What is Sex Trafficking?

Please don’t keep scrolling! I have to admit that this a subject that I’ve wanted to write about for quite awhile but I felt uneducated and unable to properly convey the facts. It’s one of those subjects that didn’t really come on to my radar until about 3 or 4 years ago. It wasn’t talked about openly in my circle but once I was aware of it, it was something that I couldn’t turn away from. I saw documentaries that ripped out my heart and left me feeling like there wasn’t much I could about it. In all honesty, it seemed that it was a horrible tragedy happening in places across the world from me but the truth is, it’s in all of our backyards.

https://polarisproject.org/2018-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics

I’d like to use this post to bring some light to the tragedy of human trafficking. Again, this is something that I know nothing about personally but have been researching and following those who do. I believe that there will be much more blog posts on the subject in the coming months but for this initial one, I’d like to bring some awareness to you, my readers. My desire is not to scare or condemn but to educate. I believe that knowledge is power and God’s word speaks of asking Him for wisdom where there is a lack of it.

These are facts that I have found from some trusted resources that I’d like to share with you and prayerfully open up much needed discussion about it. I’ll also include at the end, some links to these resources if you are interested in further research.

Facts about human trafficking:

Human trafficking is modern day SLAVERY.

It’s the illegal trade of human beings. It’s recruitment, control, and use of people for their bodies and for their labor. Through force, fraud, and coercion, people everywhere are being bought and sold against their will—right now in the 21st century.

The average age of missing children who are exploited through sex trafficking is 15.

Types of Trafficking:

 Sex trafficking:  forcing, deceiving, or coercing a person to perform a commercial sex act.

 Forced labor:  forcing a person to work in captivity for little or no pay.

 Bonded labor:  forcing a person to work for low wages to pay back an impossible debt.

 Involuntary domestic servitude:  forcing a person to work and live in the same place for little or no pay.

 Child soldiers:  forcing a child to participate in an armed force.   

How  Are Children Trafficked:

When we know how victims are trafficked, we have the power to stop slavery before it starts. The following are some of the known ways survivors can be trafficked.

False job advertisement or promise of a better life

Sold by a family member

Boyfriend figure

Abduction

Trafficked by a friend

False Immigration

Signs of Human Trafficking:

Look for clues that identify a possible victim of modern-day slavery.

Controlled by another person 

They are accompanied by a controlling person and do not speak on his/her own behalf, but instead defer to another person.

Controlled movement 
They are transported to or from work, or live and work at the same place. They show signs that their movements are being controlled.

Lack of earnings 
They are unable to keep his or her earnings and forced to turn it over to another person. In many cases, the person owes a debt they are working to pay off.

Foreign, unfamiliar with the native language 
They have recently arrived in the country and do not speak the native language. They may only know sex-related or labor-related words.
  

Overly fearful, depressed, and submissive behavior 
They are frightened to talk to outsiders and authorities since they are closely monitored and controlled by their trafficker(s). They may be fearful, anxious, depressed, overly submissive, and may avoid eye contact.

Bad health & malnutrition 
They may have signs of abuse or signs of being denied food, water, sleep, and/or medical care.
  

Lack of official identification 
They are not in possession of their passports, identification, or legal documents.
  

Signs of physical abuse 
They may have bruises, scars, and other signs of physical abuse and torture. Victims of human trafficking are often beaten in areas that will not damage their appearance, such as their lower back.
 

Substance abuse 
They may show signs of drug use or drug addiction. They can be forced or coerced into drug use by his/her traffickers, or turn to substance abuse to help cope with his/her enslavement.

Lack of trust 
They may be distrustful and suspicious. A victim may act as if they distrust any person who offers them assistance or attempts to converse with them.

Lack of personal belongings 
They may have few or no personal possessions. Signs of dependence: They may demonstrate affection, attachment, or dependence toward their abuser.

Deceived by a false job offer 
Their actual job is different from the advertised job they had accepted.

Feelings of being trapped 
They have expressed that they are unable to leave their living or employment situation.

Human trafficking is the fastest-growing criminal industry in the world, generating more than $150 billion US dollars every year.

But here is a sobering truth: 1% of victims are ever rescued.

In 2012 the (UNODC) United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reports the percentage of child victims had risen in a 3 year span from 20 per cent to 27 per cent. Of every three child victims, two are girls and one is a boy.

Gender and age profile of victims detected globally: 59% Women - 14% Men - 17% Girls and 10% were Boys.

·       600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men bought and sold across international borders every year and exploited for forced labor or commercial sex (U.S. Government)

·       When internal trafficking victims are added to the estimates, the number of victims annually is in the range of 2 to 4 million

·       50% of those victims are estimated to be children

·       It is estimated that 76 percent of transactions for sex with underage girls start on the Internet

·       2 million children are subjected to prostitution in the global commercial sex trade (UNICEF)

·       There are 20.9 Million victims of Trafficking World wide as of 2012

·       1.5 Million victims in the United States

·       Trafficking will surpass the illegal sale of drugs in the next few years

·       Drugs are used once and they are gone. Victims of child trafficking can be used and abused over and over

·       Human trafficking is on the rise and is in all 50 states (U.S. Government)

·       4.5 Million of trafficked persons are sexually exploited

·       Up to 300,000 Americans under 18 are lured into the commercial sex trade every year

·       From 14,500 - 17,500 of those victims are trafficked into the United States each year

·       Average life span of a victim is reported to be 7 years (found dead from attack, abuse, HIV and other STD's, malnutrition, overdose or suicide)

The largest group of at-risk children are runaway, thrown away, or homeless American children who use survival sex to acquire food, shelter, clothing, and other things needed to survive on America's streets. According to the National Runaway Switchboard 1.3 million runaway and homeless youth live on America's streets every day. [5,000 die each year] It would not be surprising to learn that the number of children trafficked in the United States is actually much higher than 300,000.

Children are often targeted by traffickers as they are deemed easier to manipulate than adults. More money can be earned by younger girls and boys exploited in sexual exploitation, especially virgins. Pre-pubescent girls are reported to be injected with hormones to bring on puberty. Younger girls are expected to have a greater earning potential, and as such are in greater demand. 

What do trafficked children face:

·       Child victims of human trafficking face significant problems. Often physically and sexually abused, they have distinctive medical and psychological needs that must be addressed before advancing in the formative years of adulthood.

·       Child victims of exploitation can face a number of long-term health problems:

·       Sleeping and eating disorders

·       Sexually transmitted diseases

·       HIV/AIDS, pelvic pain, rectal trauma and urinary difficulties from working in the sex industry

·       Drug addiction

·       Chronic back, hearing, cardiovascular or respiratory problems from endless days toiling in dangerous agriculture, sweatshop or construction conditions

·       Fear and anxiety

·       Depression, mood changes

·       Guilt and shame

·       Cultural shock from finding themselves in a strange country

·       Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

·       Traumatic bonding with the trafficker

The Department of State lists the top three states with the most human trafficking activity are California, New York and Texas. California Against Slavery reported that 3 of the ten worst child sex trafficking areas in the United States are in California: San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego.

One of the reports that I read said that the industry is fueled by an unceasing demand. It’s here that officers focus their enforcement actions. And it's where advocates focus their education efforts to end the illicit trade.

“We have a major issue here in the United States” Geoff Rogers, co-founder of the United States Institute Against Human Trafficking (USIAHT), said in an interview with Fox News. “The United States is the No. 1 consumer of sex worldwide. So we are driving the demand as a society.”

In 2018, the DOJ began 230 federal human trafficking prosecutions, a drop from 282 in 2017. Federal convictions rose from 499 in 2017 to 526 in 2018. More than 70 percent of the cases resulted in jail sentences of more than five years, according to the State Department report.

“We're also driving the demand with our own people, with our own kids,” Rogers said. “So there are tremendous numbers of kids, a multitude of kids that are being sold as sex slaves today in America. These are American kids, American-born, 50 percent to 60 percent of them coming out of the foster care industry.”

“So the demand here in the United States is a global one,” he said. “We do have men traveling the globe to go to places like Thailand and other places in East Asia to purchase sex with kids. But, in fact, the demand is so great that the supply has needed to be filled here in the United States.”

“Because of the demand, then these traffickers are filling that demand with supply. And the demand is so great here in the United States that they're filling the supply with our very own kids,” Rogers continued.

According to a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report, over 300,000 of America’s young population is considered at risk for sexual exploitation. It’s also estimated that 199,000 incidents occur within the U.S. each year.

Filmmaker Jaco Booyens takes on the global sex trafficking crisis Film 8 days. His sister was trafficked. The person that leaves is not the same person who comes back. Online profilers will learn what the child needs to hear to gain trust and can break the heart and soul of a child. It’s so easy to penetrate the mind of a child.

 https://video.foxnews.com/v/6071781222001/#sp=show-clips

As I have continued to read and be educated on this subject, my heart continues to break daily but I have partnered with one ministry that is aiding in the fight. Christine Caine’s ministry, A21, has been in the fight for many years and have seen such great success in liberating and rehabilitating these precious women and children. I will be participating in a Walk for Freedom in October and will post how you can partner with me in the next few weeks.

Let me share with you this link to a story of a young woman who was set free and healed through the A21 team.

https://www.a21.org/content/liberty/go3mpk

Please join with me in prayer and support to help free victims here and abroad.

https://www.a21.org/index.php?site=true

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFhJAMUW6WA

https://video.foxnews.com/v/6071781222001/#sp=show-clips

https://polarisproject.org/2018-us-national-human-trafficking-hotline-statistics