The Regime Complex for Human Trafficking

Abstract

Today more people are deprived of their freedom through enslavement than at any other time in human history. Human trafficking is a significant contributor to this statistic. 27 million people are thought to currently be victims of human trafficking. The two main purposes for human trafficking are sexual exploitation and forced labour. Sexual exploitation accounts for 79% of detected instances of trafficking, while forced labour makes up 18%. Human trafficking makes an estimated $150.2 billion USD for organised criminal networks each year. This highly profitable enterprise holds little risk for its participants. Conviction rates remain low with less than 0.5% of all victims able to participate in any kind of judicial process. Human trafficking is a global problem. Almost every country is connected to the practice either as a place of origin, transit or destination. Despite the scale of the problem, human trafficking was not prioritised by the global community for many years. However, increased reporting in the 1990s saw attentions shift and the profile of human trafficking rose significantly. Human trafficking became a hot-button issue for both governments and civil society. Laws were promulgated, institutions developed and organisations formed. A global solution to the global problem was sought. There stands today a wide range of actors engaged in the task of ending the practice of human trafficking.