Investigative authorities in Germany concluded the highest number of cases of human trafficking and exploitation in 2024 since records began in 2000, with children even being offered for sale on the internet.
There were 576 completed investigations last year. An increase of over 13% compared to 2023, the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Wiesbaden said on Thursday.
In more than 200 cases, children and adolescents were registered as victims of exploitation. With 195 cases involving commercial sexual exploitation.
“One reason for the increasing numbers here is, among other things, that various online platforms have too few protective mechanisms. This facilitates the exploitation of minors using the internet as a tool. In two cases, children were offered for sale online,” explained the BKA.
Dark figure in sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation was also the main focus of the completed cases in 2024.
“With 364 cases, a new high was reached within the last 10 years,” the BKA stated. These crimes increasingly occur in private homes, which are ‘an area that is difficult to control and suggests a particularly high dark figure’.”
The initiation of contact for sexual exploitation often occurs via the internet.
According to the BKA, the victims and suspects frequently come from other European countries. There is also a significant increase in victims from China and Colombia.
‘Loverboy’ method
Emotional dependencies play a significant role, according to the information, such as with the so-called “lover boy” method.
According to the BKA, this usually involves a man making a younger female victim dependent on him by pretending to be in a romantic relationship. “Only to later introduce her to prostitution and exploit her financially”.
“Increasingly, psychological and physical violence plays a role,” the BKA said.
- dpa
