Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is generally understood to refer to the process through which individuals are placed or maintained in an exploitative situation for economic gain.

Trafficking can occur within a country or may involve movement across borders. It affects all regions and most countries.

Women, men and children are trafficked for a range of purposes, including forced and exploitative labor in factories, farms and private households, sexual exploitation and forced marriage.

This type of abuse overlaps with  family violence as it includes familial trafficking. This type of abuse occurs when a family member (a father, mother, sibling, grandparent, uncle, or aunt) or a guardian (a foster parent or intimate partner of the parent) facilitates the trafficking.

This can include when parents or other family members allow sexual offenders to sexually abuse the victim in exchange for money, drugs, or a place to stay or when caregivers produce pornography of their children and sell, trade, or post the contents in exchange for money or other things of value.