CWASU Child And Woman Abuse Studies Unit

Statistics & Information

Trafficking

Basic Statistics

Trafficking in women and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation is not amenable to traditional forms of data collection or social research. Therefore there are unfortunately no accurate estimates available either nationally or internationally.

The following statistics are ESTIMATES only:

Trafficking
FindingSourceMethod
Profits from trafficking in human beings now amount to $7 billion annuallyUnited Nations, 1999Not specified
Trafficking in human beings and illegal immigration is now equivalent in financial terms to drug trafficking United Nations, 1999Not specified
Up to 1,420 women per year are trafficked into the UK for sexual exploitationKelly and Regan, 2000A range of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods, using primary and secondary sources
500,000 women were trafficked into the EU in 1995International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 1996aNot specified

 

Country Data on Prostitution and Trafficking in women and girls
CountryEstimated statistics
Belgium An estimated 28,000 prostitutes, about half from abroad, mainly Western Europe. 2,000 foreign prostitutes in Belgium are from developing countries and Central and Eastern Europe.
CambodiaAn estimated 10,000-20,000 women and children in prostitution in Phnom Penh, a city of 1 million; up to 35% of them have been smuggled into Cambodia from China or Vietnam.
Dominican RepublicAn estimated 50,000 women from the Dominican Republic overseas in the sex industry.
GhanaIn Accra alone, there are 125 brothels where young girls are forced into prostitution.
IndiaAn estimated 10 million prostitutes in India. Around 160,000 Nepalese women are held in India's brothels.
IndonesiaAt least 650,000 prostitutes in Indonesia; 30% are children.
ItalyAn estimated 19,000-25,000 foreign prostitutes; approximately 2,000 have been trafficked.
IsraelAn estimated 70% of prostituted women in Tel Aviv come from the former Soviet republics, and about 1,000 women are brought into Israel illegally each year.
MexicoAn estimated 5,000 children are currently involved in prostitution, pornography and sex-tourism in Mexico.
PhilippinesAn estimated 400,000 women in prostitution, a quarter of whom are children. 150,000 Filipina women have been trafficked into prostitution in Japan.
TaiwanAn estimated 60,000 female child prostitutes aged 12-17.
TanzaniaThere are at least 800 children in prostitution in Arusha, Dar es Salaam and Singida.
UkraineMore than 100,000 Ukrainian women, many of them minors, have been trapped and enslaved as prostitutes in the West; 1,000 Ukrainian women are in prostitution in Poland.

Source: Hughes et al. (1999)

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