Trafficking in human beings: has decreased during the pandemic but it has become more difficult to locate victims

ROME – There have been fewer victims of human trafficking in times of crisis, but greater difficulties in identifying them. This is the key message of the new global report on trafficking in human beings which the UNODC launched yesterday. The number of human beings trafficked during the pandemic in 2020 decreased by 11 percent compared to 2019, but it is not easy to recognize the victims or identify the traffickers. The pandemic, in addition to having reduced the ability of criminals to operate, has in fact also limited the ability of law enforcement to help the most fragile.

Data by geographical area. If 11 percent is the global figure that explains how much trafficking has decreased during the Covid-19, the statistics vary country by country. Trafficking in human beings has decreased by 59 percent in Asia and the Pacific, by 40 percent in North Africa and the Middle East, by 36 percent in Central America and the Caribbean, by 32 percent in South America and by 12 percent. percent in sub-Saharan Africa.

Impunity. The number of convictions for trafficking-related offenses also decreased by 27 percent in 2020 compared to 2019, with declines most notable in South Asia (56 percent), Central America and the Caribbean (54 percent), and South America (46 percent). per cent), confirming a trend born in 2017. The level of impunity of traffickers therefore increases and the countries of South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa take the podium, which condemn the least and find it more difficult to identify the victims.

Sex trafficking. The number of women trafficked for sex has decreased globally by 24 percent, due to the closure of public spaces and restrictions imposed almost everywhere during the pandemic. The traffickers may have sought more hidden and less safe places, further complicating the work of finding victims and perpetrators.

Wars and conflicts. Wars and conflicts are a mine for human traffickers, who can operate with greater ease both inside and outside the crisis area. The war in Ukraine, for example, has multiplied the possibility of refugees becoming victims of trafficking. The 2014 conflict, also in Ukraine, quadrupled the number of people identified as victims in Western Europe. In general, most stories of trafficking resulting from conflicts originate in African and Middle Eastern countries.

Climate change. By now it can be considered a full-fledged war as it makes people even more vulnerable and forces them to flee. In 2021, 23.7 million people populated the large family of internally displaced people due to natural disasters, while many more have crossed borders and sought refuge in neighboring countries to escape poverty induced by alternating droughts and floods.

Violence and justice. One last piece of data from the Report once again highlights the different treatment of women. Female victims are subjected to physical violence by traffickers at a three times higher rate than men. Children almost twice as many as adults. At the same time, women investigated for human trafficking are much more likely to be convicted than men. A figure that suggests how the judicial system of some countries can be discriminatory against women or how their role in trafficking networks can increase the chances that they will be identified and convicted.

Victims save themselves. The analysis of court cases presented in the report shows how victims of trafficking, when identified, manage to escape from traffickers on their own initiative and thus save themselves. Indeed, institutional and operational responses are still insufficient. The data cited in the report tell of 41 percent of people who manage to escape and denounce the traffickers compared to 28 percent of victims identified and rescued by the police and 11 percent helped by civil society. This is especially alarming considering that many victims of trafficking may not identify as such or may be too afraid of their exploiters to attempt escape.