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detected victims tended to decline. 3 For more than 40 countries recording some increase in the number of detected victims between 2003 and 2016, anti-trafficking measures were introduced by State authorities shortly before the increases. Kuwait 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Denmark, National Action Plan 2007-2010 Danish Centre against Human Trafficking (CMM) 2007 Denmark United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates, amendment in the TiP legislation, 2015 Kuwait, introduction of the TiP legislation, 2013 United Arab Emirates, introduction of the TiP legislation, 2006 Nepal , 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Nepal, new TiP legislation, 2007 Regulation for TiP legislation, 2008 Nepal, National Action Plan, 2012 Paraguay Paraguay, new TiP legislation, July 2009 Paraguay, amendment to TiP law, August 2012 -1% 26% 40%38% -50% -30% -10% 10% 30% 50% 70% 90% 110% 130% 150% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Europe and Central Asia South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific The Americas Africa and the Middle East Global GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 22 17/12/2018 19:49:10 23 Global Overview I More convictions globally, but still vast areas of impunity Enhanced country-level anti-trafficking measures have not only led to increasing numbers of detected victims, but also to more trafficking convictions. A trend analysis on the number of trafficking convictions shows that globally, these have clearly increased over the last seven years.4 This is true also for most subregions, with the exception of most parts of Europe, as well as Central Asia. In some countries, however, even though the trend is increasing, the absolute numbers of convictions remain very low. There appears to be hardly any risk for traffickers to face justice. Many African and Middle Eastern countries went from no convictions to a handful of convictions per year in recent years. Consequently, while these countries register a clearly increasing trend, the total numbers in these areas remain very low. Conversely, European countries report fewer convictions than in the past, but the absolute numbers are still the highest in the world. 4 A trend analysis was carried out on data from 41 countries selected for having systematically reported the number of convictions over the last ten years. Trends were established by comparing with the absolute numbers recorded by the countries in 2007. The reference year 2007 was selected as the year where a critical mass of countries started to consistently report numbers of convictions for trafficking in persons. Looking at the rates of detected victims and convicted offenders per 100,000 people, countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Western and Southern Europe convict more traffickers and detect more victims. Countries in North America, Central America and the Caribbean, and Central and South-Eastern Europe detect more victims but do not convict as many traffickers. Countries in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, East Asia, and South America, record limited numbers of both detected victims and convicted traffickers. The question remains as to whether fewer convictions reflect low levels of trafficking activity or a limited ability to detect this crime. In sub-Saharan Africa and in East Asia both rates of detected victim and convicted offenders are low compared to other regions. However, trafficking flows originate from these two subregions and are detected in a larger number of destinations compared to other trafficking origins. In addition, while most trafficking flows originate and are detected within the same subregion, the vast majority of trafficking victims detected in other regions come from East Asia or sub-Saharan Africa. While the relevance of East Asian flows can be partially explained by the large population considered, the population in sub-Saharan Africa is equivalent to other Fig. 5 Trends in the number of people convicted of trafficking in persons since 2007, globally and by region, 2007- 2016 Analysis based on 41 countries where data have been available since 2007 Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Fig. 6 Number of trafficking victims detected outside their region of origin, by area of citizenship, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. -10% 21% 30% 67% -50% 0% 50% 100% 150% 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 Europe and Central Asia South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific The Americas Africa and the Middle East Global 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 23 17/12/2018 19:49:10 24 GLOBAL REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2018 Fig. 7 Subregions by average number of convictions for trafficking in persons per 100,000 people (horizontal axis) and number of victims detected per 100,000 (vertical axis), 2014-2017 Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Note: Based on information from 107 countries and territories that reported information on number of convictions as well as victims detected during the period 2014-2016. regions and cannot account for the number of African detected victims and the variety of its flows. The broad variety of destinations and the intensity of the trafficking flows originating from sub-Saharan Africa and East Asia suggest that traffickers in these countries are very active and well-organized. Therefore, for the countries in these two subregions, the lower level of convictions does not reflect limited trafficking activity, but rather a limited response to trafficking; a generalized impunity determined by a lack of institutional capacity to address this crime in these areas. Furthermore, it appears that this impunity serves as an incentive for traffickers to step up their activities. The analysis shows that, compared to other regions that record more convictions, these two subregions are origin areas for broader and more intense trafficking flows. At the same time, although the overall conviction rates are low in these two subregions, there is an increasing trend in the number of convictions reported there, reflecting the strengthened institutional capacity to combat trafficking in persons. Fig. 8 Region of detection for victims from sub-Saharan Africa, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Fig. 9 Region of detection for victims from East Asia, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. Sub-Saharan Africa 34% 55% 8% North America Western and Central Europe 3% North Africa and the Middle East Sub Sahara African detected victims 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 East Asia and the Pacific 9% 74% 16% North America Western and Central Europe 1% North Africa and the Middle East East Asian detected victims GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 24 17/12/2018 19:49:10 25 Global Overview I Profile of the victims Adult women comprised nearly half of the detected victims in 2016. Men and girls were detected in similar proportions; each profile accounted for about one fifth of the detected victims globally. As resulting from the analysis of the data on trafficking victims over the last 15 years, women and girls together continued to represent more than 70 per cent of detected trafficking victims. A closer look at the data disaggregated by region reveals significant geographical differences in the profiles of the detected victims. For example, child victims accounted for the majority (55 per cent) of the victims detected in sub-Saharan Africa in 2016, with girls and boys almost equally distributed. In South Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, men accounted for more than 30 per cent of the detected victims in the same year; a significantly large share in the global total. In Europe, as well as in the Americas, women comprised clear majorities of the detected trafficking victims. An analysis of the profile of the victims reflects geographical differences in the capacity to detect, record, and report on trafficking in persons. Globally, Europe, some parts of Asia, as well as the Americas, detect the largest numbers of victims. Additionally, most of the women victims considered in this report were detected in these regions. With regard to Fig. 10 Diffusion of trafficking flows: number of countries where citizens of countries in the given subregions