Human trafficking Stats

- thousands of people estimated to be working as slaves within the uk, in highly exploitative conditions, no rights and under threat of violence.

- slavery terms: severe economic exploitation

the absence of a framework of human rights

control of one person over another by the prospect or reality violence

coercion distinguishes slavery from poor working conditions

- it is however very difficult to compile precise statistics about the extent of slavery in the uk and official figures are widely recognized to be substantially underestimated.

- The UK has tended to address trafficking as an issue of migration not one of human rights

- most trafficked people in the uk come in legally but later are forced into labour through debt, intimidation, the removal of documents and an inadequate understanding of rights

- major destinations include Western Europe, North America, and the Middle east

- women are involved in 77% of trafficking cases world wide with 87% being sexual explotation factor

- police believe 4,000 have been brought in the country and forced to work as prostitues

- gangs buy and sell the women for between £2,000 to £8,000. Some have been forced to work 16 hours and have sex with 30 men a day

- most come from - Eastern Europe, Lithuania, Russia, Albania, Ukraine

- victims tend to be between 18 - 24, and children

- human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms industry as the secound largest criminal industry in the world today

- worldwide there are nearly 2 million children in the commercial sex trade

- estimated 600, 000 to 800,000 people trafficked across international borders annually

- approx 80% of human trafficking victims are women and 50% are minors

- the total market value for human trafficking is $32 billion