The proportion of children in human trafficking cases around the world has risen to more than one in five of all victims, a report aimed at raising awareness of the problem said on Monday.
'More than 1.2 million minors are still being sexually exploited in the world every year... and between 2003 and 2007 the proportion of minors in human trafficking cases has risen from 15 to 22 per cent,' the report said.
Worth around US$32 billion (S$46 billion) a year, human trafficking is the third most lucrative illegal trade after weapons and drugs, UN experts say.
The report by ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes) said that half the money made from the global sex trade is made in industrialised nations.
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