The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the main body in the organization responsible for combating human trafficking, has released a new study examining the effects of COVID-19 on efforts to combat human trafficking.
The study stated that greater numbers of people were victims of human trafficking during the pandemic, explaining that the deterioration of economic life, low income, and increased unemployment benefited the traffickers by exploiting people looking for work through false promises of employment.
The increased use of social media during periods of closure also helped criminal groups to target their victims, especially children, through these platforms. Children are exposed to sexual exploitation, forced marriage, forced labour or participation in criminality.
The study indicated that the lockdowns and movement restrictions have weakened the ability of countries to pursue trafficking networks, especially due to police units specialized in combating trafficking being reassigned other tasks during the pandemic.
The study recommended developing plans and strategies to combat human trafficking in the context of crises, calling for strengthening victim support procedures and allocating sufficient resources for the latter, and increasing efforts to raise awareness of the risks of trafficking and methods of targeting victims.
The study also recommended setting procedures to protect children on the Internet, and developing electronic justice and litigation procedures to employ them according to the law.
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