Coronavirus and Human Trafficking

The coronavirus has had and continues to have an incredible impact on our world. Hundreds of thousands have lost their lives. The impact on the world economy means huge numbers of people are unemployed and the businesses that employed them may never recover. The world is facing the worst economic recession since the Great Depression. Factors that impact on a person’s vulnerability to be trafficked or enslaved, e.g., poverty, lack of social and economic opportunity, are on the rise.

The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, after extensive collaboration with a number of organisations fighting human trafficking in the field, has released a policy brief – Aggravating Circumstances: How Coronavirus Impacts Human Trafficking. This brief aims to contribute to global anti-trafficking efforts aimed at mitigating the effects of the pandemic on human-trafficking situations and actors, not only by providing timely, comprehensive overview and transparent information, but also by suggesting holistic and multi-stakeholder responses and interventions.

Download a copy of the Policy Brief here.