Global percentages of victims by gender

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated in 2021 that 49.6 million people were living in modern slavery, of which 27.6 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage. The UNODC 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons reveals that in 2020, 60 % of victims of human trafficking detected globally were women and girls, 42 % and 18 % respectively, while 40 % were men and boys, 23 % and 17 % respectively (Figure 1). Although women continue to be the worst affected by trafficking in the last 16 years, the number of girls, as well as of men and boys who are victims of human trafficking, has risen more than that of women. Indeed, the share of adult women in victims of trafficking fell from over 74 % in 2004 to 42 % in 2020.