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Article - Stopping human trafficking: MEPs call for more action
Published By Europa [English], Thu, Feb 11, 2021 6:27 AM
Often seen as a modern form of slavery, human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes, with new technologies, migration flows and the Covid-19 crisis creating new risks and challenges across the EU.
EU countries reported 14,145 victims of human trafficking between 2017 and 2018, of which 72% were women and girls, according to a European Commission report. Children accounted for nearly a quarter (22%) of all registered victims. However, the actual number of victims could be far higher due to the lack of consistent and comparable data.
More than half (60%) of registered victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation; 15% for other types of forced labour and 15% for other reasons, such as begging, organ removal or domestic servitude. Nearly half (49%) are from an EU country.
Almost three quarters of the traffickers registered were male, with the majority of them EU citizens.
Press release distributed by Media Pigeon on behalf of Europa, on Feb 11, 2021. For more information subscribe and follow