Our Rescue Perspective: Renata Parras General Counsel, Our Rescue
As of June 2026, the global landscape of conflict has reached a historic high, with more state-based armed conflicts active than at any point since the end of World War II. While major wars in the Middle East and the Ukraine have dominated international headlines, dozens of other wars in places like Sudan, South Sudan, the Sahel and Myanmar are driving unprecedented levels of displacement and humanitarian need.
I have spent my career advising on human rights, human trafficking, social impact, and strategic partnerships across both the public and private sectors, including leading a global law firm’s Modern Slavery and Human Rights Initiative and 12 years with the Department of Homeland Security. Today, as General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at Our Rescue, I continue that work on strengthening collaboration across governments, NGOs, and the private sector to combat exploitation at scale.
Human Trafficking as a Weapon of War
War zones are more than just battlefields; they are engines of forced mobility, creating desperate populations on the move and dismantling the protection structures that once kept them safe. This induced mobility, characterized by flight, displacement, and the total breakdown of legal order, creates an ecosystem that criminals, human traffickers, and predatory actors exploit.
In modern warfare, human trafficking is not just a crime; it is a weapon of war and a consequence of crisis. With 95% of reported conflict-related sexual violence survivors being women or girls, and over 70% of modern slavery victims globally being female, the nexus between conflict, women and human trafficking is a critical battlefront for international security.
Armed conflicts create an environment where the rule of law collapses, enabling perpetrators to act with impunity, outside of the bounds of the law. In these environments, human traffickers, ranging from organized criminal networks to armed military groups, exploit the economic desperation, displacement, and vulnerability of women. Human trafficking is used to generate income for armed groups where women and girls can be sold into situations of sexual slavery. This deliberate use of human exploitation serves military objectives, including generating revenue to finance other activities, but can also serve the dual purpose of terrorizing civilian populations and asserting control over territory and communities.
Civilians, including children, are forced to perform labor or services to support military operations, such as serving as cooks, porters, guards, or messengers. Armed groups recruit and abduct children through force or fraud to be used as combatants or in various support roles. The U.S. government officially recognizes child soldiering as a form of human trafficking. These impacts disproportionately affect women and girls. As primary caretakers and food producers, women face heightened risks, especially during forced displacement. Refugee camps often become hubs for human traffickers who target separated women and children. Displacement can also make women and children turn to dangerous migration routes, which increase exposure to exploitation.
Women, Peace and Security (WPS) as a Solution
The Women Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, established by UN Security Council Resolution 1325, is a global framework aimed at ensuring women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in all peace and security efforts.
The United States implemented the WPS agenda through the Women, Peace, and Security Act of 2017, making it the first country to codify this global framework into law. The legislation mandates US federal agencies to promote the meaningful inclusion of women in conflict prevention, peacebuilding, and security processes. The WPS agenda has been actively reauthorized and funded through recent National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) legislation.
As global conflict dynamics shift, the traditional view of security is proving insufficient. Today, effective security requires a holistic approach that includes the perspectives, leadership, and expertise of a broader base of subject matter experts. The intersection of women working within security sectors and the WPS agenda, celebrating 25 years since the landmark UN Security Council Resolution 1325, has created a paradigm shift, proving that the involvement of other perspectives, as well as operationalizing gender specific programs and actionable outputs, is a strategic necessity for lasting security and peace.
The WPS agenda provides a framework that addresses core security concerns. Research shows that when women are included in operational plans, strategic planning, and peace processes, solutions are more successful and durable. Including women in early warning systems and conflict resolution helps identify and stop networks, including human trafficking networks, early. The WPS framework also advocates for moving from a pure law-enforcement approach to a survivor-entered approach which is a response that prioritizes the needs of survivors first and foremost. That same framework also demands accountability which challenges any culture of impunity and seeks justice over all else.
Incorporating women into operational security roles, whether during times of conflict, or during other types of law enforcement actions, can improve outcomes by leveraging their unique strengths, such as enhanced communication, empathy, and pattern matching, to illicit more and different intelligence, defuse tense situations, create more inclusive security strategies, and build a more resilient workforce. Female intelligence analysts have moved from the sidelines to the strategic core of national security. In 2026, and before, as geopolitical threats become increasingly complex, women are not just gathering more information but rather they are redefining how that information is acquired, analyzed, contextualized, and acted upon.
Strategic Imperatives
Human trafficking is no longer just a “hiding in plain sight” crime. In 2026, it is a sophisticated, technology-driven, $150 billion global market that adapts faster than many of the systems designed to stop it. With an estimated 50 million people in situations of forced labor or sexual exploitation, the traditional, reactive approaches are proving insufficient.
To win this fight, the approach must evolve from mere awareness to a highly strategic, intelligence-led, and tech-enabled framework. Interventions must shift from reactive to proactive and efforts must move upstream to reduce vulnerabilities and target the root causes that make people vulnerable to exploitation. At the very core of this approach, the WPS framework lives. By adopting a strategic approach that blends different perspectives, innovative technology, proactive prevention, and deep cross-sector collaboration, we can start to turn the tide against human traffickers.
At Our Rescue, we believe that a multi-disciplinary approach is the only way to lasting change. We also believe in strategic impact through innovation and forward thinking. Understanding the intersection between WPS and Human Trafficking is integral to innovation and helps advance new operational programs, rights-based approaches to crisis prevention and survivor recovery. By moving beyond traditional law-enforcement frameworks, these methods prioritize women’s leadership and involvement, trauma-informed survivor empowerment, unique programs, and cross-border security cooperation.
Help support programs that work to End Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation by donating to Our Rescue Today.
Common FAQs
1. Why does human trafficking during war increase in conflict zones?
Human trafficking during war rises because armed conflict weakens governments, disrupts law enforcement, and increases vulnerability among displaced populations. In these conflict zones, traffickers exploit instability, targeting human beings facing poverty, displacement, and lack of protection, leading to increased exploitation and violence.
2. What forms of exploitation are most common in conflict settings?
In conflict settings, trafficking often involves sexual exploitation, sexual slavery, and forced labor. Women and girls are frequently targeted for sex trafficking, while men and boys may be subjected to forced labor or recruited as child soldiers. These forms of modern slavery are among the most severe human rights violations seen during war.
3. How are children affected by trafficking in armed conflict?
Child trafficking increases in areas experiencing conflict, where children may be abducted or coerced into becoming child soldiers or forced into labor. In some cases, children are subjected to sexual violence or forced marriage, making them some of the most vulnerable trafficking victims in any conflict situation.
4. What role do international organizations play in addressing trafficking during war?
Organizations like the United Nations, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the International Labor Organization work to monitor detected victims, support human rights protections, and help combat trafficking. The Security Council also addresses these issues as part of broader responses to humanitarian emergencies and grave violations in war.
5. Where is trafficking during conflict most commonly reported?
Cases of human trafficking linked to armed conflict have been reported in regions such as the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, as well as parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
