NCJ Number
214783
Date Published
June 2006
Length
295 pages
Annotation
This annual report provides comprehensive information on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons for 2006.
Abstract
The global trafficking of people for purposes of slave labor can be harder to identify and estimate, yet it is much greater in size when domestic trafficking is counted. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates there are 12.3 million people in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and sexual servitude at any given time. The nationalities of trafficking victims are diverse. Slave traders prey on the vulnerable, usually children and young women. The supply of victims for slave labor is encouraged by factors, such as poverty, lack of employment opportunities, organized crime, and violence against women. Approaches to dealing with forced labor sometimes rely on labor standards which can be weak in punishment. When assessing government efforts, the three "P's" are highlighted, prosecution, protection and prevention. However a victim-centered approach to trafficking equally addresses the "three R's", rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 provides a victim-centered approach to address trafficking, combining anti-crime and human rights objectives. Criteria are set under the TVPA for evaluation of a government's efforts to protect victims of trafficking. This 2006 Trafficking Persons Report represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of modern-day slavery, and the broad range of actions being taken worldwide by governments to confront and eliminate it. Countries included in the report are those that are determined to be countries of origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of victims of serve forms of trafficking. In preparing this report, the Department of State used information from U.S. embassies, foreign government officials, international organizations, published reports, and research trips to regions.