An analysis of the spatial and temporal variations of human trafficking in India

Human trafficking is one of the most rapidly increasing forms of transnational crime. Globally, an estimated 25 million adults and children are subjected to modern slavery or human trafficking. In India, approximately 7 thousand cases of human trafficking have been reported as of 2021 (ILO, 2022). The present study aims to contextualize the changing levels and patterns of human trafficking by integrating demographic and spatial dimensions by considering the dynamics of human trafficking with space, population, time, and circumstances in India. The study uses information from human trafficking cases reported by police records data accessed from Indiastat (www.Indiastat.com), an online repository supervised by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. The present study deploys descriptive statistical techniques to accomplish the objectives, as the descriptive design provides a detailed and accurate data representation. Location quotient (LQ) mapping is used to detect the degree of victimization by human trafficking for 2021. The volume of human trafficking remained stagnant (above five thousand) until 2017, but it decreased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdown restricting human mobility. Forced labor (43%) and sexual exploitation (33%) are the leading causes of trafficking in India. Rajasthan (80.8%) male victims and Maharashtra (94.0%) female victims reported the highest reported cases of human trafficking by gender. The highest concentration of human trafficking concerning its population is in Goa LQ value: 8.18). Child rights protection measures and robust anti-trafficking policies should be established as major policy measures for the Indian government.