Actors and activities in the anti-human trafficking movement

As Heine and Thakur explain in their introduction to this volume, human trafficking is arguably the darkest of the dark side of globalization. Although firm data are difficult to collect, studies concur that the number of trafficking victims has risen sharply over the last decade (Laczko 2005; Schauer and Wheaton 2006; US Department of State 2001; 2007). Human trafficking has been described by the Human Rights Center of the American Bar Association as “the fastest-growing and third-largest criminal industry in the world today after the arms and drugs trades, generating billions in profits each year” (Morrissey 2006). To date, efforts to stem the trafficking tide have been ineffective, due in part to a low level of coordination between concerned national and international governmental bodies, law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and community organizations.

Related Subject(s): Economic and Social Development