The Movement Activity : End Human Trafficking

Although men are also victims of trafficking, women and children are most likely to be exploited and coerced. The International Labor Organization (as cited in Cecchet & Thoburn, 2014) estimates that 98% of the victims of sex trafficking are women and children. For the purpose of this assignment, I chose to focus on women and children and review the different ways to advocate for them. The Scope and Impact of Human Trafficking There is a specific population of children who are targeted by traffickers, which include homeless and runaway youth. The risk factors that contribute to their high level of vulnerability include poverty, severe abuse and neglect within the family, drug and alcohol abuse, and unstable relationships with their caregivers. Unfortunately, many victims also have a past traumatic experience with sexual molestation, rape or incest in their early childhood (Countryman-Roswum & Bolin, 2014). As well as children, women who have had emotionally or physically traumatizing pasts are more vulnerable to falling prey to human traffickers. Feelings of instability and a low sense of belonging can lead to women looking to fill an emotional gap that traffickers are targeting. Women who have survived human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution, describe that initially they had been in love with their pimps and their pimps filled the void that were looking for. A victim