On Monday 20 January, the European Commission published its fifth report on combatting trafficking in human beings, providing an analysis of the statistics for 2021-2022 and taking stock of the action taken in the Member States, it said in a press release on Tuesday 21 January.
The total number of registered victims in the EU has risen by 41%, from 7,155 in 2021 to 10,093 in 2022, although the actual number is likely to be much higher, as many victims go undetected, the Commission points out.
Trafficking for sexual exploitation remains the most prevalent form of trafficking, accounting for 49% of all victims, 92% of whom are women. The second most prevalent form is labour exploitation with 37%, where 70% of the victims are men. Child trafficking, which accounts for 19% of all victims of trafficking in the EU, saw a 3% drop in the number of victims compared to the previous report, the Commission summarises.
During the reporting period, third-country nationals accounted for the majority of victims of trafficking (54%).
In terms of victims (gender, age, nationality), the Commission notes that 17,248 victims of human trafficking were recorded in the EU over this reference period, an increase of 20.5% compared to the 2019-2020 period (14,311). In 2022, the number of victims recorded was the highest since 2013.
“This increase is probably due to the general awareness of human trafficking. The concerted efforts made by several agencies in the Member States to protect people fleeing the military aggression against Ukraine have had an unexpectedly positive impact on the detection of victims of human trafficking of different nationalities”, the Commission adds.
In 2021-2022, 65% of victims in the EU were women and girls. Men account for the majority of victims of trafficking for labour exploitation (70%); 46% of registered victims were EU citizens and 54% were third-country nationals.
In terms of the nationality of victims of human trafficking, the top five EU countries were Romania, France, Hungary, Bulgaria and Germany. Outside the EU, the five countries with the most trafficked nationals in the EU were Nigeria, Ukraine, Morocco, Colombia and China.
Trafficking in human beings for the purpose of labour exploitation remains the second most common form of human trafficking in the EU (37% of victims).
High-risk sectors include construction, agriculture, forestry, food processing, hotels, car washing, cleaning services, transport and housekeeping.
But new sectors are emerging, such as home care and nursing services or parcel delivery. Football has also become a sector of exploitation in Portugal and Belgium.
Link to the report: https://aeur.eu/f/f4o (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)