10 Human Trafficking Facts In India: History, Causes, and Statistics

Our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics will show you that this issue is unfortunately still widespread in most parts of the world.

Human trafficking is a broad term that incorporates all the acts tied to an exploitation of persons against their will. This includes both labor and sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is nowadays a multi-billion dollar industry, and despite the continuous efforts of the world’s governments, traffickers are still destroying millions of innocent lives. It is estimated by International Labor Organization that on a global scale there are 20.9 million persons who can be considered victims of human trafficking. 55% of them are women and girls, while 26% are children. Close to 70% of the 20.9 million victims are exploited for labor, while 22% (4.5 million) are sexually exploited. Contrary to popular belief, human trafficking isn’t only an issue in the developing countries but remains a persistent problem in all the countries in the world including the United States. For example, according to the Polaris Project report from 2016, the number of reported human trafficking cases in the United States increases each year. The project learned about 8,042 human trafficking cases, which is an increase of 35% compared to 2015. Their hotline for reporting human trafficking cases received 7,572 reports, from which 5,551 were related to sex trafficking, and 1,057 were related to labor trafficking. To help you put things into perspective, we should tell you that Polaris Project received 31,659 reports of human trafficking from 2006 to 2016. In case you are interested in learning more about human trafficking on a global scale, check out our list of top 15 cities with highest human trafficking in the world.

One of the countries largely affected by the problem of human trafficking is India. Unfortunately, the magnitude of the problem is only speculative, since there are no definitive data or statistics that could shed light on the problem of human trafficking in India. There is some information available in the National Crimes Record Bureau’s (NCRB) Crime in India Report for 2015. It tells us that 6,877 human trafficking related cases were registered in 2015 which represents 25.8% increase compared to 2014 when there were 5,466 cases reported. The issue here is that the numbers of reported cases represent just a small portion of the trafficking activity in the country. The things start to sound worse when you know that there is no urgency by police forces or judicial system to solve these cases. The previously mentioned report shows that out of 19,717 cases, trials ended in 2,075 cases during 2015. A total of 57,366 persons has been set for trial in 2015, with trial ending for 5,439 of them. 2,139 persons have been convicted. The report gave data about child trafficking separately. In 5,003 cases of child trafficking, the trials have been completed in only 384 of them. 55 cases ended up with conviction.

Before we continue with our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics we should tell you the methodology behind it. We gave our best to collect the most commonly repeated facts on the internet, including those found in Trafficking in Persons Report (compiled by U.S. State Department of State),  Agape Research Foundation, Big Wire and Maps of India among others. The ones that seemed most helpful, giving a better insight on the human trafficking issue in India were featured on the list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics. Let’s check it out now.

10. Human Trafficking Cases Have Seen Major Increase in the Recent Years

Crime in India Report for 2015 contains data about the reported cases from 2011 to 2015, which show that there is a rising trend in human trafficking incidents in the country. In 2011 the number of incidents was 3,517, rising to 3,554 cases in 2012. In the year 2014, there were 5,466 which represented a big spike compared to the 3,940 cases in 2013. As mentioned in the intro, 2015 saw 6,877 cases. There is also information available on India Times according to which the number of human trafficking cases in 2016 was 8,132.

9. India’s Growing Gender Imbalance is One Of the Causes

The next fact on our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics is about families in India, especially those in rural areas, that have strong preference of male children against female ones. This has caused a gender imbalance in the country, opening a new opportunity for traffickers. Girls, some even aged 6 or less, are being sold into the areas with a lower female to male ratio and forced into marriage against their will which also represents a form of human trafficking.

8. Most Human Trafficking Victims Come From Poor Background

According to Agape Research Foundation, poverty represents one of the main causes of human trafficking in India. Agape Research Foundation has made a survey of the victims, and 76% of them stated they come from very poor or poor families. It is believed that poor families encourage their kids to start working young, and doing so, make it easy for traffickers to exploit them.

7. Trafficking Takes Place from the Villages to Major Cities

This entry on our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics are directly related to the previous one. The majority of the internal human trafficking in India takes place between village and major cities. People in the villages often think about the cities as places where they can get a taste of a better life. This is why families are easily tricked by the promises of people who claim their children are destined for better things. It isn’t strange for the former victims of human trafficking to assume the roles of recruiters since they are more trusted in the smaller communities.

6. India’s Growing Sexual Industry Influences the Increase in External Human Trafficking

The bigger cities in the country are seeing increased migration and touristic expansion which influences “demand for commercial sex” and need for sex workers. This is one of the main reasons why women and girls are brought into the country by the traffickers. Agape Research Foundation reports that 150,000 women and girls were trafficked into the country from certain parts of Asia including the neighboring countries of Bangladesh and Nepal. The primary destinations for the victims were Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata. Still, despite a large number of women being trafficked into the country, estimations say that close to 90% of human trafficking in India is internal.

5. Forced Labor Represents India’s Largest Trafficking Problem

Although some may think that most of the human trafficking cases in India belong to sexual exploitation, the Trafficking in Persons report shows that isn’t quite accurate. The report says that country’s biggest trafficking problem is forced labor, affecting men, women, and children. The lowest caste alongside the religious minorities and tribal communities members are the most common victims of human trafficking. There are thousands of organizations that promise people legal and well-paid work luring them into a trap that mostly means forced labor in inhumane conditions or sexual exploitation. Now, let’s see what else we have on the list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics.

4. West Bengal is India’s Hub of Human Trafficking

According to several sources, we used to compile our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics West Bengali has seen the most human trafficking cases in the recent times in the entire country. India Times article says that out of 8,132 human trafficking cases reported in 2015, 3,576 took place in West Bengal. Also, this is where more than 30% of child trafficking cases occurred in 2015 compared to rest of India. There were 3,490 cases of child trafficking in the country in 2015, and West Bengal accounted for 1,119 of them. Certain data like the fact that 11,000 children went missing in West Bengal in 2011 confirm the state’s bad reputation.

3. Corruption Prevents an Efficient Fight Against Human Trafficking

We are continuing our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics with the corruption that is a big issue in India, being widespread and reaching all parts of the society.  This created the perfect surrounding for traffickers to get away with their crimes. Although the legislative body of Indian government has passed several laws that should help this cause, they are rarely enforced. It has been reported that some cases of trafficking are even facilitated by the officials, who protect the traffickers and others involved.

2. Despite Certain Progress, Government Has Lot to Do

Trafficking in Persons Report has concluded that India is still to meet the minimum standards that would help to eliminate human trafficking. The report also states that certain efforts have been made, including enabling funds for shelters and launching numerous other projects that should prevent human trafficking cases, especially those related to children. The main concerns are related to the low number of police actions and convictions for the crime.  Also, the overall protection of the victims was labeled as inadequate, and the support given to them is insufficient.

1. The Victims Are Penalized

Although this last entry on our list of human trafficking facts in India: history, causes, and statistics may sound even more unbelievable, it is true. Trafficking in Persons report says that there were cases when officials detained and even arrested victims of the human trafficking for the violations they committed during the time they were engaged in forced labor or sexual exploitation. Also, it wasn’t strange to see foreign victims to be accused of immigration law violations. Finally, victims and their family members were denied traveling rights, and in some cases, the government officials confiscated their passports.