U.S. Department of State

The 2010 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, compiled by the U.S. Department of State, marks the 10th anniversary of progress and challenge in the fight against modern slavery. In 2000, the United States enacted the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), and the United Nations adopted the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children — also known as the Palermo Protocol. Over 10 years, governments worldwide have made appreciable progress in understanding some basic realities about human trafficking. But 10 years of focused effort to combat trafficking only represents the infancy of this modern movement. It is not enough to prosecute traffickers if governments do not provide assistance to the survivors and work to ensure that no one else is victimized. For more information, go to http://www.state.gov/j/tip/about/index.htm.

Key Facts from the 2010 TIP Report

• Estimates on the numbers of trafficked persons range from 12 to 27 million.
• 12.3 million adults and children are subjected to forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution around the world — 56 percent of these victims are women and girls.
• 49,105 victims have been identified worldwide, a 59 percent increase over the last reporting year (2008).
• 4,166 successful trafficking prosecutions took place in 2009, a 40 percent increase over 2008.
• The 2010 TIP Report, for the first time, includes a ranking of the United States based on the same standards to which we hold other countries.