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Secretariat - Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings

Press information

The Facts
 An estimated 2.5 million people are in forced labour (including sexual exploitation) at any given time as a result of trafficking (ILO)

The Victims

  • The majority of trafficking victims are between 18 and 24 years of age (IOM)
  • An estimated 1.2 million children are trafficked each year (UNICEF)
  • 43% of victims are used for forced commercial sexual exploitation, of whom 98 per cent are women and girls (ILO)
  • 32% of victims are used for forced economic exploitation, of whom 56 per cent are women and girls (ILO)
  • 25% of victims are used for a combination of forced commercial sexual exploitation and forced commercial sexual exploitation, or for undetermined reasons (ILO)
  • Many trafficking victims have at least middle-level education (IOM)

    The Traffickers

  • 52% of those recruiting victims are men and 42% are women (IOM)
  • In 54% of cases the recruiter was a stranger to the victim, 46% of cases the recruiter was known to victim (IOM)

    Prosecutions

  • In 2006 there were only 5,808 prosecutions and 3,160 convictions throughout the world (US State Department)
  • This means that for every 800 people trafficked, only one person was convicted in 2006 (US State Department)

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    Contacts

    Blanca Tapia
    Public Information Officer

    Office of the Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings
    Wallnerstrasse 6
    1010 Vienna
    Austria
    Tel: +43 1 514 36 6921
    Send E-mail