We detected new means of attracting people for human trafficking

 Data from the National Line and Chat against Human Trafficking show that for the firs time there are reports about profiting from vulnerable situations in order to hook victims.

Offering fake jobs is the main strategy for hooking people according to the Citizen Council for Safety and Justice in Mexico City, which studied criminal groups dedicated to Human Trafficking and found that during the first six-month period of this year they used new means to hook victims.

According to the report “Human Trafficking in Mexico: January-June 2021”, elaborated by the organism, for the first time they reported profiting from a vulnerable situation as a form of hooking, with 34% of the reports received through the National Line and Chat Against Human Trafficking (LNCTP, for its English acronym) 800 5533 000.

Within the framework of the World Day Against Human Trafficking, commemorated on July 30^th, the Citizen Council informed that offering fake jobs was consolidate as the main way to hook people, with 44% of the cases identified as Trafficking, while establishing a sentimental relationships represented 10% of the cases.

“Cases related with vulnerability are common in environments where there is violence within the victim’s family, where she is abused by her family who pushes them into situations of work exploitation and makes them feel they are obliged to prove an income,” Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, president of the Citizen Council, explained in a video conference held on Tuesday.

Migration was also identified as a high-risk situation, given that traffickers may force migrants to participate in forced labor.

During the first semester of 2020, there were only three reports related with this type of people, while so far this year there have been 21.

Videogames are another element used to hook girls, boys and teenagers. Cyber criminals use fake profiles and they seek to establish friendships and sentimental relationships in order to get photos or videos with sexual content or convince victims to abandon their homes. Around 41% of the victims that were identified in the reports received at the LNCTP are underage and 62% are women.

The “Human Trafficking in Mexico: January-June 2021” report is based on the 887 reports received during that period and it shows updated rates regarding this crime. Compared with the same period of 2020, there was a 13% reduction.

This year, 45% of the reports identify another person’s prostitution or other forms of sexual exploitation as traffickers’ main aim. Work exploitation represents 26% and forced labor or services represent 19%.

The person to person means of contact was present in 53% of the reports of identified victims and social networks were used in 20%, mainly Facebook and Instagram –allies of the Citizen Council in the fight against this crime–, according to the biannual report.

In 2021, the Citizen Council has contributed with opening 7% of the investigation files on the crime of trafficking, nationwide. The National Line and Chat against Human Trafficking (LNCTP) 800 5533 000 are available 24/7, the legal and psychological support is free and reports may be confidential if requested by the victim or witness.

Find the complete report here.