What Fuels Human Trafficking?
Even today, children, women and men are still being forced to work in inhumane conditions, for long hours, for little to no pay
At its most basic form, human trafficking is the buying and selling of people. Likened to modern-day slavery, it exists across continents and is facilitated through a variety of means, but ultimately, human trafficking is an industry, one that profits from the exploitation of people. And it is highly profitable: The International Labor Organization estimates that annual profits from human trafficking and forced labor are $236 billion.
Slavery of the past was an accepted economic practice, but today, human trafficking is a criminal activity. Historically, slavery systematically exploited specific groups of people. Today, anyone — whatever their ethnicity, nationality, gender, age or economic status — can be a victim of human trafficking.
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Children are particularly — and increasingly — vulnerable to trafficking
Child trafficking in particular remains a growing concern, despite global efforts to address the issue, UNICEF noted in a July 2025 report on the topic. Despite the development of a number of national anti-trafficking laws and initiatives since 2000 — the year the UN adopted a protocol outlining provisions to address the specific vulnerabilities of women and children — significant numbers of children continue to fall victim to trafficking.
Between 2020 and 2023, national crime authorities detected 202,478 trafficking victims; in 2022, 38 percent of detected cases were children, according to this 2024 UN Office of Drug and Crime report. The number of child victims detected that year had increased by 31 percent compared to 2019, according to the report.
Displacement, desperation and other drivers
Poverty, weak child protection systems, discrimination and harmful social norms are all factors that can heighten a child's trafficking risks. Children displaced by armed conflicts, natural disasters and climate-driven emergencies are particularly vulnerable.
Systemic inequalities and disparities make certain groups much more vulnerable too. Families living in desperate circumstances are more likely to accept risky job offers. When girls aren’t allowed to learn, parents are more likely to sell their daughters to men for marriage.
More and more, digital technology is facilitating the exploitation, with traffickers using online and social media platforms to groom and recruit.
And like any industry, human trafficking is fueled by the economic principles of supply and demand. Increasing demand from consumers for cheap goods incentivizes corporations to demand cheap labor, often forcing those at the bottom of the supply chain to exploit workers. Increased demand for commercial sex — especially with young girls and boys — incentivizes commercial sex venues including strip clubs, pornography and prostitution to recruit and exploit children.
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How UNICEF is taking action against child trafficking
Through a wide range of child protection programs and partnerships, UNICEF works globally to end child trafficking as part of its overarching mission to uphold every child's right to live in safety, free from violence, exploitation and abuse.
Learn more about UNICEF's child protection programs
UNICEF's action against child trafficking focuses on three interconnected areas: strengthening systems to prevent child trafficking, protecting children and enabling survivor recovery and reintegration.
Prevention efforts address root causes and risk factors through a multi-sectoral approach that includes protecting children and their families from poverty and strengthening families’ access to inclusive, shock-responsive social protection services, which can in turn enable continued access to education and other services.
UNICEF also collaborates with communities to shift harmful norms and practices that enable child trafficking, while implementing child- and caregiver-focused awareness initiatives that build practical knowledge and skills to recognize and avoid trafficking risks.
Helping countries improve birth registration rates is another critical component. Without legal identity, children are often exclusion from essential services and can more easily fall through the cracks.
UNICEF also works toward, and advocates for, embedding trafficking prevention and response into broader child protection, education, justice and social protection systems.
Strengthening national systems to address trafficking risks
UNICEF helps governments ensure that their legal and policy frameworks, workforce capacity, referral pathways and case management systems are fit for purpose and inclusive of all children, and supports capacity building of frontline responders — social workers, border and immigration officers, police officials — to identify potential child victims of trafficking and refer them to appropriate services.
Services like psychosocial support, family tracing and reunification and legal assistance must be integrated. By engaging sectors such as health and education in this work, UNICEF expands the number of potential entry points where trafficking risks can be detected and addressed.
And due to the transnational nature of child trafficking, UNICEF focuses on strengthening cross-border child protection mechanisms in collaboration with national protection, asylum and migration authorities.
UNICEF also advocates for private sector accountability. "Private sector actors should assess and adapt business models that may contribute to exploitation, including in high-risk sectors such as tourism and travel, and collaborate with governments and civil society to eliminate child trafficking across their value chains," the July 2025 report states.
For more information, access the full report: UNICEF’s Action Against Child Trafficking
Here are some examples of how and where UNICEF is making a difference for children who are vulnerable to trafficking:
- In Burundi, Cambodia and Eritrea, UNICEF and local partners provide education, vocational training and counseling to victims of child labor trafficking, helping them rebuild their lives and reintegrate into society.
- In conflict zones in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and other countries where armed groups operate, UNICEF runs community programs to raise awareness and reduce the risk of recruitment, and to support children who exit armed groups or forces with protection and reintegration support. In Haiti, UNICEF is helping to make sure children recruited by armed groups, once separated, are treated as victims, not criminals, and are provided with immediate access to mental health and psychosocial, medical and educational support, with specialized protection and care services for girls.
- In Ecuador, UNICEF supports multi-purpose centers to protect refugee and migrant children facing a heightened risk of trafficking. These centers offer safe spaces, facilitate the identification of trafficking victims and those at risk, and provide essential services such as psychological first aid, referral to shelters and health centers and legal aid.
- In Ukraine, UNICEF developed a practical guide on identification of victims and persons at risk of trafficking, with simple guidelines on screening and identification and child-friendly communication.
- In Venezuela, UNICEF worked with the National Prosecutor’s Office to develop and roll out criminal investigation guidelines for human trafficking cases.
- In Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and elsewhere, UNICEF helped build capacities for national child helplines to meet the needs of children in distress, a crucial step in identifying trafficking victims and connecting them with support services.
- In Thailand, UNICEF has helped hundreds of thousands of stateless individuals, including children, gain legal identity documents, reducing their risk of exploitation. Without legal documentation, children are often excluded from education, health care and social services, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking.
UNICEF is actively involved in key global initiatives such as the WeProtect Global Alliance, which brings together 103 governments, 82 companies, 126 civil society organizations and others to combat the online sexual exploitation of children.
Three ways you can take action against human trafficking
You can help protect children from trafficking by taking the following steps:
- Advocate for legislation that increases penalties for traffickers and enhances protections for victims.
- Learn how your buying habits contribute to the demand for exploitative labor by going to Slaveryfootprint.org — then make ethical purchases by shopping for Fair Trade products. Fair Trade certification ensures that no child or slave labor contributed to the making of a product.
- Support UNICEF’s humanitarian work for vulnerable children around the world.
