Human Trafficking In Developing Countries

Human trafficking is a form of contemporary slavery that entails the use of deception, force, or other methods of coercion to entice victims into servitude. Every year, millions of women, men, and children become the victims of exploitation whether it involves forced labor or the commercial sex trade. Human trafficking is a global phenomenon that affects millions of people from all continents, thus specific policies need to be designed for each region and a global effort is required to end it.
Worldwide, there are 21 million victims of forced labor: 11.4 million women and young girls and 9.5 million men and boys (International Labor Organization). Among the 21 million victims, 2 million are exploited by rebel and state groups and 4.5 million are exploited in the sex trade. Many of the victims work in agriculture, domestic work, manufacturing, and construction and generate approximately 150 billion dollars per year in illegal profits (International Labour Organization). Whereas the number of slaves varies worldwide, approximately 11.7 million slaves are found in Asia alone (International Labour Organization).

Aside from the fact that many impoverished people are deceived by cunning traffickers and coerced into forced labor and sex trade, corrupt officials and law enforcement officers, who are expected to protect them against wrongdoers and enforce the laws, offer little or no protection for these victims. Additionally, victims are afraid to report the abuse and many of the perpetrators go unpunished