2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

I N T R O D U C T I O N
INDIA
Forced Labor When Aakesh was five
years old, he was playing with friends in his
village when some men drove into his village
and asked the boys if they wanted to see a
“video.” The boys piled into the back of the
vehicle and were driven 200 miles away. They
were locked in a room for days without food
and were beaten. The traffickers had abducted
these vulnerable children so they could be
forced to weave carpets. The boys were held
captive for nine years. Two of Aakesh’s friends
didn’t survive—one was shot while trying to
escape and the other died from an untreated
illness. The boys were 14 years old when they
were rescued, barely able to speak. They were
malnourished and wounded, but finally free.
Young girls are trafficked as bonded laborers, paying-off
a small debt inherited from their ancestors.
The Scope and Nature
of Modern-Day Slavery
The common denominator of trafficking scenarios
is the use of force, fraud, or coercion to exploit a
person for profit. A victim can be subjected to labor
exploitation, sexual exploitation, or both. Labor
exploitation includes slavery, forced labor, and debt
bondage. Sexual exploitation typically includes
abuse within the commercial sex industry. In other
cases, victims are exploited in private homes by
individuals who often demand sex as well as work.
The use of force or coercion can be direct and
violent or psychological.
A wide range of estimates exists on the scope
and magnitude of modern-day slavery. The
International Labor Organization (ILO)—the
United Nations agency charged with addressing
labor standards, employment, and social protection
issues—estimates there are 12.3 million people in
forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and
sexual servitude at any given time; other estimates
range from 4 million to 27 million.
Annually, according to U.S. Government-sponsored
research completed in 2006, approximately
800,000 people are trafficked across national
borders, which does not include millions trafficked
within their own countries. Approximately 80
percent of transnational victims are women
and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.
The majority of transnational victims are
females trafficked into commercial sexual
exploitation. These numbers do not include
millions of female and male victims around
the world who are trafficked within their
own national borders—the majority for
forced or bonded labor.
Human traffickers prey on the vulnerable.
Their targets are often children and
young women, and their ploys are creative
and ruthless, designed to trick, coerce, and
win the confidence of potential victims.
Very often these ruses involve promises of a
better life through marriage, employment,
or educational opportunities.
The nationalities of trafficked people are
as diverse as the world’s cultures. Some leave
developing countries, seeking to improve
their lives through low-skilled jobs in more