Victims Exploited in Europe

This data story presents key characteristics from the Global Victim Dataset of approximately 29,000 victims exploited in Europe. 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's counter trafficking activities, and therefore some data is largely reflective of IOM's programming within the region. Regions and sub-regions are defined according to the official UN classification.

TYPE OF EXPLOITATION ALL VICTIMS

Over half of victims exploited in Europe are victims of trafficking for labour exploitation, while just over 40% are victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation.

GENDER OF VICTIMS

Among identified cases of victims exploited within the region of Europe, over two thirds are female.

REGION OF ORIGIN OF VICTIMS

ADULTS AND CHILDREN

Over 90% of identified victims exploited in Europe have citizenship of a European country, representing the intra-regional nature of trafficking.

Over 80% of the victims exploited in Europe are adults, with children making up 16% of the sample. There is a slightly higher proportion of adults than in the wider Global Victim Dataset

GENDER AND AGE OF VICTIMS

Females make up a higher proportion than males in almost all age categories, particularly in categories between the age of 15 and 29. There is a nearly equal proportion of males and females in younger age categories, and men are slightly more proportionately represented in categories between 36 and 47.

MEANS OF CONTROL USED ON ADULTS

Traffickers use many means of controlling their victims, and each victim can be subject to several means of control during the course of their trafficking experience.

MEANS OF CONTROL USED ON CHILDREN

Children trafficked in Europe are controlled more through forms of abuse such as psychological, physical and sexual than adult victims.

MARITAL STATUS

Around a third of victims exploited in Europe are married, while just under 50% are single.

EDUCATION LEVEL

The majority of victims exploited in Europe have completed some form of secondary or further education. Under 10% have completed only primary or elementary education.

SECTOR OF WORK FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING FOR LABOUR EXPLOITATION

Available data shows a high proportion (almost 40%) of victims trafficked into construction. Other common sectors of work for victims of labour exploitation trafficked in Europe are agriculture, manufacturing, domestic work and hospitality. While this may be reflective of general trends, it should be noted that data here largely reflect IOM's programming and there may be a high number of individuals trafficked into certain sectors in certain places.

RECRUITER RELATIONSHIP

The majority of identified victims were not recruited by someone close to them.

SUBREGION OF EXPLOITATION

Within available data, which mostly comes from the IOM caseload, over three quarters of victims are exploited in Eastern Europe. Just over ten per cent are exploited in Southern Europe, with the rest exploited in either Western or Northern Europe.

DURATION OF TRAFFICKING

Two thirds of victims exploited in Europe were trafficked for between 0-1 years. From there, the frequency for number of years trafficked decreases steadily, with the longest recorded trafficking duration for a victim of trafficking at 27 years.