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outbound trafficking of own citizens and inbound trafficking of foreigners. Very few are exclusively origin or destination countries. For this reason, countries may be thought of as being more typical origin or more typical destination countries. While countries play both roles, the majority of the trafficking flows are either outbound (in the case of a more typical origin country) or inbound (more typical destination). Out of the 48 countries that provided information concerning the citizenship of the convicted, prosecuted, investigated or arrested offenders, 24 were considered to be more typical origin countries of cross-border trafficking, whereas 24 were considered more typical destination countries27 Shares of persons convicted of trafficking in persons, by sex, 2016 (or most recent) 58 countries (n=1,565) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 62% 38% Convicted GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 36 17/12/2018 19:49:14 37 Global Overview I countries within the same region as the country of conviction. For the year 2016, in all other subregions where data were available (the data for North America and South Asia were too weak to include these subregions in the analysis), citizens of the country of conviction comprised the vast majority of convicted offenders, with shares in excess of 70 per cent. Exceptions to these general patterns were the countries in Western and Southern Europe, and the countries in the Middle East. Fig. 33 Shares of persons convicted of trafficking in persons in typical countries of origin, by sex, 2016 (or most recent) 24 countries (n=497) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 57% 43% Fig. 34 Share of persons convicted of trafficking in persons in typical countries of destination, by sex, 2016 (or most recent) 24 countries (n=499) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 75% 25% Fig. 35 Shares of national and foreign citizens among convicted traffickers (relative to the country of conviction), 2016 (or most recent) 76 countries (n=3,584) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 70% 9% 21% Foreign nationals within the region of convictions Local nationals convicted Total Foreign nationals of other regions Fig. 36 Shares of national and foreign citizens (relative to the convicting country) among convicted traffickers, by country of origin and destination, 2016 (or most recent) 24 countries (n=497) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. 0% 50% 100% Countries of origin Countries of destination National offenders Foreign offenders The larger participation of foreign traffickers in the countries of the Middle East and in Western and Southern Europe can be explained by the fact these are mainly destination areas for cross border trafficking. Typical countries of origin generally convict few foreigners of trafficking in persons. On the contrary, countries of destination tend to record larger shares of convictions of foreign. Fig. 28 Share of persons convicted of trafficking in persons, by sex and subregion, 2016 (or most recent) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 37 17/12/2018 19:49:15 38 GLOBAL REPORT ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2018 Fig. 37 Shares of traffickers convicted in their country of citizenship, by subregion, 2016 (or most recent) 76 countries (n=3,454 persons convicted) Source: UNODC elaboration of national data. The internet: connecting trafficker and victim Connections in cyberspace and use of social media networks have developed into the main ways for people to interact in modern societies. However, these opportunities also entail new risks. What may start out as an innocent interaction between individuals may develop into a case of trafficking in persons. The online domain has opened new pathways for traffickers to identify, contact and entrap victims in exploitative ploys. What is colloquially referred to as ‘the Internet’ provides a broad array of social media platforms, most of which facilitate the sharing of pictures, text and/or video. Traffickers may take advantage of particular features of these platforms, such as encryption of messages, membership based on personalized profiles and hosting of groups of users with particular interests. They may also use internet-based services to carry out anonymous online payments or to distribute pornographic material. The many available ways of using the internet makes it easier for traffickers to identify and get in contact with victims, and at the same time avoid detection by limiting physical interaction. Traffickers make use of social media networks in different ways. Opportunists who operate alone may use social media primarily to identify and get in contact with potential victims. One example, drawn from a prosecuted trafficking case in Canada illustrates how a female trafficker used a social media platform to get in contact with a female victim while she was searching for apartments online. They got in contact and arranged to meet within 24 hours of the first contact, underlining the aggressive pace of the deceptive ploy. During the meeting, the victim received a drink spiked with sedatives and was then sexually assaulted. The perpetrator recorded the assault on video, using the recording to coerce the victim into sexual exploitation, which lasted several months.a The case shows how perpetrators sequence their actions by identifying victims on social media, creating dependency, and subsequently entrapping them in exploitative situations. Such cases have been reported from many regions.b Other examples show how trafficking networks use social media applications. In one case, two traffickers from an Eastern European country were in charge of recruitment. They worked with other traffickers within and outside their subregion. The recruiters based their approach on the use of a social media network where persons can create social groups and personalized profiles. They created fake profiles, joined groups and advertised lucrative jobs in order to get in contact with potential victims who aspired to working abroad in modelling. The traffickers recruited 100 girls and convinced them to share revealing pictures of themselves. The pictures were used to coerce them to travel to the traffickers’ intended destination, where they were bought by another trafficker for US$500 for each. The payments were made via a mobile payment application. The girls stayed at a hotel booked by a new group of traffickers, who used the pictures to coerce the girls into prostitution, eventually handing over half of their earnings. The traffickers never met the girls and were able to facilitate the trafficking online.c In a similar case, traffickers used a social media network to publicize a fake job advertisement. The perpetrators successfully contacted and convinced 15 people to travel to the Middle East, where they were sexually exploited. The case included not only online recruitment of victims, but also accomplices, such as someone to work locally as an enforcer. 41% 80% 98% 84% 84% 89% 85% 10% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Western and Southern Europe Central and South Eastern Europe Eastern Europe and Central Asia East Asia and the Pacific South America Central America and the Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa North Africa and the Middle East GLOTiP_2018_BOOK.indb 38 17/12/2018 19:49:15 39 Global Overview I Similar approaches have been used in other contexts where traffickers have contacted victims over the Internet, deceived them into travelling abroad and, once isolated, exploited them.d Other cases have involved victims, often children, who were used to produce child sexual abuse imagery (pornography) for online distribution. In some cases, the traffickers were parents, convicted for making child sexual abuse material depicting their children and selling it online.e In another case, child sexual abuse images and videos of children were recorded with mobile phones, uploaded, and sold on online platforms. The digital forensics investigation carried out for this case found more than 500,000 pictures of children under 10. The case was initially prosecuted under cybercrime legislation, and was later extended to include counts of trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation.f These cases demonstrate how traffickers innovate and take advantage of new technologies to work in flexible ways, including extending their operations across borders. The use of Internet-based applications has eased the process of identifying and contacting victims, the logistics of transferring money, and the coordination between different groups. Moreover, the anonymity and ease of use of many online services simplifies a transnational crime such as trafficking in persons. a Case material provided by Canada. Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench. The perpetrator was