FAQ: Is human trafficking on the increase or is it just as bad as it has always been?

This is a difficult question to answer and I have not yet found any resource that answers this question well. It seems to be on the rise, but I suspect that a lot of the recent surge in numbers of victims, identification of trafficking rings, and prosecution of perpetrators is due to our increased awareness and counter-trafficking efforts. However, I do think that increased globalization of our world has created opportunities for traffickers to operate and there may be more of this kind of evil internationally. Even so, I believe that human slavery has continued to exist relatively unimpeded in much of the world since humans populated the earth.