Patterns, evolution and determinants of child trafficking in Henan Province, China

ABSTRACTChild trafficking is a serious social problem in China that has led to numerous family tragedies and drawn considerable attention. Here, we used a new database to investigate child trafficking in Henan Province in central China from a geographical perspective to help researchers better understand and explain trafficking activity. We discovered that trafficking cases involved more male than female children and that the trafficking rate was the highest for younger age groups. Child trafficking presented an interannual variation of ‘rise and fall’ between 1949 and 2018. An increasing trend in trafficking cases was observed after 1981, peaking in 1991, followed by a rapid decline in trafficking cases in subsequent years. Trafficking occurs more frequently during the summer than in the winter. The geographic hotspots of trafficking have continuously expanded over time from central to southwestern to southeastern Henan Province, thus revealing a triangular trafficking pattern of decentralization. The spatial pattern of child trafficking is strongly influenced by transportation. We expect these findings to provide a valuable reference for local governments in their efforts to prevent and combat child trafficking.KEYWORDS: Child traffickinginterannual variationspatial patternsHenan Province Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 http://www.gqb.gov.cn/node2/node3/node5/node9/node109/userobject7ai1382.html2 Until 2014, for example, only healthy childless singles or couples over 30 years old with the capability to raise and educate the adoptee were eligible to be adopters (Article 6 of the 1998 Adoption Law; Article 1098 of the Civic Code).Additional informationFundingThis study was supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant numbers 42271239, 41871144), Humanities and Social Science Projects of Chinese Ministry of Education (grant number 16YJAZH028).