This data story presents key characteristics from the Global Victim Dataset of approximately 16,000 victims exploited in Asia. Most data is shown at the regional level, and there are some key statistics for the ten countries within the region where the largest amount of data is present. The subset mainly comprises data from IOM and from Liberty Shared's VCMS Partner's counter trafficking activities. Regions and sub-regions are defined according to the official UN classification.

TYPE OF EXPLOITATION ALL VICTIMS

Around two thirds of victims exploited in Asia are victims of trafficking for labour exploitation, while around a quarter are victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.

GENDER OF VICTIMS

Among identified cases of victims exploited within the region of Asia, females represent approximately two thirds of the caseload.

ADULTS AND CHILDREN

Notably, 90% of victims identified as being exploited in Asia are adults. This is in contrast to the Global Victim Dataset at large, which has a higher proportion of children.

REGION OF ORIGIN OF VICTIMS

Over 80% of identified victims exploited in Asia have citizenship of an Asian country, representing the intra-regional nature of trafficking.

GENDER AND AGE OF VICTIMS

Whilst within Asia there is a higher proportion of identified female victims, male victims are more proportionately represented in some of the lowest and in the highest age categories. The reverse is true for categories between 15 and 38 years of age, with higher proportions of females.

MEANS OF CONTROL USED ON ADULTS

Adult victims trafficked in Asia are controlled most through false promises, taking of earnings and excessive working hours.

MEANS OF CONTROL USED ON CHILDREN

Children are also controlled most through false promises, but this is by far the most common means of control among children trafficked in Asia.

MARITAL STATUS

Almost 40% of identified victims exploited in Asia are single, while a quarter are married.

EDUCATION LEVEL

Around 50% of victims exploited in Asia have completed high or middle school education, with approximately a third having completed secondary school or technical training.

SECTOR OF WORK FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING FOR LABOUR EXPLOITATION

RECRUITER RELATIONSHIP

By far the most common sector of work for victims of trafficking for labour exploitation in Asia is domestic work, representing over 50% of victims. Other sectors victims are commonly trafficked into include agriculture, aquafarming, construction and hospitality.
The majority of identified victims were not recruited by someone close to them, however a third of victims identified in Asia were recruited by someone they knew.

SUBREGION OF EXPLOITATION

Within available data, almost half of victims are exploited in South-Eastern Asia. A third are exploited in Western Asia, while almost a fifth are exploited in Central Asia.

DURATION OF TRAFFICKING

Just over 50% of victims exploited in Asia were trafficked for between 0-1 years. From there, the frequency for number of years trafficked decreases, with the longest recorded trafficking duration for a victim of trafficking at 78 years.

GENDER DISTRIBUTION IN COUNTRIES WITH LARGEST DIRECT ASSISTANCE CASELOAD

AGE DISTRIBUTION IN COUNTRIES WITH LARGEST DIRECT ASSISTANCE CASELOAD

EXPLOITATION TYPE DISTRIBUTION IN COUNTRIES WITH LARGEST DIRECT ASSISTANCE CASELOAD