Potential Impact of Climate Change on Human Trafficking: A Narrative Review

Author: Sheu, Jessica; Torres, Melissa; Gordon, Mollie; Nguyen, Phuong & Coverdale, John

Abstract: Climate change is a threat to the public health with wide-reaching impacts that are becoming more studied and recognized. An aspect of climate change that has not yet gained adequate scholarly attention is its potential impact on human trafficking. We review the potential impact of climate change on risk factors to human trafficking including poverty, gender inequality, political instability, migration or forced displacement, and weather disasters. We conclude that climate change is a crucially important consideration in understanding the complex and multifactorial risks for human trafficking. These findings add to the priority for health professionals to embrace efforts to prevent and to mitigate the effects of climate change and to take account of these risk factors in screening and identifying trafficked persons.

Keywords: human trafficking, climate change, global warming, migration