ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the statistics on Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) made available in the frameworks of the International Organisations mentioned above. It focuses on statistics regarding victims of THB. In theory, statistics on THB cases tried by courts would be the purest source of information on registered victims of THB. In theory, statistics on offenders can, in most Western countries, unlike statistics on victims, be derived from regular statistical systems of the police, the prosecutors and/or the courts. The global data on investigations, prosecutions and convictions collected for the 2010-2012 period by UNODC show steep increases in reported cases in Asia, partly due to an increase in reporting countries. The chapter deals with statistics on the nature of special counter-trafficking policies. Tackling human trafficking and forced labour seems set to remain a political priority in many parts of the world. Action against these crimes has been incorporated in the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the UN.
