WHILE WAR RAGES, HUMAN TRAFFICKERS THRIVE
The global trafficking of persons has become one of the most heinous and widespread forms of criminal exploitation in the 21st century. Human trafficking is not simply the exploitation of vulnerable people, it is the exploitation of unstable political climates to build underground empires of organized crime. These networks are particularly successful in the Middle East because of multiple refugee crises, the kafala (sponsor) laws, the criminalization of victims, and pervasive conflict that keeps journalists focus on war, not trafficking issues.
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Credit: CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters
Human Trafficking defined by the US Department of State is the “use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. Every year, millions of men, women, and children are trafficked worldwide- including the United States. It can happen in any community and victims can be any age, race, gender, or nationality. Traffickers might use violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships to lure victims into trafficking situations. “
Traffickers look for people susceptible for a number of reasons. People coerced or lured into trafficking often have vulnerabilities such as; psychological, emotional, economic hardships, lack of a social safety net, natural disasters, or political instability. Trauma induced by traffickers is so great, many do not identify themselves as victims, preventing them from asking for help, even when help is available.
The International Labor Organization estimates there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally. The exact number is impossible to determine as so many cases go undetected. Of the 40 million, 71% are women and girls, while men and boys account for 29%. Global profits for traffickers are roughly $150 billion a year, $99 billion of which comes from commercial sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation accounts for 4.8 million victims globally.
Based on the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2018,9; Harroff-Tavel and Nasri 2013,13; States, around 600,000 victims of human trafficking are present in the Middle East and represent around 45 nationalities. Around 51% of the victims are from the Middle East itself.
Human trafficking in the Middle East is often overlooked and rarely reported on. There are a lack of services and organizations working to combat this horrific crime against human beings. FAI is working to see this change. We have established a base location in the Mediterranean basin to combat human trafficking, specifically sex trafficking throughout the Middle East.
Photo: CNS photo/Guglielmo Mangiapane, Reuters
Sources:
https://www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/
https://polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/facts
https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-human-trafficking
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm
http://praemon.org/human-trafficking-in-the-middle-east/