October 19, 2009 11:45 AM

Human Trafficking Highly Under Prosecuted Crime In Europe: UN

UNITED NATIONS, Oct 19 (Bernama) -- Human trafficking is highly under prosecuted crime in Europe,according to the new report released here by a United Nations body as the continent marks EU Anti-Trafficking Day.

According to a report by the Press Trust of India (PTI) the study finds that fewer people are convicted for human trafficking in Europe than for less-frequent crimes like kidnapping. Only 9,000 victims were reported in 2006, a figure about 30 times smaller than the total estimated number of people trafficked.

"Perhaps police are not finding the traffickers and victims because they are not looking for them", said Antonio Maria Costa, United Nations Organisation of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) chief.

Young women sold for sexual exploitation are the most common victims followed by children and then men who are forced to work in construction and agriculture, according to the report. The share of minors increased from about 5 per cent in 2003 to more than 10 per cent in 2008.

Chinese victims were more frequently exploited in the catering and textile sectors.

During the 2005-2007 period, a substantial number of East Asian victims (in particular Chinese, also Filipinos, Thais and Vietnamese) were detected in all Europe, according to the report.

Inside Europe, Bulgaria and Romania are hotspots in terms of the origins of human trafficking victims. It is estimated that between 2005 and 2007, more than 2,000 Romanian victims were recorded in 21 European countries and about 600 Bulgarian victims were detected in 17.

The study also underlines that in a crime where the largest number of victims that suffer are women, that the number of prosecuted female offenders is higher for human trafficking than for other crimes.

"We need to better understand why people traffic their kin, and why women exploit other women", said Costa.

-- BERNAMA

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