Sex Trafficking

In sex trafficking, women, men, and children are forced to be involved in commercial sex acts including

• Prostitution

• Sexual Explicit Performances

• Pornography

• Sexual Performances done in exchange for any item of value

through force, fraud, or coercion. Worldwide, it is estimated that there are over 4.8 million victims of sex trafficking (ILO, 2017).

Minors who are involved in sex labor are automatically considered to be victims of sex trafficking, no matter the use of force, according to UNODC.

Sex trafficking exists in different countries within different venues, including fake businesses, escort services, or motels/ hotels.

Sex trafficking is a market-driven industry that is based on demand. And currently, the demand is, unfortunately, high. With each purchase of commercial sex, the demand rises, which then leads traffickers to look for more and more victims, while seeking to maximize their profit. The International Labor Organization estimates annual profit rates of around $80,000 per victim in developed countries and $55,000 in the Middle East. The profits from sex labor worldwide are estimated to be at around $99 Billion (ILO 2014).

Risk for Runaways

1 in 7 runaways is likely to be a victim of child sex trafficking, according to the National Center for Missing (United States) and Exploited Children, and 1 in 5 homeless youth have been victims of forced labor and/or sex trafficking. In addition to that, girls in foster care are also particularly vulnerable. These girls have a lack of resources and of someone looking out for them and are often looking for some sort of personal connection, a relationship, love, or general care. Those attributes are what Traffickers look for. Traffickers focus on the vulnerable members of society to exploit and traffic.

A lot of Human Trafficking victims are trafficked by someone they know and trust. According to the Counter-Trafficking Data Collaborative, around 76 percent of the sex trafficking victims are recruited by a family member, friend, or intimate partner. There are significant differences in the relationship victims of labor and sexual exploitation have with the person who recruited them into trafficking. Only about 23 percent of labor trafficking victims, for example, know their trafficker closely. Labor trafficking victims are trafficked by others, such as acquaintances, business contacts, and neighbors.