Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is the action or practice of illegally transporting people from one country or area to another, typically for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking (a form of human trafficking) involves the sale of humans for sex.
billion dollar
industry
40.3
million in modern slavery
4.8
million forced in sexual
exploitation
99%
are women
and girls
25%
are children
Human Trafficking can happen to anyone, anywhere in the world. According to the International Labor Organization, there are an estimated 40.3 million people in modern slavery. Of that 40.3 million, 4.8 million are in forced sexual exploitation. 99% of the victims are women and girls, and of the other sectors of human trafficking, they make up 58%. So without question, females are far more likely to be trafficked by males. Though it can happen to anyone including males, there is a very high demand for women and girls.
Here’s how a trafficking transaction works: In just about every case of sex trafficking, there is the victim, the middleman, and the buyer. Or in sex trade terms, the prostitute, the pimp, and the john. The pimp will sell the prostitute (victim) to a john, and the john pays the prostitute for a sexual encounter. However, the money that she collects isn’t all for her. Most of the money is given to the pimp, and in return, she gets little to no compensation. Johns are not always aware that there is a middleman involved. Some may be under the impression that they are paying the prostitute directly for their services.
(It is important to note that the pimp is usually not present during the transaction. the pimp sells the prostitute discreetly.)
How trafficking situations occur has much much more complex explanation. There’s no typical way that trafficking takes place. It can happen to anyone, anywhere, at any time. However, certain types of people are more susceptible to being trafficked than others. For instance, in the United States, children who grew up in foster care, or unstable homes are more likely to be trafficked than children growing up in a traditional, "safe" household. Children make up 25% of the trafficked victims and are most vulnerable. The more vulnerable a person is, they are more likely to become a target. But recently, there have been reports of human trafficking in the news and on social media. Traffickers are luring people in by posing as church organizations. There have also been cases where people receive a text or a call from a familiar number but the person answering is not the person they know. Traffickers are becoming more and more creative with how they catch their prey. They are stepping outside the traditional methods of capturing vulnerable girls, and finding new ways to attract anyone who will fall for their tricks.
This new wave of human trafficking seems to take place primarily in the states, but it may happen in other western countries as well. In general, human trafficking takes place all over the world. Every country has cases of human trafficking. However, there are regions with more lucrative sex trade than others. The Asia-Pacific region is the most lucrative, and takes up a third of the $150-billion-dollars-a-year profit. Closely following behind are developed economies and the European Union. Examples of this would include the US, Germany, UK, France, etc. Smaller sectors of the sex trade would be Central and Southeastern Europe and CIS, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Every continent is impacted.
Statistics provided by polarisproject.org
