Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labour, or a modern-day form of slavery.

The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (also referred to as the Trafficking Protocol) was adopted by the United Nations in Palermo, Italy in 2000, and is an international legal agreement attached to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Trafficking Protocol is one of three Protocols adopted to supplement the Convention.

The Protocol is the first global, legally binding instrument on trafficking in over half a century and the only one that sets out an agreed definition of trafficking in persons. The purpose of the Protocol is to facilitate convergence in national cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in persons. An additional objective of the Protocol is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights. The Trafficking Protocol defines human trafficking as:

The Trafficking Protocol entered into force on 25 December 2003. By June 2010, the Trafficking Protocol had been ratified by 117 countries and 137 parties.

Overview and differentiation

Trafficking is a lucrative industry. It has been identified as the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. It is second only to drug trafficking as the most profitable illegal industry in the world. In 2004, the total annual revenue for trafficking in persons were estimated to be between USD$5 billion and $9 billion.

In 2005, Patrick Belser of ILO estimated a global annual profit of $31.6 billion. In 2008, the United Nations estimated nearly 2.5 million people from 127 different countries are being trafficked into 137 countries around the world.

However, it is argued that many of these statistics are grossly inflated to aid advocacy of anti-trafficking NGOs and the anti-trafficking policies of governments. Due to the definition of trafficking being a process (not a singly defined act) and the fact that it is a dynamic phenomenon with constantly shifting patterns relating to economic circumstances, much of the statistical evaluation is flawed.

Human trafficking differs from people smuggling. In the latter, people voluntarily request or hire an individual, known as a smuggler, to covertly transport them from one location to another. This generally involves transportation from one country to another, where legal entry would be denied upon arrival at the international border. There may be no deception involved in the (illegal) agreement. After entry into the country and arrival at their ultimate destination, the smuggled person is usually free to find their own way.

While smuggling requires travel, trafficking does not. Much of the confusion rests with the term itself. The word "trafficking" includes the word "traffic," which means transportation or travel. However, while the words look and sound alike, they do not hold the same meaning.

Victims of human trafficking are not permitted to leave upon arrival at their destination. They are held against their will through acts of coercion and forced to work or provide services to the trafficker or others. The work or services may include anything from bonded or forced labor to commercialized sexual exploitation. The arrangement may be structured as a work contract, but with no or low payment or on terms which are highly exploitative. Sometimes the arrangement is structured as debt bondage, with the victim not being permitted or able to pay off the debt.

Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, and yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people. Victims become bonded laborers when their labor is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service in which its terms and conditions have not been defined or in which the value of the victims’ services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt. The value of their work is greater than the original sum of money "borrowed."

Forced labor is a situation in which victims are forced to work against their own will, under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment, their freedom is restricted and a degree of ownership is exerted. Men are at risk of being trafficked for unskilled work, which globally generates $31bn according to the International Labor Organization. Forms of forced labor can include domestic servitude; agricultural labor; sweatshop factory labor; janitorial, food service and other service industry labor; and begging.

Sex trafficking victims are generally found in dire circumstances and easily targeted by traffickers. Individuals, circumstances, and situations vulnerable to traffickers include homeless individuals, runaway teens, displaced homemakers, refugees, and drug addicts. While it may seem like trafficked people are the most vulnerable and powerless minorities in a region, victims are consistently exploited from any ethnic and social background.

Traffickers, also known as pimps or madams, exploit vulnerabilities and lack of opportunities, while offering promises of marriage, employment, education, and/or an overall better life. However, in the end, traffickers force the victims to become prostitutes or work in the sex industry. Various work in the sex industry includes prostitution, dancing in strip clubs, performing in pornographic films and pornography, and other forms of involuntary servitude.

Human trafficking does not require travel or transport from one location to another, but one form of sex trafficking involves international agents and brokers who arrange travel and job placements for women from one country. Women are lured to accompany traffickers based on promises of lucrative opportunities unachievable in their native country. However, once they reach their destination, the women discover that they have been deceived and learn the true nature of the work that they will be expected to do. Most have been told lies regarding the financial arrangements and conditions of their employment and find themselves in coercive or abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous. According to a 2009 U.S. Department of Justice report, there were 1,229 suspected human trafficking incidents in the United States from January 2007- September 2008. Of these, 83 percent were sex trafficking cases, though only 9% of all cases could be confirmed as examples of human trafficking

Child labour is a form of work that is likely to be hazardous to the physical, mental, spiritual, moral, or social development of children and can interfere with their education. The International Labor Organization estimates worldwide that there are 246 million exploited children aged between 5 and 17 involved in debt bondage, forced recruitment for armed conflict, prostitution, pornography, the illegal drug trade, the illegal arms trade, and other illicit activities around the world.

Trafficking in children Trafficking of children is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation.

Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children can take many forms and include forcing a child into prostitution or other forms of sexual activity or child pornography. Child exploitation can also include forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude, the removal of organs, illicit international adoption, trafficking for early marriage, recruitment as child soldiers, for use in begging or as athletes (such as child camel jockeys or football players), or for recruitment for cults.

It was reported in 2010 that Thailand and Brazil were considered to have the worst child sex trafficking records.

Trafficking in children often involves exploitation of the parents' extreme poverty. Parents may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income, or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. They may sell their children for labor, sex trafficking, or illegal adoptions.

The adoption process, legal and illegal, when abused can sometimes result in cases of trafficking of babies and pregnant women between the West and the developing world. In David M. Smolin’s papers on child trafficking and adoption scandals between India and the United States, he presents the systemic vulnerabilities in the inter-country adoption system that makes adoption scandals predictable.

Thousands of children from Asia, Africa, and South America are sold into the global sex trade every year. Often they are kidnapped or orphaned, and sometimes they are actually sold by their own families. In the U.S. Department of Justice 07-08 study, more than 30 percent of the total number of trafficking cases for that year were children coerced into the sex industry.

History of Human Trafficking

Slavery can be dated right back to the establishment of any form human civilization. In fact, this practice had become so common that the people of that time had accepted it as a truth of life. This attitude was broken down only when great Enlightenment thinkers like, John Locke and Voltaire brought into picture the idea of freedom of the individual, and his thoughts and that, to keep another person in bondage is wrong. In the ancient times, people mostly acquired their slaves from the wars and conquests. These slaves worked as agricultural or domestic servants. This practice had become so common amongst the people that, in Rome and Greece, human trafficking had become a huge and profitable industry. It is said that half the population of such places were in bondage. Even though Roman thinkers like, Pliny and Cicero did their best to convince the masters to treat their slaves with compassion and dignity, it happened just otherwise. They were treated with extreme cruelty, sometimes even leading to severe flogging and crucification. Even if a few slaves tried to protest they were supressed and ignored. Later on, as and when the Roman Empire began to disintegrate and slowly be replaced by the authoritarian powers of the church, slaves became serfs or peasants, who were forced to stay on the local land's lord and were not allowed to leave without their permission. Even apart from Rome, there were Arab, North-America, India and various other places all around the world where slavery was extremely common. Infact, if we look into the practices of the Hindu caste system we shall find out that that their were millions of people who were held in bondage behind the culture of the so-called religious practices. It was only in the 15th Century that slavery went global, with various travellers hunting down new territories, and the Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, French and English establishing their colonies all over the world. Initially, only the indigenous people of the bonded country particiapted in the labour force but, slowly when immense labour made them weak and forced them to fall, slaves were imported from other countries, and thus starting the tradition of the movement of labour from one region to another. Even though various changes in the pattern of slavery had come about, the treatment that they were subject to was still the same. Brutal punishments, crushing work and a harsh life was the word of the day. Yet, still Spain and Portugal did show some sort of relaxation in their labour laws, like, allowing them to marry or even sue a cruel owner. In the 1800s we see that many of the independent nations of Spanish America outlawed slavery as soon as they aachieved their independence. The British Empire also outlawed the practice in 1833 although some sort of de facto slavery did continue in India and some other parts of the world. France even freed its bonded labour in its colonies in 1848. In the U.S. too the Civil War did finally lead the way upto the freedom for its slaves. Today, slavery and human trafficking is banned all over the world. Even the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights banned slavery completely. It says that, "no one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms." Yet, this idea of a completely free world, where no slavery and no servitude resides is a far away dream, which needs a lot of effort to be actaully achieved.

Human trafficking and sexual exploitation

There is no universally accepted definition of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The term encompasses the organized movement of people, usually women, between countries and within countries for sex work with the use of physical coercion, deception and bondage through forced debt. However, the issue becomes contentious when the element of coercion is removed from the definition to incorporate facilitating the willing involvement in prostitution. For example, in the United Kingdom, The Sexual Offenses Act, 2003 incorporated trafficking for sexual exploitation but did not require those committing the offence to use coercion, deception or force, so that it also includes any person who enters the UK to carry out sex work with consent as having been trafficked. In addition, any minor involved in a commercial sex act in the United States while under the age of 18 qualifies as a trafficking victim, even if no movement is involved, under the definition of Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons, in the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

The international Save the Children organization stated: "... The issue however, gets mired in controversy and confusion when prostitution too is considered as a violation of the basic human rights of both adult women and minors, and equal to sexual exploitation per se. ... trafficking and prostitution become conflated with each other. .... On account of the historical conflation of trafficking and prostitution both legally and in popular understanding, an overwhelming degree of effort and interventions of anti-trafficking groups are concentrated on trafficking into prostitution." The line between forced and voluntary prostitution is very thin, and prostitution in and on itself is seen by many as an abusive practice and a form of violence against women. In Sweden, Norway and Iceland it is illegal to pay for sex (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute), as these countries consider all forms of prostitution to be exploitative or de facto slavery.

Sexual trafficking includes coercing a migrant into a sexual act as a condition of allowing or arranging the migration. Sexual trafficking uses physical coercion, deception and bondage incurred through forced debt. Trafficked women and children, for instance, are often promised work in the domestic or service industry, but instead are usually taken to brothels where their passports and other identification papers are confiscated. They may be beaten or locked up and promised their freedom only after earning – through prostitution – their purchase price, as well as their travel and visa costs.

The main motive of a woman (in some cases an underage girl) to accept an offer from a trafficker is better financial opportunities for herself or her family. In many cases traffickers initially offer ‘legitimate’ work or the promise of an opportunity to study. The main types of work offered are in the catering and hotel industry, in bars and clubs, modeling contracts, or au pair work. Traffickers sometimes use offers of marriage, threats, intimidation and kidnapping as means of obtaining victims. In the majority of cases, the women end up in prostitution. Also some (migrating) prostitutes become victims of human trafficking. Some women know they will be working as prostitutes, but they have an inaccurate view of the circumstances and the conditions of the work in their country of destination.

Trafficking victims are also exposed to different psychological problems. They suffer social alienation in the host and home countries. Stigmatization, social exclusion, and intolerance make reintegration into local communities difficult. The governments offer little assistance and social services to trafficked victims upon their return. As the victims are also pushed into drug trafficking, many of them face criminal sanctions.

The Yogyakarta Principles, document on international human rights law on sexual orientation and gender identity also affirm that "States shall (c) establish legal, educational and social measures, service and programs to address factors that increase vulnerability to trafficking, sale and all forms of exploitation, including but not limited to sexual exploitation, on the grounds of actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, including such factors as social exclusion, discrimination, rejection by families or cultural communities, lack of financial independence, homelessness, discriminatory social attitudes leading to low self-esteem, and lack of protection from discrimination in access to housing accommdation, employment and social services.

National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline

- The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) is a national, toll-free hotline, available to answer calls from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year. It is operated by Polaris Project, a non-government organization working to combat human trafficking. Callers can report tips and receive information on human trafficking by calling the hotline at 1.888.3737.888.

The hotline provides data on where cases of suspected human trafficking are occurring within the United States. A national map of calls is updated daily to reflect the sources of calls to the hotline.

Global extent

Trafficking in Persons Report]] {|class="wikitable sortable" border="1" |+Trafficking in Persons Report Tier Ratings |- !Country !! Location !! 2010 !! 2011 !! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes |-style="display:none" | || || a || a ||force string sorting on tier columns to sort "2w" tiers together |- |Afghansitan || Central Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Afghanistan |- |Albania || Southeast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Albania |- |Algeria || Northeast Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Algeria |- |Angola || Central Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Angola |- |Antigua and Barbuda || Caribbean Sea || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Antigua and Barbuda |- |Argentina || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Argentina |- |Armenia || Eurasia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Armenia |- |Aruba || Caribbean Sea || - || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Australia || Oceana || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Australia |- |Austria || Central Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Austria |- |Azerbaijan || Eurasia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Azerbaijan |- |Bahamas || Atlantic Ocean || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in the Bahamas |- |Bahrain || Middle East || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Bahrain |- |Bangladesh || South Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Bangladesh |- |Barbados || Lesser Antilles || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Barbados |- |Belarus || Eastern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Belarus |- |Belgium || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Belgium |- |Belize || Central America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Belize |- |Benin || West Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Benin |- |Bolivia || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Bolivia |- |Bosnia and Herzegovina || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Bosnia and Herzegovina |- |Botswana ||Southern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Botswana |- |Brazil || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Brazil |- |Brunei || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Brunei |- |Bulgaria || Eastern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Bulgaria |- |Burkina Faso || Western Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Burkina Faso |- |Burma || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Burma |- |Burundi || Eastern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Burundi |- |Cambodia || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Cambodia |- |Cameroon || Western Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Cameroon |- |Canada || North America || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Canada |- |Central African Republic || Central Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in the Central African Republic |- |Chad || Central Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Chad |- |Chile || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Chile |- |China || East Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |Colombia || South America || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Colombia |- |Comoros || Indian Ocean || - || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |Congo, Democratic Republic of the || Central Africa || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in the Democratic Republic of the Congo |- |Congo, Republic of the || Central Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in the Republic of the Congo |- |Costa Rica || Central America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Costa Rica |- |Côte d'Ivoire || West Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || - ||See Human trafficking in Côte d'Ivoire |- |Croatia || Central Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Croatia |- |Cuba || Caribbean Sea || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Cuba |- |Curaçao || Caribbean Sea || - || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |Cyprus || Eastern Mediterranean || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Cyprus |- |Czech Republic || Central Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in the Czech Republic |- |Denmark || Northern Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Denmark |- |Djibouti || Horn of Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Djibouti |- |Dominican Republic || Hispaniola || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in the Dominican Republic |- |East Timor(Timor-Leste) || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in East Timor |- |Ecuador || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Ecuador |- |Egypt || North Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Egypt |- |El Salvador || Central America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in El Salvador |- |Equatorial Guinea || Middle Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Equatorial Guinea |- |Eritrea || Horn of Africa || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Eritrea |- |Estonia || Northern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |Ethiopia || Horn of Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Ethiopia |- |Fiji || Melanesia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Fiji |- |Finland || Northern Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Finland |- |France || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in France |- |Gabon || Central Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Gabon |- |Gambia || West Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in the Gambia |- |Georgia || Eurasia || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Georgia |- |Germany || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Germany |- |Ghana || West Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Ghana |- |Greece || Southeast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Greece |- |Guatemala || Central America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Guatemala |- |Guinea || West Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Guinea |- |Guinea-Bissau || West Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Guinea-Bissau |- |Guyana || South America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Guyana |- |Honduras || Central America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Honduras |- |Hong Kong || Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Hong Kong |- |Hungary || Central Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Hungary |- |Iceland || North Atlantic || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Iceland |- |India || South Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in IndiaSee Child trafficking in India |- |Indonesia || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Indonesia |- |Iran || Central AsiaWestern Asia || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Iran |- |Iraq || Western Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Iraq |- |Ireland || Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Ireland |- |Israel || Western Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Israel |- |Italy || Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Italy |- |Jamaica || Greater Antilles || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Jamaica |- |Iraq || Western Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Iraq |- |Japan || North Atlantic || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Japan |- |Jordan || Western Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Jordan |- |Kazakhstan || Eastern EuropeCentral Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Kazakhstan |- |Kenya || East Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Kenya |- |Kiribati || Pacific Ocean || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Kiribati |- |Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of || Eastern Asia || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || |- |Korea, Republic of || Eastern Asia || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in South Korea |- |Kosovo || Southeast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Kuwait || Western Asia || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Kuwait |- |Kyrgyzstan || Central Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Kyrgyzstan |- |Laos || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Laos |- |Latvia || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Latvia |- |Lebanon || Western Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Lebanon |- |Lesotho || Southern Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Lesotho |- |Liberia || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Liberia |- |Libya || Northern Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Libya |- |Lithuania || Northern Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Lithuania |- |Luxembourg || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Luxembourg |- |Macau || Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Macau |- |Macedonia || Southeast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Macedonia |- |Madagascar || Indian Ocean || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Madagascar |- |Malawi || Southeast Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Malawi |- |Malaysia || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Malaysia |- |Maldives || Indian Ocean || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |Mali || Western Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Mali |- |Malta || Mediterranean Sea || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Malta |- |Marshall Islands || Pacific ocean || - || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Mauritania || West Africa || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Mauritania |- |Mauritas || Indian Ocean || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Mauritius |- |Mexico || North America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Mexico |- |Micronesia || Oceana || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || |- |Moldova || Eastern Europe || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Moldova |- |Mongolia || East AsiaCentral Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Mongolia |- |Montenegro || Southeast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Montenegro |- |Morocco || North Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Morocco |- |Mozambique || Southeast Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Mozambique |- |Namibia || Southern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Namibia |- |Nepal || South Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Nepal |- |Netherlands || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in the Netherlands |- |New Zealand || Oceana || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in New Zealand |- |Nicaragua || Central America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Nicaragua |- |Niger || Western Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Niger |- |Nigeria || Western Africa || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Nigeria |- |Norway || Western Africa || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Norway |- |Oman || Southwest Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Oman |- |Pakistan || South Asia || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Pakistan |- |Palau || Pacific Ocean || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Palau |- |Panama || Central America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Panama |- |Papua New Guinea || Oceana || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea |- |Paraguay || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Paraguay |- |Peru || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Peru |- |Philippines || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in the Philippines |- |Poland || Central Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Poland |- |Portugal || Western Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Portugal |- |Qatar || Middle East || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Qatar |- |Romania || Central Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Romania |- |Russia || Northern Eurasia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Russia |- |Rwanda || Eastern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Rwanda |- |Saint Lucia || Lesser Antilles || - || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Saint Vincent and the Grenadines || Windward Islands || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |- |Saudi Arabia || Middle East || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Saudi Arabia |- |Senegal || Western Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Senegal |- |Serbia || Central EuropeSoutheast Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Serbia |- |Seychelles || Indian Ocean || - || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Sierra Leone || West Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Sierra Leone |- |Singapore || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Singapore |- |Slovakia || Central Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Slovakia |- |Slovenia || Central EuropeSoutheast Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Slovenia |- |Soloman Islands || Oceana || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || |- |South Africa || Southern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in South Africa |- |Spain || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Spain |- |Sri Lanka || South Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Sri Lanka |- |Sudan || North Africa || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Sudan |- |Suriname || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Suriname |- |Swaziland || Southern Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Swaziland |- |Sweden || Northern Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Sweden |- |Switzerland || Western Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Switzerland |- |Syria || Western Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Syria |- |Taiwan || Asia || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in Taiwan |- |Tajikistan || Central Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Tajikistan |- |Tanzania || East Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Tanzania |- |Thailand || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Thailand |- |Togo || West Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Togo |- |Tonga || South Pacific || - || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || |- |Trinidad and Tobago || Caribbean Sea || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago |- |Tunisia || Northern Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Tunisia |- |Turkey || Western AsiaEastern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Turkey |- |Turkmenistan || Central AsiaEastern Europe || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Turkmenistan |- |Uganda || East AfricaEastern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Uganda |- |Ukraine || Eastern Europe|| style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Ukraine |- |United Arab Emirates || Southwest AsiaEastern Europe || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in the United Arab Emirates |- |United Kingdom || Western Europe || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in the United Kingdom |- |United States || North America || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 || style="background:#00FF7F" | 1 ||See Human trafficking in the United States |- |Uraguay || South America || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Uruguay |- |Uzbekistan || South America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Uzbekistan |- |Venezuela || South America || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Venezuela |- |Vietnam || Southeast Asia || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w ||See Human trafficking in Vietnam |- |Yemen || Middle East || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff0050" | 3 ||See Human trafficking in Yemen |- |Zambia || Southern Africa || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 || style="background:#ffff80" | 2 ||See Human trafficking in Zambia |- |Zimbabwe || Southern Africa || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w || style="background:#ff8c40" | 2w||See Human trafficking in Zimbabwe |}

Intergovernmental organizations and public international law

United Nations

In 2000 the United Nations adopted the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, also called the Palermo Convention, and two Palermo protocols there to:

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; and

Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

All of these instruments contain elements of the current international law on trafficking in humans.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has assisted many non-governmental organizations in their fight against human trafficking. The 2006 armed conflict in Lebanon, which saw 300,000 domestic workers from Sri Lanka, Ethiopia and the Philippines jobless and targets of traffickers, led to an emergency information campaign with NGO Caritas Migrant to raise human-trafficking awareness. Additionally, an April 2006 report, Trafficking in Persons: Global Patterns, helped to identify 127 countries of origin, 98 transit countries and 137 destination countries for human trafficking. To date, it is the second most frequently downloaded UNODC report. Continuing into 2007, UNODC supported initiatives like the Community Vigilance project along the border between India and Nepal, as well as provided subsidy for NGO trafficking prevention campaigns in Bosnia, Croatia, and Herzegovina. Public service announcements have also proved useful for organizations combating human trafficking. In addition to many other endeavors, UNODC works to broadcast these announcements on local television and radio stations across the world. By providing regular access to information regarding human-trafficking, individuals are educated how to protect themselves and their families from being exploited.

The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT) was conceived to promote the global fight on human trafficking, on the basis of international agreements reached at the UN. UN.GIFT was launched in March 2007 by UNODC with a grant made on behalf of the United Arab Emirates. It is managed in cooperation with the International Labour Organization (ILO); the International Organization for Migration (IOM); the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF); the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

Within UN.GIFT, UNODC launched a research exercise to gather primary data on national responses to trafficking in persons worldwide. This exercise resulted in the publication of the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons in February 2009. The report gathers official information for 155 countries and territories in the areas of legal and institutional framework, criminal justice response and victim assistance services. UN.GIFT works with all stakeholders — governments, business, academia, civil society and the media — to support each other's work, create new partnerships, and develop effective tools to fight human trafficking.

The Global Initiative is based on a simple principle: human trafficking is a crime of such magnitude and atrocity that it cannot be dealt with successfully by any government alone. This global problem requires a global, multi-stakeholder strategy that builds on national efforts throughout the world.

To pave the way for this strategy, stakeholders must coordinate efforts already underway, increase knowledge and awareness, provide technical assistance, promote effective rights-based responses, build capacity of state and non-state stakeholders, foster partnerships for joint action, and above all, ensure that everybody takes responsibility for this fight.

By encouraging and facilitating cooperation and coordination, UN.GIFT aims to create synergies among the anti-trafficking activities of UN agencies, international organizations and other stakeholders to develop the most efficient and cost-effective tools and good practices.

UN.GIFT aims to mobilize state and non-state actors to eradicate human trafficking by reducing both the vulnerability of potential victims and the demand for exploitation in all its forms, ensuring adequate protection and support to those who fall victim, and supporting the efficient prosecution of the criminals involved, while respecting the fundamental human rights of all persons.

In carrying out its mission, UN.GIFT will increase the knowledge and awareness on human trafficking, promote effective rights-based responses, build capacity of state and non-state actors, and foster partnerships for joint action against human trafficking.

For more information view the UN.GIFT Progress Report 2009.

Further UNODC efforts to motivate action launched the Blue Heart Campaign against Human Trafficking on March 6, 2009, which Mexico launched its own national version of in April 2010. The campaign encourages people to show solidarity with human trafficking victims by wearing the blue heart, similar to how wearing the red ribbon promotes transnational HIV/AIDS awareness. On November 4, 2010, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons to provide humanitarian, legal and financial aid to victims of human trafficking with the aim of increasing the number of those rescued and supported, and broadening the extent of assistance they receive.

Council of Europe

In Warsaw on 16 May 2005, the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings was opened for accession and has since been signed by 43 member states of the Council of Europe. The Convention established a Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) which monitors the implementation of the Convention through country reports.

Complementary protection is ensured through the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote, 25 October 2007).

In addition, the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg has passed judgments concerning trafficking in human beings which violated obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights: Siliadin v. France, judgment of 26 July 2005, and Rantsev v. Cyprus and Russia, judgment of 7 January 2010.

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

In 2003 the OSCE established an anti-trafficking mechanism aimed at raising public awareness of the problem and building the political will within participating States to tackle it effectively.

The OSCE actions against human trafficking are coordinated by the Office of the Special Representative for Combating the Traffic of Human Beings. Since 2006 this office has been headed by Eva Biaudet, a former Member of Parliament and Minister of Health and Social Services in her native Finland.

The activities of the Office of the Special Representative range from training law enforcement agencies to tackle human trafficking to promoting policies aimed at rooting out corruption and organised crime. The Special Representative also visits countries and can, on their request, support the formation and implementation of their anti-trafficking policies. In other cases the Special Representative provides advice regarding implementation of the decisions on human trafficking, and assists governments, ministers and officials to achieve their stated goals of tackling human trafficking.

Other government actions

Actions taken to combat human trafficking vary from government to government. Some have introduced legislation specifically aimed at making human trafficking illegal. Governments can also develop systems of co-operation between different nations' law enforcement agencies and with non-government organizations (NGOs). Many countries have come under criticism for inaction, or ineffective action. Criticisms include the failure of governments to properly identify and protect trafficking victims, immigration policies which potentially re-victimize trafficking victims, or insufficient action in helping prevent vulnerable people from becoming trafficking victims.

A particular criticism has been the reluctance of some countries to tackle trafficking for purposes other than sex.

Another action governments can take is raising awareness of this issue. This can take three forms. First, in raising awareness amongst potential victims, particularly in countries where human traffickers are active. Second, raising awareness amongst police, social welfare workers and immigration officers to equip them to deal appropriately with the problem. And finally, in countries where prostitution is legal or semi-legal, raising awareness amongst the clients of prostitution to watch for signs of human trafficking victims.

Raising awareness can take on different forms. One method is through the use of awareness films or through posters.

During the time racism was a major issue in the U.S., Congress feared White slavery. The result of this fear was the White Slave Traffic Act of 1910, which criminalized interracial marriage and banned single women from crossing state borders for morally wrong acts. In 1914, of the women arrested for crossing state borders under this act, 70% were charged with voluntary prostitution. Once the idea of a sex slave shifted from a White woman to an enslaved woman from countries in poverty, the U.S. began passing immigration acts to curtail aliens from entering the country among other reasons. Several acts such as the Temporary Quota Act of 1921 and Immigration Act of 1924 were passed to prevent emigrants from Europe and Asia from entering the United States. Following the banning of immigrants during the 1920s, human trafficking was not seen as a major issue until the 1990s. However, during 1949, the first international statute that dealt with sex slavery was the 1949 UN Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others. This convention followed the abolitionist idea of sex trafficking as incompatible with the dignity and worth of the human person. Serving as a model for future legislation, the 1949 UN Convention was not ratified by every country.

Before America’s recent efforts to take on a major role in the anti-trafficking movement, the U.N. was the main regulator in solving the global issue of human trafficking. Under the Bush Administration, fighting sex slavery worldwide and domestically became a priority with an average of $100 million spent per year, which substantially outnumbers the amount spent by other countries. Before President Bush took office, Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). The TVPA strengthened services to victims of violence, law enforcements ability to reduce violence against women and children, and education against human trafficking. Also specified in the TVPA was a mandate to collect funds for the treatment of sex trafficking victims that provided shelter, food, education, and financial grants. Internationally, the TVPA set standards that governments of other countries must follow in order to receive aid from the U.S. to fight human trafficking. Once George W. Bush took office in 2000, restricting sex trafficking became one of his primary humanitarian efforts. Attorney General under President Bush, John Ashcroft, heavily enforced the TVPA. Today the State Department publishes the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which examines the progress that the U.S. and other countries have made in destroying human trafficking businesses, arresting the kingpins, and rescuing the victims.

The PROTECT Act of 2003, passed in April 2003, was a part of the government effort to further increase the punishment of child exploitation. The 18 U.S.C. § 1591, or the "Commercial Sex Act" makes it illegal to recruit, entice, obtain, provide, move or harbor a person or to benefit from such activities knowing that the person will be caused to engage in commercial sex acts where the person is under 18 or where force, fraud or coercion exists.

The Anti-trafficking Policy Index

The '3P Anti-trafficking Policy Index' measures the effectiveness of government policies to fight human trafficking based on an evaluation of policy requirements prescribed by the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (2000).

The policy level is evaluated using a five-point scale, where a score of five indicates the best policy practice, while score 1 is the worst. This scale is used to analyze the main three anti-trafficking policy areas: (i) prosecuting (criminalizing) traffickers, (ii) protecting victims, and (iii) preventing the crime of human trafficking. Each sub-index of prosecution, protection and prevention is aggregated to the overall index with an unweighted sum, with the overall index ranging from a score of 3 (worst) to 15 (best). It is available for up to 177 countries over the 2000-2009 period (on an annual basis).

The outcome of the Index shows that anti-trafficking policy has overall improved over the 2000-2009 period. Improvement is most prevalent in the prosecution and prevention areas worldwide. An exception is protection policy, which shows a modest deterioration in recent years.

In 2009 (the most recent year of the evaluation), seven countries demonstrate the highest possible performance in policies for all three dimensions (overall score 15). These countries are Germany, Australia, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Sweden and the US. The second best performing group (overall score 14) consists of France, Norway, South Korea, Croatia, Canada, Austria, Slovenia and Nigeria. The worst performing country in 2009 was North Korea, receiving the lowest score in all dimensions (overall score 3), followed by Somalia. For more information view the Human Trafficking Research and Measurement website.

International legislation

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children; and

Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air.

ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)

ILO Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105)

ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138)

ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)

Criticism

Both the human trafficking discourse and the actions undertaken by the anti-human traffickers have been criticized by some scholars. and journalists The criticism touches upon three main themes: 1) statistics and data on human trafficking; 2) the concept itself; 3) the anti-trafficking measures.

Problems with statistics and data

Numerous NGOs and governmental agencies produce estimates and specific statistics on the numbers of potential and actual victims of trafficking. According to the critics, these figures rarely have identifiable sources or transparent methodologies behind them and in most (if not all) instances, they are mere guesses. Scholars argue that this is a result of the fact that it is impossible to produce any meaningful statistics on a reportedly illegal and covert phenomenon happening in the shadow economy.

Problems with the concept

According to some scholars, the very concept of human trafficking is murky and misleading. It has been argued that while human trafficking is commonly seen as a monolithic crime, in reality it is an act of illegal migration that involves various different actions: some of them may be criminal or abusive, but others often involve consent and are legal. Laura Agustin argues that not everything that might seem abusive or coercive is considered as such by the migrant. For instance, she states that: ‘would-be travellers commonly seek help from intermediaries who sell information, services and documents. When travellers cannot afford to buy these outright, they go into debt’. Tara McCormack believes that the whole trafficking discourse can be actually detrimental to the interests of migrants as it denies them agency and as it depoliticizes debates on migration.

Problems with anti-trafficking measures

Laura Agustin says that very often the anti-traffickers ascribe victim status to immigrants who have made conscious and rational decisions to cross the borders knowing they will be selling sex and who do not consider themselves to be victims. There have been instances in which the alleged victims of trafficking have actually refused to be rescued or run away from the anti-trafficking shelters.

In popular culture

RCN Televisión in a partnership with UNODC Colombia produced a prime-time soap opera, "Everyone wants to be with Marilyn", informing millions of viewers about human-trafficking within the context of sexual exploitation. The final part of the show follows the story of a young woman who travels abroad thinking she will become a model, only to end up working against her will as a prostitute. Marilyn, in the meantime, sets up an NGO that assists victims of trafficking and offers support to women wishing to abandon the world of prostitution. The soap opera’s main male character plays a UNODC staff member who is working on a national campaign that is part of its Anti-Human Trafficking Project.

Lilya 4-ever, a film based loosely on the real life of Dangoule Rasalaite, portrays a young woman from the former Soviet Union who is deceived into being trafficked for exploitation in Sweden.

Human trafficking has also been portrayed in the Canadian/UK TV drama Sex Traffic.

Based on true events, Svetlana's Journey by Michael Cory Davis depicts the trials of a 13-year-old who loses her family and is sold to human traffickers by her adoptive family. Drugged, raped, and forced to endure continuous abuse by her 'clients' and traffickers, she attempts to commit suicide, but survives. River of Innocents follows the 17-year-old Majlinda into the world of modern-day slavery, where she struggles to hold on to her humanity and to help the stolen children around her survive. Dimanasus Prophecy, a movie by Dzmitry Vasilyeu about human trafficking in Eastern Europe.

David Mamet's 2004 film Spartan centres on the hunt for the daughter of a high ranking US official who has been kidnapped by an international sex slavery ring.

Human Trafficking (2005) (TV) by Christian Duguay stars Mira Sorvino, Donald Sutherland, and Robert Carlyle. A sixteen-year-old girl from Ukraine, a single mother from Russia, an orphaned seventeen-year-old girl from Romania, and a twelve-year-old American tourist become the victims of international sex slave traffickers. Sorvino and Sutherland are the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who struggle to save them.

La Sconosciuta, an Italian movie by Giuseppe Tornatore is centered around the story of a Ukrainian woman caught in the human trafficking and sex trade.

Ghosts, a documentary by independent film maker Nick Broomfield, follows the story of the victims of the 2004 Morecambe Bay cockling disaster, in which smuggled immigrants are forced in to hard labour.

Holly (2006) is a movie about a little girl, sold by her poor family and smuggled across the border to Cambodia to work as a prostitute in a red light village. The Virgin Harvest is a feature length documentary that was filmed at the same time.

The 2007 film Trade deals with human trafficking out of Mexico and a brother's attempt to rescue his kidnapped and trafficked young sister. It is based on Peter Landesman's article about sex slaves, which was featured as the cover story in the January 24, 2004 issue of New York Times Magazine.

The Jammed, an Australian film about human trafficking in Australia.

The 2007 film The Sugar Babies by Amy Serrano is a documentary that highlights the plight of Haitian victims of human trafficking in the Dominican Republic. It was produced by Thor Halvorssen Mendoza and funded by the Human Rights Foundation.

The European series Matroesjka's deals with girls from ex-Soviet countries, who have been deceived into sex slavery in Belgium.

The 2007 film Eastern Promises by David Cronenberg deals with a British midwife who unravels a gang of Russian slavers when she seeks relatives to a baby of a sex slave named Tatiana.

The 2008 film Taken by Pierre Morel, starring Liam Neeson, in which the main character's daughter and her friend are taken by traffickers in Paris. In his quest to find his daughter, the movie depicts foreign girls in Paris who are "trafficked" with the purpose of forcing them to prostitution.

The 2008 documentary and concert film Call + Response combines contemporary musician performances with an investigative report on worldwide human trafficking including hidden camera footage from Thailand brothels.

A 2006 Punisher story arc called "The Slavers", written by Garth Ennis, dealt with the horrors of human trafficking and sex slavery.

In the episode, "", the episode showcases the horrors of human trafficking when a Russian tourist is murdered and a girl that went missing.

The 2009 novel, A False Dawn, by Tom Lowe (St. Martins Press, ISBN 0-312-37917-X) depicts the horrors of human trafficking in the U.S.

The 2009 film Happy Endings?, filmed in Rhode Island, chronicles the lives of the women in massage parlors in Rhode Island during a battle in the state legislature to make prostitution illegal, focusing on issues of human trafficking.

In the hentai OVA "Cool Devices", human trafficking is part of several episodes.

Grammy-winning pop star, Lady Gaga, portrayed human trafficking in the music video for her multi-platinum selling single Bad Romance.The video takes place in a white bathhouse where Gaga is kidnapped by a group of supermodels who drug her, put her on display, and then sell her off to the Russian Mafia for sexual slavery

The 2009 novel, The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The DNA Foundation was created by celebrity humanitarians Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher in their efforts to fight human trafficking (specifically focusing on sex trafficking of children) in the U.S. In September 2010, the pair announced the launch of their “Real Men Don't Buy Girls” campaign to combat child sex trafficking alongside other Hollywood stars and technology companies like Microsoft, Twitter, and Facebook. "Real Men Don't Buy Girls" is based on the idea that high-profile men speaking out against child sex trafficking can help reduce the demand for young girls in the commercial sex trade. A press conference was held on September 23 at the Clinton Global Initiative. The Whistleblower is a 2011 thriller film directed by Larysa Kondracki, written by Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan, starring Rachel Weisz. Inspired by actual events, the film tells the story of Kathryn Bolkovac.

See also

Child camel jockey

Child labour

Child laundering

Comfort woman

Commercial sexual exploitation of children

Debt bondage

Exploitation

Sexual exploitation

Forced labour

Forced prostitution

Illegal immigration

ILO

Kidnapping

Military use of children

People smuggling

Serious and Organised Crime Group

Sharecropping

Sexual trafficking in Kosovo

South East Asia Court of Women on HIV and Human Trafficking

Trafficking of children

:Category:Human trafficking by country

References

External links

Trafficking in Persons:Global Patterns-UNODC report

IACAC International Agency for Crimes Against Children, Child Exploitation, Trafficking, and Cyber Crimes Tactical Initiative

International Labour Organization: Special Action Programme to combat Forced Labour (SAP-FL)

Women's Funding Network sex trafficking study is junk science

Human Trafficking - Research and Measure

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Child labour Category:Human rights abuses Category:Slavery Category:Sex crimes Category:Crimes against humanity Category:Debt bondage Category:Organized crime activity Category:Article Feedback Pilot