• By Raghav Gupta
  • Wed, 30 Jul 2025 08:55 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Human trafficking refers to a type of modern-day slavery which involves obtaining a type of labour or commercial sexual act through force, fraud or coercion. This type of criminal activity aims to exploit people for profit, occurs in every region of the world, with victims that include men, women and children of all ages and from all backgrounds.

To lure victims into trafficking situations, these traffickers might use methods such as violence, manipulation, false promises of well-paying jobs and romantic relationships. These crimes are often concealed through the victim’s language barriers, fear of the traffickers and/or fear of law enforcement, which keeps them from seeking help.

Traffickers would often look for easy targets that can be controlled through threats, intimidation and lies. Such victims would include people with psychological or emotional vulnerability, economic hardship, lack of a social safety net, political instability and natural disaster victims.

Types of Exploitative Purposes for Human Trafficking

Forced Labour 38.8%

Sexual Exploitation 38.7%

Mixed Forms 10.3%

Criminal Activity 10.2%

Forced Marriage 0.9%

Begging 0.7%

Baby Selling 0.3%

Removal of Organs 0.2%

World Day against Trafficking in Persons: Origins, Effects and Theme

30th July was proclaimed as “World Day against Trafficking in Persons” in 2013 by the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/68/192. This day was created to combat human trafficking, which included the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, created in 2010. The global plan consists of measures regarding the prevention of human trafficking and the protection of victims, along with strengthening law enforcement and partnerships with other organisations regarding locating and providing aid to victims.

World Day against Trafficking in Persons symbolises the world’s stance against human trafficking and spreads awareness regarding the increasing global presence of this crime, along with its impact on victims from every part of the globe.

The theme for 2025 is “Human Trafficking Is Organized Crime – End the Exploitation”. This theme refers to the strong involvement of organised crime in operations related to human trafficking, as UN data suggests that around 74% of human traffickers operate within organised crime groups. Organised criminal networks are driving this victimisation and exploitation, using migration flows, global supply chains, legal and economic loopholes and digital platforms to facilitate cross-border trafficking at a massive scale.

They profit from forced labour, sexual exploitation and coercion into criminal activities, such as online scams and drug smuggling. According to UN data, from 2020 to 2023, there were more than 200,000 detected victims globally. This is merely the tip of the iceberg, as the actual number of unreported cases is believed to be significantly higher.

Impact of Human Trafficking around the World

Human trafficking preys on the weaknesses and vulnerabilities in different parts of the world, which makes these problems worse. Poverty, desperation and ignorance are used by traffickers to trap people into the web of modern slavery. Victims of these schemes are affected by mental trauma, physical trauma, ostracism and lack of independent living skills.

Mental trauma occurs due to the dehumanisation and objectification of victims by traffickers, which causes devastating psychological effects during and after their trafficking experience. These effects may include post-traumatic stress, memory loss, depression, guilt, fear, anxiety, difficulty in relationships, shame and other forms of mental trauma.

Physical trauma occurs to those who resist or rebel against their captors. These cases often include those that are subjected to sexual abuse and beatings by their traffickers and customers. These workers may also be exposed to dangerous contaminants or heavy workload, which might lead to serious infections, injuries, impairments, respiratory problems and exhaustion.

Ostracism may occur due to being isolated from family, friends and community. This isolation may be the result of feelings like guilt, shame or being relocated away from their family and communities. It can also occur if victims return to their social group only to face social stigma of being shunned and unwanted by their families and communities. Lack of independent skills may occur due to long-term enslavement, which may rob victims of the education and resources necessary for being independent.

Human Trafficking in India

Human trafficking is present in every country around the world; however, in India, it poses as one of the most significant human rights issues. It is believed that roughly 8 million people are trapped in human trafficking in India. This modern-day slavery is present in many forms, such as forced labour, sex trafficking, forced marriage, forced criminal activity and forced begging.

More than half of these victims fall into forced labour by getting tricked into taking jobs and promised large advancements, only to be caught paying off debts with high interest rates, which traps them into a cycle they cannot escape. Their lives and oftentimes even the lives of their families are dictated by cruel bosses who see them as a commodity and force them into inhumane work and living conditions.

Sex trafficking is perhaps the second most prevalent form of trafficking, with the majority of victims being women and girls. These girls are deceived by traffickers with false promises of a good job, lured with a false romantic relationship, bought from poor families, or even kidnapped from their families.

Examples of Human Trafficking Cases in India

A 7-year-old girl and three women were rescued from being trafficked on Indian streets after being tipped off by an informant of “The Exodus Road”. The Exodus Road is an organisation that combats human trafficking by supporting law enforcement in investigations and rescue operations by providing intelligence and helping with aftercare of victims.

Their team coordinated with law enforcement to rescue the four victims and capture the woman who has been selling them for sex, along with two additional accomplices. The victims didn’t understand their situation in the beginning and distrusted the police, but they soon received aid from The Exodus Road’s social worker.

20 women and girls were rescued after being trafficked at an Indian dance theatre, with 10 traffickers being arrested. These traffickers lured these women and girls into the dance theatre with offers of new opportunities. Instead, they were exploited to sell their bodies for sex. A member of the community had tipped off the police after growing suspicious of the studio.

A young girl was trafficked from Darjeeling to Delhi by being lured with false promises of work in a big city. For this case, the family contacted the local law enforcement and the NGO called MARG. Mankind in Action for Rural Growth (MARG) is a nongovernmental organisation based in Darjeeling, West Bengal. Luckily, the girl had managed to make a phone call to call for help, which resulted in her successful rescue which resulted in 21 traffickers being jailed. This became a rare case of successful rescue for law enforcement agencies, community organisations and civil society.

Efforts to Combat Human Trafficking

The efforts to combat human trafficking are being made by government agencies and civil organisations through spreading awareness, increasing investigations and providing aftercare for victims. The US government created the Blue Campaign to spread national public awareness regarding human trafficking.

The campaign is designed to educate the public, law enforcement, and other industry partners to better recognise the indicators of human trafficking and how to appropriately respond to possible cases.

The Ministry of Home Affairs in India has taken many measures to prevent and counter human trafficking in the country.This includes setting up 225 specialised anti-human trafficking units across the country, sensitisation programmes for the police force and training of prosecutors. The United Nations has also created the Blue Heart Campaign to spread awareness across the globe regarding human trafficking and its impact on people and society.

The campaign encourages involvement from governments, the corporate sector, civil society and like-minded individuals to take action and help prevent human trafficking. To provide aid and support for victims, this campaign raises awareness of human trafficking through the stories of the victims. These stories inspire people to try to prevent further cases and raise funds for victims through donations.

All the proceeds from the campaign go to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children. The Trust Fund helps victims of trafficking receive vital assistance and protection through a network of specialised organisations across the world.

Sources

https://theexodusroad.com/human-trafficking-in-india/

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/endht/index.html

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/blueheart/

https://www.unodc.org/southasia/frontpage/2013/Sept/india-from-darjeeling-to-delhi-story-of-a-young-girl-who-was-trafficked.html

https://theexodusroad.com/operation-youth/

https://theexodusroad.com/operation-theater/

https://theexodusroad.com/causes-effects-of-human-trafficking/