Economic Downturn Fuels Human Trafficking

The global economic recession has resulted in a rise in human trafficking, according to a US State Department report. The report, issued annually and covering 2008, cites 52 countries and territories for failing to combat human trafficking, up from 40 the previous year. While the rise was caused in part by an increase in the number of countries included in the report and the higher standards by which those countries were ranked, State Department officials contend that the economic downturn has made workers more desperate for income and thus more likely to fall victim to traffickers. Developing countries, faced with economic pressures of their own, are also paying less attention to the problem. However, at least one expert questions the link between the recession and the rise in human trafficking, arguing that trafficking has become a lucrative industry and citing a failure by many countries to enforce existing anti-trafficking laws. It would appear that while a rise in human trafficking might be linked to the global economic recession, the devil is in the details in terms of the full cause. – YaleGlobal