Over the past 20 years in Europe, more than 39,000 instances of human trafficking have been documented. The crisis is exacerbated by war and displacement, particularly in Ukraine, where victims suffer forced labour and sexual abuse.

According to recent figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Europe has recorded upwards of 39,000 trafficking cases during the last twenty years.

ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT

From 2002 through 2022, adults made up 85% of victims, predominantly aged between 30 and 38, while children accounted for 15%.

On a global scale, victim numbers have risen to over 125,000 adults and 30,000 children.

Experts from IOM estimate actual figures are considerably greater due to underreporting and detection challenges.

Within Europe, the majority of victims originated from nine countries, notably with over 19,000 cases linked to Ukraine, followed by Moldova (10,464) and Belarus (4,286).

“Conflict consistently creates an environment conducive to expanding crimes against humanity,” noted Julia Sachenko, expert in anti-trafficking and child protection, in a LinkedIn post after a Council of Europe meeting.

“Recent studies show that at least 13 individuals fell victim to trafficking in countries neighboring Ukraine during the past four years of war.”

Women comprised more than 60% of all victims, roughly double the number of men, with 27 transgender victims identified as well.

Trafficked individuals from Europe were detected in 69 countries, with the largest groups found in Ukraine (8,413) and Moldova (5,866).

Nearly half of the victims endured trafficking for a year or less, while 35% were exploited between one and two years.

Forced labour affected half of these victims, mainly in construction (52%) and agriculture (29%).

Additionally, 48% suffered sexual exploitation, mostly through forced prostitution, alongside coercion to produce pornography.

Traffickers primarily employed psychological, physical, and sexual abuse to maintain control over victims.

Common methods to enforce dominance included restricting victims’ finances, limiting freedom of movement, and denying access to essential medical treatment.

Only 10% of offenders had a friendly relationship with their victims, with the vast majority lacking close ties.

The largest shares of perpetrators were labor brokers, contractors, formal employers, and smugglers, per IOM statistics.

Intimate partners represented 1%, and family members accounted for 2% of traffickers.