Part 4 - Human Trafficking: Causes, Consequences and Counter-Measures

Causes of Human Trafficking

Of the more than 12.3 million people trapped in forced labor today, around 2.4 million are victims of human trafficking, according to the International Labour Office (ILO). Forty-three percent of trafficked persons are sexually exploited and one third are trafficked for economic exploitation. Up to half of all forced laborers in the world today are minors. Traffickers earn billions of US dollars in profits every year. In recent years, human trafficking is increasingly being viewed as an important global security issue. The success of counter-strategies hinges on an understanding of the root causes of trafficking.

Although trafficking and prostitution are not the same, some prostitutes are victims of trafficking. Poor economic conditions and other social problems afflicting vulnerable groups have led to an increase in trafficking in many parts of the world.

There are various causes behind trafficking. Searching for a better life abroad, many migrants rely on smugglers and traffickers who benefit from a lack of legal migration and employment opportunities by offering their "services." Economic hardship, conflict, crime, discriminatory practices or natural disasters affect millions of people and make them vulnerable to various forms of exploitation and enslavement. Many societies discriminate against women and girls, who are expected to stay at home and thus often have little access to education and jobs. This gender-based discrimination makes women and girls disproportionately vulnerable to trafficking.

Further factors contributing to trafficking include:

• porous borders;
• corruption and the collusion of state officials in trafficking;
• a lack of adequate anti-trafficking legislation and political will to enforce legislation;
• coordination problems between anti-trafficking stakeholders;
• the resilient demand for cheap labor and commercial sex.

Understanding Causes of Human Trafficking

Both push and pull factors contribute to human trafficking.

Push factors

In countries of origin, many people face economic and social hardship and have few opportunities to make a living or fulfill their expectations. A restriction of legal migration and employment opportunities abroad makes actual or potential migrants vulnerable to smugglers and traffickers who promise a better life, only to later exploit people. Violent conflicts, such as the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Kosovo in the 1990s, are particularly conducive to human trafficking, as traffickers benefit from state weakness, chaos and social disintegration.

Pull factors

In countries of destination, a resilient demand for cheap labor and commercial sexual services, in combination with restrictive migration and employment policies, have spurned human trafficking. Pull factors can also operate in countries of origin. The demand for commercial sex in zones of conflict (by both locals and international community staff) has exacerbated human trafficking.

Crime

Criminals, who often form sophisticated transnational organized crime groups, benefit from the interplay of these and other push and pull factors. That means that anti-trafficking policies should not only target criminals, but also the root causes of trafficking.