*A large percentage of women and children trafficked in wealthy countries are sexually exploited. (Pixnio)*

In mid-January, 33 missing children were recovered from a child trafficking ring in Los Angeles, California. At least ten of them had been sexually abused. In Florida, 75 people were arrested for human trafficking last week. At least one of them attempted to pay for sex from an underage girl.

As the pandemic drags on, government priorities and actions targeted at the public health crisis have put human trafficking victims in more danger. Lockdown policies essentially turn victims into hostages. Government and NGO office closures have made help for survivors less accessible. Overburdened protection systems leave gaps for people to fall through. Decreased scrutiny in agriculture, clothing, and manufacturing industries—sectors already prone to trafficking—allow increased exploitation as businesses find ways to lower production costs.

While anti-trafficking groups have stalled due to pandemic policies, human trafficking criminals are speeding ahead.

Ready-Set-Go

The pandemic has made more groups of people vulnerable to human trafficking. Rising rates of poverty, unemployment, and homelessness have driven increasing numbers of people into the informal economy, where businesses have incentive to cut production costs to stay above the water. The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime reports that many beneficiaries have encountered loan sharks emboldened by the growing pool of desperate individuals, increasing the possibilities of debt-bondage.

Women and children living in refugee camps face increasing risks—not only from the lack of healthcare and impossibility of social distancing, but also from increasing sexual exploitation from gangs in the camps and reception centers. Reduced security, interrupted protection and provision services, and general chaos have led to increased reports of sexual exploitation in Haiti, Mali, and Niger.

Even people who have escaped human trafficking and sexual exploitation are still in hot water. Many survivors of human trafficking encounter delays in the criminal justice process, difficulty in accessing protection and rehabilitation services, increased risk of being re-trafficked due to economic circumstances, and psychological trauma due to the cutting off of their support networks.

Online Traffic

*Homeless children are at increased risk for human trafficking. (Wikimedia Commons)*

UNHCR predicts that school closures will intensify factors of child trafficking as families lose income and children are forced onto the street to seek food and money. Homelessness and child mistreatment—two of the most significant factors of child trafficking—are on the rise.

Even children who are able to access their education online find themselves increasingly exposed to grooming and sexual abuse by online predators, who approach them on social media and gaming platforms. They are especially vulnerable in households with minimal parental supervision, where parents coping with the stress of transitioning to working from home or finding new jobs are unable to spend much time with their children.

A different problem occurs in households where the parents themselves will livestream sexual abuse of their children for profit—a problem prevalent in impoverished, marginalized Southeast Asian countries even before the pandemic, which has been exacerbated by the conditions of the pandemic.

Digital demand for child trafficking victims is higher than ever, as predators and potential predators stay confined to their homes. Online child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) identified globally has been on the rise, from one million reports in 2014 to 18.4 million reports in 2018, including more than 45 million photos and videos of children being sexually abused. Europol has reported a further increase in demand and distribution of online CSEM since the lockdown, and Spain reported a 25 percent increase in peer-to-peer downloads of CSEM in the last two weeks of March 2020 alone.

Coupled with a growing supply of vulnerable children, the increasing demand for CSEM spells a budding crisis that might go unnoticed in the wake of the pandemic.

Highway Patrol

Anti-trafficking organizations face unprecedented obstacles as they attempt to track and identify victims. Human traffickers are changing their patterns in ways that frustrate front-line organizations’ pandemic-imposed limited capacities, taking advantage of reduced policing and enforcement.

In Brazil, child traffickers have shifted their usual movements—sending children to perpetrators’ personal homes or other private locations rather than their pre-pandemic locations, making it harder for organizations to identify and rescue them. On the dark web, child cybersex trafficking groups have reportedly discussed how to best exploit the hundreds of millions of children now online.

Shortages in donor funding and limitations on in-person interactions have caused many NGOs to stop or cancel their anti-trafficking operations—including victim rescue missions, shelters, in-person counselling, and legal assistance services. Gaps in law enforcement and government protection systems for human trafficking victims have also become obvious as delays and disruptions come to characterize their operations.

Despite these challenges, some anti-trafficking organizations have managed to continue offering their services remotely while others have found ways to distribute food and hygiene equipment. In addition, some regional agencies, such as Europol, have provided platforms for information exchange and coordinated investigations on online child sexual exploitation. In March 2020, a joint initiative known as the “Voluntary Principles to Counter Online Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse” was launched by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the U.S. And in April 2020, the UN Trust Fund for Victims of Human Trafficking announced that it would be increasing humanitarian aid in vulnerable regions in Asia and Africa.

Despite government and NGOs’ attempts to adapt their operations to pandemic-era limitations, it’s clear that human trafficking and child sexual exploitation will continue to increase during and after COVID-19.