The Problem Of Child Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking, particularly that of children, has become a growing concern in the United States over the past several decades (Kotrla, 2010). By definition, child sex trafficking is “when a child (under 18 years of age) is induced to perform a commercial sex act” (U.S., 2013, para. 4), and includes forms such as prostitution and pornography (Kotrla, 2010). Researchers suggest that children are the most vulnerable to becoming victims of prostitution (Kotrla), and it is estimated that there are at least 100,000 victims in the United States (Estes & Weiner, 2001). Sex traffickers, otherwise known as “pimps,” often lure children with promises of food, clothing, love, and shelter, and then the pimps manipulate the children to keep them in prostitution (U.S. Department of Justice [DOJ], 2015). Awareness of the issue has led to the development of organizations, such as Children of the Night, that seek to help victims escape the sex trafficking industry (Children of the Night [COTN], 2016d).

Human trafficking affects our children and our schools more than most realize. It is estimated that more than 200,000 American children are trafficked each year in America. Victims of trafficking often come from vulnerable populations, including migrants, oppressed or marginalized groups, runaways or displaced persons, and the poor (Talati). The children most likely to be targeted by traffickers are those not living with their parents, who are vulnerable to coerced labor exploitation, domestic servitude, or prostitution. Sex traffickers target children because of their vulnerability and gullibility, as well as the market demand for young victims. Studies have shown that it is not just high school children at risk, demonstrating that pimps prey on victims as young as 12 years old. Victims

Human trafficking is one of the largest growing criminal activities. The commercial sexual exploitation of children, also known as CSEC, is often perceived as a hidden atrocity that occurs in an international setting. However, this manifestation of sexual abuse has increased and has become a recognized health issue in the United States. You may hear this problem to be known as domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST). Domestic minor sex trafficking is defined as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act” where the person is a citizen younger than the age of 18 years by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This includes sexual acts like survival sex, prostitution, and stripping, where the child is the victim of criminal exploitation in exchange for remuneration in the form of money, food, shelter, or other valued entity. Approximately twenty-eight percent of US minors living on the streets are reported to exchanging sex for drugs or money. The estimation so far is that 150,000 to 300,000 children are falling at risk of being victimized each year, and the average age at which they are recruited is twelve to fourteen years of age. By raising awareness we are avoiding children suffering from long-term health consequences such as severe sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. By raising awareness a family may not lose their little boy or girl to human trafficking. Consider how many young women have been kidnapped, drugged, tricked or even sold by

“According to UNICEF, every two minutes a child is being prepped for sexual exploitation.” Studies have shown that 1.2 million children are being trafficked each year. “This number excluded the millions already being held hostage by trafficking.” (1).

This journal article examines the issue of minor sex trafficking in the U.S and provides the reader with the results of the research that was conducted on the matter at hand. A data analysis consisting of 115 minor sex trafficking was thoroughly examined and studied. The information surrounding these cases was collected using two specific methods. One method included the reviewing of press releases of human trafficking cases

Have you ever walked into Wal-Mart and taken the time to look at the numerous pictures of missing youth that is plastered on the wall? When looking at how long they have been missing, it ranges anywhere from months to years. Looking at their age, both boys and girls, it’s hard not to wonder if they have been kidnapped and are being trafficked. Child sex trafficking also known as human trafficking is a major issue that is not only plaguing the United States, but also the world. Residing in a state where teen sex trafficking is very common, it is imperative that not only adults, but youth as well understand what child sex/human trafficking is, what is a sex-trafficker, and data that displays how serious child sex trafficking is.

“Others have been forced to perform sexual acts in exchange for drugs or money by parents or relatives, a practice dubbed ‘familial prostitution"(Kotria). Some of the most common trafficking recruitment sites are restaurants, traveling sales companies, online jobs, malls, bus stations, and general public places where lost youth are most likely to be found(“Statistics”). Human traffickers take advantage of the lost youth’s troubled circumstances. We need to be helping them, not letting them get cornered into a lifetime of unwilling servitude. The populace of America needs to be made aware of this growing issue that’s victimizing thousands each year, so that we can begin to fight it effectively.

citizens, foreign nationals, women, men, children, and LGBTQ individuals. Vulnerable populations are frequently targeted by traffickers, including runaway and homeless youth, as well as victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, war, or social discrimination. The United States is notorious for focusing the spotlight of human trafficking exclusively on international countries and their victims rather than victims within borders (Laczko & Gozdziak, 2005). However, research is beginning to show that the United States is also a mega hub for human sex trafficking. It has only been recently that an actual estimate of youth at risk for sexual exploitation has come close to estimating U.S. domestic trafficking. Within the United States alone, between 244,000 and 325,000 American youth are considered at vulnerable for sexual exploitation. Since the first study in the United States in 2001, there have been an estimated 199,000 recorded incidents occur of sexual exploitation of minors following each concurrent year in the United States (Estes & Weiner, 2001). These figures, however, are severely limited by their scope. Only youth who have been recorded within the United States, specifically for sex trafficking are estimated. This does not account for the adults who have been trafficked, the individuals who have been trafficked outside of the United States, or individuals who have been trafficked in the United States for labor.

Amongst all the crimes in the world, one that is widely overlooked is that of human trafficking. Many individuals believe that murder, rape, grand theft auto, and other crime activities are of much importance. Although other crimes are of much important in the United States, one crime that is overlooked, especially when dealing with child welfare, is human trafficking. One thing that people overlook is that people of youth are the most vulnerable population in the United states that are risk to becoming victims of sex trafficking (Kotrla, 2010, pp. 27-42). Another issue that is overlooked is the fact that a majority of women who are in prostitution entered this fate as minors due to being trafficked (Kotrla, 2010, pp. 27-42)

How often do you think teenage girls or boys are sex trafficked? Sure we hear about it all of the time in other countries like Paris or Japan, but how often does it happen right here in America? Too often. Globally 2.4 million people are trafficked for labor, 80% of them are used as sex slaves. Another common question would be what is human trafficking? “trafficking has been defined most often as the trade in women and children for prostitution or other immoral purposes.” “ It has been further clarified that victims do not need to be transported across international or other boundaries in order for trafficking to exist.” (Clawson J Heather, Dutch Nicole, Solomon Amy, and Grace Goldblatt Lisa. Aspe. Human Trafficking Into and Within the United States: A Review of the Literature Aspe 30, Aug 2009.)

Sex trafficking is a problem that sweeps across the nation. The number of children and teens on the street makes them more at risk of being taken into human sex trafficking. According to the Covenant House Institute, more than two million kids in America will face a period of homelessness. As many as 20,000 kids are forced into prostitution by the human trafficking networks every year in the United States

Public problems come in all shapes and sizes. A public problem can be as minor as pot holes in the street to as major as human trafficking and everything in between. In what is known as modern slavery, the domestic problem of child sex trafficking in the United States affects 100,000 American children every year. (Tichen, 2014) The problem of child sex trafficking is something that I am very interested in helping to tackle. Recently I had the opportunity to speak with a representative from a local shelter that assists children that have been removed from a sex trafficking situation. This conversation was very eye opening and made me realize how truly huge this problem is. The funding for local non-profit organizations is not optimal and

According to the Bureau of Justice, human trafficking is becoming the nations second largest problem, following the war on drugs (“Anti Human Trafficking Initiative” 1.) Statistics on human trafficking in the United States are very scarce and there have not been many studies conducted on the issue. Of the studies done, many of the studies focus only on minors. 100,000-300,000 children are prostituted each year in the United States. In the Ohio, 1,078 people will be trafficked into the sex trade each year. Between January 2003 and June 2006, 15 human trafficking cases were identified in the Columbus and Toledo area. Human trafficking is not something that only takes place in foreign areas, which is why the Polaris project is working to fight human trafficking not only in foreign areas but also in the United States.

With the recognition of sex trafficking, there is a better understanding of how adolescents and young adults are recruited.

Traffickers manipulate adolescents and youth into the sex trafficking through targeting their emotional vulnerabilities. To begin, traffickers use threats, intimidation and violence to enforce or entice adolescents into trafficking. One adolescent, a runaway from Baltimore County, Maryland, is gang raped by a group of men associated with the trafficker, who thereafter executes a “rescue” (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011) Following the “rescue”, the trafficker imposes she recompense him by working for him as one of his prostitutes (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011). Unfortunately, in many cases youth are generally beaten up until they yield to the trafficker’s orders (Walker-Rodriguez & Hill, 2011).