UNODC Global Human Trafficking Report 2024: an increase of 25% of victims
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) presents the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2024 that reveals an unsettling trend due to poverty, conflicts and climate disasters that leave more people vulnerable to exploitation. The 2024 edition encompasses 156 countries across all regions and subregions and analyzes trafficking cases detected between 2019 and 2023, offering the most comprehensive country coverage since the inaugural report in 2009.
According to the report, the number of trafficking victims increased by 25% in 2022 compared to 2019. The report records a rise in the child trafficking of 31% in 2022 compared to 2019. The concerns about child trafficking involve wealthier nations as well, where several cases of sexual exploitation have been detected.
The statistics highlight the disproportionate impact of human trafficking on women and girls, with 61% of victims in 2022 being female who get primarily sexually exploited. For boys, forced labor is the most prevalent form of exploitation (45%), while 47% of them face other forms of exploitation, including forced criminality, particularly online scams and begging.
The 2024 Global Report includes a dedicated chapter on Africa (Chapter 2), a region historically underrepresented in trafficking research due to the lacking data. Through extensive collaboration with UNODC field offices and numerous African national authorities and organisations, UNODC has gathered comprehensive data across the continent providing the most detailed overview of human trafficking patterns, flows, and trends in Africa to date.
The data show that African victims are trafficked to a greater number of destinations worldwide than any other region. However, most victims are subjected to intra-continental trafficking, driven by displacement, insecurity, and the escalating impacts of climate change. The significant increase in child trafficking cases detected in Sub-Saharan Africa is a major contributor to the global rise in child victims of labor and sexual exploitation.
Eventually, the Report provides policy recommendations to effectively address all forms of human trafficking, with a strong emphasis on holding those at the top of the criminal chain accountable, improving victim identification and protection, and providing survivors with the support they need.