What you probably already know: Across the globe, human trafficking is on the rise. The Covid-19 pandemic marked a brief lull in trafficking, followed by a sharp increase that has surpassed pre-pandemic levels. The most recent data from the United Nations revealed a 25% global increase in trafficking in 2022 compared to 2019, with women and girls accounting for the majority of trafficked victims — mostly for sexual exploitation. Alarmingly, the number of trafficked children has grown by a third over the space of three years, with girl victims increasing by 38%. Trafficking isn’t just changing by the numbers — it’s also shifting in how and where it’s being carried out in response to conflicts, displacement, and climate disasters. Protecting people from forced labor and exploitation is a complicated task that policymakers and corporations must adapt to meet.
Why? The post-pandemic uptick in trafficking “may partly be a reflection of improved detection capacity, but it is likely also a reflection of the fragility we see in every corner of the globe,” said Ghada Waly, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. As war and the climate crisis push many people directly into traffickers’ nets, others become vulnerable because they lose their homes, livelihoods, or safe access to resources. Cross-border human trafficking is flourishing in Africa, where various crises have left more people at risk than anywhere else on Earth. But trafficking is happening all around us. In North America, the number of trafficked girls more than doubled from 2019 to 2022, accounting for 25% of all victims, while women made up 56% of all victims, down from 65% in 2019. There’s also been a rise in trafficked boys, which experts say may be linked to increases in the number of unaccompanied migrant children in Western countries.
What it means: Combating trafficking as it evolves requires innovative use of technology. AI can analyze huge amounts of readily available online data and flag suspicious patterns and trafficking networks. A coalition launched in 2018 — Tech Against Trafficking — is leveraging the global reach and technical expertise of big companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce to combat the growing issue of online exploitation and address supply chain vulnerabilities. Kara Hurst, chief sustainability officer at Amazon, said the company has spent millions of dollars to support AI and other tech tools used by nonprofits like the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. One AI tool built using Amazon Web Services has detected more than 6 million child sexual abuse files, Hurst said, and Amazon has so far trained more than 18,600 transportation workers to spot signs of trafficking.
What happens next: Sixteen cities across Canada, Mexico, and the United States will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Mega sporting events like the World Cup are linked to increases in trafficking, especially in slave labor for big infrastructure projects. Large influxes of tourists also present exploitation opportunities for sex traffickers. FIFA recently implemented a set of human rights guidelines for next year’s World Cup, requiring host cities to create action plans that outline measures for preventing exploitation, the displacement of residents, and gender-based violence, among other things. But some human rights advocates say the framework doesn’t go far enough and lacks enforceable standards. In a report to national leaders, the Canadian Centre to End Human Trafficking proposed a set of recommendations to tighten World Cup anti-trafficking efforts, such as appointing a labor rights watchdog and raising public awareness of workers’ rights. FIFA said it’s been working closely with host cities to develop their action plans, which are due by Aug. 29.
— Story by Cambrie Juarez
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