Human trafficking is fast becoming a common occurrence worldwide and is referred to as “the modern-day slavery” due to it being one of the largest international crime industries.
Both International and national databases reflect various records pertaining to human tracking including the gender, age, race and nationality of the victims.
According to the Migrational Data portal, updated on July 3 2020, and the Global Data Hub on Human Trafficking, the following countries have been identified as the current Human Trafficking hotspots around the word:
North and Central America – USA, Mexico and the Caribbean
Eastern and Central Europe – Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Russia
Middle East – Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan
Far East -Japan, China and Thailand
Africa – Nigeria, South Africa, Ethiopia and Ghana
According to the Global Slavery Index report, there are an estimated 155 000 people living in modern slavery in South Africa. With the agriculture sector having the highest number of victims of forced labour.
A report by the International Labour Organization (ILO) reveals that globally, the trade brings criminals $150 billion annually ( R2 trillion)
The United Nations defines human trafficking as the “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.”
Mohamed Daghar, a researcher at the Institute for Security Studies, says human trafficking routes in Africa are as complex as the trade itself.
Trafficking routes differ and are irregular depending on the type of trafficking.
“Human smuggling which is controlled by smugglers is different from human trafficking which is driven by traffickers. This is an important distinction to note especially when looking into routes used,” says Daghar.