Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union

Donna M. Hughes

SAGE Open, 2014, vol. 4, issue 4, 2158244014553585

Abstract: In this article, the intersection of gender, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and use of digital communication technologies are analyzed based on data from the European Union (EU). Over the past two decades, an increase in trafficking in human beings in the EU has been accompanied by an increase in the development and availability of digital communication technologies. The first statistical analysis of trafficking in human beings (2008-2010) carried out by the European Commission found 23,632 victims of human trafficking in the reporting member states. Eighty percent of victims were women and girls; 20% were men and boys. The majority of the victims (62%) were trafficked for sexual exploitation. Digital communication technologies are widely used for trafficking for sexual exploitation, and more rarely for trafficking for forced labor. This article concludes that the combination of gender, trafficking for sexual exploitation, and use of digital communication technologies has created a nexus of victimization for women and girls. Based on this analysis and other sources of information, the European region is the world’s leading region for trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Keywords: trafficking in human beings; sexual exploitation; forced labor; digital communication technologies; Internet; European Union (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:sagope:v:4:y:2014:i:4:p:2158244014553585

DOI: 10.1177/2158244014553585

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