complete shutting down of educational institutes in some cases, it has gotten extremely difficult to notice victims. Due to this, the FBI has released documents warning guardians about this and has also elaborated on recommendations to combat this practice.
As these rates surge, it is of ample importance that the issue of human trafficking is prioritized and all those vulnerable be protected.
