Actual Figures

11 In one of the most comprehensive attempts to measure trafficking worldwide, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2009) gathered data on human trafficking in 155 nations around the world. Based upon data provided by 111 countries in 2006, over 21,400 victims of trafficking were identified through victims’ assistance organizations and the criminal justice process. Where data on gender and age were available, in 61 countries, two thirds of the victims were adult women, 13% were girls, 12% men and 9% boys (UNODC, 2009; 10-11). This picture may be skewed by an overemphasis on trafficking for sexual exploitation. [8]

Estimates

12 The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that approximately 2.5 million people are in forced labor as a result of trafficking, including both transborder and internal trafficking. Calculations put the number of people subjected to commercial sexual exploitation at 1.1 million; 800,000 are trafficked into other forms of labor exploitation and 600,000 are classified as “undetermined” (Belser, 2005). Within the United States alone, the U. S. Department of State (2004) calculated that between 14,500 and 17,500 victims are trafficked into the United States each year. [9]

13 There is a large disparity between the number of estimates and the number of known cases or victims. Using the U. S. Department of State estimates of 14,500 to 17,500 trafficked persons entering the country annually, between 87,000 and 105,000 persons were estimated to have been trafficked into the United States during the period 2001 to 2007. During that same period, the U. S. Office of Refugee Resettlement certified only 1,379 (131 minor and 1248 adult) trafficked victims, providing even fewer with a T-visa. [10] The U. K. Home Office estimates 4,000 victims of trafficking for prostitution annually. At the same time, the Joint Committee on Human Rights in its report to the British Parliament stated that, “Referrals from the Poppy Project in some ways provide the most reliable figures on the numbers of identified victims of trafficking for prostitution in the UK, since they relate to the actual women who have been encountered”. [11] However, between March 2003 and May 2006, only 489 referrals were made to the scheme. [12]

14 In a study of the magnitude of trafficking in the United Kingdom, Kelley and Regan (2000), based on 71 known cases, extrapolate the actual figure at between 142 and 1420 cases annually. In a report for IOM on the trafficking of women and children from the Russian Federation, the author states, “The number of women and children who have become victims is unknown, but it is estimated to be in the tens-of-thousands and possibly the hundreds-of-thousands” (Hughes, 2002; 7). The bottom line is, we simply do not know.

15 There are a number of criticisms of trafficking estimates. First and foremost is the fact that the methodology for computing the estimates is rarely given. Reports also often fail to indicate whether estimates are annual figures or cover a period of several years (Makkai, 2003). Furthermore, the ranges are often wide with a high of 10 times that of the low estimate.

16 There is a danger is using estimates, particularly when it is unclear how an organization arrived at the figure. According to UNESCO (2003):

17

Numbers take on a life of their own, gaining acceptance through repetition, often with little inquiry into their derivations. Journalists, bowing to the pressures of editors, demand numbers, any number. Organizations feel compelled to supply them, lending false precisions and spurious authority to many reports. For instance, the widely cited figure of 5000- 7000 Nepalese girls trafficked each year to India seems first to have appeared in 1986, and has been regularly quoted ever since. However, one organization apparently felt this to be a gross underestimate, changing it to “About 5000 to 7000 Nepalese girls are trafficked to India every day.”

Overstating the Problem

18 It is not uncommon in countries for statistics on illegal migration, smuggling, migrant sex workers and trafficking to be combined. Statistics collected by police and immigration officials are often not segregated by age or gender (Limanowska, 2002). Even when that is the case, it is difficult to determine when individuals stopped at a border are being smuggled (in or out of the country) or are being trafficked. [13] Statistics on repatriations often include illegal migrants (and possible traffickers) as well as trafficked victims. The Nigeria Immigration Service for the years 2002 – 2004 reported 31,277 repatriations (data disaggregated by gender and adults/children). [14] While many of those repatriated were returned from countries known as destination countries for trafficked Nigerian women and children, it is still impossible, barring the children, to determine the status of those returning to Nigeria. This confusion between illegal migrants and trafficked victims and their inclusion into a single group can increase the number of victims.

19 This is particularly true in the case of undocumented unaccompanied foreign minors. This problem was documented by the European Commission in a study conducted in 2001 to determine the scale of the problem of child trafficking into the European Union. UNICEF (2003, 19) reports,

20

“The study… established that during the period 1999 to 2000, a total of 33,402 unaccompanied minors came to notice, consisting of a mixture of child asylum seekers, minors found to be present as irregular entrants within a state territory, and a number who were within the protection system of one of the member states. This figure needs to be analysed with some caution, because not all of these children would have been trafficked in the first instance and not all of them would have ended up as exploited trafficked victims in any event.”

21 In the Netherlands, 716 unaccompanied minors who had applied for asylum disappeared from reception centers in 2004, almost double the number of children who disappeared from centers in 2003. It is believed that some of these children are trafficked through or into the Netherlands and are being exploited in prostitution, as domestic servants, in restaurants or forced to work for criminal organizations as drug couriers or thieves (Netwerk, 2005). It is unclear how many of these children are victims of trafficking. Between 2005 and 2006, an international human trafficking network brought young Nigerian women into the Netherlands as unaccompanied minor asylum seekers, removed them from shelters and forced them into prostitution in various European Union countries. [15]

22 A recent study carried out by Terre des Hommes on the disappearance of unaccompanied foreign minors from institutions in four countries [16] found that this problem “… is not a marginal or rare phenomenon: it is a variable but significant percentage of a given population which can reach 50% depending on the institutions or countries concerned” (Terre des Hommes, 2009; 11). The organization reports that the children rarely arrive unaccompanied in a host country. While many of these children who disappear are boys between the ages of 14 and 17, they too, may fall pray to traffickers who have been known to force young male children into prostitution.

Understating the Problem

23 The International Organization for Migration (IOM) maintains impeccable statistics on the number of trafficked victims it assists in returning home. While these statistics provide an accurate picture of the number of victims of trafficking assisted by the organization, statistics measuring the number of victims rescued or repatriated reflect only the tip of the iceberg. IOM statistics and those generated by NGOs often report only those who seek help and thus underrepresent the true magnitude of the problem.

24 In a study of trafficking in Southeastern Europe sponsored by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Office for the High Commission on Human Rights (UNOHCHR) and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the disparity between the number of possible trafficked victims identified during police raids on bars and nightclubs, and those who agree to accept repatriation assistance from the IOM was highlighted.

25

“… the number of women and girls referred by the International Police Task Force (IPTF) to IOM reflects only a very small percentage of the women found during raids. For example, according to weekly security situation reports from the United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH) for November 2001, the local police and IPTF raided 10 bars and nightclubs, where they found 39 foreign women, of whom only eight requested assistance from IPRT. Moreover, in one week 18-24 February 2002, four bars were raided and 48 women found, out of whom only two requested assistance” (Limanowska, 2002).

26 It is impossible to determine if any of those women identified in the raids were trafficked victims too frightened to seek help, and if so, how many.

27 A similar pattern repeated itself in the Sneep case in the Netherlands. Based on police wiretaps, the police identified an estimated 120 women trafficked into prostitution by a criminal gang. They used excessive violence, including beating the women with baseball bats and then submerging them in ice cold water to prevent bruising. Only 15 women agreed to testify against their traffickers (Aronowitz, 2009a). Clearly, though, registering victims who agree to cooperate with the authorities or accept assistance and are repatriated fails to accurately identify the number of trafficked victims.

Methodological and definitional issues

28 As the definition of trafficking spelled out in the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children [17] gains international acceptance and slowly enters into national legislation, it will help provide a common basis for defining trafficking. Still, given this progress, there are a number of definitional and methodological issues still facing those attempting to generate accurate data on human trafficking. It is essential, if Governments are to accurately measure the number of persons trafficked, that data on smuggling and trafficking, and forced sexual exploitation and freelance prostitution are strictly separated – although, in practice, this has proven difficult. It is also essential that if a person is flagged as a presumed victim of trafficking and later is found not to be a trafficked victim, the registration is removed from the data collection system. Estimates in official reports should include an explanation of the methodology used and how the figures were calculated.

Failure to share data

29 Organizations within and between countries are often reluctant to share data and if and when it happens, it often happens on an ad hoc basis. This can be attributed to a number of reasons, among them, data protection laws in certain countries, the inability to produce reliable data, the fear of providing data on trafficking to a country in which Government (police and immigration) officials are suspected of being involved in the trafficking trade or where mistrust exists between NGOs and law enforcement. This hampers cross-checking, validating and improving on the quality of data and avoiding such pitfalls as double counting.

Data linkage

30 Within a country it is important for data linkage with respect to the prosecution of traffickers and the processing of trafficking cases (data generated by police – prosecution departments – courts) to occur. Reports often contain information on the number of arrests of suspects, or cases sent by the prosecution department to court. Too often cases against suspects are dismissed when evidence is lost or compromised, or victims refuse to testify in court. Even large numbers of arrests often result in only small numbers of convictions. True progress will only be made when cases investigated result in arrests, are brought to the courts and result in conviction and imprisonment of traffickers. In order to gauge the progress a country is making [18] in this area, it is important to link arrest data with court filing data/prosecutions, with actual convictions and sentences handed down.

31 Lack of common (international) approaches to systematic data collection Sources of data are often incompatible. The reasons for collecting data differ between organizations, and data collected are often program-specific. NGOs and organizations such as the OSCE’s Regional Clearing Point on Victims of Trafficking in South Eastern Europe and the International Organization for Migration are interested in collecting data on victims, countries of origin and victims’ experiences in order to provide assistance to victims. Other organizations such as border patrol or law enforcement agencies collect data to improve operations or facilitate criminal investigations.

32 Further compounding the problem of data collection within a country, is the fact that many countries lack a national focal point – a national rapporteur or equivalent mechanism, or independent body – to collect and analyze data. This means that even within a country, it is difficult to obtain national figures on trafficking. An independent agency or National Rapporteur, such as those found in, among others, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Czech Republic would greatly enhance the collection of data on trafficking within a country.

33 Limitations to a common international approach can be attributed to the differences in national legislation – countries define the act of trafficking differently (whether or not trafficking is aimed solely at commercial sexual exploitation or whether it includes other forms of sexual exploitation (forced marriage, child sex trafficking), labor exploitation or the trade in human organs.

Gaps in knowledge concerning the crime side of trafficking

34 More is known about source and destination countries than actual trafficking routes. This is due in part to the fact that while source and destination countries (may) remain stable, trafficking routes change as transit countries are identified, law enforcement authorities increase investigations and arrests, and traffickers change their “travel plans”. During a mission to Nigeria in 2000 to assess the problem of trafficking in women, the United Nations delegation [19] was told by Embassy personnel of European Union Member States, that Nigerian traffickers used to ‘visa shop’ for the Embassy which imposed the fewest restrictions on the issuance of visas. When Embassies began coordinating their efforts and made it more difficult to obtain visas from E. U. countries, Nigerian traffickers began moving their victims to Benin to attempt to secure visas from the E. U. Member States Embassies in that country. When this failed, they began moving victims overland to Northern Africa (Aronowitz, 2006).

35 Limited information is known about the trafficking organizations. While some traffickers are arrested, and victims can provide demographic information on the persons with whom they came into contact (from the recruiter to those transporting or guiding them on their journey, to those involved in the exploitation phase), the actual nature of the organization is difficult to identify. While limited information can be obtained from victims, perhaps a more accurate picture can be drawn by analyzing police case files. In an in-depth analysis of trafficking case files from the police, the bureau of the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings identifies three organizational forms: the solo operator, isolated criminal groups and criminal networks. [20] Understanding how traffickers and their networks operate is essential to preventing and disrupting the trafficking practices.

National Efforts

37 A number of countries register data at the national level. In the United States, the Department of Justice has funded the Human Trafficking Reporting System, an incident-based data collection system which serves as a depository for data on human trafficking incidents investigated between January 1, 2007, and September 30, 2008. Data is provided on the number of suspects, victims, and agencies in alleged human trafficking incidents, 2007- 2008 (Kyckelhahn, et.al, 2009).

38 In the Netherlands, the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings is an independent office established in 2001 to monitor and to report annually on trafficking in human beings in the Netherlands. The Bureau reports on the character and scale of the phenomenon, the mechanisms that play a part in the trafficking, as well as on the development in the field and the effects of the policy adopted and pursued in this respect (Bureau of National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings, 2009). [22]

39 The Belgian Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism (Centrum for Gelijkheid van Kansen en voor Racismebestrijding) has, since 1995, been responsible for the “promotion, coordination and the follow-up of the policy to combat international trafficking in human beings”. In addition to the collection of statistics and the publication of annual reports, the Centre is responsible for a broad range of activities to include, among others, monitoring activities of government departments, the situation in various cities and judicial districts, fostering coordination and cooperation between victim reception centers and representing victims in court. [23]

40 Reporting on human trafficking has been the responsibility of the German Federal Criminal Police (Bundeskriminalamt) in Germany [24] and the The National Police Board (Rikskriminalpolisen) in Sweden.

Regional and International Initiatives

41 A number of regional initiatives exist. The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) has developed a questionnaire-template aimed at collecting trafficker-centered data. The questionnaire was produced in consultation with anti-trafficking stakeholders in South-Eastern Europe and was elaborated in the framework of the ICMPD Data Collection and Information Management program in South-Eastern Europe (DCIM). The template was used to collect data on traffickers in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania and Serbia. A follow-up of this project was carried out by ICMPD in Portugal, the Czech Republic, Poland and the Slovak Republic. The project established a harmonized system of data collection on victims and traffickers within these four countries (ICMPD, 2009).

42 At the European level, the “Siamsect files” (Statistical Information and Analysis on Missing and Sexually Exploited Children and Trafficking in human beings) aimed at developing a European Union-wide template and data collection plan for the collection of data on trafficking in human beings, sexual exploitation of children and missing children. This template would allow for standardized and integrated statistical information and strategic analysis at both the national and regional level. The follow-up “Montrasec” project (Monitoring Trafficking in human beings and Sexual Exploitation of Children) developed and delivered a statistically responsible and ready-to-use IT-platform which built upon the templates developed in the Siamsect Files (IOM, 2009). These two projects will allow for the collection and comparison of data on human trafficking between Member States of the European Union.

43 At the international level, the International Organization for Migration has developed a set of eighteen core indicators and variables based on the IOM Screening and Assistance questionnaires. These data comprise a minimum set of victim-centered trafficking data. The IOM’s Counter-Trafficking Module (CTM) database – the largest database worldwide – contains information to assist in case management of trafficked victims. As of December 31, 2008, the database contained information on 13,325 registered victims of more than 80 different nationalities, trafficked to more than 90 destination countries (Aronowitz, 2009b).

44 The U. S. Department of State publishes an annual Trafficking in Person’s Report (TIP report) providing data on countries highlighted in the report. The data is obtained from various sources including foreign government officials, U. S. embassies, international organizations and NGOs, published reports, and information submitted to the Department of State’s email address. [25] In its 2009 TIP report, the U. S. Department of State (2009) reported limited statistics, trafficking patterns and government responses in 175 countries.

Raising awareness of the need for better data and standardizing data collection within a country

46 Before reliable data can be collected, a country must be convinced of the seriousness of the problem and the necessity to collect data. Media and NGO attention to the problem, the subsequent pressures they may exert and the number of victims NGOs and international organizations that are able to assist will influence whether a country believes it has a serious trafficking problem and is willing to dedicate the resources to deal with it. The importance attributed to the problem of trafficking and the resources dedicated to assisting victims, and investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses will influence the numbers related to trafficking victims and offenders. Where political will and expertise exists to identify victims and cases of trafficking, larger numbers will be uncovered. Where services for victims are available, it is probable that more victims will come forward to be assisted.

47 Once the need to investigate cases of human trafficking and record its prevalence has been established, then data collection within a given country should be standardized (same definitions, methodology used for collecting data, same survey instruments used to analyze case files or conduct interviews with victims). Furthermore, one agency should be designated as the repository for data on trafficking, and all agencies within a country should be required to submit trafficking data to this agency. A database should be developed and maintained. Individuals must be trained to properly collect and record data. Data, where available, should be collected on trafficking routes, source and destination countries, persons involved in the trafficking (demographic data on victims, individual criminals and their networks) as well as the entire trafficking process (recruitment methods, use of fraudulent documentation, the markets in which victims are exploited, the nature of the exploitation, methods used to control victims), measures taken to rescue and assist trafficked victims (including the number of those who refused assistance) and the outcome of the assistance programs. Data must be linked so that it is possible to relate the number of arrests directly to the number of prosecutions. This will provide an indication of how well the criminal justice system in a country is addressing the problem of human trafficking.

48 Data collection must be an ongoing process in order to establish trends. Once certain elements are in place within a country (adequate legislation, trained police and immigration officials, political will and commitment to make human trafficking a priority, sufficient victim services, victim and witness protection and proper data collection), it will be possible to track trends in trafficking over time.

Attempt to uncover the dark figure of trafficking

49 Given the fact that many victims of trafficking refuse to cooperate with authorities or register with NGOs, it is extremely difficult to obtain an accurate count of trafficked victims. It is essential to get a clearer picture of this (large) group of victims for the purpose of producing accurate trends, defining policy and establishing prevention and victim assistance programs. One way to improve the quality of data might be for police, health authorities, labor inspectorates, municipal authorities or NGOs/IGOs which come into contact with suspected or presumed victims, to register these individuals as presumed victims, with information to support the suspicion. Victims who would fall into this “presumed trafficked victims” group might be women who enter a country on visas known to be used to facilitate the trafficking of women (entertainer visas to Japan), migrant women found working in prostitution or those unaccompanied minors in reception centers who simply “disappear”. It may therefore be necessary to register known victims (those identified and accepting assistance) and those suspected or presumed of being victims (those rescued in raids on brothels, message parlors, bars and entertainment centers, on farms, in factories and domestic households, and minors or adults who disappear from reception centers after having entered the asylum procedure).

Expanding and harmonizing definitions

50 To truly understand the nature of human trafficking and exploitation, it is essential to expand the definition beyond that of sexual exploitation. It is of utmost importance to begin documenting cases of sexual exploitation of men and boys, labor exploitation, and the problem of trafficking within countries’ borders (to include child sex tourism).

51 The methodology used to gather data in comparative studies on trafficking must be clearly documented and described. [26] Where definitions of trafficking or legislation differ, this must be clearly reported to prevent assessments based on skewed data or comparison of different phenomena.

Technical assistance to developing nations to improve data collection and registration

52 It is important that countries that do not have the resources to collect data be convinced of the importance and provided with the means to do so. This involves providing countries with training and the hardware to establish a database on trafficking. Developing countries should maintain information on traffickers and their own repatriated victims as well as victims it has repatriated. Source countries may be able to shed light on the number of persons leaving the country who may be suspected victims of trafficking and their destinations. Information should be shared with destination countries. Countries should be encouraged to standardize data reporting which could be shared with organizations such as IOM, involved in the repatriation of victims.

Harmonizing data collection instruments and (regional and international) coordination of statistics and data

53 An improvement could be made in the quality of data through the sharing and exchange of information on data collected, samples, methodology and survey instruments. A regional approach will provide better information on changing trends within a given area.

54 Regional organizations (such as the Council of Europe, ECOWAS or ASEAN) [27] could establish task forces to assist countries within the region to identify their needs and strengthen and standardize their data collection. Countries should be encouraged to share data in order to fill in the gaps and track trends in trafficking. Just as the OSCE’s Regional Clearing Point serves as the focal point for data collection on victims of trafficking in South Eastern Europe, other regional focal points should be established to assist in the standardization and collection of data on trafficking in persons in high trafficking areas.

55 Just as the International Organization for Migration plays a leading role in providing standardized instruments for data collection with respect to victims, their experiences, victim service and follow-up, UNICEF and the ILO-IPEC [28] could play an important role in the standardization of survey instruments, methodology for data collection and research on child trafficking.

The need to identify a wider range of sources of data

56 Much of the data on trafficking is gathered by NGOs / organizations which provide assistance to victims or law enforcement based on investigations. Other sources of data should be explored such as Embassies which provide information, assistance and repatriation of their citizens (some of whom may be victims of trafficking). Immigration authorities may provide data on illegal departure or entry of suspected trafficking victims or the use of fraudulent documents which may be used to traffic persons. Organizations dealing with asylum seekers or unaccompanied minors can provide further data on suspected cases of trafficking.