Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is like modern day slavery. On any given day around the world a staggering 40.3 million people are estimated to be victims of modern slavery, with 24.9 million people in forced labour and 15.4 million people in forced marriage.

Around the world men, women and children of all ages are trafficked for a wide range of exploitative purposes including forced labour, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and child soldiers. While trafficking for sexual exploitation is more commonly reported among women and girls, boys can also fall victim too.

Australia is not immune to the impacts of human trafficking.

In 2019 a total of 225 people were helped by Anti-Slavery Australia after being trafficked to or from Australia, or had faced slavery-like conditions while in Australia. This included forced marriage, servitude and forced labour. Sadly, this is most likely to be just the tip of the iceberg, with a recent report by the Australian Institute of Criminology estimating that only one in five victims are detected.

Australia is primarily a destination country for people trafficked from Asia, particularly Thailand, Korea, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Generally, people fall victim to trafficking for a number of reasons; including lack of education and employment opportunities, discrimination and social isolation, and lack of protection by adults or social systems.

If you know or suspect human trafficking, call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or make a report.

You don’t have to say who you are or get involved.