Criminal groups make $3 billion per year in human trafficking in Europe, making it one of the most lucrative and illicit businesses on the continent, according to a U.N. report released Monday.
The vast majority of the estimated 140,000 victims of sexual exploitation and forced labor are young women.
“Europeans believe that slavery was abolished centuries ago. But look around—slaves are in our midst,” said Antonio Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in a press release.
Around the world, there are 2.4 million victims of human trafficking, of whom 80 percent are women and girls.
Besides sexual and labor exploitation, other forms of exploitation include domestic servitude, the removal of organs, and the exploitation of children, according to the U.N.
In Europe, over half of the victims are from the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.
The vast majority of the estimated 140,000 victims of sexual exploitation and forced labor are young women.
“Europeans believe that slavery was abolished centuries ago. But look around—slaves are in our midst,” said Antonio Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, in a press release.
Around the world, there are 2.4 million victims of human trafficking, of whom 80 percent are women and girls.
Besides sexual and labor exploitation, other forms of exploitation include domestic servitude, the removal of organs, and the exploitation of children, according to the U.N.
In Europe, over half of the victims are from the Balkans and the former Soviet Union.
