The review found a great deal of work on the subject of conflict and its effects on women, children, and gender-based violence; the gender aspects of peacekeeping; and human trafficking in countries that once were in conflict. However, very few of these works deal directly with the issues of conflict, human trafficking, and their interrelationships; even fewer works contain in-depth descriptions and analyses of conditions present in conflict and post-conflict situations, which particularly contribute to the emergence of human trafficking in post-conflict and neighboring countries. The exception is the growing body of work on childsoldiers and women associated with the fighting forces (WAFF), recent works on human trafficking in women and girls for sexual exploitation in and around areas with peacekeeping missions, and the evolving links between post-conflict trafficking in persons and organized crime. From the literature review, most trafficking in post-conflict countries follows predictable patterns based on the country’s placement on the conflict spectrum. Immediately before and during conflict, human trafficking is primarily related to the recruitment and use of child soldiers and WAFF. At this stage, there is also human trafficking of refugees and displacedpersons, especially for sexual exploitation or labor. Immediately following conflict, most child soldiers and WAFF victims are released and try to reintegrate back into civilian society—usually through a disarmament, demobilization, and rehabilitation (DDR) program. With the influx of large numbers of peacekeepers, human trafficking shifts toward prostitution of women and girls. In the post-conflict period, the lack of law and order and the large numbers of vulnerable and destitute populations, especially female refugees, IDPs, separated children, and war widows, contribute toward the country becoming a source and a transit point for human trafficking for sexual exploitation or forced labor. In this post-conflict climate, women and girls suffer disproportionately from lack of access to resources and education, thereby heightening their vulnerability to various forms of exploitation and human trafficking. In search of opportunities to improve their social, economic, and political situations in more developed cities or countries, yet lacking comprehensive information or access to legitimate migration programs, many of these persons fall victim to human traffickers. This phenomenon occurs not only in the immediate post-conflict period, but often well after the conflict has subsided. In some areas, such as the former Soviet Union and the Balkans, literature links post-conflict trafficking with organized and transnational crime. A few of the reviewed works also examine the role wealthier countries play as sources of demand and destination of trafficked persons.

Disaffected, impoverished, and displaced people in weak and failing states are particularly vulnerable. Human trafficking exploits social and political turmoil caused by natural disasters, economic crisis, and armed conflict. The exploitation and forced servitude of millions of trafficking victims take many forms. Women and children are trafficked into becoming child soldiers and concubines of illegal armed groups, men, women and children are trafficked into forced labor and sexual slavery, forced to sell drugs, steal, and beg money for the criminals controlling them, and thousands are coerced or forced into a growing black market trade in human body parts. The growth in illegal mining operations by illegal armed groups and organized crime is also fueling conditions of forced labor. Trafficking victims are dehumanized and suffer grave physical and mental illness and often die at the hands of their captors and exploiters. Colombia is particularly afflicted by the scourge of human trafficking. All the elements of modern-day slavery and human exploitation are present in this Latin American state that is struggling to overcome decades of internal armed conflict, social fragmentation, poverty, and the constant debilitating presence of organized crime and corruption. Women’s Link Worldwide recently reported that human trafficking is not viewed as an internal problem among Colombian officials, despite estimates that more than 70,000 people are trafficked within Colombia each year. This article examines human trafficking in its many forms in Colombia, the parties involved in trafficking, and the State’s response or lack of response to human trafficking. The article also presents innovations that might be effective for combating human trafficking, and proposes that Colombia can serve as an effective model for other countries to address this growing domestic and international human rights catastrophe.

La investigación cuyos resultados presentamos nos permitió adentramos en el conoci- miento del delito de trata de personas en Venezuela en la actualidad, en concreto so- bre los modos de captación, transporte, traslado, acogida o recepción de personas, especialmente de niños, niñas y adolescentes, con fines de explotación, en condiciones de limitación de la libertad de las víctimas; a través de la perspectiva de funcionarios públicos, miembros de organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) y periodistas, que en virtud de su trabajo conocían sobre la trata de personas en nuestro país.

La investigación que se recoge en este estudio ha tenido como propósito fundamental producir información actualizada sobre la prevalencia, características e impacto del delito de trata de personas con fines de explotación laboral, así como sobre la respuesta normativa e institucional. Este estudio sistematiza e integra los principales hallazgos y resultados de la investigación. Analiza el marco institucional y el estado de la trata de personas y provee conclusiones y recomendaciones.

The project, "Enhancing counter trafficking in crisis in the Western Balkans" aims to enhance counter-trafficking efforts through strengthening the capacities and mechanisms for victim identification and to raise awareness of TIP risk factors among vulnerable migrant populations, specifically within the mixed migration flows transiting the region and during crisis. In light of the increased numbers of vulnerable irregular migrants stranded and transiting through countries in the region, every goverment's capacity to identify and refer VOTs and PVOTs requires further adaptation to the current situation. They need to take into account any new modus operandi of traffickers, victim profules, as well as new forms of trafficking that have begun to emerge. This Analytical Report intends to capture concrete TIP-related information, including TIP risk factors, trends and vulnerabilities within the mixed migration flows in the Western Balkan region.

Women and girls account for 71 per cent – that is, nearly 29 million – of all victims of modern slavery globally. The gendered nature of modern slavery becomes even more apparent when examining the different forms in which it manifests. Women and girls are overrepresented in three out of the four types of modern slavery assessed by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery: they make up 58 per cent of all victims of forced labour, 84 per cent of all victims of forced marriage, and a staggering 99 per cent of all victims of forced sexual exploitation. In fact, women and girls are overwhelmingly at risk of sexual exploitation regardless of the form of modern slavery they are subjected to. These findings reflect highly gendered patterns of employment and migration and point to the relevance of broader patterns of human rights abuses that disproportionately affect women and girls.

Background: Human trafficking was affecting a number of individuals in Ethiopia that resulted in various health problems and human right violations. Though the pushing and pulling factors of human trafficking were identified qualitatively, their effect on trafficking status were not measured quantitatively; the magnitude of human trafficking among returnees was not also quantified. Methods: Primary data were collected from 1342 Ethiopian returning migrants from abroad via Metemma-Yohannes, Moyale, and Galafi border towns from May to October 2016 consecutively. The status of each returnee as trafficked or non-trafficked was determined based on the UN 2000 definition of human trafficking. Factor analyses were conducted on the push and pull factors of migration to identify the underlying constructs. Considering the common underlying concept of items that load on the push and pull factors, the newly emerged construct variables were named in consultation with sociologists before used as independent variables. Finally, the effect of these and other variables on trafficking status were measured using generalized estimation equation.

Objectives: Evidence showed that the prevalence of sexual violence during the whole human trafficking period was high. However, the distribution of sexual violence along the stages of the trafficking cycle is unclear. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of sexual violence at each stage of trafficking and factors associated with it among Ethiopian trafficked females. Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted to study trafficking returnees regarding their previous experiences at each stage of trafficking. Settings: Data were collected at immigration offices in three border towns of Ethiopia located bordering Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti. Participants: Six hundred and seventy-one women who were trafficked from Ethiopia were recruited into the study consecutively. They were recruited when they came back home via the three border towns either by deportation or voluntary return. Outcome measure: The outcome variable was sexual violence.

The areas where armed conflicts take place and have been perpetrated by state or non-state actors involved in conflicts represent a suitable place for emergence of phenomenon of human trafficking. The exploitation of victims of trafficking in human beings in the context of armed conflicts can take various forms, so that for the purposes of our research, this category of victims will be classified into two groups: victims of armed activities and victims of non-armed activities. Hence, the first group includes victims that take direct participation in armed combat activities or other activities during combat operations such as minefield cleaning, transport and medical services, etc. The second group includes victims of sexual exploitation in the conflict area and their forms, forced labour in different sectors and trafficking in organs.

Global assessments suggest that a substantial proportion of labour migrants ends up in situations of extreme exploitation, some of whom are identified as victims of human trafficking. Because large numbers of migrant workers fall into a “grey area” between trafficking (as defined by international and national law) and exploitative labour situations, there is good reason to explore the differences and similarities between the health needs of those who have been identified as trafficked compared to other migrants working in the same labour sector who have not. It is urgent to understand present-day occupational health and safety risks, forms of abuse and exploitation in different sectors and common hazardous working and living conditions to improve prevention and response strategies. This is among the first studies to explore and compare the influence of occupational and other risk exposures on people’s health and well-being and compare the experiences of migrant workers and victims of trafficking across sectors and regions. Our multiregion qualitative study on exploitation and harm experienced by individuals in the textile sector in Argentina, and artisanal gold-mining in Peru and construction sector in Kazakhstan, found important commonalities in the health hazards and financial, social and legal challenges across sectors and regions. In total, we interviewed 71 people; of these, 18 were formally identified victims of trafficking and 53 were migrant workers.