Human trafficking in Europe: children and women are increasingly at risk!

Human trafficking in Europe: children and women are increasingly at risk!

The alarming numbers of the UN report on human trafficking and forced labor throw a bright light on the worrying situation worldwide. According to the Vienna-based UN authority for drug and crime fighting (UNODC), the number of registered cases rose to a total of 75,000 in 2022, including frightening 25,000 children. This corresponds to an increase of 25 percent compared to the time before the Corona pandemic, such as Die Zeit . The increase in the smuggling of girls who are often forced to exploit sex is particularly worrying. The UN expert Angela Me emphasizes: "The crime has become more complex", since many companies are hiding behind legal facades as in agriculture or in the construction sector, while they are actually involved in human trafficking.

The role of migrants and organized gangs

Especially affected are young women and only traveling boys who are often sacrificed due to their vulnerable situations. The fact that more and more children under the pretext of legal employment in forced labor or even prostitution end up is depressing, as the UNODC report shows. The increase in these crimes is not only evident in developing countries, but also increasingly affects wealthier nations in western and southern Europe as well as North America. The data comes from 156 countries, and the authority also identified almost 440 routes for transnational human trafficking, whereby the majority of the victims come from Africa. In three out of four cases, criminal gangs are the masterminds of these offenses, which underlines the urgency of a determined action, as The Krone reports.