#worlddayagainsthumantrafficking
30/07/2021: Violence in the family of origin, low levels of education, unemployment, poverty and desperation are the most common causes that drive people into the clutches of criminals.
According to the UN, 124 million people worldwide are affected by extreme poverty as a result of the pandemic. Those people are particularly at risk of becoming victims of exploitation. The Council of Europe against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) already recorded a significant increase in human trafficking in Europe the years before.
Victims of human trafficking come mostly from the poorest EU- and Non-EU- countries. Within the EU, the victims are mostly from Romania and Bulgaria.The vast majority of trafficked persons are women and girls (72%), and almost one in four victims (22%) is a child (). Even if human trafficking is still mainly carried out for the sexual exploitation of the victims, cases of labour exploitation are also reported.
This type of trafficking has emerged as the main form of exploitation in the Republic of Moldova. According to GRETA it affects 66% of all trafficking victims in 2019, followed by trafficking for sexual exploitation. According to official statistics, 1,496 persons were identified as victims of trafficking in the Republic of Moldova from 2015 to 2019. 47% of them were women and 21% of them were children.
Fight against exploitation is fight against poverty!
Poverty is the sad driving force behind the willingness of poor families to entrust their children to other people. Trusting false promises, they hand their children over to the care of others. Particularly girls become victims of various forms of violence and abuse that haunt them throughout their lives.