World Day Against Trafficking In Persons is on 30 July. Let’s make sure ending sex trafficking and sexual exploitation get the attention they deserve!
Human trafficking is an illegal global enterprise that nets a staggering $150.2 billion a year*. Sex trafficking makes up 66% of this industry and is the fastest-growing criminal enterprise in the world.
Millions of people fall into the hands of traffickers around the world every year – 54% are trafficked for sexual exploitation. 96% of these victims are women and girls.
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In 2010, the UN General Assembly passed the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (GPA). The plan was established to urge governments and UN bodies to take coordinated action to combat human trafficking. There are four internationally recognized forms of trafficking; sex trafficking is one of them.
This year, the UN General Assembly will hold a high-level review meeting of the GPA on 27 – 28 September 2017. At the conclusion of the review, a Political Declaration will be issued summarizing the way forward in the fight against trafficking.
In the run-up to this meeting, Equality Now has concerns that sex trafficking is falling under the radar of governments and the UN. We hosted a panel discussion at the UN headquarters in New York City in June focused on using the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to guide the implementation and effectiveness of the GPA.
The SDGs, adopted in 2015, provide a roadmap for worldwide action in areas of critical importance. Three of the SDG targets relate to trafficking. Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the SDGs are a “promise by leaders to all people everywhere,” that “pledges to leave no one behind.” This pledge must be upheld.
Our goal is to ensure the meeting in September reaffirms this commitment to leave no one behind and to make sure governments and the UN prioritize ending sex trafficking of women and girls.
For World Day Against Trafficking In Persons on 30 July, Equality Now has launched a campaign to ensure just that!
* International Labour Organization “Poverty and Profits” Report, 2014