This document reveals a deeply embedded culture of legal gaslighting, bureaucratic indifference, and state-level abandonment. It asks: If even the court denies your captivity, where can freedom begin?

• Scale and Victims:

  • Analysis involved 616 court cases, identifying 1,252 victims of female trafficking.

  • One in five victims had disabilities, most commonly mental disabilities, making them easy targets.

  • About half of the victims were foreign, predominantly from Vietnam, facing additional language and cultural barriers.

• Methods of Abduction:

  • Nearly half the victims were lured by false promises of employment or marriage.

  • Common locations of abduction included roadsides, workplaces like factories, labor markets, and even at victims' homes under false matchmaking pretenses.

  • Victims frequently suffered physical and sexual violence, confinement, and severe psychological abuse. Some endured captivity for years, prompting desperate measures such as suicide.

• Trafficking Transactions:

  • The price for trafficked women ranged from 200 yuan to 256,000 yuan, determined by appearance, health, fertility, and working ability.

  • Some sellers offered guarantees, promising refunds or replacements if women ran away.

• Social Dynamics and Emotional Bonds:

  • Some victims, isolated and dependent, developed emotional attachments after bearing children and living with buyers for extended periods. A minority of buyers were unaware they were participating in trafficking, believing they were paying traditional bride prices or matchmaking fees.

• Criminal Justice and Sentencing:

  • Human trafficking was criminalized in China in 1979, with harsher penalties introduced in subsequent amendments. However, no death sentences were found among the analyzed cases.

  • Of the 1,092 sentenced criminals, 729 received sentences exceeding five years.

  • Studies suggest harsher penalties alone may not effectively deter traffickers and could lead to greater risk for victims if traffickers become desperate.

The original research was conducted by students at Renmin University under Professor Fang Jie, analyzing official court documents to reveal the scope and nature of female trafficking in China.

Official media outlets have fallen silent on the issue since a thorough investigation was promised by provincial authorities

The People’s Republic of China (PRC) remains on Tier 3 for failing to meet minimum anti-trafficking standards and not making significant efforts to improve. Trafficking in China includes state-sponsored forced labor targeting ethnic and religious minorities, particularly Uyghurs, Tibetans, and other groups through mass detention under "vocational training" and "poverty alleviation" programs featuring coercive labor. Authorities continue transnational repression to coerce ethnic minorities abroad into forced repatriation and labor. PRC nationals face forced labor conditions abroad, notably in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects, due to inadequate oversight. The government prosecutes limited trafficking cases, rarely identifies victims effectively, and routinely penalizes victims rather than assisting them. Anti-trafficking laws are inadequately aligned with international standards, and enforcement lacks transparency. Government complicity persists at multiple levels, with no accountability. Victim protection is weak, with insufficient shelter, medical care, or legal support, particularly for forced labor victims. Prevention efforts are minimal, with systematic forced labor in Xinjiang and Tibet ongoing. Traffickers exploit domestic and foreign nationals within China and abroad, subjecting victims to forced labor, sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and forced criminality, particularly via online scams.

Disappeared Voices – Human rights defenders, journalists, or organizations silenced or punished for exposing trafficking.

Community & Public Dialogue – Forums, educational campaigns, exhibitions, and memory projects.