Human Trafficking 1: Epidemiology

Trafficking in persons, or human trafficking, is the obtaining of persons by force, fraud, coercion, or other improper means, with the intention of exploiting them for financial gain. According to the US Department of State, the more prominent global forms of human trafficking include forced labor, bonded labor (or debt bondage), forced commercial sexual exploitation (or sex trafficking), involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child sex trafficking, child soldiering, and organ trafficking. In the United States, the forced exploitation of persons in the labor industry (i.e., labor trafficking) and in the commercial sex industry (i.e., sex trafficking) account for the majority of human trafficking cases recognized, reported, investigated, and prosecuted. Women and girls account for 55% (11.4 million) of the global trafficked population, whereas men and boys comprise the difference. Three quarters of trafficked persons are adults, whereas children younger than 18 years represent 26% (5.5 million) of victims. Risk factors that have been associated with increased risk of human trafficking include but are not limited to a childhood history of abuse and neglect; financial insecurity; housing instability associated with homelessness, running away, or being thrown out of the home; kinship placements with distant family members, foster care, and other residential placements; intellectual and learning disabilities; identification as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ); racial and ethnic minority status; status as an immigrant, migrant worker, and refugee; and involvement in gangs or illicit substance use. Due to the inherently abusive and violent nature of this crime, human trafficking has profound negative implications for the health and well-being of affected persons. This review contains 2 figures, 4 tables and 53 references Key words: commercial sexual exploitation, debt bondage, domestic servitude, forced labor, forced substance use, HIV, modern-day slavery, posttraumatic stress disorder, trafficking in persons