Did you know that there are more slaves today than ever before in history? These are 25 painfully disturbing facts about human trafficking.
25
The average cost of a slave in 2013 was between $90 and $100
24
In most regions, 80% of trafficking involves sexual exploitation
23
The remaining 20% is generally for labor exploitation
22
The number of slaves on Earth today is estimated between 20 and 30 million
21
Nearly 1 million of them are moved across an international border every year on the black market
20
70% of those slaves are female
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50% are children
18
Behind drugs and weapons, human trafficking is the third largest international crime industry in the world
17
It generates approximately $33 billion ever year
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Over half of that comes from industrialized countries
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Even for purposes of labor exploitation, women still constitute over half of Earth's enslaved population
14
Organ harvesting is another seldom mentioned but quickly growing industry that benefits from human trafficking
13
An estimated 30,000 victims of sex trafficking die each year from abuse, disease, torture, and neglect
12
Eighty percent of those sold into sexual slavery are under 24, and some are as young as six years old
11
Ludwig “Tarzan” Fainberg, a convicted trafficker, said, “You can buy a woman for $10,000 and make your money back in a week if she is pretty and young. Then everything else is profit
10
A 2003 study in the Netherlands found that, on average, a single sex slave earned her pimp at least $250,000 a year
9
A human trafficker can earn 20 times what he or she paid for a girl. Provided the girl was not physically brutalized to the point of ruining her beauty, the pimp could sell her again for a greater price because he had trained her and broken her spirit, which saves future buyers the hassle
8
The end of the Cold War has resulted in the growth of regional conflicts and the decline of borders. Many rebel groups turn to human trafficking to fund military actions and garner soldiers.
7
According to a 2009 Washington Times article, the Taliban buys children as young as seven years old to act as suicide bombers.
6
The price for child suicide bombers is between $7,000-$14,000
5
UNICEF estimates that 300,000 children younger than 18 are currently trafficked to serve in armed conflicts worldwide
4
Babies are sold on the black market, where the profit is divided between the traffickers, doctors, lawyers, border officials, and others.
3
Researchers argue that as the economic crisis deepens, the number of people trafficked for forced labor will increase.
2
Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal enterprises because it holds relatively low risk with high profit potential. Criminal organizations are increasingly attracted to human trafficking because, unlike drugs, humans can be sold repeatedly
1
There are more slaves in the world today than ever before in history
