IOM assist some 7,000 victims of trafficking in 2015

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Friday that nearly 7,000 victims of human trafficking were helped by the agency in 115 countries last year.

Up 9 percent from 2014, last year's assistance caseload shows that 74 percent were handled for labor exploitation, with construction, domestic work and fishing amongst the top sectors in which exploited individuals worked.

Figures reveal that 20 percent were trafficked for sexual exploitation, while a further 5 percent of all assisted individuals were trafficked for both labor and sexual exploitation.

"In addition to the fact that there were more victims assisted by IOM who have been trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation than for the purpose of sexual exploitation, there were more male (55 percent) than female victims," said IOM's Migrant Assistance Division head Anh Nguyen.

Additional statistics show that on average those assisted by IOM in 2015 had spent three years in the trafficking process, a time which could range from zero to 25 years.

Around 13 percent of the victims were children, with the latter accounting for almost 20 percent of IOM's caseload for sexual exploitation.

Starting in 1994, IOM's counter-trafficking programs have assisted over 70,000 trafficked persons and exploited migrants. Enditem