Understanding Child Trafficking: What You Need to Know

Child trafficking is a horrendous crime that tragically represents the end of childhood.

Child trafficking represents the exploitation of both girls and boys who are usually targeted for sexual exploitation and forced labor. The SHOCKING STATISTICS reveal that Human trafficking is the fastest-growing organized crime activity in the United States, estimating that 250,000 children per year are victims of sex trafficking.

Worldwide there are nearly 50 million people who are impacted by human trafficking on a yearly basis. Of those, 27%, more than 1 in 4, is a child. Two-thirds of these child victims are girls. That’s over 12 million children who are impacted by trafficking yearly, with about 87% of those children being sexually exploited through commercial sex and forced marriage.

Human trafficking can be incredibly difficult to detect and often goes unreported, meaning that these figures most likely represent only a portion of the human trafficking actually taking place in the world.

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Myth: Traffickers target victims they don’t know
Fact: A majority of the time, victims are trafficked by someone they know, such as a family member, a friend, or romantic partner

Myth: Only women and girls can be victims and survivors of sex trafficking
Fact: Boys and men are just as likely to be victims of human trafficking as girls and women. However, they are less likely to be identified and reported. Girls and boys are often subject to different types of trafficking, for instance, girls may be trafficked for forced marriage and sexual exploitation, while boys may be trafficked for forced labor or recruitment into armed groups.

Myth: Human trafficking only happens in illegal or underground industries or developing countries
Fact: Trafficking occurs all over the world, though the most common forms of trafficking can differ by country. The United States is one of the most active sex trafficking countries in the world, where exploitation of trafficking victims occurs in cities, suburban and rural areas. Labor trafficking occurs in the U.S., but at lower rates than most developing countries.

Myth: Human trafficking involves moving, traveling or transporting a person across state or national borders
Fact: Human trafficking is not the same thing as smuggling, which are two terms that are commonly confused. Trafficking does not require movement across borders. In fact, in some cases, a child could be trafficked and exploited from their own home. In the U.S., trafficking most frequently occurs at hotels, motels, truck stops and online.

Myth: People being trafficked are physically unable to leave their situations/locked in/held against their will
Fact: Trafficking can involve force, but people can also be trafficked through threats, coercion, or deception. People in trafficking situations can be controlled through drug addiction, violent relationships, manipulation, lack of financial independence, or isolation from family or friends, in addition to physical restraint or harm.

Myth: Child sex traffickers usually kidnap their victims or otherwise take them by force
Fact: Children are often trafficked while living at home. With the increase in the sexualization of our pre-teens and teens, children often do not know they are victims, especially initially. Often gradually groomed by an older adult. A man or a woman can do grooming. Often an older man will entice through promises of affection. This groomer is often a “pimp” in disguise and will later be the enforcer of the child’s victimization. A woman can also be a groomer which provides a hesitant young girl a false sense of safety. Child sex trafficking can involve children of any age. Trafficked young children are more easily hidden and often are not seen or known by the public. A parent or family member is often trafficking them. As described above, trafficked older teens are usually still engaging in society.

Myth: All child trafficking involves sex or prostitution
Fact: Human trafficking can include forced labor, domestic servitude, organ trafficking, debt bondage, recruiting children as child soldiers, and/or sex trafficking and forced prostitution.

Every country in the world is affected by human trafficking, and as a result, children are forced to drop out of school, risk their lives and are deprived of what every child deserves – a future.