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recorded in Asia, the Americas, and Africa and the Middle East. The increased number of convictions broadly follows the increases in the number of detected and reported victims, which shows that the criminal justice response is reflecting the detection trend. However, many countries in Africa and Asia continue to have very low numbers of convictions for trafficking, and at the same time detect fewer victims. Reporting limited numbers of detected victims and few convictions does not necessarily mean that traffickers are not active in these countries. In fact, victims trafficked from subregions with low detection and conviction rates are found in large numbers in other subregions. This suggests that trafficking networks operate with a high degree of impunity in these countries. This impunity could serve as an incentive to carry out more trafficking. Subregions by average number of trafficking convictions and number of victims detected per 100,000 population, 2014-2017 Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Sub-Saharan Africa South Asia 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 Number of victims detected per 100,000 people Number of persons convicted per 100,000 people Western and Southern Europe East Asia and the Pacific Central America and the Caribbean South America North Africa and the Middle East North America Central and South-Eastern Europe Eastern Europe and Central Asia Number of trafficking victims detected outside their region of origin, by area of citizenship, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. From North Africa and the Middle East From Europe and Central Asia From South Asia From sub-Saharan Africa 901 855 449 109 94 67 From the Americas From East Asia GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 8 17/12/2018 19:49:05 9 Executive Summary More trafficking of domestic victims, while the richest countries are destinations for long-distance flows Most trafficking victims are detected in their countries of citizenship. Detections of domestic victims have increased over the last 15 years. In addition to domestic and subregional trafficking, wealthy countries are more likely to be destinations for detected victims trafficked from more distant origins. Western and Southern Europe and countries in the Middle East, for example, record sizable shares of victims trafficked from other regions; whereas such detections are relatively rare in most other parts of the world. Furthermore, detected trafficking flows towards richer countries are also more geographically diverse. Affluent countries in Western and Southern Europe as well as in North America detect victims originating from a large number of countries around the world. Shares of detected victims by area of origin and of detection, by subregion, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Note: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. Number of citizenships among victims detected in destination countries, by subregion of detection, 2014-2017 Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Within the same subregion (including domestic victims) Across subregions Across regions Note: The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on the map do not imply ocial endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations. North America 76%11%13% Central America and the Caribbean 75%25% South America 93% 7% Sub-Saharan Africa 99% 1% South Asia East Asia and the Pacific 97% 3% Eastern Europe and Central Asia 100% Central and SouthEastern Europe 56%39% 5% North Africa and the Middle East 51%11%38% Western and Southern Europe 25%38%37% 99% 1% 124 96 45 41 38 35 30 21 18 7 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Western and Southern Europe North America North Africa and the Middle East Central and South-Eastern Europe Sub-Saharan Africa East Asia and the Pacific South America Eastern Europe and Central Asia Central America South Asia GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 9 17/12/2018 19:49:05 10 GLOBAL REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2018 Traffickers are mainly targeting women and girls Most of the victims detected across the world are females; mainly adult women, but also increasingly girls. The vast majority of the detected victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation are females, and 35 per cent of the victims trafficked for forced labour are also females, both women and girls. At the same time, more than half of the victims of trafficking for forced labour are men. There are considerable regional differences in the sex and age profiles of detected trafficking victims, however. In West Africa, most of the detected victims are children, both boys and girls, while in South Asia, victims are equally reported to be men, women and children. In Central Asia, a larger share of adult men is detected compared to other regions, while in Central America and the Caribbean, more girls are recorded. Trafficking for sexual exploitation continues to be the most detected form Most of the victims detected globally are trafficked for sexual exploitation, although this pattern is not consistent across all regions. Trafficking of females – both women and girls - for sexual exploitation prevails in the areas where most of the victims are detected: the Americas, Europe, and East Asia and the Pacific. In Central America and the Caribbean, more girls are detected as victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, while women are more commonly detected as victims of this form of exploitation in the other subregions. Trafficking for forced labour is the most commonly detected form in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Middle East, forced labour is also the main form of trafficking detected, mainly involving adults. In Central Asia and South Asia, trafficking for forced labour and sexual exploitation are near-equally detected, although with different victim profiles. The few national studies that have been carried out in European countries to estimate the total number of trafficking victims and their profiles have revealed that trafficking for sexual exploitation is the most prevalent form of trafficking. At the same time, they show that trafficking for forced labour may be less readily detected there. Shares of detected victims of trafficking in persons globally, by age group and sex, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 21% 49% 23% 7% Shares of detected victims of trafficking in persons in subregions recording diverse patterns, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Central Asia South Asia Central America and the Caribbean West Africa North Africa Men Women Boys Girls 11 Executive Summary Main forms of exploitation and profiles of detected victims in subregions Different patterns of trafficking emerge in different parts of the world along with different forms of exploitation. While forms other than sexual exploitation and forced labour are detected at much lower rates, they still display some geographical specificities. Trafficking for forced marriage, for example, is more commonly detected in parts of South-East Asia, while trafficking of children for illegal adoption is recorded in Central and South American countries. Trafficking for forced criminality is mainly reported in Western and Southern Europe, while trafficking for organ removal is primarily detected in North Africa, Central and South-Eastern Europe, and Eastern Europe. Many other forms, such as trafficking for exploitation in begging or for the production of pornographic material, are reported in different parts of the world. The detection of other forms of trafficking may partly reflect the ways in which countries have chosen to criminalize different forms of exploitation. Armed conflicts can drive vulnerabilities to trafficking in persons Armed conflicts can increase the vulnerability to trafficking in different ways. Areas with weak rule of law and lack of resources to respond to crime provide traffickers with a fertile terrain to carry out their operations. This is exacerbated by more people in a desperate situation, lacking access to basic needs. Some armed groups involved in conflict may exploit civilians. Armed groups and other criminals may take the opportunity to traffic victims – including children – for sexual exploitation, sexual slavery, forced marriage, armed combat and various forms of forced labour. Trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation occurs within all conflict areas considered, including sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and the Middle East, South-East Asia and others. In some refugee camps in the Middle East, for example, it has been documented that girls and young women have been ‘married off’ without their consent and