The lack of any systematic approach to the collection of international data makes the scale and nature of human trafficking difficult to assess (see also International Organisation for Migration, 2001; Joint Committee on Human Rights, 2007). The development of the UK Human Trafficking Centre within the Serious Organised Crime Agency is filling this information gap in the UK; one of its roles is to act as the central repository of all data and intelligence on human trafficking.
Poverty, limited opportunities at home, lack of education, unstable social and political conditions, economic imbalances, and war are seen as the key driving forces of the supply of trafficked people. These factors underscore the importance of strategic interventions that take a proactive approach to dealing with these issues in both source and transit countries.