Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – Sexual exploitation and forced labor constitute the most widely spread forms of trafficking in human persons, according to the first Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, recently presented by the UNODC (UN Office on Drugs and Crime). The main victims in this modern-day slavery are once again women and children. Trafficking for prostitution is 79% of the entire phenomenon of trafficking in persons, involving increasingly younger women. One highly surprising fact that is that in 30% of the countries, the trafficking is carried out by women, oftentimes having been victims of the same treatment. In Eastern Europe and Central Asia, females account for more than 60% of convictions for trafficking in persons.
The second most common form of human trafficking is forced labour (18%), but this may be a misrepresentation. Forced labor is less frequently detected and reported than trafficking for sexual exploitation. One reason is that forced labor is hidden, far from the naked eye. The general number of prosecutions for trafficking has increased, but only in some countries. In the majority of the others, the percentage of prosecutions rarely exceeds 1.5 for every 100,000 persons. This level is lower than the number for rarer crimes, such as kidnappings in Western Europe. Involved in forms of exploitation like prostitution, slavery, pornography, children are almost 20% of all trafficking victims. However, in many African nations the percentile is rising at an incredible rate, placing them on their way to becoming the most involved in this terrible practice.
Based on statistics from 155 nations, the UN survey sheds light on the complex reality of the modern slave markets. Among the severe problems that are mentioned is that of a lack of collaboration – often total obstruction – of many governments that impede further investigations of these crimes. In fact, in spite of the UN Protocol against Trafficking in Human Persons – the main international accord on the issue, taking effect in 2003 – there are still nations (especially in Africa) that lack the necessary juridical means, that is, the will to create them. Many governments still deny the existence of the phenomenon or ignore the need to prosecute. The number of prosecutions of human traffickers has only gone up in some countries. The report shows that between 2007-2008, 2 out of every 5 (20%) of the world's nations have pronounced a sentence on the issue.
From the Holy See, numerous speeches have been made condemning trafficking and exploitation of human persons on an international level. In many of the world's nations, the Catholic agencies, missionary congregations, and local Churches are working in defense of these children, women, and exploited workers. “The scourge of trafficking in human beings is a multi-dimensional social phenomenon of misery, poverty, greed, corruption, injustice and oppression ,” said Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for the Holy See's Relation with States, this past December 4 in an address at the XVI Ministerial Council of OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) in Helsinki (Finland). “The root causes of this phenomenon include economic factors, such as the imbalance between rural and urban wealth levels and the desperate desire to escape poverty. Juridical and political factors also contribute to the problem, such as the absence of legislation, and the ignorance of parents and trafficked persons of their rights under the law,” he continued. “There is a further aspect which must be acknowledged and collectively addressed if this abhorrent human exploitation is to be effectively confronted. I am referring to the trivialization of sexuality in the media and entertainment industries which fuels a decline in moral values and leads to the degradation of men and women and even the abuse of children.” (Mtp) (Agenzia Fides 17/2/2009)
