Trafficking is a many sided problem. Here is a round up of the causes


Countries or regions of origin:

  • Abject poverty, especially among women
  • A lack of political, social and economical stability
  • A lack of reasonable and realistic prospects
  • Situations of armed conflict and oppression
  • Domestic violence and disintegration of the family structure
  • Gender discrimination
  • Lack of access to education and information
  • The HIV-AIDS reality

 

Countries or regions of destination:

  • The expense of social charges that employers need to pay for the social protection of regularly employed workers
  • Increasing demand for cheap and exploitable labourers in the construction, agricultural and industrial sectors
  • Increasing demand for cheap and exploitable domestic labourers
  • A rise in the demand for sex workers in a highly lucrative and globalising sex industry

Universal factors:

  • Ever more limits and obstacles to legal migration channels to countries with stronger economies and/or regions with better prospects
  • A lack of public awareness of the dangers of trafficking
  • The high profit potential for those engaged in the criminal activity
  • The sophisticated organisation, resources and networking capacity of criminal networks
  • A lack of effective anti-trafficking legislation, and if such legislation exists, a lack of effective enforcement
  • Global economic policies that foster exclusion of marginalised people
  • Disintegration of social protection networks
  • Widespread corruption in countries of origin, of transit and of destination among the persons capable or responsible to combat trafficking