About 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked across national borders each year and forced to work as virtual slaves. Millions more are trafficked within their own countries every year. Seventy-five percent of these people are women who are used for sexual exploitation. About 280,000 of these people are sent to Asia, and another 210,000 people are trafficked to Europe and Russia.

Many countries participate in human trafficking, both as accomplices in providing the people to abduct by not enforcing laws, or by allowing the people to enter their borders. Some of the biggest offenders include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Mexico, India, Egypt, and China.