The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has launched a new report on the nature of the trade in women and children in southern Africa. The report points out that Southern Africa hosts a diverse range of human trafficking activities, from the global operations of Chinese triad groups, and Russian organized crime, to the local trade in persons across land borders perpetrated by local syndicates. The region's young women and children are especially vulnerable to the recruitment tactics of traffickers because civil unrest and economic deprivation leave them with few opportunities at home.