[updated 1/10/24]

The most recent statistics:

• 27 – 49.6 million people are estimated as enslaved around the world. From that, 28 million people are in forced labor, 22 million are in forced marriages, and 12 million children are enslaved.
• Human trafficking involves possession and control of a person, depriving them of their rights or the freedom to make their own decisions.  In the process they are used for profit and may be transported away from their homes.  This control involves sorts of violence, threats, deception, and coercion.  There can be instances of debt bondage involved as well.
• There are many forms of trafficking today from sex trafficking to forced labor to child marriage and child soldiers.
• Human trafficking generates about $150 billion a year.
• The average cost of a slave around the world is $90.
• 1 in 4 victims of forced labor trafficking is a child.
• In 2020, 42% of people were brought into sex trafficking by a member of their own families. 15% of people are recruited into labor trafficking by a family member.
• In 2020, 69% of labor trafficking victims were recruited by potential or current employers.
• Survivors of sex trafficking have described being beaten, forcibly injected with narcotics, and forced to watch the abuse of their own children.
• 136 goods from 74 countries involve child trafficking labor.
• The US purchases an estimated 169.6 billion dollars’ worth of slave labored goods, more than any other country in the world.
• 403,000 people are forced into human trafficking in the US or 1.26 of 1000 people are trafficked in the US.
• The top 3 types of trafficking in the US in 2021 reported was escort services, pornography, illicit massage, and health & beauty jobs.
• An estimated 90% of labor trafficking takes place in the private economy—homes, business and supply chains.
• 1 of every 5 children out of 11,800 runaways in the US are also victims of human trafficking.
• A life span of a trafficked person can be as little as 3-7 years due to death from abuse, HIV/AIDS, drugs, suicide, attacks, or starvation.
• 1 of every 5 pornographic images is of an underage child.  55% of child pornographic images come from the US.
• In Nepal, 7% of girls are married at age 10, 40% by the time they are 15.
• False debts are commonly used to trap laborers in a cycle of debt that is by design impossible to pay back. Small advance payments accrue interest faster than it can be paid.
• Peer-to-peer technology has distributed easy access to images of those who are sold into sex trafficking through pornography, leading to those who are being sold for sex acts.
• Many underage victims are exploited through sextortion (those who are threatened and coerced to post indecent material).  The US has the highest number of servers hosting child abusive materials.
• Some victims do receive pay, but usually have to pay a large portion back to their trafficker or are in such cheap labor that it is not enough to pay for their needs.  Usually they endure under harsh working conditions for more than 8 hours a day and are often controlled including where they live and go.
• North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania have the highest prevalence of modern slavery globally.
• United Kingdon, Australia, and the Netherlands have the strongest government responses to modern slavery.
• The United States is one of the top three destination points for trafficked victims. California, New York, Texas and Nevada are the top destination states within the country.
• Less than 2% of victims are ever rescued. Only 1 in 100,000 European traffickers are ever convicted.
• During/after COVID lockdowns: Online recruitment increased a significant 22% with 125% increase in recruitment on Facebook and 95% increase on Instagram.

references:
ILO, IJM, Polaris, Global Slavery Index, NCMEC

Short educational videos offered from organizations:

• End It Movement video
• Slavery Footprint
• Stop This Traffic
• Blue Campaign