The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) announced on Sunday that an estimated 270,000 people are the victims of human trafficking in the European Union.

Speaking on European Anti-Trafficking Day, the organisation's executive director, Antonio Maria Costa, called on EU authorities to do more to combat the crime.

He said that less than one in 100,000 perpetrators were convicted each year for human trafficking, a lower conviction rate than for the relatively rare crime of kidnapping.

Young women are the most frequent victims of traffickers and often forced to work as prostitutes. However, male victims also exist and are usually forced to work on building sites and farms. Approximately ten percent of the victims are minors.

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