Within the UK, survivors of trafficking receive formal identification through the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). While people are waiting for a decision on whether or not they will be positively identified (known as a conclusive grounds decision), they are able to access specialist services and support. Once someone has received their decision, they leave the NRM.

Between February 2018 and May 2019, the STEP project piloted three complementary models of longer-term support for survivors of trafficking and exploitation. This report sets out the key findings from the evaluation carried out at the end of the pilot.

Today, nearly 250 million children are living in countries and areas affected by conflict. An untold number of children are now living in communities besieged by conflict and often cut off from sufficient humanitarian aid. And far too many children have been recruited, forced into, or otherwise used by armed groups. Around the world, millions of children have been scarred physically and psychologically by violence— experiencing horrors no child should ever experience; witnessing events no child should ever see; victimized by the worst of humanity. Each and every one of these children has the right to a childhood — to be safe, to learn, and to grow into adulthood. The right to progress, not only for their sake, but also for the sake of their societies. For children whose rights have been violated with impunity are less likely, as adults, to respect the rights of others. For 20 years, the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict has summoned outrage and compelled action to prevent grave violations against children, working in partnership with governments, NGOs, and UN agencies — and aided by the UN Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism. Our past progress — exemplified by some of the examples in this report — shows what we can do, through common effort — now and in the future. For example, last year alone, almost 10,000 boys and girls were released from armed forces or groups.

This report, Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict: Global Overview and Implications for the Security Sector, demonstrates the horrifying scope and magnitude of sexual violence in armed conflict. The first part of the report, the Global Overview, profiles documented conflict-related sexual violence in 51 countries – in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and the Middle East- that have experienced armed conflict over the past twenty years. The second part of the report, entitled Implications for the Security Sector, explores strategies for security and justice actors to prevent and respond to sexual violence in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. The Global Overview highlights both similarities and differences in the forms and settings of sexual violence in conflict, in the profiles of the perpetrators and their victims, and in the motives for and the consequences of such violence, between and within conflict-affected countries and regions. Conflict-related sexual violence occurs in homes, fields, places of detention, military sites, and camps for refugees and displaced persons. It occurs at the height of armed conflict, during population displacement, and continues after conflict. Although the majority of victims of sexual violence are women and girls, men and boys are also targeted in armed conflict. In many conflicts, indigenous people or people from specific population groups are targeted for sexual violence based upon their ethnicity. Perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict include members of official armed and security forces, paramilitary groups, non-state armed groups, humanitarian and peacekeeping personnel, and civilians. Sexual violence during conflict is an act of domination, grounded in a complex web of cultural preconceptions, in particular as regards gender roles. It is used to torture and humiliate people, and to punish or humiliate an enemy group or community. Sexual violence may be encouraged or tolerated within armed groups. In some conflicts, it has been used strategically to advance military objectives, such as the clearing of a civilian population from an area.

Trafficking in persons constitutes a grave crime against the individual. The absence of comprehensive data presents a major issue, including in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. Many cases go unreported as victims are too afraid to testify, cannot escape exploitation, are expelled once identified or do not seek official protection. Trafficking in persons from refugee camps and shelters after disasters is also of concern. Trafficking does not only occur across international boundaries, but also internally.This background note presents an overview of concepts and trends on trafficking in persons in ACP countries. Innovative initiatives taken by ACP countries are highlighted as they provide example of best practices that may be of interest for various stakeholders.

This report is one of several studies conducted by UNODC on organized crime threats around the world. These studies describe what is known about the mechanics of contraband trafficking – the what, who, how, and how much of illicit flows – and discuss their potential impact on governance and development. Their primary role is diagnostic, but they also explore the implications of these findings for policy.These studies are based on a number of data sources. UNODC maintains global databases on crime and drug issues, based mainly on the official statistics provided by Member States. This allows cross-national comparison and trend analysis. For example, UNODC has extensive time series data on drug production, seizures, and consumption, and by analyzing these data, a comprehensive picture can be drawn. This information is supplemented with data from other international organizations and Member States, as well as open source material. For the present study, analysts in the field were able to interview public officials on a range of topics, and much of the qualitative insight in this report comes from these interviews. The present study addresses Central America and the Caribbean, as the region is defined by the United Nations.

Although African countries face challenges in effectively responding to all forms of modern slavery, many countries in the region are taking steps to strengthen their responses. Improvements in the legislative framework have occurred across the region with some notable examples. Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Tunisia enacted comprehensive trafficking legislation in 2016- a new development since the 2016 Global Slavery Index. As a result, in 2017, nearly 70 percent of African countries had criminalised human trafficking, an increase from the nearly 60 percent reported in the previous Global Slavery Index in 2016.

The Arab States are currently both the source and recipient of the largest numbers of refugees and internally displaced people globally. As the region experiences conflict and resulting displacement – and given its position at the junction of migratory paths for Afghans, Sudanese, and Somalis fleeing conflicts in their homelands – vulnerability to modern slavery in the Arab States has sharply increased. An estimated 5.7 million refugees originated in the region since mid-2016 and 12 million people were displaced internally in Middle Eastern countries.This displacement, accompanied by severe economic decline, widespread violence and psychological distress, collapse of essential public services in many districts, and weak labour laws has contributed towards the vulnerability of refugees, internally displaced persons, minority groups, and ordinary citizens to trafficking and exploitation.

The economic, geographic, and cultural diversity of Asia and the Pacific region is reflected in the varying prevalence and forms of modern slavery found across the region. In Asia and the Pacific, there are instances of debt bondage, including hereditary forms of bonded labour in South Asia, forced labour exists in migrant dominated sectors across the region, forced marriage persists, and state-imposed forced labour, while most commonly known to exist in North Korea, occurs in several countries within the region. The Asia and Pacific region is home to the two most populous countries in the world, India and China, as well as some of the least populous island nations, among them Tuvalu, Nauru and Palau.

While no government has a fully comprehensive response to modern slavery, all countries in the Europe and Central Asia region have either mantained or improved their response since the publication of the 2016 Global Slavery Index. Most notably, the Netherlands has retained its position as having the world's strongest response to modern slavery, taking the most steps of any nation to address the problem and, for the second consecutive time, being the only country anywhere to receive an "A" rating. The Netherlands national response is strong across indicators of victim support, criminal justice responses, and addressing risk, including society safety nets and protection for migrants, a feature missing in many countries of destination. Netherlands was closely followed by the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, Croatia, Spain, Norway, and Portugal, all of which took significant action against modern slavery in the previous two years.