About The Cause
Human Trafficking
What Is It?
The UN Definition is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons for the purpose of exploitation. It is a multi-billion dollar crime industry that denies freedom to 24.9 million people worldwide and remains the third largest international criminal enterprise. The purpose is always exploitation; however, the motivation behind it varies depending on the trafficker to victim dynamic.
Sex Trafficking
Sex Trafficking is a form of trafficking that specifically exploits people for sexual service or work that benefits a third party. Although it predominantly involves women and girls, sex trafficking can apply to men as well. Additionally, services include pornography and residence based commercial sex and can occur in hotels, motels, spas, etc.
Education
Labor Trafficking
Labor Trafficking forces an individual to perform labor services like consumer work on farms and domestic servitude in suburbs. Despite the common misconception, it occurs to both men and women and is often closely associated with sexual assault and trafficking.
Child Trafficking vs Adult Trafficking
Child trafficking affects every country in the world today and accounts for 27% of all human trafficking victims. Out of children, data shows that girls are the most reported victims as two out of every three child victims are girls. Boys are just as likely to be victims; however, they are less likely to be identified and reported. Among boys and girls, children can be subject to various types of trafficking. For example, girls may be trafficked for forced marriage or sexual exploitation, while boys may be victims of recruitment into armed groups or forced labor. Adults are trafficked into more agriculture and manufacturing industries in comparison to children who are involved in more peddling and illicit activities.
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Traffickers also gain a substantial profit from having child victims rather than adults because they do not have to pay the children. Often times, children are coerced with no benefit towards them; however, most adults do get paid through their activities for the traffickers.
Who is Most Vulnerable?
According to data, the most often targeted populations for trafficking are the homeless and runaway youths. This population includes immigrants who are smuggled into the United States or are currently residing in the United States because they have an undocumented status. That is why deportation remains an immense fear for a majority of victims because they fear becoming "failed immigrants".
How are they coerced?
A majority of the time, traffickers prey on the personal situations and conditions that people are under. Therefore, victims can often be coerced with fraud or deception. Traffickers target their victims by appearing to be a source of help and offer a way out of any personal situations they may be involved in. The trafficker can also deceive a victim by leveraging their victims' vulnerabilities and pretending to be a friend or romantic partner.
Where does it happen?
Data shows that intra-regional and domestic trafficking are the major forms of trafficking rather than involuntary movement across continents. Trafficking also occurs throughout the world and is most prominent in Texas, Florida, New York, & California in the United States. More specifically, it occurs in carnivals, cleaning services, massage parlors, restaurants, houses, and more everyday places. The United States is one of the most active sex trafficking countries in the world, therefore, trafficking does not just primarily occur in developing countries. In the US, most of the sexual exploitation occurs in cities and suburban areas.
Economic Side Affects
Human Trafficking is a very supply and demand industry where the consumers are the employers who profit off of the exploitation of other people. The industry also fuels other negative activities like drug trafficking and the illegal business of ammunition which threaten necessary business like tourism and hospitality.
What to look out for?
We encourage you to carefully look out for people who are potentially in this situation. If they are forced to live in subpar conditions, not allowed to talk to anyone without supervision, coached on how to respond to inquiries from the police, or have a limited education, they might be forced inside the trafficking industry. Contact the hotline and get help!