Welcome to the European Parliamentary Research Service podcasts.

Today we'll be talking about EU action against human trafficking, a serious crime and lucrative

business that knows no borders and continues to draw too many victims in Europe and all over the

world, especially women and children.

Trafficking in human beings is a grave violation of fundamental rights, recognised by the

international community and prohibited by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

And yet, it happens in every country and every region, and the EU is no exception.

Although it's not a new phenomenon, it has taken a whole new dimension with globalization

and the rise of the internet. But partly because of its invisible nature, it's extremely

difficult to give precise figures on the real number of victims or the associated economic and social costs.

There are, however, some chilling figures.

In one single year from 2017 to 2018, more than 14,000 victims of human trafficking were identified in the EU.

72% of them women and girls trafficked mostly for sexual exploitation, and children are increasingly falling prey to traffickers.

But the real number of victims could be 5, 10, even 20 times higher. Indeed, according to the International Labour Organization between 2012 and 2016, around

89 million persons globally experienced some form of exploitation.

Some were forced into the sex industry, others were victims of forced labour or forced marriage, and roughly

a quarter of them were children.

And whether we look at the EU or elsewhere, one thing is clear.

The vast majority of victims are women, and increasingly children.

Pascal Rinka Schreiber from the Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling section of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime has the latest figures.

The most recent UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons found that most detected victims, around 65% are still women and girls.

Most of them exploited in sexual exploitation.

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