In , Iraq was both a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons , specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Iraqi women and girls, some as young as 11 years old, were subjected to conditions of human trafficking within the country and in Egypt , Lebanon , Jordan , Bahrain , the United Arab Emirates , Turkey , Qatar , and possibly Saudi Arabia for forced prostitution and sexual exploitation within households.
In some cases, women were lured into forced sexual exploitation through false promises of work. The more prevalent means of human trafficking was through sale or forced marriage. Family members coerced girls and women into prostitution to escape desperate economic circumstances, to pay debts, or to resolve disputes between families. Under this arrangement, the family receives a dowry from the husband and the marriage is terminated after a specified period.
Anecdotal reports tell of desperate Iraqi families abandoning their children at the Syrian border with the expectation that traffickers on the Syrian side will pick them up and arrange forged documents so the young women and girls can stay in Syria in exchange for working in a nightclub or brothel.
The large population of internally displaced persons and refugees moving within Iraq and across its borders were particularly at risk of being trafficked. In Iraq was a destination country for men and women who migrated from Syria , India , Indonesia , China , Yemen , Nigeria , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Palestine , Turkey, and Uganda and were subsequently subjected to conditions of forced labor as construction workers, security guards, cleaners, handymen, and domestic workers.
Some governments ban their nationals from working in Iraq. These bans are not effective, however, as many migrating laborers and labor brokers circumvent the law.
