In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old. If the victim is a minor, no force, fraud, or coercion is necessary to prove trafficking. Any youth under the age of 18 who is involved in a commercial sex act is considered to be a victim of trafficking.
Immigrant and refugee children are vulnerable to sex trafficking, especially when they are unaccompanied by a parent or guardian. Factors prompting migration may elevate the risk of sexual exploitation, including violence in the community or within the home, armed conflict and prominent gang activity in the area.
Regionally, child trafficking is quite common in Africa, particularly West Africa, where nearly all human trafficking victims are children. Child trafficking is also very common in Asia's Mekong region, which includes Cambodia, parts of China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Who is Most Vulnerable? Anyone can experience trafficking in any community, just as anyone can be the victim of any kind of crime. While it can happen to anyone, evidence suggests that people of color and LGBTQ+ people are more likely to experience trafficking than other demographic groups.
37% of victims of trafficking in forced marriage were children.
Children account for half of the victims of human trafficking. In fact, the average age that a young person becomes involved in sex trafficking is 12 years old.
Humanitarian crises, such as violent conflicts and natural disasters, sometimes result in children being separated from their families, making them easier targets for traffickers. In other instances, traffickers will prey on parents' fears, giving false promises of a brighter future for their children.
Language barriers, fear of their traffickers, and/or fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims from seeking help, making human trafficking a hidden crime. Traffickers look for people who are easy targets for a variety of reasons, including: Psychological or emotional vulnerability.
Be careful about posting too much personal information online and do not trust "friendly" strangers on social media that know too much about you or say just the right thing. Stay vigilant and don't "look" like easy prey. Traffickers go after those they perceive as vulnerable and meek.
The states with the highest human trafficking statistics are California, Texas, and Florida. California tops the list with 1,334 reported cases and 2,122 victims, followed by Texas with 917 cases and 1,702 victims, and Florida with 781 cases and 1,253 victims.
Many Human Trafficking Victims Are Brought in Through Force or Coercion. In some cases, traffickers use force or coercion to recruit their victims. It may be a threat of force or actual physical violence that makes someone comply with their demands.
While boys and men are victims as well, most individuals identified as trafficked for both labor and commercial sex are women and girls. For every 10 victims detected globally, five are adult women and two are girls, according to a report released in 2021 by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (PDF, 18MB).
Due to the complex nature of the crime, traffickers often operate under the radar, and those trafficked are not likely to identify as victims, often blaming themselves for their situation. This makes it more difficult to identify the crime because victims rarely report their situation.
Victims escaping or exiting sex trafficking often face a long and difficult process when trying to start their lives over. A common misconception is that there are clear and easy steps to exiting trafficking, especially if the victim is not being physically held captive.
Sexual exploitation and forced labour
The most common form of human trafficking detected by national authorities is trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
With an estimated 27.6 million victims worldwide at any given time, human traffickers prey on people of all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, exploiting them for their own profit.
Many sex traffickers lure victims by providing basic survival needs. They systematically provide distorted versions of higher needs to manipulate victims. Using threats, force and coercion, traffickers exploit the fact that, for many victims, “the life” may be their first experience of 'family' and belonging.
Recruitment: Sex traffickers approach potential victims in a variety of ways, including pretending to be a potential boyfriend or friend, contacting them via social media such as Facebook, posting newspaper or Internet ads for jobs and opportunities, or even threatening or kidnapping them.
Human trafficking usually consists of three stages. In the first stage, the victims are recruited; in the second, they are transported; and in the third, they are exploited. At the recruitment stage, criminals use many methods to force or trick people into being trafficked.
As with domestic violence victims, if you think a patient is a victim of trafficking, you do not want to begin by asking directly if the person has been beaten or held against his/her will.