The Network against Trafficking, Abuse and Child Labor (NATAL), a non-governmental organization, has called for the involvement of stakeholders to complement the government’s effort to end human trafficking in the country.
This is contained in a declaration of NATCAL‘s national president, Mr. Abdulganiyu Abubakar on Thursday in Dutch, jigawaas part of the activities to commemorate the European Union Anti-Trafficking Day 2022.
He said the call was important to mobilize critical stakeholders, including community and religious leaders, community influencers, opinion leaders, youth and women’s groups, the organized private sector and civil society organizations to support the efforts of the government to end human trafficking in the country.
This, he said, could be achieved by empowering poor and vulnerable families in their various localities.
“As the EU Anti-Trafficking Day is commemorated, NACTAL Nigeria maintains its commitment to support the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAP TIP) and the Government of Nigeria in the fight against human trafficking,” he said.
He described human trafficking as a global reality, a serious violation of human rights and a crime that deceives people, including women, girls, youth and children.
Abubakar pointed out that the United Nations he stressed the need for concerted efforts by stakeholders to end trafficking worldwide.
According to him, trafficking consists of recruiting and transporting people into a situation of exploitation due to their vulnerability as a result of unemployment, homelessness, illiteracy, among others.
He said that victims and survivors of human trafficking face different forms of exploitation, such as child and forced labor, forced marriage, prostitution and organ harvesting.
Citing the UN Report on Trafficking in Persons, Abubakar said: “An estimated 20 to 40 million people are held in modern slavery worldwide each year.
“Human trafficking generates an estimated $150 billion annually in profits for traffickers, with $99 billion from commercial sexual exploitation.
“Furthermore, an estimated 71 percent of trafficked persons are women and girls, while men and boys account for 29 percent.”
According to him, in Nigeria, human trafficking affects all 36 states and Federal Capital Territory (TCF), adding that the lack of data had made it difficult to establish the prevalence of human trafficking in the country.
However, he said NAPTIP statistics indicated that 75 percent of victims were being trafficked between states, 23 percent within states and 2 percent outside the country.
“Many of our youth, particularly women and girls, have continued to be trafficked into and out of the country and some of them have been seen on social media calling on the Nigerian government and people to come to their aid.
“The government spends a lot of money to rescue them from their host country back to Nigeria, where a lot of money is also spent on rehabilitating and empowering the survivors.
“Nigeria is a source, transit and destination state for women and children subjected to human trafficking, including forced labor, sexual exploitation and forced prostitution,” he said.
She said that poverty, unemployment, lack of educational and economic opportunities, displacement and ignorance continued to predispose thousands of women and girls to the dangers of traffickers who took advantage of their vulnerability to recruit, transfer and house them for exploitation.
News sourceCredit: YAYA
