World Day against Trafficking in Persons 2024: 30th July

The Scope and Impact of Child Trafficking

• World Day Against Trafficking in Persons observed annually on July 30th
• 2024 theme: "Leave No Child Behind in the Fight Against Human Trafficking"
• 1 in 3 victims of human trafficking globally is a child
• Children twice as likely to face violence during trafficking than adults

Disproportionate impact on certain regions:

• • Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, Latin America, and Caribbean
  • Up to 60% of detected trafficking victims are children in these areas

Forms of child trafficking:

• • Forced labor
  • Criminality or begging
  • Illegal adoption
  • Recruitment into armed forces
  • Online and sexual abuse and exploitation

Root causes:

• • Poverty
  • Inadequate support for unaccompanied children
  • Armed conflicts
  • Dysfunctional families
  • Lack of parental care

Challenges and Vulnerabilities

Overlapping crises increase child vulnerability:

• • Armed conflicts
  • Pandemics
  • Economic hardships
  • Environmental challenges

Online platforms pose additional risks:

• • Children connect without adequate safeguards
  • Traffickers exploit technology to evade detection
  • Wider audience reach and dissemination of exploitative content

Identification and protection challenges:

• • Underreporting
  • Lack of awareness
  • Inadequate resources for victim support services

Traffickers' tactics:

• • Coercion
  • Deception
  • Threats to maintain control

Global Response and Call to Action

United Nations initiatives:

• • Blue Heart Campaign raises awareness globally
  • Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (adopted 2010)

National and international efforts needed:

• • Prioritize child protection
  • Bolster legislation
  • Improve law enforcement
  • Allocate more resources to combat child trafficking

Prevention strategies:

• • Target root causes like poverty and inequality
  • Special attention to trafficking of children on the move
• Belgian Blue Heart Campaign:
  • Annual national campaign since 2019
  • 2024 launch on July 22 in Antwerp